Point, Texas — Life On The Road
Bailey and I hit the road in May of 2022 for the first leg of our full-time RV life. Our second leg began on January 1, 2023. That first year proved to be a great introduction to the lifestyle, but 2023 was an even bigger year for us. Our plans were set. We knew what campgrounds we were going to stay at and when. We had the next 9 months of our life scheduled to an extent.
That first day of January was supposed to begin bright and early, but in typical Littles & Bigs fashion, that was not how things went. We intended to be up around 7 or 8 AM, with hopes of being loaded and ready to leave around 9:30 or 10:00 AM. And when I say we missed the mark, we missed it by a lot... Of course, knowing us, that estimate was really just an effort to get us up and moving. In reality, we knew it would be a bit later. A couple hours delay would have been perfectly fine, but we missed that cushion by much more. We did not hitch up and leave until 8:30 or 9:00 PM.
Driving Through The Night To Texas
Although we left much later than expected, we didn’t mind driving through the night, especially with towing the RV. The traffic is generally less hectic, making it easier to deal with. Not to mention, both Bailey and I are night owls. Our goal destination before taking a break to sleep was Tulsa, Oklahoma, as it was roughly the mid-way point of our drive. Unfortunately we didn’t make it all the way to Tulsa, but that’s only because the best option to catch some shut eye was at a Love’s, which was about half an hour north of the city. Things turned out in our favor as we were only one of three vehicles in the parking lot that night.
After getting some mediocre rest, we hit the road again around 8:00 AM the next morning. Majority of our drive was on Highway 75. Generally speaking, Bailey and I prefer the interstate, due to the number of gas stations and truck stops. However, Highway 75 was a great route. It is a major highway, so there are plenty of services along the way. The increase in traffic that came with the daylight was not ideal, but it wasn’t horrible either. We did experience a bit of a scare when a suburban, who was trying to pass us, was not paying enough attention to the road. There was a large box spring in their lane, which multiple vehicles in front of us slowed down and went around, but the suburban hit it full on. They began to tail whip, which almost caused them to hit us.
The Campground
In the end, we made the 10 plus hour drive safely, and we arrived at our campground around 3:00 PM. There were clear skies and sun all of that day, until about an hour away from our destination. We stayed at Thousand Trails Lake Tawakoni Campground located in Point, Texas, which was roughly 10–15 minutes from the main part of town, and about an hour or so east of the Dallas Metro. The campground has multiple recreation buildings, boasts two swimming pools, and it sits on the shore of Lake Tawakoni, which is a large beautiful lake.
The Littles & Bigs campsite at Thousand Trails Lake Tawakoni Campground in Point, Texas
Our Campsite
The campsites at this campground were first come, first serve—many campgrounds operate this way. Luckily, this campground was fairly empty and we had plenty of empty sites to choose from. We made a lap in a few of the separate sections before we found the site we wanted. Once we decided on a spot, the mild rain turned into a downpour. I don't know how many of you have tried unhitching in the pouring rain, but it’s not easy and certainly not fun. Luckily, the site we chose was very large and flat. It also backed to a beautiful wooded area that gave us plenty of wildlife encounters. We had plenty of green space, so much so that I was able to set up a large area of our portable fencing for the dogs. The site had full hook-ups of electric, water, and sewer. All-in-all it is still one of my favorites that we’ve stayed in.
Inside The RV
Setting Up & Organizing
For the past couple of months, the RV had been sitting vacant for the holidays. Bailey and I were staying at Bailey’s parent’s house so that we could make some needed updates to the camper and go through everything we brought the past year. We didn’t need everything that we had the first leg of our RV life, so the goal was to get rid of some of the things we didn’t use often enough. If you recall the story I told earlier in this post, then you know how late we were to leaving and getting moved back in. So the first week at the campsite, I knew was more than likely going to be dedicated to getting the RV set up and organized.
Cooking In The RV
Since moving out of my parent’s house how many years ago, I’ve enjoyed cooking from time to time. Generally speaking, I would stick to frying meats like chicken, pork chops, steaks, and fish. During our first stint of life on the road, I found that cooking in an RV just had something special about it. It adds that little extra joy to the overall experience. It made it even better yet during the three weeks in Texas when I could have the camper windows open.
Exploring The Campground
It turns out the northeast portion of Texas does in fact get fairly cold, we had a few nights that would actually hit freezing. During the winter months, most full-time RV-ers/campers go south to states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona because most other states’ campgrounds are closed from October or November to April or May. Though this campground is open year-round and has people staying there all winter long, being in the more northern portion of Texas, it was way emptier than I expected it to be. The clubhouse and campground store were closed for renovation, the pool wasn’t exactly used all that much, not many events took place in the large common area, and it just felt very quiet most of the three weeks which was ok by us.
Lake Tawakoni
The campground sits on Lake Tawakoni, which the campground takes just a small little slice of this very large lake. During our three weeks at this campground, Bailey and I sort of created a routine of taking the dogs on sunset walks along the water and around the campground. With the campground being fairly empty, we had the paths and shore mostly to our selves. I really enjoyed our time at this campground. Take a look at some of the amazing sunsets we were able to enjoy whilst there.
Exploring East Texas
We didn’t get to fully unhitch at one time like we usually do due to the rain, but we wanted to get out and explore at least a little before calling it a night. Having driven all night and getting a short and very uncomfortable nap, we were so incredibly tired.
