2019-02-14 Lake Braunig Get Together

On my way home from the Texas Ramblin' Roses rally in Goliad, I spent a few days at Braunig Lake RV Resort just south of 410 in San Antonio. I went there because a group of my Pink FlaminGoes friends were in town. We had a busy few days. Some had never been to San Antonio and some hadn't been in a very long time so sightseeing was definitely in order.

First we went to Mission San Jose. There are five missions in San Antonio. Probably the most well known is the Alamo. Now the Alamo is obviously important due to its prominent place in Texas history; however, the other four missions are better examples of actual missions.  All five are National Historic Parks. They are jointly run by the National Park Service and the Catholic Diocese of San Antonio because they are active churches. It is a partnership that works out very well as the Catholic Diocese is responsible for the actual church and the National park Service is responsible for the rest.

This is the church part of the mission.

This is part of enclosure around the mission. I should have mentioned that there is no charge to tour the missions and a park ranger gives regular tours. They are great but keep in mind that you will be standing for some time in different areas while you hear the history.

Artifacts from the mission days.

One of the entrances into the courtyard.

Front of the church.

There are numerous placards with info about the history. The missions were built more to occupy and hold the land than to help the Indians. In fact, the Indians were not treated very well at all.

After the ranger finished his tour, several of us walked outside the wall to check out the mill.

This is the Rose Window in the church.

Another day found us touring the Witte Museum. Just a hint for visitors, entrance is free on Tuesday nights. We were there during the day but we enjoyed it never the less.

The museum has several different diverse areas.

There is a wonderful early Texas section.

Next up they had a demonstration set up for riding a bicycle on a high wire. Of course, Karan was up for the challenge.

There she goes. She to pedal forward going across and then backwards going back.

Then there was the evening we headed down to the Riverwalk for the Lantern Parade. We had dinner on the balcony at Rio Rio Cantina overlooking the Riverwalk.

We never did see the small lanterns you could build and float yourself but we did see all the lanterns on the flatboats.

We also made it too the San Antonio Zoo.

First thing that greets you at the zoo is the bronze stature of the lions.

Pink flamingos for the Pink FlaminGoes visitors. Yeah, they are really more coral than pink.

Last event was a trip to Mi Tierra for dinner. It was Annette's birthday.

Mi Tierra is a very colorful place both with decorations and murals.

After lunch we walked across to the Mercado.

There was lots going on in the open area in front of El Mercado. This singer was really belting them out.

All in all, it was a great few days with friends old and new.

2019-02-10 TRR Goliad Rally

This is my second Texas Ramblin' Roses Rally here at Goliad State Park. Now the picture below is not Goliad State Park as all the sites there were full up well in advance.  So we found a backup solution by staying at the Angels in Goliad RV Park. It is a nice park that honors Passport America. They have full hookups as well as cable and wifi but no restrooms or amenities like a pool or hot tub. So you really do have to be self-contained.

Not having a pool or even a hot tub was not a problem this time as the bottom dropped out of the thermometer Thursday night and the high Friday was about 45 but felt much colder. Saturday was not much of an improvement.

Mary Jane and I arrived on Thursday and, right about suppertime, a couple of carloads of women showed up from the state park telling us about a "Taste of Goliad" going on at the fairgrounds. About 12 to 15 of us headed over there along with what must have been the entire town of Goliad.

You got a plate and silverware when you bought your ticket and then got in line where you picked up samples of all kinds of food in little cups. There were actually two different lines with different food. It was interesting. It was a fundraiser as they also had a silent auction with about 10 tables with lots of baskets on them.

Now on to the rally over at the State park. This is a picture I already had because the sun was definitely not shining and it was too cold to get out and take another one.

A lot of chatting goes on as Texas Ramblin' Roses catch up with each others news.

 Putting puzzles together is a very popular activity. This one had really small pieces.

Charli works her magic making new members feel right at home in the chapter at their very first rally.

 We had a great time in spite of the weather. Cookie Davenport took this great evening photo at the park entrance.

2019-01-22 Steve's Birthday

January is a busy month for birthdays in the Phipps family. My brother Tim has a January birthday in addition to Morgan and Steve. My Dad's birthday was also in January.  Steve is 47 this year but it is pretty hard to tell. He is very young looking. He got those genes from his Dad who is also very young looking for his age.

In addition to the family birthday hat, we also have a family birthday plate.  The kids can't protest too much because the adults also participate.

Steve had a Mardi Gras King Cake for his birthday. It looked a lot more garish in person as the colors for Mardi Gras are green, purple, and gold.  They come in all different flavors but Steve did not want fruit in his so he has cinnamon. We buy them every year from HEB because everyone likes them. This year we were not impressed as it was hollow and dry.  Hmmm..

I think this card was pretty funny from the look on Steve's face.

Another birthday with the family. We love them when we can all be together and sometimes juggle the dates so the kids can be here too.  Happy Birthday Steve.

2019-01-20 Morgan's Birthday

Yes, it's true. We have another teenager grandchild. Morgan turned 13. She is the youngest grandchild.  She is still our fun kid so far. Harley is giving her birthday kisses.

You may recognize the hat......it is the family birthday hat. In case you can't tell, it is a cake with candles on top.

My daughter-in-law found a pancake birthday online. Steve made the pancakes with butterscotch chips and Helen frosted the cake. The frosting kind of melted since the "cake" layers were warm but Morgan like it anyway.

 I keep telling Helen that one day she is going to regret making faces for the camera but she is fun and can't help herself.

Morgan has shot up tall this year. I think I may still have an inch on her but every time I see her, I expect to lose that advantage. Happy Birthday Morgan.

2019-01-05 RV Show and Red Barn Lunch GTG

The RV show in San Antonio was very early in January. We made plans for a bunch of Texas Ramblin' Roses to meet up at the show and then go out for lunch. Well, quite a few showed up. There were lots of RVs but none of us fell in love with any of them at least enough to shell out any cash. Most of them made me appreciate the one I already have. They had some programs but none of the ones I was interested in fell in the right time range.  The Vendor Booths were not very prevalent or overly interesting to most of us. A few were good. We were all hoping for more RV type supplies for sale.
A late lunchtime rolled around and everyone was ready to leave. We headed to the Little Red Barn.

They have menus but the menu is also on the wall.

The waitresses are pretty proficient with delivering orders quickly.

You might have expected the food to be flattened but it wasn't and it was good.

Another great day with RVing friends.