Usual and unusual day trips
Johnny’s Issues
Day trips are terrific IMHO. Like a mini-vacation taken for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday. In Navasota, there are so many nearby places to visit… just pick a direction and drive. You will find history, good food, quaint towns, museums and on and on. As the city logo says, “So Much, So Close.”
Over the fourteen years we’ve lived here, we’ve gone just about every direction possible and hit many of the highlights. Those include Bellville, Calvert, and just recently we took a lovely three-hour drive along FM 390 from Independence to Burton.
But some of our favorite day trips are a bit unusual. Take the Twin Oaks Landfill, for instance. We load up the truck, the dog hops into the cab with us and off we go. When we get there, we have a small entry fee – usually about $2.00 for us to enter. Then the fun begins!
Even being as particular as I am about smells, I don’t mind the smell at the landfill too much. That said, I really don’t want to track it home. So, the trick (and the real excitement) is to stay completely confined within the truck at all times. That means, no touching the ground in any way. This requires a precise positioning of the driver’s door, propped open at just the right angle so as not to fall flat on my face and ruin my day. I step onto the door’s armrest with one foot, and deftly step across to the truck bed. Picture Spiderman in overalls and work gloves.
At the same time, I want to keep the dog from getting out to “help me,” which would necessitate a doggie bath. To that end, I must keep the driver’s door mostly closed, but not latched.
After unloading, I repeat the process in reverse and, if all goes well, avoid the hospital and head straight to the exit and on to the next stop. For the next stop, might I recommend a very conveniently located sno-cone stand just down from the landfill. For us, that is a real topper to the excursion. Even the doggie gets a lick. And when I get home, the house seems larger just from making my trash-day-trip. All in all, a good way to spend $2!
That reminds me of a couple of other things related to day trips:
First, I am told one of the most popular stops that the Citizens Academy group makes in Navasota is a visit to the poopy plant – the wastewater facility. I don’t know what they are doing over there that is so much fun, but these people love it and I am certainly going to find out why. Road trip, anyone?
The other thing is that a college age acquaintance was recently mentioning about the high cost of dating. Well, feel free to use any of these ideas. Whether or not the date goes well, it is pretty certain she will not forget it! And you will still have enough money to buy her Chick-fil-A. You’re welcome.
Johnny McNally is Grimes County’s Best Dressed Businessman advocating for Grimes County.