Wednesday September 29, 2010-Bentsen Palms RV Resort

Here is the thatched pavilion that we took over for our stay. It is right across the street from our trailers and very shady and cool. We left our chairs there the entire time we were in the park.

Here is a closer shot of "our" pavilion. This park is beautifully landscaped with plants and flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. It does require a lot of maintenance to keep it looking like this, but it's worth it.

I don't know what these plants are called but they are certainly pretty and do a good job of attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. We enjoyed our stay at Bentsen Palms Village.

Ted and Donna and Stella and I went across the border to buy our medicines. We spent a lot of money, but we bought a year's supply of our medications so it was worth it.

It is definitely different in Mexico this time of year. Workers were cleaning the bridge walkways and getting ready for the huge influx of snow birds or Winter Texans that will be arriving very soon. There was little activity compared to what goes on during "the season" and hardly any street vendors were present.

So long.

Tuesday September 28, 2010-Bentsen Palms RV Resort

Today we went to the Ropas Usadas to show Tommy and Susan where we buy our clothes in the valley. Here are Stella and Susan looking over the huge piles of clothes. If you look behind the loose clothes on the floor, you will see some of the bales of clothes stacked up and waiting for someone to go through them to buy.

Here is another shot of the clothes that are piled on the floor. Women will come in and sit down in the middle of the pile, going through the clothes and pulling out what they want to buy. If you will look real closely behind and to the right of the lady squatting in the foreground you will see one. These clothes are bought by the pound, about .30 per pound, so you can find some real bargains. Some of these clothes come from Goodwill, some come from laundrys that have lost or unclaimed clothing and others come from donation centers.

This is not something I would like to do every day, but it is a sight to see! A person could make money at this by having garage sales, but its not for me or Stella. We enjoy going once while we're down in the valley but that's enough for us.

So long

Monday September 27, 2010-Bentsen Palms RV Resort

As you can see, both dogs are getting on very well. Tramp is doing great, and will respond to his name and learning some commands like NO, DOWN, SIT DOWN, STOP, etc. He hasn't had any accidents in the house but is still learning his way around.

Donna fixed some great looking steaks for Ted's birthday. We all had plenty to eat, and she even made him a key lime pie for dessert. We all had fun together and a fine meal. Thank you Donna.

Ted, Donna and Susan moving a table for us to eat on. We all loved the setting in this park. The owner and staff do so much to make it comfortable and very pretty. The winter Texans will be flocking in soon, so we took advantage of having so much room to enjoy ourselves in.

Here is Ted setting up the tables and chairs for his birthday supper. This is on a vacant site between our trailers.

That's Nick standing on the ground while he and his guys swarmed all over my trailer, cleaning it up for me. The guys cleaned all three of our rigs and started at 7:30AM and didn't get through until 6:30PM. They worked really hard but the two trailers and one motorhome sparkled like new when they got through.

So long.

Sunday September 26, 2010-Bentsen Palms Village RV Resort

Well, the new puppy had a good night. I tried to get him to go lay down with me in bed but he's apparently never been in bed and ran around excitedly for a few minutes before jumping down and running back into the living room with Stella. When I woke up later, he came into my lap and slept all night long. We didn't wake until almost 9 o'clock!

We went outside and drank our coffee with the rest of the group and while there, I met another resident of the park, Don Robidoux. He has been down visiting his son who is moving here from Mexico. We had a nice chat and he left to go meet his son. There aren't many others staying here right now but that will change next week when the early snowbirds start arriving.

We stayed here until after the Dallas-Houston football game and went into Donna for supper. We went to one of our favorites, Martha's diner which we found the first time we came down here, staying at Casa Del Sol. The diner is right next door to the RV park, so it was really convenient for us, but today it was closed until October 17th when they reopen for the winter Texas season. We ended up going to El Palenque at the suggestion of our friend Bob Wurch. The food was very good and not the usual TexMex food that we are accustomed to but still very good.

Speaking of Bob, I learned that his motorhome was broken into at the storage lot, with approximately $22,000 in damage and stolen items removed from it. He was supposed to have come down here this week but after the damage, he is staying at home. We will miss him.

We returned home and sat out in the covered patio across the street from our sites. It is so nice to have everything in the park to ourselves. We visited Ted and Donna here in January when we were down here and know that this is a very nice park during the season, but it has been nice now, during the off season. It has been warm but except for some rain, pretty nice here.

So long.

