February 26, 2017

 Here is another “Places We have Been and You Should Go Too”:

Navajo Nation's Monument Valley Park
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona

 Owned and operated by the Navajo Nation, Monument Valley is one of the most unique and beautiful places in America.  It is said that the park is the most photographed place on earth and after visiting there weJoyce can understand why.

 We stayed at the Gouldings RV Park which isn’t cheap (we paid about $50 a night) but it is the only gig in town.  However, staying there puts you are right in the middle of the park with very nice amenities and close to other attractions.

 We highly recommend you take the Deluxe Tour that can be booked in the campground office.  Riding in the back of a pickup, you’ll get a narrated tour of all the major monoliths and beautiful rock formations.  Photo stops are made at John Ford’s Point, the Three Sisters, the Totem Pole and more.  Since most of this tour is in the restricted areas of the park, you will visit areas that can’t be seen when you do a simple driving tour including the Anasazi Petroglyphs, Moccasin Arch and more.

February 17, 2016

 We’ve had to make a small change to our trip back west this spring.  We’re not going over to visit Big Bend National Park this trip due to not being able to get a reservation.  Waited just a tad too long.

 So, if you are in the El Paso area and want to get together we will be staying at Fort Bliss the 4th and 5th of March.

 Ordered our filters and oil at O’Riley’s Auto Parts to have the RV serviced.  All that came to $344 and we will have to pay a service tech $150-$200 to do the work.  The good news?  We won’t have to mess with this again for 10,000 miles.

 The weather here in Von Army is starting to get really nice.  Temp’s are in the high 70’s to low 80’s right now and no major storms are in the forecast.  In fact, tomorrow’s forecast is for a temperature of 87º.

February 20, 2017

 Yesterday afternoon we met John and Marleen Breitenbach at Down on Grayson for drinks and an early supper.  John flew with the 7th and 708th Military Airlift Squadrons at Travis AFB and later went to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  He now works for Northrop Grumman in their Contingency & Deployment Operations division as a Deployed & Flight Operations Manager.  It was great to see John & Marleen again and we had a great time talking about the “old times”.

 Last night we had some really strong storms move through this area, a few developing into severe thunderstorms on the north-east side of San Antonio.  The thunder and lighting woke me up at 10:15 so I got up and checked out the weather radar.  At just about that time a huge cell was passing just a short distance to the east of us with a lot of hard rain and lightening.  The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning around 11:15 that affected areas in the north-east side of San Antonio.  A small tornado touched down near Randolph AFB causing a lot of damage to homes, cars and trees.

February 21, 2017

 We took the RV in to a shop near here to have the oil changed, fuel filters changed and do a chassis lube job.  They worked on it for two hours and charged us $238 labor.  That included the fee for disposing of the old 18 quarts of oil.

 So, with the parts the total came to $582.  The last time we had all that work done was in Oakridge, OR and the technician charged us $640 total, just $58 more and we didn’t have to get all the parts ourselves.  Guess we will have it done in Oakridge the next time.

February 24, 2017

 On Wednesday the 22nd Joyce and I drove up to north San Antonio to visit with Dave Spector, a former flight engineer who I served with in the 7th MAS at Travis AFB.  Dave had a very interesting career flying the C-141 and the VC-137 (Boeing 707) with the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews AFB, MD. 

 Dave decided to go into the leadership side of the Air Force and served as the Command Chief at 20th Air Force at Francis E. Warren AFB, WY.  He then was selected to lead the Airmen of the  Air Mobility Command as there Command Chief.

 Here are a couple of articles about Dave:
   http://www.amc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/145475/amc-command-chief-retires-reflects-on-air-force-commands-importance-career/ 

  http://www.warren.af.mil/News/Features/tabid/3772/Article/333475/20th-af-command-chief-prepared-to-lead-make-difference-in-few-airmen.aspx

 On Thursday we drove over to Goliad so that Joyce could meet up with the “Cackling Hen” ladies at the Commercial Street Bar.  We had a nice time visiting with everyone.

February 26, 2017

 Yesterday Joyce and I went to see the Extreme Bulls Day at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.  I think we both agree that this was the best one we have seen.

