Bruce’s mom, Harriett has enjoyed spending the month of February in Florida for the past 15 years or so. After Covid, she wasn’t able to get the same place, so she decided to go to Monterey, California instead. Her brother lives in Monterey so she rented an AirB&B about 5 minutes from him. Bruce and both of his sisters were each going to come out for a weekend. But unfortunately, Harriett got Covid for the first time at the beginning of January. It messed with her for a long time and she was not up to going to California for February. But she kept the Condo and told us all to still go. Bruce and I took her up on it.
Since we like to live on the edge, we left our house at 8:05 for our 9:00 boarding flight. Luckily we had no problems. We arrived at the long term parking lot for the airport around 8:30 & jumped on the shuttle conveniently waiting for us in the parking lot. Since we were not checking any suitcases, we headed straight for the inspection place. No one was in line so we went straight through without a hitch. The beauty of a small airport on a Thursday morning. Our plane left about 30 minutes late for unknown reasons. Some how (Bruce swears he did not pick these) we were in the very last seats of a teeny little plane. Our seats were row 24, which tells you how small it was. I guess it was a little windy ‘cuz this was the worst take off I can remember. I couldn’t even look out the window because you could see the wing wobbling as we bounced along. I seriously thought we were gonna roll over going down the runway. It wasn’t much better in the air. You definitely feel every bump (wait – what could we be bumping on going through those soft fluffy clouds?) when you’re in the back row. I was praying like crazy. Bruce was calm and cool. I know that my life is ALWAYS in God’s hands, but I definitely FEEL it when I’m flying.
I wasn’t exaggerating when I said NO ONE was in line.
We changed planes in Denver where luckily our 2nd even tinier plane was also late to take off. We arrived in sunny Monterey, California with no problems. Aunt Mary & Uncle Stan picked us up and took us to their house. Devin, Bruce’s cousin Haddie’s hubby, loaned us their truck to drive and a couple bikes to ride around. Perfect! We grabbed a few groceries and headed for our Condo.
Our home away from home. And our bikes. Don’t tell Devin I accidentally let the bike fall over when I went to take a picture.View from one of our decks. We have 4.Our trusty steed! Gas here is over $5. Yikes!!
We met back up with Mary, Haddie & Devin and their son, OJ, and Lottie & Paul for dinner at the Dust Bowl. This was definitely within biking distance, but I didn’t want to bike home in the dark, so we drove. We had some yummy Mexican from a food truck permanently parked by the back patio of the Dust Bowl. Unfortunately I didn’t take one single picture of us there. You’ll just have to trust me.
Notice the signs: 24 minute parking. These are all over Monterey. Not 20 minutes or 25 minutes. Plus you have to pay for parking in all the other spots. Even in their parking lot.
We were excited to jump on our bikes and explore the Monterey Bay area. Lucky for us the bike path went right by our condo complex. It was a beautiful sunny day, but a little chilly. Since we only had carry on suitcases, I didn’t do a very good job of packing. I forgot to bring a sweatshirt so Bruce took off the one he had on and gave it to me. That is my husband. He literally gave me the shirt off his back. And then I needed a little something more to wear over it besides my jean jacket or heavy coat, so he ran in and got another pull-over for me. Good thing he came prepared!
We passed a college beach volleyball (aka SAND volleyball in Kansas since we don’t have a beach) tournament going on right past our complex.
A little farther down the path we came to the wharfs (wharves?) Monterey has a commercial wharf with cute little shops and a working wharf with fresh fish and boats. As we neared the end of the working wharf, we heard barking and saw people looking over the edge. The water was full of seals (which I was sure were sea lions). They were swirling around and flopping all over each other in the water. It almost looked like they were swarming. Someone later told us it was mating season. And someone else told us they were migrating. So we don’t really know what was up, but they were sure fun to watch. There were even lots of seals under the wharf on the wood.
seals barking under the wharfSo many seals! Bruce was wishing he had a beach ball to throw them.Do seals swarm?The cute wharf with all kinds of little shops and restaurants. We were not allowed here because we were on bikes.
We rode out along the Cannery Row and read the interesting story about it. Apparently this was one of the first places that they fished sardines and then canned them. They actually fished so much that at one point there were “none” left. Biologists determined that it was partially from over fishing and partially because the water gets warmer or colder every 25-ish years. I can’t remember which temp the sardines like, but when it gets to be the other temp they leave to find more comfortable water. And while they are gone, anchovies come and take over the area until the sardines come back.
This is us on Cannery Row
We stopped at various points along the way just to watch the water crashing over the rocks. Kinda like we do in Kansas. Not.
Wish you could hear this.I think these rocks kinda look like two eagles
We rode through the little town of Pacific Grove and decided to have lunch on Lovers Point at a place on the beach cleverly named The Grill at Lovers Point. After we ate our burgers a little friend came over to see if we had any leftovers. He was so cute. Bruce fed him a few french fries. (I know you are shocked we actually had any of those left!) Then I fed him some lettuce. He seemed to love them both.
Cutest little critter! He would wave his little arms to beg.We stopped and talked to this guy who was fishing. Unfortunately he hasn’t had much luck today.
It felt like we were gone all day, but we actually only rode 8 miles and were home around 2:00. Since it was such a nice day I thought it sounded like a great idea to read my book on this little bench overlooking the ocean. You could see it from one of our decks and it wasn’t far. As I headed towards it, I realized that there was no path. I climbed over the wall and had to walk on these succulent looking plants. I hope that wasn’t illegal. It felt illegal because there were signs all over in various places talking about caring for our fragile seascape by staying on the path. Once I finally got to the bench I realized that there actually was a path but it came from the other direction. Oops! I climbed up on the bench and read for about 15 minutes. I had not realized how cold that wind was coming off the ocean. I decided to finish my book in the comfort of my living room with the door open a little so I could hear the ocean. Guess I’m a fair weather beach girl.
my bench and the carpet of plants surrounding itView from my bench. Yes my feet are dangling. I guess it was designed for tall blonde beach girls with long legs.
