A Shady Walk is a Good Walk - Sunday, August 23, 2015

This morning Susan and I met at Leon Creek Greenway trailhead for our 10k walk in the shade. Once again, San Antonio is hot, still, and humid at 7 am.

As we drove into the parking for the trailhead, a herd of about eight deer popped out from behind a berm next to Walmart and headed along the access road to the trail. One fawn leapt right in front of Susan's car...I saw it in my rear-view mirror. We were going slow enough that the deer weren't a problem. In fact, they're very graceful to watch.

Today was a good wildlife watching day. In addition to the herd of deer we saw driving in, we spotted another deer across the dry creek bed heading up the bank, and we saw three bunnies.

Snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata)

Western Horse-Nettle

Bunny camouflage

Even though the trail was shaded most of the way, the humidity was brutal. There was only a small breeze for a couple of minutes toward the end of our 6.2 mile walk. We were happy for any breeze at all.

While we were doing our walk, Bob was out on another part of Leon Creek Greenbelt doing a marathon training run. He finished up a little after we did. Earlier we thought we'd all go to breakfast, but after talking to Bob by phone at the end of his run, we all decided to head for home shower. Bob watched part of the Dodger game. I took a nap.

For a late lunch, we went to 54th Street Grill and Bar. Both of us ate salads.

Back at the 5th wheel, after 60 Minutes, we watched HGTV's Beachfront Bargain Hunt. Then I fell asleep in the recliner for a couple of hours. Of course, now it's 2 a.m. and I'm wide awake. Even the cats beat me to bed!

Speaking of cats, here are a few photos I've been meaning to post...

We can both share this chair!

Ahh, warm, folded laundry: mine, all mine.

Bowie slept on the warm, clean laundry for hours.

Photogenic Sunnie getting his portrait taken

Monday, I've got a long list of chores. I better try to get some sleep!

Travel Bug out.

Early on the Road - Thurs., Sept. 18

Talk about early birds...that usually isn't us. But this morning we made an exception so we could ameliorate our commute through large cities. A week/work-day rush hour can mean stop-and-go traffic.

At 4:40 a.m. we were headed north toward Austin, Texas. At New Braunfels, the lightning storm was our entertainment with its streaks, flashes, bolts, and octopus-like fingers reaching toward the ground at one time, and jutting skyward at others. Wow. Then came the deluge. We were heavily rained upon. Thankfully, traffic was light.

Our first sign of a slow-down was south of Austin around 6:00 a.m. However, that cleared relatively quickly and we breezed through downtown.

Bob drove through the heavy-duty construction areas along I-35 north of Austin. The 5th wheel bucked and swayed over the bumpy roads. I was sure we'd go back in the 5er and find cupboards popped open with books spewed all over the floor. (Everything was fine.)

Onward we pushed through Ft. Worth. Again there was some road construction, but we made it through Ft. Worth around 9:30 a.m. Seemed like most people were at work for the day so the traffic moved along at a good clip in most places.

I drove through northern Texas into Oklahoma. Black storm clouds loomed ominously in front of us. The wind picked up and swayed the 5th wheel a bit. Then the rain started; however, it was a much different rain than what we experienced in New Braunfels, more steady; not so much a deluge.

A scenic overlook was coming up and we exited the freeway. Couldn't see anything because the clouds were hanging low,fog-like. We used the facilities in the 5th wheel, made almond butter and jam sandwiches, fed the cats, and changed drivers. Bob drove the rest of the way to our destination for tonight: Arcadia Lake's Central State Park in the City of Edmond, Oklahoma. The park is easy to access from I-35. Take Rt. 66/2nd St west 3.5 miles. Arcadia Lake's Central State Park will be on the right. (You'll pass Edmond Park first - no camping there.)

We found a nice pull-through site, but I must tell you many of their sites are uneven. We were able to position our 5th wheel in our pull-through site so it is level, but there is a slope in front of and behind us in the site. The park is beautiful but you have to choose your site carefully. Some pull-throughs were available next to the lake, but we didn't think our 5th wheel would do too well with some of the sloped sites. Instead, we chose a larger site in the middle of the park away from the water. Week-night rate $24. [Note: This park is right in the flight path of the Oklahoma City airport. Thought you'd like to know that.]

