We had a great time visiting with John, Kandy, Ali and Jack over Christmas eve and Christmas day. We missed our traditional events with Ron's family on Christmas eve and Ann & John on Christmas day, however, feel really fortunate to have been able to spend the holidays with family. Especially our first holiday away from home.
Last Saturday we had our first overnight guest. Jack spent the night and part of Sunday with us. We have a sofa sleeper that expands to a RV Queen. , We played games, (I think Jack beat Ron at Backgammon, but I was afraid to ask). Sunday morning we enjoyed a pancake, scrabble egg & bacon breakfast,attended Mass, stopped for a burger & milk shake at Freddy's (much like Steak & Shake) then went to watch Ali play volleyball. It was a practice scrimmage not a game, but we were able to see her play in 5-6 games. She is very, very good at all positions. I love volleyball...it brings back good memories.
Our plans were to leave early this morning, but they were predicting snow & ice in the direction of our destination, so we decided to lay over another day. We also, wanted to have our furnace looked at again....I'm not a hvac expert but I'm still convinced it is not cycling the way it should.
The repairman came out again this morning and of course everything worked just the way it was suppose to for him. He was a little late getting here and the weather here is rainy and dreary, so we decided to stay again tonight and leave tomorrow.
We are trying to get to an event in Quartzsite, Arizona by January 22nd....at this rate we may not make it.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Holiday Lights
Over the weekend we met John, Kandy, Ali and Jack for dinner at Rudy's. We have been wanting to try this infamous barbeque spot. The food is good and the atmosphere casual and fun. You order your meat by the pound and it is served on butcher paper.
After dinner we took a tour of a couple of neighborhoods to view the holiday lights. One subdivision has a contest for the best of many categories including the best decorated mailbox. They go wayout....
We also toured Incarnate Word High School (where Ali attends) and the University for their light show.
There really is a mailbox in there somewhere!
I bet the letter carriers love this.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
After dinner we took a tour of a couple of neighborhoods to view the holiday lights. One subdivision has a contest for the best of many categories including the best decorated mailbox. They go wayout....
We also toured Incarnate Word High School (where Ali attends) and the University for their light show.
There really is a mailbox in there somewhere!
I bet the letter carriers love this.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Sunday, December 20, 2009
GOLF...finally!
Last Friday was a beautiful day....70 degrees and sunny. So we re-arranged our plans and hit the golf course. We played at La Cantera Resort. We teed off at 2:00 pm and was able to get in 17 holes before dark. We were thrilled to finally swing a club.
The course is beautiful with more than enough hazzards. Even at this time of the year when most of the foliage is dormant, I like the rock and cactus.
When you get in the rough....it is really rough
Taken from the elevated tee box. Six Flags amusement park in the background.
Sunset at La Cantera. We had to find the club house in the dark. Why don't they put headlights on these carts?
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
The course is beautiful with more than enough hazzards. Even at this time of the year when most of the foliage is dormant, I like the rock and cactus.
When you get in the rough....it is really rough
Taken from the elevated tee box. Six Flags amusement park in the background.
Sunset at La Cantera. We had to find the club house in the dark. Why don't they put headlights on these carts?
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Saturday, December 19, 2009
VISIT TO LBJ'S RANCH
We've been spending a lot of time Christmas shopping just like the rest of the world. San Antonio is a great place to shop with all of the stores we are familiar with plus many more. The challenge is trying to wrap the gifts on a 3 ft x 2 ft table. We can always use the floor but it's a long way down and the ceramic tile is cold..
Spent a day at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Park and Historic Site. Ron loves history but it was never my favorite subject. I did, however, enjoy this attraction. I never knew how influential LBJ was in so many amendments & laws that are still in place today. And I always like to see how people use to live.
We toured his 2700+ acre ranch, which consists of his grandfathers home, the school he attended at the age of 4 years old, a display of his convertible cars, Texas White House, the family cemetery & the Secret Service office and barracks.
One of many in LBJ's classic car collection. This is his aqua car. He use to take visitors to the Texas White House on a tour of the ranch in this car, then suprise them by driving into the river.
