San Antonio

After a wonderful time in Fredericksburg, we pulled up camp and moved on down to San Antonio where we again played “Tourista” and spent our time on the River Walk and toured the Alamo. We started this leg of our adventure at the IMAX theater where we watched a 42 minute movie depicting the historical events of the 13 day siege of the Alamo. Had I stayed awake in history class we could have skipped the $11.50 per person admission fee and saved ourselves the agony of watching a badly directed with even worse acting rendition of the Alamo. I’m not even sure I would call it a “B” movie but none the less, I learned something before touring the Alamo.


I suppose the actual grounds of the Alamo is not exactly what I had pictured before arriving. I was somewhat disappointed to find most of the property which the actual fort sat has now been handed over to commercial buildings. Even though there was a small scale mock-up of the Alamo, it was hard to imagine just how large the fort was back in 1836 compared to what’s left today. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed touring the Alamo and walking through it’s beautifully manicured grounds but I think visiting the Alamo is something you only want to do once. Brian and I were also surprised to learn that most of the defenders of the Alamo weren’t actually Texans at all but men who were from the Northern and Southern states. Kind of makes one wonder why they even bothered to defend the Alamo at all.

After touring the Alamo we wandered over to the River Walk for bit. My cousin lives in San Antonio so we were able to meet her and her husband for dinner. My cousin’s husband, Paul, hates going anywhere near the downtown area so meeting us at the River Walk was a bit of a stretch for him. It was decided we would eat at a local Mexican restaurant so we hopped the city bus, paid our $1.10 fare and rode the 10 blocks or so to his favorite eatery. Even though Brian & I would have preferred to eat somewhere on the River Walk, we really enjoyed Paul’s pick. La Margarita is well known for it’s fajita’s and they definitely lived up to their reputation. The fajita’s were served on a sizzling hot cast iron skillet which both heavy smoke and smell would follow the waiter all the way from the kitchen to your table “en fuego.” The waiter talked me in to trying the Passion Fruit margarita which I’ll have to say is my new, favorite margarita.

After dinner we bid our farewells to Paul and Kay and we walked back down to the River Walk where we hopped a boat for the river tour. Our navigator and tour guide was quite comical and very interesting with all his knowledge of River Walk trivia (I wonder if the tour guides have a River Walk school they attend with a River Walk graduation and a River Walk diploma.) We learned the River Walk is a 2 ½ mile stretch of beautifully landscaped waterfront that features various businesses. In the beginning, Spanish Explorers used the waterway to supply water to their missions. The last flood which was seen at the River Walk was back in 1921 when over 50 people were killed. Since then, various gates and an upstream dam have been constructed and there has been no flooding of the river since the tragic 1921 episode.

With all that being said, San Antonio was a wonderful experience, however spring or fall would be the ideal time to visit. We’re on our way to Austin, TX… blog ya soon!

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Fredericksburg located in the Hill Country of Texas. Fredericksburg is a town of only about 11,000 people but swells to at least double that figure every weekend and the 4th of July weekend was no exception. We stayed in Fredericksburg only 2 nights but Brian and I fell in love with the little town and it’s people. Fredericksburg descends from German settlers and there’s still a strong German influence today. Yes, we had lunch at a local German restaurant which included sausage, sauerkraut, German potato salad and warm beer.

We stayed at the Fredericksburg RV Park which we would highly recommend to anyone. Brian and I both give it two-thumbs-up. It was the cleanest RV park we‘ve yet to come across and the owners could make anyone feel right at home. As I was checking in I asked if there was an RV store close by. I know, stupid question in a small town but thought I’d give it a shot anyway. Sure enough, there wasn’t an RV store within miles of Fredericksburg. As I explained to the gentleman across the counter that a pipe to our water line broke, he told me to go ahead, get set up and he’d mosey on over to take a look at it.

As promised, the minute we finished setting up, he drove over. “Do you own this park?” I asked as he lay under our 5th wheel. “No, my wife does, I just get to work here.” He went so far as to drive to the hardware store, buy exactly what we needed and even installed it for us when he returned. Now that’s southern hospitality.