Central State Park, Arcadia Lake

View of center campground (not on lake)

Our picnic area and fire ring (to left)

As you can see, we left the storms south of us and have hot weather here with not a cloud in the sky. We debated doing the capital Volksmarch this evening, but it is just too hot. Instead we will be up early again as we can start anytime after 5 a.m. Sounds like a plan to avoid downtown traffic during rush hour and to have a much cooler temperature.

We will then head north, stopping in Topeka, Kansas to do another capital Volksmarch and continue on to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend tomorrow night. We may run into T-storms again in Lincoln.

I'm going to back up a little. This week I worked two days at the insurance office.

Tuesday night, Bob and I went to dinner at County Line Bar-B-Que. We had a certificate that said it was good for two dinners and two soft drinks ($25 value). Hah! The County Line Bar-B-Que on the River Walk in San Antonio is good, but they charge a lot. One dinner runs $16.99 and up. The food is good, but we thought it was over-priced. Lots of reasonably priced BBQ to eat in San Antonio.

Interior of County Line Bar-B-Que

On the way home from dinner, we were treated to an active, stormy sky...

Looking west from San Antonio, toward the sunset.

Beginnings of a sunset over San Antonio

Here are the fur-kids, looking adorable:

Yes, Bowie is sleeping on top of Sunnie.

Sunnie's like, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Bowie had to move. Sunnie is king of the box.

So far this afternoon has been very relaxing in our air-conditioned 5th wheel. When it cools down, Bob plans to do a marathon training run of 8-10 miles this evening. I plan to sleep so we can walk very early and get on with our day.

Safe travels to everyone moving about the country or even just your neighborhood.

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.

Odyssey - Thurs., Apr. 17

I'm a couple of days behind on the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. I was bogged down on a word that starts with "O." This evening it came to me: Odyssey. First a definition and then I'll expound upon it.

Per dictionary.com:

Odyssey:
1. (italics) an epic poem attributed to Homer, describing Odysseus's adventures in his ten-year attempt to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.

2. (often lowercase) a long series of wanderings or adventures, especially when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc.

Word Origin and History
odyssey
c. 1600, "Odyssey," from L. Odyssea, from Gk. Odysseia, name of the Homeric epic poem of ancient Greece, relating the 10-year wanderings of Odysseus (L. Ulysses), king of Ithaca, after the Trojan war. Figurative sense of "long, adventurous journey" is first recorded 1889.

Living full-time in an RV is an odyssey (per the second definition above). Ours has been 2-1/2 years so far and we don't see an end in sight. Life is not boring living in "a house on wheels:" A house at the ocean? Done! A house in a national park? Roll on down the road, and done! A house by a waterfall? Easy, move the rig and we're there. All the while, our cats, belongings and vehicles are with us. Very nice!

We wander, have adventures and experience hardships. This blog is a chronicle of those. 

Your odyssey can be as short or as long as you want it to be.

In a larger definition, our entire life is an odyssey, starting with birth. Now there's an adventure and hardship, but one we don't remember. As we grow, we learn through new experiences, more hardships, travel, and interacting with others.

When you age, you become more interactive with your journey. You get to choose your path. What will you do? How will you make your life your own?

The end result, I think, is that we end up going home. Whether you believe "ashes to ashes and dust to dust," or believe in reincarnation, or some other variation of death or the hereafter, that is the end to life's odyssey as we are cognizant of it.

Enjoy your odyssey and keep on trucking down the road of life.

Travel Bug out.

Irresistible, Interesting, Intelligent, and Irreplaceable - Thurs., Apr. 10

Bob reading his sister's book at our hotel on Maui. (2009)

Irresistible, interesting, intelligent and irreplaceable...that's my husband, Bob. He swept me off my feet 31 years ago and he just keeps on sweeping.

For example, Bob knows how much I enjoyed the movie "Divergent." (I saw it twice.) I said how much I'd love to read the trilogy of books. Yesterday while working my temp job at the insurance office, out of the blue Bob walked in and handed me the "Divergent" trilogy of books. What a sweetheart.

On days I work at the RV park, Bob drives my Escape pod to work. Today he brought it home full of gas and he had it washed.

One time, when we lived in Portland, Oregon, Bob called me at work on Friday afternoon and said, "Go to the airport, you have a ticket waiting for you to get on a plane. I'm in Bend [Oregon] and I want you to join me." Totally unexpected and very much appreciated. He had packed a suitcase for me, so all I had to do was go to the airport, get on the plane, and we had a wonderful weekend.

