Lasagne, Pool, Hot Tub, Pinochle - A Very Relaxing Day - Sunday, March 24, 2019

Sleep in? What's that? This morning we took it easy and relaxed. At 9:00 a.m., Louise (Bob's mom) and Laura (Bob's sister) came to visit us in our 5th wheel at Lake Pleasant Regional Park. They were on their way home to Las Vegas and the park is on the way. We said our "good-byes" and "see you later's" and they continued home. We thought we might go back to see Skip and Sally one last time, but decided we needed some downtime.

The middle part of the day was spent relaxing and I blogged. Later in the afternoon, we went to visit our friends from Oregon, Charlie and Debbie Smith, who now live in Sun City West, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. 

It was our first time to visit their home in Sun City. It's a lovely home with a pool, hot tub, and grapefruit and orange trees in the back yard. We took our swimsuits in case swimming or hot tubbing was on the agenda. For sure, we'd be playing pinochle. 

When Charlie and Debbie lived in Oregon, they lived down the road from us on the Willamette River. We used to go water skiing with them in the summer. Later they bought a yacht and kept it on the Columbia River and we'd go with them on their yacht to see fireworks on the Columbia. But no matter what, we always played pinochle.

My family loved to play pinochle. For years in Oregon, a group of us played pinochle once a month. We had so much fun. There was always a first prize, a booby prize, and lots of snacks. As people moved away, it became harder to find replacements to play the game. Anyway, a few games of pinochle is always on the agenda when any of the old pinochle group gets together.

But back to today. We had a wonderful visit with Charlie and Debbie, their daughter, Nicole, and their grandson, Christian. We've known them so long, they're family to us. 

For dinner, we had lasagne, salad, French bread, and great conversation. We caught up on what's been happening since we last saw them. 

I'm kicking myself because I forgot to take pictures this evening! I don't think they took any either.

After dinner, we got in the pool. The sun was going down and there was a slight chill in the air. The pool wasn't super warm and I was all for going in the hot tub. Charlie had just turned on the hot tub heater, so the hot tub was the same temperature as the pool. As we sat and chatted, the hot tub finally warmed up. Then we got out so we could play pinochle. We had ice cream for dessert after playing a few hands of pinochle.

Charlie and I were partners and we couldn't get any good hands. Bob and Debbie beat us every game. Oh, well, it was still a very fun evening. 

Since I forgot to take photos at Charlie and Debbie's home, I am posting two photos from yesterday's capital walk of a Korean Bell dedicated to those Arizonans who gave their lives in the Korean War.

Pavilion housing the Korean Bell.

Korean Bell.

Thank you, Charlie and Debbie, for having us over for dinner and a fun evening socializing. We also are enjoying the grapefruit and oranges! They are so good. 

Walking, Women, Wine, and Wallpaper? - Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015

Last Friday night, we took our lawn chairs and headed to Mad Mack's Burger Company for dinner, then over to Mission San Jose for a "Music Under the Stars" concert. We hauled our folding chairs to the lawn inside the mission and set up in a good spot to listen to the concert. The USAA Concert Band, Chorus and Jazz Band were going to play marches, patriotic songs, Western-style music, country and pop.

Quite a few people had brought tables, tableclothes and a whole meal to have a picnic before the concert. Everything was set up and the musicians were warming up.

Mission San Jose, "Queen of the Missions."

Our spot on the lawn and the program

A lot of work had gone into setting up the concert: flyers printed, stage and lighting tower erected, musicians in place with their instruments, chairs set up for dignitaries, and lighting and port-a-potties brought in.

We settled back for an evening of lively music. First the dignitaries gave a welcome, then an award was handed out and they spent about 15 minutes patting themselves on the back. When it came time for the music, the lightning started just behind Mission San Jose. The National Anthem was played and we all sang along.

USAA Choir and Band

The bandleader announced that severe weather was headed our way. He said they would play their encore first. The encore consisted of the songs for each of the branches of the military. All members of each branch of the military or their families were asked to stand when their branches song was played. They played one more song. Big flashes of lightning were lighting up the sky to the north and west of us.

The bandleader said, "Please gather up your chairs and belongings and make your way to the safety of your cars. No need to hurry, you have plenty of time, but we want you to be safe." That was the end of the concert. We didn't get any rain but the lightning was quite a show. It was the safest thing to do. At least we got to hear a few songs.

As an aside, this concert was the rain date for a concert that was cancelled around Memorial Day when there was so much rain that the lawn at the mission was soaking wet. The bandleader joked about it tonight saying their concerts are called the "drought busters." We will try to see the concert again in the spring.

