Memorial Day

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 67 degrees, high 96 degrees, clear skies

Today is an important day as we remember the sacrifices that have been made for our nation by the people who have served in the armed forces. The next time we vote (or not), or go wherever we want when we want, or complain about our government, and enjoy all the other freedoms we have, we should remember the people who make it possible for us. And remember most of all the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice.



This was a slow day for us, but that didn't mean we didn't do anything. Carolyn wanted to go through our closet, and by the time we were finished, a number of clothing articles had been removed and gotten rid of. I have no idea why we still had those things. It's like I said a couple of days ago, maybe we'll have a lean and mean RV in about five years.

Glen Rose draws a lot of tourists to see the living history that is present here. The area around the courthouse is one of the most scenic we have seen. In the past few years, Glen Rose has added to the list of things to draw tourists by developing the Paluxy Heritage Park, where some of the older buildings from the early days of the county have been restored. A good example is the first permanent dwelling that was built here in the 1870s.



This is one of the first schoolhouses that were built in Glen Rose. It was built in 1903, and was typical of the one room schools that were found in little towns back in that time.



Another attraction that Glen Rose has in the summer is Big Rock Park, where there is a swimming area. There were a lot of people using the swimming hole today. Looks cool.



And finally, here's a picture of some roses that I saw at Paluxy Heritage Park.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Buffalo, New York: The Queen City Of The Great Lakes

Not all who wander are lost.

New Bar-B-Que Restaurant

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 95 degrees, partly cloudy, scattered showers

Since I've been diagnosed with my respiratory problem, Carolyn has been trying to slow me down as much as she can. I understand why she does it, and I appreciate what she does to remind me that I need to take care of myself. However, sometimes the enforced inactivity gets to me, and I suspect it gets to her. So, today I stood it as long as I could, and then did something about it. About 1500 hours, I suggested to her that we needed to go see what's going on in Hico, the little town where everybody's somebody, and Billy The Kid spent the last years of his life.

Very little has changed in Hico, but I didn't expect to see much change. This is one of those little Texas towns that tries to use what they have to draw tourists, as well as provide a little shopping area for the surrounding ranches and farms. This mural that faces the main drag through town probably gives as good an idea of what the town is about as anything.



When we left Hico, we drove over to Stephenville. It was late in the afternoon, and we hadn't eaten lunch. We decided to try Hard 8 Pit Bar-B-Que, since it was always busy every time we passed there. I have to say it was a different experience. If I had known what it was, I might not have been able to get Carolyn to go, but when we were finished, she was making plans for the next visit.

The way this restaurant operates is that before you go inside, you pass by the cooking pits where you tell the guy cooking the meat what you want. Each of us picked the half chicken, which was actually too much food. The chicken was taken off the fire and plopped on to a serving tray covered with a piece of butcher paper. Carolyn wanted to know where the plates were. There were no plates, but they did provide silverware. At that point, I was expecting Carolyn to say she was ready to go. But, she didn't, so we went inside to the seating area, where we picked up our eating utensils, cole slaw, potato salad, and french fries. Then I got us some dill pickles, onions, and jalapeno peppers. At the table, we had some sauce along with ketchup and loaf bread. Then, we got a hand full of paper towels and dug in. Eventually, I realized that Carolyn wasn't squeamish about how we were eating. She was actually enjoying the food and the atmosphere. I would never have guessed it.

A word about the jalapeno peppers. They were as hot as any I have ever eaten, and by the time we finished, I had worked up a pretty good sweat. That should give an idea how hot they were. Oh, another thing they provide is a pot of pinto beans that you can eat all you want of. I didn't try them, but they looked good. Maybe next time.

As I said, Carolyn is already planning what she will get the next time we go to Hard 8. Maybe I can use this experience to get her to try some other places.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - New York, New York: Babylon

Not all who wander are lost.

Positive Results

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 93 degrees, clear skies

Last night, I had the best night of sleep that I've gotten in a few weeks. As I mentioned earlier in the blog, I'm being treated for a respiratory problem that has been plaguing me for several months. The nature of the problem is such that I have been having problems breathing at night, or while doing just about anything of a physical nature during the day. As a result, I have cut back on my walking and just about all work around the RV. My doctor is treating me for the problem, and I think I may finally be seeing some positive results. The last couple of days have been the best I've had in a while. I hope this positive trend continues.

I still go for my morning walks, but they take longer than they used to. For instance, I used to do 12 minute miles. Now, I'm lucky to do an 18 minute mile. That's okay, at least I can still do that. I have hopes that I'll be back to something approaching my former pace in time.

