Staycation - Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016

After working a 40-hour week, at the end of the day Saturday I was ready for a long weekend. Bob and I planned a "stay"cation, deciding to stay in San Antonio for the weekend. No long drives in traffic for us.

Bob stayed home on Saturday and didn't work (which is a headline in its own right). He ran, did a few chores, but mostly relaxed and watched football. At about 6 p.m., he came to the office and walked me home from work.

I had a chance to change out of my work uniform shirt before he kidnapped me to dinner. I had no idea where we were going. We ended up at the Bavarian Restaurant on the east side of San Antonio in an industrial area. I had absolutely no idea this restaurant existed so it was a big surprise.

Bavarian Restaurant

It's a very cute place and popular with groups. We were lucky and arrived before two large groups were seated.

As we were sitting at our table talking, someone from the next table says, "Hey, Bob!" It's Maureen who used to work for Bob at MPS Construction. She, her husband Gary, sister and brother-in-law were all there. Not only that, but her mom works as a waitress at the restaurant, so we met her mom too. Small world.

Bob and I enjoyed our German dinners. Bob had the Chicken Schnitzel special and I had the Chicken Sausage Special. We both chose red cabbage and German potato salad as our sides. We shared an apple strudel with ice cream for dessert. We had a very nice dinner.

Me and Bob

Restaurant decor

Steins and other German memorabilia

Pewter cups and pitcher

Bob by the cuckoo clock

Me taking a cuckoo photo

After dinner, as we were driving home, we were treated to a spectacular cloud display.

The sun was setting but still behind the cloud

 

After some time relaxing at home after dinner, Bob and I went out rock 'n' roll dancing to one of our favorite bands, Arrowhead. We were at the Tonic Bar from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The band puts on a really good show, but at the bar be went to, no one dances except us (and a couple of girls near the stage on one or two numbers). It's really a weird vibe in that place, not our favorite.

Then we came home and got some much-needed sleep.

They Say It's Your Birthday - Friday, Nov. 20, 2015

Well, my birthday was actually November 20. I'm a bit behind on blogging, but today is a good day to catch up.

The president of our Volksmarch Club won a party for 100 people at Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar in San Antonio. The party included cover charge and two, $1 drink coupons. Sounded like a good way to celebrate my birthday, so we headed there when I got off work a little early at 4:30 pm. Lisa, Lydia and Randy also went to the party so I knew RVing people and walking people at the party.

Howl at the Moon has free appetizers catered by Rio Rio restaurant and you can help yourself until they're gone. Believe me, that didn't take very long! Good thing we helped ourselves while there was some left. Early on, someone paid to have "Happy Birthday, Susan" put up on the mirror behind the piano players. Others can pay more to change the message on the mirror, but it stayed up the whole time we were there.

Howl at the Moon with my birthday message

Bob and his marathon training partner, Lisa

Ellen's party

Ellen's party

Ellen and her sweetie.

More party-goers at Howl at the Moon

All of us girls danced to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. We had lots of fun. All of us left about 8 or 8:30 pm. Bob and I headed home to change clothes. I wanted to put on more comfortable shoes for dancing.

We hadn't had dinner (just appetizers), so we drove through Dairy Queen for "real" food. Then we headed to Boozehounds bar to hear one of our favorite rock 'n' roll bands in San Antonio: Arrowhead.

Me with Arrowhead band members

Arrowhead performing (sorry, it's blurry)

Great face paint!

Virgil of Arrowhead and me

We listened, danced and drank. Had a good time and made it home at 12:30 a.m. Luckily, I had Saturday off work and could sleep in. Thanks, Bob, for a great time!

Rock 'n' Roll at Snoops Tavern - Wed., Dec. 31

These next few blogs will be a time for me to catch up on our last 1-1/2 weeks. After all the work at the RV park, I had Sunday through Tuesday, Dec. 29-31 off work. It was too cold to do much.

Since our return from our six-week trip on November 1, we hadn't put our bird feeders out. As I was preparing to take the laundry to the laundry room, a cardinal sat in the tree above me and chastised me for neglecting to feed him. So I put out the bird feeder and seed. Somehow I think birds know when very cold weather is coming and they eat for energy.

As soon as I put up the feeder, not just one, but about 15 sparrows descended upon it, followed by the cardinals and house finches. When the smaller birds kicked seeds out of the feeder, a number of white-winged and Inca doves covered the ground beneath the feeder eating the dropped seeds. In one afternoon, the seed level in the feeder dropped by 2/3rds from the birds eating. (No squirrels partook because it's seed they don't like.)

Small birds on feeder, doves on the ground beneath.

This feeder was full of seed in the morning!

On Wednesday, New Year's Eve Day, I worked until 4:30 p.m. Bob and I had some snacks to tide us over until 9 p.m. At 8:00 we drove up to Snoops Tavern in San Antonio where Texas Radio rock 'n' roll band would be playing for New Year's Eve. A group of our friends were all going there. When we arrived, a number of people were already there. I started the evening with a shot of Crown Black whiskey (which I sipped for quite a while). Bob had Redd's Apple Ale. We sat around talking while the band warmed up.

At 9 p.m., the owner of Snoop's Tavern put out BBQ brisket, chicken, pulled pork, and baked beans. The food was free, a thank you to his customers. We snagged some right away as we were hungry. One of the patrons brought homemade brownies which were really good.

About 9:30 p.m., the music started and we danced the night away.

Us rock 'n' roll dancing

Slow dancing

Me and Bob

Brenda and Dave

Brenda, Dave, me, Bob

More of our group dancing

Dave and Brenda

Brenda - the life of the party!

J.J. - the flirt.

Happy New Year!

Brenda with her 2015 lit-up glasses and an extreme noisemaker.

Ringing in 2015

We were tucked safely back in our 5th wheel by 1 a.m.

Schuhplattler polka -- Sat., May 26

Cotulla, TX: 

A little back story: I'm of German descent. A few years ago, Bob and I joined a folk dance group in Portland, Oregon and learned how to dance reels, polkas, waltzes, schottisches, landlers, tarantellas, minuets, the Mexican hat dance, and others.

I've told you how bad the bugs are here. Here's how bad... (At this point you're probably asking yourself what does folk dancing have to do with bugs?)

Well, let me tell you. When I go out during the hot afternoon to check trucks in and out of the gate, the black flies bite my legs. It hurts! I slap my left calf, slap my right knee, slap my left ankle, slap my right thigh. Sometimes four or five bugs bite me at once or in rapid succession.

All I can think is that I look like an Austrian or German doing the Schuhplattler polka which consists of slapping knees, thighs and ankles. You can find YouTube videos of the dance. Here's one: Schuhplattler dance and another Schuhplattler polka.  (I wish I had the whips and could use them like the dancers at the beginning of the second video! That would kill some bugs for sure--or at least keep them at bay. What did you think I wanted whips for?)


Normally, the schuhplattler is a dance in which men try to impress the marriageable ladies with their dancing prowess. In my particular situation, being the only woman in an oil field full of male workers, the men are probably pretty impressed by my thigh-slapping, bug-killing "dance." 

I think they get a "kick" out of it at the very least. I must look pretty silly out there trying to rid myself of the black fly bite-y bugs. At night, it's the mosquitoes. 

Oh well, maybe they're getting as much of a laugh out of it as I am. "Look at that crazy lady!! What is her problem? Is she putting on a dance for us?" 


Ya gotta find humor where you can out here. I think the Texas sun is getting to me. 


Travel "Bug" out.