 To make the show even better they had the PRCA Freestyle Bullfights.  This has to be one of the craziest thing we have seen in a long time.  The rodeo bullfighters are in the arena with a very mad bull where they try to mad him even madder and play with him for sixty seconds.  Here are some links to view some of the action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f099EQAsKP0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuEQv1o32GQ

Mutton Bustin'

This young man slipped to the side of the animal and wouldn't let go to save his life.  Winner, winner!

 

Freestyle Bullfighting.  Craziest thing we have seen lately!

The pickup men had a heck of a time getting this guy our of the arena.

After the rodeo we met up with friends for supper.

Dave, Mike, Jan, Ronnie, Joyce and yours truly.

 We’ll leave it there.

Barry & Joyce

February 17, 2017

February 11, 2016

 Barry & Joyce’s Adventures have really been extra adventurous this past two weeks.

 As I said in the last post, we left Galveston on the Liberty of the Seas the 29th headed to the Western Caribbean.  Our first stop was in Cozumel, Mexico and since we have been here several times before we decided to just stay on the ship.

 Next was a stop in Grand Cayman.  Again, we had been here a few times but we did take a guided Land and Sea excursion just for something to do.  Did you know there are a lot of banks in Grand Cayman?  I think we passed at least fifteen just in the downtown of the city.

 Our next stop was in Falmouth, Jamaica where we stayed on the ship and relaxed.

This is where our trip really took a turn.

 As you know we put our RV in the shop on January 27 to have some work done on the roof.  On Friday the 3rd we gout an email from Iron Horse RV informing us that they were delayed by cold weather causing them to be behind.  The new “ball park” repair date will be February 13th.  Well, ain’t that just ducky.

 So what do we do now Ke-Mo-Sabe?  We talked about just taking a trip somewhere in Texas but that would have really been expensive.  Also, since the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo was getting ready to start we thought hotel rooms would be at a premium.  After a lot of discussion we decided to ask about the possibility of just staying on Liberty for another week.

 Joyce went to the next cruise folks who said that the ship was completely booked but would let us know if they got a cancellation.  On Saturday she went down to see what was going on and sure as heck they had a stateroom open up.

 The cruise staff quoted a price but Joyce asked to use their phone to call the Royal Caribbean reservation center in Eugene, OR.  They told her that they could beat the ship’s price so with all  the discounts including free gratuities we got the second week for just over $1000.

 As full-time RVers we carry an insurance policy similar to folks that rent a place to live.  A feature of that policy is “trip interruption” coverage that will pay us $100 a day up to a maximum of $1500 for lodging and incidentals.  Since it was a weekend I couldn’t call the insurance adjuster handling our case to get approval but we think at least seven days will be approved.  At least we hope that will be the case.

 When we got to Galveston the Diamond Club Concierge escorted us off the ship and through customs then right back on the ship.  They even moved all of our luggage from our old room to the new one for us.  Now that is great service.

 After two days at sea we pulled into Roatan, Honduras.  Again, Joyce and I have been here before but we did take a excursion that toured the island.

 Our next stop was in Belize City, Belize where we stayed on the ship and relaxed.

 Next stop, Cozumel, Mexico.  Been here, done that.  We did make a quick run to a pharmacy for some skin cream and a couple of t-shirts.

 So, after two weeks on the Liberty we made it back to Galveston Sunday the 12th but not without some drama.  The ship was held at the mouth of the channel for several hours due to very dense fog so we didn’t get into the port until about 9:30.  With that delay we didn’t get off the ship, through customs and out to our car until 1:30.

 After a quick lunch on the way back to San Antonio we finally made it to Randolph AFB where we had a reservation about 5:30.  We were pretty darned tired so we just found a nice Chinese restaurant close to the base for supper and hit the bed early.

February 14, 2017

 On Monday I called Iron Horse RV to check on the status of our house and guess what?  Yep, it isn’t ready.  We then drove over to the shop so we could get a few things out of it and in our best guess it looked like they hadn’t even started the work before last Thursday.  We talked to the body technician we said he might be able to get it done on Wednesday, Thursday at the latest.

We were able to stay in the suite we are in at Randolph until Wednesday and if the shop doesn’t get it done then the manager said he will find something for us in the Bachelor Officer’s Quarters.

