Texas 2014

June 11, 2014

Bobby & Dennis played golf at Southern Hills Golf course, next to where we are staying.  He shot an 86, not bad for not having played in 3 weeks!

Snuf and the kids came over to coach around 9:30, then we went swimming until 11:30, when it was time to head to Tyler to take Lily to meet her paternal grandfather.  She's going to Disneyworld with them tomorrow....she's so excited.   

In between we did some shopping, met up with Nessa's in-laws and had lunch.   We ate at Loggin, it's owned by Johnny Manzels grandparents.   He's the 2012 Hiesman Trophy winner from TX A&M.  Food was nothing I'd right home about!

After shopping they dropped me off at coach and we agreed to meet at the Mexican restaurant in Gladewater for dinner.   Got to met Frank, Nessa's significant other....great guy!   After dinner we went to watch the extreme bulls at the Gladewater Rodeo grounds.  That was fun.   Hard to say goodbye, but we'll see them again in August.

 

June 10, 2014

The girls

Bubba, Lily, Snuf and Gracie

Headed to Gladewater where we’ll spend the next two days visiting with my sister.  She wants us to watch the bulling riding contest at their fairgrounds tomorrow.

We arrived around 1, after we got set up, we did the laundry and Bobby did a few chores on the outside of the coach.   Around 2:30 the family came over and we went swimming.   It was a little cool but felt good once we got in.  It’s a salt water pool, very nice.

Lily at Lake Hawkins

The family at Taste of Italy

After swimming, we got changed and headed to Lake Hawkins (west of Gladewater) to have dinner at Taste of Italy, which is located on Lake Hawkins.   The food was spectacular.   My sister had the soup, a cream cheese tortellini, which was delicious.   She told me how it’s made; I’m surely trying it in the near future.  I had Chicken & Shrimp Pasta and Bobby had Chicken Parmesan.   The family had pizza, it was excellent.  We had enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

 

June 9, 2014

Fort Worth Courthouse

Met family at their hotel, then went to breakfast at IHOP.   They wanted to go to Cabela’s, so we spent almost 4 hours looking around/shopping.   We bought an ammo box and an outdoor thermometer.   Big spenders today!!!

Courthouse in Fort Worth

The family left around 1 and head back to Gladewater….we’ll see them again tomorrow afternoon…decided to head to Gladewater and watch the extremely bull riding on Wednesday in Tyler with them.

Bobby and I came back to the coach and had lunch.   Around 3, we headed to downtown to look at the Old Fire Station museum….it was nothing to get excited about.  However our next stop was the old courthouse, it was built in 1895 and it was something  to look at.   There’s lots of pics to look at plus a small museum but the architecture is beautiful.  

June 8, 2014

Lily, Jo, Nessa, Gracie & Snuf at Stockyards

Since we stayed up so late last night, family was running slow and did not arrive until after 10.   Guess I wore out Lily and Gracie!!!

Once they got here, we went back to the stockyards and hit the remaining stores.   I had promised Lily that she could have whatever she wanted once we saw all the stores.   In between shopping, we did do the maze (Lily & I did it), it took us 13 min. to find all four letters (MAZE), that was fun, Bobby & Dennis helped direct us through the difficult parts.   

White Elephant Bar

We watched the cattle drive and gun fight one more time….Lily really likes those activities.   We also walked over to Billy Bob’s, one of the largest country western bars in the nation.   It is huge!   We decided just to have drinks and go get hamburgers on the main strip for a very late lunch/early dinner. Lily decided on a baseball cap that has a softball and says softball champ.   She won her division just a few weeks ago so it was very fitting.

Lily & Uncle Bob

After a very long day, we came back to the coach, Gracie (she’s only 11 months) took a two hour nap, while Snuf & I played games with Lily.  The rest of the family watched tv, napped, etc.   Around 6:30 Snuf, Vanessa, the girls and myself went to watch the cow roping.  It’s right behind the coach, so we just sat in chairs beside the motorhome.   Around 10, the family left and we agreed to meet at their hotel around 8 for breakfast.

June 7, 2014

Lily, Gracie, Snuf, Dennis, Nessa & Bobby

We are really close to downtown Fort Worth, so we decided to take a drive into the farmers market while we are waiting for my sister to arrive.   The farmers market was not what I expected; no fresh fruits or vegs,

mostly honey and stuff individuals made.

