Where we are....

Some links to explore....the town of Kerrville:

http://www.kerrvilletexascvb.com/



Our RV park's site:

http://www.bytheriver.com/

In Kerrville.....

We are here! A longer drive then we thought and much harder cause of the terrible, terrible winds we had today! We were driving against it and used gas like you would not believe!

Drove through rather bleak flat land until we got to San Antonio...big city...lots of traffic to get through. Huge traffic jam on this side coming toward the city on the other side of the highway due to construction. Will have to find another way to get into town from here...but we think we have. Even the hill country was rather bleak. Hilly with some nice vista's...but really on the whole I was a bit disappointed. Not much green...everything brown...NO blue bonnets! A lady at an antique shop in Rockport had told us that her blue bonnets were up and green and would bloom the first part of March. Well here...I think we are weeks away from them. The lady here at the campground here said..first of April!

Kerrville looked nice but we just drove through the commercial part...not the quaint downtown part...which hopefully does exist! The Guadalupe river does at least have water in it...unlike many rivers that we crossed. Terrible drought here...really bad. Which may be why everything is sooo brown!

When we first got here at the campground, we were pretty disappointed. It does not look as it is represented on the website! Hardly any trees....none with leaves....very flat and the part (an estuary) of the river we are on is very, very shallow. But as we were here longer we are liking it more. Super nice people....and the sun setting over the river was really pretty...and there were ducks...and then at twilight...deer! A mom and 3 little fawns...prancing and leaping ....came right down by the river to graze and leap about and play. And with them...a cute little black and white kitty! Fun to watch from our bedroom windows. We have a patio of sorts. Had to drag a picnic table from another site over...but when it warms up (and it will ) it will be pretty nice sitting out there. No concrete slab...just dirt. But I think it'll be OK. The view is OK...not what I had pictured...but really when you get used to it...is OK. Not a shady deep river like we are used to in the Midwest but a shallow river with not too many trees around it. But still...a nice hill on the other side...pretty nice. It'll do!

I was very disappointed to find that I cannot walk on the other side of the estuary to the actual river. I would have to drive as there is a low water bridge which has water going over it and we were told is very, very slippery and not to walk across it. But there looks to be other areas I can walk ...we are at the end of a road with neighborhoods and subdivisions off of it...so it may be actually very interesting to walk there...as I love looking at other peoples houses!

Suppose to get down to 28 tonight! Yikes...thank goodness for our furnace! Less cold tomorrow night...then up in the 70's for highs and 50's for lows....and sunny! No rain..which they need.

We have great cell phone here!! Fair computer and cable! Not as good as at the last place! There is lots to do around here and after these couple of cold nights...it is to warm up and be lovely. Our friends are on their way and we will have fun! Will be touch ...pictures to follow.... Love, Judy

Gretchen- Worlds smartest dog by Mike

In the pets category, a word needs to be said about our dog Gretchen, bless her heart and spirit. She was, I think the smartest dog that I ever knew. We got her as a little puppy from a family that belonged to our church. She was the runt of the litter and not wanted by anyone, as she couldn't be sold. When she came to us she was about a foot long, and an active, playful, and affectionate little furry thing. She grew to be about 20 lbs, small for her mixed breed, but really adorable. She was our watchdog, the kids protector, and the stabilizing factor in our home. At the time we had a frightful monster living in our basement, warty, evil smelling with rotten teeth, ugly, quietly lurking and waiting for any child to venture forth into the catacombs that was the basement where the freezer with all the food is kept. One of the kids would be asked to go to the freezer to get a lb of hamburger. Reluctantly, they would comply, but sending their dog, the sacrificial lamb, Gretchen, to go first to face the ogre waiting at the bottom of the stairs for an innocent child to gobble up. Gretchen would, unwittingly go to the bottom of the stairs and protect the child from harm at the hands of the most ferocious of all beasts. When she appeared to be all right, and not consumed by said ogre, the child would go to the freezer to retrieve the requested meal for the evening. Thus it was said that our dog Gretchie was truly our savior on that scale.
Gretchen knew the sound footsteps made on our driveway and recognized each one as friend or foe. If a postman or meter reader would set foot on the stones the crunch would register with her and she would cause a stir that would wake the dead from a trance. If it was one of us, or friend Ron, a neighbor down the street, or someone who has been to the house and greeted her and given her a friendly back scratch or tummy rub, she knew the sound of the footsteps and would be at the door to greet them with a silently wagging tail. Let a repairman knock on the door, and they would be greeted with a snarling aggressive dog that looked and sounded as if she would tear them to shreds and spit out the pieces. That was our Gretchen. She would put the kids to bed and when they were asleep come down stairs to be with us. Then the next oldest would have to be taken to bed at the time, upstairs she went until that child was asleep. Her responsibilities fulfilled, it was bedtime for her. A great, good dog.

