For fall break we embarked on our first, unforgettable long distance RV journey from Indianapolis to East Texas. Our trip was filled with unexpected twists, incredible meals, and breathtaking sights. Here is a rundown of our stops along the way and an insight into some of the adventures we experienced. That being said, look for a more in-depth post soon, where we tell you more about our “interesting”, nearly catastrophic, stop in Memphis, TN
Day 1: Indianapolis to Little Rock, Arkansas
Our journey began in the heart of the Midwest, Indianapolis. We headed South with the goal of reaching Little Rock, AR just before Dinner Time. We had found Riverfront RV Park in Little Rock, Arkansas during our trip plannings. Nestled along the banks of the Arkansas River, this RV park offered great views and is located walking distance from Downtown. After setting up camp, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore downtown Little Rock, and a walk across the riverfront bridge was just what we needed to stretch our legs.
We walked around downtown for a bit, but soon after headed for a delicious dinner at Stickyz Rock n Roll Chicken. It was a funky place, with decent music and enjoyable food. Not the culinary highlight of our trip, but definitely a sign of good food to come.
After dinner we were all quite tired and soon after headed back across the pedestrian bridge. This time we took the bridge closer to the Clinton Presidential Library. Just a few minutes later we were back in the RV park and getting settled into our beds.
Day 2: Little Rock, Arkansas to The Woodlands, Texas
After a relatively short night, we headed out early to get to Texas. From Little Rock to the Woodlands is approximately 420 miles. We figured it would take us around 10 hours with gas stops and accounting for some pretty horrendous backcountry roads in East Texas. The stretch between Carthage and Nacogdoches on Route 259 was a pretty miserable ride. At times we thought the bumpiness and grooves in the road would shake our RV apart.
After what seemed like a very long ride we finally arrived at Woodland Lakes RV Park in Conroe, TX. Check in was a breeze as our documents and campsite map were in a box outside the main office. Just 15 minutes later we were hooked up and ready to enjoy the evening. Woodland Lakes RV Park is located very convenient if you need to head into The Woodlands and the park itself is very clean and comfortable.
This stop was special as it coincided with a birthday celebration, and we decided to make it memorable by indulging in authentic Tex-Mex cuisine at Pappasitos. T grew up in Texas, and going to Pappasitos is something she has missed for a long time. We enjoyed their delicious Fajitas and an adult beverage the size of a swimming pool.
Day 3: Work and Meetings in The Woodlands
The following day was a mix of business and pleasure as we had work meetings and a work dinner in The Woodlands, a large part of the reason for our stop here. So, we dropped S off for his first meeting and the two girls headed out to explore a bit of the city.
We also took the opportunity to fill up our refrigerator at HEB and Trader Joe’s. When S returned from work we headed to “Restaurant Row” in the heart of The Woodlands for a very nice Brazilian Steak experience at Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse. It was delicious, but way too much food. One thing negative we noticed at the Woodland Lakes RV Park was that we had incredibly bad cell reception on our Verizon phones. It made us very worried for the more rural Livingston Lake State Park, as we knew we had to get A LOT of work done during those days.
Days 4-7: Lake Livingston State Park
After what felt like “way to soon”, we packed up our rig and headed out to Lake Livingston State Park. It’s just a short 1 hour drive North from The Woodlands. It did mark the beginning of our return trip, however, as we left behind the southernmost spot on our trip. Arriving at Lake Livingston State park was easy and we quickly found our campsite. The concrete pads are huge and connections placed very nicely. We were practically the only campers there. We had never had more than 2 other campers in the loop the entire time we were there.
This was our 3 family trip to Livingston, TX over the years – but the first time by RV. The park is wonderful, with convenient walking paths connecting the main areas of the park. Our fears of bad connectivity were unfounded. We had 2-3 bars on Verizon (LTE) the entire time we were at the park. With the peace and quiet and good, but not 5G, it made for a very nice office to get our work done.
When we didn’t work, we spent a lot of time with family trying out the various local places. We had great meals at Pit Row Pitstop (Burgers & Diner Food), The Blue Duck Kitchen & Bar (small menu, but wonderful) and the Hitch N Post Cafe (Amazing BBQ) and will talk more about them in a separate post soon.
Downtown Livingston was definitely worth a bit of strolling around. They had some very cute stores with knick-knacks and other cute stuff. We really enjoyed visiting Petalz by Annie which is a combination of flower store, boutique, gifts and a coffeeshop. Really cute, and delicious coffee.
Lake Livingston State Park was probably one of our favorite places to stay during our short RV journey. The sites are spacious, have nice pads and it was very quiet. I don’t know if that’s the case when it’s busier, but we really enjoyed the solitude.
Day 8: Lake Livingston to Memphis, TN
On the morning of Day 8 we headed North to West Memphis, where we planned to stop for the night. We had booked a spot directly on the Mississippi river at Tom Sawyer RV Park. Staying on the banks of the Mississippi has been a bucket list item for a long time. The drive to Memphis was quick and easy. Tom Sawyer RV Park is pretty large, and we were lucky enough to get a pull-through spot right on the river.
We were excited to get set up and explore Memphis. However, our RV had other plans. When we pushed the button to extend our slide, the control panel was dead. So, instead of blues, BBQ and sightseeing we spent our one night in Memphis with tech support, auto parts stores, and sketchy people. During the tech support session S crawled under the trailer and discovered that more than half of the nuts, holding the trailer body to the frame had gone missing. Clearly, a broken control panel was way less important than getting that fixed up. We took an adventurous trip to Auto Zone, Wal Mart and Home depot to get the parts and tools needed, which took us WAY too long. Three hours of driving around, but the fix itself only took about an hour.
Day 9: Returning Home
After a night of pretty deep sleep following the excitement of the previous day, we quickly hitched up and headed North. The mighty Mississippi treated us to an amazing sunrise that day. We’ll be back one day, and perhaps we get to enjoy the amazing views!
The final leg took us through Missouri and Illinois and was fairly uneventful. We arrived home at shortly before 4pm – just like we had planned. Within 60 minutes we had the RV unloaded and cleaned as much as possible with a retracted slide. By 6pm we were on the couch, happy to be done with the driving. All of us were a bit sad though to return to our house. Life on the road definitely has a sense of freedom that you can beat living in sticks and bricks buildings. We are definitely looking forward to our RV getting fixed – and hitting the road again as soon as possible.