 We had tickets to the San Antonio Rodeo last night where John Fogerty played after the show.  Did you know the John is 71 years old?  Believe me when I say that he can still rock the house with some of the best rockin’ roll ever. His son Shane played rhythm guitar who is an outstanding musician in his own right.  And, he recently graduated from the University of California with a 4.0 GPA.

February 16, 2017

 We finally got our house out of the RV hospital yesterday and she looks a lot better with the dents and peeling clear-coat fixed.  All of the work cost us a few bucks (well, more than a few) but if we had let it go much longer the clear-coat would have peeled all the way down the front and back.

February 17, 2016

 What could be better that going to a rodeo in Texas?  When Willie Nelson is playing after the show that’s what!

 Yep, last night we did the rodeo again and then Willie did his show.  Since he is 83 years old I’m sure I will never get to see him perform again live in my l lifetime.  “Lil’ Sister” Bobbie had to be helped on and off of the stage but when she got behind the keyboard you would think she was twenty again.  The band played a lot of Willie’s songs including “Crazy”, “On The Road Again”, “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die” and many more.  Willie did a great job playing his guitar “Trigger” and sang his heart out during the show.  It was great to see Paul English step up to play drums on “Me and Paul”.  Micky Raphael, probably the best harmonica player ever did some amazing solo’s as well.  Here is a really cool web site about Willie:  http://theboot.com/willie-nelson-birthday/

 By-the-way, it is believed that Trigger is the most valuable guitar in the world and if sold today would fetch about $900K.  Willie bought the guitar sight unseen for $750.

Let's Rodeo!

Until next time.

Barry & Joyce

February 1, 2017

January 15, 2017

 Good morning from St. Augustine, FL. where we are visiting Michelle and her family for a few days.

 On Friday morning we closed up our rig and drove up to Austin to catch a flight to Orlando, FL.  Most of y’all know I hate flying these days but I have to say that this trip on Jet Blue was pretty darned good.  Jet Blue touts they have the most leg room in coach class and that was true.  Also, all of the employee’s we had contact with were outstanding and treated you like they really enjoyed helping you, especially the flight attendants.  Some of the major carriers here in the US should send their employees to Jet Blue’s training academy where they might learn a thing or two about customer service.

 Picking up our Budget rental car was very easy using their Fastbreak service.  They gave us a fairly new Toyota Camry that got the job done nicely.

 After some hassle getting over to I-4 out of Orlando we made our way up to I-95 arriving at Michelle’s house about 1 AM.

January 16, 2017

 Today we all drove up to Jacksonville for a trip to Totally Wine which is very similar to BevMo’! stores on the left coast.  They had some very good sales going on so we stocked up.

January 17, 2017

 We took the kids up to the Museum of Sciences & History in Jacksonville.  One of the highlights was the Anne Frank: Voices of Hope exhibit.

Abby and Skyler eating fried ice cream for the first time.

January 19, 2017

 We got up very early yesterday morning for our drive from St. Augustine to Orlando.  The drive down was relatively easy and getting the car turned in was painless.

 Both of us had a TSA pre-check so clearing security should have been fairly easy.  Well….not so much.  One of the officers told us if you have two computers in a bag to remove one.  Then here came the officer from hell who yells at us to put “everything in the bag”.  Ok, we did that.  Then Joyce and I had our boarding passes in our hands and Officer “Ratchett" says, “I SAID EVERYTHING IN THE BAG!  WHAT PART OF THIS DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?”  She even grabbed my pass, opened my backpack and stuffed it in one of the pockets.

 Then she says that Joyce had been randomly selected to go through the Xray machine.  When Joyce got on the other side she asked another officer if that is normal procedures.  He said no it wasn’t and that the other person just got a promotion and that she was just flexing her muscles.  When we got to our gate Joyce called the TSA to complain.

 It was really great to see Michelle, Harold, Abigail and Skyler again.  We’ll do that again soon.

January 21, 2017
 Yesterday Joyce, Dave, Jan and I went out to Lackland AFB to attend a Air Force Basic Training graduation ceremony.  Dave and Jan had never seen a formal military parade and to say they were impressed was an understatement.