Leaving Rockport.....

Today will be my last walk here by the water. Tomorrow first thing we will leave for Kerrville which is in the Hill Country of Texas. While there, some friends from St. Louis are coming down and joining us for a few days. We will spend a day in San Antonio, a day touring the Johnson Ranch and the Texas White House, and then some time touring around other little towns...and the guys will play some golf too.

So thought I would take you along on my daily walk...which I have really enjoyed. Remember to click on the pictures if you want to see them bigger. I leave the campground and cross the highway, then cut down this path to the water. The path is where a natural gas pipeline runs.....I guess it's origin is out in the Gulf of Mexico. I walk by Aransas Bay. Only at the top of this hill going down the path toward the water, do you see all the islands which border the bay. They are about 6 miles out and are only accessible by boat. Sometimes the water in the bay is calm, as it was on some of these pictures...but more often it is choppy with small waves lapping against all the culverts and concrete "stuff" they have dumped there to shore up the shore. Every day I see loons, pelicans, egrets, gulls, and ducks. I have tried to take pics of them, but they are either moving too fast, or too far away to get them! It is usually pretty windy on my walk.

These pics show the bay and the road I walk on....hate the wires! How ugly are electric wires! Wish they were all buried!

On one side of the road is the bay and on the other side houses. Some are big and fancy with pools and big decks, some are more modest and some are all boarded or shuttered up, kind of run down and don't look as if there is anyone living in them.

The small scrub live oaks are all bent over because of the prevailing winds. It is very, very windy here most days. People have told us that this is the windy time of year. It is nice when the temp is in the 80's as it has been the last couple of days, cause it never feels really hot.

Most of the houses have wonderful piers build far out into the bay. Some are elaborate with rails and benches and thatched roofs with bars under the roofs. Those just say to me "let's have a margarita out here!" Some are simpler. All have gates and signs saying "Private pier...no trespassing"

My walk takes about a half hour down by the water. I usually feel very refreshed when I am done. There usually are other walkers, runners and bike riders which I pass or who pass me. The road is a nice paved road, but a bit narrow for two cars to pass. There is no sidewalk. One of my pet peeves is when cars do not pull over (when they can) to the other side of the road when they pass me, forcing me off the road. I love the people who do...and who even stop when a car is coming toward them and let it pass, so as to not force me off the road. One of my secret likes is the smell of diesel fuel as pickups go past me!

Here is the sign warning of the gas line. I pass by it on it's right...go over the hill and there is our campground right across Highway 35.

I will miss this place...the towns are cute and quaint and really not very touristy (compared to Florida). But I will not miss the winds...or being next to a small airport where helicopters come low over us every morning and every evening taking workers out to the oil fields. Very noisy! Less noisy but also annoying are the small planes...lessons have got to be being given (hopefully not to potential terrorists!) cause the same small red and white plane goes over time and time again. We also have been told that border patrol goes in and out of here in both planes and choppers, searching the Gulf for illegals in small boats. All in all....very noisy!