After I finished my book and Bruce finished watching the Kansas State Swim Meet through the wonders of technology, we cleaned up and drove to downtown Monterey for dinner. Bruce had seen an article about this new cold brewed IPA beer brewed right here at Alvarodo Brewery so we headed there. We sat at a table in the bar with a nice couple from Salinas. He owns a construction company and I can’t remember what she did. After they left 2 guys joined us who were in town for a frisbee golf tournament. Of course Bruce asked them if they knew Luke Humphries. They did. They were fans and watched his youtube channel. Sadly, when Bruce ordered his beer (you know, the whole reason we chose that restaurant) the waitress came back and told him they had just sold out. Bummer!
No beer for you!
After dinner we walked around town a bit, mostly looking for an ice cream shop. We found one called Revival. They had all kinds of unusual sounding kinds of ice cream so I asked if they did samples. The guy told me they don’t do samples, but if you get something you don’t like, they will replace it with something different. Fair enough. We ordered a double dip of Bee’s Knees (see below) because it was their specialty and a dark chocolate kind that was their take on Rocky Road. When we got down to the chocolate part I didn’t like the taste of it – it tasted like the kind of ice cream that you’d eat if it was all you had in your freezer, but not the kind you would eat if you had just been told that you could get a replacement. So I went back to the counter and asked if they were serious about a replacement. I ended up just getting another scoop of Bee’s Knees (which was fantastic) because I would have been super embarrassed to have to get a second replacement.
Yum! Enough said.As we walked we heard this amazing voice singing. We followed it to a singer on a little outside patio. We found out her name is Brianna Colliard. Bruce says she sounds like Joni Mitchell.
We got up Saturday morning and headed to Madera to see Sujedy and her kids. She made us a delicious Mexican lunch complete with the refried beans I love! It was great seeing them all. I can’t believe how much the kids have grown up since we saw them in 2020. Julia looks like a mini Sujedy.
Yes, this is Virginia! What!?!!Of course I had to braid Julia & Virginia’s long thick hair.
On the way to Madera we passed lots of fields. Mostly crop fields, a few small orchards and even some cattle farms. I had to laugh at the California cattle farms. Those poor cows must have had goat or mule hoofs to keep from slipping down those grassy mountainsides.
California cattle farm. I didn’t get a good pic of the cattle perching on the side of the “hills”. Bruce must have been driving too fast.Remember these things? We saw them on our trip across the country. We still don’t know what they are.We saw lots of orchards of these trees. Maybe almonds?
We saw a few flooded fields from the massive rains California had in January. They are calling the rain atmospheric rivers. Never heard of that before. But these rains have really hurt the California growers around Madera. Some crops like strawberries were completely washed away. Homes were destroyed and equipment got ruined. Although it is definitely hurting the owners, it’s been really hard on the low-income farm workers who have been out of work.
A field still covered in water.We saw a sign like this …And then sure enough, we saw some wild tractors along the side of the road.We saw a spectacular sunset on the way home. Filled the whole sky. Thanks God!And meanwhile, back in Monterey, Bruce’s cousin Lottie got married. No, this is not Lottie and her husband, Paul. It’s Uncle Stan & Lottie, silly. Today is also Uncle Stan’s 80th bday! Happy Birthday Sir Stanley!
Sunday morning we got up and rode our bikes to Paris Bakery. I thought we were breaking my rule of never eating at a place on vacation that we have in Wichita, but then I realized that the one 2 blocks from our house in Wichita is actually called Paris Baguette. Similar but not the same. They had so many yummy creations it was hard to decide. I ended up getting a quiche and a chai latte. And a blueberry scone. Bruce got a cranberry/apple scone and a small espresso. I’m pretty sure he must have had a small breakfast at the condo before we left. Did I mention that he has woken up around 3 AM every morning since we’ve been here? And when Bruce wakes up, he gets up. None of that trying to go back to sleep stuff.
After our delicious breakfast we decided to ride the other way on the bike path than we had gone on Friday. This path took us through this little mini forest where someone had cut down some cypress trees and ground them up into piles of mulch. It smelled SO good!
Cypress piles in the mini forest.
Past the forest the path kind of turned into a sidewalk and was pretty boring. Until we saw this little side detour and wondered where it went. Well, it was a steep paved path up a hill. Pretty sure it was 10 or 20% grade. You know, the kind Bruce warned me about on our trip across the country. Trucks would have been down shifting. OK maybe it wasn’t quite that steep. Bruce zoomed right up it and I slowly, slowly made it up myself after my instructor told me to shift to the easiest “spinniest” gear. BUT the view at the top was totally worth it. Plus then we got to go down hill which was kinda fun. Bruce clearly enjoyed it more than I did. I had to keep reminding him that he wasn’t on his road bike and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. We opted to live on the edge and skip the helmets because we were not going that fast. Turns out hardly anyone we saw riding bikes wore helmets. But luckily several wore masks. California culture? Safety first.
The view at the top. Sadly this picture does not remotely do it justice.Me, after I finally made it to the top.Bruce riding along the beach bike path.
We had stopped at one point and watched some surfers trying to surf the short waves. Seeing them gave Bruce a hankering to get in the water. And body surf. When we got back to our condo he changed into his suit and we walked down our beach until he found some waves that looked promising. It was probably 55 degrees out. He headed into the water and got about waist deep, then decided it was too cold. I love it when he decides to think about consequences and that he chose not to risk a heart attack.
Bruce moving bravely onward. (plus notice the cool reflection)Me, the bundled up spectator
That night we went to dinner at a restaurant on the wharf called the Sandbar Grill, which several people had recommended to us. We thought we ought to eat some seafood while we were here. This place was great. I think it was actually floating on the water. We had a nice view of the marina. And the food was great! After dinner we walked back down to the end of the wharf to see if the seals were still there. A few were, but not as many as before. God gave us another amazing sunset. This was the pastel wrap-around kind that doesn’t stop in the west but lights up the whole sky. Wowza! Thanks God!
