Thursday Evening

I was unable to keep up the blog as someone cut a cable to our call tower and we didn't have internet access at all on Tues. PM and all day Wednesday.  Everything seems to be back to normal today.

Monday the 26th was a golf day.  43-52 I carried my bag on a beautiful 70 something degree day.  These are not shorts days when we tee off at 8:30 AM.,  Early morning temps are typically in the upper 30's.  I am looking forward to Arizona and shorts weather.

Tuesday we went to Fredericksburg TX on a day trip.  The first stop was at the LBJ ranch.  We toured the Texas White House and grounds.  A very interesting tour when you consider the people and decisions that were in that place.

Headstone in the family cemetery on the grounds

He was first to use jet planes

 

His office

front view of residence

After the Johnson tour we went to Fredericksburg to see the sights and to antique (verb).  There were many beautiful buildings and all kinds of history there also.

long street view

Teddy is an M & M addict

 

street view

 

  There were record breaking temperatures here this week. (Low 80's)

We had German food for lunch at Auslander Biergarten.  We all ordered German dishes, and it was really a good place for lunch.

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We thought we would get to Luckenback, TX but somehow we got on the wrong road and didn't make it there.  We thought that maybe the aliens moved the town.  Google said it was there, but we didn't find it. Instead we had Whataburger for dinner in Kerrville, TX.

Wednesday (28th) was another day trip.  Temperatures again were in the low 80's. We drove to Gruene TX (pronounced green).  The town was built up around a great cotton industry.

 

 

Gruene Hall, built in 1878, is Texas’ oldest continually operating and most famous dance hall. By design, not much has physically changed since the Hall was first built. The 6,000 square foot dance hall with a high pitched tin roof still has the original layout with side flaps for open air dancing, a bar in the front, a small lighted stage in the back and a huge outdoor garden

 

Inside the hall 

 

The bar

Henry D. Gruene, the town's founder, originally bought land for a cotton farm in 1872 with his father and brothers. He built his first home in 1872 and modified it over the years. It still stands proudly with its Victoria galleries today as the Gruene Mansion Inn. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Texas Historic Landmark.

 

 

 We had another german lunch at the Grist Mill Over looking the Guadalupe River

Guadalupe River below the Grist Mill

 

It was another day of looking at history and shopping.  Lela and Becky were still going strong.

 

Inside General Store

Vault from the old bank building

 

Sunset on the way home

On the way back home to Bandera TX we found a Camping World store, so we stopped and bought a few supplies.

Today was another golf day temperatures in the 70's with morning fog.  I was determined to break 90 today.  I have been carrying my bag each day and was having trouble on the back nine as I think my legs were fatigued.  Today I used a pull cart.  I walked but didn't have to carry the bag.  Today's score 45-40.  That was my best round so far this winter.  I guess carrying the bag has had some detrimental effect.

Lela and I went into town this afternoon and bought some supplies.  We also went back to one of the antique malls.  Lela found some denim to go with a pair of denim cowboy boots she bought in Gruene.  I also found a pair of boots with leather soles.  We are starting to look like we belong in the southwest.

The weather here was beautiful so we walked the park and we sat out under our awning, relaxing and thanking God for our blessings.

Sunday Afternoon

On Wednesday evening it started raining here.  It rained hard all night.  San Antonio set a new record for rainfall as 1.94 inches fell.  As you can imagine it makes quite a bit of noise on the roof of the Silver Star.  Evidently I did not have enough of an angle on the canopy as it collected a lot of rain on it, which caused it to sag dangerously close to collapse.  I hurried out in my bathrobe to lower one corner further.  As I did, I got drenched with some very cold water.  I didn't immediately see the humor in my situation. I came back inside and returned to my electric blanket to get warm.


Thursday, it rained all day so we stayed inside and watched movies.

Friday we headed to Roundtop Texas.  It is about 200 miles from here, and about halfway between Austin and Houston.

Around the square in Roundtop

More in Roundtop

 

Noel and Patrick wanted us to meet them to help shop for antiques to furnish the home they are building.  It rained on us all day Friday too.  I was beginning to look for gopher wood to build an ark.

Noel and Patrick had already been to the big show and had made their purchases.  We then proceeded to the motel to meet up with them.  Then it was back to Roundtop for some more shopping at other antique stores.