So we will leave Rockport in the AM. Will try to blog as much as possible while we are in Kerrville but we will be pretty busy, so there may be stretches without anything written. Thanks to all of you who follow us and read this often...and those who leave comments or send us emails about the blog. We are having a ball doing it...esp Mike. It has brought out his inner writer!! Love to all....Judy

Pets-continued....by Mike

Actually, Coffee the cat was not the first pet I had. When I was a baby the family had a small black and white collie named Bitsy. I remember my Mom mentioning her and I have a photo of Bitsy somewhere, but I don't remember anything about her and don't know what happened to her. One story about Kola that is worth mentioning is the one about him and peanut butter. Kola loved peanut butter as much as he hated cats. I wasn't fond of peanut butter sandwiches, but could eat them when they were accompanied by jelly. One day when Mom was out of jelly, I gave Kola a bite of what was left of my sandwich. What followed was what I thought the most hilarious thing I ever saw. Kola absolutely adored the sandwich, but it stuck to the roof of his mouth. Trying to get it out down and swallow it was a task which included working his tongue in and out and back and forth, sometimes coming out of his mouth 5 or six inches. He looked as if he were gagging. Shaking his head back and forth, side to side until the sandwich goes down. Then he is begging for more. I was delerious with laughter, tears in my eyes and Kola was happy as a clam knowing that he was entertaining me.
After college, I moved to St. Louis, MO and attended Grad school at Wash U and got a job teaching school at a private school in the county. Living alone in a place where I knew no one was a lonely existence, so I went to the dog pound to get a pet. I chose Terry, a small wire haired terrier that was the runt in the cage where they kept him among big dogs like Shepherds, Collies, and mixed breeds that out weighed him by 20 lbs. I looked them all over and then it was time for din-din. The attendant brought a big bowl of food for all in the cage to eat. Terry ran to the dish growled and snarled at all those big monsters to warn them and tell them who was boss in their world, and then he calmly and slowly ate what he wanted without interference from any others. "I'll take him" I said and he came home with me that day. He was truly a delight. He was a very loving and playful dog that loved to go for rides in my convertible back then. Unfortunately he would bark all day long when I was gone and disturb the neighbors in the next apartment, he chewed all my shoes to shreds, chewed the corner off every drawer in the kitchen, but he was good about holding his pottying until I got home. Then on the walk he would pee like a race horse at every tree on the walk. One day the neighbor lady across the hall was just getting in her car in the parking lot when I was taking him for his walk. He dashed towards her jerking the leash out of my hand and into the back seat of her car he went, peeing all over her car because he was so excited. This was not good. It did not please her. It did not please me. I had to do something to remedy this situation. I had to pay for the car to get cleaned, repair of the kitchen drawers, get new shoes and move out of my apartment under duress. Terry had to find a new home. A lady friend of Dad's adored him and she was his new mistress. I did miss him a lot.
Next--Gretchen the worlds smartest dog

