January 27, 2012

01/23/12

Good Morning All!

It's been pretty quiet here at Hidden Valley since I last posted to our blog.

On Friday evening we went out for supper at Agave's Mexican Restaurant with Peter and Linda Crawford who live four hours north of Spokane, WA in Keslo, British Columbia.  So far they have travelled over 10,000 miles this winter and have a lot more to do before retuning home.  That's a lot of traveling folks.

After dinner there was a get-together here in the park with a great bonfire and some very lively conversation.  We met new full-timer's, Tom and Sheree Kennedy from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  They will be hosting at Bullards Beach, South Beach and Valley of the Rouge State Parks in Oregon this spring and summer.

On Saturday, while Joyce was covering for Terri in the office so she could go to church, I decided to wash the rig.  It took me several hours to do the roof and the rest of the trailer but it really looks nice, especially when I got the bugs and road film off of the front cap.  Next step is to treat the roof with UV coating.

Yesterday we finally upgraded our Directv service to high-definition.  We actually started the process a couple of weeks ago with my first call to Directv.  They offered us an upgrade for free plus all the movie and sports channels for $92 a month for three months.  After that our bill goes up to $114 if we decide to keep the additional channels. So, in addition to that we still have the national feed to PBS, out distant network feeds (Los Angeles and New York City channels) and several others.  Not a bad deal.

Two days later the installer shows up, takes one look at our Winegard satellite dish on our roof and declares that we can't do this upgrade.  But, he was going to give it the old college try anyway but after two hours, six phone calls and a lot of trial and error, he finally gave up and said we'd have to take the rig to a Winegard dealer to do the upgrade.  By-the-way, the closest one is in New Braunfels!

After talking to Winegard tech support (who acutally know more about Directv than Directv does), the dealer in New Braunfels and DirectV customer care, we finally got 'er done.  If we had them just put up a tripod with a dish and not go through the Winegard dish, all of this would have been easy.  But, we didn't spend $1500 on an automatic dish not to use it!

Fortunately, the installer who finally got the job done was much more knowledgeable and persistent.

After getting out TV upgraded, we went to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close staring Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.  Not bad but a little boring in places.

01/24/12

Yesterday afternoon we had Jerry and Connie from Festus, MO arrived at Hidden Vally from Mission, TX.  After they got unhooked, Joyce and I joined them for supper at Agave's.

01/25/12

Yesterday afternoon the welder who modified the receiver on the back of our rig came by to do the reinstallation.  Although the Swivel Wheel won't put very much weight on the back of our trailer, the receiver needed to be at least a Class III.  Now all we have to do is wait for a call from the Swivel Wheel folks to say that our's is ready for pickup.

I've been up off and on since 2 AM this morning.  We have been getting some really powerful thunderstorms moving through Bexar County with heavy rain, some pea-size hail, a lot of lightening and wind.  Some parts of the county got over six inches of rain and with the wind, there are some power outages.  We even had a tornado watch in effect until 5 AM.  The weather guesser's are forecasting more of the same today but it looks like the worst is by us...hopefully.

My nephew and his wife who live in Springfield, MO are having a baby soon so Joyce made a blanket and a stuffed dinosaur for the new one.  here are a couple of pictures of here creation:

01/27/12

This morning we were up early for Hidden Valley version of the annual Cowboy Breakfast that is held at Cowboys Dance Hall.  This is a huge event that kick's off the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.  Our's was much more laid back and tame but fun just the same.

Terri made several dishes including biscuits and gravy, eggs, a Cowboy Bake and all the fix-in's for breakfast tacos.  Jackie, one of the ladies who lives here in the park brought Maple and Bacon French Toast cupcakes that were "to die for" delicious.  I think I gained five pounds just smelling them.

More later.

Barry & Joyce

January 20, 2012

01/10/12

We got some badly needed rain here in south Texas yesterday.  Although it was less than an inch, anything in this area will help.

01/12/12

Joyce got her new hard-lens contacts, which we hope will give her better vision.  They are not bifocal's so she'll still have to wear reading glasses, but hopefully these guys will buy her more time before she needs cornea transplants.  The jury is still out on them.

Justin and Adrian gave us a gift certificate to Bohanan's Prime Steaks and Seafood Restaurant in downtown San Antonio for Christmas so last night we had dinner there.