My mango mojitoBruce & the viewMe, still suffering from my unfortunate haircutStuffed prawns & stuffed um …fish
I just noticed that a lot of my pictures have that little white circle & exclamation point. I think that is from opening my pictures when I didn’t have internet. Weird.
After dinner we stopped by Stan & Mary’s to borrow a wetsuit from Devin. Oh you thought Bruce had given up on body surfing. Oh No! Not my husband. Just going for plan B tomorrow. It was nice because Haddie & Lottie and their families were there, so we got to visit a little more.
Sir Stanley & BruceThe newlyweds, Lottie & PaulDevin & Haddie holding Oliver (or OJ for short – which then became Juice)Devin & Haddie’s electric bike that holds the whole family.
After breakfast we met Haddie & Oliver to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The line wrapped all the way around the building. But lucky for us, Haddie had a season pass that allowed us to skip the line and walk right in for free.
My favorite were the jelly fish. The one on the right is called a Chrystal Jellyfish because it’s almost see through.
We walked over to an Italian restaurant to meet everyone for lunch. They make their own pasta at this place so we all had to order pasta. Red meat sauce, 3 cheese sauce, pesto & chicken. All were delicious. For some reason, I never remember to take a group picture with all of our beautiful plates, but only remember when the table is full of dirty dishes.
When we got home Bruce put on the wetsuit and we drove back to the beach where we had seen the other surfers. The water seemed a lot rougher today which made me really nervous. There were no lifeguards and no other surfers today. So basically if anything happened to Bruce it would be up to me and the various mothers and children playing in the sand to save him. Yikes! That’s a scary thought! But he was undeterred. He marched out into the water and waited for some good waves. Unfortunately the waves were breaking really shallow making it pretty difficult to body surf. Bruce gave it a few shots and then called it a day. He had accomplished what he wanted to do – get in the ocean. Mission accomplished.
Properly dressed and ready for businessSuccess!He’s body surfingCool looking imprints on the beach
Stan & Mary drove us to Bruce’s cousin Tom’s house for dinner that night. We all walked over to In N Out for some burgers. Last time we were in town his wife, Hannleigh was working so we hadn’t met her yet. And since it was during Covid we hadn’t gotten to spend much time with his kids either. Such a delightful family. We had a wonderful time. Someday maybe I’ll tell you the fascinating story of how Tom met Hannleigh in the Philippines and what it took to get her to the US.
Bruce me, Hannleigh and TomHallie and Margaret enjoying their In N Out
On the way over Mary & Stan pointed out some million dollar homes and then some 2 million dollar homes. Amazing!
These houses sell for 2 million because they have a few of the beach.This house is on the market for $1,200,000. And no, there is not more that you can’t see. What you see is all there is. Plus on a busy street.
Our trip home was uneventful. Monterey airport has only 5 gates. I love small airports. We made it home with no problems… except Bruce getting taken away by the Pokey.
Well, it was only a matter of time …Just kidding! It’s Bruce’s cousin Tom!
Bruce’s cousin, Tom is a police officer in Monterey and part of his territory is the airport. So he came over and talked to us for a little while. He had a special app on his phone that he could track our plane with. And let us know that it was still about 20 minutes away when we were supposed to be loading. But luckily it wasn’t late enough for us to miss our Denver flight home.
God gave us a beautiful sunset from up in the sky.
Harvey was getting bored sitting out in the field in his raincoat all winter, so we decided it was time to go some place. We didn’t go anywhere last summer because Harvey got a new roof which took forever. We moved Harvey to a friendlier campground storage place when our catalytic converter was stolen while it was parked at IStorage on Rock Road. And the IStorage manager just said, “gosh, we are sorry.” We wanted to go some place warm (not knowing Wichita would ALREADY be warm itself) so decided to head to Texas. We checked several places and ended up choosing Lake Buchanan because some of our friends wanted to go one place and just stay there. This is a new phenomenon for Bruce and I. But I think we are going to like it! We can put our awning out & even put on the string lights I bought (thinking I would put them out every night on our trip across the country – silly me!)
Harvey in his raincoat
Bruce bought a new motorcycle. This one actually IS a motorcycle. It’s retro. Hmm see a pattern here … Harvey is old, Little Joe is old and now we have a new Green Machine … that is … old. I have not yet ridden on this motorcycle, but Bruce assures me that it can in fact get up hills with both of us on it and go over 40 mph if need be. Which I am most certain need will NEVER be, with me on it. But Bruce loves his new/old 1973 CB350. We had to buy a new trailer to carry it on & sturdier straps since it’s heavier than Little Joe. But now we are all set.
Bruce adjusting his new/old motorcycle on it’s new platform
Bruce filled up the propane tank, topped off the air in the tires, and did lots of other manly things to get Harvey ready. Including last fall putting in a bigger/deeper sink with a taller faucet. Yay! But does this mean I can’t complain about doing dishes now?
My beautiful new sink. Also notice our new table top in the background. Made by Stew.
