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!

Stopping in Luckenbach....

On our way back from the LBJ ranch we stopped in the tiny town of Luckenbach....made famous by the Willie Nelson song. It pretty much consisted of an old general store which sold touristy stuff and in the back was a very small bar where some guys were playing and singing and some pretty drunk people were sitting around...some were just tourists like us...but some were regulars who were feeling NO pain! One guy took a liking to us, and our friend, C ended up giving him his Cardinal baseball hat! The guy recited a poem to us and took our pictures at the bar. It was a fun stop!!

Inside the General Store/Post Office......Pretty good entertainment and nice cold beer!

Our Day in San Antonio.....

We had a wonderful day in San Antonio....the weather was nice...a bit hot and muggy..but on the whole nice! We ran into a bad traffic jam coming in to town from Kerrville (which is about 60 miles west just off I 10), but good map reading from the back seat navigators and B & C's GPS, "Sister", got us there another way! Perfect!! We found a great place to park near Market Square a neat area of shops where we knew we wanted to end up (and did find some things to buy there!) and walked about 4 blocks to the Riverwalk. We were very hungry and thirsty....so stopped at the restaurant above for some good Mexican food. The pics below are from our walk up and down the wonderful, shady, interesting Riverwalk. We all love San Antonio!!

We took one of the cruises down the river....very entertaining and informative....

We stopped for a cold beer along the river....

We walked along the River after our cruise to the Alamo. We had all been there before, but it is such a wonderful and spiritual place to be in, we all wanted to go again. We wandered around the gardens and went inside the chapel to see where the women and children were kept safe and read the names of all the heroes who fought so hard and then were killed....and then their bodies were burned as was Santa Ana's way.

Just in front of the San Fernando cathedral, while walking from the Riverwalk to Market Square, we were lucky enough to see where some native people from the Canary Islands were doing sand art. This cathedral was founded by people from the those islands and these artists were doing the most intricate designs in SAND! The colors of the sand are found naturally in those islands and they bring the sand with them. We were very lucky to see this because on the following Sunday it was to all be destroyed. It would be blessed by the archbishop and then walked on by him with others following him until it would all be destroyed. It is amazing how hard they work on something which is totally not permanent. Maybe a lesson for us all. A wonderful man explained all this to us and then took us inside the cathedral and showed us around a bit. Non of the workers spoke English.

Where the remains of Crockett, Travis, Bowie and the other Alamo heroes are interred.....Just inside the door of the San Fernando Cathedral..... The wonderful interior of San Fernando Cathedral....very, very lovely and spiritual......

We see Blue Bonnets.....

If you have even been to Texas in the Spring and seen the wonderful and vast array of wildflowers banking the highways and fields......you will understand how sad we were to think that we were to miss them. There is a horrific drought to be sure...and we are a bit early also....BUT..today we saw Blue Bonnets along the highway! At first we were not sure...but we pulled over and saw them up close and took some pics...yes...a few hardy blue bonnets along the very edge of the highway! Our guess is that they are there cause of whatever small amounts of rain has fallen in the past year, when the cars go by, it splashes on the edges of this two lane highway we were on. Today they were predicting rain and it was very hot and humid.....but no rain here. It is in the forecast for the next couple of days but very low chances.

Pray for Texas and the other states in this horrible drought......And pray for us as we try to use the this slllloooowww connection. We are using some words that we should not be using! Esp Mike!!!

I will down load a picture of the blue bonnets we saw....not a very good one...but a hardy little flower growing on the very edge of the road with brown parched grass all around it. Love to all.....Judy

Catching you up on the hill country.....

