Wild Flower Trip

This Wednesday turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. Early on I helped Roy with a few projects around the park that were easier to do if two of us worked together. When I returned to the motor home, Foxy was ready and we jumped in the car and headed out of town with a brief detour for a doughnut and a sausage kalachi. We drove to Fredericksburg and then made a circle from there that took us by Enchanted Rock. It was rather dry landscape getting to the Rock but much more rain had fallen after and the wild flowers were everywhere to be seen and enjoyed.

We particularly enjoy the Texas Blue Bonnets and they were along the roadway for miles and miles. There were splashes of red, white, pink and yellow flowers all mixed together and simply beautiful.

From the Enchanted Rock route we drove a bit southward and then took another loop called the Willow City Loop which essentially is a private road through rugged ranch country with high hills, meandering streams that frequently cross the roadway and spectacular scenery. The wild flowers were everywhere blanketing the roadsides and fields as far as the eye could see. We stopped frequently to take pictures and just enjoy the sights.

All too soon we were back in Fredericksburg and as our biker friends had suggested drove a bit East and then turned South on Old San Antonio Road to drive to The Old Tunnel Bat Cave. Of course the real attraction was the Alamo Springs Cafe that our biker friends had discovered that serve the third best hamburgers in Texas. So did we go to the Bat Cave? Of course not as we had to visit and sample the menu at the Cafe. An hour later we waddled out of the cafe having tried their famous hamburgers on a Jalapeno Cheese Bun with half orders of fries and onion rings. The proprietor of the cafe, Mike, stopped and visited about his food offerings and where he got ideas for food on the menu and was thoroughly delightful.

A few more miles further South and we returned to Kerrville on I 10. Altogether a lovely day. Only one thing could have made it more memorable and that was to share a meal with Ron and Julie as we said good by to another winter couple Dick and Linda who leave tomorrow to return home to Michigan. Ron and Julie cooked a wonderful dinner of pork and sauerkraut, carrots, potatoes that was enjoyed by the six of us. We have enjoyed the friendships we make here and will miss them but intend to keep in touch by email until they return next winter. Happy Travels.

A full moon here

Any teacher can tell you that kids behave differently when there is a full moon or a different weather front is coming through the area. I firmly believe this, and we just had a full moon here. Foxy tells me of tales from the office and the odd behavior of patrons who want specific sites or cabins and how obnoxious some have been. It has been a tiring several day period for the ladies in the office for sure. Outside we had our share of different problems, such as the pools and our sewer/septic system acting up. Several pumps were not working or working at a low capacity and that had potentially terrific problems if the system overflowed. Fortunately, we managed to get things under control before anything happened. Of course, we continued grass mowing and weed whacking in the middle of it all. So by the end of our four days on, we were glad this morning to begin our three days off. We hope to go see the flowers today at some point. Happy travels.

The pools take over

Normally we start each day by cleaning our three pools and the hot tub. Today I noticed that the indoor pool had not recovered from use by a week of kids on spring break. What this means is the pool water was very cloudy. After consulting our leader Don we went to work to clean out this pool's filter. This was a bit challenging but fun. We disconnected the main filter and emptied out the sand. Then we had to spray water into the filter until the inside was completely sparkling and clean. In the meantime I went to the pool store for 200 pounds of sand to start the filter working in virginal state. We carefully assembled the filter and reinstalled the new sand and started the filtration system all over. The end result was water that was still a bit cloudy. So I added clarifier and hope for sparking water by morning. Time will tell if I was successful.

In the meantime we were informed by a guest that one of our drain covers in the spa had come loose. This also happened ten days ago, and we had to replace the covers by draining the water, cleaning the hot tub, reinstalling the covers, refilling the spa, and reheating the water. Dejavu here! We drained the hot tub, I went to Gibson's Hardware Store for more stainless steel screws, we cleaned the tub again, installed the drain covers and refilled the spa, turned on the heaters, and were back in business. This took the whole day and into this evening. The pools took over our day today. Happy travels.