Bohanan's has been rated the number two steakhouse in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine, just behind Pappas Brothers in Dallas and we have been told the number twelve steakhouse in the country.  Believe me, they deserve that distinction!

When Joyce made the reservations she was told to plan a minimum of two hours for the dining experience and they weren't kidding.  After being seated by Antonio, he asked us if we were under any time constraints.  The restaurant wants to make sure you have plenty of time to enjoy your dinner.

Bohanan's has one of the most extensive wine lists I have ever seen.  Included were wines from the California's Napa Valley, Washington State, Oregon and several other regions in the United States.  Also represented were offerings from France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Chili and many other countries.  One wine that caught my eye, a 2000 Bordeaux from Château Margaux was priced at $3350 a bottle.  And that wasn't even the most expensive listing!  I saw another for $4389 a bottle.  Just so you know, we didn't get one of those.

We were given menu's to look at and Antonio said he would be back soon with the "off menu" offerings.  He returned very shortly with a tray of cuts of meat, some of them looking like the whole side of a steer.  Offered was a 20 oz. bone-in ribeye, a 16 oz. New York and a bone-in filet.  All of this beef was USDA Prime, aged for 45 days.  The New York was dry-aged for the same time.

Then Antonio introduced us to the Japanese Akaushi beef, which takes beef to a whole new level.  This Red Cattle beef is rated three grades above USDA Prime and a step above Kobe beef.  There are only a couple of sources in the US for this beef, Bohanan's getting their's from Heartland Beef located in Yoakum, TX.

Without rambling too long about Bohanan's, let me say that our dining experience was amazing and, very expensive.  Thank you Justin and Adrian!

01/13/12ß

As most of you know that I am an amateur genealogist and have been working on my family history for a long time now.  Over the years I have discovered that I am related to the actor Lee Van Cleef through a marriage, I have African-American cousins and I am the 6th cousin of Leonard Vance who lives in Westfir, OR.  I was introduced to Len by Jim Glaspey and while looking into my Salt Lake City connections, I discovered our relationship.

This morning, while working on a 2nd cousin, Horace Lawson Hunley, I found that he invented the Hunley Submarine of Civil War fame.  Pictures of the Hunley.
This was sent to me today:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/a-clearer-view-steel-truss-surrounding-confederate-submarine-hl-hunley-will-be-removed/2012/01/12/gIQAYYn1sP_story.html?tid=pm_national_pop

This discovery will keep me going strong for another few years.  I know Joyce just loves hearing that.

01/15/12

On a whim, we invited two couples who checked into Hidden Valley to join us for supper at Agave's Mexican Restaurant.  Howard and Susan from Ajax, Ontario, Canada along with Doug and Ruth of Loveland, Colorado all provided lively conversation.  It's always interesting to hear about other RV'ers travels.

Today we're making a day trip up to Boerne to check out Market Day.

01/16/12

Even though the weather wasn't all that good, we drove up to Boerne to check out the the Market Days.  Like the town, the market was small with only a dozen or so vendors.  We suspect that the weather kept some of them home.  We did get some great seasonings and I got some candied jalapenos.

Our next stop for the day was in Fredericksburg where we had lunch at Wheeler's.  After walking around town for a while we decided to head back to San Antonio and make a Costco run.

Next stop, the El Chaparral Restaurant in Helotes, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in the San Antonio area.

01/20/12

It's been a few days since I last wrote so let me bring you up-to-date.

The big thing is that we have decided to buy a Swivel Wheel-46 to haul Joyce's scooter around with us.  There is some question about the legality of the transporter in Oregon and other states but after discussing this with the factory, we have come to the conclusion that it doesn't meet the criteria of a "trailer".  This guy bolts to a receiver that is installed on our fifth wheel making it part of the frame.  When it is ready, we'll drive over to Katy (near Houston) to pick it up.

Thank all for now folks.

Barry & Joyce

January 9, 2012

01/04/12

Happy New Year All!