We have an external hard drive that we use to back up our computer about once a week. The hard drive crashed on us, but we finally managed to get it running long enough to put all the data on the computer hard drive. Then, we bought another external hard drive to use for our backups. Today, I took the old external hard drive apart and destroyed it with a hammer. One more piece of junk gotten rid of.

While I was getting rid of the old hard drive, I went through some other computer stuff that we no longer have a use for. Several items were found that I got rid of. Another five years of this RV life and getting rid of stuff, and we may have everything pared down to a lean and mean RV.

Anyone who keeps up with the blog probably notices that we like flowers of all kinds. It doesn't matter whether they're in someone's yard, in a park, or wildflowers in a ditch along the road. We find them everywhere we go, and are always looking for them. Here's one I found today. According to our reference, this is a basket flower. Note the bee at the top of the flower.



This next flower with the purple color is named a Horse Mint.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Pigeon Forge, Tennessee: Years Of Forging Progress

Not all who wander are lost.

Happy Birthday, Carolyn

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 93 degrees, clear skies

Today is Carolyn's birthday, as she turns xx years old (you don't really think I'm going to publish how old she is, do you?). I tried to make the day special for her, so flowers were the first gift for the day. She likes Alstromerias, so I got her a bouquet of those that also included yellow carnations and purple daisies.



The birthday celebration included a trip to Granbury as we looked for a steam cleaner named The Shark. Carolyn has been wanting one ever since she saw them advertised on television. With the respiratory problems that I've been having, she was looking even harder so she could steam clean the chairs, couch, and several other things. We stopped at Home Depot for something else that they didn't have. However, imagine her surprise when I found The Shark, and bought one.

The next stop was at the RV parts store, where we needed to look for a different fan blade for our stove hood exhaust fan. The old blade was so flexible that it was inefficient at pulling exhaust fumes away from the stove. Success again, as they had just what we were looking for. One thing they didn't have was a water pressure regulator, which I've been looking for. That's okay, since I found a place on the Internet that I can order it from.

A birthday can't be celebrated properly unless you eat out, so we stopped at Chili's for a very good meal. The Chili's in Granbury is probably our favorite for that chain. We've tried some in other places that were forgettable, but this one is okay.

Carolyn said she had a very good birthday. I hope so, and I'm looking forward to her being around for many more. We still have a lot of exploring to do.

The traffic in Granbury was terrible. I don't think it's because of the upcoming holiday. School is out for the summer here, but even that doesn't seem to be causing all the traffic. It appears to us that the economy is booming, so that's probably what's causing all the activity. Now, if the rest of the country could catch up with Texas, we'd be doing fine.

Here's another Texas wildflower. This is a Scarlet Gilia. At least that's what our reference book says. It's about 100 feet from the RV.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Comfort, Texas: Haven In The Hills

Not all who wander are lost.

Funtime RV Closed

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 65 degrees, high 91 degrees, clears skies

The bee swarm that I took a picture of during yesterday's walk was gone this morning. I guess they had places to go and things to do. Like find a new home, I mean hive. The cooler weather yesterday morning was what probably caused them to stop until it warmed up later in the day. Anyway, I'm glad I saw them in the tree, versus coming at me.

We had some shopping we needed to do this morning, so we drove to Cleburne, which has just about everything we needed. The first stop was at HEB, where I picked up a couple of things that we like from them. Then, we drove to Lowe's, looking for a water pressure regulator for the RV. Lowe's didn't have what I was looking for, so we drove to the Fun Time RV dealership. I had read on an RV discussion page that Fun Time was closed down by their floor plan company, but I was hoping that their parts store might still be open. No luck on that, as the entire property has been closed down. Only a couple of older RVs are there, plus a few people working on what looks like finishing up the shut down. It's too bad the place was shut down, since they had one of the better RV parts stores in the area. Also, I imagine they had 30-40 people working there. I wonder what those folks are doing now?

The next stop was at the WalMart Mall, which is on the way out of Cleburne. We checked out their RV parts section, but there wasn't anything there that we needed. Since we needed a few groceries, we picked those items up. While we were walking through the groceries, we noticed that many items were marked down quite a bit. By the time we left, we had picked up a nice baked chicken, fresh corn on the cob, some fruit, and a few other things. Supper was good!

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Reno, Nevada: America’s Adventure Place

Not all who wander are lost.

