In Conroe

We cooked breakfast in Homer this morning and set out for a day of sightseeing around the lake. As we could be interested in purchasing some lake property in the future, we enjoy driving around the lakeshore to scope out real estate developments and prices. We were surprised to find that almost all of the waterfront property around Lake Conroe is inside gated communities. This means the prices would probably be considerably out of our range. After pondering the exclusivity of the residential waterfront, it sort of makes sense, as Lake Conroe is only 40 miles from Houston. A large number of wealthy city dwellers obviously have second homes around this picturesque lake so accessible from the big city. We did find a few areas that were not so stratospheric in price, but these were not in terribly desirable locations. We also noticed a couple of public areas on the waterfront, but these were crowded, and we didn't see any public areas that looked like good fishing areas. A boat would be nearly essential if you were serious about doing any fishing.

We dropped in to Big Boy Burger on highway 105 for lunch. This place had all the earmarks of a foodie haven: It was converted from a Dairy Queen, it had obviously been there a long time, and it was packed with customers. We, however—the ultimate arbiter of food dive success—were forced to give it a raspberry and a T.A.G.L! The buns were not properly toasted in artery-hardening grill grease and—the ultimate sin—the meat patty was pre-formed! We almost ran screaming from the room, appalled that so many Conroe patrons could accept this hamburger atrocity without becoming violent!

After this, Sandy could only be consoled with another shopping spree, so we headed down I-45 to the Woodlands, where she got a solid fix. After she tired of this, we took back roads northbound toward Conroe and happened upon K-Jons on highway 1488.

K-Jon's in Conroe

This was an old house that had been converted into a small restaurant, and it had all the signs of another food find: Unique surroundings, obviously run by locals, lots of cars in the lot, etc. We finally found a parking spot, nosing the Hornet in by the trash dumpster. Upon entering, we found the place mostly full, but with only one young man doing all the table waiting. We were fearful that the service would be terrible but, as it happened, the kid was a dynamo of energy and had a remarkable memory. We didn't have to wait long for our food and, although we made several special requests, he remembered all of them. We were impressed. We had fried catfish, which were just scrumptious—all you could eat for $10.99. We would definitely return to K-Jons.

We headed back to Homer, a bit unimpressed with Lake Conroe and its environs. After watching a little TV, we turned in, knowing that our first RV experience was just about over, as we would be back at home the next day.