I made the beds, cleaned out the inside and loaded it up with all our stuff. We are all set to leave as early as Bruce sees fit tomorrow. The plan is 6 AM but we all know how that goes.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:11-12
Bruce woke up around 4 AM and we headed out to Harvey at 4:45. I immediately crawled into bed in the back and tried to go back to sleep. My brain just wouldn’t turn off. I’m sure I slept a little, but not really. There were alot of road noises. Around 6:15 I noticed a different sound that sounded to me like something was dragging. I don’t know why I thought that or even why I noticed it over the other road noises, because it wasn’t that loud. But I jumped up and looked out the back window. I began screaming for Bruce to pullover. The motorcycle had fallen off the platform and was dragging. Sparks were flying everywhere. It was really scary! I was afraid the gas tank would break open and explode from the sparks. Bruce pulled over and we jumped out and ran to check the damage. We don’t know why the straps came undone, but the only thing holding it on was this metal bar thing that was actually a theft deterrent. Bruce had stuck it on at the last minute since we might be leaving the motorcycle on the platform to go exploring with our friends. It could have been SO SO much worse! We were so “lucky” that no cars were around. We were reminded again how God takes care of us even through trials. This was a deja vu on steroids. (from the time Little Joe’s straps broke when Harvey went 4-wheeling in Arizona) We were able to take off the anti-theft device and pull the bike upright. It was in surprisingly good condition. We think I must have heard it very soon after if fell so it didn’t drag that long. Bruce was able to turn it on and could almost drive it except the shifter handle was broken. We got it back on and reattached the straps. Only one was broken. We were still pretty nervous so Bruce stopped at a truck stop in Perry, OK and bought more straps to add on.
A very scary sight!The light still works even though the front of it was smashed to smithereens. That thing by the front wheel is what kept the bike attached to the platform.20 minutes later it was back on and ready to go.Here’s a close up of the damageSecure now with additional orange straps.Then at McDonald’s, they gave me a McGriddle instead of my biscuit sandwich. Is it going to be one of those kind of days?
We passed through Wichita Falls where Bruce had ridden in a 100 mile race called, “Hotter ‘N Hell” last summer. Seeing Windhorst and Jacksboro also on our path, we realized that this was probably part of the route we took back in 2020 because we went through all three of those towns. We stopped at one place that was a gas station according to GasBuddy, but not in reality – so we didn’t end up getting gas in Wichita Falls. This was a mistake. The next few towns we went through didn’t even have gas stations. Must we go through this every trip? We finally found a little place in Scotland that had 2 pumps. I was convinced it was closed, but Bruce pulled up anyway and we were in luck.
Bruce at the place that wasn’t a gas station, getting directions to an actual gas station that he decided not to go to.Thank you Lord, for this gas station in disguise.
I had been looking forward to getting a burger at the City Drugstore in Jacksboro. When we passed through before in 2020, they had just closed their grill so we could only get milkshakes. But sadly this time when we called ahead, the guy told us that the grill was closed indefinitely and the girls that made the milkshakes were on lunch for another hour. What a disappointment! We ended up stopping at a place called Herd’s Burgers where Bruce had the best hamburger he’s ever eaten and I had another disappointment. I mean seriously, who sells hamburgers without FRIES?!? And a bottle of coke without ice? I need to remember to ask FIRST if it’s a fountain drink or not. Because if it’s “or not” I’d just as soon pass.
Bruce got a call and ended up having a working lunch.
We went through lots of cute small towns today. Did I mention that we drove I35 to I44 to 281 just for that reason? Mineral Wells was super cute. I didn’t get many pictures of the little shops because the driver didn’t want to stop. He begrudgingly agreed to stop at the big rocking chair (where we had stopped and taken pictures on a previous trip when the kids were little) to take pictures only. They wouldn’t let you actually sit in the chair any more for liability reasons. It was surrounded by cute shops, all calling out to me, but since we now were in a hurry, I took pictures only. After lunch our journey had turned into a race to get to the Antique Motorcycle Museum (10 miles from our campsite) before they closed at 5 PM. Bruce had seen something about this museum when we were looking for fun things to do near Lake Buchanan. After our motorcycle incident, he called them to see if they sold parts for antique motorcycles and sure enough they did. And they possibly had just the part we needed to fix the shifter thing.
My view most of the day. Bruce drove all but the last 50 miles.The court house in Hamilton, another cute little Texas town.Our first glimpse of Blue Bonnets along the road. So much prettier in real life.A bridge to nowhereMural in ScotlandMy pic of BruceBruce’s pic of me This shop was begging me to come in.We drove by the church where we stayed in Windhorst that had the Grotto. Some of the cuteness of Mineral WellsDrink more milk!My old friendUm…. noA little more lush than last time we passed through.
We arrived at our campsite around 5:30 after a quick stop at the Antique Motorcycle Museum (who stayed open for us) to get the thing for the motorcycle shifter. The owner was super nice. She told Bruce to take it and see if it worked and then either bring it back or pay when he comes back. He must look honest. We actually are looking forward to going back to the museum. And by “we” I mean Bruce. Anyway we got all set up and hung out with our friends a bit, making plans for tomorrow. Sadly the awning was broken and we could not set it up. I’m still figuring out a way to hang my twinkle lights. Since Rod & Kimberly had gotten there earlier, they were kind enough to grill steaks for us all. Yum! Looking forward to tomorrow!
We headed to Marble Falls around 9 AM to get some breakfast, explore the cool Historic area of this small town and then hike the waterfalls. We had a great breakfast at the Blue Bonnet Cafe on the side of a 5 lane highway (wait isn’t this supposed to be a small town?) After breakfast we went to check out the historic district. We asked someone about it and they said that actually most of the old historic buildings had been torn down but there was still one, which she pointed out. We walked over to it and realized it was a State Farm office. While exploring several fun shops that were NOT in historic old buildings, we mentioned to one shop owner that we were going to go hike around the waterfalls next. She was kinda quiet. We asked her if she knew the best place to go. She let the cat out of the bag: did someone forget to mention that there are actually NO WATERFALLS in Marble Falls. And as it turns out, there is actually no marble here either. Just quartz that the early settlers THOUGHT was marble. You heard right. No marble and no falls. So looks like they just made up the town’s name. In all fairness, I guess there used to be some falls, but they are now covered by a lake.
