Hemet, CA in a Covered RV Site

We made it safely to Hemet, CA to stay at one of our winter spots.  We got a nice covered site this time at Mountain Shadows RV Resort. It's a little hard to get around in the site, but provides some nice protection from the elements. The portable steps sure work nicely and make it easier for Donna to get in and out of the rig. Looking forward to some fun times here this winter.

Aunt Betty and Uncle Al Christmas Visit

So on the way back from Galveston we stop at our Aunt and Uncle's home in Houston. It wasn't too long of a visit but it was so good to see and visit with them. They were so excited to see us and put on the hospitality as they always have. After our visit it was back to our homes of San Antonio for us and Austin for Ken and Rosemary. What a super time we had last week, one that will last in our memories forever.

A Family Gathering in Galveston, TX

My sister arranged for a fabulous trip in Galveston, TX where we spent 3 days at the Moody Gardens Hotel. Toni, Ken and Rosemary, and Donna and I just loved this place. Huge rooms with a common suite which was huge too. What fun we had spending an early Christmas all together. Thanks T for making it happen!!! While in Galveston we visited a couple great foodie joints to chow down. Also we went to the historic district to view some great old homes. Galveston was a great town in the early 1900's for sure. Several bad storms pushed them back, but they kept rebuilding! We also visited the aquarium, too. Great fun!

Pretty Geese in the Park

I know what you're thinking. Geese are a mess! And you are right. But I saw these in the park by the lake the other day. I went and grabbed my camera. They are clearly a pair and look alike. I hadn't seen geese with this color combination before. They flew off when I got too close, the center of their wings are snow white. I felt compelled to share here. Found out they are Egyptian Geese.

Family Thanksgiving Dinner

It's been a very long time since the family spent Thanksgiving together (like 20 something years!). Thanks to Toni for organizing it and opening up her home. We had a great time together and putting on a pretty good spread. Unfortunately, I got too involved in the food prep and didn't get many pix. Naturally, we had potatoes, dressing, turkey, gravy, grilled pork tenderloin, cranberry sauce, relish tray, wonderful giant crescent rolls and the pretty and tasty pies you see in the pictures! Poor Donna was not feeling well and I took her a nice care plate of T-giving dinner at home. A good time was had by all.

Tom's 65th Happy Birthday!!!

This is a big one for ol' Tom. Signed up for Medicare and the whole bit. In the morning we went to Denny's for my free Grand Slam birthday breakfast with some friends Julie and Mitch. Lolly-gagged around the house a while, then headed out to dinner. Toni, my lovely sister, took Donna and I out to a Brazilian Steakhouse which is a first for us. WOW! What an experience. I won't go into too much of how it works as the pix speak for themselves. But the salad bar is quite complete with 40 items. After that the Gauchos come by with 17 different types of meat. They have them on skewers and start to cut the meat, you help by using some small tongs to hold the meat while he slices, then you place it on your plate. Some of mine may not have hit the plate and went straight to my mouth! That is one heavy duty meal. Some of the meats were, top sirloin, lamb shoulder, lamb chops, pork tenderloin, filet mignon, pork ribs, beef ribs, various fish, and etc. Of course for my birthday desert came, crème burlee, which I shared with the girls. A lovely day indeed!!!!

New Braunfels Wurstfest 2016

So Ken, Toni, Tom and friend Cheri head out to the last day of Wurstfest in New Braunfels. It's nine days of fun, food and music in the very German community. Oh what fun. On the last day at 3PM they let folks in for free and that's a pleaser for us cheapskates. However, it does draw a interesting crowd of folks! Ha. We've noticed a lot of things have changed over the years, like the price of things. When I started going in the early 70's the price of beer used to cost $2 for a large plastic pitcher which you could keep, now the same pitcher is $29. YIKES! A bit of inflation to say the least! Anyhow we had a grand time and look forward to going again next year to see what else has changed. Great sights and music too! Yah-Yah. Prost! Here's a little video of the music we heard! Love the chicken dance!

 

More of San Antonio

Just a quick update. Within a few days, Tom got out his fishing gear and did a few hours on the lake here on the property. Of course, it's a catch and release system which doesn't require a license. I had lots of fun for a few hours. Have been meeting up with old friends and family which is also been fun. Some of my friends are getting old! Ha! Been getting to go to some of my old hunting grounds and food places. Lots of great restaurants for sure. I've forgotten how cheap things are down here (especially compared to CA). Fuel is running about $1.85 a gallon, not bad. It's just plain cheaper down here. I really enjoy grocery shopping especially at HEB. About the only grocery store down here, except Walmart.