Sunday, Bob and I were up before dawn to do an 11k (6.8 mile) Volksmarch from Mission San Jose to Mission Concepcion.  Since the Missions weren't open at that hour, we couldn't sign the walk book or stamp the Volksmarch book. But because our RV park is right on the walk route and we know it by heart, we walked anyway. Start time 6:40 a.m., end time 9:15 a.m. It was a beautiful, cool morning and we finished before it got too hot.

Early morning sky

Mission Reach of the River Walk -  mist on the river

Early morning on the trail

Roosevelt St. bridge, RV park on the right.

Devil's bouquet (Nyctaginia capitata)

A very old neighborhood -- 1720

Red-winged blackbirds

History markers along the trail

Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii)

The purple, pineapple-shaped flowers above are not thistles. True thistles are in the aster family along with sunflowers and daisies The eryngo is part of the carrot family and is related to celery, parsnips, coriander, fennel, parsley, caraway and dill. Who knew?

After our walk, I showered and dressed to go to the San Antonio Ultimate Women's Expo. Five ladies from the RV park attended today: Brenda, Pam, Lisa and Randy. The Expo had a fashion show, complimentary hair styling, wine tasting, cooking demonstrations, exhibitors, clothing, and guest speakers. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Lisa outside the Airstream trailer
converted to a clothing boutique

Regis Salons had about 12 hairstylists doing complimentary haircuts. Randy signed up for a haircut as soon as she got there at 11:10 a.m. Her number was 78. Apparently so many women signed up for haircuts on Saturday, they couldn't get to all of them, so those ladies had to come back today. They were first in line. Randy's number was called about 12:40 p.m. That was just about the time of the fashion show, so she and Lisa missed the fashion show.

Randy on stage with her stylist

Randy's pretty new hairstyle - bottom left

Brenda, Pam and I saw the Fashion Show. Unfortunately the emcee was rather lame. After about the fourth model, his cue cards weren't matching the outfits. Instead of slowing down and trying to find the correct card, he stopped describing the clothing and resorted to saying, "You can find these and other fashions at Dillards [the sponsor of the fashion show]."

After Lisa, Randy and I finished looking around the Expo, we found Brenda and Pam to ask if they'd like to go to lunch with us. They had arrived at the Expo after us and they wanted to finish looking around. Randy, Lisa and I ate at The Republic of Texas restaurant on the River Walk. We sat outside next to the river.

I had The Republic of Texas Cilantro Chicken Plate. The waiter said it was a very good meal. I have to agree; that was the best chicken dish I have had in a long time. The chicken breasts sat on a bed of pecan wild rice and a light cilantro sauce covered the chicken. Around the outside edge of the plate were steamed vegetables of many kinds. So tasty!

Me holding the Republic of Texas  menu

It was Happy Hour and sangria was $4 per glass instead of $5.95. Lisa and Randy each had red sangria and I had peach sangria. Wow, that made my taste buds happy!

Lisa with her red sangria.

Looking back at The Republic of Texas restaurant on the River Walk. Our table was the one you can see on the end.

The Republic of Texas restaurant umbrellas

Now you're probably wondering, "What about the wallpaper in the title?" Well, we had some old wallpaper accent strips on our walls that were getting old and peeling off. The wallpaper was pretty easy to peel off. The paste, on the other hand, is a nightmare to remove. It's a vinyl on vinyl type of paste. I have tried spray on wallpaper remover. (Didn't work.) Also tried Downy mixed with water which is supposed to remove wallpaper glue. (It doesn't.) So far what works best is rolling the old glue off with my fingers. BUT what that does is give me blisters on my finger pads. OUCH! Anyone out there know how to remove vinyl on vinyl (VOV) wallpaper glue?

That's it. We're up to date. Have a good week. Travel Bug out.

Howl at the Moon - Thurs., May 7, 2015

My co-worker, Ralph, and his wife, Vicki, were heading to Kentucky in a few days. A good-bye party was held at Howl at the Moon, a rock 'n' roll bar with dueling pianos. In addition to Ralph and Vicki, Lydia, Randy, Newt, Suzanne, Joe, Lisa, Bob and I headed downtown on the city bus to celebrate. We arrived about 1/2 hour before the club opened.

Bob and I hadn't had dinner and knew they didn't sell food at Howl at the Moon. Joe and Lisa hadn't eaten either, so the four of us went to Hard Rock Cafe next door for dinner. The food and service were good, but a bit slow. We knew the rest of the group was going in to save us seats and we had to be in the door before 7:30 p.m. to avoid the $7 ($10) cover charge. We took the rest of our food to go and headed to Howl at the Moon.