Eating Around East Texas
First Time Eating Whataburger
We were now in the home state of a pretty famous and popular fast-food chain that I had not yet tried in Whataburger. Having not eaten much during the drive—well nothing of true substance—and not having a lot of energy for much else, going to Whataburger seemed like the right choice. We still had to drive roughly 15 minutes to the nearest Whataburger, but I never mind that when staying at campgrounds. I kept it fairly simple with a burger and fries, but the highlight for me was definitely the Dr. Pepper shake.
Cotton Patch Café
In east Texas, there’s a restaurant called, the Cotton Patch Café. Greenville, Texas was our nearest market for most of our shopping and dining when we didn’t want to make the trip to Dallas. We had driven by this place a few times telling each other that we might want to try it before we left and towards the end of our three weeks, we finally did just that. It reminded me a lot of places like Applebee’s and Ruby Tuesday’s.
Brookshire’s Grocery
One of the best aspects of traveling in an RV and doing so full-time is that you get to experience everyday life for residents of the area. I’m not sure if Brookshire’s is all across Texas or maybe the neighboring states, but during our time in East Texas, it was our go to for groceries.
Buc-ee’s
Buc-ee’s is just one of those places that has become very famous and loved, but so many people outside of the Southeast don’t even know about it. It’s so much more than a gas station—while they do have plenty of pumps—the store is the draw. I must admit that I had seen a lot about Buc-ee’s prior to visiting so I knew what to expect in terms of size, but the quality was the surprising factor for me.
Dallas, Texas
We don’t stay at campgrounds near large markets all the time but Dallas is one of those cities that we really wanted to visit. Bailey and I are trying to hit every NHL arena in the U.S. and Canada, Dallas was one that we had not been to yet. Over the past few years, I have become quite fascinated with the history of the J.F.K. assassination that took place in this city.
Our first visit to the city during this stay wasn’t much to talk about…we really just drove around to get an idea of what the city was like and what it had to offer. We, maybe, set foot outside the truck for 10–20 minutes. This did give us a great idea of things we could do during the next trips we made into the city. Dallas was fairly easy to access from our campground. The drive was just over an hour.
Black Bear Diner In Mesquite
Black Bear Diner interior shot of the pole carvings and booths in Mesquite, Texas
Black Bear Diner quickly became a favorite spot for Bailey and me when we traveled. The majority of their locations are in the western United States, so we were surprised to see one in the Dallas area. It was also an excellent opportunity for Bailey and me to meet up with one of Bailey’s childhood friends who now lives in Dallas. Great food and great company typically makes for a great experience.
The 6th Floor Museum
In 2018, I read Stephen King’s 11.22.63 fictional story based around the real-life events of the J.F.K. assassination in Dallas. While I wasn’t alive during the events, the story and history of it really have left an impression on me. The 6th Floor Museum is located inside the Texas Book Depository building on the top floor where Lee Harvey Oswald took the shot that killed John F Kennedy. The museum is chaulk full of so much great information and artifacts.
Dealey Plaza
Dealey Plaza isn’t exactly capable of being converted into a museum of the events of that day, however, the city has done a great job of maintaining information and pieces from the day for visitors to experience. For example, each shot fired has an “X” on the road where each bullet landed. Even though the plaza is very famous for this specific moment in history, this is still a place designed with other purposes in mind.
Dallas Stars Hockey Game
Our hockey experiences for 2024 began with a Dallas Stars game at American Airlines Center. This is a team that we had not seen play live yet, in an arena that we had not yet been to. After attending a couple of Nashville Predators games last year, I was pretty excited to see what the Dallas Stars offered for NHL experiences.
Visiting Louisiana & Arkansas
As our time began to wind down in Texas, we realized that we had a decision to make…Do we take a day or two to make sure we visit Louisiana and Arkansas before we leave? Or do we leave a hole in our travel map for states visited and try to make another trip back at some point in the future? Well, the decision seems an easy one to make…visit them now. That was easier said than done logistically speaking. Shreveport, Louisiana was the nearest portion of the state to us and it was a two-hour drive from our campground, and Texarkana, Arkansas was the nearest of that state at an hour and a half drive from our campground. The next best idea was to visit one and then use our drive to the next campground in Alabama as an opportunity to visit the other.
Well, after a couple of days worth of discussion, we decided that we should visit Arkansas now and use our drive to visit Louisiana. Bailey took a day off from work and we made our way to Texarkana. We spent about an hour in the city and at the Arkansas Welcome Center before deciding that we had enough time to drive down to Shreveport and cross Lousiana off the list too.
Arkansas Welcome Center
Well, the city of Texarkana—at least the portion of the city on the Arkansas side—didn’t have a whole lot for us to do. The majority of our time in Arkansas was spent at the Arkansas Welcome Center. The two people working there at the time were very kind and chatted with us for quite a while. The majority of what the state has to offer is in the central and eastern portions.
Shreveport, Louisiana
So, do you remember that childhood friend of Bailey’s that we had dinner at Black Bear Diner with? Shreveport, LA is where she and her family moved to many years ago, and once she graduated college, she went to Dallas. So, she was an excellent source to turn to when visiting Shreveport for advice on where to go and what to do. Like we always do, we first drove around as much of the city as we could just to see what it offered. We found a unique restaurant that served mostly corndogs, so we stopped in to try it out. It was called Waffles & Dogs. Really the only experience on my list to do while in this state was to try crawfish. We were told that the place to go for Crawfish was BeauxJax Crafthouse, so we went. Luckily, the folks at the table next to ours were friendly and gave us the correct manner in which to eat the crawfish, it was excellent.
