Easter Delight

Thursday afternoon, Steve and I headed up to Marble Falls to pick up the Grandkids. It was cool enough for Harley and Angus to wait in the car so we decided to have dinner at the Bluebonnet Café. Usually the timing of our pickup doesn't work well for a sit-down restaurant stop but today we got the kids at 5:00PM. The Bluebonnet Café has been around for 80 years and is pretty well known in Texas. They are famous for their pies but the food is good too. This time of year, they even had bluebonnets blooming in their flower beds.

We stopped at the wildflower field just south of Johnson City on Highway 281. There always seems to be a massive show this time of year. Before anyone gets concerned, we are well aware that rattlesnakes like bluebonnets too so we are very careful. We also are very careful not to trample any flowers just to get pictures. There were a few paths where people already took pictures.

Angus and Harley didn't mind posing. 

The bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush were thick again this year.

It was a busy weekend as usual. The kids and grandkids had plans with some out of town visiting friends on Friday. Saturday, we all went to the Pearl Brewery Farmers Market in the morning. That is always fun with lots to see, music, and lots of good food to choose from if you are hungry. In the afternoon, it was egg decorating time. Dad and Grandpa always have fun supervising the decorating.

Sunday morning, the plastic eggs were hidden in the backyard. Everyone wanted in on the hunt including Angus and Harley. Willy was napping inside. The dogs found a couple but they were good about just looking at them.....mainly because there prizes inside instead of candy.

Dinner was great. I cooked a prime rib roast and homemade rolls and Helen made green bean casserole and onion garlic potatoes. We watched the Minions movie and everyone relaxed until Helen and Steve had to take the kids back up to Marble Falls.

The Rest of the Spring Break Story

Now for the rest of the story as they say. We fixed lunch at Balmorea and headed down the road with thoughts of spending one more night on the road before we arrived back in San Antonio. Junction was our first choice but every place we tried was full, full, full. Hmmm, never got stuck like this before. We stopped in Junction and picked up some Church's Fried Chicken and figured we would mosey on down to Kerrville as they also have a number of RV parks. No room at the inn here either. As our Spring Break was ending, everyone else's was apparently just beginning. We even tried the KOA there which never seems that busy. He would have been happy to have us but quite a few of his spots were muddy, dangerously muddy from the heavy rains during the week.

We decided at this point that it was only an hour and a half home so we would just head in. It was about 9:300PM when we arrived. We went straight to Steve's house as I could pull in front of his house. I live on a cul-de-sac where the neighbors all think angle parking is the way to go so I only bring my RV home Monday through Friday while they are at work. The kids and Steve all headed into the house. I said I was sleeping in my own bed in the RV and of course, the dachsies were with me. I read for a while and then headed to bed.

A few hours later, I was up.....and in the bathroom......on the toilet with a bowl on my lap. That is where I spent most of the rest of the night. Remember that we didn't get to dump the tanks so I prayed for a little more capacity each time I had to flush.  Next morning, I was dozing when DH showed up on his motorcycle. Nobody else was sick.  Hmmmm.  I was feeling pretty bad with stomach pains and blood. We pulled the food out of the fridge and then I decided that I really wasn't in good shape and headed to the Emergency Room.

After a couple hours of observation, they admitted me for a diverticulitus  attack. That was my own diagnosis when I headed to the ER as I had one attack 15 years ago and it felt the same. So I spent Sunday through Tuesday night in the hospital with IVs and two different antibiotics. I was so glad to come home and get some sleep. Antibiotics continued for another 10 days which left me feeling about as energetic as a slug......no more pain or blood....just a total lack of energy. I was so glad to finish the pills and start to feel more like more normal self.

It turned out to be a blessing that we drove on home and I had the RV to myself that night.

And that is the rest of the story!

Swimmin' with the Fish at Balmorea

When we left Davis Mountains State Park, the sun was shining and the temperatures were rising. We headed north towards I-10 but we had a stop I've been wanting to make for a long time. San Solomon Springs has been in use for a long time by the Indians and then the Mexicans. They used it for irrigation purposes.

This is an artesian spring and before it was modified by farmers and park builders, the springs emptied into a desert wetland called a cienega. Over time, the wetlands dried up and disappeared; however, the cienegas have been recreated and the water also flows through some canals all the way to Balmorea Lake. Now, where do you find San Solomon Springs, why in Balmorea State Park, of course.

Parking is rather limited in the park but we arrived early and were able to park along one side of the parking lot without inconveniencing anyone else. It was cool enough to open some windows and put the dogs in the RV after we played with them in a nearby field. We weren't sure if it would be warm enough to swim so we didn't tell the kids until we got there what they would be seeing at the park. The pool is huge, sort of like two gigantic football fields hooked together in a wing shape. There were swimmers in the water including a school of scuba divers and ducks.

 

The kids and Steve were ecstatic when they saw the diving boards at one end of the pool. The fun was on.

Even Morgan got into the high dive act.

There are real nice grounds all around the pool with picnic tables for family gatherings.

This gives an idea of the size of the pool and it stretches out like a football field on each side of this center section.

A view back to the changing rooms.

Can you see the natural rocks in the bottom? While the sides may look like a regular pool, the bottom is natural.

Everyone is enjoying the water. You can see the divers buoy towards the top left.

See the fish?

More fun. The water stays about 75 degrees year round.

Morgan heads down the pool after her dad.

Good thing she didn't look down as she was swimming along. I'm sure there would have been loud screeches even though we told her there were fish in the pool. We were kind of surprised at the size of the catfish.

It was a fantastic morning and we still had one more night on the road before heading home.

We did a drive through the camping area just in case we get a chance to camp there in the future.

It's a desert campground but they have some nice covers over the picnic tables.

It was a very interesting place and I'm so glad we got to stop and check the place out.