Barry & Joyce's Adventures: November 2016

November 18, 2016

Joyce and I are often get asked where in all our travels is the best place we have visited. That question is always hard to answer since we have seen so much in our nine years of full-time RVing.

In that light I have decided to add a new feature on our blog highlighting places we have been and where you might want to visit as well. I may not do this in every issue of the blog but I hope you like the posts when I do.

The Texas Hill Country

As y’all know Joyce and I have spent a lot of time in Texas. One of our favorite places in this beautiful state is The Hill Country, a region situated roughly north of San Antonio, west of Austin and centered in Fredericksburg.

One of the most unique places we have visited in that area is Lukenbach, a small village made famous by the song recorded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

There are just a few buildings in Lukenbach, one being the General Store and the other a dance hall. Even though the town is small there is always a lot going on, especially on the weekends. You can always check out the Picker’s Circle and the many dances they have throughout the year. In January they have their Annual Blues Festival and the annual Hill Country Run Motorcycle Rally in May.

The following site has some great pictures of Lukenbach: https://www.google.com/search?q=luckenbach+texas+photos&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1sp21wrLQAhUH3YMKHf1dA8kQsAQIHg&biw=1280&bih=698

“In Lukenbach Texas, ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain”.

November 20, 2016

Goliad, TX

We also took a drive down to Port Aransas.
On the ferry from Aranass Pass to Port Aransas.

Happy Anniversary to my beautiful wife. We have been married for 23 years today and after all of this time she is still putting up with me.

Yesterday we took a drive up to Hallettsville, TX to check out their Market Days. We both thought that it wasn’t as good as the last time we were there but we did pick up some pickles and candied jalapeños.

Some of the best salsa on the planet!

Since we didn’t have anything else to do we decided to go to Schulenburg just for the heck of it and we’re very glad we did.

Who knew there was such a place.

As always, when we visit a new place our first stop is at the the visitor’s center if one is available. At the one here we learned about a couple of museums in town and something that really intrigued us, the “Painted Church Tour”, a self-guided driving tour though the countryside of Fayette County.

I don’t have time to tell you about each church on the tour but suffice it to say it is amazing. However, I do want to relate what we learned at the Catholic church in the small village of Praha.

During World War II Praha lost nine of the town's young men in a community with only one hundred folks at that time. This gave Praha the unfortunate distinction of being the U.S. town with largest ratio of war deaths to residents.

There are three of these on the church grounds.

Read more about the brave young men here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/in-memoriam-the-boys-of-p_b_10458.html

November 24, 2016

Yesterday was Joyce’s birthday and even though we had some work to do in the park later in the day we took in a movie in Victoria. She wanted to see “Allied” but didn’t know the movie would end the way it did.

Our next stop was at the HEB to get a couple of beautiful rib-eye steaks for Joyce’s birthday supper. We had a nice evening at home.

November 26, 2016

The other night at the Commercial Street Bar in Goliad we got word that the Scott Taylor Band will be playing at the TKO’s Bar ’N Grill in Shiner, TX for New Years. Since we really like the band we decided to drive up check it out and find us a place to park our rig for the night.

We stopped in and the bartender confirmed that Scott would be there but she had no idea where we could park a 40’ motor home. So we went to plan two, go to the police department. No one was in the office but there was a number to call and the officer said he would be right there.

Officer A. K. “Trey” Hermann III said, “Y’all follow me and I’ll show y’all where to park ‘er”. We did and it’s only a half block from the bar. So, on December 31st we’ll head up that way and do some two-steppin’ and maybe have a Shiner Bock or two. Anyone out there want to join us?

After that we went over to a restaurant to have lunch and guess who showed up? Yep, Officer A. K. “Trey” Hermann III and Chris, his ride-along for the day. We had a good time getting to know them while we ate lunch.

Later!

Barry & Joyce

November 1, 2016

After 2908 miles on the road we have finally arrived at Goliad State Historical Park in Goliad, TX. On this trip we burned 352 gallons of diesel fuel averaging 8.2 MPG. Not too bad since our rig weighs somewhere around 30,000 pounds.

On Monday I checked the tire that had a problem again and, you guessed it, it was flat again. I called our roadside assistance and the only thing they would do for us was to tow the rig somewhere to get it fixed. I explained to the dope that answered the phone that a tow to a place capable of handling a large rig like ours would cost a lot of money and all I needed was someone to come out and fix the darned thing.

The folks in the park’s office got me in touch with a mobile tire place right in Lockhart who said they could be out to us in about fifteen minutes. Jonathan showed up, jacked up the axle, got the tire off and found the leak in less than twenty minutes. It actually wasn’t the tire at all, just the hose extension used to make it easier to fill the tire. The o-ring seal had deteriorated and part of it had actually come completely apart causing the leak. So, I’m done with the hoses since this is the second problem we have had with them and I’m going to get some straight extensions. Also, I’m going to some hoses so that I can use out onboard air system. By-the-way, they only charged us $85 to come out and fix the flat.