Saturday September 24, 2010-Bentsen Palms Village

We have a new addition to our family, a 6 month old puppy named Tramp. We came to the Don-Wes flea market to show it to Tommy and Susan and luckily for me, I found one of the people that run a booth there had three puppies and we took one of them. He is a Chihuahua/Poodle (is that ChiPoo or PooChi?) mix. Being only six months old, he hasn't had his shots or any kind of veterinarian testing done yet but as soon as we can get him to a vet, he'll be all checked out.

We started our day by taking Tommy and Susan to Gonzales Burger for lunch. We have eaten here several times before and just because it is the off season for winter Texans, they still serve some of the best burgers you've ever eaten. The meat is about a 3/4 pound patty and cooked to perfection. T & S were very impressed. We learned that many of the attractions that we wanted to show them were either not open or had been closed due to high water in the Rio Grande river, so we're going to miss several interesting sights here. They will have to come back with us one day during the peak season.

After lunch, we went to the Don-Wes flea market which is mostly closed because there are so few people to shop there. This is where we adopted Tramp, so the rest of the afternoon was spent trying to find doggie stuff for him. We got him a doggie bed and a very small collar, but no leash as yet.

We came back home and ate a great supper that Tommy had brought us of steaks, baked potatoes and all the trimmings. We also introduced Tramp to his new home. Cassie freaked out when she first saw him, but they are getting on just fine now. So far he has been taken out on a leash several times and does his business every time. He has started to eat and drink but we'll have to get him his own dishes because Cassie doesn't want to share. It's going to be a learning process with a puppy to train and to get used to. Wish us luck...

So long.

Friday September 23, 2010-Moving Day-Serendipity Bay to Bentsen Palms Village

Stella set the alarm clock for 7AM. I was already up and had turned the coffee pot on, so we were up in plenty of time to get away early, but somehow it took longer than she thought to get the inside stowed away and ready for travel. I was so far ahead of her that I took time out to take a walk over to the other side of the marina to leave a Heartland contact card on the door of a Sundance trailer. I had noticed the trailer earlier in the week but had not found anyone at home.

We got out of the park about 9:40, later than I wanted but still not a bad time to leave. We only made one stop, in Odem, for fuel and a potty break. It rained on us all the way down which slowed us down some but the trip was pretty much uneventful. We pulled into the park right on time, an hour behind the rest of the group, Ted and Donna and Tommy and Susan. The lady in the office told us that she had been waiting for us to arrive, and as soon as we got checked in, she closed the office and went home.

It took us just over 5 hours to get here, or just about what we figured. I realized that we needed to make one more stop to stretch and we will make this adjustment on our way back here next weekend.

It began to rain on us again so we didn't get the porch and steps set up but everything else was done. We were tired and wet, so we just knocked off and later went to eat at Furr's Fresh Buffet in Donna, one of our favorite restaurants up here. We had a very enjoyable meal, however there was one rather funny but sad man that came in while we were eating. He is apparently homeless and was pushing a small cart, like the ones used at flea markets with a mesh type container that apparently contained all of his belongings. It began as funny to see all of the food that he had stacked up on plates but I soon realized that this was probably his first meal in some time. He is probably one of the unfortunately homeless individuals that has to sell aluminum cans or other discarded items to make money, or beg from others to make enough to be able to eat. I did not speak to this man, but I have seen many like him in the past. It was still funny to see a plate full of chicken, plates of vegetables, rolls and a plate containing five or six pieces of chocolate cake. There is no telling how long he will have to sit here to eat all of that food.

This man reminded me again of how lucky we are to be able to live our traveling lifestyle like we do.

We came home and tried to sit outside but the skeeters were terrible and we didn't stay out very long. With all the rain they have had the mosquitoes are very aggressive now. We'll just have to deal with them as best we can. I guess our cans of Off will get a good workout this week.

So long.

Tuesday September 21 thru Thursday September 23, 2010-Serendipity Bay RV Resort

Again I must apologize for falling behind when there was nothing going on. I guess the reason is that there was little to write about except our meals out.

Tuesday was warm and sticky from all the rain we have had. We decided to go to the Blessing Hotel for lunch, which was great home cooked food that we have loved for a long time. Stella had a nice chat with Helen, owner of the restaurant, about many of their common friends including most of Stella's relatives who still live near Blessing.

Wednesday we met Chad and Jana and their kids Gracie and Grant for supper at the Palacios Mexican restaurant. The food was filling but tasteless but we had a nice visit with them. We talked about our trip to Colorado, comparing it to their own. They met us in Las Vegas New Mexico on their way home, and on our way to Colorado Springs. We enjoyed reliving the two trips and the kids especially loved it.

