Texas Hill Country

We are still in Lakehills near Kerrville/San Antonio. Today we took a little drive into Bandera. It is about 10 or 15 miles but the roads are pretty curvy. Went through Pipe Creek and it was pretty dead for a Saturday afternoon.

Bandera claims to be the "Cowboy Capital of the World" due to the fact that many professional rodeo cowboys (and bull riders, I expect) hail from Bandera. The short main street sports several restaurants, cantinas, and a hotel. The Old Town Square Historic Hotel (http://dot-banderasquare.com-1287615.namezero.com/index.html) has been "totally remodeled" according to the brochure. The remodel included new plumbing fixtures, beds and other custom furniture, lighting, etc. Each room is named and each is an historic story, i.e., John Wayne Room, Pancho Villa Room, and the 8 Seconds Room. Before you go jumping to conclusions, the time a rider has to stay on the horse or bull for a score is 8 seconds.

We didn't take a look at the rooms, but the exterior is quite a sight. We decided to check out the restaurant for a late lunch. It had a fair number of customers for the time of day. We chose the outside seating so we could watch the bikers and other traffic as we ate. The restaurant proclaims "Bubbaque Served and Spoken Here." However we elected the overstuffed enchiladas and home make onion rings to start with.

The iced tea was very good, served with lime slice, and the onion rings were excellent. Unfortunately our meal was served quickly after the onion rings, so we didn't get to savor them for fear our Mexican food would chill. I was a bit disappointed in the enchiladas and all the cheese made the plate quite greasy. Overall, though, it was a pleasant afternoon dining experience.

In the next block was a dance hall and another cantina. It looked like most of the crowd were motor cycle riders taking a break from their Saturday outing. Lots of music and long neck beer bottles could be heard and seen from the street.

As we made our way down the street after lunch, we spied a man on horseback, which isn't too unusual in Bandera. However, his companion was riding a longhorn steer bareback. The steer had a bit and reins and was enjoying being the center of several photographers. (Yeah, I forgot to grab the camera again.) A little further down the main drag we noticed a saddled horse waiting patiently in one of the parallel parking spaces.

Bandera has a history of producing much of early Texas' milled goods. From clothes to flour to wood, the eight mills in operation in the 1870's provided food, shelter and clothing to many Texans. The old jail was still being used, but for a water district office.

Bandera certainly cannot compare with the likes of Fredicksburg, but it is definitely worth a stop if you are in the Texas Hill Country.

As you may have guessed, I didn't make a flight to Cincinnati. The five flights that would have put me there in time for the party were way oversold. We'll just have to wait a little longer to meet the new in-laws.

Keep checking back on us. I'll try to get more travel information, personal opinions and yes, pictures up here soon.

Pipe Creek, Texas

At last, in Pipe Creek at Thousand Trails. We were both chomping for a restful break. We'd had RV and Towed problems in El Paso which cut our travel time short for our reservation here. On top of that was the weather the last few days in El Paso. A spring wind storm hit. They weren't kidding when they said to expect gusts up to 70 mph. I had about gotten all the sand out of the place from being in Arizona and have to start over. John had put up our tv and internet satallite dishes. He uses "The Claw" to keep it steady and secure. They held just great - we had Dish Network and Hughes Net all the way through the storms. You can get the Claw at some Harbor Freight stores if you're interested.

I think we'll find our recuperation here. It's a beautiful park with herds of deer (will eat out of your hand), birds of all kinds, squirrels (and squirrelly people), and other wildlife. The weather has been wonderful and we have enjoyed reading, visiting and catching up on some computer work. Read that "Tax Time." I'm passing along this little tidbit. It was credited to Elliot Spitzer in my email.

Tax Rebate

President George Bush said each one of us would get a $600.00 tax rebate. It was previously slated to be $800.00, but they dropped it to a $600.00 tax rebate
because of various budget problems.

Now, if we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China,

If we spend it on computers, most of the money will go to Korea or India.

If we spend it on gasoline it will all go to the Arabs .....
And none of these scenarios will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America .....so the only way to keep that money here at home is to drink beer, gamble, or spend it on prostitution.

Currently it seems that these are the only businesses still left in the U.S.


Sad and a little scary, eh?

Our trip over was one of the most enjoyable drives I had made in a long time. Much of the road from Benson AZ was flat, smooth, wide open highway with no winds. There was a full moon so we drove until about midnight. Then we hit the hill country so it was daytime only driving. We saw wild hogs eating at the side of the road, deer and skunks along the way.