Bee Swarm

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 65 degrees, high 93 degrees, mostly clear skies

It sure was a nice cool morning for it to warm up so much this afternoon. From 65 degrees to 93 degrees is a 28 degree difference. I walked early when it was cool, so I missed the hotter temperature later in the afternoon. Another reason for walking early was unplanned, but worked out okay. Bees are starting to swarm, and I saw this big swarm hanging in a tree just off the path I was walking on. If it hadn't been cool this morning, the bees may have been flying. Check out the size of this wad of bees. I was about 100 feet away, and used the zoom feature on the camera for this shot.



Swarming bees are quite commonplace in Texas when the weather starts warming up. Normally, they don't bother anyone. My brother Terrell and I were playing golf in Bay City several years ago when we heard a strange buzzing sound. The sound kept getting louder and louder, and we couldn't see what was causing it. We kept looking around, and suddenly one of us (I can't remember which one) said "Hit the ground". Almost immediately after hitting the ground, a large swarm flew directly over where we had been standing, and continued down the fairway. The swarm was about six feet off the ground, so if we had remained standing, we might have received some serious stings.

The bee swarm I saw today was the most exciting thing that happened. The respiratory problem I'm having kept me from sleeping very well, and it seemed like I was awake every hour or so and having to get up so I could breathe. This is not a fun time. I'm getting to the point that I dread going to bed at night because of the problems with breathing. But, I have to give the medicine that has been prescribed a chance to work. If I'm not better next week, I will probably be going to see another specialist. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get some relief.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Bainbridge, Georgia: Georgia At Its Best

Not all who wander are lost.

More Doctors

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 74 degrees, high 86 degrees, mostly cloudy skies, humid

I whined a little in last night's post about the injection I received in my left wrist when I saw the orthopedic doctor. I'm glad to say there will be no whining tonight, because the wrist is doing much better. It's hard to believe how quickly it started feeling better. Maybe my problems with that part of my body are finished.

I had an appointment with our family doctor this morning to see him about a respiratory problem that I have. He treated me for it last week, but the problem is persisting. When I saw him today, he changed some medicine and added another one that he thinks will make a difference. The problem is serious enough that we're going to stay here another week. If there's no improvement, the doctor will be sending me to a specialist. Remember what I said about seeing a doctor leads to seeing another doctor leads to seeing another..... Looks like my prediction is coming true.

Since we're here for another week, I went to the library and checked out some new books for us to read. The Glen Rose library is very good for the size of the town, and we make full use of it when we're in the area. We also use the Granbury library, but not as much. Think of the money we save on reading material by using the public library wherever we are.

In the past, I've written about how vicious the mosquitoes are on the gulf coast. Well, those coast mosquitoes have nothing on the mosquitoes around here. There has been a lot of rain here recently, and that means an outbreak of mosquitoes. It's surprising, because when we were lived here for 26 months, we seldom saw a mosquito. Not so now. We can't step outside without being attacked by the blood sucking little devils. I'm ready to go to the desert. Or the mountains.

When we were in Stephenville yesterday, we spent a little time looking around. Carolyn found a sewing shop that she just had to look in, so I went into town and took some pictures. Here's a picture of the Erath County Courthouse.



The courthouse was built in 1892 and restored in 1987. The architectural style is Richardsonian Romanesque. When I walked inside, a group of middle school students was being shown the foyer of the building, which consists of limestone columns going from the ground floor up to the tower.



Erath County has several dairies, and is the top dairy product producing county in the state. This sign gives an idea of how they feel about their dairies.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Ada, Oklahoma: City Of Pure Spring Water

Not all who wander are lost.

Ouch, That Hurts!

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 74 degrees, high 89 degrees, partly cloudy skies, windy

We had two major things we wanted to do today. The first was this morning when I had a doctor's appointment in Stephenville to have my left wrist examined by an orthopedic surgeon. The wrist has been giving me a lot of problems for several months, and i finally decided to see a doctor for it. This particular doctor had performed carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand about 30 months ago, and I was pleased with the results. So, since we were seeing our family doctor, I asked for a referral for the left wrist.

The orthopedic doctor examined my left wrist, and after twisting and pulling on it with the appropriate sounds from me, like "that hurts", he said he knew what the problem was. It appears he had the same problem about nine years ago, so he knew the kinds of problems I was having. He rattled off a three word name for the problem, which I promptly forgot. He suggested an injection, since his problem was treated the same way, and it worked for him. I said okay, let's do that.

After the doctor explained how the injection would feel (it was going to hurt), everything was gotten ready. A numbing spray was applied, which didn't do a thing for the pain. Then the injection was made, and good grief, it hurt. The needle was twisted around and solution was injected in about three or four different places.