LBJ Family Cemetery. Lyndon's grave is the large marker on the right. The flowers on the left is the grave of Lady Bird Johnson who died in 2007. Of course Ron had to ask when a marker will be placed for her. The ranger thought it would be sometime next year but would not comment on why it has taken so long???
His home is referred to as the Texas White House. He conducted many of his presidencial functions here and is the only remote white house in history.
Texas White House
In a film we viewed prior to our tour, showed LBJ at this same well
It still is a working ranch with the family owning about 2000 acres and the rest was given to the National Park Services by Lyndon & Lady Bird.
We also toured his boyhood home from the age of 5 in Johnson City about 14 miles east of the ranch.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Spent a day at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Park and Historic Site. Ron loves history but it was never my favorite subject. I did, however, enjoy this attraction. I never knew how influential LBJ was in so many amendments & laws that are still in place today. And I always like to see how people use to live.
We toured his 2700+ acre ranch, which consists of his grandfathers home, the school he attended at the age of 4 years old, a display of his convertible cars, Texas White House, the family cemetery & the Secret Service office and barracks.
One of many in LBJ's classic car collection. This is his aqua car. He use to take visitors to the Texas White House on a tour of the ranch in this car, then suprise them by driving into the river.
LBJ Family Cemetery. Lyndon's grave is the large marker on the right. The flowers on the left is the grave of Lady Bird Johnson who died in 2007. Of course Ron had to ask when a marker will be placed for her. The ranger thought it would be sometime next year but would not comment on why it has taken so long???
His home is referred to as the Texas White House. He conducted many of his presidencial functions here and is the only remote white house in history.
Texas White House
In a film we viewed prior to our tour, showed LBJ at this same well
It still is a working ranch with the family owning about 2000 acres and the rest was given to the National Park Services by Lyndon & Lady Bird.
We also toured his boyhood home from the age of 5 in Johnson City about 14 miles east of the ranch.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Thursday, December 17, 2009
One good thing about the rainy, gloomy days is we get some things done around the coach instead of going out. We spent the day doing laundry and cleaning. Although our 440 square foot coach doesn't take very long to clean...it gets messy a lot faster. Our "yard" is mud and no matter how hard we try, we seem to bring alot of the outdoors in.
We did take the afternoon off from our cleaning spree to attend our great nephew - Jack's- Christmas pageant. It was a holiday performance by the 5th-8th graders at his school. It was fun to watch the kids play the drums, guitars, bells & sing. As you can see from the picture below, Jack wasn't too terribly enthused. We did finally get him to smile for a picture with his sister , Ali, and her friend Gaby but only after it was over.
Not a happy camper having to sing Christmas carols.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
We did take the afternoon off from our cleaning spree to attend our great nephew - Jack's- Christmas pageant. It was a holiday performance by the 5th-8th graders at his school. It was fun to watch the kids play the drums, guitars, bells & sing. As you can see from the picture below, Jack wasn't too terribly enthused. We did finally get him to smile for a picture with his sister , Ali, and her friend Gaby but only after it was over.
Not a happy camper having to sing Christmas carols.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Where's the Sun?
Several days this last week were cold, damp and gloomy. Although the temperature is warmer than St. Louis...it is still not the weather we were hoping for.....how much further south do we need to go to find sun?
They keep telling us this is very unusual for Texas and when we tell them we're from Missouri, we get accused of bringing this weather with us.
We haven't routed our next destination yet, but from what I'm reading we may have a problem finding a campground in New Mexico & Arizona. I thought with the economy today that more RVer's would stay home, but seems it has not stopped the snow birds.
We are still waiting for our furnace to be repaired. Actually, the furnace was repaired and re-installed but the repairman could not get it to ignite, so he ordered a new thermostat. That was over a week ago. Ron called to get a status update only to find out that he has the flu. I don't like to hear anyone is ill and we hope he is feeling better soon...for him and for us. We took for granted having a relationship with our house repair/service providers. Ones you knew and could trust. We are flying blind with this furnace guy.
Need to wrap a few more presents & finish up on some Christmas cards.
Hope all is well.
Joan & Ron
They keep telling us this is very unusual for Texas and when we tell them we're from Missouri, we get accused of bringing this weather with us.
