San Antonio TX Post-Thanksgiving Part II - Riverwalk and Alamo, San Jose Mission, Christmas Lights

Monday November 30, 2015

On Monday, Peggy and Patricia took me to see the Christmas lights in the area and they were amazing! But first, who wants hot sauce?  You can find it here!  

I didn't go in cause it was closed, but who could resist?

I never would have thought Christmas lights in the south would be this bright! I found it strange to see Christmas lights down here where the weather is like summer.  No snow, no cold weather, no breath in the air.  We drove up to Fredericksburg and walked around checking out the stores, had dinner at a German restaurant, then drove back through Johnson City on our way home.

The lights were absolutely stunning.  I’ve seen the lights up north but never thought I’d see them down here.

On Tuesday and Thursday we went to Peggy’s house to use her internet to do some paperwork and wash laundry.  It was incredibly generous of her to let us use her house. 

Wednesday December 2, 2015

Wednesday we took off for San Antonio.  There is so much to see there and it was a beautiful day.  We started off visiting the mission at San Jose – what an amazing place. With my sisters-in-laws, the lovely Patricia and Peggy!

We toured the grounds which included the primitive housing and the church.

I learned the Indians were indentured and lived in the missions doing whatever was required of them.  They professed to be Christian but often followed their pagan ways.  The church and grounds were meticulously cared for.

We then had lunch on the Riverwalk overlooking the river watching the boats and ducks.  The marguerita and food was delish.

 

  

We then walked over to the Alamo which I never realized was right in town. 

All this time I thought it was somewhere out in the country, but it was just a short walk away, right in San Antonio.  Seeing it at sunset was awesome and we walked all around it and seeing the old stones made me realized its history.

We worked our way back to the Riverwalk where we had dessert and saw the river lights before heading home.   What an amazing trip, I’m sure I’ll be back to see for more.  

Friday December 4, 2015

The night before we left Guadalupe State Park, Peggy, Jeff, Patricia and Steve came over for a cookout.  We had hot dogs, lots of appetizers and drinks.  We had been the only campers in the parks, but more people came for the weekend.  It was a great send-off as we are leaving the next morning for Mission TX for a month.  

See you in Mission TX!

San Antonio TX Post-Thanksgiving, Part 1

Not only did we travel to San Antonio to meet my other family and enjoy Thanksgiving with them, I took a whirlwind tour of the area!  There is so much to see so I’m sure I only saw some of the highlights.  I’m sure I'll return someday soon to see more.

On Friday November 27, 2015, Peggy and Jeff stopped out at our campsite.  Peggy and I went hiking to the river while Jeff stayed behind to help with the water situation.  Peggy and I drove down to the river and hiked up to the rapids where she and her family prefer to picnic. 

 

It’s quieter there since the river becomes very crowded in the summer with folks wading and swimming in the river, and picnicking on the banks.  It was very quiet that day with very few people in the area.  What a beautiful park! 

Til next time.... Christmas lights in Texas, Riverwalk and final evening in Guadalupe River State Park. 

Thanksgiving 2015

November 26, 2015

Today I met the other Texas family. I made a cheesecake the evening before and topped it with blueberries. It was a hit, so maybe I'll get invited back!  We felt totally welcomed and at home with lots of hugs all around.  The food was amazing, company inviting, lots of family pictures, just what Thanksgiving should be.  

 

 Everyone was hungry, thankful for all we have.   Many new additions this past year.

Kitchen is the center of activity.. of course!  

  

As with all successful holidays, the day ends sleepily and happy.

We are now in Mission TX but we did a lot of things in San Antonio before we left!  Stay tuned!

Leaving Louisiana, Entering Texas!

November 23, 2015

We spent the night at Deisi’s Lucky Capitol truck stop and casino near Breaux Bridge LA for the night on November 22, 2015.  It wasn’t crowded and we had some good food and got lots of rest.  We got an early start, and yes there was frost on the ground...

 but when we got a strange message on the dash, we decided to pull over and call.  It wasn’t a big deal but we had to straddle a pothole to get out but the back tires couldn’t.  The back left tires dipped into the pothole and Worcestershire sauce fell out of the cabinet onto the floor and shattered.  That took awhile to clean up knowing that when we opened the slides, there would be more.  So we smelled of Worcestershire for a few days.  Things happen.

We had one more hurdle before entering Texas – the bridge over Lake Charles LA.  We were toodling down the road over more of Rt 10












when we saw it looming ahead like a roller coaster going up into the sky.

It was too late to exit, but we had to get over it, like it or not. Pictures just don’t show the steep rise and fall.  I’m sure in a car it wouldn’t be so scary, but in a 40’ motorhome with a tow car in back, yes it’s scary!

 Shortly after, we entered the great state of Texas.

We went through Beaumont TX, home to Janis Joplin, and decided to get through the Houston traffic instead of waiting until the morning rush.  