Finally, the injection was finished, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it turned numb after a couple of minutes, and felt pretty good. I remember thinking that this was nothing. Famous last words. After the numbness wore off, it really did hurt. Oh, my, did it ever hurt, and is still hurting. I sure hope it feels better tomorrow. It will be worth it if the wrist gets better.

The second thing we wanted to do was have supper with our friends Tim and his wife Vi Vi. I met and worked with Tim when I was here for 26 months, and we try to get together whenever we're in town. Our plan was to meet at Pasta Fina in Granbury for supper. Good plan, except that Pasta Fina was closed. The fallback was to go to The Jalapeno Tree, where we had a good meal and caught up with what's been going on in each other's lives. We enjoy seeing Tim and Vi Vi when we can. We'll see you next time, guys.

I have another doctor's appointment in the morning, which will decide what we do next. If that's the end of the doctor visits, we'll leave here. If I see anyone else, we'll be here until the visits are finished. Tune in tomorrow for what we do.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Houston, Texas: Oil Capital Of The World

Not all who wander are lost.

Hammond's Bar-B-Que

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 75 degrees, high 89 degrees, partly to mostly cloudy skies, winds 20 to 30 mph

Today was more eventful than yesterday, but not by much. Of course, it was Sunday, and we're supposed to be resting, not out gallivanting around. With that in mind, we went to Hammond's Bar-B-Que Restaurant for lunch. The food was as good as we remembered, and even though we both got a child's plate, there was plenty left over for supper. The child's plate had sliced brisket and sausage for the meat. Carolyn added potato salad and fried okra for her lunch, while I had french fries and cole slaw. Good food.

After lunch, we went for a ride across the beautiful countryside, ending up near Cleburne State Park. Actually, we went farther than I had intended, but it was okay. By the time we got home, it was past time for some meditation, so we took care of that little necessity.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to wash the bugs off the front of the RV. By the time I was finished, I had washed all of the RV. Now, if only it was that easy to put some wax on it.

I still have some pictures from Rockport that haven't been shared with the blog. Today is a good day for correcting that oversight. The first time we went through Rockport was almost 20 years ago. At that time, the area hadn't been discovered by the Winter Texans. Here's what the old part of town looks like, and there wasn't much more to see 20 years ago.



At one time, a railroad went through Rockport. Here's the old train depot.



I like to see murals in the places we go to. They give us an idea of what the area is about, and what is important to the area. Here's one from Rockport.



And one more mural from Rockport.



My appointment to see a doctor about my wrist is tomorrow. Here's hoping it's nothing serious.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Denver, CO: Wall Street Of The West

Not all who wander are lost.

Slow

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 75 degrees, high 90 degrees, partly to mostly cloudy skies, breezy

There wasn't a lot happening here today, so we decided to take a drive up to Benbrook for a little shopping. That should give an idea of how slow it was, because neither of us like to shop. Of course, it didn't take much to get enough shopping, and we only stopped at one place. It was amazing how busy the stores were. I guess there's not a recession here. Actually, Texas has fared well during the economic slowdown, and we haven't seen any evidence that business is slow in our travels throughout the state.

The one place we stopped at was Sam's Club, since there is stuff there that we use. Most of the time was spent walking and looking. I did do a little grazing of the free samples that were being offered. Shrimp, steak, dessert, etc. Carolyn couldn't understand why I wasn't hungry when we got ready to leave.

We picked up one of Sam's pizzas that they baked for us while we were waiting. Even with my grazing, I managed to eat a fresh piece of pizza before we left the store. I guess you know what we had for supper. Not bad.

This area has been fortunate enough to get more rain than normal so far this year. The result is a lot of wildflowers and everything is green. One thing that's not typical now is that there are a lot of mosquitoes. Here's a picture of a typical landscape near where we're staying. All this green is not normal.



When I was walking yesterday, I saw some wild grapes. Someone may be able to make some wild grape jelly or maybe wine in a few months.



One thing that is common here is the plain garden variety cactus. We like to see them when they're blooming. That's about the only time we pay any attention to them.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Miami, Florida: The Sixth Borough (In Reference To New York City)

Not all who wander are lost.

Loco Coyote

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 75 degrees, high 91 degrees, cloudy early, mostly clear skies later

Carolyn slept better last night after getting up at 0300 hours the night before. Do you think she got tired yesterday with such a long day?

When I went for my morning walk, I took the camera along so I could get some pictures of the beautiful wild flowers in this area. This is one of the best springs for flowers in several years, and the flowers are showing their appreciation. This first picture is of a garden coreopsis.



