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Today was the first day in about 3 months that I have had a chance to clean the exterior of my RV. It has been parked in Medina at The Farm Country RV Park. As is the case with most RV parks they do not allow washing RVs in the park using their water. Therefore I have to wait until I get the RV home or pay a mobile wash service. Since I prefer to do it myself, I wait until I have the RV at home.
When a RV sets out in the open for long periods of time, it will naturally collect dirt. It will also develop large quantities of black streaks that develop as a result of runoff from rain on the roof. In our case we drove home from Medina in the rain so the RV collected a lot of road grime. It was pretty dirty when we got home.
A number of years ago I was introduced to a couple of products that are of the Gel-Gloss family. I use Gel-Gloss Heavy Duty RV Wash & Wax to wash the RV. It is pink in color and has carnauba wax so that it leaves a nice shine after washing. I doubt that it can substitute for polishing the RV at least a couple of times a year. For the polishing I use Gel-Gloss Fiberglass, Marble & Acrylic One-Step Cleaner & Polish. This was recommended to me by a RV parts dealer. It is really a breeze to use and very effective.
When I wash the RV I always wash the roof and of course start there. What runs off the roof is responsible for the majority of the black streaks. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep the roof as clean as possible. I use a mild dish washing liquid on the roof. This was again something that an old-time RV parts dealer recommended. They said there was no need in buying a expensive roof cleaner when a mild dish washing detergent would do on the rubber roof. However, don’t use it on any other part of the RV.
Although the RV Wash & Wax does a good job of taking the dirt off the RV, it will not take the really heavy black streaks off but itwill take the lighter black streaks off. When I started using the Gel-Gloss Fiberglass cleaner, I noticed how well it removed the black streaks. With this product all you do is wipe it on, let it dry and then wipe it off. It leaves a nice bright shine and removes the streaks.
Today when I washed the RV there were a lot of black streaks on the back end cap. The wash did not take them off so when I had finished washing the RV I got two rags and the Gel-Gloss Fiber Glass Cleaner. I put the cleaner on a rag and wiped the heavy black streaks right off. I ended up polishing the entire back end cap but it didn’t take very long with this cleaner. There were some other black streaks on one side of the RV. I just took the rag that I was using to polish the back and rubbed only on the small black streaks. They came right off. Then I just finished with the dry cloth. You can do a very local job like that to get the black streaks off and not have to polish a large area. Doing this prevents me from having to have a dedicated cleaner for the black streaks.
So after getting the RV clean, I took it back to the storage lot where it will sit and collect more dirt. However, it will not get washed again until after the next trip, hopefully in March.
Yesterday we went for lunch at the Alamo Springs Cafe in Fredericksburg, TX. Our original plan was to go for lunch at the Camp Verde General Store. However, some friends of ours here at The Farm Country RV Park asked us if we had ever been for hamburgers at the Bat Tunnel. Since I had never heard of the Bat Tunnel, my answer was no we haven’t. They told us that this place was supposed to have the best hamburgers in the state but it isn’t exactly close by. However, it was a beautiful day and I’m always up for a drive in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
So my question was, do they really serve hamburgers in a Bat Tunnel? Well no! The Alamo Springs Cafe is located next to the Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area and there is a tunnel there that is home to 3 million Mexican Free-tail bats. That was good to know! I wasn’t looking forward to having to wade through bat guano to get to my table.
The trip from The Farm Country RV Park to the Alamo Springs Cafe took us through Center Point, Comfort and up Old San Antonio Road to the cafe. I suppose the total distance from here is about 30 miles. It was a nice trip on a very narrow road. As we were making our way, my buddy Leary, was beginning to think that we were on the wrong road. After all, he’d only been there once and that was several years ago. I had no clue and I didn’t think he did either. No, we didn’t have a GPS but we finally found it.
The Alamo Springs Cafe is as they say, “in the middle of nowhere”. It is truly out in the country situated in what looks like an old farm house. It is about 10.5 miles from Fredericksburg and about 13 miles from Comfort. If you don’t know where either of these places are, then maybe you’ve heard of Luckenbach, Texas. It’s not too far from there.
We came for hamburgers and hamburgers we got! You can order the hamburger any way that you want but they all come out freshly made and big. If you are not into burgers they have other sandwiches that you can order. They are open for dinner and have a nightly dinner special.
They were rated by Texas Monthly Magazine as having one of the top 3 hamburgers in the state. The one that was written up in the Texas Monthly Magazine comes with green chilies, grilled onions, avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, and is served on a jalapeno cheese bread. My wife and I had one each but she wimped out on the bread and went with wheat. It was the biggest hamburger I have had and was as good as advertised. I highly recommend it.
The Alamo Springs Cafe is a very unique place and worth the trip. During the season of the bats, you can go late, sit outside, and watch the 3 million bats exit both ends of the old train tunnel.
 Front of Alamo Springs Cafe
 Brad about to eat the Alamo Springs Cafe hamburger
When you pack up the RV and head out for your favorite campground, it is a good idea to pack a few games to take along on the trip. You should include indoor games as well as outdoor games. There will be times when the weather will prevent you from enjoying the great outdoors, so a few games that can be played inside will help to alleviate boredom, especially if you have young children with you.
There is a plethora of board games that are easily packed into the camper. My wife keeps a number of inside games stored in one of the cabinets so they are available when the grandchildren tag along with us. Keeping the kids busy beats having them arguing with each other because there’s nothing to do.
I think that our most favorite indoor game is “Mexican Train”. It is a game played with a set of double 12 dominoes. It is suitable for anyone age 8 and up. Our grandchildren love to play the game, especially when they beat the adults. There is very little strategy involved with the game but it is fun to play. In fact, we even play the game at home with a group of friends. You will even find the game being played in RV parks in the recreational rooms. Really a fun game and you can play with up to 8 players at a time.
There is also a plethora ( I just love using that word ) of outdoor games that you can take along with you on your camping adventure. However, you will want to choose games that are light weight and easily packed in the space that is available. A game that we had seen played, but had never bought, is “Blongo Ball”. We bought a set last year and took it on our long trip to Colorado. We had the grandchildren with us for part of our trip, so they played and had a good time with it. It has turned out to be a really fun game. Again, they seem to enjoy it more when they beat us. We also played the game with several friends who we met up with in Colorado. It has turned out to be a hit. We see a number of people playing the game when we are traveling.
Another game that we played for the first time this past year, was “Bocce Ball”. Our friends who met us in Colorado brought their set with them. We played a number of times while they were there. This is another fun game and the kids can also play.
Most RV parks will have rec rooms where they keep games for the park guests, so why talk about bringing your own games. Well, sometimes the games aren’t in good condition and sometimes they don’t have what you want to play. Sometimes the games are being used by someone else just when you want to use it. Therefore, bring a few games that are special to you and you want have to share.
Blongo Ball Complete Game Set
Trademark Games Full Size Premium Bocce Set with Easy Carry
Mexican Train Game in Collector’s Tin
Later!
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