The day started out cloudy but the sun finally burned through before noon and the temperature finally warmed things up to near 80 degrees. Played Bridge at 1pm and really had a good afternoon with some good cards. We played until 3:30 and at 4pm was the Social hour with several in their Haloween cosutmes. Some quite interesting and well done. We had goodies to eat, a big variety of snacks and cookies as well as a large bowl of Witch's Brew.
Those that were dressed up decided to go out to dinner to one of the local restaurants all dressed up. Should have been interesting to see the reactions of the employees as well as the guests when they came in.
We were busy getting things put away and ready to hit the road. Things are about ready. I still have to check the oil and the tires on both vehicles.
Tomorrow we will pick up Phillip, our Grandson, and take in the air show at Kelly AFB, very near to Lackland AFB and then maybe go down to the Tower of Americas in downtown San Antonio. There is a revolving reataurant at the top. Should be interesting to try and eat as the city revolves around you.
The photo is of the John Wayne Museum at the Alamo movie set near Bracketville, TX built by John Wayne. It contains lots of photographs and artifacts of the period of the Alamo and the actors and actresses that made many of the films on the set. A very interesting day trip.

Another very nice day in Hondo, Texas. Mostly sunny and a bit cooler, about 78 degrees this afternoon, but quite comfortable. Most of the people here had their light jackets on this morning and into the afternoon. Not a lot going on, we did a few things to get ready to move the first of the week, sort things out and get then put back in their proper places. You do not realize how much gets misplaced when you are in one spot for a month or so. We have been here since the 30th of September. We really have enjoyed our stay and the friendly people at this S.K.P. park, as well as the side trips we have made. We may well visit here again as it is not that expensive and a very enjoyable place. Lots going on and good food locally.
We will be checking out the vehicles before we hit the road. Check the oil, tire pressures, etc. to make sure they are roadready. Do not really need a breakdown out in the wild west of Texas. It is many miles from one place to another and often times there is no communications. I always have my amateur radio to fall back on if things really get desparate. I used it before a few years back.
The rec hall was busy all day with members having meetings, one of which was a Board of Directors meeting and another a By-Laws meeting that lasted most of the morning and early afternoon, so there were no planned activities for the day.
The photo is of the River Walk with some of the boats and cafes that are along the water, often on both sides. A beautiful setting with lots of trees and shade as well as the boats that are frequently going by.

Oct. 29
Another cool morning, down in the 40's but sunny and nice all day. Not a lot going on, but I finally did get in touch with the Pinal Co. fair grounds in Casa Grande, AZ. I was interested in the Old Time Fiddlers Jam. It is to be held January 9 - 11. There is camping on the grounds at $12.00/night with water and electric. That will work fine for us. Should be an exciting time with lots of Blue Grass music and lots of fiddlin. We will probably go in the day before to get a nice place to park in the handicapped area on the pavement. We were there last year for the Gypsy Journal Rally in February and it is a very nice place and convenient to all of their buildings.
We are making plans to visit Big Bend National Park as well as the Big Bend Ranch State Park. It is very remote with few accomodations so we will camp at Terlingua which is between the two parks then we can explore the parks in the van. Hopefully we will not be out of communications very long at any one time, but we will see. Should be back to civilation in 3 or 4 days at best.
We played Mexican Train this evening with our friends the Drews' and believe it or not, I was the winner. Much to my surprise as I usually do not win, just come in the middle somewhere. But a really good evening anyway. Someone brought in some tamalies, chichen, pork and spicey pork. Even the chicken was a bit spicey and the spicey pork was really spicey, but quite good.
The photo today is from San Antonio along the River Walk. It is an office building that is 3 cornered. This corner is considerably less than 90 degrees and gives the appearance of being just a wall until you get past it and then you can see the other side. A very interesting illusion.

Oct. 28
Cool this morning with freezing temperatures in the hill country north of us. It warmed up nicely in the afternoon into the l0w 70's. Went to a Welcome breakfast at the Rec. hall at 9:30. Most all were there and we met the new members and learned a bit about their life and travels. This afternoon we had a long convesation with a gentleman from British Columbia. They had been fultiming for about 5 years and were here to escape the cold of B.C. They will be here a short time and then to on toward Yuma, AZ where they spend the winter months. He talked about their experiences in other SKP co-op parks and how friendly and welcoming they were to visitors. Most of the co-op parks have very nice celebrations for Thanksgiving, Christmas as well as New Years. One in California generally celebrate New Years with New York so they can get to bed. A bit strange to be welcoming in the new year at 9pm.
The photo is of some of the colors at Lost Maples State Park. It should be getting more color in the next week or so as they are experiencing much cooler temperatures.
This being Tuesday, it is Taco Salad night at the DQ in Hondo. It was very good as usual. We saw several others there from the park enjoying their Taco Salads as well. Stopped at the local H.B.E. super market for some milk at $4.39/gal. You would think with all the cattle in this area milk would not be so expensive, but maybe no one wants to milk cows anymore. Made some nametags for the people here at the park and that pretty well ended the day.

