I called that first NüRVers Rally Review “part one” because nearly everyone who attended moved on to Landa RV Park in New Braunfels and they talked us to joining them. We ended up staying a month.

Needless to say, there were quite few more get-togethers with the Nü Crew. But thankfully, not nearly as debaucherous.

Landa was the first RV Park where we ever stayed a full month. And when the month was over, we were definitely ready to go. Don’t get me wrong, the company of fellow NüRVers was great, and the price was right. But you get what you pay for at Landa.

A month paid for in advance at Landa RV Park only cost you $225. I’ll do the math for you. That’s $7.50 per night, for full hookups. Utilities are not included, but we only paid another $50 and were comfortable running our heater and air conditioner plenty. More math averages out to about $9.17 per night for our full month in New Braunfels.

That’s cheap! Especially considering we could float down the Comal river from our doorstep and walk to nearby bars, restaurants and stores in old town, including the oldest bakery in Texas.

But stay longer than an hour or two at Landa and you find out why its so cheap. The train. Or trains, rather. Loud ones, that rumble right through the park. Many times a day.

We left nearly a month ago and I still hear them in my sleep. I fear our stay may have killed the romance of a distant train whistle for me, for good. But I am digressing.

If you’re hanging out with NüRVers, it’s a good thing you’re staying somewhere cheap. Because you’ll end up spending money on other things, like good food and alchohol. Once again, a good time was had by all, and we look forward to another fun gathering some time down the road. Just not at Landa.

If you’re familiar with Austin’s South by Southwest music festival, you know that it took place in mid March. It’s now mid-April. So as you can see, we’re a little behind in our postings but hey, we’re busy out here on the road.

We were so stoked to finally catch this scene. The whole city comes out for it, and they’re really quite welcoming to the hordes that show up from around the country, clog the streets, and run around showing off their prestigious wristbands to bartenders.

And while you can pay the high ticket price and get into some really incredible shows during the festival, there’s plenty of great bands, free music and free beer (I told you Texans know how to party!) to catch on just about every block. We rode our bikes all around town with Skinny Chef and Flux (thanks you two!), and sampled some great tunes, all for F-R-E-E! Here’s a sampling . . .

On the farm in Florida last year, I wrote how snowbirds should prepare for freezing weather when trying to escape just that. Then, when we were getting ready to leave the ranch last August, I wrote about the sudden Colorado seasonal weather changes.

But after hanging out in New Braunfels for nearly a month, I must say Texas has some pretty crazy weather patterns!

Landa RV Park on the Comal River is the first place we’ve ever paid for a full month’s stay. The price was right, but it didn’t include our utilities. So René was actually calculating our kilowatts the first few days of our stay because we had run the air conditioner nonstop. Cooped up writing in the humid heat was unbearable.

But almost the whole following week, we had to run the heater because it was so cold and rainy! Within days, we were warm enough to go tubing again. About a week later we heard a severe thunder storm waring on the radio alerting us to golf ball sized hail and potential tornadoes nearby. That same day, after the clouds passed, I had to change back into my tank top pretty quickly.

I’ve heard it said in many a town across the country, but now I believe that if you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait an hour or so.

Epilogue: Since I drafted this post, we have endured more heat, I scrambled atop our rig to cover our solar panel in a hill country hail storm, we got stuck in the mud after a downpour in Luckenbach, and we have withstood the wind of the Texas prarie. I rest my case.

Recently, two friends hit the road. Being new to the RV lifestyle, they asked us if we can name one practical thing that we packed, which just can’t live without. After giving it some thought, we figured it out:

Our cast iron skillets.

Back in our stick house, we had a whole collection of Griswold and Lodge Cast Iron Cookwear. But seeing as they’re kind of heavy, we decided to bring just two of our favorites. We packed our 10″ chef’s pan, and an omlette pan, in addition to one fancy Calphalon pan that we rarely use.

Cast iron is so versatile, and not very expensive. You can use these pans for stovetop cooking, baking, broiling and even over a campfire. And because you don’t need a lot of water to clean them up, they’re great for boondocking. Our Calphalon pan isn’t nearly that versatile.

Best. Cookwear. Ever.

During the first “official” NüRVers get-together at the Lazy L & L, we had the chance to interview a handful of young fulltime RVers and share how they make a living on the road.

We ended up only making one movie.

Basically, because we were headed back to Landa where most of the Nü Crew was saying for a while. Or, it might have been the Mai Tais.

We’ll try to catch some of them with videos to come, but I digress.

Meet Emmy (aka; emmymau):

Emmy and the lexmachine travel fulltime while writing and photographing, respectively. And while enjoying the cross country club scene, together .

No, that sweet ride is not their toad. It’s a test car he will write about for his automotive review column at their elepent blog. Then he has to give it back.

Bummer, but I’m sure he’ll have some another classy chassis lined up to test drive, somewhere down the road. Sweet ride. Sweet gig. Sweet people.

So, what’s an elepent? If you ask me it’s great name with a cute history. Stay tuned for more insight on how others live life on the road. How do you do it?

So, about those Days of the Nü …

That NüRVers Rally at the Lazy L&L was an opportunity to attend the first real rally of sorts for full-timing hipsters. And by real, I mean rally-goes actually registered. But if you didn’t go because of the registration fee, you missed out. Our gracious hosts used those fees well.

