Thursday February 17, 2011-Buckhorn Lake Resort

We woke again to cloudy skies and a very light rain this morning, as has been every morning. The weather wasn't particularly cold, but it was cool. Again as usual, the clouds burned off and it was a bright sunlit afternoon.

The rally actually began today and a few more stragglers came into the park, including Tommy and Susan. It was good to see our good friends and we spent some time with them after they arrived. We went to the small meeting room for a meet and greet with the rally. They passed out small bags of gift items that will be used by all. It was good to see old friends and we will make many new ones here. Tommy and Susan didn't actually get signed up for the rally, but since they're in the park, I'm sure that they can participate in many of the activities this weekend.

Tonight was a huge steak dinner (32 oz. steak, two potatoes, two salads, brocoli, and a dessert and drink) that we had paid for. Tommy and Susan decided not to come and went out for supper, but we had a nice time. There were games after the dinner, but we went back over to T & S's motorhome and hung out with them until I got sleepy and went on home.

This is a nice, well-run rally and I am sure that we will be back here next year and many years after. This is a great park and well set up for rallies like this one. To us, it is not any nicer than Rayford, so we don't plan to change anything there. I may consider this area for another October rally, depending on how the Canton rally goes. I'm still thinking on this...

So long.

Wednesday February 16, 2011-Buckhorn Lake Resort

The weather here has been the same every day. It is cool or even cold and rainy in the morning and clears off and is beautiful in the afternoon. At least its not freezing...

The rally doesn't actually begin until tomorrow, but several of the folks arrived today and we all went out to eat at a cajun restaurant named LaFour's. The food was pretty good but not outstanding and my order got missed, causing my food to be delayed to me until everyone else had eaten about half of their meal. When a couple of the people at my table asked the server, he said it would be coming out soon and I would not be charged for it. What a deal!!

We rode with our friends Jim and Bette and had a nice visit with them on the trip over. We came back here to the park and hung out, talking and visiting with the others that were here and turned in pretty early. We are having a good time so far, and the rally will get kicked off tomorrow.

So long.

Tuesday February 15, 2011-Buckhorn Lake Resort

We've been sleeping late in the last few days for some reason. I guess its because the weather has been cool and good sleeping weather. I've noticed more traffic noise in this park on this trip than I remembered, but when I go to bed, it doesn't bother me.

I had asked at the office about having the trailer washed. The man showed up today and we agreed on a price and he got started. We paid him and went over to News Braunfels to see my step-mom, Grandma Willie Mae. We had a very nice visit at her house and then went to Ryan's for supper. She said it was a treat for her and we had another good visit while we ate. We dropped her off at home and then made the long drive back here to Kerrville. It's farther than I remembered, and I had to drive carefully on the unfamiliar roads. We saw several deer along the road on the way back.

It had gotten chilly again tonight, so we hurried on back inside. The dogs were glad to see us but they too didn't stay out very long. The weather should be improving daily and we look forward to some warmer temps.

So long.

Monday February 14, 2011-Buckhorn Ranch RV Resort

First of all, Happy Valentine Day!

This is our first full day here in Kerrville and we stayed inside pretty late this morning. I guess we were all tired from the long trip up here. It was an easy drive up, just longer than we normally do in one day.

We only had a couple of things to do today but we didn't get started until about ten o'clock in the morning. Stella washed our clothes and I just piddled around here. The dogs and I enjoyed our time together. When the clothes were done, Stella and I went into town to find the Dodge dealer because I needed to get the oil changed in the truck. We found the tiny dealership but learned that they were full until Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Wow, who'd a thought it? We went to Wal Mart and did 0ur shopping and came on back home. It was such a nice day, I sat outside and read my book. Stella had downloaded a couple of books for me on her Kindle and I enjoyed the weather for awhile this afternoon.

Let me tell you a bit about Kerrville Texas. It was first settled in the 1840's by some shinglemakers. In the 1850's two German millers established a gristmill along the Guadalupe River, but the town was actually established by a Major in the Texas Revolution named James Kerr, who formally platted the town. It has grown steadily to a population today of about 23,000. In the mid-1990's the Wall Street Journal described Kerrville as one of the wealthiest small towns in America.

Kerrville is home the annual Texas State Arts and Crafts Show which features artisans and entertainers from around the state. It also hosts the Kerrville Folk Festival, an annual summer festival which features folk musicians from around the country.

There are several RV parks in Kerrville, the Guadalupe River RV Park, the By the River RV Park and the Buckhorn Lake Resort where we are staying this week. We think this is the nicest place in Kerrville, but each one has it's own attractions.

Thats a little bit about Kerrville.

So long.