Fuel prices are definitely changing the way a lot of RVers travel. Some we have talked with are Snow Birding closer to home (Florida for the Easterners, Arizona for Western folks, etc.). Others have decided just to bite the bullet. They took up this lifestyle to travel and enjoy it and that's just what they intend to do! Our choice has been to stay longer in one place before moving on, and to drive a little slower between destinations. We boondock a little to offset fuel costs.

During our winter in Southern California and Arizona, we've talked with RV Resort managers and they have all reported a little less business this year. We noticed several new park models going into some of the parks. Their owners said it was cheaper and easier to have two places and not be pulling a house from one to the other.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that everyone is feeling a little pinch, and some more than others, but we all want to continue our lifestyle as best we can. I've found some really good hints on the Escapees Discussion forum. Nick Russell's Gypsy Journal paper and blog have a lot of ideas and places to see that don't cost an arm and a leg to visit.

I just read my latest Gypsy Journal. Don't you just love to read someone else's opinion when it matches your own? There was a great article about RVers with pets. Nick really hit the nail right on the head! A reader had written that she had a 70 pound hyper but lovable dog. She was having trouble understanding why they had been asked to leave 3 different RV parks because of the dog. Now this dog's latest was to go bounding into a neighbor's RV spot. Scared the neighbor back into his rig and soon management was asking dog and owners to leave. This is absolutely why some RV parks are refusing to allow dogs in the park.

While we were at the RV Show in Quartzite, I was walking our little 10 pound Schnauzer on her leash. I had stopped to talk to someone and the next thing I knew, Casper was trying to climb my leg to get away from an overly friendly Shar-Pei. We have had many Shar-Pei and I love them dearly. But they are big and strong and this one's owner had no control even though it was on a leash. When I said he needed to control his dog, his reply was that he was trying.

When you own a dog or drive a big rig or have any other "liability" in your life, you MUST take responsibility for the results. Why in the world anyone would allow any animal out of the RV without a leash is beyond me. Not only is it an issue with neighbors, but most places we have stayed have wild animals around, or vehicles driving through the park, etc.

And who wants to step into a nice "steamer pie" left by some uncaring dog owner? If people would take care of their pets, more places would welcome them.

Well, I'm headed to Cincinnati again on Friday. Another chance to get to know Jessica's family. It's got to be a great group when the invitation says come hungry! The wedding is sneaking up on us. You all keep sending all the good wishes and calm nerves as the plans start to come together. We appreciate it.


Safe travels & see you down the road!

An Easter Gift--Don't Leave It On The Desk

I get a weekly newsletter from Cook'n Club. I look forward to each issue because there's always some good recipes, funny stories and meal plans. This week's newsletter had the following story. I was so touched by it I just have to post it here. All the credit goes to Cook'n.

The story is a little long, and you will probably guess the outcome, but I hope you will take the time to read the whole thing. After more than 2000 years, this gift just keeps on giving. Happy Easter everyone!

Don't Leave It On The Desk

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major. Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson. "Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor. Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it."

Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class. Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes."

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?" Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Dr. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten. Jenny got a donut. By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?" Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."

Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit. With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the table."

Pensacola FL and Cincinnati OH

We took a little airplane ride out to Pensacola about 3 weeks ago. John had some VA appointments, and we had a little business to take care of.

It was cooler than we had been in Arizona. David graciously provided us a car to drive and a house to stay in. The house was pretty bare - Bed, Yard Chair, Refrigerator and Microwave. It was all we really needed. Sure wouldn't mind not having the option if they could sell or rent the house. Know anyone looking for a water side 4 br house with a great pool in Milton Fl? I'll bet they will make you a great deal - probably would even pay a finder's fee!

Then we took another little ride up to Cincinnati OH. Yes, we were asking ourselves why we left Arizona for Ohio in February. We probably wouldn't have made the trip except it was for an engagement party for David and Jessica. Now, we fly on Dave's nickel since he works for ASA. The downside is that we can easily get bumped off a flight if they have a paying customer. And bumped we were. The party was on Saturday evening and we had planned to arrive on Friday. The weather had changed a lot of flights around so we ended up bumped on Friday. Got a flight from Atlanta to Orlando then to Cincinnati and didn't get in until about 10 pm on Saturday.

Obviously we missed the party. So Mary Ann (Jessica's grandmother), just had another one on Sunday evening. Great food and so glad to meet some of our new in-laws. We couldn't ask for nicer folks and look forward to getting to know them better.