We all had sweet sites with full hookups, and everyone received goody bags with cool schwag including the first official NüRVers T-Shirt. Ladies received some of Cat’s new Starspun all natural mineral makeup, and of course the gents got sample kits of Dri-Wash waterless RV cleaner. But did I mention the open bar?

Yes, throughout the Days of the Nü we were priveliged to have at our disposal a full bar of only the best bottles. Many of which I’m pretty certain got emptied, all of which I’m sure cost more than those reg fees would cover on top of the campground cost and commemoritive apparel.

Which reminds me of some important words of advice for anyone who plans to hook up with the Nü Crew down the road: Pace yourself. The morning after René and I arrived at the Lazy L&L, we weren’t feeling so hot. And that’s putting it politely. It might have been the gin, or maybe the wine, quite possibly the rum; but most likely all of the above. With a few days to go, we intended to take it easy. But then came Luau night, and I am not one to pass up free mai tais. Especially excellent ones in a big bowl! Besides, it gave us a chance to use our coconut cups again.

It was hard to top each previous night when it came to the food and fanfare for this fun crowd. Somehow we managed to though. Our pot luck meals were tasty smorgasborgs, with plenty of variety. From Damian’s grilled Spam for The Luau to Brian’s Thai noodles for Fiesta Night – give ‘em a break, he’s Canadian eh – there was plenty for all tastes and diet preferences.

For those who helped plan this party by editing the online worksheets, thank you for your time but it was all for naught. “Rally” organizers decided to eschew the itinerary, which worked out for the best. Six cool RV couples got to know each other, in person if you can believe that. And a fun time was had by all. We skipped the intended seminar schedule, togetherness outing and door prize games to focus on having a good time. That, and getting pretty trashed.

But René did host her stitch and bitch crochet lesson, and I hear Angie is keeping it up. Us guys got a lesson on keeping rigs clean, talked shop, and geeked out on my hitch. You see, the ol’ Superglide had a hard time unhitching when we pulled in. Hence the mass quantities of Bombay Saphire upon our arrival. But we need not go there. Nor do we need ask about the NuRVers thong.

We should, however, ask if “Rally” is really appropriate nomenclature for this portable partay. What would you call it? I for one, like that whole Days of the Nü idea.

To be continued …

My Dad hates Texas. In the 1950s, he joined in the Air Force and got stuck in Wichita Falls. He endured a lot of anti-Latino sentiment back then, and it’s still fresh in his memory. So now, when I tell him how much I like it here, he just shakes his head and doesn’t get it.

I think I’m seeing a different Texas now, and I have to believe that attitudes have evolved since my Dad’s Air Force days.

As I cruise through the state and soak up the culture, I’m finding that Texas is full of it; culture, that is. The food, the music, the attitude. And it doesn’t belong to just one ethnic group either, it belongs to the People.  There’s nothing else like it anywhere.

I like Texas because it offers me the perfect blend of what I, a third-generation Mexican-American pocha, loves the most: Apple Pie and pan dulce, bluegrass and tejano. In Tejas, I can be a hillbilly or a beaner! A beaner-billy, if you will. I love the way the best of American and Mexican cultures are so closely intertwined in much of this gigantic landscape.

I’m really digging the way it’s all about being TexMex in the Lone Star State. Yee haw and Ayi Yai Yai!

If you’re seeing this post, then we have successfully migrated to our own dedicated server. You may not be since DNS changes can take some time to propagate throughout the world, but I digress.

We’re still working out some kinks so feel free to report any technical difficulties. Thank you for your patience and continued support!

Forget what the Department of Homeland Security says. Not all border crossings are identical. Each point of entry seems to have its own quirks about what proves you’re a citizen.

In Douglas Arizona, we sashayed into Mexico on foot. The crossing was free, and we showed our California driver’s licenses as proof of nationality.

In Del Rio, Texas, crossing over on foot wasn’t so easy.

First, we had to walk a mile out of the way because of the stupid border fence construction. Then, we were forced to pay seventy five cents per person, just to walk across a mile long bridge over the Rio Grande, and into Mexico. Upon our return, we had to pay again, then show our birth certificates and driver’s licenses to the border patrol. Good thing we took ‘em, because there was no indication that they were required on the U.S. side when we went into Mexico. After June 1st, supposedly everyone will need a passport.

During our long walk over the bridge into Mexico, an old Mexican man was walking in front of us, carrying grocery bags. A guy in a pickup pulled over to offer him a ride into town. It took us a second to realize that he was also offering us a ride. The old guy got in, but we said “No gracias.” This was one of those situations in which we really wanted to believe in the best of humanity, but just couldn’t bring ourselves to take him up on the offer, with all of the borderlands violence we’ve heard about.

Was crossing over for the day worth it? Not really. We could’ve had the same experience in the nearest Texas ghetto. And like my Dad says, border towns aren’t the real Mexico. They’re so geared toward tourists that any trace of authenticity is gone.

Well, not everything. You’ll still find potholed streets, dirty air, crumbling sidewalks and hooker bars. But keep in mind that if you go, you’re going to get harassed beyond belief by aggressive storekeepers who are obviously hurting because of the U.S. recession.

As far as the reported threats of violence in border towns, we never once felt like we were in any danger, but then again, we didn’t venture too far out of the fake touristy areas, or take rides with strangers.