Hello faithful readers! Sorry for no postings for so long. We were visiting with our friends from St. Louis who came down to Kerrville ....and we had a ball! Have lots to post about it...but it will have to wait. We are kind of in the middle of nowhere tonight and have veeerrry slow internet. I will be unable to put any pictures up with this connection. But we drove around and explored the cute little towns in the area around Kerrville for 3 days....one of those days took a tour of the LBJ ranch and the Texas Whitehouse there. That day we also went to Luckenbach and had a beer with Willie, Waylon and the boys! Well...not really but there was entertainment...and we did have a beer! Thanks George for telling us about that! Pics of all these events will follow. And that day we explored Fredericksburg also. Another day we drove into San Antonio and spent the day there....saw lots and had lots of fun. Walked a lot and were very tired at the end of the day! Pics of that to come too. So...hold on...more will be coming!!

We are near the town of Mason today...on the Llano River. We explored the cute historic town of Mason. Lots of history.....one of the many towns in this area founded by German immigrants in the early 1800's. Beautiful town square...lots of old stone buildings and houses. There was a fort here too...but it now is gone. Pics will follow. We enjoyed the day but the slow internet is frustrating....no faster then dial up here.....yuck! We will stay here tomorrow and then move to another area a bit further north. We are just about 30 miles north of Fredericksburg now...so moving very slowly. But not willing to get back in cold weather!

It has been nice and warm here...but still very, very windy...and very, very dry! They are having the worst drought in recordable history and everything is parched and brown. The rivers are all very low and lots of creeks are totally dry. They are praying for rain...and really need it. There is a small chance that it will rain here the next 3 days. Then will turn cooler. When that happens we will head to Missouri. Tomorrow we plan to explore the town of Llano...which is suppose to be another historic little town. They all have cute restaurants with great food and lots of neat shops...including some antique shops where Mike has found a few bargains.

Hang in there....pics will be posted as soon as Monday or Tuesday. Talk again then....Judy

Today in Kerrville....forgot camera!

We had a great day today!! Was very chilly last night but we were cozy. Today dawned bright and sunny. We had a lazy AM here and then headed out to explore the area. We drove to Ingram which is the little tiny town nearest our campground...also on the Guadalupe River...some cute parts to it that we will go back and explore later. A pretty drive along the river. What a clear and beautiful river it is....as they all seem to be around here.



Then we rode back this way and into Kerrville...and explored it a bit. Nice town too....and a little area that we want to go back to. Lots of neat looking restaurants which are on or have decks over looking the river...maybe we will check out one or two of those too!



Then we decided to take a loop road which went to Medina and then to Bandera and then back to Kerrville. The first part of the drive was wonderful!! Very hilly and windy and up and down and through really rough and beautiful land...quite hilly and rocky. With nice rippling clear streams running by the road. Lots of big ranches with iron gates along the way. Medina was cute but very small and not much to it. Stopped and had a late breakfast at a cute restaurant. Hardly anyone there..struck up a conversation with another couple about our age who were also RV'ers and had also come from Rockport. We shared our experiences...and theirs were much like ours. They were motorcyclists though and this trail seemed to cater to motorcyclists...lots of them about. They said we would like Bandera and we did!! I only wish I would have remembered to bring my camera!



Bandera is the cowboy capital of the world...or so they say...and it is cute! Very western looking with neat old sidewalks and buildings with posts and roofs overhanging the raised sidewalks. Some stone sidewalks and lots of buildings made out of stone in this area...lots of places to buy stone also. Neat shops...lots of antique shops...we had a ball there. And there were people riding horses down the street. I am not sure what that was about..but they were tied up in a certain area...and I am not sure if they were for hire or what. It was a gorgeous blue skied, sunny, cool day...just really fun!



We then took the other end of the loop back toward Kerrville. Stopped at this general store on the way back...very, very cute! Lots of history! Here is the website for it.
http://www.campverdegeneralstore.com/

When we got back to Kerrville...we grocery shopped at a couple of places and then came back here....BBQed and sat out in our chairs looking at the river and the ducks. No deer tonight. Now we are about ready to call it a night and crash and watch TV.

Our friends arrive tomorrow. We are liking it here very much! Talk again soon....Judy