Next are some Indian Blankets.



Then, there's the stinging nettle, in an effort to have some balance. These plants can put a hurting on you if you walk into them.



Here's a picture the grandkids will probably like. This is some type of lizard that's fairly common here.



After my walk and breakfast, we visited some friends that we knew back when we lived here. It was a good visit with Jerry, Burl, and Denise as we discussed and solved most of the country's problems. Unfortunately, we missed Joyce, since she was at the hair dresser's shop, getting her hair ready for a little trip out to the panhandle of Texas. We'll try to see her next time we're in town.

When we left our friends, we were taking care of an errand when we saw this little Smart Car. Tow full sized people unfolded out of this little care. Can you believe this little thing was out on the highway? It looks like it belongs in a carnival ride. How many of us would actually drive something this small in the traffic that you can find yourselves in near the big towns? Even a compact car looks big when compared to one of these toy cars.



When we lived here, we enjoyed going to a real Texas type of restaurant. The Loco Coyote is located about six miles outside Glen Rose, and it's the type of place that you can't find unless you're shown how to get to it. However, it's worth the effort, because the food is outstanding, the portions are huge, and the cost is reasonable. We decided we wanted something from Loco Coyote for supper, so I ordered the chicken fried steak with the trimmings. One meal was ordered, and even though we ate all we wanted, there's still plenty left.

Loco Coyote looks like the kind of place that most people wouldn't give a second glance to. Here's an idea why. People come here from as far away as Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, and even farther away. I have a feeling the grungy look is part of what attracts people.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Gainesville, Georgia: Queen City Of The Mountains

Not all who wander are lost.

New Doctor's Appointment

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 74 degrees, high 91 degrees, mostly cloudy early, then mostly clear skies

Carolyn had an early morning as she woke up at 0300 hours - that's right, 0300 hours - and decided to get up. What in the world is wrong with her? I asked her why she didn't go back to bed, and she said she wasn't sleepy. I'm writing this post about 2015 hours, and it's all she can do to keep her eyes open. (30 minutes later, Carolyn gave it up and went to bed.)

I was waiting for the orthopedic surgeon's office to let me know when my appointment would be when they called this morning. The earliest I could see him was two weeks away, which conflicts with some other plans we have. Carolyn took the call, since I was busy outside. I called back and made sure the office knew that the doctor had seen me before, so I wasn't a new patient. Also, I asked if I could see the doctor at one of his other offices, since he sees patients in at least two other places besides Glen Rose. The lady on the phone looked at what else was available, and found a time for me in Stephenville next Monday. That's much better than having to wait two weeks. Now, let's see what the problem is and what we have to do to make it better. My left wrist has been very sore for about three months, and shows no signs of getting better. I've had thoughts of playing some golf, but the wrist is too sore. If surgery is required, we'll decide when to do it based on what has to be done.

After the telephone calls were over, I finished up some chores I was doing outside. While I rested a little, we discussed what to do today. Carolyn didn't want to do much (I wonder why???), but we needed to go pick up a few groceries. So, a trip to the WalMart Mall was in order.

This was one of those rare days when Carolyn's vertigo was staying in the background. That meant she wanted to look at a lot of stuff in the mall, so I trailed along as she enjoyed a little shopping. It was good to see her able to enjoy something that she used to take for granted, but is seldom able to do anymore.

When we got back home, we noticed that the park owner was doing some grass mowing. Carolyn was afraid he was going to run over the nesting bird that I mentioned last night, so she made sure he knew where the bird was. He appreciated her stopping him, since he appreciates nature as much as we do. He said last summer, he mowed around about 20 nests until the babies were gone. Carolyn was able to see that four eggs are on the nest. She looked in our bird book, and the bird appears to be a plover. It would be nice if the eggs hatched while we're here, especially since Carolyn is taking such good care of the mother bird.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Las Vegas, Nevada: Capital Of Second Chances

Not all who wander are lost.

Bloodletting

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 68 degrees, high 88 degrees, partly cloudy, windy

We were out bright and early this morning, showing up at the Glen Rose Hospital to have blood drawn for our lab work. The lady who did the bloodletting was good! I hardly felt it when she stuck the needle in, and Carolyn said her experience was the same.

Since we couldn't eat or drink before the bloodletting, we headed back home to breakfast. Our doctor appointments were not until this afternoon, so we took care of a few errands around the RV and rested from being on the road the last two days.

