Changes - Fri., April 3, 2015

Change is inevitable. Life would be static and boring without change. We may like it or we may not, but it will happen.

Even if events in your life don't change, changes in people and life around you will impact you; thus making your life, and how you perceive it, different.

Guess what? You choose how you deal with changes. Change may cause fear of the unknown, excitement, depression, happiness, sadness, physical changes in your body, mental anguish, exhaustion, or confusion.

Recently my husband, Bob, changed jobs. The work he was doing was tapering off and he wasn't needed as much as the previous years. Bob decided to make a change to do consulting work and was building up his client base. He also was offered a 20-hour-per-week position. Things were looking good, but he was restless; something was not working for him.

He was then offered a full-time position doing exactly what he wanted, but they demanded he extricate himself from his part-time job and the clients for whom he was consulting. Screech! Put on the brakes. About face. A major life change took Bob by storm.

The new job has turned out to be just what Bob wanted. For his consulting clients, he has found new people to take over for him. Same with the part-time position. The change portion of this experience has been stressful for Bob, but also a learning experience. His clients and the three jobs were spread out all over the San Antonio/Boerne, Texas area. He was driving all over creation to keep up with his work. It left him exhausted.

By the middle to end of April, he will be down to his new full-time job. A job change for Bob has meant many things to him. He is already relaxing. Twice this week he made it home before I did.

Now think about your lives. Change comes in many forms: birth, death, falling in love, divorce, job changes, health, commitments, Daylight Savings Time (for those of us who have to endure it), diets, your thinking, move to a new location, making friends, losing friends, adding a pet, conflict, road construction, voluntarism, the seasons, weather, travel, new vehicle, political changes, war, and education.

I asked Bob what he thinks change is. He said, "Nickels, dimes..." I gave him the look.

Then he said, "Change your thinking, change your life." "Change is good." "The only constant in life is change."

Even history changes as new information becomes available. Life changes and so do we.

I'll leave you with the chorus from David Bowie's "Changes:"

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Mmm, yeah

Change is one essence of our human lives on this planet. Enjoy the ride.

Already? - Wednesday, April 1, 2015

It's April already? That means one thing in blogland...it's time for the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge! Each day will represent one letter of the alphabet. April 1 is A, April 2 is B, etc., with Sunday being the exception to blog posts using letters of the alphabet for inspiration.

I argued with myself briefly about participating this year. The argument was short lived. This is my fourth year participating in the Challenge. And it is a challenge!

The stretch to my imagination is wonderful. Each day I must come up with a blog for the corresponding letter. There are days I won't be able to think of anything and must work through the writer's block, open up my mind, and find a topic.

Here's to all bloggers participating in this challenge. I raise a glass to you. "Cheers and much inspiration!"

Travel Bug out.

ZZ Top - Wed., Apr. 30

And here we are, the end of April's A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. I have now completed three years of this great writing exercise. Yippee!

For the letter "Z," I chose ZZ Top, one of the best classic rock bands. How could you not love, "Cheap Sunglasses," "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man," "Give Me All Your Lovin'," "Rough Boy," "Got Me Under Pressure," "Tube Snake Boogie," "Tush," and "Pearl Necklace"?

"Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man."

ZZ Top, according to Wikipedia, is an American Texas blues, boogie rock, and hard rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. This is one of the few major-label recording groups to have consisted of the same lineup for over 40 years. Band members are guitarist and lead vocalist Billy Gibbons, bassist and co-lead vocalist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard.

ZZ Top is known for its strong blues roots and humorous lyrical motifs, relying on double entredres and innuendo. (In other words their songs are about sex, but they're trying to cleverly disguise the lyrics as innocent!) The ultimate performers, ZZ Top even has a trademark look with their chest-length beards.

And who can forget their "Legs" music video with classic cars dispersing dolled-up chicks in sassy heels with sexy ankle socks? Or the "Sharp Dressed Man" music video?

ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. They are the proud recipients of 11 gold records, and 7 platinum (13 multi-platinum) records.

Long live ZZ Top!

Yo-Yos - Tues., Apr. 29

Did any of you play with yo-yos as a kid? I loved my yo-yos and could do some of the simpler tricks: walk the dog, rock the baby, loop the loop, man on the flying trapeze, and around the world.

I was a tomboy back then. Our neighborhood had lots of kids and we could get pretty rough. We played games like "Crash Bikes" where each of us would draw a secret map. Someone would yell "Go" and we'd each follow our maps on our bikes. Invariably we'd end up crashing into each other.