I've also been helping cleaning out my sister's garage after 30+ years of collecting. It's going slowly but surely. We are making some headway. We've gone to Gruene, TX pronounced "Green" (part of New Braunfels) which has some great little shops and wonderful restaurants. This little town also has the oldest-still inhabited country dance hall known to mankind. Almost all country entertainers have played there at one time or another. The place is open air and is NOT air conditioned. It does have huge fans that really move the air. Enough for now.

Green Lake RV Resort San Antonio, TX

Well we finally made it to Tom's hometown of San Antonio. This is a really nice, almost new, park. They pay a lot of attention to detail. The only issue so far is the WiFi.....it sucks. Apparently the corporation is more interested in everything but WiFi.

We are planing to get together with family and friends very soon. Weather is still hot, but that'll change in a few weeks. Our plan is to stay here at least 3 months and maybe more. We'll see. Man is it nice to get some really good Mexican food! More later.

Hickory Creek, TX COE RV Park

So here we are near north Dallas on Lewisville Lake. We camped with our fellow Excel friends Russell and Janice Fife. They were coming in a day later than us, so we made a nice dinner for them. What a nice time we had hashing out all the Excel gab. We only stay a couple more days there and then hit the road to Austin, TX.

Our Oklahoma Visit in Early Sept 2016

We decided to go to Oklahoma on our way south to visit a couple of Tom's elderly relatives. A stop in OKC had us stay at Twin Fountains RV Resort. A very nice park where our site overlooked the mini golf, pool, tub and clubhouse. Nice, but the sites were laid out very weird, making it hard to get into. Our visit with my Uncle Clark (90 years old) and my cousin Mike and his lovely bride Jamie was fantastic. They treated us so nice and we had a couple of meals with them. It was so much fun catching up.  Then we went up to Ponca City to see my Uncle Harold who is in the assisted living facility. Harold is 97 now and is mentality sharp as a tack. We went him to the casino and then played dominos with him. He was telling me which domino to play next! Seeing my cousin Steve and Patty was also great. They are always so much fun.

A Visit from Ms. Julia!!!

We got a wonderful week long visit from our favorite GD! She's almost 12 now and it was the first time from her parents for this length of time. She did wonderful. We did too many things to mention here, but just a few were to visit a couple of arcades, miniature golf, a movie, Scheel's Sporting Goods Store which has a Ferris wheel, games and things for kids. Also ate at Mel's Diner (50's). She loved riding Bubba's bike around the RV park! Donna and I loved having her here. She's a great kid.

Hot August Nights 2016 Reno NV

So one of the many things that attracted us to Reno was Hot August Nights. The world's largest gathering of nostalgic cars. And they weren't kidding. This year car registrations for the show was near 6000 vehicles and it was their 30th anniversary!!! Think about that a minute. The event is done in 5 days and the vehicles are located throughout the city. The parking lots of 6 major casinos were used for most of the cars, then there was the major downtown streets that were blocked off for the cars. Parades all around town too. All this for free. Events usually ran from 7AM to midnight. Outdoor entertainment was everywhere, again most for free. Some of the shows were fairly big name stuff. I made 4 of the 5 days and all the rounds. By the time I got home each night my feet and legs felt like stumps! But boy was I happy! The pix here were some of my favorite. If you are a major motorhead (or bored) and want to see more iron and such, click here to go my Photobucket slideshow where you can look at almost 400 pix! This fabulous event exceeded my expectations 10 fold!

Daytrip to Pyramid Lake

We went to Pyramid Lake about 65 miles away yesterday out in the NV desert, just northeast of Reno. It’s a large lake on a Indian Reservation. Yes, it really is that blue. Very unspoiled, quiet, natural lake, almost spiritual!!! To get off the main road and get close you have to get a “$10 permit”. We passed. It’s a salt lake and has lots of trophy size fish, so they say. Especially cut throat bass. My neighbor tells me that the lake turns a different color with different weather conditions. Nice little trip.

Next week starts Reno's Hot August Nights with almost a week of old cars. I imagine I'll get lots of pix to post, so stay tuned!

A Fun BBQ at our Site At Gold Ranch

We had a nice little BBQ for 10 of our new found folks here in Reno. It takes a little doing to pull this thing off in our little place. We smoked some ribs, a 10 lbs. Butterball turkey, coleslaw, Rudy's cream style corn and Trader Joe's cornbread. Mary and Paul brought the corn and cornbread, fresh fruit salad, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream for desert. It was all so yummy!!!! Weight Watchers be damned!!! What a great time.

Daytrip To Graeagle, CA With Paul and Mary

Today we took a nice drive up to Graeagle, CA some 60 miles up the mountains from Reno. What a gorgeous adventure it was! The Lil' Bear RV park was so nice, rustic and manicured with pretty wooden sculptures. Next we drove a few miles over to Los Dos Hermanos Mexican Restaurant for a very nice lunch. This place serves up some great chow with great service. I brought home a big cup of homemade salsa! We had a great time for sure. A special thanks to Paul and Mary for showing us a good time. Next Tuesday we go to a car show in P&M Del Webb Community. It's suppose to include wine and food!!! I'll try to remember my camera and make a post on it. Hope everyone is well and enjoying their spring.