 On Sunday Joyce and I along with Dave and Jan drove up to San Marcos to do some shopping at the Tanger Outlets.  Joyce found a couple of things and I scored a new sport coat that was marked $200 for $63.  After all of that shopping we went to the Cracker Barrel for lunch.

 We also toured Kissing Tree, a new 55+ housing development being built near San Marcos, TX.  This is going to be a beautiful place when it is finished.

January 28, 2017

 Good Morning from Alvin (near Houston), Texas.

 Yesterday we got up early, pack up our house and took it to Iron Horse RV in north-east San Antonio to have to roof work work done.  There are several dents caused by who knows what and some fading of the clear coat that looks horrible that needed fixing.

 After getting that done we jumped on I-10 and drove to Houston to a mall where Joyce picked up some pants that she ordered.  The drive wasn't too bad until we got to near Katy where the traffic came to a stand-still.  There was a really bad accident that was actually on the westbound side but with all the rubber-necking going on we came to a stand-still for some time.  Read about it here:  http://abc13.com/traffic/i-10-shut-down-in-both-directions-waller-co/1723889/

 We are spending two nights here at the Holiday Inn Express and on Sunday we’ll get on the Liberty of the Seas for our cruise to the Western Caribbean.  We have been to all of the ports on this one before so we’ll probably stay on the ship most of the time.  We do have a trolly tour booked in Grand Cayman.

January 30, 2017

 Good morning from somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

 After having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel we left Alvin and drove down to Galveston.  Parking was a piece of cake and what is really cool, it is free to disabled veterans.  If you are taking a cruise out of there and qualify, here is the link to read more about it:  http://www.portgalvestonparking.com/american-veterans.shtml

 We got on the ship about 12:30 and started checking out the ship.  Liberty is a Freedon-class ship and little larger than the Voyager-class and has more amenities. 

 Gotta go for now.  More later.

Barry & Joyce

January 12, 2017

January 3, 2017

 Last month I included our itinerary for the spring trip back to Oregon and said it was written Jello.  Well, we stirred the pot a little and made some changes:
2-6 Apr:  Calistoga, CA.
6-11 Apr:  Travis AFB, CA
11-15 Apr:  Beale AFB, CA.  Joyce and I really like the California Gold Country so we’ll do some exploring there and hopefully visit friends who live in Nevada City.
15-18 Apr:  Redding, CA.
18-27 Apr: Valley of the Rouge State Park, OR.  Gonna do some exploring the area.
27 Apr-1 May:  Jim and Jeanne Glaspey’s RV Park, Oakridge, OR.
1 May-1 Jul:  Tumalo State Park, Bend, OR.  Hosting.
1 Jul-1 Sep: Smith Rock State Park, Terrebonne, OR.  Hosting.

 When we arrived at Hidden Valley we met Dave and Jan Sasse from Minnesota who are on their first extended trip in their 5th wheel trailer.  We plan to go to the San Antonio RV Show together and take them out to Lackland AFB for a Basic Military Training graduation.

January 6, 2017

 Yesterday Joyce, Dave, Jan and I went to the San Antonio RV Show to check out what is new in the RVing world.  Well, a lot has changed in not only in the new motor coaches but a lot more interesting improvements have been made in building 5th wheels.

 We saw some 5er’s with two bedrooms, a lot with a bath and a half others with front living rooms or galley’s.  It is amazing what manufacture’s have designed in just the last six years since we bought our Landmark 5’er.

 I would say that more than half of them had residential refrigerator's and some were even all electric, a trend in the building of higher-end motor coaches and trailers these days.  About 75% had king beds and two that we looked at even had a very large walk-in bathroom.

 The weather here in south Texas has made a drastic change for the worse.  It got down to 31º lasts night and right now at 7:45 AM we’re even getting a little freezing rain.  The high for today is forecasted to only make it up to 39º with a low tonight to 26º.  Both of our heat pumps have been working overtime and we even have a floor heater going in the living room.

 The crazy part of all this weather is by Tuesday the forecast is for the temperatures to get back into the high 70’s and even in the 80’s in some places.  It’s a wonder that folks don’t get pneumonia around here.

January 7, 2017

 Burrrrrr…….!  Man, it’s cold down here.