Thursday we went to the Outrigger restaurant, a seafood restaurant that we have been enjoying for a long time but the food quality has gone way down. They used to use fresh fish and shrimp but now they have begun using frozen, farm raised items that are tasty but not as good as fresh. We had been given a coupon from the RV park when we checked in for a "buy one get one free" deal at the restaurant. We presented the coupon when we paid the bill and nothing was said but the lady owner followed us outside telling us that they had stopped honoring the coupon some time ago. She said that she would take ours but wanted to know where we had gotten it. We, of course told her, and suggested that she remove all the remaining coupons so this will not come up again. It certainly won't come up for us again.

The bad economy has certainly affected this area. We have noticed many closed businesses including all of the major manufacturer car lots in Bay City and numerous small businesses that have been shuttered. We can only hope that the area will recover soon.

So long.

Sunday and Monday, September 19 and 20, 2010-Serendipity Bay RV Resort

Brace yourself for two very dull days in our lives. It continued to rain, very hard at times, so we stayed home most of both days. On Sunday we watched the football games on television and between the Dallas game and the Houston game we went to the local grocery store. We noticed a definite rise in their prices since we were here last, but I guess thats to be expected. I knew the big city would eventually catch up to small town Palacios. Its the only store in town, so the residents don't have a choice, but after stocking up, we probably won't be back at the store.

Today, Monday, Stella decided to get our clothes washed up and I took her to the laundry. We barely made it back to the trailer before another heavy rain shower came through. We decided to stay home again and not get out in the rain.

I looked on the Internet for something interesting to do around here. There is a tiny little museum here in Palacios that we will check out if this rain ever stops. I'll keep you informed.

So long.

Saturday September 18, 2010-Moving Day Lake Tonkawa RV park to Serendipity Bay RV Park

We didn't begin to start moving until after 8 o'clock this morning. Again, we don't have that far to go today, so there isn't a real need to get up and on the road. There was a rally in the park that was leaving today and I heard our neighbor out at 4AM, slamming doors and moving around and when I did get up to look, after 7:30, they were gone. Of course, I don't know how far they were going so there may have been a very good reason for them to be up and packing.
We still pulled out at 10 o'clock, so all was well.

It began raining on us on our way down Hwy. 288 and it rained on us all the way into the park. It had about stopped when we arrived, so Stella got chatty with the lady in the office, long enough that it began to storm on us by the time we tried to get back into the truck. We just stayed in the office until the rain slacked up some before going out to drive to our site. We ran inside and put the slides out until the rain stopped enough for me to go back out and get the setup chores done. We arrived a few minutes after 3 but it took us until 5 to get fully set up. I had to change shirts twice while setting up, but I got it done.

We stayed in for the rest of the night. We had talked about going to the grocery store but I found the USA channel on the channel selection, so I stayed in my chair and got caught up on NCIS. I haven't gotten my fix since we left Colorado except for the regular channel show that only comes on once a week.

It continued to rain off and on all afternoon and into the evening, so it would have been a miserable time to go out and we didn't need anything bad enough to get out. I can tell you it made for some very good sleeping!

We are looking forward to a very relaxing week here in Palacios. We are very sorry that we missed Stella's family reunion but there's always next year. Of course, we don't know at this point where we might be but we'll try to get here.

The lady in the office really tried to sell us on staying here for the winter. She said they will have an activities director and crafts for the women. She didn't say anything about activities for the men, so I guess they're on their own for fun. We have always liked this place but its a long way to a large store. The largest city, Victoria, is 47 miles away. We'll think about it and keep it in mind but for now, we're staying at Rayford.

So long.

Friday September 17, 2010-Lake Tonkawa RV Park

We woke this morning, still upbeat about the possibility of a new truck. I was somewhat disappointed when we didn't hear from Greg early in the morning, but he had told us that he was very involved in being a coach for his son, so I figured he might have gotten tied up with something for the football team. He finally called but it was after eleven in the morning and the news wasn't good at all. He said he couldn't get a very good interest rate and would need a signed buyer order before he could have the truck transferred. I wasn't willing to sign anything until we had a firm deal, and wasn't about to get caught in a squeeze, so we declined the deal. I really figured that he would call and say he found some good interest money, but he didn't so we went about our business. We decided to go back to Nacogdoches to look at another RV park for future trips up here. We found one that was decent, the Paradise Lake Resort, and made a note of it for reference. Since it was so late in the day, there wasn't time to leave and get to Palacios at a decent time, so we just extended our stay by one more day.