We are going to be at Goliad for the next two months volunteering as maintenance hosts. Our duties include cleaning bathrooms a couple of days a week, closing the gate at night sometimes and maybe doing some mowing/weed whacking. After the first week we work a 4/3 schedule which gives us a lot of time to do some roving around this part of south Texas.

Yesterday Joyce scored us tickets for the Christmas At The Silos up in Waco. This program is hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s program Fixer Upper. Joyce is super excited about going to see this and that excitement is rubbing off on me. Should be fun.

November 2, 2016

Yesterday, after getting our laundry done we went to Victoria to do some shopping. We stopped by Harbor Freight to price all the stuff I need to make up a couple of air hoses then we had lunch at a joint called Burger Nation. Not only can you get a traditional burger there but they have elk and lamb burgers as well. Joyce got their Bacon Swissroom and I settled on the All American Classic. Both came with homemade fries and we both thought everything was delicious.

After stuffing ourselves we then made a run to the H.E.B. Plus. If you are familiar with Fred Myers stores in Oregon the H.E.B. is very similar but with a Texas twist.

After supper we settled in to watch the CMA’s and game seven of the World Series. We thought Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley did a fantastic job as MC’s and their opening act was hilarious. During the opening of the show they did a salute to pioneers of country music, one being Randy Travis. Although Randy wasn’t able to sing his hit song, “Forever and Ever, Amen” he did sing the last note, “Amen” in his deep baritone voice. We had that song played at our wedding so it was very special to see Randy on the stage.

November 6, 2016

On Thursday we had our orientation with Rachel, out host coordinator. We both took a online driving course, Joyce for the Gator we have to drive and I took one for safe driving. so that I can drive the state trucks.

We started working in the park on Friday, getting some mowing and weed eating done. Our day was scheduled for only 3.5 hours each so we were done at 11:30 AM.

Yesterday we went out to the Goliad Brewing Company for their Saturday event. The brewery is only open on Saturday afternoons with live music, a food truck and of course, plenty of beer. I tried their Golden Ale, a really good lager that went down way too smooth.

Since Joyce doesn’t drink beer so after leaving the brewery we stopped in at The Dawg House on the square in town. This is pretty much a dive bar that only serves beer and wine. It is located in what was an antique shop when we were here the last time. In fact, to use the facilities you actually walk out through what was Erive Jay’s Beer Garden where we spent many nights listening to music and relaxing.

November 7, 2016

Today would have been my brother David’s 67th birthday. He died much too young on 3 November 2011. Rest in peace David.

Yesterday we saw the movie Hacksaw Ridge, the story of Desmond T. Doss’ exploits at the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. Due to his faith Desmond was a conscientious objector who refused to carry a weapon but wanted to serve as a combat medic. It’s an amazing story of courage and determination beyond the call of duty. Read Desmond’s Medal of Honor citation here: http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_living/ii_a_doss.html

November 10, 2016

Yesterday while we were cleaning the restrooms in the day use area, I was finishing up in the women's room when I heard Joyce yell, “I’m not going in there”. I went running out and she said there was a snake near the step at the men’s room. I went over and looked around but couldn’t find it anywhere so we went about our business. Turns out it was one of these guys:

Coral Snake

November 12, 2016

Rio! Rio! is an annual event here at Goliad State Park that helps tell the story of the area. Yesterday we welcomed about a thousand school children from all over south Texas to the park to learn about the history of this area.

Joyce had the duty of demonstrating corn grinding and how the Native Americans used the meal back in the day. She really did a great job.

Joyce scored us tickets to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo which is the largest indoor rodeo in the country. On February 16th we’ll see Willie Nelson and Family and on the 25th after Extreme Bulls day, Aaron Watson is playing.

November 13, 2016

What do you do on the 2nd Saturday of the month in Goliad, TX? You head to downtown for Market Days of course. There were numerous booths set up in the town square with folks selling homemade art, cakes, barbecue, popcorn and more.

After spending a couple of hours there we decided to take a drive down to Port Lavaca just for something to do. We stopped by the old town theater to see if they were having the annual Christmas play advertised which they didn’t.

Since we were down on the gulf coast anyway we decided to drive over to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. There wasn’t much going on there but I did get a really nice pair of Wrangler jeans for a great price.

On the way home we stopped to have an early supper at The Gumbo Seafood restaurant in Refugio, TX (pronounced Ru-fear-ri-o). The menu is very eclectic and the food we ordered was pretty darned good.

November 17, 2016

On the 14th we took a drive up to Gonzales to tour the Gonzales County Jail Museum. As always, I checked in with the city’s web site to make sure it was open but that didn’t work out so well as the place is closed on Monday. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying the day.

We had some lunch at Matamoros Taco Hut and then toured the Gonzales Memorial Museum. “The Come And Take It” cannon is housed here that has a fascinating history.

There are over 60 of these beautiful old homes in and around town. When we go back we're going to take a guided tour of them.