 Yesterday a cold front moved into south Texas and hit us like a pile driver, sending the temperature down to 21º this morning.  Before we went to bed last night I made sure the fresh water tank was full, disconnected our shore water hose and switched from the heat pumps to using the furnace for our heat.  The forecast for tonight is more of the same.  Grrrrr!

January 9, 2016

 Joyce and I went to see  Passengers yesterday.  Very good movie with a lot of great cinematography.

 The temperatures here are starting to warm back up thank goodness.  Last night it got down to 45º and the high for today is going up to 70º.  Thursday and Friday it’s supposed to be in the 80’s.  Yay!

 Tomorrow we’re taking to rig up to Iron Horse RV to have them give us an estimate on repairing the roof where the clear coat is pealing off.  There is a possibility that our insurance is going to cover some of the work so we are keeping our finger’s crossed for that to happen.

January 11, 2016

 Yesterday we got up very early hoping to beat the traffic on I-35 on the way up to Iron Horse RV and to be on time for our 7:30 appointment.  Well, that didn’t work out so good.

 When Joyce went to lower our satellite dish the darned thing stalled out and we got an error code that indicated the elevation motor was not working.  So, in the dark and fog up the ladder I went.  The roof was very wet so I was not happy about that.  There wasn’t anything that I saw blocking the mechanism so after digging out the operators manual, the troubleshooting section said “yep, it’s broke and to call Winegard".  Well, ain’t that special.

 Joyce started searching the forums on iRV2.com and found an entry by someone that had the same problem.  We followed his directions to recalibrate to dish and that did the trick.

 On the way up the highway we ran into stop and go traffic in the downtown San Antonio area which added to our frustration and our one-hour delay getting to the shop.  I wish you could see the dash camera video of the drive.  It would scare the devil out of you.

 The estimate to fix the roof and to do some other work on it is $8,613.  Holy poop Batman!  The labor alone is $7,260.  We are hoping our insurance will pick up some of this cost but we are betting that they won’t cover it all.

 When we got back to Hidden Valley the satellite dish deployed perfectly but just for grins I called Winegard.  I didn’t want to wait on hold forever so I just left a message fully expecting not to hear from them for a few days.  Well, about an hour later a really nice gal from their tech support called back and explained what had probably happened.  A few days ago we had some pretty high winds here and we are sure that the dish got buffeted around a bit.  She recommended that we lower the dish in winds above 30 MPH and to re-calibrate the system every few months.  Why isn’t that information in their manual?

January 12, 2016

 Yesterday Joyce, Dave, Jan and I had lunch Lin’s International Buffet which we think is one of the best Chinese restaurants we have ever tried.  Tasty food that was all fresh and very reasonable priced.

 After eating way too much we went to tour the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Plant.  The tour started in the visitor center and then we made our way over to the main plant where we boarded a tram for the guided drive though the plant.

 Toyota builds their Tacoma and Tundra trucks in a huge facility here in San Antonio. The plant operates two shifts, six days a week producing about eight hundred trucks a day.  We found it interesting that the employees work on two teams which rotate shifts every two weeks.  Each shift is eight hours with 1.5 hour mandatory overtime each day.  For their first two weeks of employment they are required to spend two hours in the plant’s gym after their shift is over strengthening their muscles.  Also, each shift begins with a six minute stretching routine.

 During the manufacturing day there are over 7,000 employees working which includes the several parts supplier companies on site.  The plant also uses the “just in time manufacturing” principle which allows them to build both the Tacoma and Tundra on the same assembly line.

Tomorrow we are going to fly to Orlando, And then drive up to St. Augustine to visit Michelle and her family.  I am in the serious need for some “grand baby spoiling” time.

Have a great day!

December 31, 2016

Here’s another edition of “Where We’ve Been and Where You Should Go Too”.

 Greune, TX

Greune (pronounced Green) is really not a town at all, just a bump in the road off of Highway 306 outside of New Braunfels.  Once a significant cotton-producing community along the Guadalupe River, the town has now shifted its economy to one supported primarily by tourism.

