Potter's Creek Get-to-Gether

For some reason I couldn't fall asleep Wednesday night so I didn't get much sleep between 2:30 and 5:30 AM but everyone has those nights once in a while. Steve was headed back to Florida before dawn on Thursday morning.   So I hopped up and helped him pull together a few last things although he was already very well organized.  It's about a 14 hour drive which he has made too many times to count in the last few years.  Like me, he loves to travel.  He hit the road at 6 AM and I decided I was going to lay back down for just a little while.  I was back up at 8:45, made the coffee, and headed out to Potter's Creek Park, a COE Park on Canyon Lake.  

My full-timing friend Nancy (Birdie) is parked in her favorite spot at Potter's Creek.  She spent most of last winter there in her Class C.  Even though the lake is pretty low and there is a total burn ban (including grills), it still doesn't look too bad there.  You'll see in just a minute.  We planned to have a Get Together.  Nancy's friend, Shirley, whom she met in Livingston at the Escapees this summer was coming in from Kerrville and I came in from San Antonio, actually Schertz but that is a little too small for most people to know.  Nancy (Birdie) is on the left and Shirley is standing in the door of Nancy's RV.

We sat in the shade and visited for an hour or two and then we headed into Canyon City which is a very small town on Canyon Lake to the Italian Garden.  It was remodeled last year and another whole room was added.  It is very nice inside, the prices are reasonable, and the food was very good.  I had Eggplant Parmigiana, Birdie had a combination platter with lasagna and Zita, and Shirley had Sausage Fettuccine.  They were all delicious.  I know some of you love food pictures but I never think of them until the food is half gone.  Sorry.  After we ate, we drove around and showed Shirley some of the sites like Canyon Dam.  We also checked out Lake Pointe RV Resort.  It is one of those membership resorts BUT they also take Escapees, Passport America, and CampClubUSA members at $12/night.  They even let us drive through and check it out.  It seemed nice with an small adult pool and a separate Jr Olympic size family pool, there's also a clubhouse, dog walk, and walking path.  You can see the lake but you are not camped right on the edge of it.

Once back at Potter's Creek, I got a better picture of Birdie's campsite.  You can see why she likes it.  This is the view towards the woods.  She has shade and a nice covered picnic table.  There is also both a grill and a fire ring but those cannot be used right now due to the burn ban.

This is one of the views from Birdie's site.  You can see the deer that move through the park all the time.  There are quite a few fawns but you are asked not to touch them.  I didn't get another picture that I should have which is to the right of this are which is where you can see the lake.  There are several camping loops here, some shady spots, some completely open spots.

It was a beautiful day in the lower 90's, perfect for sitting out in the shade with a slight breeze blowing.  I'll be back Birdie.

A Few More Repairs

There are still projects going on around here.  The guys decided to take on the roof rot on the front porch.  It seems that the drip edge meant to reroute the water from the corner out across the sidewalk was really not put together right in the first place so the fascia had developed some bad places so the demolition crew dug in.  They had to replace a very small section of the roof itself too.  

Dave is checking out the fit of the replacement fascia.  We really lucked out on that one.  Dave went to Lowe's looking for a 2"x10" cedar board that was grooved on one side.  Apparently that isn't something they keep in stock BUT someone had returned one 10' board which was just exactly what we needed. It was even roughly grooved down the length of one side.  Steve was also up on the roof working down from that side.  He pounded in a few nails that were loose all along the fascia on the second story.  We have one more spot up there that still needs fixing.

We also knew that the corner fascia on the second story in back was separated.  How did we know?  Well, first we heard either birds or squirrels in the attic right in that corner.  Haven't heard anything for quite some time so now is the time to get it closed up.  I really didn't want either father or son up on that ladder but they don't listen too well.  Discovered that there were never any nails into a couple of the studs which is why it separated so that got fixed.  We also got the spotlights up there replaced.

It's a long way up there.  Now that the spotlights have been replaced, we will be able to track those little dachsies down when they don't come running at night.  I guess you can see how gone the grass is around here but hopefully it will all come back once we finally get some rain.

Thanks for stopping by.  Come again anytime.

Sunday, Sunday

Steve and the kids went off to play in the park first thing Sunday morning but it was already getting warm.  So we decided to head off to Chacho's & Chalucci's, rather unique restaurant with an indoor (A/C) playground.

They have fairly inexpensive food but the big draw for the kids is the play gym you can see through the window in the photo below.  Now granted, it isn't nearly a good as the fantastic climbing area the kids played on yesterday at Sea World but it works just great for a day when you need a change or outside play is not optimum.  Just be prepared for the noise level at this place.  Grandpa can't handle it but he was working anyway and Grandma is a lot tougher when it comes to things like this.

After some time here, we made a trip to the Live Oak Civic Center where Grandpa is an event coordinator.  This weekend's show was a Model Train show so there was lots to see there since the clubs put up a number of tracks with various size trains.  One particularly neat set-up was the Lego train area.  The modelers there have a real fantasy set-up in place and it was fun to watch.

Finally late afternoon rolled around and it was time to head up to Marble Falls to meet the kids mother.  We had arranged the pickup at one of the local parks so the kids would have plenty to do while they waited.  It is also half way to their home in Brownwood so it makes a good break for some exercise and running around.  The kids had a picnic supper and then played tag with their Dad until their Mom arrived and The end of a good visit.

