Would you care to guess?-December 31, 2011

Would you care to guess what happened today? IT RAINED!! So, our jinx continues. No rain was predicted in the next week. So much for capable (?) weathermen. We woke up this morning to fog so dense we could barely see this side of the lake. Early afternoon it appeared to be clearing and instead the sky opened up and the rain poured down for a very long time. When it finally let up a little everybody, except us, got on their golf carts and we had a parade right in front of our coach. We just sat and laughed ourselves silly. Sometimes it takes so little to entertain some people. We can hardly wait to hear the weathermen make an excuse for this unpredicted rain on tonight's news. We got some miscellaneous household tasks completed but we would have preferred to go someplace special today. We don't know the roads well enough to go out in dense fog. The rain slowed enough to allow the personal fireworks to begin about 7:00 PM. If we had half the money these people spent on fireworks we would be very comfortable. It's shocking. We do not anticipate a good night of sleep as we are sure the quiet time rules have been suspended for tonight. Happy New Year to all!

Crazy about Crawfish-December 30, 2011

Louisiana Satsuma Trees in Breaux Bridge

Today we accidentally stumbled upon an orchard of Louisiana satsumas. This time of year we always get satsumas from Fairhope, Alabama but since we are not there, we had to settle for Louisians sats. Oh my what a wonderful and delicious way to settle! They are fabulous. The sad part is that they had such a bumper crop the fruit is dying on the trees. After we left there we continued on our journey to the Crazy About Crawfish Cafe. What a delightful cafe, full of locals, some of whom we had an ongoing conversation with throughout the meal. You do not meet strangers in Acadiana. Zydeco music was playing and people were smiling. Jerry had a crawfish burger with sweet potato fries. I had a grilled catfish poboy. Then we split a homemade bread pudding that we would not have wanted to miss. It had the usual raisins but also had pineapple in it. It was just fabulous, like no other that we have ever had. The entire meal was an experience we will not forget for a long time. Now we are back trying to plan our next stop. We have noticed an odd trend. Everybody coming in here today has a golf cart. After they connect then they pile into the cart and drive 'round and 'round the lakes. Some have music blaring. Some have LSU hats and flags and beads. It has become hysterical to us that this seems to be a form of local entertainment.  I think these are the people the owner warned us about when we checked in. She said some people would be coming in to party on New Year's Eve and they like to have fun. We are invited to the party. No thanks, we stick out like sore thumbs. When we walk in any place, people stop and stare like we are from a strange country. So, we'll celebrate here. My biggest concern right now is that if all of these carts plug in to charge them at the same time, we will loose all electrical power in this park. I bet tomorrow we do not have to go anywhere. The entertainment will be here and it will be free.

Coyote Blues-December 29, 2011

We made our first venture into Lafayette today. We stopped at a pecan and gift shop where we encountered another local character. People know we are not local so they want to tell us what we need to see and where to eat. We were not going to be swayed today. We went over there to eat at Coyote Blues and we did just that. I was disappointed. Jerry really liked his meal. Such is life. Through the shop owners we have heard of more places than we can possibly see in the time alloted. So, Lafayette will be a return trip in the future. We have both talked about how different people are here, but it's actually a good kind of different. Everybody is so happy. It is easy to see there are people with lots of money here and some who have not so much. But both have the same Cajun spirit. This whole area is called Acadiana which is where the word Cajun evolved from. After doing some research we found that 78% of the people born in Louisiana never leave. That's the highest percentage in the entire US. So, they are happy to be here. We like the friendliness and the joy. It is contagious. We will probably go back to Lafayette tomorrow to try one of the other restaurants we have on our bucket list. It was 70° today and not a drop of rain, only nice sunshine. It is supposed to be like that for at least another week. What a treat!