 The major attraction in Gruene is Gruune Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas.  Just about anybody who is anybody in country music have graced the stage at Gruene Hall over the years including Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, George Strait and many more.  It was also the set for the movie Michael staring John Travolta.  The great B. B. King and Gregg Allman have also played the Hall over the years.  Our good friends The Peterson Brothers Band opened for B. B. at one of his shows and regularly play Gruene.  Check out the calendar here:  http://gruenehall.com/calendar/

 Joyce and I saw Randy Travis at Gruene several years ago before he had his stroke and we have stopped in several times to catch who is doing a free show that is going on most every Saturday and Sunday.

 There are also many shops and boutiques in Gruene as well as some really good restaurants. We have eaten at the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar a couple of times but there are several more places in town to get a meal.

 So, put on your pressed Wranglers, a pair of boots and make your way to Gruene.  You’ll be glad you did.

December 21, 2016

  A couple of days ago we stirred the pot and changed our travel plans when we leave Texas and head west in the spring.  We have always wanted to see Big Bend National Park and we have heard that is the best time to visit there.

 So, we’ll leave San Antonio on 1 March and make our way to through Del Rio to Marathon where we plan to spend a couple of days.  It’s only about 85 miles down to Big Bend from there so we’ll just drive the car down rather than spend a lot of money driving the motor home.

 From there we’ll stop at Fort Davis to see the sites there and then continue on west making stops in Las Cruces, NM and Tucson, AZ to arrive in Tempe on the 8th or 9th.  Hopefully we’ll be able to get a spot at the Elks Lodge there.

December 23, 2016

 Last night we went to the Christmas party at the Commercial Street Bar in town.  There was some really good food and a lot of holiday cheer going around.  Joyce made a pot of her killer pinto beans that was a big hit with everyone.  Tumble Dry Low provided some really good music.

 The highlight of the night was seeing Jay and Stephanie Harvey again.  Back in 2010 when we were here Jay owned Ervie Jay’s Beer Garden, the "in-place" in town.  Jay sold that place a number of years ago and most folks were sorry to see it go.

December 25, 2016

 Merry Christmas everyone.

 Yesterday Joyce and I made a road trip to San Antonio.  The main purpose was to visit an Apple Store to upgrade our computers to the new operating system but we also did an exchange and commissary stop at Lackland AFB.

 Why go all the way up over to San Antonio to do updates?  Well, Joyce has been have some trouble with her MAC and she has not upgraded the operating system in a long time.  Also, since we use a Verizon Jetpack as our main internet access we are limited on the amount of data we can use.

 After spending about an hour and a half at Apple we stopped for supper at Cheddar’s, one of our favorite restaurants in Texas.  We both had their crispy chicken salad and as always it was delicious.

December 26, 2016

 We had a relatively quiet Christmas Day.  We did drive into Victoria to have our Christmas meal at the Golden Coral that was very good.  Everything was prepared well and tasted very fresh.  We then spent the rest of the day relaxing.

 We’re starting our last week of hosting here at Goliad State Park and we’re looking forward to moving on to something new.

 We had planned to go up to Shiner for the dance at TKO’s but that has fallen through.  The other day I noticed on The Scott Taylor Band’s Facebook page that we needed to make a reservation.  You might recall in an earlier post here that we had talked to the bartender up there and she said we didn’t need reservations.

 Well, I called them and they said yes, they are selling tables for $150 for four seats.  We wouldn’t mind paying that if we had someone to help share the cost but that’s a lot of money for just Joyce and I.  We might be able to sell the other two seats to someone up there but there is no guarantee on that.

 So, as disappointed as we are we will just hang out at home on New Years Eve.  We may spend it here at the park or just head on over to San Antonio on the 31st.  We’ll figure that out in the next day or so.

January 1, 2017

 Happy New Year everyone.  Joyce and I hope that 2017 will be a great year for all of our family and friends.

 Yesterday we packed everything up and headed over to the Hidden Valley RV Park near San Antonio in Von Ormy, TX.  The drive over was relatively easy.

 Mark and Terri Blaschke met us as we pulled in and I have to say it was like coming home.  We have been to Hidden Valley several times in the past and it’s one of our favorite places.  We’re going to spend the next two months here.

 Last night Mark and Teri had a big bonfire to welcome in the new year.  There was fireworks going off all around the area, some being really huge.

Michelle, Abigail and Skyler

 Gotta go for now.