The family

Decided we’d go into downtown, as the farmers market it is about 1 mile from it.   Next we went to the Water Gardens (next to the convention center).   Beautiful park showing off 5 water features.  We then went into the convention center to see what was going on…the Republic Party Conference.   They asked us to come in but we politely told them we were just visiting.   We did not see any of the candidates but they did tell us that more than likely Ted Cruz would be running for President.

Next we drove down Houston Street and saw the old courthouse.   Did not take a tour since it’s almost time for my sister to arrive, so we headed back to the coach, more later. 

Family plus Mike & Cath..having dinner

Snuf arrived around 11:00 and I was so excited.   After our hellos, we walked over to the stockyards to watch the cattle drive, gun fight, etc.   Walked around some of the shops, watched the cattle drive, gun fights, etc. before we decided to go to the coach and have lunch.  Bobby fixed hot dogs, afterwards I went with the family to check into their hotel and then we went swimming.  After the dip in the pool, we came back to the coach.  By this time, Mike & Cath had arrived and then we went to dinner.  It was so nice that they could take time out of their schedule to join us.   We ate at Risky’s steak house, very good.  Then we went to the Rodeo….it was small but very good for being a local affair.

Came back to the coach around 10, then Mike & Cath headed home.   The family sat around and talked for another hour….long day for the two girls but they seemed to have fun….at least Lily did.  

June 6, 2014

In the stockyards

We made it to the Stockyards RV Park around 12:00.  Bobby realized he left the water pressure reducer at the rv park in Austin, so we went in search of a hardware store.   Came back around 1:30 and realized the electricity in the spot they gave us was not working.   Moved the coach over to another spot, we are the only ones here so far.   Got all set up and then had lunch.

In the dog house again

After lunch I went over to the visitor’s center…picked up several brochures to find out what we should see in the Fort Worth and Dallas areas.  Tomorrow, we’ll explore the stockyards with my sister and her family….so excited.

At about 3:34, we headed to the visitors center, want to watch the cattle drive.  It was pretty good, although small.   Afterwards we went to look at the longhorns up close and personal.   Big horns!!

Then we walked thru a couple of shops, not to many as we’ll do this with the family tomorrow.

Came back to coach and watched the movie 47 Ronin, it was excellent.   I needed to cool off, will be glad when I get used to the humidity.

June 5, 2014

LBJ Library

Started day by going to LBJ library….it shows the life of President Johnson plus tells a lot of the history during his presidency.  It’s a beautiful library /museum.   We then walked over to the TX longhorn stadium…couldn’t  get into see the field, as they were filming a movie.   Decided to walk to the TX Memorial Museum….it has fossils, stuffed animals, minerals, etc.  Four floors of interesting stuff to look at…the fossils and dinosaur bones were the coolest part to us.

Tony Hawks

We then headed back to the coach for lunch.   Watched the movie Sum of all Fears and then about 3:00 we headed back to downtown to find a place to watch the x-games.   Tony Hawks preformed at 5:00 and then the pro skateboards at 6:30.   This is the first time the x-games have been outside of LA in 12 years…it was an amazing crowd…I would say 4-5 thousand, maybe more.  We were fairly close to the ramp, so got some great shots.   It was extremely hot and at about 5:45, headed to the truck to get water.   We sat at the truck and drank water and then about 6:10, headed to 6^th street to listen to a band and have a drink.  Found “Friends” bar, had good music but drinks are expensive.    

We walked back up to the capital area and watched the pro’s skateboard for about 45 min.   By then I was tired and done with the heat, headed home, stopping along the way for Mexican dinner.

 

June 4, 2014

Bobby inside capital

Capital building of TX

Arrived in Austin around 11:30, short trip for us, took only about 2 hrs.   We are staying at the Austin Lone Star RV resort.   It's an older park but nice, it's about 10 miles south of Austin.   After lunch we took a trip into town, I wanted to see the capital.   Took a guided tour,  you don't get to see much, it lasts about 45 but you do learn the history of the capital.  Tomorrow we might take the self-guided tour.  I will say, it's huge.  The 4th tallest capital but the largest in square feet at 360,000 in the original building and the 1993 underground expansion added another 667,000 SF.   We saw the main building only....that's all the tour shows you!