Mulate's-December 28, 2011

I cannot tell you how many trips we have made through Breaux Bridge and how many times we wanted to eat at Mulate's. Today we finally made it!! We both ordered gumbo though we ate two different types. It is such a unique place. The posts holding up the ceiling above the dance floor are the trunks of cypress trees, all gnarly and crooked. Everybody in there knew we were not local. The owner must have thanked us a dozen times for coming in. Hey, it was our treat. Then we went to a farmer's market. We went for a long walk around a 5 acre lake which we are parked beside. Quite a tricky walk on small round pebbles, but it is such a pretty day (WITH NO RAIN!) we just had to take in some fresh air. The little red cardinal won't leave us alone. He made a mess of our car. So now we have an adorable WalMart bag flying like a flag so perhaps he will go away. If he bashed his pointed beak into our window once this morning he did it a hundred times. I thought he would at least knock himself out. No such luck. Now I have to share a picture with you. Until we walked around the lake today we did not realize that the object in the water is the top of a car. So, here's the picture and the caption Jerry put on it.

THE LAST YANKEE SEEN IN THESE PARTS!



Jerry is now trying his best to speak Southern so he will not meet this fate. Yes, that's a big old ugly heron on top of the car. Every day is a hoot in this coach!!

Where we are-Dec 27, 2011

This is the lake we are parked beside in Breaux Bridge, LA. It's very nice. I took this after I posted my blog for today. So today we
have two blogs instead of one. See how peaceful it is. Nice.

Breaux Bridge, LA-December 27, 2011

Wow, is this ever a different place. We checked the reviews on this park and they were very good, so we made a reservation here. We found it, but did wonder where on earth we were headed about half way here. We are in the boonies of Louisiana. It is a fishing camp that added space to become an RV park. We know we are new here as every person in here has driven past us at least half a dozen times. First they look at the license plates, then down the side to see how we are connected, then the height of the coach. They do not see us inside looking at them! We think they are trying to see if we are little green men with big round black eyes or maybe we are kissing cousins married to each other. We did hear banjo music when we drove in here. However, we are here to eat! There are countless wonderful highly rated restaurants in nearby Lafayette. We are having a standoff with a gorgeous red Cardinal (bird). He hopped on the car and tried to peck his likeness in the mirror on the driver's side of the cute red vehicle. We do know birds will peck at an RV mirror til they break it. So, first thing, I covered all mirrors with plastic bags, Target on the coach and WalMart on the cute red vehicle. Still that silly bird roosts on top of the coach mirror and looks in the window. I wish he was not so pretty. He'd be easier to get rid of if he were an ugly creature! I can promise you that he will not get our mirrors. Anybody want to take that bet? This promises to be one of the most interesting weeks we have spent on this trip so far. If you don't hear from us in 2-3 weeks, drain the swamps!!

After Christmas-December 26, 2011

I was surprised to log in tonight and discover I have a couple of blogs missing. There is no way I can recreate them, so I'll just pick up from here. When we arrived in Kinder, they were 20 inches below normal on their rainfall for the year. Now they are less than 15 inches behind. We woke up this morning and looked out to see if we had floated into the lake. Oh my goodness, it rained. The weatherman says the sun will come out tomorrow (good song title, huh?). We'll move on down the road toward the east and warn the office staff when we check in that we are sure the rain is following us. I'm not saying we are living under a dark cloud because we are happy and contented people, but it is starting to make us feel weird that everywhere we go it rains. I sure hope Rocky doesn't rust! In spite of the rain we hopped on the shuttle and went out for a late lunch at the Grande Cafe. It was very good. We are looking forward to our next stop as it is next door to the city that's in the running for the top culinary spot in the south per Southern Living Magazine. I shall be blogging about great food if nothing else. Are you making your list of New Year's resolutions?

Sunlight!-December 23, 2011

We just got a glimpse of sunlight, not a big ball of sun, but the clouds are moving away slowly. We went to a zydeco concert last night. It was so much fun. That is the happiest music in the world and just makes everyone feel good and happy. It was a real treat for us just to sit and listen. However, we are not late night people anymore, so we are kind of dragging today. In fact, we took the day off. We have not carved out Christmas Eve plans yet. That's the beauty of being geriatric gypsies! For those of you spending time with your families, have fun and enjoy every moment. Merry Christmas. And please remember Jesus is the reason for the season.