About mid-afternoon, we went to the doctor's office for our appointments. Carolyn doesn't have to see anyone else, but I'm waiting for an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor about my left wrist. That wrist has been bothering me for about three months, and is not showing any indications of getting better. Hopefully, it will be something simple that I need to give more time.

We lived in this area for about 26 months, leaving three years ago. We come back on a routine basis to see our doctor for checkups and physicals. We've been fortunate that he understands our lifestyle and works with us to set up our appointments in a way that allows us to get everything taken care of in a timely manner. Also, since both of us are on maintenance prescriptions, he works with us to ensure we receive our medicine, even though we might not see him for six months.

After the appointments were finished, we went for a short drive to see this beautiful countryside we like so much. It reminds us of the hill country south of here, and in some ways, is better than the hill country. Many people recognize this area as the north end of the hill country.

As were driving, we noticed a cactus that looked like a cholla cactus. Seeing that type of cactus wasn't that big a deal. It was the blooms that really drew our eyes. Check out the next two pictures.





Yesterday, I mentioned that we missed most of the bluebonnet flowers this years, but we were seeing a few straggly ones. Here's what I meant.



We were sitting outside today when we noticed that a bird was nesting in the road about 50 feet from the RV. We hope no one runs over the nest, but I would say the odds are against the bird. Check it out.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Meridian, Texas: Top of the Hill Country

Not all who wander are lost.

Straggly Bluebonnets

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 65 degrees, high 80 degrees, partly clear skies, windy

In last night's post, I mentioned that the electricity to the park was off, and as a result, there was no water for showers. The park has a well, rather than being hooked up to a public water system. The well was not running last night since there was no electricity. As a result, we didn't have water for showers. Boo hoo. No showers last night. Instead, we took a pan bath, and I'm here to tell you that it was a poor substitute for a nice, hot shower. The power came back on about 0500 hours this morning, and promptly went back off about five minutes later. When we left about 1030 hours, the electricity was still off. I can't imagine what could have caused a problem that left the electricity off for that long. Luckily for us, it was cool last night, so we didn't miss the air conditioning.

The trip over to Glen Rose from Waco was uneventful, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful countryside. There are still plenty of wild flowers around, and we always enjoy seeing them. The only kind of flowers we missed seeing was bluebonnets. We've seen very few bluebonnets this spring, and it's probably because I was working when their best viewing time came and went.

We arrived in Glen Rose about 1230 hours. As we were setting up, our neighbor came over to introduce herself and offer any help we might need. She and her husband have been here for the last three months as he has been working in an outage at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Station. They will be leaving on Thursday and heading back to their home in Arkansas. Once we were set up and water was heated, we hit the shower. Ahhh, that's better.

As we were looking around the park, we noticed a few straggly bluebonnets. Oh, well. A few straggly bluebonnets is better than no bluebonnets.

We have lab work early in the morning and doctor appointments in the afternoon. Once we see the doctor, we'll know whether we'll have to stay longer. I'm having a problem with one of my wrists, and the doctor will probably refer me to another doctor. So, I think we can see how this might go. One doctor leads to another doctor leads to.......

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Decatur, Alabama: Hub Of The South

Not all who wander are lost.

Waco, Texas

Waco, Texas

Weather: low 75 degrees in Victoria, high 92 degrees in Waco, partly cloudy skies until late afternoon, then cloudy, windy, rain

We're in Waco, staying here tonight and on our way to Glen Rose to see our doctor. This is going to be a short post, since the power is off at the Speegleville COE park that we're staying in. A hard wind blew through here about 1800 hours, and the power went off. So far, there's no indication on when it will be back on.

The trip from Victoria to here was uneventful, with light traffic and no road work taking place. We left Victoria about 0900 hours, and were here by 1330 hours. As I said, uneventful.

We had no inkling the power was going to be off, so we didn't put any water in our fresh water tank. As a result, we can't take a shower until the power comes back on for the park. I was sweaty earlier today, so I would really like to take a shower. Hopefully, the power will be back on soon.

I'm trying to save the battery on the computer, so I'll cut this post short. I'll try to do better tomorrow.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Davenport, Florida: Gateway To The Ridge

Not all who wander are lost.

Easy Day

Victoria, Texas

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 86 degrees, partly to mostly cloudy skies

We were tired after the drive to Bay City yesterday. In my case, the tiredness was made worse because I slept badly on Friday night, getting about two hours of sleep. Last night, both of us slept well, and it was almost 0700 hours before I got up. I felt so much better with a good night's sleep.