Made the Move to Reno

The day before we left Hemet, we met up with Tom's cousin, Susan, from Atlanta. We had lunch in Temecula and had a great visit. Diane, a good friend of Susan, came also. We had heard so much about her, and now finally got to meet her!

The next day we hit the road to Verdi (suburb of Reno), where we'll be this summer for a change. Our good friends Paul and Mary live here, so we'll do lots of stuff with them. Seems there's always something interesting and fun to do in this area.

On the way here, on the first day we ran into the a lot of heavy side winds just south of Bishop, CA on the 395. It got to be a little uncomfortable watching the rig leaning and swaying in the rearview mirrors. Also there were sign posted for campers to get off the road due to the high winds. This is the first time in our fulltiming life we've had to do that. Parked in a large truck lot and settled down with no electricity, WiFi, or TV. We were way too tired to play card, so we decided to sit and talk!!! Holy Mackerel! It's amazing what we learned! What an experience! Ha.

Here's just a few pix of our new home for the summer. Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort, Verdi, NV We've stayed here before but just for a week or two. There's beautiful mountains in any direction you look. The heated pool is not open yet, but hot tub is open year round. Decent restaurant and also a Jack-in-the-Box!

Winter Life in Mountain Shadows RV Resort

Just giving you a quick hightlight of our winter here in Hemet. First, Tom is cooking again! Made some homemade egg rolls which he hadn't done since college. They were really good. One of our friends said it was the best he'd had!

The new Weber Mountain bullet smoker is working good. Check out the smoked turkey, thick pork chops and tri-Tip!!!

Tom and his friend Gary went to March AFB Museum for a fun day of looking at planes. I really love looking at the old war relics. Some of the planes that my dad flew way back when. Here's a link to my photos in photobucket for any that may be interested. Way too many to post here.

The pic of the DC-3 in the air is from the little airport next to the park. It's an oldie that was born in 1938. In very nice condition and has a sweet sound. This plane has a lot of history. She's even been a star....being in a movie produced here in CA in 1968. The old Bi-plane is nice too. We believe it is owned by the same guy that has the DC-3.

We purchased some aluminum steps for the Charm. This makes it so much easier for Donna to get in and out of the rig. Expensive, but money well spent. They are easily transportable too.

Tom and his friend Norm went to the annual Temecula Rod Run car show. They display about 650 cars in Old Town Temecula. What a sight. Anyone interested can click on the link to photobucket to view some of the cars.

Both Donna and Tom participated in the park's 2016 Variety Show (notice it's not called "talent" show!!! Ha!). Donna did her fine job of emceeing the event and Tom is doing his deal with the line dancers! This is so funny. Enjoy! Here's a link to a Youtube clip on it. That was Friday nights show. Here's a clip of Saturday nights show for those can take!!!

I think that's enough for now. We plan on staying here til late April and then make our way to Reno and spend at least a few months there. Reno is a fun town with lots to do which includes spending time with our friends Paul and Mary. We look forward to some more fun adventures! Take care, be well and have fun!

The Old and the New

It's been so long since we posted, I decided I'd better let everyone know we're still alive and well It's hard to believe we've been in Hemet for over two months already. We have been busy with both work and play. Tom has all of our vehicles clean and waxed and has done other necessary chores around the rig. He hasn't played much, but he loves what he does. For our 20th anniversary, I gave him Ancestry and he has really enjoyed it. I know way more about his and my families than I ever wanted to. I have also been busy knitting shop samples for the two yarn companies I work with. I did have time to make some gifts for family and friends though. I wonder if I'll ever get tired of knitting. Every time I finish a project and start a new one, Tom just kind of rolls his eyes. It's hard to explain my obsession. We stayed in Hemet over the holidays and Skyped with Beth and Julia Christmas morning. What fun! After that, we went to Oceanside and spent the day with our friend, Annette. It was cold and windy so we weren't able to walk on the beach like we planned, but what a great view. There was also wonderful food and conversation. Tom got a new Weber Smokey Mountain smoker and broke it in by doing a couple of smoked maple chickens! We had our friends Ron and Becky over and chowed down. Of course, we had some coleslaw and cowboy pintos beans to accompany the luscious chicken! We celebrated New Year's by going to bed at 8:30 and slept through the night. I think we're getting old. Now we have several months ahead to do whatever we want including water aerobics, line dancing, day trips, eating great food and somehow trying to shed a few pounds in the process. We hope everyone had a great holiday season and also a wonderful year to come.