We haven't routed our next destination yet, but from what I'm reading we may have a problem finding a campground in New Mexico & Arizona. I thought with the economy today that more RVer's would stay home, but seems it has not stopped the snow birds.
We are still waiting for our furnace to be repaired. Actually, the furnace was repaired and re-installed but the repairman could not get it to ignite, so he ordered a new thermostat. That was over a week ago. Ron called to get a status update only to find out that he has the flu. I don't like to hear anyone is ill and we hope he is feeling better soon...for him and for us. We took for granted having a relationship with our house repair/service providers. Ones you knew and could trust. We are flying blind with this furnace guy.
Need to wrap a few more presents & finish up on some Christmas cards.
Hope all is well.
Joan & Ron
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Spent part of the day Christmas shopping at a few small boutique shops in historic Gruene. Since we were only 10 miles away from the outlet mall in San Marcos we just had to stop there too. What a great outlet mall...probably one of the best we have been to. Supposedly it is the 3rd most visited tourist "attraction" in Texas. It has a lot of upscale outlets. Is that an oxymoron? It has Saks, Nieman Marcus, Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware etc. A shoppers heaven. Since my energy level is still not 100% from my cold we didn't stay long, but it is on our list to return.
Had lunch, returned a few items to Camping World (our new favorite store) and came home to rest.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Had lunch, returned a few items to Camping World (our new favorite store) and came home to rest.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Our Little Christmas Tree.
Yes...we did decorate the motorhome for Christmas. Inside only...no outside lights. We haven't seen any in the campground yet, but are sure someone will drape exterior lights.
Our tree is a little puny but cute. We are carrying on our tradition of purchasing a precious, dated ornament and found a Waterford crystal cross for this year. We did hang it on the tree although the ornament is almost as big as the tree!
We have purchased a dated ornament every year since our first Christmas together and this added number 36 to our collection.
We draped our lace mantel scarf on the credenza in the "dining room", our Merry Christmas banner hangs at the front door with a few other decorations.
We wanted to bring so many decorations with us, but anything breakable is just not practical.
It sure is a lot easier to decorate for the holidays now.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Our little Christmas Tree. Although you can't tell from the picture it has little lights and little ornaments.
Nativity
Handmade wreath given to us years ago by our dear friend Ann Anderson. We display it every year and it's perfect for our new home since it is non-breakable.
Merry Christmas flag that hangs at our front door. Message can also be seen from the outside when the front shades are up.
Our tree is a little puny but cute. We are carrying on our tradition of purchasing a precious, dated ornament and found a Waterford crystal cross for this year. We did hang it on the tree although the ornament is almost as big as the tree!
We have purchased a dated ornament every year since our first Christmas together and this added number 36 to our collection.
We draped our lace mantel scarf on the credenza in the "dining room", our Merry Christmas banner hangs at the front door with a few other decorations.
We wanted to bring so many decorations with us, but anything breakable is just not practical.
It sure is a lot easier to decorate for the holidays now.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Our little Christmas Tree. Although you can't tell from the picture it has little lights and little ornaments.
Nativity
Handmade wreath given to us years ago by our dear friend Ann Anderson. We display it every year and it's perfect for our new home since it is non-breakable.
Merry Christmas flag that hangs at our front door. Message can also be seen from the outside when the front shades are up.
Cowboy Ron
.
Ron has been wanting to purchase a cowboy hat since the day he arrived. I was able to put it off until he found one he really liked in Fredericksburg. I keep telling him you can't turn a Midwestern into a Texan with just a hat....but he says as long as it is a Stetson you can.
What's next cowboy boots?
Actually, I think it looks pretty good on him.
Ron after he "moseyed up to the bar" for his Jailhouse Bock at the Fredericksburg Brewery.
Ron has been wanting to purchase a cowboy hat since the day he arrived. I was able to put it off until he found one he really liked in Fredericksburg. I keep telling him you can't turn a Midwestern into a Texan with just a hat....but he says as long as it is a Stetson you can.
What's next cowboy boots?
Actually, I think it looks pretty good on him.