We returned home and hung out until later in the afternoon when I went outside and took down the porch and a few other things in preparation for leaving in the morning. Stella worked on the inside, so we made good progress for our departure. Our neighbors, Don and Chris came by and asked us to sit outside with them later in the evening. They bought a Bighorn model 3385 about four months ago, so we had lots to talk about. I think I gave them some good information and also a contact card from the Heartland Owner's club. They said they will join the forum and possibly the owner's club also. We exchanged cards so that we can stay in touch in the future.

So long.

Thursday September 16, 2010-Lake Tonkawa RV Park

Today we went over to Center to meet with some other family members for lunch at a place named Pickles and Petunias. They serve a nice selection of lunch-type sandwiches and other selections that were very tasty. We went to Gail and Janie's house and they drove us over to the restaurant, where we met Dot and her husband David, Barbara, her niece Steely, and Larry. These folks are Janie's cousins, except of course for Steely, and are all my 2nd cousin. We had a very nice visit with our family and were allowed to sit in our small room for more than an hour, visiting and reminiscing about times past. It was a very good time and we wish we had more time to spend with them.

After lunch we returned to the house for coffee and then Gail and I went to the bank where he used to work and Stella and Janie went shopping. Gail introduced me to the bank President, John Snider. You never can tell when I might need a new bank, so it might pay to know John. We returned to the house and looked over the stuff the girls had bought before we left for Garrison.

On our way back, I drove past the Dodge dealer and saw several dually pickups on their lot. We decided to stop and look at what they had in stock. We met a very nice salesman named Greg Hubbard, who showed us what they had. They only had one truck with an automatic transmission, but he took us inside and we went over the various models and features that were offered. He did a search of available vehicles and found one that we liked at another dealer. He said he could have it here tomorrow, so we decided not to leave tomorrow as planned so that we could check on this vehicle. We went on back home, excited over the prospect of getting a new truck. Greg promised to call the first thing in the morning with any news. Hang on...

So long.

Wednesday September 15, 2010-Lake Tonkawa RV Park

It was another warm morning in the ArkLaTex as this area is referred to. The other day, when we rode over to Logansport Louisiana, Stella remarked that she didn't realize that we are as close to Louisiana as we are, although it's probably 100 miles to the Arkansas border from here.

We piddled around in the trailer and I went for a walk around the park before getting ready to go to Nacogdoches to meet Gail and Janie for lunch. They both had doctors appointments there and when they got through, we met them and went to Chili's for lunch. We had more good chats with them during lunch and after, we went for a short ride around Nacogdoches before returning to our truck. Stella and I checked on some more RV parks in Nacogdoches for future trips up here but didn't really find anything that we liked. We will keep our eyes peeled for a better park.

I called our friends A.D. and his wife Dee this afternoon. We had met them at Stephen F. Austin state park when we had all worked there and wanted to try to meet them. They are at the Tyler State Park, which is relatively nearby, but when we talked on the phone, I learned that they are still having medical problems and couldn't meet us today. We have plans with the family for tomorrow and will be leaving on Friday for Palacios, so we won't get to see them at this time. They are returning to SFA in November for follow-up tests at MD Anderson, so perhaps we'll get to visit with them then.

We came on back home and relaxed in the trailer. This park isn't much, but it's quiet. A good sized rally group came in today and the place is full, but they seem to be a very quiet bunch. I took another walk around the park but didn't speak to any of them. I did see a group of them at the rally hall, but didn't approach them. I wanted to visit some more with my friend Don next door, but they seemed to be gone, so maybe we can get with them again before we leave.

So long.

Tuesday September 14, 2010-Lake Tonkawa RV Park

Today was another pretty laid-back day of visiting with my family. We woke here at the park and ate breakfast here before going back over to Center to spend lunch and the afternoon. We stopped off at a station and added some fuel because we had trouble getting the nozzle out from between the tank and the side of the bed, so I elected to just buy some fuel to fill the tank here.

As soon as we got to the house, Gail and I left for his Rotary club meeting at the Civic Center. The Civic Center is brand new and near the new Holiday Inn and another new hotel being built. Many of the business people in Center were at this meeting, including the Sheriff of Shelby County and one of his high ranking deputies, Mike Tollette. I knew Mike when he worked for the Friendswood Police Dept. and I worked for the Dickinson Police Dept. It was good to see an old friend and we reminisced about old times in Galveston County.