Oct. 27
The morning was bright and cool. A front came through about 2am with wind and rain. It finally blew through before daylight and turned into nice but cool day. I was having problems with my AT&T air card. It would not connect to the internet at all. I finally called Tech support and we did a lot of work on the computer deleting items that were not needed, etc. Finally after rebooting the computer it all worked as it should. Not sure what all we did,but it worked. I did, however, get the 800 number direct to Tech support to eliminate the need to go through all of the garbage with punching numbers and getting recordings, one after the other. Had lunch and went to Social hour at 4pm and then back at 6:30 for Bridge. A very good evening for me as I did hold some decent cards and probably held my own.
The photo is of a Scotty with a potty we found at the Garner state park. It has been completely restored and looked better than new. If memory serves me correctly this would have been built in the late 50's to early 60's. A real beauty and one to be proud of. The only thing not original was the roof air conditioner. Hopefully tomorrow I can get things arranged for the Old TIme Fiddlers Jam the first part of January in Casa Grande, AZ.

Oct. 26
Today started out a bit gloomy with an overcast sky and some light showers. By noon it had cleared considerably and the sun began to shine and it proved to be a nice afternoon. I called Phillip, my Grandson, who is in the Air Force stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. He was free this afternoon so we picked him up and he wanted to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. We had a nice visit and toured some of the base as we took him back. A nice visit and a good meal at BWW. It was getting dark as we headed back to Hondo and the park. The sunset was quite stunning as it changes so much as the sun receeds into the horizon. Beautiful hues of red, purple, blue and yellow in an ever changing ballet of colors. It had just gotten dark as we got into Hondo and completely dark by the time we got to the park. Sure is difficult to locate a turn off the first time in total darkness.
The photo is our space in Abaline State Park just south of Buffalo Gap, TX. A very remote park with lots of wildlife.

Oct. 25

A beautiful cool morning with bright sun and a few clouds in the sky. We decided to travel to the Lost Maples State Park near Vanpool, TX. As usual we took the back roads and saw some beautiful country as well as huge ranch houses located on the sides and tops of the mountains. We saw some Deer as well as Antelope and a covy of quail flew up from along side the road. Very remote only saw a couple of vehicles and a few large ranch entrances. We have decided that you can tell the quality of the home by looking at the entrance gate. Some are most elaboate and others are made like a pickett fence .
When we arrived at Lost Maples we found it crowded with people admiring the Maple trees as they began to turn color. This park is located along the Sabinal River, which is mostly dry except for the area above a small dam whee they tube and swim. At this area, it is mostly spring fed which provides sufficient moisture that this stand of uncommon Uvalde bigtooth maples, relics from the last Ice Age are able to survive. The photo is of a portion of the campground. The trees are just benginning to change color and may not change much depending upon the weather. They need a good frost to bring out the colors and many years that does not happen.
We traveled over the mountains to the west to the town of Leakey, Tx. The road to Leakey is across mountain roads with switchbacks and 10mph curves, a beautiful drive and a fun drive. There were many motorcycles out and it looked as though they were having the ride of their life as they sped around the curves and dissapeared out of sight. What a thrill that must be. Just south of Leakey is Garner State Park. This is a huge park with three camping areas with a total of 513 camping spaces. They are along the banks of the Frio river. There was quite a bit of water in the river, not like most in the area which are completely dry, due to the drought in the area. This is a beautiful park with lots of shade trees and recreational areas as well as hiking trails and water sports.
We returned to Uvalde where we had a late lunch. We found a nice restaurant in hopes of finding some good Briskett, but they did not have any. So we just ordered from the menu and had a nice meal, but not what we had in mind. Next time we want good Briskett we will go to Hondo where we know we can get what we want.
We returned to the park, rested a bit and then went to the rec hall to play Mexican Train until after 9pm. A great day to travel and just be out in the fresh air and take in the beautiful scenery and wonders of Nature.