Barry & Joyce

December 19, 2016

December 11, 2016

 We’ve been working on our spring travel plans the last few days and have pretty much got it figured out.  Here is the “written in Jello” itinerary:

1-3 Mar:  Enroute to Fort Bliss, TX.
3-7 Mar:  Fort Bliss Famcamp.
7-9 Mar:  Elks Lodge, Wilcox, AZ.  Going to take a drive through the Chiricahua National Monument.
9-13 Mar:  Elks Lodge, Tempe, AZ.  Visit family and friends.
14-17 Mar:  Nellis AFB, NV (Las Vegas).  We have done Vegas before but what the heck.
17-20 Mar:  Pahrump, NV.  Going to spend some time in Death Valley National Park.
21-26 Mar:  Elks Lodge, Fresno, CA.  See Mom and my brother.
26-30 Mar:  Calistoga, CA.  Visit Joyce’s family.
30 Mar-2 Apr:  Travis AFB, CA.  Visit friends.
2-6 Apr:  Back to Calistoga.  We really like the Napa Valley.
6-9 Apr:  Elks Lodge, Petaluma, CA.  A stop while traveling through the Sonoma Wine Country.  We’ll probably go see the Charles Schultz Museum.
9-12 Apr:  Healdsburg, CA.
12-16 Apr:  Elks Lodge, Eureka, CA.
16-20 Apr:  Klamath, CA.
20-22 Apr:  Crescent City, CA.
22-23 Apr:  Cave Junction, OR.
23-27 Apr:  Valley of the Rouge State Park near Grants Pass, OR.
27 Apr-1 May:  Oakridge, OR.  Hang out with Jim and Jeanne Glaspey.
1 May-1 Jul:  Tumalo State Park, Bend, OR.
1 Jul-31 Aug:  Smith Rock State Park, Terrebonne, OR.

 If you live near any of those places and have some time it would be great to see you.

December 16, 2016

 Joyce and I stopped in at the Commercial St. Bar last night for the weekly Thirsty Thursday gathering but the regular “Cackling Hens” took the night off.  Here’s a picture from last week:

The Cackling Hen's and one old fat guy photo bombing.

 Last night was the parks Christmas Party which was a lot of fun.  A lot of great Mexican food was consumed and then we had a White Elephant Christmas gift exchange.  Joyce had found a framed picture here in the park so that was our contribution.

December 17, 2016

 Last night we drove up to Weesatche to have supper at The Corner Cafe and Saloon.  We had been told by several folks that this place served some great steaks.

 We elected to sit in the bar instead of the dinning room just to say we did.  We struck up a conversation with a couple for Yorktown and then I said howdy to an older gentleman sitting by himself.  Pretty soon three other cowboys joined him, one at a time but none of them said much, just a nod and a “how’er y’all”.  It was obvious that they come in the bar regularly since the bartender knew exactly what each of them drank.  The whole time we were there they said very little to each other, just smiling once in a while and nodding their heads when one of them did speak up.  I suspect they were life-long friends who didn’t need a lot of conversation to enjoy each others company.

 The steaks?  Fantastic.  We both ordered the 16oz rib-eye and I have to say it was the second best I have had in Texas.  They were cooked outside on an open pit barbecue, done just right and just seasoned with salt and pepper.

December 18, 2016

 Yesterday we drove up to La Grange, TX for our volunteer gig at the Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites.  Every December the park staff put out numerous light displays and open the Kreische House for viewing.  We were assigned to be Stroller Valet’s, helping park child strollers when folks went into the house.

 Two very important events happened here during the fight for Texas Independence, the Dawson Massacre and the Black Bean Death Lottery.  The remains of men that died in the area are entombed in a granite crypt that is below the memorial.  You can read more about the park and the Kreische House here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Hill_and_Kreische_Brewery_State_Historic_Sites

I took this picture off of the internet.

  After spending the night at the local Best Western and having lunch we visited the Texas Quilt Museum.  This museum is much smaller than the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska but it is impressive.  The curators put up a new exhibit every three months making for a new experience overtime you visit.

December 19, 2016

 The cold front that is moving through the Midwest made it’s way into south Texas last night.  As I am writing this the outside temperature is 29 degrees with a 10 MPH wind.  Last night we took precautions to prevent damage to our house buy disconnecting our water hose and running both of the heat pumps all night.  “Come to Texas they said.  It’s warm in Texas”.  They lied.


