Tuesday's Travels

Yesterday I met my friend Susan up at Camping World.  She has to have some more work done on her RV and, at Camping World, that usually means at least a couple of days stay.  On the upside, they plug her 5th wheel in and she is able to stay in it.  That's key if you are a full-timer.  After a relaxing breakfast at IHOP, we set out to find something to do for a few hours.  We made a quick stop at Naegelin's Bakery to pick up a few things Susan wanted for her freezer.  Naegelin's is the oldest Bakery in Texas - 144 year's old this year.  It specializes in German bakery items but they have almost everything you can think of, at least on a weekday morning.  One of the things you should pay attention to if you visit New Braunfel's is the murals on the walls of buildings in the downtown area.  They are very interesting and give a great history lesson when you check them out.  Each one is different and this one was on the building on one side of Naegelin's parking lot.

We decided we would go to Gruene and walk around since Angel, Susan's little dog, was with us.  But  then we saw a sign for the Schlitterbaun Christmas Shoppe and decided to check it out.  Angel was happy to wait for us in the truck since the weather was nice and cool.

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 Some of the parking right in front of the Shoppe is reserved for reindeer :).

We walked through the main shoppe out to the patio area first.  It's a courtyard surrounded by small shops and boutiques.  Nice things but a bit expensive.

Each building is unique.  We had the place to ourselves out here.

We also looked through the main shoppe.  They have every Christmas decoration you can think of and lots of decorating ideas.  Of course, RVers really don't need much to decorate their smaller castles do they?

Next we were off to Gruene.  Susan had not been there and I just figured it would be a nice place to walk around.  Angel could also walk around with us.  This Bed and Breakfast is right across from the big parking lot set behind the buildings.  It was cool out but not bad at all walking around.  By cool, I mean mid 60s, not exactly northern winter weather but cool for us.

I didn't take a lot of pictures but we stopped and went in to quite a few stores.  Angel was so good while I waited outside with her that she usually got invited inside as long as there was no food being served.   Winter in central Texas means you still have flowers blooming.  Isn't this pretty?

We stopped at the local coffee shop and Susan wanted to see the Pickle Store next door.  A whole store, just pickles.  The main store is in Boerne and this is the only other place you can get these pickles.

On that note, we made a quick stop at PetSmart and then back to Camping World as it was about 4:30PM.  Guess what?  They were still just chasing down parts for the work.  Susan definitely has more patience than I do.

Weekend Visit with Friends

This weekend I left early and headed up to Bandera, TX to spend some time with some RV sistahs.  My friend Birdie told me to bring my PJs along and spend the night so that's just what I did.  Our friend Sharon is going through some very difficult health issues right now and we are just trying to provide some moral support.  Birdie and another RV friend are staying at the same park with Sharon.  I also got to meet Debbie, another nurse friend of Sharon's, who is also a big part of the support group.

Lunch on Saturday was a group effort with everyone bringing things to the group table.  Friends, old and new, gathered together for each other.  Two other RV friends have also been there to stay at different times.

Birdie and I took a walk while Sharon was napping.  Of course, only Birdie knows what this little bird singing his heart out was because I certainly don't remember.  In the evening, we all gathered at Shirley's site around a fire in a little chiminea that Debbie's son brought over for the sistah's to use.

Sharon doesn't usually have much appetite so when she wanted seafood on Sunday, we were happy to oblige and took her into San Antonio to Joe's Crab Shack.  She was a happy woman.

Shirley and Debbie with various shrimp dishes and Sharon with her bucket of crab.  She cleaned it up too.

Sharon always has a smile on her face and hugs for everyone.  Birdie's lobster took a little more effort just like Sharon's crab.

Friends should be there for each other and Sharon has a lot of friends praying for her.

Thanksgiving with Friends

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday because we spent it with our long time friends and their family.  As a retired Air Force family we, like many other military families, have a few friends that are as close as family.  Frequent moves and deployments often mean that military families are far from other family members so we take care of each other.  My DH and Bob became friends early in their careers.  They were both from Michigan.  It was a number of years before they both had families and our two families were stationed together.  Their older kids were with me in our house at Sheppard AFB when a devastating tornado hit Wichita Falls.  My DH drove our friends to the hospital and was waiting there during the tornado while they had their next baby.  That was some day.  My DH was on a remote assignment when they had their youngest son.  All their other kids were with me.  I got a call to come to the hospital because things weren't going well so I woke up another military family in the middle of the night to come and stay with all the kids.  It was a rough night and a difficult few weeks when the baby and Dad were air evacuated to San Antonio.  Mom didn't get to go for a week.  We were there for each other because families were across the country and that's the way it should be with good friends.  Once again we all live in the same city so holidays are often spent together.

Dinner was great.  Turkey and all the trimmings.  Their kids and their families were there along with a sister and boyfriend from Houston so it was a full house.  Thanks again friends.  Sorry there are no pictures but it was a magnificent spread and three tables full of people sitting down together.

Today I cooked up a small turkey that I purchased over the weekend because we like lots of turkey "leftovers".  I think "do-overs" is a better term.  Turkey sandwiches, sliced turkey, turkey soup or casserole.  I like it all.

Hope you all had a wonderful day of Thanksgiving with family or friends whereever you happened to be.

Bussey's Flea Market, San Antonio, TX

Well, it's not an RV trip but the weather is nice and at least it is out of the house.  We were off to Bussey's Flea Market.

You just never know what you are going to see at the Flea Market.  What we first noticed was a very full parking lot and lots of people out to enjoy the day.  You can see that the flea market consists of open booths which change frequently like those on the left and semi-permanent shops like those on the right.

