WARNING TO NON TEXANS

Seriously...Let me know...I have an awesome bay boat...Blackjack 224 w/ 250 Yamaha V MAX

 

Your 4Runner pulls that?

 

That is the old outboard...LOL

 

Easy...4 Runner has a 5000 lb towing capacity...My rig loaded full of gas is about 3500 lbs...Sometimes stopping it is a bit sporty

 

Awesome, I love the 4Runner more now

 

Wow,...here I am in NC talking about my native state. Is there still enough room for me to come home?

 

Texas born and raised. My dad graduated from the same high school as I did, 40 years earlier. The lack of public land is why there’s no state income tax. I’m about 45 minutes north of Houston and it’s too damn cold here in winter. The way this country is going I’ll be heading south when I retire.

 

I'm in Pearland...1/2 way between Houston & Galveston...30-40 minutes from most boat ramps & far enough away to survive a hurricane!

 

Well the last time it snowed many years ago I was in my hot tub off of the pool in 104* bubbling water with a 4" snow bank all around the coping, so no...We didn't loose power...However the ERCOT asswipes allowed us to loose power last year in February when it dropped to 15* without any snow per say...Perhaps a little sleet...I keep two electric heaters on standby & busted out the hurricane generator for survival...We had gas logs in the fireplace...Power to fridge & heaters...& plenty of scotch...Almost 60 hours in these treacherous conditions but somehow we managed to survive...Burp

 

I grew up in LA in the 70's. Lived most of my adult life in Seattle (22 years). Have lived in VA, NC, NY and have been in Texas since 2009. I hate where I live but love the people. West Texas is for hardy, hard working, tolerant of the worst weather in the US (according to The Weather Channel 4 years in a row). I could never live in the metroplex (too crowded, too expensive, too humid), I could never live on the coast (high temp of 96 with humidity in the 80% range) and east Texas is just weird. West Texas is odd. But, we are half a days drive from the best overlanding in the country (Silverton/Ouray/Telluride) and 5 hours from the next major city (closer to ALBQ than DFW). Flights are easy. People are friendly. Very dog friendly. But the weather... high of 55 yesterday, low of 29 this AM. 55mph gusts yest and today. 90 by Sunday. Bi-polar at its finest.

 

I think this goes for most if not all of the big cities in Ca "LA/OC and the bay area". Everywhere you go on the weekend, you better plan at least an hr or two ahead. I prefer to enjoy my weekends either at home working on my car or away from major cities. Only thing I'll miss in Ca if I was to ever relocate is family.

Lived in Ca all my life and I never go to the beach. The beaches are so over crowded its not worth the effort to find a parking thats 5 miles away.

This is probably another thing I'll miss in Ca. Great fishing out of San Diego down into Mexico waters. Do it every year!



My brother moved out of Ca a few years ago and is in GA. Great state! I love the freedom but while visiting a few years ago I've personally dealt with racism first hand. After a talk with the wife, we don't think we'd want our kids to be around that sort of negativity. Never ever experienced this sort of behavior (anywhere) till I went to GA. I've read other states are worse. I've visited AZ, the people there are nice. Spoke to a gentleman at a gun shop and I mentioned about maybe relocating to AZ, he welcomed us with open arms but did say "all we ask is for you to leave your CA BS politics behind, we don't want that here". Told the gentleman, I've never voted blue and never will. I've always wanted to visit Texas and Idaho but have been reading majority of the local's feeling towards californians so I've never been.

 

You left out 2” hail stones and tornadoes……

 

If you research it, ERCOT got thrown under the bus. Our legislature is to blame. They sat on their hands when ERCOT and others like LP&L, SPEC, Colorado Water Authority, Nix, TEC and countless others urged lawmakers to invest in infrastructure several years before that storm season. They tabled it and never did a thing. The state investigation was a publicity stunt to "hold someone accountable" and that was shifted to ERCOT, the biggest of them all. Did anyone lose their job over it? Nope. Did anything change? Yes, infrastructure monies were freed in an "emergent" means to show the public the state was committed to doing its voters right.

 

Doesn’t matter all that much. They are collectively all to blame. Don’t let either side trick you into taking a side. They are ALL to blame. Reagan said our infrastructure was antiquated in the 1980s. Companies and technologies and CEOs and Presidents have come and gone and still nobody has done anything about it except talk about it for the last 40 years.

 

Agree. It doesn’t matter what capital letter they have after their name they’re gonna only be concerned with 2 things: power and money.

 

You aren't wrong. In the last 5 years or so, "off-roading" has really exploded around SoCal. Many trails are becoming cluster F's, with some people planning group runs in upwards of 40-50 rigs. I kid you not, there is one local YouTuber off-roader that had a run with over 90 vehicles!!! SMH!!! Many "side-by-side" vehicles are zipping around trails with music blasting, cutting corners, drifting wide, too many near misses and occasional collisions are happening more frequently as well. Mt. Biking and hiking trails have also become insanely crowded. :/

Regarding time consumption, that has really played a role in curbing my enthusiasm to hit dirt. I live about 30 minutes from a very local trail and then to get to the San Gabriel or San Bernardino (Big Bear area) mountains we are looking at 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on traffic. So once you get to the trails you are out there another 3-5 hours maybe? And if you are lucky and you DONT hit traffic on the 15 or 91fwy's you still have another 1.5-2.5 hours home. It makes for a VERY LONG day in the drivers seat. Kind of makes me wonder if I really "need" a 4Runner with my lack of desire to hit dirt. It is/was great to have when we went to the snow over the past few years though, and my oldest daughter loves the vehicle and wants it when she turns 16.

 

I think you need to clarify. Texas actually has unbelievable roads. The Drivers ON the roads in Texas are what suck.

 

I think that is pretty much universal anymore.

 

I had to drive to San Antonio several times and the roads are bad and the on and off ramps are the absolute worst design I have ever driven on. Not much room to accelerate or decelerate without slamming on the brakes.