TX drivers license

[Kirk W]

5 hours ago, bruce t said:

I think we all need to make the effort to thank Polk county for their hospitality over the years rather than questioning Escapees location.

 

Very true. 

[SecondWind]

On ‎4‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 8:01 AM, Kirk Wood said:

So if this is the case, why does it matter to you where the Peterson's who founded the club chose to establish the club's headquarters and home park?

It doesn't matter to me at all, Kirk.  I could really care less about...  and never said I had a problem with...  the HQ being located in Livingston.  My original comment about Livingston was merely that it was a small town and there wasn't much to see when we drove around specifically to sight-see.  In my next post I even said "call me naïve" that Livingston wasn't what I expected.

Then you started randomly talking about the cost of developing property in Austin, to which I agreed could have cost up to 10 times as much.  Then it was you, and not me, who brought up moving the HQ at some time in the future.  Then in your last post, you brought up again how difficult it would be to move the HQ to a large city.  Other posters continue to pile on, apparently without reading the full thread.  I never said the HQ should be moved, never said I wanted it to be moved, never said it was built in the wrong place to begin with, and never questioned why the Petersons chose Livingston. 

I also certainly see some knee-jerk defensiveness about small towns in general.  I have stated my experience with towns and cities in multiple population catagories, which some agree with and some disagree with.  I've talked a little about what the last 8 years around the Austin metro have been like, as well as the 8 years before that spent in a small town of about 7700 people where, by the way, I owned a house and ran my own handyman business.  For those of you still reading who are saying how much you enjoy being in small towns... great!!  I've enjoyed living in some of them too, and I've also not enjoyed living in some of them.

People will live in the size town that they prefer, for the present circumstances in their lives...  but I'll say it again... having an RV and being in a small town have nothing to do with each other.

Without looking back, can anyone name the restaurant I recommended in Livingston?  Which part of the lake I said was beautiful?  Where I said it looks like a pretty area to retire to?  Where I said I'd like to check out more of our next trip over there?  Any positive thing I said?  I bet not.  Cause it's apparently more important to focus on negatives and be easily offended over half-read conversations that have been unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

 

Cheers,

Ken

[Kirk W]

Ken, I don't think that anyone here was offended, or at least we shouldn't be. My post was an attempt to explain why it is where it is. No question that there would be more access to services if it were nearer one of the larger cities like Austin or even if closer to Houston, but I'd suspect that land prices had a great deal to do with the choice.  The co-op parks actually were begun in 1981, before there was a headquarters office or park and they too are all located in rural areas, well away from any larger cities. 

There is a book written by Kay Peterson, "History of the Escapees RV Club" but copies are difficult to find as it was published in 1998 and hasn't been in print for quite a few years. It does tell the story of how the land for Rainbow's End was chosen but doesn't give any information about why the area of east TX was chosen other than that some friends of the Peterson's had left the road and bought a small farm there. The first co-op was in AZ and the second in NM. There was a poll of locations for parks before any of them were built (in the book) and that may have played a part in the choice of TX. Reading that book tells me that many of the aspects of the club/business came about by accident or evolution and that those involved in the early days had no idea that Escapees would develop into what it has become today. 

It would be interesting to know what they might do differently, had they anticipated the organization developing in the way that it has. 

On Livingston restaurants, it has been a few years since we were last there but we went to La  Colonia Mexican on the road into Livingston and it was quite good. I think we would probably rate Joe's Italian Grill as the best of Livingston.

[TXiceman]

My 2 cents worth is I would not want a HQ in a large city like Austin.  Livingston works great.

Ken

 

[bruce t]

I believe the whole point of most posts is to point out that we all have different likes and dislikes. Small town v large city. RV resort v BLM land. It's those differences that makes us who we are and what Escapees is.

We all just need to accept that not everyone like strawberry ice-cream.

regards

[Big5er]

59 minutes ago, bruce t said:

We all just need to accept that not everyone likes strawberry ice-cream.

Who?  Show me someone that doesn't like strawberry ice-cream Bruce.  I think you made that up!! 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

13 hours ago, Big5er said:

Who?  Show me someone that doesn't like strawberry ice-cream Bruce.  I think you made that up!! 

 

If its not Blue Bunny.... don't eat it!

 

Livingston is a unique place.  They accept the RV lifestyle and have adjusted to the meanderings of us.  There isn't much to see and do, but neither does Sioux Falls SD, Rapid City, SD or St Bremen Isle in Fl.  It's the convenience of the area and the local governments that make the stay worth it.

And Linda.... If your still a Westporter.... you're On the wrong side of town now!   Gotta be a "Potsdammer"!

[sandsys]

5 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

And Linda.... If your still a Westporter.... you're On the wrong side of town now!   Gotta be a "Potsdammer"!

Am neither. We're now off-roaders.   We not longer own an RV and are settled in at Trillium Woods Continuing Care Retirement Community. It's a lot like living at a large RV park in that there are so many offerings of things to do you can't do them all.

Linda Sand