This is a photo of our site here at the Lone Star Corral near Hondo. Texas. Nice location with a big shade tree.
Cool this morning, about 38 in Hondo, but it warmed up quickly as soon as the sun came up. I worked with photos again today. Working with Picasa3. An interesting program that will let you put photos on your blog. You can do all kinds of things with your digital photo. I will get it mastered in time, I hope. Played Bridge today at 1pm until about 4 and as usual did not have any good cards. I stayed for the Social hour to get all of the local news and happenings. Came back and had a big salad for supper and looked at the map to determine our trip for tomorrow to Los Maples State Forrest area. Nothing planned here at the park for Saturday or Sunday, so we are free to do as we please.
We are thinking about leaving the park and heading west and spend some time in Big Bend country, but I hear that there is a big doings going on the first of November and I am not sure we want to be involved in that. Will have to get more information before we make a decision.

Oct. 23

Went to bed with a lot of gusty wind and very cool temperature and during the night the wind blew its self away and we woke to overcast skies and by noon the sun was out and the temperature was much warmer and it turned out t0 be a very nice afternoon. I worked on digital photos this morning getting them all sorted out and in correct folders on the computer. We got our mail with our new IN license plate and absentee ballots. We completed them and took them to DeHanis to the post office to get them on their way as quickly as possible.
At 5:30 we went to the Rec. hall for a dinner consisting of Reuben sandwiches, potato salad and desert. All very delicious for only $4.00 each inc. a drink. They have a very nice kitchen with all the equipment needed to feed a large group. When they started serving, they served about 60 people in about 15 minutes.
After we ate, some stayed to play Hand & Foot but we came back to the motor home to get some things done and ready for another day.
zWe are making plans for a trip on Saturday, not sure just where but somewhere new.

Oct. 22

Cloudy and foggy this morning. It had rained a little during the night. Just enough to wet the street, not enough to do much good anywhere. The sun soon burned through the fog and we had a nice sunny day with a few clouds. A front came through this afternoon with a cool north wind and really cooled things down. We went to the Social hour at 4pm and when we came out the wind was really blowing so we took down the awning. When we went to play Mexican Train at 7pm it was getting cooler and still windy. Probably be quite cool in the morning so we got out the electric heater to take the chill of if needed. Not a lot planned for tomorrow special. Meet some new folks that returned to the park for the winter, we now have 63 members back and expecting more in the next couple of weeks. There are 123 spaces in this park so there are several yet to come. I understand some may not come for one reason or another, some due to health issues and others because of the cost of fuel. Our gasoline here is $2.42 but that was a few days ago. Not too bad compared to what it was, but still not good. Maybe it will keep going down as the price of crude is considerably lower than it was. Will just have to wait until after the election and see what happens.

Oct. 21

A cool brisk morning in the 50's with lots of sunshine and a few puffy clouds. Into the upper 70's by noon or a little after. Andrew had e-mailed several bills and checks that he had accumulated in the mail. We spent most of the morning paying bills and updating the business account with the checks that he had put in the bank. We did some little things inside the motor home and then went outside and opened up the battery compartment and checked the water in the batteries. We had not checked them since we had them put in last February. All of the cells were full so apparently everything is working as it should and not overcharging them as that will cause them to lose water.
I reinstalled the radio antenna, but have not taken time to check it out, so that remains to do, maybe tomorrow.
This is tuesday and Taco Salad at the DQ for $2.99. The Drew's went with us and we did enjoy our supper. There were 3 other couples there from the park when we came in. Back to the park to read and watch some TV before retiring. Another nice relaxing day in Texas.

Oct. 20

Another beautiful day in Texas. After breakfast and a few little chores we went to Hondo to find some hardward items that were diffidult to locate but we succeed in finding most of them. Returning to the park I proceeded to repair a water hose, the Amateur antenna and get it ready to reinstall. After lunch and a short nap I went to the Rec. hall for happy hour and get some information and was asked to return at 6:30 to play Bridge. After supper I went back and we had enough for two tables. I held really bad cards all night with only a couple of good hands and we lost every game but one, but that is not unusual for me. It is hard to play a good game with bad cards.
There are several more members returning so we met several people that were new to us but have been here for several years. This is a really caring group of people watching out for one another at all times.

Oct. 19

My how this month is flying by. Sunday, a day of rest and that is mostly what we did. Evelyn did clean some on the back of the motor home as it is in the shade under the large Live Oak tree. I removed the "screwdriver" antenna and took it apart to see what was wrong. I found a missing part that helped make contact with the main coil, so I will have to find another one. Hopefully that will correct the problem. We were tired from our trip yesterday, but really enjoyed the trip through the hill country. It was similar to a trip on the back roads in southern Indiana or Ohio. Texas has some of the best roads we have ever been on. They are smooth and wide and generally have a wide berm, wide enough that you can move over and let traffic pass without difficulty. They are all blacktop or chip and seal, but in very good condition.
We went to the ice cream social at 6pm for cake and ice cream. It was birthday/anniversary day. Those with birthdays and anniversarys in October and May were recognized. Some had been married nearly 60 years and some in their 80's. A good time was had by all. some stayed to lay card bingo but we came home as we had not eaten before. Could not watch the Colt's game, but did not sound like it was one I would have liked to have seen.
Another beautiful day in Texas only in the upper 70's but nice and sunny.