The lady that is the President of the Rotary club came to the table to write down my name. When she asked me for my name, I told her what it was, but she said "no, your name is Russ". I spelled my name for her and she wrote something down but when she introduced me, she said my name was Russ Coleman. I don't know where she got that name but later in the program, Gail corrected my name and we all had a good laugh about her mistake. The meeting was very nice and I enjoyed meeting so many friendly people.

We came back to the house and had a nice visit for the rest of the afternoon. Gail had a bank meeting to go to, but we had some good conversation with Janie. We agreed to meet in Nacogdoches tomorrow for lunch and set up a lunch with some other family members on Thursday.

So long.

Monday September 13, 2010-Lake Tonkawa RV Park

We woke this morning to a little cooler temperatures. It threatened rain last night but I don't think it ever rained and while I was talking to Janie, we both heard thunder. Before we hung up, she said it was pouring down rain in Center. Whatever the reason, it was cooler this morning.

After eating breakfast in the trailer, I went for a walk around the park. This time I walked down to the lake to see what it was like. It is very small and seemed to be man made to me. There are concrete walls with a diving board on one end. I have read that it is spring fed, so it may be that someone just improved on the original lake and made it more user friendly for guest use.

We drove over to Center to Janie's house today. We stopped off at a Whataburger in Timpson and drove the 30 miles or so to Center. Center's population has always been pretty small and the city limit sign said there are 5800 people living here now but it seemed to be much bigger and busier than I remembered. I had many family members that lived here as a youth, but sadly most of them are now gone. I have many memories of coming to Center to visit and later remembered that when I was about 8 months old, we actually moved to Center to live for a short time. I drove Stella by some of the old houses where family lived.

When we arrived at Gail and Janie's house, and after hugs and handshakes, we decided to go for a ride around Center and some of the nearby towns. Gail drove us over to Joaquin and over into Louisiana to Logansport. Gail is the former president of the bank here in Center and also in the chicken business, which is a huge business in east Texas. He stays on top of all things connected to business in and around Center so it was a very informative trip. We all enjoyed the drive and even found a new RV park for us to check out for another trip.

We came back to the house and sat outside on the back patio, chatting and eating appetizers and drinking some wine. It was nice and cool and we had a very nice visit. Janie had fixed us a delicious meal of chicken and spaghetti and we had more good conversations about the family. I learned a lot of things about my family that I either didn't know or had forgotten. It was really good to get back here and visit with Gail and Janie and we look forward to the rest of the week with them.

We made a slow drive back to Garrison. The back roads that we drove were windy and hilly and since it was getting dark, I didn't want to take a chance of hitting a deer, which are abundant up here. I drove very slowly but there wasn't any traffic and we made it back home just fine. It had been another fine day for us.

So long.

Sunday September 12, 2010-Lake Tonkawa RV Park

Here are a small herd of deer that is grazing behind our trailer here at the Lake Tonkawa RV park.

One of the bucks in the herd. The lady in the office said this was a Blackbuck deer. I don't believe I've ever seen these kind of deer, but they are raising some here at this park.

There are the Blackbuck deer and also Fallow deer being kept here.

Very pretty animals. They didn't seem frightened at all and I could likely have gotten even closer to them but I didn't.

We were tired today from yesterday's drive up here from Boerne, so we decided to just stay in today. I went outside this morning and met our neighbor, who also has a Bighorn trailer. His name is Don and we had a nice chat about our trailers and trucks in general. He drives a Dodge and said he is very happy with it. Based upon my recent dealings with Chevrolet dealers, I will likely look at some Dodge trucks when we get back to Rayford.

We just hung out and watched football on television. If you can believe it, I even took a nap. I think I have slept more in my recliner than I have in the bed. I went for a walk around the park, which is not very far, but I did get out for awhile.

I talked to my aunt Janie on the telephone and we made plans to get together tomorrow and other days in the week, so we will have a good time with her and her husband Gail. We are looking forward to seeing them.

In the evening, we watched the Dallas Cowboys get beaten by the Washington Redskins. It was a wonderful day, the Houston Texans won and the Dallas Cowboys lost. Life is good.

So long.

Saturday September 11, 2010-Moving Day-Alamo Fiesta Resort to Lake Tonkawa RV Park, Garrison TX

We got up this morning on our last day here. We were the first ones in and the last one out. This is the day that we all dread, the day we had to pack up and leave. I had already taken the porch down, so that helped.