We communicate well and make decisions together. He loves cats, helps with the housework, makes incredibly tasty chicken enchiladas, enjoys traveling, goes on Volksmarches with me, kills spiders, investigates things that go bump in the night, works hard, and keeps me on my toes. I can't imagine life without him.

I love you, Bob. Let's double our time together. I'm ready for another 31 years. 

Mariner's Ridge Hike, Oahu, Hawaii (2010)

Bob finishing Hilo Marathon in 2009.

Lunch at The Big Bib, San Antonio, TX (2014)

Hill Country - Wed., Apr. 9

When we arrived in Texas in April 2012 we were pleasantly surprised by the hills. Being from the Pacific Northwest, our impression of Texas was flat and hot with lots of sage and scrub. Southwest Texas fit that description. But then we went to Big Bend National Park with its mountains, and the cliffs across the Rio Grande in Mexico.

As we traveled east, we encountered mesas and lots of hills. North and west of San Antonio is the Texas Hill Country, an area we have grown to love. The area is filled with live oak, mesquite, and cypress trees, springs, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, limestone, pink granite, small charm-filled towns, and wildflowers (in season).

A few of my favorite towns in the Hill Country include:

1. Fredericksburg: a town settled by Germans, with much of the German influence evident today. In Fredericksburg you will find:

• National Museum of the Pacific War. What's that you say? Museum of the Pacific War in south Texas? Why, oh why, would it be there? Because someone named Admiral Nimitz grew up in Fredericksburg. The admission to the museum includes two days because it is such an extensive collection, starting with the factors leading up to WW II, going all the way through WW II, all the theaters, then the signing of the Japanese surrender on board the USS Missouri. 

• Vereins Kirche/Pioneer Museum

• Maibaum (May pole)

• Wild Seed Farms: one of the nation's largest working wildflower farms. Spectacular blooming gardens in the spring, fun gift shop.

• Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
• Gillespie County wineries and vineyards

   2.  Comfort: a town settled by German free-thinkers.

• Many antique stores
• Treue der Union Monument

• Old downtown streets filled with historic markers on the buildings

Comfort, Texas

• Joshua Springs Preserve: Picnic areas, river, walking trails, event center

   3.  Wimberley attractions

• The Blue Hole: A gorgeous swimming hole, frequently ranked as "One of the 10 Best Swimming Holes in Texas.

• Mt. Baldy (Prayer Mountain): Challenge yourself hiking the stairs to the top. Go for the view, the exercise, and take your camera!

• Cypress Creek Nature Trail: Walk along Cypress Creek. (Note: This trail may have been damaged by the flood in October 2013 - check locally before going.)
• Jacob's Well Preserve: much touted, but not a lot to see. When we were there, the swimming hole was overgrown with green algae everywhere except where the spring came out. The well can pump thousands of gallons per minute into Cypress Creek from its underground caverns. This is one of the longest underwater caves in Texas and an artesian spring. (Note: The October 2013 flood damaged the rock ledge on one side of the well.)

• Fun shopping, dining and exploring in this historic town

Other places to visit in the Texas Hill Country:

1. Austin: state capital. Especially visit Barton Springs and Lady Bird Lake
2. Gruene (pronounced "green")
3. Pedernales Falls State Park: interesting look at a river that can become a raging torrent in a downpour
4. Hamilton Pool: another fantastic Texas Hill Country swimming hole. Get there early! There are only 70 parking spots, when they're full you have to wait in line in your car until someone leaves, then one car at a time enters as people leave.
5. Johnson City: Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
6. Stonewall: Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site. Take a driving tour of Lyndon Johnson's Ranch and tour the Texas White House.
7. Krause Springs: Beautiful pool AND a natural swimming hole, butterfly garden, picnic area.
8. McKinney Falls State Park: two swimming holes, one at each waterfall

Pedernales Falls

Krause Springs - swimming pool

Krause Springs - swimming hole with waterfall

Hamilton Pool

I could go on and on. Yep, definitely in love with the Texas Hill Country.

Travel Bug out.

Games - Tues., Apr. 8

I like games. Most games are social and made to be played by two or more people. It's fun to match wits with others and spend time getting to know them.

My favorite game is Scrabble. Why? I am a word person. It's fun to anagram the seven Scrabble tiles to find the best combination of letters and high-score tiles on the board, also because there's quite a bit of strategy involved. (At any one time I have 15-20 Scrabble games going on Facebook. The games aren't played real time; one person takes a turn, then waits for the next person to take a turn. It can take days to weeks to play one game depending on how quickly your opponent(s) play.)