Seaworld Adventure

Saturday morning we headed off to an adventure to SeaWorld.  Thanks to Anheuser Busch's Salute to Heroes 2011 program, my son Steve was able to get 4 tickets to visit SeaWorld or Busch Gardens at no cost.  Since he was here in San Antonio and had the kids and we have a SeaWorld, timing was perfect.

It took a while to get in as you have to bring in a pass from the Internet and then the manager approves the tickets but here they are at the beginning of the day.

SeaWorld starts Halloween early and they have lots of decorations all over the park.

Our first stop was the "One Ocean" show featuring Shamu.  They do a good job of not only showing the whales but talking about caring for the one world we all share.

This is baby Shamu born last year.  They have a huge screen where they even showed baby Shamu being born.

You can see how large the whales are and they are so graceful as they swim around.  Part of the fun is being in the splash zone when the whales line up and hit the water with their tails.  They can send up some big splashes.

Next we were off to walk around the park.  Had to take a quick stop in Alligator Alley.

The next stop was at "The Count's Un-haunted Castle".

Pushing buttons brought forth all kinds of noises for the younger crowd.

Here Morgan was having a conversation with a pumpkin head.  The "voice" could obviously see and hear her because it was a real conversation.  I wish I could have captured the look on her face because she was definitely not expecting this.

Everyone got a real kick out of the mirrors.  You could be tall and skinny or short and fat depending on the mirror.

And then a final photo with the Count.

"The Cannery Row" show in Sea Lion Stadium was wonderful.  The whole set-up is amazing.

The whole show revolves around a story about the fact that fish are missing from the cannery and the detectives are looking for them.  This is the detectives office.

Here they are looking for clues in the soda fountain.  Both the people and the animals are performing.  The people narrate the whole show as they go through it.

In the end, the "owner" of the cannery is the culprit.  It is a wonderful and entertaining show for adults and kids.  The people were in and out of the water with the animals as they went through the story.

The next stop was to catch a couple of rides on the Shamu Express.

These were just a few of the characters roaming around the park.

Sea World also had Halloween "Trick or Treating" at FantaSea.

Again, all kind of characters this time all with a sea theme.  You walk through this area and the characters give the kids packages of Halloween themed gummy candies and also real "baby bananas".

This character was right outside of FantaSea.  Steve is 6'4" so you can see how tall he was on his stilts.

Time for some more kid sized rides.  We also went on the "Rio Loco" wild river ride which is not just a kids ride but I didn't get a picture of that.  I don't like any of the wild rides and the kids are too young but I like the Rio Loco even if you do get a bit wet.  After all it is hot out.

The kids were hot by now so we were off to the "Sesame Street Bay of Play" where there are fountains and water elements, rope nets and lots of climbing around.  They did all the climbing first and then hit the water along with Dad.  Needless to say, they all got soaked to the skin but 20 minutes later they were all dry again.

Back to some more rides.  This ride swung back and forth along a track and well as twirling around.

Our next stop was the "Azul" show which features beluga whales, pacific white sided dolphins, tropical birds, aquatic acrobats and aerialists from around the world.  It is another fantastic show with lots of action and beautiful colors.

Here you can see some of the performers in mid-air.

These dolphins can really jump high out of the water.

This "flyer" came out of the rafters of the pavilion and performed on lengths of fabric suspended over the water.  She swirled across the surface of the water as well as up and down the lengths.

Another trip to the rides before we left.  This was a kids version of the ride that goes way up in the air and then drops down suddenly.  It went up to the top, then dropped a few feet, then back to the top, etc.  One of the nice things about the kids rides is that the adults can actually go on all of them with their children or kids past a certain height can go alone if they want to do that.

After a very long and exciting day, Cameron is relaxing in the Relax a Back chair with his Grandpa.

Thanks again to Anheuser Busch Salute to Heroes 2011 for their support of the military.  When you give so much, it is nice to know that even companies care.  It made the day extra special.

Scary Halloween Preview

Saturday we were headed down I-35.  Traffic was light and moving right along.  It was a beautiful day, sun shining, and temperature headed upward towards 90 degrees.  This is Texas you know and it is only the 1st day of October.  Looked ahead and to the right of us and saw this...

                                                                        A Coffin Car

Yes, that's right, a car with a real coffin for the body.  Sorry the picture isn't great but I was surprised, didn't have much time and had to take the picture through the car window as we were both driving down the road.

You would think that would be enough for a "scary" ride but no.   A pickup truck passed us on the left side.  He was whipping right along pulling a small trailer loaded with hollow steel pipe about 5 inches in diameter and 6 feet long, not tied down!  You guessed it.  Pipe started coming off the trailer and bouncing down the road behind him.  We were able to move over one lane and miss getting hit.  Did he slow down and pull over---no.  Next, the wheel came off the trailer and bounced down the road.  Did he slow down and pull over---no.  He rolled on around from I-35 onto 410 South without missing a beat with traffic swerving to get out of the way of the pipe falling off his trailer and the wheel rolling through traffic.  There was no way this guy didn't hear what was going on as the trailer was making a lot of noise without one wheel and the pipe was banging loudly onto the highway.

Guess he was one of those excellent drivers hitting the road without any insurance so he wasn't going to stop and get caught regardless of who got hurt.  It was definitely "scary".