Celebrating the Holidays....and Our First Year Anniversary On the Road!

If you will take a close look at the picture we use on the blog of ourselves, you will notice that I have one of those orthopedic boots on.  Because at Christmas last year, I had foot surgery #4. It wasn't major, just more of a nusiance, especially given all the work involved in emptying our house and moving into our new "home".  Well it seems that the most appropriate way to celebrate our first anniversary was to have a mishap while camping at Fairfield Lake State Park and dislocating my left ankle.  Bummer.......but blessed, too.  My doctor says it isn't broke and although in the picture you might disagree with that diagnosis, I do believe I am blessed and do not anticipate any other problems. Other than going a little stir crazy in this 410 sf home over the next 5 or 6 weeks.  We did have to give up our volunteer job at Brazos Bend State Park that we were to have started January 1.

A year ago as we were moving into our new home. Lovely shoe.....

Ouch.....

At least I had just gotten my Christmas pedicure!

This was our campsite at Fairfield. Do you see the ledge behind there? Well, it was dark and there were a lot of leaves when I went to dump out the bean juice. Yes....I got juice all over me.

Taking it easy in the play room.

Looking back over our first year on the road, it has been "wow"! We did 3 volunteer stints:  Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Stonewall, Texas for 3 months. Then we went to Garner State Park for 6 weeks. Then a road trip to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah for 3 months. Great scenery, learned a lot of history and experienced different cultures, geography, but above all we are most thankful for the many people we have met and traded stories with, the new friendships we have made. We are so thankful that we have this wonderful opportunity to live our lives like this (even though a bum ankle throws a little wrinkle in the plan).  And I can't forget to mention how lucky our family was to celebrate a wedding and the gaining of our new son-in-law James, and adding his children into our family mix.

It's been a great first year on the road!  I think 2017 holds a lot of promise of adventure. It will be an epic Alaskan adventure for sure!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We have come to Matagorda Beach on the Texas gulf coast to celebrate the new year.

Some scenes from our holidays.

Pretty minimal decorations in the RV considering I used to decorate around 7 trees in the house! My mom made this ceramic tree around 1959.

Aiden and Santa

Wonderful husband that takes care of me.  Only in Texas though, if you will notice the 2 guns in the picture. Ha!

Seriously you gave me scratch offs???

Fun at breakfast with Santa!

Aiden with Courtney, Riley and James

Our oldest daughter Liz

I think Liz liked her present of Lite......

Awesome gingerbread house

Fun times shopping with Aiden

My mother-in-law and Rene' my sis-in-law getting those pedicures!

Lucy and her gifts

Christmas day - the temp is 82 degrees. Really????

Some of our great nieces and nephews

My daughter and niece and nephew, with their children

Ron and Klein

Lucy running to greet us Christmas morning!

Lucy's favorite gift. Well, one of her favorite.

Great grandmother with her great grandkids

Alaska Trip Plans and One More Historic Dance Hall!

For me, part of a trip adventure is the planning and researching of where you're going and the details that can drive you insane. I have spent a lot of time this year reading other travel blogs so I could grasp a better idea of what to expect. We have gone to Alaska before but we flew and rented a motor home. And we had a tight schedule. Now that we are retired and living as full-timers, all that has changed. It's fun to know you have the time to do sightseeing along the way.

We decided early on that we didn't want to travel on rough roads and do some boondocking in our big 5th wheel. After all, that's home now and we don't want to mess it up. So we have been researching and looking for a small 5th wheel, trying to keep it under 25' or 26'. Finally found one!  It has a cute floor plan that includes a rear kitchen, and extra places for guests to sleep and has a whole lot of storage.  Meet our baby trailer!

 

 

It's got a ton of storage and a rear kitchen, all for 25'.

Now to the fun part of this post.  Although we would like to start the trip and have no reservations and just aimlessly make our way to Alaska, we know that there are certain places we will have to plan ahead and make reservations.  Our long time friends and camping buddies, Donna and Greg, are also traveling with us. So excited! Together we took the rough draft and finally narrowed it down, made some decisions, and started making the reservations that were needed.  They also purchased a smaller, second 5ver. I guess most folks think we are nuts.  But here it is.......drum roll!