I picked up a cold during the Pensacola visit and took it to Cincinnati with me. I just hope I didn't pass it on to everyone there. Dave and Jessica ended up taking me to a walk-in clinic one night. Antibiotics are great things, but this bug was tough. I'm still fighting the sore throat and sinus stuff after 2 weeks.

We really got the top notch tour. There was some snow, but it wasn't bad. We were treated to a couple of good ice cream stores, a trip to Jungle Jim's store http://www.junglejims.com, dinners, and some sight-seeing.

Jungle Jim's started out as a fruit and vegetable stand and has been growing ever since. It is huge! If there is a food item, they probably have it. And everyone HAS to check out the Jungle Johns! I won't spoil the story...just check it out.

Graeter's Ice Cream was a unique treat. Fantastic ice cream and candies. Best semi-sweet chocolate sauce ever.

United Dairy Farmers stores dot the Cincinnati landscape. It was a neighborhood convenience store with an ice cream store inside.

We went to the Bier House restaurant for dinner one night. Gigantic portions of unusual food. I had a Chicken Pecan dinner. It was the double chicken breast seasoned and grilled with a pecan pralines sauce. Never had anything like it, but it was excellent. We made arrangements to have a dinner there on the Wedding Eve.

We stayed in Dave's new house. The house has tremendous potential, but Dave & Jessica will have a bit of work to do remodeling. The wedding will be in the back yard so they have a tight timetable. We got away before the big snow storm last week.

Caught a flight direct into Phoenix and picked up the car. We'd left the motor home at the Pinal County Fair Grounds while we were gone. Nice people there. We'd planned a week at the Fiesta Grande RV Resort in Casa Grande to get ourselves ready to travel. Laundry and cleaning all the dirt out of the house. The Southwest is famous for its dust storms and we were privileged to enjoy one in Casa Grande. Finally got most of it out of the house before we left. Got to El Paso and got another dose. Winds have been at the 40-50 mph range and gusts up to 70 mph. If we weren't sitting here waiting for repairs, we would be sitting somewhere else waiting for the winds to end. Especially since it would be a head wind. Talk about mileage in the tank.

It's off to bed time here. Hope everyone is having a great week. Easter is coming soon.

Camping World El Paso, TX

It has definitely been a while since I added a post, but we've been out of town, broke down, and wind blown all over El Paso, TX!

Most currently we are in the Camping World RV Park in El Paso, Texas. We left Casa Grande on Tuesday, spent a night in Benson, AZ and started out for San Antonio area on Wednesday. We took a little break and I tried to turn on the water pump - no go. Then we found we didn't have ANY 12 volt power.

This happened to us a couple years ago. We took it into a large RV dealer in Junction City, Oregon for repairs. They fixed it but couldn't really tell us how or why it happened in the first place. We also needed new house batteries so we thought this latest failure might be related to the old batteries (no such luck). But at least we have replaced the house batteries.

Not to interrupt the story, but John priced batteries all over the place and was coming up with prices like $125 - $150. We stopped into the El Paso Sam's. They were $61.48. Of course there was sales tax, a $2.00 "battery fee", and the core charge (which we got back when we returned the old batteries). Such a huge difference. We haven't had a Sam's membership in several years but the $40 membership fee paid for itself right off the bat.

Back to our tale. The 12 volt was still lost after the battery replacements. We had been seeing some signs for Camping World at Exit 2 just over the New Mexico - Texas border. We pulled in late (after dark). The security guard parked us first in line for service the next morning. We slept in the RV without 12 volt but the inverter worked.

Next morning, we checked in with the Service Dept. They said they would get us a diagnosis within 30 minutes and invited us to the "Cantina" for coffee and muffins. True to their word, they said we had a problem with the wiring and they were chasing it. We spent the day in the show rooms and Cantina. The culprit was the house disconnect switch panel. It had burned up. I guess we were lucky not to have a fire.

They got the part ordered to be in on Monday. In the meantime, we were parked in the service yard with full hookups until they have us fixed.

Now we aren't done with this process yet, but I have to say that it has been a great experience with this Camping World location. Courtesy, free full hook ups, free coffee, etc and, get this, a free lunch. Yep, they gave us tickets for lunch in the Cantina. Homemade enchiladas, pintos, rice, the best salsa I've had in a long time, cookies. They have a lunch every day except Sunday.

The staff seems to be really glad to be here and they really seem to know what they are talking about. If you need service in the El Paso, Texas area, I can really recommend Camping World. Exit #2 on I-10 in Anthony, TX (suburb of El Paso).