You never know what might catch your eye.

This is one of the more semi-permanent shops with tons of belts to choose from as well as some other leather items.

Some of the shops have put up canopies for shade and just in case you get caught in the rain.

 Other areas are open with the exception of the covered roof.

Although signs clearly state that you are not allowed to bring pets along, this store "clerk" looks a little shaggy to me.  He was clearly checking something out down the aisle.

I think it may have been this little "working" dog that had just passed by.  And no, this is not one of the Traveling Longdogs.  In addition to being at home, they are also a bit slimmer.

You'll never guess what DH managed to find in this open area of the flea market.

Yes, I agree. "Moby Dick" looks a little front heavy especially without the 5th wheel floating along behind.  I guess maybe I'll be safe if there is an elephant on the road.

A Birthday Skating Celebration

Well, Cameron did not choose the San Antonio Zoo.  And he did not choose roller skating.  So it was off to the indoor ice skating rink for us.  Now I used to be a pretty good ice skater when I was young and, I could probably have managed on my own just fine.  But skating with Morgan just wasn't an option as we would both have been down in seconds.  This is only the second time on the ice for both of the kids.  Last time Helen was also here so she worked with Morgan.  But Steve was optimistic that he could manage to spend time skating with both kids without any problem.  Getting the skates on was the first challenge.

Morgan was just as excited about skating as Cameron.

Dad helps Cameron get his "sea legs".

A short video of Cameron "gliding" around the rink.

 Dad and Morgan take a turn.....

Grand finale......

Cameron whizzes around on his own.  Sorry the pictures are not great but there was glass around the rink.

After the ice skating was over, we went over to the bookstore for refreshments and then home.  All the  "boys" were relaxing on the couch.

Then Grandpa came home and it was time for birthday cake.

And scary faces....

And some time later, it was time for the final event of the "big" day, a sleepover in the living room complete with sheet tent.  Poor Dad slept, or at least tried to sleep, on the couch right next to Cameron and Morgan's "tent".

It was a big day for everyone.  Hard to believe our Cameron will be nine years old this weekend.  Happy Birthday Cam!

Happy Birthday Cameron

The grandkids came to San Antonio for the weekend to be with their Dad so that means we get to see them too.  Next weekend is Cameron's 9th birthday so we moved the first celebration of the big day up one week.  Did I mention that Steve is multi-talented?  He and Morgan baked the birthday cake and then Steve frosted it.

We wanted to open presents early but time slipped away and Grandpa had to go in to his "job" at the civic center so on with the opening.  There were cards.....

And there was some "birthday money".....

And a little discussion of what the birthday money might be used for....

And then there were presents.....

A soccer ball for San Antonio....right now the kids have toys at their Mom's, their Dad's in Florida, and Grandma and Grandpa's in San Antonio.

And the latest in Kung Foo Panda movies.....

Oh, this looks good.

Happy face.....

What are we going to build with this?

Cameron got his choice of dinner:    pizza, hamburgers, or steak.    Cameron chose Dad's world famous steak.   And then he got to choose the day's activity too:  San Antonio Zoo, roller skating, or ice skating.  You'll have to wait to find out his choice there.

After the Fun Comes the Clean-up

After all the fun is over, there is still the cleaning to be done.  I can wash the RV but getting the roof is a little beyond my abilities.  Fortunately, my son was here visiting from Florida and he loves to RV so he agreed to do the roof for me.  I am so lucky!

He scrubbed it with a brush and cleanser so it got a good going over and it really needed it.

It's times like this that you wish you had a smaller RV.  Of course, when the whole family gets out to RV, you wish for more space.  Guess it all balances out.  Especially if you are lucky enough to have a son like Steve.

I did the sides while Steve did the top but then the sides had to be done again because of the stuff running down.

Next time it will need a wax too but the roof should be good for a while.

The GTG is Slowly Coming to an End

A few people had to leave Sunday while Vicki (Yakn) was just arriving  She was in charge of another fly fishing GTG but there was no way she was gonna miss out completely on a Pink FlaminGoes Flocking.  Yea, Vicki.  She bunked with me for the night.  We had one final potluck that evening for a large group.

Monday was a day of leave taking for a lot of the attendees.  All the Louisiana ladies pulled out for their long trek home.  Sharon headed back to California.  Others headed out for various parts of Texas.  But then, we had yet another arrival.  Diana (Mtngal) arrived.  She just came in from California a couple days earlier and had to get a grandkid fix first but she didn't want to completely miss out on the GTG.  Her little Roadtrek puts on lots of miles between California and Texas.

Tuesday was a relaxing wind-down day.  Dawn, Ann, and Paul were resting up for their travel day on Wednesday.  Karen and Birdie headed in to town to pick up a few items.  Diana and I decided to check out a sign I saw on a nearby road for a winery and a bakery.

Well, we found the Fawncrest Winery....but it was closed.  Wine tastings on Saturday only.  Darn.

Then we found the sign for the Chocolate Iguana Bakery.  Hmmmm.....it was 2:30 PM.

So we went on down the road and checked out Canyon Lake Park and the Marina and then we went to Sattler to pick up a few items for dinner.

Dinner for four....Eggplant Parmesiana, salad, green beans, garlic bread, and brownies.

Last views of the campsite.....

View out my back window....the campground area behind us was already closed for the season.

Birdie left early to have some warranty work done on Suite Pea.  Dawn, Ann, and Paul headed east to RV Bootcamp.  Karen headed west to Bandera. Diana headed back to Austin, and I headed home.  All good things must come to an end....until next time!