I went down to the donut store and bought us all something for breakfast and we all sat out at our table to have breakfast. It was our last meal with Tommy and Susan until we get to Mission. Tommy was more prepared than we were and he and Susan pulled out about 9 o'clock, but we worked steadily and made it out around 11.

We made the long drive to Garrison without incident except that the Low Coolant light came back on. I carefully watched the coolant temperature and it never budged, so I am confident that whatever is wrong is something minor. It's just a matter of finding the problem.

We pulled into the Lake Tonkawa park, which doesn't have too many amenities. There is no wifi, no cable television, no pool although there the lake here for swimming. We haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it is nice. I know one thing, this place is secluded! We drove down the road that was apparently cut out of a piney wood forest. It is waaaay back in the woods and very shady but there is not a breath of wind in here so its really, really hot. We've got 50 amp service and are not paying for electricity, so we'll give both our air conditioners a good workout this week.

So long.

Photos, September 9th and 10th, 2010

This is the Waring General Store. The title is misleading because it is a beer joint/short order restaurant. It's a great place to eat burgers, and a good deal on Wednesdays with their $20.00 special steak night deal including a band.

Here are Stella, Susan and I in the back yard of the general store. There are tables outside too, so I assume that you can hear the band outside. We are sorry we were early and would have stayed for the band performance except we had to get back for our dogs.

This is one of the RV sites at Huaco (pronounced Waco) Springs RV park. These are very nice sites overlooking the Guadalupe river and would a good place to go for a few days.

Looking down the river just below the RV site pictured above. As you can see, it is a beautiful site.

One of the falls at the park. I don't remember these falls from our other visits to this area, so they may be man-made.

The other fall at the park. Perhaps my kids can remember these falls and will remind me. We made many trips to New Braunfels to visit my Dad and came down to River Road every time.

Looking upriver from near the falls. The trees are large and beautiful along the river and we always loved driving down the road.

All these pictures were taken with my I Phone camera which is probably the last pics that you will see from this camera. I'm certain that you will be able to tell the difference.

So long.

Tuesday thru Friday, September 7-10, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort

It began raining here on Tuesday and rained all day long. We all stayed inside while the remaining Boomers pulled out in the morning. Susan and I tried to take a walk during one of the lulls in the rain and we took shelter in the covered patio behind the office. It finally quit raining and we went on back to our rigs. We all got a little "stir crazy" after being cooped up all day and went for a ride up to Kerrville to the Gibsons store there. We all looked around the store and we bought a new Weber grill. We have needed a new grill for awhile and there was a good price on it here, so we bought it. We rode around Kerrville for awhile and stopped at the Lakeside restaurant for a good meal.

Wednesday it kept on raining as a result of hurricane Hermine. We stayed inside again until the afternoon when we decided to go look at RV's. It had stopped raining, so we went to one store that sold a lot of motorhomes but about the time we stepped out, it began raining again, so we tried another store down the street, and looked at a couple of units before the rains came again. Patti Kerlin had suggested trying the hamburgers at a General Store in Waring, a very small community about ten miles out of Boerne. When we got there, we found the store was closed but should reopen soon. We sat down outside at some tables along with a band that was playing there tonight. When the cook returned, he told us about their Wednesday night specials that offered a steak dinner with all the fixin's, a selection of appetizers that were all you can eat and your drinks for $20. Wow, what a deal! We were sorry that we couldn't stay but we had our great hamburgers and came on back home. The burgers were everything Patti had told us they were, everything was grilled and the burger was very juicy, just the way we like them. We came back to the park and hung out the rest of the night. It was very pleasant at night and we sat outside until we all got tired about 9 o'clock.

Thursday it quit raining and we rode into San Antonio to look at a couple of RV parks that Tommy wanted to see, Admiralty and Blazing Star . We have been to Admiralty, so we were somewhat familiar with it. We toured both parks and Tommy got hungry for some Italian food, so we went looking for a restaurant. While searching one of the many shopping centers for a restaurant, we came across a Best Buy store. Tommy needed a dash mount for his GPS so we stopped in. While there I bought a new Fujifilm S2700HD camera, which is so new, I cannot find a link to that model. I have been wanting a new camera for a long time, and there was a good price on it at Best Buy, so I bought it. Tommy got his mount, so we all were happy. We came on back to Boerne and ate at Naples Pizza and Restaurant. The food was very good and we all came away with a box of pizza for another meal. The bad thing is that the owners are closing this location and moving it into San Antonio.