A good work day here

Today, Saturday it was Bob and me outside and Pam and Foxy inside. They dwelt with some doozies today, but it was smooth sailing outside. We quickly checked to see who was here and cleaned the pools then did the garbage run and cleaned up the saloon after last night's band. It was a good band, but we left early so I could rest, and so that we could get ready for working today. Once we got our scheduled work done, we then did some mowing and weed whacking. The next thing I knew, it was four in the afternoon. Now a day that goes along quickly is one I like. Best of all was the weather. The temperature climbed to the high 70's or low 80's, and even though there was a brisk wind, we did not mind since the day was sunny. I could have worn shorts today in the afternoon and worked on my 'farmer's tan' but that will have to await another day.

When we got home after work, I took Max out to do his business, and Jan yelled to me to come over for cocktails. We decided that would be fun and joined Jan and Vince and Ron and Julie. They have been fun to pal around with, and we really enjoy their company. A great ending to a lovely day. Home to grill and happy travels to all.

Life's Challenges

I have recently visited a urologist in nearby Fredericksburg, which is about 20 miles north of Kerrville. I went there since I could not get into see the urologist in Kerrville until late in May. Now I have had to visit urologists in the past. Basically, I think that when they specialized in urology, they had to all take the same class. It is called How to Handle Another Male's parts. I do suppose that there are female urologists as well, and they take the other course, How to Handle Female Parts. So far I have not experienced any cross over urologists, but they could be interesting. I can visualize the medical class when they get to this part. First, you must partner up with another physician of the same sex. Then the instructions include: drop trousers and shorts, face your partner and grab hold of his male parts and check for various medical conditions. I would think that much laughter might occur which could be embarrassing if you think they are laughing at you.

Anyway, my current urologist is Dr. Michael J. He is an older man in his late 50's or early 60's, and clearly he had taken the class. Fortunately, no laughter was heard during the examination. With pants back on I could relax a bit and listen to the next steps. Apparently, I now have to have, I almost said autopsy, but since I am still living, I meant to say a biopsy of my prostate.

I am not particularly looking forward to this procedure but will do it to get more information. When I had a colonoscopy recently, they put you out for the procedure. When I awakened, I asked if I had been a good boy and was assured that I had been. I visualized flatulence problems or leakage and did not want to have that on my conscience. Of course, the nurse could have lied to me since she also took the medical course on Lying to Your Patient. If there was much laughter during the procedure, I was unaware, since I was indeed out cold. I have wondered if the doctor who does all of these colonoscopies gets to the mall on his day off and thinks to himself as he sees former patients walking about, " You should have seen his enlarged colon," or, "That was a tight one," or "We laughed for hours about that one." I would think he might need a comedy break after looking at bottoms and colons every day with out end.

After the biopsy where they take nips and tucks here and there, I will be much more knowledgeable about next steps. Keep me laughing. It helps. Happy travels.

Spring

After a few more nights of frost here in the hill country of Texas, I think that spring has arrived not only on the calender, but also here. Trees are beginning to leaf out. Oak tree pollen is on the rise. The grass is greening up, and we have begun the weekly mowing and weed whacking that is part of our job. Best of all the wild flowers have begun to stick up their lovely blooms everywhere. Texas is blessed with beautiful wild flowers along many of the highways. Every year we look forward to Blue Bonnets and Indian Paintbrush among many others. Thanks to Lady Bird Johnson we have a program in place that beautifies our highways with many other wild flowers as well. Each of us looks forward to the first sighting, and the roads south from here are already quite beautiful. If you have ever visited Texas at this time of the calender year, I hope you experienced the flowers. If you have yet to visit, plan a trip to see the wild flowers. Your life will be enriched. Happy travels.

St. Patricks Day Party

Speaking of wearing of the green, we found it. Foxy got a can of green hair spray at a beauty supply place and used it on herself. She also sprayed a bit in a cup and then painted my mustache. Then she loaned the can of spray to Julie who went along with the gag. We were not sure that it would be temporary but said, "What the heck!" Later I discovered Charlie and Dave had some green in their beards (thanks to you know who), and so we all were quite festive looking. When you add the green earrings, beads, hats, etc., you would swear that we were certainly all Irish. The final note was green beer. Now who could ask for more when celebrating this important day.

