SuNARee's North American Safari: Texas is Home for the Winter

After our hopes of enjoying Austin in the winter were deflated by bad weather, we licked our wounds and decided to head towards Shreveport, LA for Randy's next assignment. After all that drama, we were ready to say goodbye to Texas! Before we left the area, I was able to find a little respite at South Shore Park. It is located just north of Bastrop, Texas and less than 30 minutes from where Randy and I were currently finding refuge from the floods.
The park is one of a handful of natural areas maintained by the Lower Colorado River Authority. South Shore Park was a great find, and because we stayed during the week, it was pretty quiet. I nabbed site #12, a spacious spot that had plenty of privacy and was waterfront to Lake Bastrop. Hiking, canoeing and fishing are big draws for the park and I wish we had more time to enjoy everything. We did, however, hike to North Shore Park which is also owned and maintained by the LCRA. It was the longest of about a half dozen nicely trails on the ground. As long as you don't attempt to hike in the dark like Randy, the trails are clearly marked. Roundtrip, we totaled close to 10 miles of hiking that day through the woods and along the lake's edge. Randy climbed a very tall pine tree while I watched and waited to call 911, but he got down triumphantly with no mishaps...not bad for an "old" man!
While we were staying in Bastrop, Randy discovered on Facebook that one of our Gulf Coast Diplomacy guests, Bashar, was visiting the Austin area with his girlfriend. It was such a nice surprise that they were able to drive over and visit us while camping at South Shore. Unfortunately, because we were headed out of town, there was only time for us to share a glass of wine. I hope that we continue to have serendipitous meetings with old friends when we travel, and I have a hunch that we will see those two again.
Since we planned on overnighting somewhere on the way to Shreveport, I navigated us toward an Airstream park a friend at Tennessee Cumberland Plateau (TCP campground) recommended. Willis is a long time Airstreamer that is our neighbor in Tennessee's Airstream park. He previously owned two lots at Texas Airstream Harbor (TAHI) and suggested we stop by there to see if it might be suitable for us as a winter base camp. Based on his description of the park, I was not sure if I would like the place. As a matter of fact, when we arrived at TAHI, we were immediately underwhelmed. Although the park sits on the banks of a tree-lined 140,000 acre lake, the sites themselves are not heavily wooded and seem rather small. Many tenants have corrugated metal cabanas and parking structures in addition to an Airstream. As a result, he park has a very industrial feel and doesn't exude much charm.
After just a few days, the neighborhood began to grow on us. It is a gated community with about 100 sites in addition to a large clubhouse with the usual amenities of a commercial kitchen, dining area, meeting room, library and laundry. However, it was our initial impression of the people that made us fall for TAHI.
Our arrival coincided with a Texas Gulf Coast rally and it was suggested that we park next to the clubhouse with the hopes that we would find an interest in attending. Not long after we had parked and made ourselves at home, someone drove up to our site and loaned us a golf cart for the duration of our stay. Someone else invited us to a potluck that evening and told us not to worry about bringing anything because his wife was bringing two dishes. Yet another person dropped by to admire Peggy and Beau. We quickly figured out that the neighborhood was very dog friendly....we were smitten.
During dinner that night, Randy inquired about the availability of memberships in the park. We were introduced to the neighborhood president and he gave us a tour of the streets and available
sites. There was one site in particular that we fell in love with immediately. It is flanked by large trees and has a wonderful water view of the lake. We found out that it was one of the sites that Willis had owned previously and that was all we needed to know to cement the purchase of the lease. We have found our winter home.