Friday was another dry day, so we decided to drive over to New Braunfels to check out some parks there. We went to several parks along River Road and found some nice places. As soon as I download the pictures I took, I'll show them to you, so stay tuned.

We ate lunch (actually it was a combination of lunch and supper that I call lupper) at the Gristmill in Gruene. If you haven't been to this place, you owe it to yourself to go. We all had burgers and they were great. It was very nice to sit outside in the shade of some huge trees and listen to the sounds of Willie Nelson while we ate. We returned to the park and napped until late in the afternoon when we again came outside and sat out in the cool evening. It was a great end to a fun couple of weeks with our friends.

So long.

Sunday and Monday, September 5 & 6, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort-Texas Boomers 10th Anniversary

Sunday morning, we went to the rally hall for "zippy omelettes". These are simply eggs that are cracked into a heavy-duty baggie with ingredients of your choice added. Then the omelettes are dropped into a pot of boiling water for fifteen minutes and out comes a perfectly round omelet.

We had a good time at breakfast with our friends and again, and I saw a lot more people that I have not seen in years. We had some good visits before everyone before the omelettes were ready. After breakfast, Madame Boomer spoke about the Boomers present. The state-wide club is down by one area leader, in the hill country and Mike and Amber Brown, who took our place in Houston, were absent due to some medical procedures that Amber is going through right now. We hope they have some good luck in the future.

In the afternoon, some of the girls went shopping again and Stella went to play games in the rally hall. She and some others played LCR, a dice game and luckily, she won some money! I stayed at home and kept my recliner from floating away. I have discovered that if I don't do this, the recliner just somehow levitates. I would hate it if we came home one day and found the recliner had escaped from the trailer...

There was another potluck supper tonight, but we decided to go back to the Hungry Horse one more time. About eight of us went and as always we had a great meal and good conversations. We came back home and went over to see the 20 foot banana split that had been prepared for us. It was delicious and I would have taken a picture of it but I forgot my camera. Take my word for it, it was yummy!

We came back to Ricky and Dee's trailer and sat outside until after ten o'clock again with several of our friends. There were only a few others that sat out at night, which was unusual for the Boomer group. They usually have bonfires and music until the quiet hour starts around ten o'clock at night but not this time.

Monday was the day that everyone had dreaded, the day almost everyone had to go back home. Tommy and Susan stayed behind and Barbara Spade and another couple that we didn't get to meet. We spent Monday morning going around for hugs and handshakes as everyone left. It was another fine Boomer weekend.

So long.

Friday September 3 & Saturday September 4, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort-Texas Boomers 10th Anniversary weekend

Friday, the remainder of the attendees arrived and got all set up. We had an informal sandwich meal scheduled for tonight. Madame Boomer (Sandy) gave a talk on the history of the Boomers, which was started by four couples that met in Kerrville. Three of the four couples were present at this anniversary rally, which was attended by 66 rigs.


This is the largest rally ever in the history of IRV2, which is the parent website of the Boomers. There have been at least 6 National rallies and none were as large as this one. We are proud to have been a part of several of them and especially this one in Boerne.


For those of you that are not familiar with our involvement with the Boomers, in 2005 we were asked to be the Houston area leaders of the Texas Boomers. We had an outing just about every month until my retirement from work, when I gave up my leadership role. We had an outstanding group in Houston and had many, many good times and made a lot of good friends with the group.


After the Madame's speech, everyone left and we came back to our trailers and sat outside chatting with our friends. I managed to stay out until 10 o'clock or later before turning in. A very enjoyable day and night.

Saturday, we went over to the rally hall for a potluck breakfast. One of the problems with a large rally like this one is that the lines are so long for food. We chose table #7, but it turned out to be not so lucky. It seemed like an hour before we got to eat, but there was plenty of good food and we had a good time. After breakfast, we had a drawing for door prizes. We won two sets of wipes, one for bug removal and one for waxing the trailer.

Stella and some of the girls went into Boerne to walk around the downtown area and shop. I stayed here and watched television and napped. It was a nice peaceful afternoon and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Saturday night we went to the "catered" dinner of barbecue and the trimmings. It turned out to be prepared barbecue that had been bought from Sysco, a restaurant food supplier, and warmed up by some of the rally attendees before being served. We ran low on the main food and ran out of cake for dessert. We were assigned to be on the clean-up crew after the meal was finished. Again, our unlucky numbered table made us the next to last ones to be served and Stella and I were not finished eating when we were called to begin the clean up. We don't mind at all being pressed into service to do whatever is needed to help the rally, but we would like to be able to finish our food first.