The next day we were walking through the stores on Main Street when I ran in to the local 5&Dime. “Where you from?” the owner asked. “Phoenix.” “Yeah, you ain’t from around here. Who you sending post cards to?” When I explained our trip and I’ve been sending post cards to my mother-in-law at each of our stops he told me he had just the right postcard. Not finding what he was looking for on the rack, he ran to the back room of his store. Finally finding his treasure, he gave me, free of charge, a postcard sporting a picture of his store making sure I knew his 5&Dime was only one of a handful of 5&Dime stores still left in the country. Yep, there’s more of that southern hospitality we hear so much about.

The afternoon of the 4th was spent with the locals and other tourist who lined Main Street to watch the annual 4th of July parade. This year’s parade was dedicated to the Vietnam Vets. It was your typical, small town parade complete with walking bands, old cars, local politicians, Fredericksburg’s fire truck, a queen and her court and even a clown or two.

After the parade ended we drove out of town to visit the Fredericksburg Wildseed Farm where they harvest wild seeds from various flowers and sell in pretty little packages. Of course, we had to buy a few packets and will save them for our new house, whenever and wherever that will be. Craig, you would have love it.

Until our next adventure. Love to all,
B&D

Duck vs Spider Smack Down

Thought you’d get a kick out of this one…

A couple of days after visiting Carlsbad I downloaded my photos and I came across these two of a formation called “The Witches Finger.” The first photo above was taken walking towards the large stone resembling her finger.

As I walked away from the witches finger, I turned around to snap another photo. Do you see a form of a witch? Yeah, it gave me chills too.

As we were driving through Texas on our way to San Antonio we renamed Highway 285 to the “Spider Highway.” As we were cruising along, we kept noticing these large black spots on the road. As Brian slowed so I could take a closer look, I surprised him with a big, “Ewwwww!” As it turned out, those large black spots were actually tarantulas!! There were dozens of them crossing the road and it was almost impossible to dodge them all. Brian wanted to catch a couple but I wouldn’t have them any where near me let alone in the same vehicle so he settled for a picture. The Duck wins!

I'm way behind on my blogging. We've had a lot going on the last few days so keep checking back as we try to catch up.

Give yourself a hug for us, B & D

We’ve been on the road a week now and have naturally fallen into our own jobs. Brian’s job has become pilot and out of necessity, I’ve become the navigator. Emma? Well, she’s become the co-pilot letting us know when we need to touch down for a potty break.

I fell into the role of navigator after hearing Brian exclaim, “Uh-Oh” “WHAT?? No Uh-Oh!” Just about then I heard the truck sputter and Brian went in to full speed shutting down the air conditioning and radio. “What in the world is going on?” As he looks at me with a sheepish grin he tells me, “We’re running out of gas.” Great! We’re 2 miles from Casa Grande, it’s 108 degrees out and we’re running out of gas. As we literally coast into the gas station, I proceeded to let him know that if we run out of gas, I’m not the one who will be walking in that God forsaken heat to the nearest gas station.

And so my role of navigator began. Since we’re only averaging 6 to 7 miles per gallon, I’ve become fairly proficient at telling him what, when and even where to go… take that anyway you want. ;o)

After spending a couple of days visiting Brian’s mom, we headed toward Bisbee. After living in AZ for the last 25 years, neither one of us have ever been to Bisbee and let me tell you, it’s no big whoop. I think we could have lived another 25 years without seeing Bisbee and never lived to regret it. After walking around the town for a couple of hours in the scorching heat, we did learn there are quite a few characters who call Bisbee their home. A picture is worth a thousand words…

We bid farewell to Bisbee and moved on towards New Mexico landing at Carlsbad Caverns. I remember visiting the caverns when I was but 5 or 6 but Brian had never had the pleasure. Even though it was cloudy and raining, we headed to the caverns the night of the 1st for the bat flight. Every evening thousands upon thousands of Mexican free tail bats exit the cave in search of food only to return the next morning. We learned the bats exit the cavern, circle 7 times, then fly off for the night. Why do they circle 7 times before leaving the cave entrance??? No one really knows but one can only guess maybe it’s a correlation between the way the water in the toilet circles 7 times before it’s flushed down the pipes.