Rain and more-December 22, 2011

We were awakened by a whale of a storm about 5:00 this morning. I think we were waiting on the tornado sirens to go off. We turned on local television and we were under a tornado watch, not warning. In time it passed, but it was really something. We are waiting on the rain to stop so we can hop on the shuttle and go somewhere. While we are waiting we have been doing research on liquid chicken. Yes, I said liquid chicken. We passed several trucks on our way here (I forgot to tell you) that had that on the back of the tanker. And they were named Poultry In Motion. Cute pun, huh? Finally we may have gotten to the bottom of the mystery. Possibly liquid chicken is fat and other liquids used in dog food. That's the explanation I can handle. It just was not pleasant to think liquid chicken is being hauled on our interstates. We saw the trucks on the Texas /Louisiana border but blogs on the internet say they drive in a few other states, too. What I thought about was the fact it would make a terrible mess for one of those trucks to be in a wreck. Every wild animal in the area would decend on the spot for a fabulous free buffet! I think I will stop here and get ready to catch that cute little shuttle. It is just misty outside right now. No more thoughts about liquid chicken!

Exploring the area-December 21, 2011

WE SAW THE SUN TODAY!!!  We've only seen it twice in the past 12 days. We were rather skeptical it would stick around, but it did and we saw sunset this evening. It is supposed to start raining tonight and continue tomorrow. We are beginning to suspect this rain is following us. If anybody needs rain in their area, let me know and we'll schedule a visit. Ok, just kidding. We did go north out of Kinder today, just to see what was there. Well, not much. Oberlin and Oakdale are directly north of here and believe me, neither is something to write about. Walmart and a car wash. That's it. One is left to wonder why anybody lives there. We saw pictures of the destruction from a tornado that hit DeQuincy yesterday. We were a bit surprised to see how close it is to Kinder. It obviously hit while we were on the road. We only saw rain and had no idea there was a minor tornado not very far away. It tore 3/4 of the roof off of their 19 bed hospital and that's about all. No one was hurt, thankfully. Several more RVs moved in today. It might get busy this weekend. I did catch the lady next door trying to look at Rocky while she was walking her dog. I think I caught her laughing. Not a nice thing to do. We are rather enjoying being more relaxed this week so we are not complaining that there is little to do but walk and relax.

Kinder, Louisiana-December 20, 2011

I did not post a blog yesterday. I was certain you did not want to hear about more rain. It is still raining today but we moved on down the road anyway. We are on the Cushatta Indian Reservation in Kinder. If there is one thing we have learned for sure, it is that Native Americans (Indians) know how to build and run an RV Park. They think of everything and go out of their way to make you welcome and comfortable. We could just travel the country going from one reservation to another. They provide a free shuttle to the buffet or any of their restaurants. They have all sorts of sports available including tennis and horseshoes (not good in the rain however). And there's a huge lake to overlook. It's just so nice. We will celebrate Christmas here and are happy to do so. Right after we arrived another visitor in the park was walking his dog. He looked up in the front window and saw Rocky. He did a double take before he realized it was not a real dog. So, I picked Rocky up and went outside and introduced the two. He laughed and laughed before he admitted that he thought it was the smallest dog he had ever seen before he realized that it did not move. The 13 year old dog he was walking did not find the introduction one bit humorous. I did though.

Baytown, TX-December 18, 2011

Baytown is east of Houston. It was actually a blessing we traveled through Houston today. The traffic tomorrow would have overwhelmed us. At one point there were 6 lanes of traffic going in each direction with a 4 tier flyover. It was something to see. Jerry did not have time to enjoy that or the gorgeous skyline of Houston. He was just trying to keep us on the road and safe. I'll have to study but it appeared to us that Houston has surpassed Dallas for volume of traffic and number of lanes at any given point. We arrived here to bright sunshine. It was an odd thing to see after 8 straight days of clouds and rain, but it is nice! We opened all the windows and just breathed in the fresh air. A storm is due in here tonight. We hope it will be light and not last 8 more days! We have traveled 797 miles across Texas and we're not out of the state yet. We should be out by the end of the week, hopefully.