University of TX

Outside Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits was our next stop, however it was closed.  Only open if a concert is playing.   Not what I was hoping for, since I wanted to see this country icon.  Maybe tomorrow, they have a venue but don't think it's country.   We did get to see Willie's statue...see pic of Bobby sitting next to him.

Next stop was the University of TX, it's right in the downtown area.  Parking is horrible and having graduation tonight, didn't help, so we just drove around and saw some of the highlights. Will see the museums, stadium, etc tomorrow.
 
June 3, 2014

Mr Austin

SAS Headquarters

Took a tour of SAS (San Antonio Shoes) factory.   This company makes everything by hand except one operation that stitches a design into the leather, they want to remain a personal specialized company unlike most other shoe company in the world.   They have two buildings at this facility and another facility NW of here about 3 hrs.   The shoes are make of top quality leather, no wonder they cost so much.  At this facility they sell their factory defects but still they are over $100 a pair.   When you see how much labor and time is put into a shoe, it makes you understand why....although I still did not buy a pair.

Court House

Mural at Market Sq

Once the tour is finished (about an hour), you can look around in their gift store, it's filled with gifts, candy, clothes, old time cars, etc.   You can purchase a bag of popcorn of 5cents and/or a diet coke for 10 cents.  What a bargain!

Afterwards we headed back into downtown where we walked around market square.   This facility has many Mexican shops that we strolled thru. We then walked over to the Old Governors Palace & City Hall.  

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry, as we hit the road for Austin tomorrow.





June 2, 2014

The Alamo

River Walk

This was a history filled day.   First stop was the Alamo, it holds so much history, very interesting to see.  Hasn't changed since I was hear 15 yrs ago.   We then took a walk to La Villita, had small area with lots of history near the river walk.   They have an outdoor ampitheater, no concert to hear today. 

San Fernando Church

Mission Conception

Next we took a stroll along the river walk, ending up at the River place market.  It's basically a shopping mall with a food court.   Looked around at several stores and then head to the river boat tours.   Took the tour, it last approx. 45 min.   You learn a lot of history about the city, river, etc.   Well worth the price of $6.00.

Had lunch at the River place market, then we headed to the San Fernando Cathedral (Colonel's Bowie, Crockett & Travis are entombed here), stopping to look in shops along the way.   On the way back to the car, we looked in more shops.

Mission San Juan

Mission San Jose

We decided we'd see the four missions (Conception, San Jose, San Juan & Espada) on the way home.   The San Jose is the most beautiful (in our opinion) and most in tact.   The old side of these missions are very faded but still beautiful, but the insides are still very colorful.  They are still actively used for services each week.

We've been gone about 8 hrs and are tired.  Getting used to the humidity....if that's possible..lol.

June 1,2014

We arrived at Braunig Lake RV in Elmendorf, TX around 1:30.   We had planned to stay at the Elks on the West side of San Antonio, but they were more expensive than here and did not have full hookups.   We did wash the truck and windshield of the motorhome prior to arriving....boy did they need it!

Spent the afternoon resting, Bobby was worn out from washing truck, etc.   Met our neighbors, they have a new puppy...4 months old.  Thought about stealing him....so cute, Bobby said no!
Later we did go have ice cream at their social, yum!  Later in the evening, I went for a walk.  This is a nice park with about 300 spots.   Many are full timers.

May 31, 2014

TX White House

Graves of LBJ & Lady Byrd Johnson

Hard to believe we’ve been on the road for 2 weeks and only halfway across TX!  First stop was the Wildseed Farm; it’s one of the largest seed farms that produce wild flower seeds in the world.  It has unique gifts plus you can sample several items they make at this farm.  We tried salsa, jellies, honeys, etc. 

Next stop was the LBJ state park, ranch and historical site.   On the ranch, we had a guided tour of the TX White House.  What an excellent guide we had, he tells you all the details of the furniture, gifts they received, etc.   The two Johnson girls still come visit the ranch; they are allowed to sit on the furniture…lol.   One lives in VA and the other in Austin.  