Oct. 18

We decided to take a trip to Los Maples State Park and then over to Guadalupe State Park where Mike and Carlyn will be Camp Hosting from Dec, 1 thru May 1 of 09. In looking over the route we decided to go to Guadalupe State Park first to eliminate driving against the sun on our way back home. We did not get away until late.
So back to Hondo and then north on sr173 toward the hill country, about 5 miles north and to Bandera, TX, known as the original Cowboy Capitol of the west. An intereting little town all in its original old west style and it appeared that any renovations was kept in the same theme. Being Saturday there was a lot going on, street fair, car show, etc.
We picked up sr16 east through Pipe Creek and picked up sr46 to Boerne. Mike said, while we are here and it is after noon we had better eat at the Hungry Horse Cafe. What a place. It is all done in western moteif with plain old wooden tables with the paint coming off and rickety old chairs. You place your order at the counter from a huge menu with everything from hambergers, salads to fried green beans. When your order is ready they call your name and you go get it. Man, what servings. I had a salad and it covered a large platter with 2 containers of dressing, bleu cheese, of course. It was a delicious salad with everything you can imagine in it. Then it was on to Bergheim then to the Guadalupe state park. A very large park with many camping spots for tents as well as other RV's, in fact they were full with nothing available. Mike got to visit with many of the employees he had worked with and met some new ones that he would be working with in May. We took a tour of the park and through some of the camping areas. Very nice secluded spots with lots of trees and shade.
It was getting late and it was a couple of hours drive west to Los Maples, we decided to head back toward Hondo and home and make the Los Maples trip another day when we would have more time and not have to drive after dark. All but the first and last 15 or so milew was in the hill country, always interesting territory with many large homes setting on the bluffs overlooking the ranch lands. We did take time to stop at DQ for a treat in Hondo.
Did I tell you they have bugs here every evening. Just as the sun is going down you will see hundreds of butterflies, mostly yellow, just floating on the breeze. I do not know where they come from but they are everywhere. If you are driving they just coat your windshield and front of your vehicle. You just have to soak them to get them off, so we do not like to drive at dusk. After it gets dark they just go away, where I do not know but you only see them as the sun is going down.

Oct. 17

Bright sunny morning in the low 50's. Warmed up in the 70's by noon and quite comfortable. We finished the lettering on the right side of the van and it looks quite professional. Played Bridge at 1pm until 3:30 and had social hour at 4pm and then off to D'Hanis for supper at a nice restaurant with live music and all. A nice meal and a short trip afterwards back to Hondo and back to the park. Did not have time for my nap so I will turn in a bit early this evening. May take a short trip tomorrow, we will see what happens.

Oct 16

A front went through last night and brought a north wind and cooler temperatures. Sunny most of the day but breezy and cool. A really nice day. People here thought it was a bit too cool but we thought it nice. Received some office supplies and new tires for my wheelchair. I installed the front tires and stamped 500 envelopes with the return address, so that is over with.
The shop called about 11am and said that the van was finished and read to go. They repaired the brake line and bled the brakes and all works fine.
We had worked on signage for the van the other day so this afternoon we got one side installed and it looks pretty good for amateurs. Will try to get the other one done tomorrow in between activities at the rec. hall.
We need to decide where to go to eat tomorrow evening, we are running out of Tuesdays and Fridays which are senior special days. One restaurant has a full line of dinners for $6.50 inc. drink. So it seems it is just one decision after another. I am sure it will be good and we will enjoy our dinner as well as the company.

Oct. 15

It rained off and on all night. Things sure looked better this morning.
I called Dixon Automotive about the van and they said they were booked up for the week and could get to it on Monday. When she asked what the problem was and I told her the brakes were out as a result of a broken brake line to the rear wheels she said to bring it in and they would work it in as she did not want me driving without any brakes. I called Good Sam ERS and they send a flat bed to take the van to the shop. When the wrecker driver got here and wanted to know where it was going, he said "Oh, I take lots of cars to Jimmy Dixon's, he does good work." So I feel comfortable about it going there. Many of the people in the park also stated that he does all of their work at a fair price.
Went to the Social Hour at 4pm and visited with some of the new arrivals, here for the winter. At 7pm we gathered to play Mexican Train, always a fun game.
I guess we will not be taking any day trips for a while until the van gets fixed and on the road. I guss we will work on the outside of the motor home and get it cleaned and waxed before we hit the road the first of the month.