We're in the process of planning our trip to Oregon in March.  Here is our itinerary, which as alway is written in Jello:

15 - 18 Mar: Goliad State Historical Park, Goliad, TX.  Going out there to see The Scott Taylor Band at the county fair.  We hosted there last year and look forward to seeing friends again.
18 - 20 Mar:  Traveling
20 - 22 Mar:  Bottomless Lakes State Park, Roswell, NM.  We've been through Roswell a couple of times but never stopped there.  What the hey? We might just see something interesting or maybe a UFO.
22 - 25 Mar:  Kirtland AFB, NM.  It seems we make this stop every year.  We like Albuquerque and the surrounding area and it's just an hour up to Santa Fe.
25 - 26 Mar:  Traveling.
26 - 29 Mar:  Laughlin, NV area.  When we were in Lake Havasu last year we made a day trip to Laughlin and liked the area.  Also, we want to visit Oatman, AZ.
29  Mar - 2 Apr:  Edwards AFB.  Another one of those places we stop at every year.  We have friends who live in Lancaster who we want to see again.
2 - 6 Apr:  Fresno, CA.  Visit family.
6 - 10 Apr:  Calistoga, CA.  Visit family.
10 - 17 Apr:  Travis AFB.  Visit friends.  Also, I want to check out some places to hold the 7th Airlift Squadron reunion.
From here, our travels may have to change depending on the weather.  We need to be at Devil's Lake State Park in Lincoln City, OR on 1 May to start our one month hosting gig.  We want to stop at Jim and Jeanne Glaspey's home in Oakridge, OR but if the weather on the Willamette Pass or on I-5 going north goes south on us, that part of the trip might have to change.  If everything looks good:
17 - 22 Apr:  Beale AFB, CA.  We've never stayed there so another, what the heck.
22 - 24 Apr:  Red Bluff, CA.  Hope to visit friends in Redding.
24 - 26 Apr:  Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, OR.  Why not?  Never stayed there before.
26 - 1 May:  Glaspey's in Oakridge.
1 May - 1 Jun: Devil's Lake State Park.
1 Jun - 1 Aug:  Smith Rock State Park.
Whew!  Gonna be a busy summer.

On the 1st of August we'll start traveling east to Rhode Island and then down to St. Augustine, FL for the winter.

We are often asked why we make plans and reservations for our travels.  There are several reasons why we do a lot of planning.  Number one is we hate to pull into a park somewhere and find that there is no room for us.  If that happened we'd have to scramble to find a place, right when I need to be making a cocktail.  Number two is we use Passport America and more than just a few of those parks require reservations.  Number three, we like to stay at least two days when we stop.  That doesn't always happen but it's out preference.

Another question we get a lot is, "Why don't you use Wal-Mart camping?".  The main reason, we only drive around 250 to 300 miles a day and like to stop early, usually around 3 PM, 4 PM at the latest.  What the heck are you going to do in a Wally-Mart parking lot that early in the afternoon?

01/06/12

Yesterday we took some time off and went to the RV Super Show.  Man, there are some beautiful rigs out this year.

One interesting development that we saw was new 5th wheels being built with front living rooms.  This was a trend several years ago but as with men's ties, the old comes back if you hang around long enough.  Heartland is building one in their Big Horn line that has a 55 inch TV, two big lounge chairs and a wrap-around couch.  The BH 3855 FL is 41 feet long with a GVWR of 15,500.  Keystone is even building a 5'er in their Avalanche line that has the kitchen upstairs.

Then there are the new Class A motor coaches which are taking RV'ing to a whole new level.  The star of this show was a new Allegro Bus, built by Tiffin Motorhomes.  This beautiful 43 foot, 61,000 pound monster has every option offered by Tiffin.

Anyone out there have an extra $400,000 they want to loan us?  LOL!

01/08/12
Yesterday we went to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl game at the Alamodome.  The East and West teams are made up of outstanding high school players from around the country that have been offered college football scholarships.

Before the game started the festivities included the a performance by the U.S Army Field Band and a oath of enlistment ceremony for young folks who have enlisted in the Army.  This was lead by Chief of Staff of the Army, General Raymond T. Odierno assisted by the Sergeant Major of the Army, Raymond F. Chandler.

At half-time the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band performed.  Believe me, these kids are really good!

During the game's commercial breaks, several of the players who had not yet committed to a school did so on television.  All of these kids had been offered scholarships by several schools, one having had offers from four colleges.  You can bet there is probably a Heisman Trophy winner and a few Pro Bowlers among the players.

Until later y'all!