Other board/card games I enjoy include: Sequence, Rummikub, Dominoes, Qwirkle, Pit, Milles Bornes, Yahtzee, Pinochle, Risk, Monopoly, Connect Four, Topple, Rummy, Spoons, Hearts, and Spades.

For over 25 years, Bob and I were in a pinochle group in Oregon. We played once a month and alternated whose home we played in. It was a social event with potluck, a top prize for first place and a "booby" prize for last place. We had so much fun and made life-long friends.

Qwirkle

When I was in high school I loved chess, but I haven't played that for years. My skills are rusty.

Physical games were played in high school. My favorites were basketball, softball, and volleyball. Soccer was fun, but that wasn't introduced in our gym curriculum until late in high school. I also enjoyed bowling, square dancing and archery in high school.

In college, I was in love with roller skating and ballroom dancing. I played basketball and volleyball there as well.

Mental "games" I scratch my head over are crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, quizzes, brain teasers, Numbrix, Word Scrambles, Cryptoquizzes, etc. When I have time, I'll pick up a puzzle book or do Numbrix puzzles. Other people love Sudoku. (I've never played Sudoku.)

Even TV game shows pique my interest. My favorites are Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Reality shows fall into the TV game show category. I regularly watch Amazing Race, Survivor, Bachelor/Bachelorette, Shark Tank, Millionaire Matchmaker, and Project Runway.
The reality shows are for entertainment value, not for mind exercise.

And that, my friends, is what I do with the little spare time I have.

Travel Bug out.

Feathers, Flowers, Fireworks, and Friends - Mon., Apr. 7

Saturday morning was cold and windy. Bob headed off to the gym to play basketball. Gone were my plans to drive an hour to San Marcos, do a Volksmarch, and drive an hour back. Sleep called my name and I curled up with the cats and slept until 10:20 a.m.

Bob returned at noon. He had free tickets for the San Antonio Botanical Garden courtesy of the AIA (American Institute of Architects). The current special exhibit "Birdhouses" is sponsored by architectural firms and other sponsors.

We hadn't had breakfast so Bob and I ate at The Carriage House Restaurant at the entrance to the botanic garden. The building used to be a carriage house.

The Carriage House Restaurant

Quilt on the wall above our table.

After lunch, we entered the botanic garden. An abundance of beautiful flowers awaited. My favorite garden was The Old Fashioned Garden.

Here then is a photo blog of feathers, flowers, and "fireworks." Friends will follow these photos.

Feathers:

Female mallard

Male mallard

Beautiful feather pattern.

"I'm askin' you nice, would you feed me?"

Northern cardinal

Peek-a-boo, I see you.

Long-billed thrasher

Long-billed thrasher

Green heron

Flowers:

Orchids

Persimmon blossom

Oxalis flowers

Iris

Pink evening primroses

Columbine

Germander (mint family)

Water lily

Roses

Perennial larkspur

Bob in The Old-Fashioned Garden

"Fireworks" (courtesy of Mother Nature):

Golden barrel cactus

Blue mist flower

Agave

Bear grass

Nosebleed yarrow

Hardy crinum (amaryllis)

Nicotiana alata

We capped off our day celebrating the birthday of a friend at Traveler's World RV Park. He invited all of his closest friends and cooked a sausage "stew" with kielbasas, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots cooked in beer. So scrumptious! Sides included coleslaw, deviled eggs, candied walnuts, Caesar salad, garlic bread, chocolate chip cookies, sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries, chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream.

There was enough booze flowing freely to give all 60 people there DUIs if we had to drive anywhere, which we didn't. We walked home. Particularly good was the fireball whiskey, very cinnamon-y. I had a shot and followed it with a chaser of a couple sips of Redd's Apple Ale. That tasted pretty good.

Thank you Bob and Pam for a fun evening, despite the rain. Yes, it rained in April in south Texas. Temperature was in the 60s and everyone was wearing coats, hats, some had umbrellas and others went back to their RVs and brought out their blankets. Partway through the evening, some propane-fueled firebowls were put out and we huddled up around those. The rain eventually stopped and Bob opened his cards and gifts.

Bob and I headed home and watched "Margin Call." We didn't particularly like it. I gave it two stars out of five.

Welcome to Cathy who writes the Cold Lake Cathy blog. She, too, is doing the A-to-Z Challenge. Thanks for following along, Cathy.

Travel Bug out.