We had breakfast at the Blue Bonnet Cafe. Bruce is having a working vacation.So what exactly is the definition of “Historic”?We had some fantastic toffee gelato here. Yum!the husband waiting areaWe found this really cool bar for our basement, but maybe 15 years too late.We found a great candy store.You know what I always say about every town having a tank, train or plane …
We were not to be deterred. We found another place called Ink State Park where we could hike and see lots of Blue Bonnets and some waterfalls. It was on the way back to Lake Buchanan. We enjoyed our afternoon there and saw lots of Blue Bonnets. But no falls. And walked over 15,000 steps.
true dat!This cactus looked black and dead, but surprisingly new growth was coming from it. heart shaped cactusbeautiful wild flowers at Ink State ParkThis is what happened when I stopped to talk to some other hikers. My peeps just went on without me. Good thing I have such great tracking skills.Bruce holding up a boulder so it doesn’t crush him. Yea, he’s a brute.There were lots of lizards all over. This one pretended to be shy but then decided to pose for us.This stick looks like it’s giving God the praise for this beauty.The happy hikers. No, I’m not pregnant.Bruce & I
We ate dinner at a lakeside restaurant called Boat Town Bar & Grill. I had a great burger and FRIES. Bruce had sliders.
Boat Town BurgersWe ended the day with some time in the hot tub at our RV Park.Oops. We actually ended the day with a hootenanny in Mark & Nancy’s cabin. And I’m telling you my hubby has a great voice! So smooth. The others weren’t too bad either.
Before we left for the day, Nancy & I heard from Kim who heard from Mary that there was an amazing little nature path that we really needed to take. So of course we headed off immediately. They were not wrong. The Wildlife was truly amazing back there. First we saw what appeared to be an African deer. A little further in was some kind or moose or elk. And then, wait for it, a huge giraffe. Definitely a worthwhile jaunt.
hmmm … is that a wild animal?why yes, I think it’s an OryxI hope it doesn’t charge usMr Giraffe looks a little rough. I guess he’s not used to this Texas weather.
After our safari we climbed in the cars and headed to Fredericksberg. Mary & Stew, and Rod & Kimberly both had pull-behinds, so they could unhook and drive their cars for our adventures. Mark & Nancy ended up leaving their camper at home and renting a cabin at our RV Park, so they also were kind enough to chauffeur us around.
Our first stop was the Enchanted Rock which I must say was a bit of a surprise. I assumed it would be a big boulder because seriously who would stop to see a little rock? But actually Enchanted Rock was a huge pink granite mountain. It was called Enchanted Rock because indians used to hide up there from settlers passing by. They were invisible to the settlers, but their fires could be seen. So naturally the settlers thought the mountain was magic. They also heard creaking and groaning coming from the mountain, caused by the cooling of the rock which had been heated in the daytime sun. The early settlers thought it was ghosts. We could see people hiking up the side of it, but we all decided we had gotten our fill yesterday and would save our steps for Fredericksberg.
I had barely gotten out of the car when I was approached by a guy handing out samples of skin cream. He took one look at my face and beckoned me into his salon for some eye cream. I think I’m offended! But hey, who would turn down an offer for eye cream? He put some below my right eye. The stuff was normally $500 for a tube, but today I could get it for $299 and they would throw in the face cream. If he would have moved the decimal over one space to the left, I might have bought a tube or 2. Bruce had come in by this time and he is convinced all skin care products are placebos. So needless to say we walked away. Normally I can never tell any difference, but I swear the bags looked better right away. And then when I was taking off my make-up I noticed that it still looked better. Maybe I should go back.
This was mildly creepy. It was straw in a planter, kinda made to look like a petrified snowman.
A few shops down we came upon a window with a dancing pig wearing a sheriff’s suit. How could we resist that? We went in and discovered a universe of tasting. Rows of flavored peanut butter like Chocolate Raspberry and Banana Cinnamon. All kinds of unusual jellies and dips and mustards and spreads. Bruce and I are easily entertained. Between the two of us, I think we tried it all.
Next we followed our noses into a leather shop. Mmm. I love the smell of leather. And I am always drawn to leather westerny purses. I have not owned one in years, but I keep looking. Some day I will find the perfect purse and grab it. And pay for it of course, not just grab it and run.
I love these purses!
We caught up with our gang in a shop featuring the work of some local artists. I loved the work, but unfortunately my taste and my art budget don’t see eye to eye. I need to find a shop of the new artists, just starting out who are still selling their stuff dirt cheap.
Isn’t this cheery? Shoulda bought it for my mom.I like this but can’t justify $50 for a coffee mug. Maybe Mary will make me one.
We popped in to a local winery where Mary and Kimberly were doing a wine tasting. I wish I loved or even liked wine, but I just don’t. Bruce and I moved on to a silver jewelry store called the Texas Silver Rush. Right inside the door was a cool signed guitar which Bruce felt the need to pick up. The owner rushed over and kindly asked him to refrain from touching it. It had been given to Bob, the owner, when he handed out an award at the CMA Awards a few years ago. He had lots of music connections. Mark & Nancy were with us, so Mark and Bruce talked music people (that I had never heard of) with Bob. It always amazes me all the knowledge in my husband’s brain. I can barely remember the names of groups I liked in high school, much less the band member’s names and history. We continued talking with him for quite a while and I guess he liked us because he pulled out a pair of earrings and gave a pair to me and one for Nancy. He said that they were like the ones that had been in the gift bag at the CMAs. So yeah, me and Carrie Underwood might show up some place wearing the same earrings.
Me and Bob, the silver guy. Please note that the bags under my right eye are less prominent than those under my left eye.Look but don’t touch! my new earringslook at this cool barkless tree
We had lunch at Mamasita’s Mexican Restaurant, which Nancy had been told actually means “Sexy Little Mama”. Bruce got Enchiladas as always. I ordered a chalupa combo which came out looking like a tostada. It seems like the food on my plate often comes out completely different than what I thought I ordered. I definitely had order envy over Mary’s taco salad. As we were leaving, Bruce bought a hat since he had forgotten one.