Painted Churches-December 17, 2011

St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ammannsville, TX

St Cyrils & Methodius Catholic Church in Dubina, TX

Schulenburg, Texas--The City of Painted Churches

Little did we know that painted churches does not describe the outside of the churches, but rather the inside. We went inside 4 different churches and it was unbelievable what we saw. These churches were hand painted with artwork as elaborate as the stained glass windows. These are the original churches of the settlers in this area who were either German or Czech. We are very familiar with German churches in Colorado and they are not Catholic churches. That's all there is here in the area of Schulenburg. So, we learned something new today in addition to seeing such beauty. It was a fun and interesting and actually very relaxing afternnoon in an extremely unique part of Texas. We also saw antelope being raised on a ranch. That was a first. We saw lots and lots of Longhorn cattle. We drove past some beautiful ranches, all with locked entry gates. The grass is still green here and that was a treat. We are so glad we took the time to take the self guided tour of these churches. What few parishoners are left living here are working very hard to keep these houses of worship updated and in excellent shape. We are glad they were open for us to enjoy. Almost all homes in this are have signs in front that say "Pray for our country. II Chronicles 7:14".  We do not normally travel on Sunday as it is our day of rest, but we must move tomorrow to sandwich us in between fairly big storms. We'll be on the other side of Houston before the storm hits, hopefully. Please enjoy your day of rest.



Schulenburg, TX-December 16, 2011

As much as we enjoyed Kerrville, we just had to leave. The gloominess got to us. So, we are in Schulenburg, Texas, on the road toward Houston. But, guess what? It's still dreary!! No rain, but the wind is outrageous. There is a museum we could have seen this afternoon but we decided we'd stay in and stay warm. Maybe tomorrow. Schulenburg is known as the town of painted churches. They are open to go inside of as well as take pictures of the outside. So, tomorrow we will do that. Hopefully lots of pictures will be coming your way. Meanwhile we pray for sunshine!

No sun-December 15, 2011

This was the 6th straight day of rain in this area and that means no sunshine. One weatherman said that it is going to start affecting people if the sun does not shine pretty soon but no one can come close to predicting when this rain will stop. The odd part is that it is finally affecting the aquifer in a positive way which means they can now water their lawns, but they don't need to because of the rain. What a situation. A fifth wheel came in next to us late this afternoon and got stuck in the mud. So, the park had to use a truck to pull the truck pulling the fifth wheel. I believe I would have backed out and left. We hope and pray we will not have problems in the morning. We do not anticipate seeing the sun as we move down the road because this huge front is covering the entire state, but we don't need to sit here unable to visit any of the sights. We did take the second recommendation of the Kerrville couple and ate at Grape Juice today. It was wonderful. We were able to park across the street so we did not get too wet walking to the restaurant. It was worth it even if we had. It's not a hard rain so we do not mind driving in it tomorrow. We do not have a destination in mind, so it will be interesting to see where we end up.

Not more rain-December 14, 2011

We thought the weatherman was kidding when he said it would rain for a lot longer. Rain indeed. We think our feet are starting to look webbed, sort of like a duck's. Alarming. A couple who lives here in Kerrville posted a suggestion on my blog for places that we should try if we wanted good food here. We took them up on it. Today we went to Rails Cafe at the Depot. It is the old train depot turned into a nice restaurant. The furnishings and Christmas decorations were gorgeous. And lunch was wonderful! So we thank them for the suggestions. There was not much else to do today. We just did not want to drive to Johnson City and try to tour there in the rain. Maybe tomorrow. We did stop and buy Rocky a little collar for him to wear. He is in the Christmas mood now and sends his Christmas wishes. Since the weather has turned so nasty we are ready to move on and see if we can find nice enough weather to see the sights in the area. We really like to explore where we are.