Cats, dogs, and other pets

When you are are on the road like we are now, you have some time to think about things and appreciate what you have and what you had. I'm talking about pets, here, not anything else. My first pet was a cat, specifically a Siamese named Coffee. She was a lovely cat, pretty, loving, playful, but very noisy. Ever heard one when she wants something or she is unhappy about something? She will let you know. a yowl that sounds like a cow in labor, a baby with a wet diaper, a child in pain. Boy, it makes you want to satisfy what ever it is is wrong with her. She did not want to be downstairs, but upstairs at night she kept everyone awake because she wanted to play. There would be things that go bump in the night, crash in the sink, scratching, thumping, squeeking, and you would go running wondering what in the world was that noise only to see a streaking brown furry animal disappearing into a hiding place where she knew she was safe. There were many sleepless nights with Coffee and with Dad working late at the plant, he needed his sleep. Coffee found a new home with a lady next door where I could visit her.
The next project was a pair of rabbits when I was about 10. I built a hutch to house them and bought two bunnies with the idea to have little bunnies. I named them Ozzie and Harriet. Well we put them together and they hated each other so much that they had knock down drag out fights and I found the smaller one wounded, so I had to build another hutch. I had to take Harriet to the vet to have her wounds tended to and to my dismay and surprise Harriet was actually a Harry. That is why they couldn't get along. When Ozzie wanted to make love, Harry wanted no part of it. Then the little boy next door threw used motor oil on them for some reason and that caused them to lose their hair. Nothing uglier than hairless bunnies. I remember that they got loose somehow, and I suspect that the same little boy was also guilty of that so we had to let them go, too. They were really hard to catch.
Then I had a dog named Kola. Dad worked for Oregon Dairy and picked up milk cans from farmers and delivered them to the dairy for pasteurization and delivery to homes in Mt. Morris and Oregon, IL. One of his farmer customers had a litter of pups and Dad brought home this little fuzzy puppy that looked like a Koala bear. He was my pal and my friend from 1948 until I went to college in 1957. He was a great dog. I had a paper route and he knew the route better than I did. I delivered the Rockford Morning Star in the morning before school. I'd get up at 5am, Mom would fix me oatmeal (which I hated and Kola loved) and she would go back to bed before I left the house. Kola, fortified with oatmeal, would sit patiently while I folded all my papers, put them in my bag, got on my bike and off we would go to get the news out to the citizens of east Mt. Morris, Kola leading the way. One stop was The Clover Farm store (whatever happened to them?) where Mr. Hazzard would be behind the meat counter grinding hamburger and cutting steaks for the next day. He would always have a tasty meatball for Kola while I bought a Twinkie for my breakfast. It was a great substitute for oatmeal. Twinkies then were 6 cents. Do you know now that they are 99 cents or more and aren't nearly as good? Kola didn't get any of them. They are not good for dogs. He really despised cats. Any cat was no good in his book. They should all live in trees like squirrels, and that is where he endeavoured to chase them when he saw one. Joannie McNett lived across the street and had a nice cat who sunned herself on the porch every day. In the side yard was a big apple tree and Kola would start slowly sneaking up on the sleeping cat on the porch until he got to the middle of the street, then barking furiously at full speed, startle the cat and chase her up the apple tree. This was a daily game enjoyed by him. One day the cat had had enough of this game and decided to stand her ground with her fur on end and hissing like a deflating tire. Kola put on the brakes, did a reverse course change and with his tail between his legs headed home like a streak. Last time for fun with the cat. When I went away to college, Dad took care of Kola for me, but he was lonely for some one to play with and be a companion to, and one day he went away and Dad never saw him again. At least that's the story that was told to me.
I will continue this next time, thanks for reading.

Our visit to Goliad. You can click on any picture to make it larger

The other night here at the park, we went to a potluck dinner. The folks sitting across from us told about this neat, historic town near here named Goliad. We decided to spend the day yesterday visiting it. It was a great day! A little chilly...a little breezy...but really pretty nice. It took us about an hour to get there and we were able to go one way and come back another, which was nice...as a lot of the landscape around here is very flat, brown and barren. They are having a very severe drought through out Texas.



Goliad, which was named for Hildago (it is an anagram) is the 3rd oldest town in Texas. It was established while Texas was still part of Mexico. The town is very quaint and most of it's old buildings still remain. Everything is built around the old courthouse which was built in 1894. A couple of tornadoes have devastated it over the years but it has been restored both in and out. A hanging tree...a huge old live oak...still remains outside the main entrance. You can always click on a picture to make it bigger and read about the history of the tree when you come to the plaque.



We had a wonderful lunch at the Hanging Tree restaurant....really exceptional. And then walked all around town to explore all the cute shops. These shops seemed so much more interesting then the ones in Rockport. We did find a few things to buy!



After we left the town, we headed for some other historic sites very near. Here are the pictures.....

Mission Espiritu Santo

Next we headed out of town and stopped at the Goliad State Park which houses an old restored Spanish Mission. This was built on this spot in the 1700's and was rebuilt and restored in the 1930's by the CCC boys. Since it is owned by the state, they cannot have services or Holy water there. We got lots of info by a very nice park ranger whose ancestors came to this area from Spain in the 1500's. They had a great museum with diorama's showing what life was like in the mission. The mural below shows Senora Francisca Panchita Alavez who saved at least 28 lives during the Goliad massacre, she is called the Angel of Goliad. She begged a high ranking officer in the Mexican army to spare their lives. See more about the massacre in the next section. The photo of the room with the candle and the old stone walls shows the only remaining original part of the mission. It was the sacristy. The walls that are in ruins are also original.

Outside of Goliad...the Presidio La Bahia

On the way back, this was our last stop....the fort called Presdio La Bahia which is operated by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria, Texas. So the mission is run by the state and the fort is run by the church! Strange. But the fort does have a lovely chapel where mass is still held every Sunday. There was a large tour group there and they left while we were still there. Because of that, I think there were reenactors dressed and doing some demonstrations. They pretty much were packing up after the large tour group left. We were there just before closing.