My “chalupa” & Bruce’s tamales.Wish I had this salad (even though you can’t see it in the pic)Bruce models his new hat
Our final stop was at a flower place that was supposedly having a big festival. We found the flower place but didn’t see any festival. Never did find out where it was. It was a great flower shop, but we were kinda shopped out so headed home.
We chilled a while and then all gathered in Harvey and swapped stories. I now have some great stories on these guys, but you’ll have to ask them yourself.
$750,000 air-conditioned grape pickerSeems like Harvey doesn’t stay quite as clean when we are staying put. No need to put everything away to keep it from flying around when you travel if you aren’t traveling.Didn’t expect to see one of these in TexasOopsy, looks like someone forgot to take down the Christmas decorations in Llano
Nancy & Mark and Kimberly & Rod all left this morning. We had been planning to move to an RV park near Fredericksberg for the next 2 nights. But since we went to Fredericksberg yesterday, we decided to stay here at the Buchanan RV park at Buchanan Lake (pronounced B’canon according to the locals we met). Mary & Stew were allowed to stay in their spot but we had to move. This of course seems ridiculous to us because why couldn’t the other people take the empty spot and us stay where we were? The new spot was nicer, shadier and had an empty spot next to it. Whatever.
Where we wereWhere we are now. M & S are somewhere a few rows over behind those RVs.
First stop this morning was the Hill Country Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Burnet. The town is pronounced BURN-it but apparently everyone mispronounces it Bur-NET, so they have a little saying to help you remember: It’s Burn-it, durn it. Learn it! Anyway Janelle at the museum was happy to see us. Bruce paid for the part and entrance for us all to go in to the museum. Gotta say, I’m not really a motorcycle person but Bruce and Stew enjoyed reminiscing about motorcycles they had owned or known about in the past. Mary and I were more interested in the posters and colorful stories that went along with some of the bikes.
Bruce & JanelleOld cycle & it’s rider
Next stop was “downtown” Burnet to watch a gunfight. The show was donation only and a little (ok, a lot) hokey. I guess you get what you pay for. But the actors do it for free and donate all donations received to charities. They said they have all been performing it every Saturday for 24 years.
After the show, we headed back towards Marble Falls to a Brewery called Save the World Brewery to get a six pack of Cave Bandit, a local IPA that Bruce had tried yesterday. While he was inside getting his beer Mary & I played a rousing game of tetherball. I loved tetherball as a kid. My parents even bought me my own tetherball. It was light blue and awesome. Except I don’t remember it ever getting cemented into the ground. I won the first game and then Mary won the next two. I blame it on her height. I can only imagine what the families sitting around outside thought of the two old ladies playing tetherball.
By this time we were getting a little hungry. Someone we had talked to recommended Bay View Restaurant & Bar. As we drove up we thought it looked a little more ritzy than we had in mind. We decided to give it a shot anyway. We all got the sandwich/salad combo plate. Mary got a margarita so I felt obligated to get one as well. She shouldn’t be the only one getting a brain freeze. We had a decent view of the water. Since it was “Bay” view I kept forgetting and calling it the ocean. I didn’t even know that lakes could have bays. It was super windy out, which you can tell by the picture we took.
It was really windy out.No, I am not wearing a seatbelt. We are reclining on a comfy bench and that’s my backpack/purse strap. Function over fashion.Mary took full advantage of the couch.
After lunch we hung out for a bit in the outdoor lounge area and then decided to drive around and look at the expensive houses nearby. We turned into a neighborhood and immediately saw a house under construction. Stew and Bruce wanted to go in. Mary and I were a little hesitant but Stew assured us that the contractors there wouldn’t care at all and sure enough they didn’t. We wandered all over the house. In one of the bedrooms they had two queen built in bunkbeds with a mini stair case in between them. To me that shouted “grandkids”. As we came outside to leave, we saw that Stew was talking over the fence to the kids/young adults in the yard next door. Apparently one of the guys, Dakota, had a medical staffing company with his mom that was doing quite well. She bought several houses on Lake LBJ, including that house complete with pool. It was empty most of the time but Dakota and his friends came down from San Antonio to stay there on the weekends. One kid had a hat on that said ROAR. When he asked Bruce what his name was, Bruce said “just call me Roar.” Bruce immediately became a superstar. The kid with the hat was like, “oh my gosh! I have a hat that says roar. Here, you should have it!” Kind offer but Bruce declined. Some of them thought we owned the house where we were snooping, so of course we had to play along. It’s funny how gullible 20-ish year old guys can be when they’ve been drinking all day at the pool.
lots of glassthe bunkbed roomRoar’s fan clubJust call me Roar
By this time it was in the upper 80s and Bruce was feeling the need for some water. We had packed our swimsuits this morning but didn’t have a definite idea of where we would go. Someone had suggested Krause Springs (pronounced Krou-si) yesterday. Since we were already kinda in that direction we decided to go there. What a hidden gem! We walked up to a beautiful family owned, shaded park like property that we could enjoy for only $10/person. The entrance was through a huge garden of perennials and potted plants with huge trees filled with giant wind chimes. There was beautiful stonework everywhere – the patios, table & benches, walkways & even the stairs. There were areas for camping and picnicking and even an RV park (which is not advertised on the internet – you have to call to reserve a spot). At the top was a pool filled with spring water or you could go down to the next level and climb over some rocks down to the actual spring, complete with a small waterfall. We decided to go all the way down to the spring at the bottom. Bruce immediately got in but Stew & Mary and I opted to only have our feet numb and not our whole body. I think all those years of outdoor morning swim practices have permanently numbed the nerves in Bruce’s skin because cold water is not a deterrent to him. After a while of awkwardly sitting on the rocks dangling our feet, we decided to move up to the pool. It was more comfortable but just as cold. Since it was almost 90 degrees it actually was pretty refreshing to just have our feet in the water.
