St Paddy's Day 2009...at the Smiths!

Our wonderful friends....we gathered for St. Paddy's Day at the lovely home of the Smiths in the Mo. countryside near Cook Station, Mo. It was warm enough to do lots of our partying on the deck......

The kitty was not that impressed by our revelry....

Things started to get a bit crazy......

Inside their wonderful home...cookin' corned beef and cabbage.....

A beautiful Missouri sunset.....

A WONDERFUL meal!!! Thanks Ron and Janet!

A good time was had by all....fun to be with you Barb and Charlie!

The next day...which actually was St. Patrick's Day, Ron's brother and his friend came out and played the bagpipes for us! These are the Smith brothers......

He played on the deck for a while (that empty Jameson bottle is from the night before....and was not full when we started..just to set the record straight!). Then they went down to an area in a meadow where we could not see him. He played "Amazing Grace" and the music floated to us through the trees and was soooo beautiful. The pipes calling from glen to glen and down the mountainside.....A perfect ending to a great time with good friends! After they left...the guys played golf and us gals lunched and shopped....we do those things really well!

In Missouri with Ella and her parents....

For those of you who don't know....Mike's daughter, Laura and her husband Robb went to China almost 2 years ago and brought back their daughter Ella to brighten all of our lives. We visited her and her parents one day and here are some pics. She has an amazing spirit!

Ella wanted to take some pics....so these are hers:

Baba..... (and Dick Cheney?....oooh thought we were rid of him!)

Yeye......

Mama.....

Our last Texas Hill towns.....

This was Mason....cute downtown surrounding a great courthouse. We ate at at wonderful restaurant over looking the town square and wandered around...poking about in antique shops and other interesting shops..... A great old historic house in Mason....

There were lots of kitties around this old house

This was where the author of "Old Yeller" came from. Here is a statue depicting that great book and movie...

A view from where Fort Mason used to be. Robert E Lee served there. The Fort does not exist any more...some officers barracks were rebuilt.

The next day we went to Llano....another cute town on a courthouse square.....

Again...a great meal was had at a restaurant right on the square.....

We browsed and antiqued.....

The courthouse cupola....

And the view of the Llano River where it was dammed....very pretty. A very hot day! Guys swimming and walking on the dam....they are young...and a bit stupid to be doing that, I thought.

Good by Texas...from Judy

Hi guys! We are now out of Texas heading for Missouri to spend time with friends and family. It is pretty darn chilly here...but it is in Texas also, we hear. It is to dip below freezing tonight ...but all day driving through Oklahoma, we have seen lots of Redbuds and other lovely blooming trees...and daffodils too. So we know that spring is just around the corner...maybe even up there in snowy northern Michigan!

I think we both want to share some thoughts of Texas. We have had lots of good times and would come back again. I miss the warmth and the friends we have in Florida though...so who knows where we will go next winter...assuming that we go somewhere. Here the people are just exceptionally friendly. It amazes us and we discuss it between us all the time. They really are very, very nice...very, very welcoming ("we're so glad you are here" and genuinely interested in where we are from and any questions we have). They are VERY proud of living in Texas....want to show us around, point things out, have Lone Star's on their fences, gates, homes and wear them as jewelry. They fly their flag everywhere....sometimes with the Stars and Stripes and sometimes just alone. They pull to the shoulder for people to pass on the two lane highways and expect you to do that too. Just really very polite people on the whole....we have enjoyed them. Above will be some pics of our last little towns we saw in Texas. We will be back someday!!

Catching you up on our time in and around Kerrville

We stayed in our RV in Kerrville right on the Guadalupe River....we were actually on a back water of it...it was pretty. Every day we saw ducks, deer and turkey. It was very peaceful and we sat out and had drinks in the afternoons and evenings. The only problem was the WIND!! Very windy!

Our friends from St. Louis came down and stayed at a motel in town and we toured around together for several days. It was really nice to have some company! The guys played golf some and when they did, us gals drove around the hill country stopping for lunch and shopping in cute little towns. This was our favorite restaurant in Kerrville....The Oyster Bar and Grill...right on the Guadalupe! The food was great as was the service and ambiance. Since we all like shrimp and oysters, that is what we ate! The oysters both raw and fried were the BEST we had in Texas .....and the cheapest!

The LBJ Ranch.....

The LBJ Ranch was not too far from Kerrville....we drove through Fredericksburg on the way, and then stopped there and ate and shopped on the way back. We loved our time at the Ranch. You get a map and a CD and do a self guided tour through the ranch which was free. We were able to go into the Johnson's home which was called the Texas Whitehouse. It is where LBJ died. Lady Bird died in a hospital but had lived in the home up until she got ill the final time. After her death, per LBJ's will, the ranch and the home were given to the National Park Service. The two daughters Lynda Bird and Lucy Baines cannot even go there without permission from the park service. That must be hard for them since they grew up on the ranch. In hindsight, maybe he should have given them rights of survivorship. But at any rate...it is free ($1 to go through the house). They are restoring the house room by room to how it was when LBJ used it during his White House years. They have only gotten the office finished so far and we were able to tour it..but no pictures. The rangers were very, very knowledgeable and informative. It was really a neat thing to see and we would recommend it. LBJ did a lot of great things....think Medicare!!

Here is LBJ's grave....we think the flowers are where Lady Bird is buried. His parents and other relatives are buried there also.

A visit to the show barn...he took leaders from other countries here many times.....

A view of the Ranch...it is 2800 acres and is still a working ranch.......

Some of LBJ's cars...there were more including an amphibious one!

Where the communications and secret service stayed when LBJ was at the ranch....

A side view of the Texas Whitehouse.....

A front view.....

Where LBJ wrote in the concrete...a welcome message....click on the picture to make it bigger

The view of the Pedernales River....the view from the shady front porch....

One of the huge old Live Oaks out in the front yard...this one is estimated to be about 450 years old!