Dreary Tuesday-December 13, 2011

It has rained since Saturday, off and on. It was also windy and cool. Today was a tad warmer but still rainy. We knew our 2 1/2 pound box of mail would be delivered today so we did not want to leave town. We went downtown for lunch and for a walk in the rain. We saw some really cute shops and enjoyed the friendly people inside. Yesterday after lunch we stopped at a huge H.E.B. grocery store. I thought maybe that was the initials of the man who started the store. Hope, it stands for Here Everything's Better. And trust me, it is. I think Jerry was more stunned at what was in that store than I was. Nothing but big wide rows of food, a wonderful meat counter and a fish display with everything labeled exactly as required which seldom happens. But the produce is what was so wonderful. The fruit and veggies were displayed sort of like a farmer's market. So, while we were filling bags we did not feel like we were in a store. It was great. We are going to try to get to Johnson City tomorrow in between rains. Tomorrow night is supposed to be rough, so we want to be home before that hits. I forgot to tell you that this area has been in such a drought the weather reports on TV include a report on the level of the aquifer. Can you imagine? Even after all this rain the level dropped a foot today. Lack of water is a very serious issue here. Maybe tomorrow's rain will help them out. I wanted to include a picture of Fredericksburg's official Christmas tree because, well, because....................it's that time of year!

Dreary Sunday-December 11, 2011

It rained most of the day yesterday. We were getting ready to go to town when we realized it was just too cold to go out and get wet. It is overcast, chilly and very dreary today. So, we will become home bodies again. People here are so glad to see the rain that we will not complain in any way. I just wanted to wish you a very blessed and restful Sunday. The adventures begin again tomorrow.

Boerne, TX-December 9, 2011

(This city is pronounced like Bernie).
We journeyed down the road a few miles today for only one reason. Well, no, there were really two reasons. First, it is supposed to rain tomorrow and we might not want to get out in it. And, secondly, we wanted to look at a new motor home. We spent a couple of hours climbing in and out of a number of them. Thankfully, the salesman had great patience. We did not buy one, but we found one we like. Now if we could win the lotto, we could buy it!! On another topic, the deer are finally out tonight. We were concerned since we did not see them while it was raining. And yet another topic, I can share a picture of the Guadalupe River which we are beside in this park. It's very nice. It was much warmer today and slightly overcast. Very pleasant

Nat'l Museum of Pacific War Day 2-Dec 8, 2011

We returned to the museum today to finish seeing it. Today was the Nimitz Gallery, the Japanese Peace Garden, the Pacific Combat Zone and the Memorial Courtyard. I'm not kidding when I say this is a most impressive museum. It is worth a trip here just to see it. Fleet Admiral Nimitz was born here. His house is now a gift shop which has not been altered on the outside. An aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Nimitz was named after him so Fredericksburg is quite proud of their native son. The Peace Garden, a gift from Japan, looks a bit drab this time of year, but you can visualize what it must look like in the spring. The Combat Zone has a restored PT boat, number 309. There is only one other in the country and it is being restored now. JFK was on PT 109, remember? It was something to see. We had lunch, then went to the city park to see the city Christmas tree as well as the Christmas pyramid which was built in Germany and installed in the park in 2009. It's a wonderful work of art. It's one of those things that just makes you smile and feel happy. There's also a huge Nativity scene on display in the city park. Good for Fredericksburg! There's still so much to see we are going to stay here a little longer.

National Museum of the Pacific War-Dec 7, 2011

What a special day to visit the Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. Today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. We counted at least 8 busloads of veterans from out of town visiting the museum along with us. We were surprised that so many are still in such good health. The ticket gives you a 48 hour pass and believe me, it will take us that long to get through this museum. It cannot be described in words. Pictures were not allowed. There was a fly over of 5 WWII planes as we walked in. That was so impressive. We walked for over 2 hours and only saw one portion of it. The displays are items that were found during the war, as well as memorabilia from those who fought. There were 5 airplanes, a boat and a submarine, all indoors. The George H.W. Bush gallery which is all we could get through today actually started with WWI. We both realized that what we were taught in school was not a dent in what actually happened. There were countries that we bombed as well as some the Japanese attacked that neither of us had ever heard of. I wish I could tell you about this place as it was the most massive and impressive display we have ever seen. In size it makes the Naval Air Station in Pensacola look like a public rest room. Seriously. There were videos which gave us a few minutes to let our tired feet rest. There were speeches of people we have never heard. We saw a video of the Japanese emporer surrendering and signing the agreement. It was unbelievable. We are going to go back tomorrow to try to finish what we missed today. This is a must see for anybody in this area. I'm sorry I don't have pictures to share. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who have served and defended this country.