President's Jet

Went to Junction City and had lunch at Ronnies, a BBQ place.   The turkey and beef were superb along their BBQ sauce leaves a lot to be desired.  It’s nothing like Sweet Baby Rae’s.   I should give them a bottle…lol.

Luckenbach stage..Thom Shepard

On our way to Luckenback, we stopped at a peach stand and bought fresh peaches…first of the season.  Will let you know how they taste.   Luchenback is famous for its country music visitors, Willie, Waylon, and our entertainer today was Thom Shepard….he wrote Private Ryan.   Had a couple of drinks, and then came home.   Long day, walk almost 6 miles.

May 30, 2014

Got up and took the coach over to a local truck shop, have a slow leak on the back passenger tire.   Found out it was just a stem, they took it off and all was fine, cost us $20.

Memorial to the Presidents

After we had breakfast, we headed to Fredericksburg, where we will spend the next two nights at the Oakwood RV Park.  I was starving, so we had lunch at Hilda’s, across the street from the RV park.   We then drove into town, found the Admiral Nimitz War Museum; it had an impressive display on wars, the individuals and ships that sacrificed their lives plus a wonderful display on the presidents.   

Admiral Nimitz Museum

They have a Lady Byrd Johnson park here in Fredericksburg, so we took a drive out there.   It has a golf course, tennis courts, nice RV Park, airport, etc.   

It was hot and sticky…ok, very sticky, so we came home so I could go swimming.   Pool is not heated, but was warm enough for me to cool off!  While I was swimming, I could see a lady working in the garden so after my swim, went to look at the garden.  She gave me 2 zucchini and 2 yellow squash.   Came home and made zucchini bread and ate one of the yellow squash.  Yum!!!

May 29, 2014

Fort Davis

Hobby-Eberly

We started our day by taking the self guided walking tour of the old fort.  This is one of the most intact forts in the USA.   They were just updating one of their exhibits and we were one of the first 20 to view it, it was a walking piece of history with many artifacts from many of the families that lived there.  

  

Next stop was the McDonald Observatory, where we took a tour of the 107” and the Hobby-Eberly (largest telescope mirror in the world) telescopes. These telescopes are located on the highest peak in TX at 6,791'.  Our tour guide moved the 107” around but did not open the view area as it would have heated up the lens, and that would make it inoperable for the evening testing.   Next time, we’ll definitely stay for the night star show.  

107" telescope

Pecos Pete

Got back to the motorhome around 2:00 PM, got it ready to travel and were on the road by 2:30.   Made it to Fort Stockton around 5:00 PM, where we park at Walmart.   We then drove into the downtown area, got pics of Pecos Pete the Roadrunner…very cool.   Afterwards, we went looking thru some of the local shops, bought a few things.   

May 28, 2014

Indian Lodge

Moving day, this time we are heading to Fort Davis, TX.   Our first stop was Pecos, TX, where we saw the “west of the Pecos” museum, which used to be a famous hotel.   Also read about Judge Roy Beam and how famous he was in this area.

Court House in Fort Davis

We continued on to Fort Davis, where we arrived around 2:00 PM, we’ve gone into Central time zone.   Had   First stop was the Indian Lodge inside the park.   Actually it’s a state park within a state park.   We are in Davis Mountains State Park (this park has cable TV…extremely unusually) and this is Indian Lodge State Park.  Only in TX!!!   It’s an old lodge that Teddy Roosevelt had built back in the 1930’s. We then drove to Purdy Ranch, they are having the Texas Star Party and we wanted to know if the public is welcome.   For $60 a person, you can come in, we elected not to go in.   We’ll see the McDonald Observatory tomorrow and that will be enough, although seeing the stars at night is awesome.

a late lunch and then went out touring for about 3 hours.

Lesser Goldfinch

Drove into town to look at Fort Davis, it closes at 5 PM and it was 4:15, so we did not stay, just took a few pics, we will come back tomorrow.   On the way home, stopped at a local ice cream shop and had scoop of ice cream…nice way to end the day!

Got home and settled in for the evening.   After dinner, I went for a walk, they have to bird viewing areas, so I went to get some pics, obtained some very nice pics of woodpeckers, etc.

The stars are beautiful here....no wonder the astronomers have come to this area.   No city lights!!