Look closely. There are at least 7 large wind chimes in this tree. There were multiple trees filled with them.the bottom natural spring areaone of the sets of rock stairsthe pool areaguess who took the rock steps and who took the steep onesThis is not conspicuous at all. We “hid” our stuff when we went exploring so that none of the families at the pool would be tempted to steal it. (eye roll emoji)
After such a full day we had ice cream for dinner and then Bruce wanted to chill in our RV. “Chill” is code for turn on the tv and fall asleep on a couch within 10 minutes. I however got hooked on the 20/20 crime solver that he turned on and had to watch it to completion.
Day 5 – Crown Hill Winery, Luchenbach, Kerrville & beyond
Today was so action packed that you may want to take a break midway and read the rest tomorrow. I’m tired just thinking about it. But such a FUN day with lots of spontaneous treats from God scattered throughout. Also I should mention that the pictures in this blog are best viewed on a laptop. I noticed that sometimes they get cut off or covered up by the comments on a cell phone.
Traci’s daughter & son-in-law, Becky & Robert opened a winery fairly close to where we were staying. So of course we had to go see it. I did not realize that Texas was such wine country. There were wineries everywhere. Also quite a few craft breweries and a few whiskey distilleries thrown in. So choose your poison.
Some of the many wineries we passed
Although Becky & Robert both have other full time jobs and a new baby, they bought this amazing property, had the barn redone into their main building and tasting room and opened Crown Hill Winery. We had a little wine tasting and then Becky took us over to see their house. The previous owners had the fruits of the spirit carved into some of the stones. How cool is that? They also have a smaller house where their caretaker lives, that was built in the 1800s. In the future they plan to build a production facility (currently their wine is made in another location) and plant grapes. They may even use their property as a venue for weddings and things.
Some of the artwork for sale by the talented Traci PickertA few of the fruits of the spirits carved into the stone on their houseThis house was built in the 1800sI love this guy!
On the way to Crown Hill we had seen a sign for chocolate tasting. Yes! Sign me up!! When we mentioned it to Becky she said that next door to the chocolate place was an ice cream store that made their ice cream from water buffalo milk. What kind of alternate universe had we entered into? We stopped there next. Because when you’ve just done a wine tasting at 11:30 AM, the next step is naturally chocolate and then ice cream. The guy at the counter, James, gave us each a little baggie of various chocolates and instructed us to go into the other room where we could watch a video about their chocolate being made in Venezuela and hear about each chocolate we tasted. Our little chocolate taste bag included white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, a spicy chocolate covered cashew, pistachio bark and a spicy chocolate truffle. We learned that their chocolate is made from cacao seeds which are found inside a plant called mazorca. The meat of the mazorca plant does not taste like chocolate at all, but similar to lemonade. The farmers scrape out the fruit with the seeds still in it. Then they take it to a processing place where it is layered between banana leaves in a wooden vat and left to ferment for about a week. When the fruit is fermented, the beans that are now left, are spread out in the sun to dry for several days. Once dried, the beans are taken to their factory in Barquisimeto, Venezuela where they are roasted, winnowed & ground up. Fascinating! But don’t ask any of the others about it because they all rushed back to taste more chocolate while I was getting educated. It’s always amazing to me that people discovered delicious tasting parts of plants that otherwise didn’t taste good at all. Back in the showroom we were given samples of several flavors of chocolate bark, toffee, truffles and fudge. They had lots of unusual flavors including a key lime fudge and chipotle almond bark. James would say, “would you like to try …?” We never said “no”.
I can’t believe this place wasn’t packed. Did you see the part where you taste CHOCOLATE?Our goodie bag. Used to be served on a little tray but covid came along.James made the whole thing really fun. Found out he’s also an actor. Figures.
Once we loaded up on chocolate we headed next door to the ice cream place. When we noticed that they also sold a few pre-made sandwiches, we decided that maybe lunch would be a nice intermission before we hit the ice cream. Since we didn’t want to get too full of anything remotely healthy, Bruce & I split a sandwich and Mary & Stew split a sandwich. We ate out back near the water buffalo pen where Pearl, Peaches and Patience, the baby water buffalos, munched on grass. There was water buffalo food (which looked very similar to the grain my horses used to eat) that we could hand feed them. The actual water buffalo herd whose milk is used for this ice cream are kept some place else in southern Texas. After washing our hands very thoroughly, we went in for the grand finale. Of course we tasted all the flavors since that seemed to be the theme of the day. The guy offered to make our scoops half & half because they were all so deliciously creamy and we were having trouble deciding. Mary got pistachio and citrus cream. I got chocolate (because can you ever have too much?) and coffee. I don’t remember what Stew got. Bruce got straight coffee. When he ordered it, he said, “I’d like a large cup of coffee” which actually was the totally appropriate way to order it. You know – large, not medium; cup, not cone; coffee flavor. But it threw the counter guy for a sec. He got a funny look on his face (like “what the heck, I’m trying to serve you ice cream not coffee!”) and asked, “would you like cream or sugar with that?”
The Peach and Pork Sandwich intermission; peach chutney, arugula, prosciutto, swiss cheese & onion jam on grilled ciabatta. Very frou frou to eat out back with water buffalo.baby water buffalo hornThe baby girls: Peaches, Patience & PearlWater buffalo ice cream – the grand finale
A guy on a blog I like (called Crazy God Stories) talked about this giant cross in Kerrville which was in the same area. We headed there next. The garden had lots of different statues along with the giant cross. It also had a place that you could write prayer requests on rocks and leave them in the garden to be prayed for.
the lionthe nailsJesus washing the feet of a decipleI love this statue of Jesus coming back in power. He’s riding bareback with no reins and is not even wearing shoes because he created horses & doesn’t need them.We met a pastor there who had been a missionary in Albania, the same place that our church now supports.
