Tomball, TX. A town with a German Christmas Festival, few sidewalks, and a fountain in the shape of an oil platform. And also, free RV camping with full hook-ups. H2O, sewer, 50A. FREE. So, if you were wondering “why the heck did Jake & Liz choose to stay in a town called Tomball that is lacking in the sidewalk department” (sidewalks are important for running safety), well, there it is. Free RV parking.
Tomball has a cute little town area sporting ‘The Depot Plaza’ (which proudly boasts ‘the oil fountain’ as well as some train related stuff), a sculpture of a (?) wearing a hat, and a few shops and restaurants. I’ll be honest in that we didn’t spend much time in town; Jake was slammed with work. Which may be why the ‘oil platform fountain’ and the (?) wearing a hat were the most striking things about this town for us. If you’re from Texas, the fountain memorializing oil drilling probably isn’t at all strange, but it was new for us. I’m thinking the sculpture of a (?) wearing a hat isn’t really normal for anyone.
We did break away from the chains of Jake typing away furiously in ‘secret rainbow code’ on his computer to attend the The Tomball Christmas Market. It was a street fair with a German theme full of German revelers and wanna be German revelers (us). We ate homemade pierogies (and now you see why we aren’t even good at pretending to be German), avoided all things sauerkraut (don’t even get me started on the evils of ‘kraut), and met St. Nicholas (he smelled of beef and cheese- he didn’t smell like santa).
The other cool thing about Tomball wasn’t about Tomball at all. We joined Marie & Josh of Ardent Camper for coffee/tea/dessert one afternoon a few towns away from Tomball (Tomball doesn’t like to open its shops on Sundays). Marie & Josh are super cool young RV folks (like us!). Also, their website is really sweet so you should check it out. It is really awesome to be meeting more folks of similar ages and ways of life as us on the road (not to take away from all the ‘older’ folks we’ve met – they have proven to be pretty cool too).
Tomball (ok, at this point, I just really like typing that name) turned out to be our first ‘all work, little play’ stop. It is a little heartbreaking to me that we didn’t get to explore most of what the area has to offer, but I also realize more and more that this is our ‘real life’. Sometimes I wake up and look out our bedroom window and am floored all over again by the fact that we are waking up in yet another new place. I think, ‘this isn’t real life!’ But then I walk into our living area and see the dishes waiting to be washed. The dirt that was dragged up the stairway and needs vacuuming. The ‘to do list’ sitting on the table. And Jake furiously typing away at this computer. It’s an awesome ‘real life’ where everyday tasks mingle with novel places and people, and I’m learning to temper my expectations of constant exploration and adventure. However, the temptation of exploring every nook and cranny of every place remains strong. Alright, that got a little ‘self-talky’ there. Back to business.
If you ever get out near Houston, are driving an RV, and need a (free) place to stay, check out Spring Creek Park. Not only is the park well kept, but it has a plethora of amenities like free showers, an archery range, tennis courts, and massive colonies of ants (not in a bad way, if there is such a thing. The ants kept to themselves while we were here). Call Mary (she works at the park reservation office), she’ll hook you up with FREE hookups!