I am not one to normally ever, ever do the membership thingy. . .we got burned once in one of those TimeShare dealies. . .and Thousand Trails always reminded me of that. . .sort of.  You had a home park. . .yada, yada. . . BUT. . .since ENCORE purchased Thousand Trails, and they are a publicly trade company, it’s a whole different ballgame.

 

I researched forever, and asked a million questions. . .even read the Frequently Asked Questions listed on the TT website,  I finally decided that if I bought a Thousand Trails ZONE PASS for $499, I wouldn’t have anything to lose.  It would be good for a year, we could stay in all the TT parks in the SouthEast ZONE, which was where we had decided to do our summer trip anyway, and we would get 30 days of camping free, which would be equal to paying for a month in an RV park.  

 

There didn’t seem to be a downside, so we purchase the one zone, paid the $499, used it for all of 2011, stayed in KY, NC, VA, SC, FL and TX. . .and LOVED IT.  The only drawback was, if we wanted to go park to park, we could only stay four nights. . .OR. . .we could stay two weeks in one park. . .but then had to be OUT of the system for one week.  

 

So, knowing how much we were enjoying it. . .knowing that we planned to continue RV’ing (by God’s grace) as least ten more years. . .we decided to upgrade to the ELITE program.  This will allow us to go park to park every three weeks. . .with sixty free nights of camping. . .and then $3 per night after the sixty. . .plus a host of other perks. . .cabin rental discounts, etc.

 

If ya plan to inquire, my only request is that you use my name PLEASE. . .so I can get a $25 Amex Gift Card. . .yaaaa!

 

David and Janice Evans

Referral #298661580

 

No seriously. . .I would never recommend something I didn’t use and believe in myself. . .and we truly are in love with this program. . .if that changes, trust me. . .I will let everyone know!

 

I know everyone has different opinions on this subject. . .and I have seen some heated discussions on forums about it. . .so feel free to share your opinion in the comments. . .but please remember to respect the decisions of others. . .

 

Thanks,
Janice 

 

P.S.  A fellow RV’ing Blogger just wrote about the awesome deal they got on the ZONE program at an RV show. . .you should check that out on her Where’s Eldo Blog.  She is a riot. . .and a great writer.  You will love reading her RV’ing tales!

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What a difference a week makes.

After a quiet, and uneventful time last week, this week has been hopping. . .

Dave’s sister was performing at the Houston Heritage Society’s Candlelight Festival at Sam Houston Park in Downtown Houston, and got us free tickets for Saturday night. . . thanks Sis!

It was really great, and we highly recommend that you make plans to attend if you are in the area at Christmas time. . .Sam Houston Park is located on Buffalo Bayou with the downtown skyscrapers creating a backdrop.

There was a huge crowd, and a long line waiting to hear the Houston Boy’s Choir perform in this old German Church. . .

The boy’s choir has been performing at this event for over forty years. . .

Carolers entertaining the crowd

 

This gentleman was set up on the porch of an old log cabin, letting the kids sign their names with a quill and ink. . .they really seemed to be enjoying the experience. . .

There are several different eras of Houston History represented in the restored homes in the park. . .this is the Staiti Home, circa 1913. . .and was where our sis was performing. . .they told me I couldn’t take pics inside. . .but here is a You Tube Clip of the performance. . .Mary is the gorgeous one on the far right. . .it’s only a couple of minutes long!

 

 

Now on to the rest of our week. . .

It’s time for the Kid’s Christmas Drama at church. . .so of course, we want to help wherever we can. . .which just happens to be the props department. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the Dads did the cutouts. . .so this is what we started with. . .

 

 

and here was the finished product. . .it doesn’t look like it in this pic, but it really is painted a beautiful gingerbread caramel color

some of the Moms were going to finish glittering it up and such. . .

While I worked on the Gingerbread House,

Dave took on the Castle and did a really great job. . .

I wish I could show you, but my pic of the finished product didn’t come out. . .

I’ll take more Sunday Morning, so you can see how wonderful it turned out. . .

 

In addition to painting props, this week,

our son celebrated his 35th birthday, (good grief)

so on Wednesday night we had all of them over for soup and cornbread that I had made, and a delicious homemade cheesecake that his better half Lori had made. . .

it was wonderful, and worth every delectable calorie. . .

I can assure you that these poor old bodies are not used to all that exercise,

and we are feeling it today. . .

so we are taking it easy until our grandson’s basketball game this evening. . .

check in next week to see how he did!

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