Dreary day-December 6, 2011

Today is a copy of yesterday. It is very dismal, damp, windy and way too cold to visit any museums. It has rained a lot in the past couple of days. Everybody here is so happy to see moisture and we share that joy. We have, however, missed seeing the deer roam through the park. Do they not like cold either? We are using our time wisely to plan our continuing trip. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice so we can visit either the Museum of the Pacific War or Lyndon Johnson's western White House. Both sound interesting. Stay warm!

Bandera, TX-December 3, 2011

It was still rainy this morning, so we were slow getting started on our day. We had to go to Home Depot first. Then on a whim we headed down the road to Bandera. We were told that every day at lunch all of the ranchers come into town on their horses. They tie their horses to hitching posts in front of the restaurants and stores. Well, it is true. What a sight! They don't look like the dusty old cowboys in those old western movies. They wear very nice clothes and boots along with good looking cowboy (or girl) hats. It did not take us long to realize that this is a tradition in this very, very old town. The stores look like they came out of a movie, very old and unpainted. But what a charming town. As we drove around we realized this is not a place that would be welcoming to a newcomer. The ranches are massive. Call it miles or 100s of acres, it's all the same size. And the gates to each ranch are clearly marked NO TRESPASSING. It is possible that their social time is meeting in town for lunch. Otherwise they keep to themselves and take care of their ranches. It was some really pretty countryside to see and the horse riding ranchers added such character to the scene. We are certainly glad we saw it. But we do think that being that remote might be a bit too much for us. No doubt they live a very interesting life out in the country. Good for them!

Christmas Parade-December 2, 2011

I hope I can keep this brief. First, it is really raining and we are not complaining. The Hill Country is in such a drought that this rain is a real blessing to them. We are glad for them. The park we are in is fully decorated for Christmas. I wanted to share one of their outdoor decorations. It's a cute little Airstream model. Very clever. We went to St Nikolausmarkt (spelled correctly) in Fredericksburg today. It rained on and off for most of the afternoon. We had a great German lunch, the first of its kind in years. Then high school friends of mine, Linda and Burtis, drove from Temple, TX to meet us. We all watched the Christmas parade together. It was incredibly long for such a small town. But what was so unique was the fact that the parade went in opposite directions on Main Street at the same time. It was just as cars drive the streets but it was floats, tractors, ambulances, cars, trucks, vans, school bands, etc marching on both sides. They were spaced so you could see both sides at the same time. Every float was full of people. It was almost as if the entire town of Fredericksburg was marching in the parade. There was music coming out of most floats. Tons of bright lights. It was so festive and so much fun that the rain did not matter. No one in the parade looked unhappy to be getting rained on. It is really hard to explain this parade as we have never seen anything like it. We are happy we went there to see it. And we were delighted to spend some time with good friends. We hope to meet them again in the future in another city.

Busy day-December 1, 2011

I know you'd be disappointed if I did not ask where did November go? Like silly kids we got up at 4:30 AM to watch the deer outside our front window. Then we went back to bed only to be awakened an hour later by the wild turkeys. They were noisy. So, by the time we settled down again, we got a very late start on the day. Jerry cleaned outside while I cleaned inside. Then we took the Cute Red Vehicle to get it washed. It was not even possible to drive it safely after we went through all that road construction yesterday. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and we thought that might make the dirt turn to mud and then we would be driving blind. It looks nice now. Then on a whim we stopped at a local restaurant, Billy Gene's. It's right on the banks of the river. Our waitress, Bobbie, was an absolute riot. I ordered the chicken salad and she shook her head "no". She said "You don't really want that. It's not good". I asked if she was serious? She said "Of course, they don't pay me enough to lie!" So, I told her to choose for me. She did. I had a fabulous Cajun chicken salad. That is only part of our conversation. We laughed the whole time we were there. As we were leaving I handed her a very generous tip and told her to have a plate of chicken salad on us. Then we all laughed! That has been part of the fun of this trip, the unusual and unique people we have meet. And no doubt we will meet more. It's good to end the day with laughter. We are going to the Christmas celebration in Fredericksburg tomorrow, unless it is raining bullfrogs.