After a leisurely couple of hours waking up, I went for a long walk, which worked up a good sweat with the humidity as high as it is. Being sweaty called for a shower, which made me feel much better. By then, it was time for a late breakfast or early lunch.

After eating, I went back to the old downtown part of Victoria to do some more sightseeing and take a few pictures. This one is of the gazebo at De Leon Plaza.



De Leon Plaza is located across the street from the Victoria County Courthouse, and is an oasis of green and tranquility in the center of a busy town. On sunny days, the shade from the old trees probably lowers the temperature by at least ten degrees.

This picture is of The Rosebud Fountain and Grill. It has been featured on Bob Philips' television series "Texas Country Reporter".



As in most older towns, there are plenty of beautiful, older homes to see and admire.







Another slow, easy day in the life.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Hub City

Not all who wander are lost.

Torrential Rainfall

Victoria, Texas

Weather: low 66 degrees, high 82 degrees, heavy rainfall early, windy

About 0500 hours this morning, a rainstorm with a monsoon type of rainfall struck the area. High winds, lightning, thunder, and hail hit, and based on my decidedly amateur guess, we received at least five inches of rain over about three hours. This was the heaviest rain we've seen since last year, and I imagine the area has caught up on their rainfall deficit. People were asked to stay off the roads as flash flood warnings were posted until about 1300 hours.

The flash flood warnings didn't keep us home, since we wanted to go to Bay City to see Lori and her family and pick up some mail. Also, there is a chance of rain tomorrow, so it might be worse. As it turned out, the roads were fine, even though it rained on us all the way to Bay City.

We had lunch at, where else, K-2, as we met Lori and her family there. The nachos were as good as ever. Most of our lunch was brought home in our cooler for supper, as we went over to Lori's house for a visit before coming back to the RV. Julian has less than three weeks of school left before he graduates high school. He wants to take some time off from school before starting college. His mom wants him to start college in the fall, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

We started back to Victoria about mid-afternoon, and the weather was much better than what we drove in to Bay City. By the time we got home, it was time for some mediation. The rest of the day was spent resting and starting to think about where our next stop will be.

When we were in Goliad earlier this week, one of the things we saw was the Presidio La Bahia, a fort that the Spanish built in 1749 to protect Mission Espiritu Santo and the surrounding area. The fort is in surprisingly good condition, given it's age and the stress that the climate and weather places on structures.



When Colonel James Fannin and his men were captured at the Battle of Colet Creek, they were taken to the fort where Fannin thought they were going to be released. Instead, General Santa Anna ordered them to be put to death. As I wrote in an earlier post, 342 men were executed on Palm Sunday in 1836 by Santa Anna's troops. Their bodies were stripped, partially burned, and left unburied. About three months later, Texan soldiers pursuing the Mexican troops out of Texas found the remains of the executed soldiers and buried them near the fort.

The fort has been owned by the Catholic Church since 1853 and is currently operated by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria, Texas. During the mid-1960s, the fort was rebuilt to its 1836 appearance, based on documents and archeological evidence dating from the Texas Revolution. The chapel still serves as a community church. Presidio La Bahía was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967.

Have I said recently that I really dig learning about all this history we didn't know about?

That's about it from here today.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Findlay, Ohio: Flag City, USA

Not all who wander are lost.

Mission Espiritu Santo

Victoria, Texas

Weather: low 75 degrees, high 85 degrees, cloudy, windy

The weather is becoming more and more summer-like: warm, humid, threat of rain, windy. Today it started raining about 1600 hours at our location just south of Victoria, and it is still coming down as I write this post. I'm making sure I go for my walks early in the morning so I miss some of the warmer temperatures as the day warms up. It was only a few weeks ago that it was still cool enough at night for cover on the bed. Not any more!

When we were in Goliad earlier this week, one of the things we saw was an old Spanish mission that was built in 1749. Mission Espiritu Santo was intended to bring Christianity to the natives who lived in the area, and serve the Mexican settlers who moved there. The natives were enticed to become part of the mission in return for food and shelter, as well as converting to Christianity. The priests didn't have as much success in converting the natives as they had hoped. Eventually, the mission became secularized, and was abandoned. Over time, the stones in the walls were removed and used in buildings around Goliad as the mission was allowed to fall into ruins.



As part of the work done by the WPA and CCC, the mission was rebuilt as it appears today. Here's a couple of pictures of the inside.





Note the lack of chairs or benches. Pictures of the time show the worshippers kneeling on the floor. And now, one more picture of the inside of the mission.



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Colorado Springs: Little London

Not all who wander are lost.