We came back over to Ricky and Dee's trailer where we sat outside chatting with our friends until 10:30, somewhat of a record for me. Two nights in a row of staying out until 10 or later! Getting to be a regular night owl.

So long.

Thursday September 2, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort

I got up this morning and put the big coffee pot outside so there would be plenty of coffee. Bob came over and drank with us and later Stella made some pigs in a blanket for us. Other Boomers started coming in pretty early; David and Charlotte, Sandy and Rusty, Doug
brought his trailer in about 7:30 and dropped it off and a whole bunch came in together, Ted and Donna, Ricky and Dee, Tommy and Susan and Jim and LeAnne. This place will be rockin' soon and the rally doesn't actually start until tomorrow!

We stayed around the park all afternoon, visiting with our friends. A big bunch went out to eat at the Hungry Horse restaurant and while there, it began to rain really hard. It rained for over an hour, and was still raining when we got back home. It let up after a short while and we were able to sit outside and chat. It was nice outside and it was good to be back with so many of our old friends.

So long.

Wednesday September 1, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort

Well, today is the start of the big 10th anniversary rally of the Texas Boomers, the group that we have been members of since 2003. It was the first rally group we participated in and I was honored to be the first Houston Area Leader. I am proud of the records I set as the leader of the group and want to thank all of our members for supporting me.

We sat around at our site this morning, drinking coffee with Bob. We walked across to the little taqueria that serves breakfast tacos and had our breakfast. Harry came by and later went to pick up some donuts and got into trouble with Judy for not getting her a fritter. He picked some up for Bob and his girlfriend. We all had fun with that later in the day.

We took Bob and Dana to the Explore USA dealership to look at some new trailers. Bob said he might like to look at a toyhauler, so I took him to see the Cyclone line. He said he liked them, and who knows, he may convert from his motorhome to the Cyclone. We met the General Manager of the store, a man named Jeff Benoist (pronounced Benwah) whose brother I know well from the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.

We came back home and hung out here. We had decided to go to a little German restaurant called Little Gretal. I called and made reservations for us and when we arrived, there were few people in the restaurant but the food was good. It's a little pricey, but it was good for a change of pace place to eat.

We came home and sat outside of Bob's motorhome until the yawns caught up with us and we went home about 10. I am getting into condition to sit outside, since the Boomers will start to arrive in earnest tomorrow.

So long.

Saturday August 28 thru Tuesday August 31, 2010-Alamo Fiesta RV Resort

This will be a very short update that catches us up on the last few day's adventures of sitting in front of the television to stay out of the heat. I did read in this morning's newspaper that this is the hottest August in Houston's recorded history. I can certainly believe it!

We've spent the last few days, not doing much of anything. We did take a ride with Harry and Judy over to Dripping Springs to the New Canaan Farms to pick up some of their delicious wares. It was a nice drive and we all enjoyed it. We like Harry's new truck too. That King Ranch Edition is sure comfortable. I'm still looking at trucks but can't make up my mind over what to do. I've got the wants for a new truck but not the drive to actually go out and buy one.

We went to visit Grandma Willie Mae, my step-mom, yesterday. We had a nice visit with her and watched as a wrecker came to pick up her car that wouldn't start. A repairman came by to look at it in her driveway, but recommended that a wrecker be called to bring it into their shop. They were in a wrecker, but they would have had to charge for the service and she has AAA which gives her free wrecker service. I offered to pay them to pick up her car, but she said that was too much trouble. She would have had to send in the bill to be reimbursed and with AAA, all she has to do is sign the ticket and it's paid. I can see her point.

We came back home but along the way, I stopped and fueled up at the Valero service station. They have as low a price for fuel as anyone in Boerne, but I opted for the car wash and got .10 per gallon off my fuel price! Wow, what a deal! The truck needs washing but if I washed it here in the park, I would have had to pay for a "permit", which was more than the car wash cost at Valero and I got 10 cents off per gallon of diesel. I took 18 gallons to go 293.7 miles for a 16.3 MPG average.

With the truck looking all spiffy, we came on home and relaxed. We had stopped to eat at Ryan's in New Braunfels ($4.99 per person on the senior discount, including drinks) so we were done for the evening. Stella went down and did our laundry and I stayed home to keep the television company. About 8:00, got a knock on the door and guess who it was? Bob, who was not expected to come in until tomorrow! We had a nice visit with him and his girlfriend Dana and can't wait for the party to start. It won't be long now for the Boomers to start rolling in!

So long.