Oct. 14

According to the morning weatherman it was supposed to rain most of the day with a possible .7" of rain. By noon, the sky had pretty well cleared and the sun was out most of the afternoon, no rain at all. Seems as though all of the weathermen go to the same school of just guessing at what is supposed to happen. I can generally tell more about what is going to happen by looking out the window. Worked most of the late morning and afternoon on signage for the van rear side windows. Went to town to buy postage, visit Wal-Mart and go out to eat at McBee's BBQ. A really nice homey place with wooden tables and old stuff all around. The cold drinks are kept in a double wash tub like we used to rinse clothes in on wash day. The have really good briskett and on Tuesdays they have 2 sandwiches for $5.00. Really big ones on about 5" buns. We ate with sides for less than $10.00.
On the way to town, Evelyn was driving and noticed that when she would stop the brake pedal would go to the floor and then she would have to pump it to get it to stop. While at Wal-Mart we checked the brake fluid and it was down about half way in the reservoir. I bought a pint of fluid and we filled it up. When we got back home the brakes were still acting the same way and the brake light came on. WHen we parked the van and I got out I could see brake fluid dripping from about a foot, in front of the left rear wheel. Apparently the brake line has rusted and broke or a hole has broken through. In talking with some of the people here they recommended Dixon's garage in Hondo. So, in the morning I will call the shop and make sure that they can get it in and then call Good Sam ERS and have them tow it to the shop for repairs. Always something with an older vehicle, this one is 12 years old, so I guess it is about time to have some problems. Hopefully they can get it repaired tomorrow if someone in town has the brake line. There is a Ford dealer in town but they recommended not going there. Better to rely on local people and their knowledge and experiences.

Oct. 13

Cloudy this morning with some showers in the area. Had some light rain during the night, but all is welcome as it is very dry. Humid all day with some sun later in the day. The antenna came for the computer air card. Mike Drew was here and helped install it. It sure is nice to be tall. He could reach the mounting bracket standing on the wheelchair lift. We fed the leadin through a hole we drilled in the side of the motor home and inside of a cabinet and then from cabinet to cabinet until it reahed the area where the computer is located. All seems to work well, went from 3 bars to 5 bars so apparently the signal is stronger. I guess we will have to wait until we are in a more remote area to really find out how much it has helped.
Did a little engraving this evening and have it ready to mail tomorrow when we go to Hondo to the store and pick up some things. Went over to play Bridge, but no one showed up to play so came home and read one of the magazines I found at the Rec. hall.

Oct. 12

Woke up to an overcast morning with a light mist at times. Fairly warm and quite humid, near 80%. Still a bit tired from our day trip on Saturday. Now we need to go back to San Antonio to see the Alamo again. IF you wonder why the filming did not take place at the Alamo in San Antonio, it is a Shrine and no photos are allowed inside, only outside.
Did not really do very much, made some nameplates for stock and some paperwork, went to the Rec hall for Social hour at 6pm and had ice cream and they were to play card bingo at 7pm/ I wanted to see the end of the Phoenix vs Cowboys game. Going to bed shortly and watch the Phillies and Dodgers game. Can not get it on the TV in the living room. Several things on the adjenda for tomorrow.