Sunday February 13, 2011-Movin day-Mission West to Buckhorn Lake

Today was the day that we all dread, having to break things down and leave for a new location. At least much of my time-consuming things had already been done, the porch, draining and flushing the tanks and putting all of that away, and putting away all the outside decorations. The work went well and we were ready to go at 9:20, somewhat of a record for us!



We pulled out and once we got out on the road, I noticed that I was getting better than 11 miles per gallon, according to the dash computer. It also showed that we had plenty of fuel to go the distance without transferring fuel. By using the GPS, which shows the distance to Kerrville and the distance to empty (DTE) I figured we would have somewhere around 50 miles to go until empty. As we got nearer to San Antonio the roads got hillier (is that a word?) and I began to notice a small drop in MPG and the DTE was dropping too. We pulled into a Loves Travel Stop for a bite to eat and a rest stop, but I was still confident that we could make it, showing about 25 miles of difference . After getting through San Antonio and then encountering some steep hills, I watched as the two figures came closer and closer. About 12 miles before we got to Kerrville, I saw a rest stop sign and decided to pull in and fill up. The distance to the park was 12 miles and the distance to empty was 13 miles, so I didn't want to risk it and pulled in. We did go 329 miles pulling the trailer, which is way more than we have ever gone before. Since I transferred from the big tank, I wasn't able to tell you how many gallons we took and the mileage we got. I am pleased with the truck otherwise, the power and handling and now the fuel mileage.



We got in here and got all set up without any problems, in fact, it was one of the easiest times we've had. It turned cool again after dark and we had to close all the windows that we had opened. It will be good to see some of our old friends from the Boomers and of course, Tommy and Susan and many of our Heartland friends, including Jimtoo and Jim B, Ray and Lin and the Bobcat! Maybe he'll fix us some more of his breakfast burritos. Hope so....!

So long.

Saturday February 12, 2011-Mission West RV Resort

Well, today is our last full day here in Mission. Stella and I are in complete agreement that about a month is all we need to do down here in the valley. It's a nice and interesting place to come and of course, by crossing the border and buying our medicines, we save more than enough to make this trip, not counting fuel costs. These rising fuel costs are going to certainly affect our travels but we are still making plans to go places and see new things.

Stella and Donna found some coupons for a discount on the breakfast buffet at Furr's Buffet, so we all met there this morning for a great breakfast. They always have a wonderful variety of food there and today was no exception. We all ate more than we needed, but then we were planning to skip lunch, so it all worked out.

From there we went to the Don-Wes flea market. The day had begun again with cool temperatures but it had warmed up again and was a great day to be outdoors. We walked around the market and bought a few things, a replacement Triominoes game, some solar-light yard decorations and of course, some more of the RGV fruit. We had promised to bring some grapefruit back to some people at Rayford, so we stocked up.

After finishing up at the flea market, we went to pick up a check from the blind store. We had hopes to have had the new window blinds installed today but they weren't shipped in time to be delivered. We talked to Jose, the young man that had taken the measurements for us, and he seemed surprised that our money had to be refunded, but he gave Stella his personal card and asked that we call him prior to our next visit and he will personally see that the blinds are ready for us.

I was going to give Kevin and Nelly, the new Heartland Ambassadors, one of the banners that I had, but I had forgotten to get it out of storage this morning before we left so we had to go by and pick it up. I called Kevin and asked him to meet us along the road and he agreed. We also wanted to spend some more time with Tom and Judy today, so Stella called them and they went with us to meet Kevin. We invited Kevin and Nelly to go eat an afternoon meal with us at Martha's restaurant. I know it seems like all we do is eat here, but several hours had gone by since breakfast. We had another good meal at Martha's and enjoyed the company.

We came back home and I began to get ready to leave. I drained all the holding tanks, put the sewer hose away, put away our lawn chairs and took the porch and steps apart and put them in the truck, so my preparations were done. I relaxed in my chair and Stella went down to the rally hall to play games with Judy and some of the other ladies. They tried to get Stella to stay behind because they loved to play games together but she told them we have to leave. It was a very nice day to end our stay here in Mission.

So long.

Friday February 11, 2011-Mission West RV Resort

We hung out around here this morning. It was chilly out again but it warmed up nicely and by ten, the temperature was in the mid 60's with bright sunshine. I took walks around the park and enjoyed the day.

We went over to Kathy's house for a meeting of the Heartland Ambassadors with Jim. There is a new Ambassador couple, Kevin and Nelly who are new full timers. Kevin retired from the Navy about a year ago and they have been traveling since then. The meeting went very well and Jim gave us some brochures and some Heartland goodies, so we're all set to have some meetings.

After our meeting, we went to the Costa Mesa Mexican restaurant in McAllen. This is a great restaurant and we all had fun, visiting and chatting. It was a nice end to the day and we look forward to the future with our new Ambassador friends.

So long.