Conestoga Wagon Weekend

This week, my DH and DS were off to Ruidosa New Mexico for the Golden Aspen Rally and DIL had to fly to Chicago to be a guide for a blind triathlete competing for a place on the Special Olympics team. That meant that it was all up to Grandma....I mean I got to have a weekend with the Grandkids and the granddog. Helen flew out on Wednesday so Angus came over and settled in that morning. Friday afternoon, I drove up to Marble Falls to pick up the Grandkids.

By the time we drive back from Marble Falls, it's already 8PM so there was just time for a movie and a telephone call with their Dad. Saturday morning, we had breakfast burritos and then we were off to Bandera Texas.....the Cowboy Capital of the World. I've been wanting to take the kids to Bandera to see the Texas Shootout for a while now. A group puts on a shootout nearly every Saturday near the Visitors Center in Bandera.

After we arrived, we spent some time walking around the downtown area. In the background, you can see the "self-proclaimed 100% Indian and his wolfdog". I don't know about the Indian part but it sure didn't look like a wolf to me.

 We were very disappointed when we found out that the shootout wasn't going to happen because the participants had another gig out of town but we still had a terrific ride in a real conestoga wagon. The driver asked Cameron if he wanted to sit up front.

This series of pictures cracked me up. The dog's name is Cody and his preference to ride shotgun with the driver.

He started out on the platform behind the drivers bench and worked his way back up to the front.

Ah success.....just so you know kid.....I am the navigator on this ride.

Morgan said she would rather sit in the back of the wagon with me. The driver took us for a nice ride down the backstreets of Bandera. We actually saw him when we were coming into Bandera earlier. He was just coming into town. He gives rides for donations. We had a great time so he got a pretty healthy donation from us.

It's not unusual to see a lot of motorcycles in this area as it is a great place to ride but there were quite a few cycles in town this weekend as it was the Thunder in the Hills Motorcycle Rally. These bikes were all parked by the 11th Street Bar. It's a pretty neat place. On Wednesday nights, you bring your own meat, buy a set-up with baked potato and salad, and then cook your meat on one of the big grills they have set up out in the back yard. The bar area inside is pretty small but they have a big yard with grills, lots of tables, and a stage for the barn.

I took a couple more shots at the end of our ride.

Bandera has a nice park right along with Guadalupe River with grills and tables. We headed down there with our picnic lunch. Cam wanted to call his Dad and tell him all about the conestoga wagon.

Remember the smiling face earlier. This is the look you get when you put Miracle Whip on her ham sandwich instead of butter. It was spread so thin that you really could barely see it. It made for a long lunch.

Remember all those bikers in town? Well here are a few of them enjoying the river.

One more pass through town and then we headed back to San Antonio.

We didn't have swimsuits with us but the kids managed to get a swim in at the neighbors when we got home. Then it was time for pizza and "Cinderella".

Helen flew back in late last night and came over to join us today for breakfast. Later on, we headed over to the Barnes and Noble Bookstore just in time to meet up with Grandpa and Dad. We traded car riders and suitcases so Steve and Helen could take the kids back up to Marble Falls. Altogether it was a great weekend for everyone. Boy, am I tired.