We decided to spend the day in Round Rock Texas. We lived there years ago and was amazed on how much the city has changed since we have not been back for about five years.
Quick history. Round Rock was originally called Brush Creek. In the mid 1800’s the city was renamed Round Rock after the rock sitting in Brush Creek. You can see the rock. All you need to do is drive on Chisholm Trail just north of Highway 620. When you drive over the bridge of Brushy Creek, you will see a massive round rock. Round Rock is also the site of the shootout with the outlaw named Sam Bass. Round Rock was part of the Chisholm trail which is pretty much where Interstate Highway 35 is now. Dell computer headquarters is in the city with many buildings. Downtown has the original buildings with restaurants, coffee chop, library, and other businesses. There is a minor baseball team called the Round Rock Express located on the northeast side of town. They are tied with the Texas Rangers.
Our little trip:
Since we placed our house for sale, we decided to purchase a travel trailer to live in while deciding our future. This will allow us to relax and determine what location would be best to purchase a house or build one.
Tracy and I decided to do what we call a dream trip. It is a motivational trip. We do this about once or twice a year. We visit many places, most we cannot afford. But this time it was information gathering for our next move.
We hit the road mid-morning. Good lord it was unseasonably cold! It did not go past 38 with 40 MPH winds. The weather report said cold morning with a high of 60 and light winds. Boy were they wrong! The temp did not pass 38 and we were dressed for 60.
Our first stop was Central Texas Harley. One thing I have wanted since High School was to own a Harley. Throughout the years when I was ready to purchase one, something took priority. Buying a new house, car, kids, college. Now we are close to actually owning one. When we walked in we were greeted by Brad. I explained why we were there. After a series of questions, he takes us to this beauty.
He wanted to take me out for a test ride with two cycles that we were impressed with. But with drizzling windy 38-degree weather it was decided that I will come back weather permitting. Brad was very informative. He explained to Tracy and I everything about the gadgets, different available accessories, and safety equipment. We then got a tour of the facility through parts, service and even the warehouse. We left without any pressure and a massive brochure in hand.
As we started to leave it was decided it was lunch time. As we were pulling out of the Harley parking lot, we saw a sign saying Hopdaddy Burger Bar. At 1:30 the place was very busy. They bake their own buns and grind their own meat.
We sat at the bar, ordered our lunch. I had the Buffalo Bill, Tracy had the Classic, no cheese on a gluten free bun. We also ordered Chili Con Queso fries. Impressed! My burger had a slight kick, a little less than what I like. Tracy said her burger was fantastic. The gluten free bun did not upset her stomach. The fries were cooked just right with their special seasoning. The chili con queso is probably the best I have tasted in many years. It was a great addition to the fries.
This place is a do over when we are back in Round Rock.
Next stop RV Outlet Mall located in Georgetown. Sigh, we were not impressed. When we drove up, there were no sales staff visible. We went through a motor home and went inside the sales office. We stood in the foyer for about ten minutes to get warm, and we were not greeted. So we decided to walk around figuring someone would chase us down. We walked around and looked inside about 20 different RV’s. Tracy went back to the office to use the restroom. During this time I saw at least four guys driving around in golf carts. Two had customers with them. Mind you the temp was 38 with high winds. After about 90 minute we decided we had enough and headed back to our car. We were almost there when a guy driving a golf cart pulled up and asked if we needed assistance. Nope I said. Are there any questions? Nope, we are good and heading out. He drove off.
Not a good experience.
We headed north on IH35 to see Crestview RV. When we walked in we were greeted by the receptionist. We told her we were here to just look around. She said feel free and Darren would chase us down shortly. After about ten minutes Darren arrived, introduced himself, and asked questions. He took us outside and we looked at a few RV’s. Did I tell you it was cold? We decided to go back to the showroom and look at the ones on display. Darren got called away and he suggested we look at the rest the trailers in the showroom. When he returned we were stepping inside a 5th wheel. Tracy spotted a fireplace running inside. Surprisingly this working fireplace was actually producing heat. We spent a fair amount of time in the 5th wheel. Since we were going to use it as a full time living quarters, we determined this was a great choice. All the time that Darren spent with us, we blasted him with a ton of questions. We found him to be extremely knowledgeable about the RV industry. As you would expect from a good salesman, he did do one attempt of closing a deal. We explained what our process was for buying an RV. He took us around the workings of their business. We left with a massive catalogue.
We determined that Crestview was going to be the best choice to purchase an RV. We had been to many dealerships the past few months looking at many brands. In our opinion Crestview had better quality inventory and could provide the best service.
As we were leaving, we received a phone call from a very good friend. He wanted to know if we had any plans for dinner. We decided to stay in Georgetown and meet their family for dinner. The choice made was Longhorn Steakhouse. Now our preference is to dine at local establishments. But our friend and I wanted a steak and his kids wanted ribs. Our experience was nice and relaxing. Our Waitress was on the ball and cheerful. All in all the meal was good. We had a very enjoyable relaxing time.
We had a good day today. Was very relaxing, informative and fantasy themed. Yes, I am still drooling about the Harley.
Did I mention it was cold?