2026-7-9 Kolaches and Cards

 We started the next morning by walking over to Weikel's Bakery which is really close to the RV park. They are famous for their kolaches but they also have pigs in a blanket which is the American name for the ones with sausage inside instead of fruit and cream. 

Most of us had the kolaches but what a hard choice. There must have been 20 choices. Jimmie and Shelley had their breakfast burritos which were huge and also delicious.

This fabulous bakery is inside a gas station and also has a gift shop. In addition to the bakery, they also have sandwiches. Don't miss it if you go to La Grange.

They were doing some renovating after hours but it certainly didn't impact our fun.

That afternoon we got together for a card party. We weren't playing rummy or poker. We were decorating cards for a charity called the Forgotten Wishes Foundation. They don't grant wishes. They make sure that people with different abilities are not forgotten through their Forget-Me-Not Friends Club. Anyone can host a "card" party for this nonprofit charity from groups, to friends, to clubs whether in person or even online. You buy blank cards, decorate them with anything from water colors to crayons to markers to stickers. Then send them to the foundation and they take care of sending them to the Forge-Me-Not Friends club members.

I had cards for everyone to do at least one card because your artistic capabilities are not what is important. Several women did at least a couple of different cards. I was so busy getting supplies out that I didn't get pictures of the work of art in progress.

Here are the completed art projects.

There is also a note inside each card that makes it personal.

That evening we all went to the Sealand Seafood and Steaks restaurant for a group dinner.

They gave us a room to ourselves and we had a great waitress who handled the crowd with ease.

2026-7-8 La Grange Visitor's Center

The' La Grange Texas Ramblin' Roses Rally didn't start until Tuesday but I booked a week's stay and had to leave the following Monday so I arrived on Monday. I thought I would be the only one there but 
"surprise", Kathy, Diana, Emma, and Frankie also arrived on Monday. Elaine was already there as she came in on the Friday before. 

We decided to head over to Sealand Seafood & Steak Restaurant for dinner. A "Happy Hour" time was had by all. The next evening was check in time for the rally.

Wednesday morning co-host Barb had the coffee all ready at 8:30 AM. I was really grateful she volunteered to do that each day as I try to walk early before it heats up. 

Our next agenda item was to head out to the La Grange Visitor's Center.

As you can see, not everyone was up to visit the Visitor's Center as some had been there before.

The Visitor's Center is actually located in te Casino Hall which isn't really a regular casino at all. The last time I was here, we were able to go upstairs to see the big hall where events were held but this time they were concerned about the safety of the floor so that was a no go.

La Grange is located in Fayette County. Knowing the county you are in when you travel in an RV is important in case of bad weather as info is often given by county.

There was a lot of pictoral info given about the town through the years.

Have you ever seen the movie "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"? Well this is supposedly a replica of the inside. The "Chicken Ranch" as it was called is no longer in La Grange. I think part of it was moved to north Texas and the rest is just gone.

If you are a fan of ZZ Top, they played here in La Grange and actually had a song called La Grange.

We had a rally in La Grange a number of years ago and several of our members who shall remain nameless "Judy, Anne...." dressed up and entertained us at the rally.

Texas is known for it's beautiful Courthouses and the Fayette County one in La Grange certainly deserves that description.

The inside is even more amazing and has a feature you don't usually see.....a beautiful courtyard with a fountain.

The rest of the day was free and we did a little more exploring around the square.

The original plan for dinner was took hot dogs on my grill for everyone at my RV site. Elaine and I both brought our canopies so we could set them up facing the pond so we would have some shade. As Elaine and I did our 1/2 mile walk for the second day, we noticed that no one had canopies up including the manager and longer term guests. Oh, oh. On to plan B. We always have a plan B as you just have to be prepared. So plan B was to set up at one of the tow covered picnic tables at the end of the pond. Hmmm. Parking might be a problem and it was really, really hot. On to plan C.

If you look through the window at the back, you can see Elaine's truck parked across from the door. Plan C = my grill on her tailgate and us all eating inside in the nice cool air. Yay for plan C.

All beef hot dogs plus 2 veggie dogs for one member plus Elaine's great potato salad as well as all the fixing including chili plus other salads and deserts brought by members.

Hot dog night was a big success.

After dinner was time for games. Rummikub and Mexican Train are very popular group games but Jimmie, Elaine, and Shelley spent a lot of time at the rally learning to play mahjong following directions on the phone.