Road Trip Weekend, Lots of Pics, found a wagon too!

Hi gang! I went on a fishing trip this weekend to Cedar Creek Lake up in Gun Barrell City Texas. About a three-hour-drive northeast from my home here in Austin.

*****First totally kid-less weekend for me in OVER TWO YEARS!! Wow!*****

I know you folks like road trip pics, and while this is not a wagon, I DID find a wagon on the trip.

I left after work Friday night...and got in LATE, 12:30am, so no pics from the Friday drive, but a few funny ones from just before I left near dusk. The drive up was fun though, much of the trip was in the country, and it was TOTALLY DARK with amazing stars...and no kids nagging for bathroom breaks or radio changes...so WEIRD. Drove with the windows down and sang along to MY music. Ha!

Met up with two of my oldest friends at a great condo right on the water. Most relaxing weekend I've had in ages. We ate spicy venison sausage, cooked-out hamburgers, drank WAY WAY WAY too much beer and even pulled out the whiskey late Sat evening...RARE for me, I hardly drink anymore, and amazingly didn't put me on the floor... Fished off the dock behind the condo, took a three-hour pontoon boat ride, and mostly just hung out with some great friends and told stories and laughed a LOT. Hard to beat it! Did not sack out until 3:30am Sat morning. I felt like I was in college again.

Decided to use my wife's Bonny for the trip (better mileage than the Denali, and left all the kids with Misty so she needed the room). Her Pontiac is still in beautiful shape, and while I missed the huge spread-out room of the Denali (or our wagons), it is big enough, and did fantastic on the drive. Odometer rolled over to 93K miles on the trip too, and it averaged 28mpg! Gotta love those 3800 V6 engines. Went for a bait run in it with my friend Curtis on Saturday afternoon, and off-hand mentioned later that the car was 18-years-old, and he flat didn't believe me. Ha!

We had great weather in the 70's all weekend, and driving home alone Sunday afternoon was a fantastic time in itself. The bluebonnets are blooming, had the windows down, radio up, great country roads, and had to drive through my old college town, Corsicana Texas, where I looked around for an hour. Really a nice weekend!

AND as mentioned I did find a wagon on the trip. See pics below. Car pics further down.

So Friday I stopped by the house to drop off the Denali and pick up the Bonneville, and was AMAZED to pull up to the scene below. Misty had put the girl to work with the pressure washer. Now THAT started my weekend off RIGHT! So cool to see her WORKING for once! Ha!




Here's pics from our pontoon boat ride. I'd never been on a pontoon boat, always preffered ski boats, but man this was NICE! They ride so smooth, and the way it's set up, it's like you are sitting on big couches, just taking in the sites. VERY relaxing...and didn't spill my beer once...





Sunset on the lake Saturday night. First pic was from the back deck of the condo, which faced west and provided a gorgeous sunset! Had a beer in one hand and a sausage plate in the other...and a BIG smile on my face. Second and third pics were walking back down to the dock to fish some more at dusk. Such a neat place!




Ok time for road trip pics. Left fishing camp at around 11:30am and headed back for Austin. Great drive!

Road above Cedar Creek Lake



Driving through the East Texas woods


1st bridge near Malakoff Texas


Old Palace Theater in downtown Corsicana Texas


Dee's in Corsicana Texas

 

WAIT! '96 Roady Limited Woody spotted in Corsicana. Gotta stop!

Some missing trim, but great colors! Maroon and Maroon.


Fog Lights?


Front tire a bit curbed..


What were they thinking here???



Rear bumper damaged a bit



Still a solid Texas car!


It was Sunday and the lot was closed, and I could not make out the miles, but here is the info I did get on this one: CityPlace Motors, 903-641-0730, Corsicana Texas. VIN #1G4BR82P8TR420527 - If anyone wants to run that, I'd like to know if it's a tow-pack car.

Next up I stopped by my old school, Navarro College. Met my wife here 20-years ago! Time Flies!



Dang! They turned the movie theater my wife worked in as a teenager into a church! Ha!


Heading out of Corsicana into the Wide Open Spaces. No woods out here, just wide empty road, 75mph speed limits, and Big Blue Sky.
Set the cruise control and sing along... This is about 45-miles east of Waco, or as I like to remember it, David Koresh Crazy-Land....


Bluebonnets, Blue Skies and Bonnevilles! Nice Trip!



Got home around 4pm....to five yelling kids and my wife ready to hand them off. Back to REALITY! Ha!

Hope you enjoyed the road trip!

-Texas Mike

 

Looks like it was a great trip, Mike thanks for sharing! I bought a '92 Roady, maroon. It has
A little damage here and there but pretty nice it just needs a good 81X11 cleaning!

 

Sweet! Love Roadies! Post a pic when you can!

 

As always, loved your story and pictures.
But............... What about the fish? After all it was a fishing trip!

I can't get over all of the bumper to bumper traffic in your photos.

 

Thanks for taking us along on your weekend, Mike!

 

That theater was in operation through at least 2011, when we were living a half hour away in Malone, we'd go there every so often. Was $1.50 or $2.00 per showing at that time, and they were FIRST run movies, not month old stuff!

 

My wife grew up in Corsicana and worked at that theater in the early 90's. Was a Cinemark. I remember seeing The Crush and Under Siege there while in college.

I had fun going to school there. I was always a suburb kid, had never lived in a real small town before.

Corsicana was dry when I lived there, and I remember making "beer runs" to Angus in the next county... The joys of country living! Ha!

"It's a small town, and we all support the team"

-Mike

 

ya ! where da fishies?

 

So, Mike....
What happened with that Roadie?
Let me know if you still need the VIN search run, I have a couple of open searches left on my "CompNine" order.
JoeT

 

That was great, thanks for the road trip...I needed that.

 

Mike, I was just thinking how it's been a while since you posted any road trip/project/family thread and I open up the old forum and here is one. Kind of funny.
Looks like you had a grand time. As always, thanks for sharing.

 

The fish were not biting....but the bbq and beer were fine, as were the stories and laughter.

I needed a break!

 

You earned it, Superdad!

 

Pontoons are the ultimate party barge, everyone I know with a boat wants one but seem to be waiting for someone to buy one instead of having to buy one themselves.