On the way west, there are some national parks our friends have not visited. So with this in mind, we will make these stops:
White Sands National Monument
AZ Sonora Desert Museum
Saguaro NP
Grand Canyon NP
Las Vegas
Kings Canyon and Sequoia NP
Yosemite NP
So. Lake Tahoe
Lassen Volcanic NP
Redwood NP
Oregon and Washington Coast
Olympic NP
Provincial Parks in British Columbia and Yukon
Ferry from Skagway to Haines
Kluane NP
Fairbanks where we will have fun at the Midnight Sun Festival and an excursion to the Arctic Circle
China
Denali NP - will stay at the Teklanika and Savage River CG and do some white water rafting
Denali State Park
Talkeetna - jet boat ride
Anchorage
Chugach State Park
Portage
Whittier
Seward
Fly to Kodiak Island and stay at a B&B of some folks we met while in Capitol Reef NP
Soldotna
Kenai
Homer

Wrangell St. Elias NP
Valdez
Tok and Chicken
Then we will hop on the ferry and make stops at Juneau, Sitka, St. Petersburg and end at Prince Rupert BC
Jasper NP
Lake Louise
Banff NP
Waterton Lakes NP
Glacier NP
Yellowstone NP
Grand Teton NP
Mount Rushmore NP
Badlands NP

That is a summary of what should be an unforgettable trip!

Had a lot of fun over the weekend! Visited with some of our cousins in Beeville, then traveled to Honda where we went to a Christmas dance at one of the oldest dance halls in Texas - the Quihi Gun Club, which was established 1890. It has an awesome wooden dance floor. We can cross another one of our list!  It was a lot of fun dancing to a good band and meeting new folks.

Inside the hall, all festive for Christmas!

The hall is by 2 creeks, so to prevent it from being flooded it is on stilts.  Built in 1890.

Goliad State Park, La Bahia Mission

Goliad is decorated too!

Honky Tonking in Texas!

There's just no place like Texas for us when it comes to good music, dancing, good Texas beers and wines, friends and food!  These past few weeks we have got to celebrate all these senses!

The first part of this trip was a visit to the Flatonia/Schulenburg area for Czhilispiel 44!  As we have been doing, we stayed at the Schulenburg RV park, a really great place.  It is close to Weimar, so first stop was Kasper's Meat Market to pick up some good Texas beef and sausage.  Visited with Ron's Aunt Gladys too, always a treat.  The next morning called for a good breakfast from the Kountry Bakery.  When is the last time you had a poppyseed roll?  Plus you never know who you will run into.

Any more explanation needed?

Look who else is here!!!  Yolanda!!!

The next day we took a driving tour with our friends Donna, Greg, Carol and James. Girls in one truck, guys in the other.  First stop was the Piano Bridge outside of Dubina.  Pretty awesome one lane bridge.  This is one of the few remaining iron bridges in Fayetteville County build in 1885 by the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio.  Called the "Piano Bridge", the name is technically derived due to the piano-wire truss design.

Girls in one truck, guys in the other!

Piano Bridge

Next stop was Ammansville at St. John the Baptist Church.  If you aren't from this area, there is a Painted Churches tour around the countryside.  Interiors of the Painted Churches within a 20 mile radius of Schulenburg are examples of elaborate faux finishes emulating gold leaf, stone and polished marble columns and ceilings open for viewing. German and Czech immigrants fleeing the Austrian Empire celebrated religious freedom found in Texas by building churches with painted interiors designed after European cathedrals, with their elaborately painted walls and opulent altars.

Next stop was Shiner!  And the Spoetzel Brewery!  After all, Shiner is our favorite beer!  Had a great time enjoying some of their new brews.

Having fun with our friends the Lingo's and the Gregurek's, sampling some Shiner beer!

Not sure what James is up to........

You are given 4 tokens for samples of beer.

Last stop of the day was at Moravia - the church and the Moravia Store.  Pretty cool place!

A really cool place!

These are some really great musicians!

The Moravia Church

Next day we spent at Czhilispiel 44 in Flatonia.  What a day!  And it's hot!  Almost too hot for chili! Well, we had to start the day again at the Kountry Bakery. Then went out to Mark and Barbara's to check on the progress of their house remodeling. Then to the festival. We were all chili judges.  Some is good, some is not so good.  Just needed a few Tums afterwards.  Came back for a nap and some cool a/c before heading back for marathon music from Curtis Grimes to Kevin Fowler.

Feeding the fish at Mark and Barbara's pond.

What a nice place to chill!

As a chili judge, these are the foods you are given to help you clear your palette.

Waiting for the judging to start.

Mark and Barbara, holding up the rules!

And this is what your box looks like after sampling a dozen different chilies.

Listening to the Shiner Hobo Band!

Main Street, Flatonia TX

Greg, living the dream.

Chili judging contest

Poor guy, gave it his all, but no win.

Some of the night's entertainers.....Curtis Grimes

I think he had his Halloween costume on!

Mark and Ron taking a break from the music.

Aww look what Ron won!