When we weren't crashing bikes, my next door neighbor Susan Diane and I would go door to door in the neighborhood rustling up gossip, news and jokes for our handwritten paper called, "The Newsmonger." I was a writer way back when! We sold them to the neighbors for 10 cents a copy. In our modern times we couldn't do something like this. First off, who needs it with Facebook and Google +? We know everyone's business. Second, we wrote about who was going on vacation and when. Now we'd have to worry about thieves breaking in if we published that kind of info.

Our active neighborhood also played baseball in the street, did handstand, cartwheels and other gymnastic feats, made up episodes of Flash Gordon in the school playground on weekends, roller skated, and played hide and seek throughout the neighborhood. Craziness!

Yo-yos helped inspire a trip down memory lane. What fun things did you do as a young kid?

Welcome to the Wonderful Wimberley Walk - Sun., Apr. 27

OK, I admit it, I put off my Saturday "W" word until Sunday when we did the Wimberley, Texas Volksmarch. On our 1-1/4 hour drive to Wimberley from San Antonio we had enough mist that I had to use windshield wipers most of the way.

We met Peri and Jim, Susan and Darren, and Susan's friend, Carol, at the Wimberley Community Center, the start point of the Volksmarch sponsored by New Braunfels Marsch- und Wandersgruppe and the Mayor's Fitness Council of Wimberley. Bob made the trip to Wimberley, but had to forgo the walk due to a basketball injury from yesterday. (He rolled his ankle.) He stayed in the air-conditioned community center and read his study book for an accounting exam he will be taking a week from Monday in Dallas, Texas.

Bob with his study text.

While Bob read, five of us headed out together: Jim, Peri and I opted for the 5K (3.1 mile) Volksmarch; Susan, Darren and Carol walked the 10K. The two walks shared the same route until the first checkpoint when our two groups headed in different directions and we agreed to meet for lunch.

Darren, Peri, Jim

Fragrant honeysuckle in bloom.

Dead trees carved into totem poles.

Wimberley shopping area.

Welcome to Texas!

Carol and Susan M.

Heading from downtown to The Blue Hole.

The Blue Hole swimming hole.

Darren, Carol, Jim, Susan A., Peri

Great photo op...Jim "Jimmy" Dean in front of the local
theater's marquee.

Wimberley Players Theater

Following the marked AVA route.

Wonderful Wimberley mural

Look closely at the boots in this photo then see below.

Old boots re-purposed as birdhouses.

Ino'z Brew and Chew

What-cha-ma-call-its and gew-gaws.

Cypress Creek in downtown Wimberley.

Wildflowers currently in bloom.

Luna moth.

Our weather was cloudy, warm and humid, but no rain. However when we reached The Blue Hole, we thought it would feel mighty good to jump in! We didn't though. It would have made for a miserable walk back in wet clothes.

After the 5K walk, we met up with Bob and headed into downtown Wimberley to window shop and look for a lunch place. We made it through two stores before Susan called to say they were finished walking and were driving over to meet us.

Meanwhile, Bob scoped out Ino'z Brew and Chew. It looked good, was close, and that's where we chose to eat. Bob and I both ordered the Grilled Tuna Sandwich. We were expecting tuna salad grilled with cheese. However, we scored. The sandwich was a big hunk of grilled ahi tuna on a whole wheat sourdough bun. Excellent!

After lunch, we took Peri and Jim to Jacob's Well since they had never been there. You can read more about it here.

Jacob's Well in Wimberley, TX

Jacob's Well - popular swimming hole.
Temperature outside today is close to 100 degrees.

After our side trip to Jacob's Well, we dropped off Jim and Peri at their car and headed home. But we didn't quite make it back right away.

To be continued in my next blog....

Vacations - Fri., Apr. 25

What does vacation mean to you? 

• Is it a time to be off work, stay home, relax, hang out and do things locally (referred to by some as a "staycation")?
• Does it mean packing up the vehicle, making various and sundry plans (camping, hiking, museums, beach days, whatever), and spending every waking minute traveling or doing something? (In our family we refer to this as a "trip.")
• Or, do you want others to do the planning, e.g., cruises or guided tours? 
• How about volunteering with Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross, or other humanitarian organizations?
• Maybe you like to do all of the above at different times.
• And what is vacation to a full-time RVer? Is their whole life a vacation?

Mt. Washburn Volksmarch in Yellowstone National Park.

We are full-time RVers, but due to our circumstances we cannot retire yet and just vacation. We work and "take vacations" in our 5th wheel, even though we live in it full time. One nice thing about our vacations is we take our home with us: cats, belongings, vehicle, food, all our clothes, etc. What's nice is we don't have to think about what to pack. Not only that, but we have a house at the mountains, a house at the beach, a house by a waterfall, a house in a national park. Wherever we park is home.