Apparently we missed the brouhaha. Howl at the Moon was not honoring their "no cover charge" before 7:30 pm. Lydia took it up with the manager who waived the cover charge for our group. However, Lydia had to meet us at the door to let the manager know we were with the group. 

Once in, we had a good time singing along with the pianists, bass and drum players. Drinks were expensive and service was so-so.

Dueling pianos

Vicki and Ralph at Howl at the Moon

Behind the musicians are two mirrored walls. On one wall, you can post a message for $1. The second person who wants to post (and have the first message erased), pays $2, third person $3, etc. The other wall cost $20 to post and the messages last longer. To remove one message and post another cost $5 per message change, i.e., $25 first post, $30 second post, $35 third post, you get the idea.

Here's the post one person in our group put up for Ralph and Vicki:

"Safe travels Vicki & Ralph. Love, Travelers Wordl"

Then Ralph and Vicki changed the message to: "We love our Travelers World family. ♥ Hope to see you again. Ralph & Vicki"

Magnolia tree on the River Walk in the twilight

We stayed until about 9:15 pm, then went to catch the bus back to Travelers World. The rest of the group stayed a bit longer. It was a fun evening to honor Ralph and Vicki.

Travel Bug out.

Joshua Springs Park & Preseve - Sunday, April 5, 2015

Today we reconnected with Hans and Lisa of Metamorphosis Road blog fame. Our destination was Joshua Springs Park and Preserve to do a long walk. When we arrived at 9:30 am, it was cool and cloudy/misty, 54 degrees with about 94% humidity. We could barely see the top of Ring Mountain.

I had a debate with myself about whether or not to wear a light jacket. The jacket choice won because it wasn't quite warm. Our walk started along Joshua Springs Lake, then we branched off to walk through meadows hoping to see birds, deer, armadillos, something!

Joshua Springs consists of over 400 acres and is run by Kendall County Parks. Within the park are trails for walking, biking, jogging and hiking, bird blinds, Joshua Springs Lake for fishing, canoeing and kayaking (no swimming), open air picnic pavilions, and a 3,000 square foot event center at the top of Ring Mountain.

As we walked through multiple fields on our hike, our shoes and socks became waterlogged. The grass was just tall enough that the dew or residual drops from recent rain permeated the breathe-able hiking boots. Squishy socks accompanied us as we walked.

Young cypress tree growing in the lake

Fire ant nest (we saw a few of these in the meadows)

Fishing pier next to the lake

Lisa, Bob and Hans on the South Bank Loop trail

We did see a number of wildflowers!

Sand verbena

Spanish bayonet yucca

 In the photo below, you can see what our weather was like...foggy, humid, cool-ish.

On Ring Mountain looking down on Joshua Springs Lake

Indian paintbrush

Spanish dagger yucca flowers

I love bluebonnets!

New oak tree leaves

Woolly Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Following a road

Too cool for snakes today

Ring Mountain (event center at top)

Lisa

A turkey in one of the meadows

Picnic time

After our hike and lunch at Joshua Springs Park, we went to Comfort, an Antique Town. Because of the Easter holiday most of the stores were closed, but not all. Our goal was to show Hans and Lisa the historic town.

Comfort State Bank

Bird sculptures along the roof line in Comfort.

What you can find in Comfort

Beautiful flowers

Comfortable Pizza station

Bikes

Must be mesquite for wood-fired pizza

Cute place

A Texas longhorn

Find Comfort on the porch of The Tinsmith's Wife

Hans, Bob, Lisa in front of Comfort State Bank

We then drove over to the Treue der Union Monument. Enlarge the signs to read the Civil War history that led to the building of the monument.

Treue der Union Monument

Next, we went along Cypress Creek and that completed our day in Comfort. Hans spotted black squirrels along the bank. Their thick black fur sets them apart from their cousins with gray or brown coats.

A black squirrel

An old bridge

Cypress Creek

We said our good-byes to Hans and Lisa until the next time our paths cross.

Back at Travelers World RV Park, we walked around the park in the evening and found a couple of interesting rigs.

Minimalist camping!

The trailer is not much bigger than the picnic table!

 Does anyone else see the incongruity and irony of the small tow vehicle below?

Big foot with small tow. LOL.

Check out the following two photos of Bowie. Is he sleeping with his eyes open or giving me stink eye? It all depends on how you look at it.

Sleeping with eyes half open?

Or stink eye?

Travel Bug out.