Ron after he "moseyed up to the bar" for his Jailhouse Bock at the Fredericksburg Brewery.
Under the weather.
I have been fighting a cold the last couple of days. So we haven't done much. Probably from being out in the rain and cold with only a light jacket. It was so hard packing up the house and then deciding what to bring with us. So far we have a short list of items we wish we had, but I'm sure over the next couple of months it will grow. What we don't have to buy now, we will pick up on our next trip to St. Louis.
I started feeling better yesterday and even better today. After Jacks basketball game last night we all went to dinner at Sorrento's. A nice little Italian restaurant. Of course, down here Mexican out numbers all other ethnic restaurants...so it was a good change. We enjoyed our evening...then early to bed..for me at least.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Dinner at Sorrento's
I started feeling better yesterday and even better today. After Jacks basketball game last night we all went to dinner at Sorrento's. A nice little Italian restaurant. Of course, down here Mexican out numbers all other ethnic restaurants...so it was a good change. We enjoyed our evening...then early to bed..for me at least.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Dinner at Sorrento's
Soccer Anyone?
We really wanted to see our great nephew Jack play soccer & basketball and our great niece, Ali play volleyball. Although Ali's season doesn't start until we are gone we are hoping she will have a tournament before we leave.
Jack had a soccer tournament Thanksgiving weekend and we were able to see 2 of his 4games. His team won 2, lost one and tied. Jack is a good player and goalie (like his grandfather!)
We were also able to see one of his basketball games last night. His team won 41 to 15. Although Jack likes soccer better he's also good at basketball and we really enjoy watching him.
I can see why parents like spending countless hours watching their children play sports....it really is fun.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Jack as goalie....isn't he cute?
Jack had a soccer tournament Thanksgiving weekend and we were able to see 2 of his 4games. His team won 2, lost one and tied. Jack is a good player and goalie (like his grandfather!)
We were also able to see one of his basketball games last night. His team won 41 to 15. Although Jack likes soccer better he's also good at basketball and we really enjoy watching him.
I can see why parents like spending countless hours watching their children play sports....it really is fun.
Hope all is well!
Joan & Ron
Jack as goalie....isn't he cute?
RECAPPING THE LAST 10 DAYS
Behind again on our blog. We have more time now then we did when we were working, but still seem to never get everything done. I think it is true of alot of people in this day in age. It can't be that I'm still not organized...can it?
We spent Thanksgiving Day with John, Kandy, Ali, Jack, Ann, John and Kandy's mother Gloria. Dinner was perfect, with a huge turkey, 2 dressings all the other trimmings and 4 pies. We ate too much as usual....but I took a walk with John, Kandy & Gloria so I could justify having a piece of pumpkin pie when we returned.
Walked their neighborhood, which is a gated community of beautiful homes with a walking trail through a very nice wooded area. My kind of walking path.
The weather has been cold.....not just cold for Texas but cold. It got down to mid 20's last night.
Timing in life is everything and ours is sometimes not so good. The coach has 2 gas furnaces but one was not heating so we are down to one furnace. The good news is the one that is functioning is in the bedroom so we are able to stay warm at night. But it sure makes for a frosty breakfast in the morning.
Kandy & John were very sweet to invite us to stay with them during the cold spell, but we really didn't want to leave the coach unattended. If it became unbearable we would have said "forget" the coach and we would have been standing at their front door.
A couple in a neighboring site just had a new furnace installed in their 5th wheel and loaned us the space heater they were using. One thing everyone always told us about this lifestyle was that you meet very friendly people...and we have found that to be true.
The next 2 weeks should be better with highs in the 50's & 60's and lows in the low 40's. If the temperature will just stay over 40 we can use our heat pumps. The furnace is in the shop for repair and we should get it back next week.
Because of the weather we have not played one round of golf while in Texas. Hopefully the weather will let us get a round or two in before we leave.
We have done some shopping. We both bought rain jackets with zip out linings....never thought we would have to add these items to our shopping list.
We visited the San Juan Mission which is one of 5 beautiful missions (one of which is the Alamo) that dates back to the 1700's. I made a mistake and let Ron be the photographer. He took over 50 pictures! A few are included here. We thought we could see several of them in one afternoon, boy were we wrong. The San Juan Mission stretches over 5 acres and has a lot to see. We will have to schedule another one on another day.