Oct. 11

The morning was overcast and the humidity was up and a light breeze blowing. A perfect day for a trip, so we, and the Drew's got away about 11am and headed west on US90 to the town of Brackettville and the Alamo Village Movie Location about 7 miles out of town. We paid out admission and drove the 2+ miles to the movie location. This is on a working ranch and we encountered several head of cattle and a couple of draft horses along the dirt/gravel road.
This active movie set consists of some 28 buildings and the Alamo set is some 300 yds. away.
The first movie location built in Texas, Alamo Village, is on the Happy and Virginia Shahan HV ranch. It was built for John Wayne's epic movie THE ALAMO. It featres the only replica of the 1936 Alamo. the adobe mission and town took almost two years to complete.
"Construction started in september 1957 and filming began in August 1959. According to ranch owner James T. "Happy" Shahan, one month before the movie was completed the cost was at $12 million and was the largest budget spent on making a film in the US up to that time.
The Alamo and the town were built with a dedication to authentically replicating San Antonio during the early 1800's. More than a million and a quarter adobe bricks were amde and used. It took 12 miles of water pipe, 30,000 square feet of imported Spanish roofing tile, and a million square feet of concrete flooring. Alamo Village is a complete town with jail saloon, general stores, stables, church, bank and blacksmith shop.
Additional construction allows the one of a kind facility to serve movie production companies as a fort, hacienda, frontier town, and a deserted Mexican village. It is stocked with stagecoaches, wagons, buggies, surreys, cannons, props, and set dressings. A prize herd of registered Texas Longhorns roam the ranch along with quarterhorses, goats, and sheep. Since the Alamo more that a hundred major movies, TV shows, documentaries, commercials and music videos have been filmed here."
As well as many displays there is a very extensive mueseum of John Wayne memorabelia including photos and many period items to be appreciated.
Some of the buildings are not accessible, due to high thresholds, but you can see in and get a very good idea of what is there. We visited the Cantina for lunch, very good and reasonably priced. There were not very many people there so it was very easy to move about town and the Alamo at our leisure.
The first person we met when we entered the town was the Marshal. He was an extra in the 1967 film "Bandolero" starring Jimmy Stewart, Dean Martin and Raquel Welch. He was in a barber shop scene and on camera for 4 seconds. He indicated it was a pleasure working with the three. He has been with the facility for 41 years.
When we left the facility we came back a different way going north east further into the hill country past a lot of large ranches, they have to be big as the ground is so poor and rocky it does not grow much grass or edible food for cattle or much of anything for that matter. Lots of sage brush, other brushy plants. Very few of the rivers have any water at all, maybe a small pool, only at one bridge did we see water moving. One river crossing was just black topped and when there is water it runs over the road. This was not a low water bridge as you see in many areas, this was a no water bridge.
Back to the SKP park a little before dark and considered this a very enjoyable day trip, something we will talk about for some time.

Oct. 10

Another nice morning with little puffy clouds. Evelyn and I had a hair appointment at 10am in D'Hanis. A real nice Mexican gal has a shop next to the school and really does a nice job. She says she cuts a lot of the students hair as they stop in on their way home. Apparently the school does very well in Football, Baseball and Basketball, usually going to the state finals every year, so they support them at most of the games. The town of DeHanis is a small old time western town with old buildings that have been kept up and some restored. They had a big flood in 2007 that pretty well shut the town down. THe main part lf town was underwater as was the railroad track. It backed up over 100 trains before the water went down and the track inspected so things could get going again. Most of the stores had water in them, some had basements that had to be pummped out and renovated. One restaurant has a special on Friday night with a $6.50 menu that includes a drink. They have Chicken fried steak,grilled ham steak,all kinds of seafood inc. potato and vegetable. On their regular menu is a large selection, one of which is a B.Y.O. Burger - 10 oz. fresh meat charbroilled or grilled to your liking, topped with what ever you want served with french fries, pot salad, onion rings or fresh fruit for $6.99. That sounds like a lot to eat for your money. Things here are less expensive than in the Indianapolis area.
Played some Bridge at the Rec. hall this afternoon. Did not win, but had a good time and met some nice people.
We are located at the south edge of the Hill Country. We can see the hills to the west, north and east of our campground. We see a few of the crop dusting planes, not sure what they are dusting or possibly planting. We saw lots of huge cotton bales today, probably 30'long, 8'high and possibly 6 or 7' wide with vinyl covers on the top, waiting for the truck to come and load one up. Very interesting to watch them load up, they use endless chains in the floor of the truck bed. The bed raises up in the front and the teeth on the chains engage the cotton bale and pull it up and into the truck bed and it is hauled away. Probably weighs several ton. A lot different that it used to be back in the day of manual labor.
We will take a sightseeing trip tomorrow with the Drew's, not sure just where at this time.

Oct. 9

Slept in late this morning, up about 9 or so with really nothing planned to do and that is just about what happened, not much. I did some surfing of the internet looking for an antenna or an amplifier for my AT&T air card as it does not recieve very well in remote areas. I did find one I thought would do and ordered it. It is coming all the way from San Antonio, Texas. We are about 30 miles west of there but the gal did not know where Hondo was, just close, by the zip code, she said. Hopefully that will increase the signal sufficiently in remote areas. I really did not want to spend the money for an amplifier, but that may be down the road. We will just wait and see. We spend time in some very remote areas, but we know we can always drive into town and find a wi-fi so we can send and recieve our e-mails. When we get back to the motor home we can read them and take care of business. Evelyn got another portion of the curb side of the motor home polished. Hopefully I can get the front done after we get back from getting hair cuts. Maybe tomorrow will be more productive than today.