This was the site of the Goliad Massacre where more men were killed than were killed at the Alamo. The deaths were ordered by the Mexican dictator, who really did seem to be a pretty evil guy...Santa Anna. 341 men were killed and their bodies were stripped and burned and left in the fields. This event, along with the Alamo, lead to rededication of people to the Texas Revolution. The monument below is where the men are believed to be buried and is in their honor. They were killed in the presidio. The presidio and the chapel were built in 1749. The chapel is called Our Lady of Loreto Chapel and has been in continuous use since it was built. The fresco behind the altar was done in 1946 by Antonio Garcia and the sculpture in the niche was done by Lincoln Borglum who also did Mt. Rushmore.

The chapel was very peaceful and spiritual and we lit candles for our loved ones who are ill or having difficulties.

We love oysters!

A lot of days we don't do much....hang out here, go for walks or bike rides, visit with folks, watch TV, surf the web....what most retired folks do, I guess. This week has been like that. We did go to the shops on main street but the only money we spent that day was at the liquor store. Not sure what that says about us! We did go out for oysters one afternoon. Our favorite place was closed so we went to another place where they were fresh and good but not actually served on the half shell. Still had a good time!

A very relaxed kitty....

Awwwww

The Sting

If you are lucky enough to have a watch from Uncle Mephisto that says Cartier, Patek-Phillipe, or Vacheron-Constantine, already you may have a down payment for a house. If not, Elgin, Bulova, Waltham, or Hamilton will do if they say 14ct inside the case, but not any house down payment, or even a house payment. Take your goodies to a bonafide gold buyer armed with some limited information from a source that was not offered the items for sale. The 10 K pcs=15x weight in dwts, 14K =20X dwts, and 18K= 25X dwts should give you a fair price for just gold. Some jewelry is just that, value of the gold only because it is not desirable to sell, or has no value in stones or workmanship. So you walk in to the establishment and say"Bubba, I've got some things I'll sell for the right price, and this ain't my first rodeo."
Now know that you can't sell sentiment, and nobody's going to be interested in why Aunt Lulu got rid of her stuff to you, or why you really don't want to sell this pc or that pc. Determine what the parting price is for this stuff according to what your needs are. Diamonds add to value, as does other precious and semi precious stones and some pcs are made by makers such as Tiffany & Co, Van Cleef and Arpels, Cartier, and others. This makes the items more desireable.
So in summation, good luck, keep your wits about you, don't be stonewalled, and if you're not satisfied that you are getting treated right, walk away. Showing the stuff and getting offers do not make you liable. You don't owe them a thing. You will learn something and maybe you'll be richer.

Yesterday...by Judy

Yesterday dawned muggy but by the time I got back from my walk, there was a strong wind coming from the north and it cooled down rapidly. We did some grocery shopping and necessary stuff in the AM and then decided to go out to lunch and then hit the shops in downtown Rockport. We headed to another waterfront restaurant here in Fulton Beach and enjoyed our lunch very much at Alice Fayes. We liked the first place a bit better but this was really very good also. I had shrimp salad again which this time was mixed up already and placed on a bed of lettuces and other good veggies. Mike had blackened tilapia which was wonderful...as was mine! By the time we left, it was really windy and chilly...gray and spitting rain. We decided to check out a couple of the local museums instead of wandering around downtown. We did go to a couple of shops but then went to the Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport. Rockport and Fulton are really almost one town. It was small but neat. We learned about LaSalle who came here in the 1600's from France and lost all his ships and his life here. They found one ship in Matagorda Bay just north of here and excavated it. Found lots of artifacts and human remains on board. We watched a video which explained about the excavation....very interesting. There were also interesting excepts from a diary of a woman whose family came here in the early 1880's and whose ship ran aground and many of her family died of disease. Rough for the early people here! There were also displays about the boating, shipbuilding and fishing. It was neat.



Then we went to the Rockport aquarium...which was very small...not much to it....just starting out. But a very nice lady who took a shine to us, gave a satellite map of the area "suitable for framing!". It was a nice way to spend a blustery day!

Interior of the Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport

Views from the top of the lighthouse part of the museum