 Houston was difficult to get though because of the traffic, but we managed to get through unscathed. 

 Once we got past Houston, we stopped for the day just past Katy TX at Loves Truck Stop.

It was a very busy place, so I was laying on the couch reading, hoping the trucks coming in wouldn’t hit us!  Later on as I was walking the dogs, a truck stopped and his 3 dogs hung out the window, 1 being a Bassett Hound.  The driver leaned out his window and said his dogs wanted to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving! Sweet…

November 24, 2015

Today was a stressful day.  I didn’t listen to Peggy and instead followed the GPS so we got lost. It got a little tense but we finally made it to Guadalupe State Park, got registered, dumped tanks, and set up.  We did eat at a wonderful little Mexican restaurant not too far away, then collapsed for the day!

                                                                                            

Traveling through Louisiana

Sunday November 22, 2015

This morning we got an early start at 7am.  I’m not used to getting up early, but I have to admit that driving down the road when the sun has just come up is sorta exhilarating!

We crossed the Mississippi and are officially in the West!

However, after that, it turned out to be the most white-knuckle driving we’ve ever experienced.  The day started out just fine and we crossed a few swamps on narrow bridges, but then we were on an elevated road/bridge that just went on forever.  

We took I12 to avoid dipping down to New Orleans but picked up I10 later on at Baton Rouge and that is where the fun started.  Turns out I10 is also the Atchafalaya Swamp Freeway, an 18 mile bridge over the Atchafalaya River and swamp.

Long narrow roads with no barriers.

And Cedars growing out of the lake. A sight I've never seen. 

Once we got through the swamp road, we looked for a place to rest after the stress and found Diesis, so we parked and took a break. Turns out they have great burgers so we got a couple burgers and onion rings and decided to stay. Sorry I didn't get back to order the Boudin Balls, but the burgers were handmade and definitely unique and onion rings were great.

I went to the building next door and it was a full casino –  bar, lots of neon and smoke, and a cashier. We went 190 miles, so that was enough.  We ended up sleeping a couple hours that afternoon – I guess we needed it from the delayed stress.

End of the day.

Moving on

November 21, 2015 Saturday

Today we pulled out of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park after 10 days.

While here, we learned how to unhook and hook up the car to the hitch, add fresh water to our tank, empty the black and grey tanks, and deal with some of the foibles of living in a motorhome.  
It seems like the time just flew by! We were still getting set up and needed to buy some things, so we were out and about a lot.  We were planning to stay long enough to wait for a window to come in at Lazydays, but since it wasn’t in yet, we decided to move on to San Antonio for Thanksgiving.  Of course I’ve never been there or met most of Shelly’s relatives, so I agreed immediately!  It’s about 750 miles, so we decided to make the trip in 4 days, or about 200 miles a day.  I’m not helping with driving yet even though I’ve been to driving school, and we stop a lot to rest, eat and take the dogs out, so we decided not to push our travels.

So we pulled out around 10am this morning and the first order of business is to get fuel.  We found diesel not far away and managed to top off the tank.  The clerk at the register asked if we are on vacation or live in it, so I proudly said we’ve been living in it but admitted we’ve only been full time about a month.  She informed me that she and her husband want to do the same soon and have already sold their home.  I wish them luck!  

We headed on down Rt 98 until we found a road to take us to I10 which would take us the rest of the way. But first we had to cross the Choctawhatchee Bay in Destin FL.  




We went through Pensacola on the far western edge of the Florida panhandle, then off into Alabama for awhile.  But first we stopped at this rest stop.

Unfortunately we weren’t in Alabama long.....

and then we were in Mississippi.
I was amazed at the lowlands – taking bridges over land, not water. 

Well, some water.  Too soft to build a road I suspect.  Anyways, new landscape to me, so exciting to finally see places I’ve never seen before and this is just the beginning!  Stay tuned for Louisiana!

Destin Florida

Yesterday I drove over to the nearest Ford dealer to get the oil changed and a checkup.  It was 20 miles away, just past the town of Destin.  Well, trust me, Destin is a lovely and classy tourist destination.  I imagine a lot of people settle there! 

So I decided to take a leasurely ride back.  First stop was the tourist information for some pamphlets and menus.  Sooo many restaurants!  I’d love to try some of them! 

First stop after that was Beasley Park on the gulf. 

I decided to park and take a walk.  It was windy as all get out and I almost lost my phone.  But I loved the wind, the surf and the air.

Unfortunately we’re not sure when we’ll be leaving yet or where we’ll go.  The bedroom window isn’t in yet so we can’t make an appointment with Lazydays to have it put in.  We may stay here a few more days, move on or go back to Lazydays.  Right now, we don’t know.

Tonight we gorged on crab legs.  Kittie wanted some but we ate it all.

Nice we don’t have a schedule…even if we don’t know where we’ll be next week.