After Kerrville we headed to Luckenbach, and yes, we all had the song stuck in our heads, even though our GPS was convinced it was pronounced luck-in-batch. I assumed Luckenbach was just another cute small town in Texas. I had no idea HOW small. It was basically a post office, a general store, a town hall and one house. All the paraphernalia says: Luckenbach, TX population 3 because there was a family of 3 people living in the house when the town was bought by a guy named Hondo Crouch in the 70s. Apparently he was quite a character. He made himself mayor and put on all kinds of festivals and celebrations. His motto was, “Everybody’s somebody in Luckenbach”. It is now a music venue with a few tourist shops. I think they still do weddings and events in the old Town Hall. I wonder if anyone would have ever heard of it if it wasn’t for Waylon’s song or Willie’s 4th of July shows there. We sat for a while listening to the people taking turns singing on the stage. It was really hard to hear them because they were not mic’d and some people behind us kept talking through the whole thing. I did however find a new purse.
hangin out listening to music (or should I say, trying to)Jake Martin & the other guys taking turns singingthe group Surrender Hill were special guestsStatue of Jerry Jeff Walker & Hondo CrouchAccording to this, Hondo Crouch put Luckenbach on the map, but we all know Waylon did.More purses to love. I bought the one on the bottom left – no, not the basket, the one above it.This was the original only house in the town. It still is.the kissing booth
By this time we were getting hungry again. We had been given several suggestions in the last couple of days for restaurants. We decided to try the Pecan Street Brewery in Johnson City because it was kinda on the way home. We went in and were seated at the front. The bathrooms were being remodeled so Stew had to go to the back to get to the ones upstairs. He told us there was live music and dancing in the back. When we asked the hostess if we could move, she said that there are about 50 people who reserve seats back there every Sunday when this band plays, so there probably wouldn’t be any tables. But she checked anyway. And lo and behold there was one table left, which we snatched up immediately. It was so fun to sit back there and listen to this band play songs we knew and watch these older people (I try to be more careful with that description these days since I am quickly joining the ranks. I usually go with the definition: if you are older than me, you are old. If you are younger than me, you are young) two stepping and tearing it up on the dance floor. You could tell they mostly all knew each other well and had been dancing together for a long time. The band quit playing and everything shut down at 9:00 so we headed home.
The Pecan Street BreweryThe Lost Sounds have been playing here every Sunday for the last 9 years.Bruce & I practiced our 2 stepping skills while we waited for our food to arrive.
I’m sorry to leave you hanging. I got a little behind on my blogging. If you’re the kind of person that reads the last page of the book first and want to jump to the end … SPOILER ALERT … we made it home.
Bruce got the RV unhooked and ready to head out while I lollygagged drinking my coffee and taking a shower in the RV park bathroom. This RV park had 3 individual bathrooms with showers that had great water pressure and hot water. Very nice. Plus it was weirdly close to both of our Harvey parking spots. I say weirdly because our spots were not close to each other, but both were really close to the pool/bathroom/shower area.
The pool area. Bathroom/showers would be just to the right.Look quickly at this. Doesn’t it look like a cow?
Anyhoo Bruce drove while I had breakfast and practiced my Swahili and basically solved all the world’s problems. Once I had finished that, I hopped up into the passenger side front seat and casually said, “I’m happy to drive if you want.” Bruce declined. But then as we were passing through a town and stopped at a stoplight, Bruce says “how quickly can you get into my seat?” as he’s unbuckling. Luckily I am fast at seat swapping and we were able to complete our Chinese fire drill before the light turned green. So the next thing you know, I’m driving to Waco and Bruce is financially advising at the table in the back.
cruising down the highway
In Waco we stopped at Magnolia Market for a bit. It was a little different than I expected. I’m not sure why I expected it to be anything but shops with overpriced but really cool decorating paraphernalia. We stopped at the BackYard Bar & Grill for nachos on the way in, mainly because we were walking past it and because Mary & Stew were already eating lunch there. But also because we assumed that any food on the Magnolia Market complex would be really expensive. We were wrong about that too. They had lots of little food trucks around that were decently priced and looked like they had some pretty yummy food. Oh well. Why settle for chicken & waffles, gourmet grilled cheese or a bougie hotdog when you can have mediocre nachos? We peeked in each little shop, usually deciding we weren’t interested, until we had covered the whole complex. Bruce was with Stew & Mary, a little ahead of me, apparently screaming for ice cream. The cutest little boy came up to him and pointed to a place across the complex that sold ice cream. At that point we had no choice. We headed over and bought some.
cute & helpful kidfood trucks we did not partake of
When we’d had enough Magnolia Market we headed to Dallas. We plugged in at Carmilla’s RV Park. Wish I had a pic. It’s a good thing she lives on a corner. Mary & Stew parked in front and Harvey parked along the side. I’m sure the neighbors loved it. Chelsea (who we have always called Wangui or Baby Doll, but who is about to head to college and has decided to use her first name now) wanted us to go to a restaurant called Babe’s because she thought it represented Texas. They had only 3 things on their verbal menu: chicken tenders, fried chicken on the bone or chicken fried steak. They served it all family style with corn, biscuits, potatoes & salad. Did I mention that Chelsea is a vegetarian? Celinda and David also met us there for dinner. David found out he had cancer shortly after we saw them in 2020. He has now been cancer-free for almost a year. He’s a walking miracle!
Look at that spread! Can someone say carbs!creepy guy sitting VERY still at a table toward the backMe whenever I get within 6 feet of a bathroomHisterical plaque on the building. Read it cafefully.
I didn’t take a single picture on the last day. We left Carmilla’s around 8:30 and headed back to Wichita. Stew was going on to Table Rock Lake so Mary rode home with us. We got home around 4:00. I unloaded the food, clothes and other stuff from Harvey because Bruce had some work stuff he needed to take care of as well as a meeting at church. At some point during the week I developed a sore muscle along the side of my leg which caused me to limp whenever I walked. Certain positions were no problem, but certain positions caused intense pain. It seemed to be worse when I had been sitting or when I first woke up. So I’m sure I was quite the sight hobbling back and forth unloading Harvey after I had been sitting for 6 hours. But mission accomplished!