Kevin Fowler

Sunday morning we were able to catch part of the Cowboy Church - great music!  The parade started at noon.  Really good and entertaining small town stuff.  Went through the car parade before heading back to the RV. Made a stop at Praha church that was recently remodeled.  So beautiful inside.  Also made a stop at an Art Show on the side of the road. Glad we stopped!  Some of the best music was to be had. The Poteet Brothers - really good stuff!  The highlight of the whole day though was coming back to the final event of Czhilispiel and listening to the band - The Velvets. When Ron and I were dating, this is the band we loved to go dancing to. As a matter of fact, we got engaged at a Velvets dance.  It is so fun to go to a dance where you can actually "dance"!

These guys played some really good Gospel music for us Sunday morning.

And the parade at noon on Sunday.

There were queens on their floats from many surrounding towns. Shiner happens to be our fav.

Look!  It's Emil driving his tractor!

Then there was the car show.

The Praha church

Newly remodeled.

These painted churches are so beautiful. If you haven't been, put it on your bucket list.

Making socks, believe it or not. At the art show we stumbled on.

The Poteet Brothers......really good!

And the day ended with one of our favorite bands from way back in the dating days - The Velvets!

Next stop on this tour was Stonewall, where we stayed at Peachland RV with Donna and Greg.  We headed to Fredericksburg for a late lunch and a stop at our favorite store - the Kitchen Store.  Made some great BBQ ribs that evening and called it an early night.

In the morning, we decided on a road trip that took us to Marble Falls where we had breakfast at the Bluebonnet Cafe.  Then it was a drive to Hamilton Pool.  This is a unique natural area that surrounds  this pool, collapsed grotto and canyon.  There are many lush plants that surround this area.  I haven't been here since my childhood.  We also took a hike down to the Pedernales River.  Pretty sights along the way.  In the evening we enjoyed visiting with some of our friends we met when volunteering at LBJ National Historical Park.

The Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls

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Great Breakfast!

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Hamilton Pool. Too bad the water level is so low. Still beautiful.

Isn't this view so cool?

Hiking down the river.

Looks like fall!

See the turtle?

Checking out the fish

Finally reached the Pedernales River

It's hot and humid, considering it is the first of November.  The next day we drove to Johnson City - ate lunch at Pecan Street Brewery, shopped a little, then we drove out to the LBJ ranch and visited with old ranger friends!  Good to seem them all.  But by far, the best thing is Albert!  Today is Wednesday, so we know that Wednesday evening at Albert means some really good and serious guitar picking and singing and dancing and lots of good conversations with great local folks.

Two of our favorite peeps from LBJ - Rachel Megan and Nikki

Albert

Albert - where you want to be on a Wednesday night

Such a cool place. Hope nobody finds out about it.

David and Judy

Donna, me and our new friend Rick. Watch for him on the Voice!

Good music and watching the World Series

Don't you just love the dog?

The local comedian. I still laugh just looking at him.

And Garrison Brothers bourbon round for everyone!  The Cubs must be winning!

Yep.....lots of fun at Albert!

Left the next morning for Bandera after a rainy drive.  Staying at the Pioneer RV resort, which is pretty cramped, but the location is good.  We are here for their annual Hunters Weekend.  Bandera is known as the Cowboy Capitol of the World.  In the evening, we all drove out to my cousin Don's for some good steak cooking.  He has a really nice home on the Medina River.  Had a really good thunderstorm move in which cut our visit short a little.

Don's patio on the Medina River

Watching a black buck antelope at Don's

The next morning Amy and James showed up. We all went antiquing then we drove with them to a deer lease in Tarpley.  That evening we went to the Chamber Fundraiser for some BBQ and dancing to the Almost Patsy Cline band, which was pretty good! After we left there, we decided to go to Arkey Blues and wow!  I don't remember the name of the band but they were one of the best dance bands we had heard.  So fun!

Only in Texas can you have guns and a happy hour!

Amy and James at the Chamber BBQ

Best dancing band ever!

Amy and Lingo dancing a jig

Saturday morning is known as the Bloody Mary Morning.  It starts at 7 a.m. (We didn't get there that early!). They had some good, old music again.  Had to take a nap, do a little shopping. Then met Amy and James at his friend's ranch that evening. Lots of deer, axis and other animals out there.  Cooked some awesome steaks.

Bloody Mary's!!!

More good music!

Sunday us and the Gregurek's drove to Kerrville to make a trip Gibson's. Wow.  If you've never been here, you need to go.  Even bought an ice maker for the RV.

It's been a great time out here in our favorite part of Texas. Enjoyed good times with great friends and family.  Now we are at our new "temporary" home here in Sweeny. I have an opportunity to work at my old job for a few weeks. Ron will be having shoulder surgery. It hasn't been scheduled yet but will be soon. It may be a while before I have something exciting to share about our adventures, so stay tuned!