 Gotta throw some family pictures in:

Michelle, Abigail and Skyler, December 2016

Travis playing in the snow, New Haven, CT, December 2016

Carol Smith took these pictures at Smith Rock State Park last week.  Beautiful!

More later when we thaw out.

Barry & Joyce

December 11, 2016

Since we are in Texas, here’s another place you might like to visit:

Fredericksburg

 This city is almost smack dab in the middle of the Texas Hill Country in Gillespie County.  Founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia, Fredericksburg is now the tourist hub in the Hill Country.

 West Main Street (US 290) is lined with shops, restaurants and also the National Museum of the Pacific War featuring the life of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet during World War II.

 One notable eateries in Fredericksburg is Hill Top Cafe, owned and operated by grammy-winning blues artist Johnny Nicholas and his wife.

 Another cool place to hang out is at the Fredericksburg Brewing Company.  They have some really great brews and the burgers are amazing.

 Like the Old 97’s said in their song “Stoned”, ‘Take a Greyhound to Fredericksburg’.  You need to get there some way that’s for sure.

 November 27, 2016

 After visiting Shiner and on the way beck to Goliad we decided to stop in Cuero and look around.  Sure glad we did too.

 Cuero in the home of the Pharmacy and Medical Museum of Texas.  How ‘bout that.

 The museum building was built in 1889 and during all that time it has never housed any other business until it was purchased by the city in 2013.  I can’t even begin to tell you about all of the drugs, artifacts and other things on display.  You just have to see it for yourself.

Cuero Courthouse

Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church

Bank

 This morning we went into town and had lunch at the Hanging Tree Restaurant in Goliad.  They had a nice little buffet set up with turkey, fried catfish, fried chicken and smothered pork chops and all the trimmings.  Yum, yum!

  After eating way too much we drove to the little community of Berclair to visit the Berclair Mansion. This steel strand home, the largest in the United States, was built in 1936 by Etta Terrell.  The reason for the steel framing is because she never forgot seeing her parents home that burned to the ground in 1898.

 Miss Etta built this house at the age of 75 installing the latest in plumbing, heating and electricity.  The home features 10 bedrooms, 4 full and 2-half bathrooms and even an elevator.  It is furnished with beautiful antiques and the several priceless paintings.

 Miss Etta lived in the house with her four sisters.  The last sister, Carlyle Wilkinson, know as Dimple, died in October 1975 at the age of 94.  The mansion was boarded up and unoccupied for over 27 years.
December 2, 2016

 Joyce and I headed downtown last night to the Commercial Street Bar for the weekly Thirsty Thursday gathering.  Several of the ladies in town have been doing this for a long time and Joyce joined right in.  Some of the gals brought in some munchies and later we ordered a pizza.

 December 5, 2016

 On Friday we went to downtown Goliad to watch the annual Christmas Parade.  This little hometown parade is a very big deal in Goliad with participants coming from all over the county.

 Saturday we went back into town to checkout all the booths on the square.  Then Santa Claus came riding in on a Texas Longhorn steer, a tradition here.

"Here comes Santa Claus", Texas style

 Yesterday we made a run down to Corpus Christi to get some shopping done.  As you can imagine everything was very crowded and traffic was very busy.  We finished up the day having supper at Cheddars Scratch Kitchen, one of our favorite restaurant's in Texas.

December 11, 2016

Movin' right along in Texas.

 On Friday we drove up to Waco, TX to attend the Christmas At The Silos event that is hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” program.

It was a tad cold!

Joanna's mom.  We can't remember her name.

 After checking into our hotel we drove down to their Magnolia Market for the Christmas concert featuring Shane and Shane.  Joyce and I had never heard of the group but I can tell you that their music is fantastic.

 After getting a good nights sleep at our hotel we went back to down to Magnolia Market to look around at the things we didn’t see the night before.  Of course we had to get some cupcakes and cookies from the bakery.

"Cupcakes are muffins that believed in miracles"

 By the way, if you haven't read Chip and JoJo’s book, “The Magnolia Story” Joyce and I highly recommend it.

Wherever you are, have fun!

Barry & Joyce