We visited Fredericksburg, a small German community about 50 miles north of San Antonio. It reminds me of Historic Downtown St. Charles. I look for this type of shopping area every where we stop and was so pleased to find a couple of them within an hour drive. It is decorated for Christmas which makes it even more special.
We spent another day at La Villita - a village near the Riverwalk that has shops featuring many local artisan crafts. We had lunch at a quaint Mexican Restaurant.
We have a list of so many other attractions to see, but are not sure we will get them all in. Daily routines just seem to get in the way....we still have to grocery shop, do laundry (which takes twice as long), pay bills, trips to the dry cleaner etc.
Hope all is well
Joan & Ron
Thanksgiving
(front left to right Jack, Ali, Ann, Joan) (back left to right John, Kandy, Gloria, John & Ron)
Christmas in Fredericksburg
Besides a lot of boutique type shopping in Fredericksburg there are several historic sites like the public library
San Jose Mission
One of many ornate statues at San Juan Mission
Oddly shaped tree at San Juan
We spent Thanksgiving Day with John, Kandy, Ali, Jack, Ann, John and Kandy's mother Gloria. Dinner was perfect, with a huge turkey, 2 dressings all the other trimmings and 4 pies. We ate too much as usual....but I took a walk with John, Kandy & Gloria so I could justify having a piece of pumpkin pie when we returned.
Walked their neighborhood, which is a gated community of beautiful homes with a walking trail through a very nice wooded area. My kind of walking path.
The weather has been cold.....not just cold for Texas but cold. It got down to mid 20's last night.
Timing in life is everything and ours is sometimes not so good. The coach has 2 gas furnaces but one was not heating so we are down to one furnace. The good news is the one that is functioning is in the bedroom so we are able to stay warm at night. But it sure makes for a frosty breakfast in the morning.
Kandy & John were very sweet to invite us to stay with them during the cold spell, but we really didn't want to leave the coach unattended. If it became unbearable we would have said "forget" the coach and we would have been standing at their front door.
A couple in a neighboring site just had a new furnace installed in their 5th wheel and loaned us the space heater they were using. One thing everyone always told us about this lifestyle was that you meet very friendly people...and we have found that to be true.
The next 2 weeks should be better with highs in the 50's & 60's and lows in the low 40's. If the temperature will just stay over 40 we can use our heat pumps. The furnace is in the shop for repair and we should get it back next week.
Because of the weather we have not played one round of golf while in Texas. Hopefully the weather will let us get a round or two in before we leave.
We have done some shopping. We both bought rain jackets with zip out linings....never thought we would have to add these items to our shopping list.
We visited the San Juan Mission which is one of 5 beautiful missions (one of which is the Alamo) that dates back to the 1700's. I made a mistake and let Ron be the photographer. He took over 50 pictures! A few are included here. We thought we could see several of them in one afternoon, boy were we wrong. The San Juan Mission stretches over 5 acres and has a lot to see. We will have to schedule another one on another day.
We visited Fredericksburg, a small German community about 50 miles north of San Antonio. It reminds me of Historic Downtown St. Charles. I look for this type of shopping area every where we stop and was so pleased to find a couple of them within an hour drive. It is decorated for Christmas which makes it even more special.
We spent another day at La Villita - a village near the Riverwalk that has shops featuring many local artisan crafts. We had lunch at a quaint Mexican Restaurant.
We have a list of so many other attractions to see, but are not sure we will get them all in. Daily routines just seem to get in the way....we still have to grocery shop, do laundry (which takes twice as long), pay bills, trips to the dry cleaner etc.
Hope all is well
Joan & Ron
Thanksgiving
(front left to right Jack, Ali, Ann, Joan) (back left to right John, Kandy, Gloria, John & Ron)
Christmas in Fredericksburg
Besides a lot of boutique type shopping in Fredericksburg there are several historic sites like the public library
San Jose Mission
One of many ornate statues at San Juan Mission
Oddly shaped tree at San Juan
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