Oct. 8

Not a lot going on this morning. Nice and sunny and not a cloud in the sky, as usual. Evelyn went to Hondo to get some items and filled the van with gas at $3.92. Price is certainly getting better but not good yet. On her way home she stopped at a BBQ place and the guy was just getting a brisket out of the smoker. She bought a pound of it and brought it home. You talk about good brisket, this was delicious, melt in your mouth, lip smackin good, and all the good things you can say about it. We may go back and eat in the restaurant and see what else they have. At the social hour at 4pm they were making arrangements to go on a Red Hat trip to a local restaurant. We returned to the rec hall to learn a new game, at least new to us, Mexican Train. This is played with double 12 dominos and is really a lot of fun. We had herd of it but did not know anyone that could teach us how to play. Back home in time to watch the 10 o'clock news and get to bed for another good nights rest and another good day in Texas. supposed to be down to about 50 tonight, may need some heat in the morning. Up to 85 in the afternoon.

Oct 7

They promised us rain again last night but it did not come, however they did get some rain in San Antonio. We woke up to a bright sun and a clear sky with moderate winds from the north east. A really nice day. We did some engraving and got it into the mail and this afternoon we went into Hondo to the DQ for their famous Taco Salad. It was very tasty and quite sufficient in size for only #2.99 the Sr. special for the day. Aftrward we drove around Hondo, south of the highway and found it to be quite a large town. The street on the south, next to the hayfield is 29th street and state highway 90 is 19th street. It is probably 8/10 to a mile long, so a nice sized town with most of the older part north of the highway and rail road track a block or two south of the highway is mostly private homes, most in very good condition, some quite old but nice. On the south side of town the homes are newer but very nice. We drove south to the town of Yancey, about 15 miles. A small town but nice and then we drove west to the town of D'Hanis. As it was getting late and the sun about down we saw many hawks setting on fence posts as well as telephone poles apparently watching for some supper. We also saw a large ranch with a very high fence around it. We did see a bull Elk and several animals that I can not name but appeared to be from Africa. Possibly a game preserve of something of that nature. It stretched along the highway for several miles. The town of D'Hanis looks like an old time western town. There is a grocery next to the tavern. I understand that on Wednesday, you can go into the store and purchase the steak of your choice and then take it out back where you can cook it to your liking. Sounds like something fun to do. May check that out one evening. We headed back to the Lone Star Corral about 1 mile east and called it a day. Watched the debates and then found out what they really said after it was over. I do not think that either of them changed any minds about who should led this country. I certainly would not want the job.

Oct. 6

As promised, we got some rain last night. Not a lot but a couple of pretty good showers. The humidity is up today so the heat is more like Indiana. We went to the grocery in Hondo, the H.E.B. a local chain that is very nice with nice quality produce and meats. Gas is down to $3.01/gallon, getting better all the time. Will have to fill up later this week, maybe and less that $3.00. I can not believe we think that this is a good price, only relative to $4.00+ a gallon, is it good. We had a social hour at 4pm with finger food brought in. A very good selection of goodies. There was to be Bridge at 6:30 and Hand and Foot at 7:00 but no one showed up so we played pool instead. Back home about 7:30 and watched TV until bedtime. Just an average day at an SKP park.

Oct. 5

Sunday and the day or rest. We worked on the computer catching up on some things that had been put aside. Got some exercise in the afternoon. It got fairly warm but there was a good breeze so not too uncomfortable. We did some planning on where we were going when we leave Hondo. Probably to New Mexico and then on to Arizona for the most part of the winter months. There are a few things we want to do and see on the way so it will take a while to get to Mesa, AZ where we will winter. Back to regular routine tomorrow at the campground with plenty to do, washing clothes, etc. They are talking about rain tonight, so we will see how that plays out.

Oct. 4

Another nice day in Texas, a bit windy but the breeze kept the heat down if you were out of the sun. Still windy this evening. Checked the radar and noting in this area, at least for 400 miles or so. Started on the motor home today. We washed the curb side and polished the lower portion and cleaned and treated the tires. Had dinner with the Drews, Church's chicken with some jalopena poppers on the side. Very tasty and tasted like Church's chicken back in Indiana. Everything here has a Texas twist, but not Church's chicken. Will try to get more done on the motor home tomorrow, weather permitting. They talk about rain in other parts of the state, but not here. I do not think they have rain here for months as everything is very dry, however the hay field behind the park is nice and green and appear to be doing well. There is a heavy dew each morning, so apparently that is enough moisture for things to stay green and growing. We have a nice covered patio here and with the awning on the motor home gives us a lot of shade as does the large Live Oak tree on the south side, so we stay very comfortable without running the AC except when there is not any breeze. Tomorrow is the day of rest, so that is probably what we will do. Watch the Colts and maybe the NASCAR race.