Noel & Patrick outside an antique store 

We spent the night in Brenham TX at the Coachlight  Motel.  We had a very nice dinner at the Sea Land Seafood and Steak Restaurant.  Noel said she would never eat in there until she saw that Yelp rated it 4 stars.  The food and service was very good.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at Denny's, checked out of the motel and returned to Roundtop for last minute shopping.  They found a few more items at another store.  Then we returned to the Big Red Barn where the main show was.  I helped Patrick carry his items to the trailer they had brought with them.

Loading the trailer

All the parking lots in town were grass which had turned to mud.  It was a little tricky getting around.  The truck was a total mud ball.  It looked like we had been off-roading.

We headed home about 1:00 and drove a different way home than we drove up there.  It was about 3 hours and we were home.  The drive through the hill country was very nice.

We did run into an accident which clogged up traffic for about a mile. A car had ended up knocking over a section of concrete median and then coming to rest on another section.

 

We went with Teddy and Becky for Mexican food at Mi Pueblo restaurant here in town in the evening. I forgot to get a picture of the place.  I was very tired from driving home. 

My new look!

This morning (Sunday) I went early to the carwash and blasted the mud from the truck.  I had to wash the mats and all.  That was the dirtiest truck I had ever had.

We headed to church for 11:00 worship service and afterward we returned home, sat in the sun for lunch, took a long walk, did laundry, cleaned inside the SS and now we are cooking dinner to share with Teddy and Becky.

Wednesday afternoon.

Today was a golf day.  The temperature when we teed off was 49 degrees with sun  and little wind.  I shot 43-46 today, but had 3 penalty shots on the back nine.  I walked and carried my clubs.  My back began to "lose it" on about the 13th hole.  Aleve is the antidote.

Lela and Becky went into Kerrville this morning but have not returned as yet.  Teddy said they have been gone all day.  I'm guessing there is some shopping going on in Kerrville.

I just received word (4:30) that they are on the way back.  We will host dinner tonight.

Monday we had our scheduled lunch at the Mayan Ranch.

  It is a rustic style "dude ranch."

  The food was very good.  Monday was BBQ day.  We had Brisket, ribs, and sausage along with salad and side dishes.  It was only $11.00 each which included your drink.  Beer and wine were also available, included in the price.  We all ate too much.

 

The fence at the Mayan Ranch had a boot on each fence post

After our meal we decided to explore the countryside.

These are Axis Deer from Thailand.  This was taken in town.

St Stanislaus Catholic Church

I wanted this picture to link to the movie Seven Days in Utopia.

It is a golf movie starring Robert Duvall.

We passed through Utopia Texas on our drive.

 

 

Bullet holes.

 

The Texas hill country is beautiful.  If you ever have a doubt that God was responsible for the Planet Earth, you should look around here.  We were up the mountains and down.  Around the bend and straight ahead.  It was a beautiful and fun drive.

After being in the truck all day we walked the park again.

Yesterday, Tuesday,  The temperature was in the 80's.  We drove into San Antonio for a visit to The Alamo and to walk the Riverwalk area.  The San Antonio river rises from springs in San Antonio and flows into the Guadalupe River and into the Gulf Of Mexico.  The river is channeled through the area with restaurants and shops along both sides. Lela and I had been there in the 90's, but Teddy and Becky were first timers.

 

This plaque tells of the original building and its architect.

This is the original building.

San Antonio

 

Becky and Lela on the Riverwalk

We ate Mexican food at Rio Rio.
Not very good, but we had a coupon for a free appetizer.  There were plenty of pigeons and ducks to clean up any food that hit the floor.

  Sometimes they would get on the tables after the patrons walked away.

The Alamo is always a sobering experience.  When you see the reenactment of the battle there and see the small area that the Texans had to occupy to hold off Santa Ana's 6000 men for a thirteen day siege.

Photos are not allowed inside the chapel to honor those who died there.

Remaining barracks

in the outer courtyard

Teddy and Becky at the well in the courtyard

Monument outside the Alamo

Face of the monument

One of my favorite signs on a business in San Antonio

We didn't have time to wait for Elvis

We skipped supper as our lunch was sitting heavy on all of us.  Teddy and Becky went home and Lela and I did the same.  We "couched" it and watched two Randolph Scott movies instead of the State of the Union show.  As it turned out, the president's speech was a rerun anyway.