Most brought food, and we thoroughly enjoyed being outside at the saloon visiting with friends. Most of the work campers were there, and we even called Byron in Colorado to see what he was doing. It seems that he was working on a keg of beer and partying, too. Finally we walked home, and I showered to discover that the green stuff really did come off. Later Foxy washed her hair with the same result. Hope you, the reader, also had a festive celebration. Happy travels.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy March 17 to all you St. Patrick's Day fans. I guess it is the wearing of something green today, and I have been trying to get Foxy to get a bit of green in her hair. Time will tell on that note. We are having a party in the park tonight, and all are to bring something to eat. Should be fun.

The past five days I have been working since our schedule changed. We have added a new man, George, on the maintenance crew. It has been good to have another set of hands, and George seems to be a willing worker. But, five days working, all in a row after only one day off, was tiring to this old guy. I am looking forward to having three days off. Maybe we can then figure out what to do with the motor home slide problem.

A week from today I have an appointment with an urologist and can begin to see what develops on that front as well. Sadly, another retiree from the Albuquerque Public Schools, Barry Glass, has died from cancer. He finished his career as an Assistant Principal at Valley High School and was a good administrator there. He will be missed. I had hoped to visit with him in Albuquerque, but it was not to be. As friends pass from this life, they leave a hole in the lives of friends left behind. Communicate with each other while you can. I am glad that I was able to send him a note some time back and thank him for his years of work in the public schools.

It has been raining here, and the grass is growing like crazy. I think we have lots of mowing ahead. Fortunately, I like to do that. Happy travels.

Changes - two shoes drop

Changes in plans happen, but when you are Presbyterian, as I am, you know it is all for-ordained. We all make plans, but they do not always turn out the way we think they should. This has been quite a week here. On Monday we had our annual physicals, and the following day the doctor called us with our test results. Most things were good, and essentially he suggested that we keep on, "Doing what you have been doing." I took that to mean that I needed more cookies and doughnuts. Only kidding somewhat. Foxy does try hard to keep me eating right.

The news of concern was my rising PSA numbers which means that my prostate needs further investigation. Since our medical support group is here in Kerrville, we will stay here to look into the matter.

The other shoe is the condition of our motor home. When we tried to take it to get new tires for our trip, we had to get professional help to get one of our slides back in. After getting the tires we decided to have the slide inspected by Ancira RV, where we had bought the coach back in 2003. This past Tuesday we took the coach to Ancira, and they reported that we had major damage, and we were facing a very large bill and more than a week of work to get the slide rebuilt. Facing this stunning news we returned to Kerrville and now had reason number two to stay put in Kerrville while we try to figure out exactly what we will do.

Fortunately we have a wonderful support system here with our doctors and supportive friends. I look up and thank the Lord for his planning and support. Happy travels.

Post 700 - A busy week

I never thought about a milestone of 700 entries to this blog when I started. I thought if I could make an entry each day that would be terrific. I have found that when we are work camping it is much harder to do daily entries.

We have been going through our stuff in the motor home. We are putting things in storage that we do not expect to need when we leave here at the end of this month. Most of the bays underneath have been inspected and to some degree re-organized. We have also gone through most of the storage space inside as well and thrown out outdated food and in the process have lightened our load considerably. This process occupied us for several days, and then it was back to work on Thursday.

Work found us very busy in the office since spring break is drawing near. Outside we have mowed some of the early spring grass, worked on repairing and painting one of the cabins, and installed a new large screen television set in the saloon. Somehow the days flew by, and we arrived in a tired state at Saturday evening.

Our friends Julie and Ron celebrated their 10th anniversary and his birthday on Saturday and we four went to the River's Edge Tuscan Grill for dinner. What a fun evening and feast. We each ordered different items from the menu and then shared. This is a very lovely upscale restaurant that you enter from the roof and then descend inside. It is placed on the bank of the Guadalupe river with a view of the river that is spectacular. The setting was perfect, the conversation flowed, and we laughed the entire time and ate and ate. Three hours flew by and we drove back to the RV park. A lovely evening and hopefully we can do this again next year. Thanks, Ron and Julie, for including us in your celebration. Happy travels.