Jenny Lake on Cascade Canyon Volksmarch,
Grand Tetons National Park

If we do fly or drive only our car to our destination, we have to pack and find a pet-sitter just like we did when we lived in a sticks 'n' bricks house. It's a different kind of vacation because our home isn't with us. We're free of those responsibilities for a short time.

Opossum eating a peach near Bowral, Australia.

In a more intimate sense, vacation means travel to me. I'm never happier than when I'm exploring new places and seeing what an area has to offer.

What makes a difference in destination choices? Weather, exotic animals, Volksmarching, walking and hiking opportunities, interesting sites such as museums, national parks, wildlife refuges, estates (Biltmore, Hearst Castle), gardens, caves, waterfalls, and zoos, cultural choices like comedy clubs, theater, ethnic restaurants, the people, and the surroundings.

Wentworth Falls area, Blue Mountains, Australia

Here's my favorite quote:

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we will find it not."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the end, it's all about your attitude and the way you experience the world.

Welcome to new follower Barbara of Me and My Dog ... and My RV. I've been following along with Barbara's (and Katie's) adventure and travel blog for quite some time. Thanks for coming along with us on our travels.

Travel Bug out.

Stuck on U - Thurs., Apr. 24

In our gate guarding get up from June 2012.

OK, this is the first time in the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge that I've been totally stumped on a letter. A "U" letter just isn't presenting itself for a good blog.

I've thought of:

• under - that sounded too negative: undertaker, underground, underdeveloped, underutilized ... no, not my word.
• ubiquitous - hmm, what does that mean exactly? Having or seeming to have the ability to be everywhere at once; omnipresent ... nope again.
• utilitarian - pertaining to usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc.; designed for use rather than beauty. Sounds too much like a utility knife or an iron. Not my word.
• understanding - a pretty good word, but not my word.
• uppity - close, but not quite.

My aha moment, and this just came to me (a day late): unique. I am unique and so are you! Thank you, I take a bow for finally choosing a just-right word.

All it took was putting on the ole thinking cap and some free association.

Travel Bug out.

Texas (State Parks) - Wed., Apr. 23

Today's "T" word in the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge is Texas. More specifically, Texas State Parks we love.

Let's start with the one Susan and I Volksmarched yesterday:

This 10K (6.2 mile) walk hike started out in fine fashion ... straight up the rock. When we arrived at 8:45 a.m., the temperature was perfect at 68 degrees. However, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so we were happy to start with the hard part first, get it out of the way.

Enchanted Rock - a pink granite batholith

This pink granite "rock" may look big to you, but you're only seeing a fraction of it. This solid rock covers 100 miles underground. What you see is hard rock that has not eroded as fast as the hills around it. Batholith = a very large, irregular-shaped mass of igneous rock, epsecially granite, formed from an intrusion of magma a great depth, esp. one exposed after erosion of less resistant overlying rocks. (World English Dictionary)

Yes, we both had to stop to rest, but I had the camera so it only looks like Susan is resting. Bwahahahaha.

Scenery from part-way up the rock.

Lots of resting on the way up.

The views of Texas Hill Country are getting pretty great now.

The top of the rock has its own little ecosystem. There are small ponds and islands of greenery.

At the top of Enchanted Rock.

Coming down!

Here we are, we survived the climb.

Here are photos of the hike AROUND the big rocks in the park on the Loop Trail, a little over four miles.

Wildflowers in bloom

Unique rock formations

Cacti in bloom

Cousin Itt's family

Strange erosion patterns.

Wine cup wildflower

Raccoon tracks in the mud.

Cacti blooms or berries?

 Susan investigates and, "Yeowch! Those have prickers on them!"

Susan investigates cacti "blooms."

Known as an exfoliation dome, this granite rock continuously "sheds" its outer layers of rock as it expands and contracts. The result is large, curved sheets of rock that can break up and eventually slide down. I wouldn't want to be under one of those slabs when it thunders down!! Regardless of their size, these granite fragments can be pulled down the rock by gravity or held in place by friction. Very interesting geology stuff going on here.

Granite batholith "shedding"

Texas earless lizard, and a fearless one at that!

Toward the end of our walk, a few puffy clouds moved in, we had a nice breeze, and a shady path to keep us a pleasant temperature.

After our walk we were hungry and Fredericksburg was just a few miles down the road. Wheeler's Restaurant was our choice. Susan had a burger, fries and onion rings. I had the #10 German plate with a beef sausage, hot potato salad, red cabbage and sauerkraut. Very tasty.

A couple of other Texas State Parks we really like are: McKinney Falls and Palmetto.

Our pull-through site at McKinney Falls

One of two swimmin' holes at McKinney Falls

Palmetto State Park

Darren and Susan at Palmetto State Park

Travel Bug out.