We realize some of you may or may not have been through the caverns but we were truly amazed by all the formations, the vastness of the cavern itself and how nice the park is kept. Park rangers were polite in answering every question, the road to the cavern recently paved and the path inside the cavern is well maintained and easy to hike. But word to the wise, make sure you wear comfortable tennis or hiking shoes. The caverns is not a path you want to wear flip-flops.

I need to back up a bit here… On our way to Carlsbad we stopped at our first “largest ball of twine.” As we were coming up on the White Sands National Park we decided to take a peek. Pulling in we forked over the moola for an “America the Beautiful” park pass and drove on. It was really weird driving through the large mounds of white sand, your mind playing tricks on you making you think it was going to be cold outside only to step out of the car onto the hot ground. What was really mind boggling was the kids with their sleds sledding down the mountains of the hot, white sand. To each his own. I’ll take the slopes of Telluride any day!

We’re now in Fredericksburg, TX for the 4th of July weekend. We’re heading to the town parade tomorrow with a concert and fireworks in the town park tomorrow night. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday tomorrow and have a hot dog for us!!

Ready... Set... Go!!!

We closed on our home the morning of, Friday, June 25th. It was bittersweet since we'd lived in that house the last 14 years and had worked hard to make it our own. Yes, I cried as I gave the new owner a hug and told her I hope they make many new memories of their time in their new home just as we had over the years. With tears in my eyes, I crawled in the truck and we drove away.

Since the last time I blogged was before closing on the house, you're probably wondering where we are. One can only imagine we've put many miles in between us and Phoenix and have seen quite a few things by now. Encontre!! We drove north out of Phoenix and spent the next 2 days camping with our friends - - got to get in that last camping trip with everyone, you know! - - drove back through Phoenix and ended up in the little town of Amado, AZ. What, pray tell, are we doing here?? My sweet mother-in-law lives just north of our location in Green Valley and since the only RV park in Green Valley cateers only to those 55+, we ended up here.

We spent yesterday afternoon with Brian's mom, his sister and brother-in-law going through old pictures and papers of Brian's grandmother, Midge, who had spent her early years in various all girl bands playing tenor sax. I knew she used to play with Ada Leonard but yesterday, we learned she had also played with Jean Harlow. It also appears Midge and her husband enjoyed the arts and had kept playbills from the late 1800's in her scrapbook! Those who know me, know I was in Hog Heaven going through all those old photos and papers!! We're heading back later this morning to visit, and to finish going through Midge's box.

We'll be heading out early tomorrow so stay for our next "adventure".

Luv to all... D

It's amazing who comes out of the woodwork when you're giving stuff away.

Listed our piano on craigslist and within the first 10 minutes of the posting we received 3 emails and 7 phone calls. The problem now is trying to find just one out of these 10 people who are actually serious enough to come haul the thing away.

Also listed our mattress set as a freebie. I would have never thought anyone would be remotely interested in an old and lumpy mattress but my girlfriend suggested there must be someone out there sleeping on the floor and just waiting for this old thing. Well, thanks to P's suggestion, a young man is now the proud owner of our throw away. He'd told us his ex-girlfriend got their bed in the breakup and he's been sleeping on his couch. He was almost giddy as he drove down the street and out of sight.

They're delivering the pods tomorrow so it's going to be a big day. I never realized just how much stuff we have until I started packing. Is it too late for another garage sale???

D

And The Journey Begins

We've sold the house and we're off into the world unknown.

Since we're young (or at least young minded) and healthy, and don't have anywhere we need to be at any certain time we've decided to put all our belongings in storage and head off in to the wild-blue-yonder with dog and trailer in tow. And since family and friends keep asking us, What's next? Where you heading? we've decided to start this blog so those we love can track our travels.

We hope you join us as we start in Arizona and eventually end up in Colorado. We're looking forward to adventures around every corner and to sharing our happy times and challenges.

B & D