Oct. 3

We spent most of the morning recouperating from out trip to the Alamo. Caught up on the washing. Relaxed on the patio for a while and visited with our friend Carlyn while Mike finished their wash. Went to the Social Hour at 4pm for Root Beer floats and the latest news and happenings around the park as well as things going on in the community. There is always something going on. Many of the restaurants have specials for the seniors like discounts on certain days and discounted prices on their specials, so there is always something you can do. When you think about the influx of about 150 Rv'ers/families into a small town/community, that represents a lot of money over the winter. I understand that the local Dairy Queen has a special on their Taco Salad on Wednesday at 5pm. Should probably check that out next week.
Back to the Rec Hall for Bingo at 7pm and donated our money (did not win anything) and back home for some Pecan pie and off to bed. Not sure what will happen tomorrow, just wait and see where the spirits lead.

Oct 2

We had made plans to go to San Antonio today with Mike & Carlyn Drew. We have known they for some time. They are full time RV'ers for over 9 years. We got away about 10am and got to downtown San Antonio and found a parking lot and the last handicapped spot right next to the street. We got into the Alamo before noon and was very much impressed with the displays that they had inside the Alamo, many of the weapons that were used and several books and letters that had been written by the more famous of the Alamo defenders, Jim Bowie, David Crockett, etc. They also had all of the names on bronz plaques of those that defended the Alamo. It was interesting to see tht many of the defenders came from the midwest and eastern states as well as from England, Ireland and several Eruopean countries. We also watched a 15 min. show made by the History Channel on the Alamo.
It makes you wonder if there are enough brave young Americans that would fight for their country like these, some 200 did, even knowing that they were outnumbered by some 16,000 Mexican soldiers. I know there are many of my generation that have enough patriotism to fight to the end for their country and their faith, but that does not seem to be so important to the younger ones. Society todays seems to be interested in what their government can do for them and not so interested in what they can do for themselves and their country.
A visit to the Alamo is very sobering when you consider the challenges of life at that time and the willingness to fight for what you believe in, as these few men did.
The Alamo (shrine) is owned and maintained by the Daughters of the American Revolution, solely by contributions and sales of items at the facility.
After we finished touring the Alamo, we found our way to the River Walk area. It has really changed since we were there some 20 years ago or so. There are restaurants all along the waterway with only a walk 4-5ft wide. Some areas you actually go through the outside dining area where there are tables along the water. A very beautiful and cool place as it is mostly shaded with Live Oak and Cypress trees. We took the boat tour of the area, only $5.00 for Seniors and only room for 2 wheelchairs, no scooters. Our boat Captain was very knowledgeable and pointed out many of the interesting things about the River Walk and the area. He even stopped the boat to point out a very rare bird that they seldom see along the River Walk. A very interesting and relaxing time that lasted about 30 minutes. After the boat ride we continued along the river and finally took an elevator up to street level and found our way back to the van and headed out to LaVernia, TX to pick up some mail and then back to Hondo. A very enjoyable day and one we will reflect on the rest of our lives.

Oct. 1

After we moved the motorhome yesterday, I discovered this morning that the front wheels were off the ground a half inch or so which allowed it to be a bit unsteady when you moved around. We moved it forward and put it up on bricks which kept the tires on the ground and made it much more stable. Evelyn got busy and washed the bugs off the windshield and the front of the motor home. We picked up a lot of bugs and what appeared to be moths when we came down from Kerrville. We came down in altitude from about 1600ft. to about 650ft. and through a lot of agriculture, cotton and corn and lots of hay. Not sure what the corn was used for as it appeared to have been harvested before the corn was ripe.
We went to Hondo to get some things. We found the old town on the north side of the rail road. Beautiful old buildings that have been restored or well preserved. The newer part of town is on the south side of the rail road with the highway (US90) running along the rail road most of the time.
Gas prices are falling down to $3.22 at Wal-Mart less the normal .03 discount for paying with the gift card, so it is getting better. Diesel was $3.45.
Back to the park for activities at the Rec. hall. They seem to have a full lineup of activities, something for every day. Wednesdays: 10am Line Dancing, 1pm Bridge, 4pm Social Hour and 7pm Mexican Train, which is a domino game. Something we have been told is a lot of fun, so we will learn it I am sure.
Off tomorrow to LaVernia, TX to pick up mail and to the Alamo and the River Walk.