More on Goliad, Texas

Victoria, Texas

Weather: low 76 degree, high 86 degrees, cloudy, winds 20 to 30 mph

At least once a week, we try to do something productive as far as upkeep on the truck and RV. Today was the day for some of those upkeep items. Carolyn dusted everything she could reach in the RV and ran the vacuum cleaner. While she was busy inside, I took everything out of the truck and vacuumed it out. Once I had the vacuuming of the truck finished, I cleaned out the vacuum cleaner so Carolyn wouldn't get after me for not emptying it after using it. Then I took one of our storage boxes out of the basement and got some things out of it that we don't need. Those items will be gotten rid of when we go back to Bay City.

After finishing up outside, we had lunch. Usually, when I eat, I get in the mood for meditation. My hope was that the urge would pass today, since I had several more tasks I wanted to take care of. All I can say is that good intentions never got anything done. About a half hour after eating, the urge for meditation became so strong that I stopped fighting it, and gave myself up to it without reservation. No sleeping, just meditating.

About mid-afternoon, I took the truck and had the tires balanced and rotated. As expensive as tires are, it's important that I have this maintenance item taken care of on a routine basis. When I was finished at the tire store, I stopped at HEB and picked up a few groceries. Then it was on to the RV and taking it easy the rest of the day.

Goliad is one of the more interesting little towns that we have visited. The town, founded in 1749 and originally named La Bahia, is the county seat of Goliad County, and has a beautiful old courthouse.



Between 1846 and 1870, lawlessness was rampant in the Goliad area. Court was held on the grounds where the current courthouse is located under a large oak tree. In capital cases, sentences were carried out immediately by hanging from the tree. The big oak tree became known as "The Hanging Tree", and still stands today.



The downtown area of Goliad is centered around the courthouse square, as are many of the little Texas towns we have been to. Most of the downtown around the square has been designated as a National Register of Historic Places.





Many places make a claim of having been under five or six flags. Goliad can make a claim of being under nine different flags. How's that for history?



More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Laughlin, Nevada: Play The Way You Like It

Not all who wander are lost.

The Goliad Massacre

Victoria, Texas

Weather: low 76 degrees, high 87 degrees, cloudy, 20 to 30 mph winds

It was so windy today that according to a comedian on TV, we are in danger of over harvesting it and will run out by the year 2040...... Well, I can't think of anything to compare the wind to, but I'm glad we weren't on the road with the RV.

We took a trip down to Goliad today. Carolyn was feeling good, and we try to take advantage of those times to get out and about. Goliad was important in the history of the Texas Revolution, and a lot of important events happened down there.

The event that the town is remembered for the most is that Colonel James Fannin and his men surrendered to the Mexican Army in 1836, about two weeks after the Battle of the Alamo. Believing that the Mexicans had promised honorable terms of surrender, including safe passage, the Texans gave up their arms, only to be executed on Palm Sunday, March of 1836. About 342 men were killed, and the battle cry "Remember Goliad" was added to the battle cry "Remember the Alamo". After the Texans were killed, their bodies were stripped and partly burned, then left unburied. In June of 1836, after winning independence, the Texas Army returned to Goliad and buried the remains of the massacred prisoners.

A monument was erected over the mass grave by the state.



The number of people killed at Goliad would have been higher except for the fact several men survived by acting as though they were dead. Others ran and swam across the San Antonio River to survive. More were saved by the actions of Francisca Alavez, known as the Angel of Goliad, including doctors that were present with the Texans.



The Texans were captured when the Mexican Army caught up with them at the Battle of Coleto Creek. A monument has been erected just outside the small community of Fannin.



When news of the massacre reached the Texas forces, it outraged them. I wonder if the massacre stiffened their resolve to overthrow Santa Anna and gain independence for the new nation? I think it's significant to note that when the Texans surprised and defeated Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto, they didn't kill their prisoners. When Santa Anna was caught wearing a woman's clothes, they could have executed him. Instead, three weeks later, he signed an agreement to have all Mexican forces leave Texas. That contributed to Texas becoming a sovereign, independent nation.

Whew! That was a lot of history covered in a few minutes. It seems every time I see something new here in Texas, I learn something about the history of the state. Could it be that their history helps explain the swagger that Texans have?

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Goliad, Texas: Birthplace Of Texas Ranching

Not all who wander are lost.

Hobby Lobby

Victoria, Texas

Weather: low 76 degrees, high 87 degrees, partly cloudy skies, windy

Before I go any further in this post, here's a couple more pictures from our stop in Rockport. This first picture is of the Band Shell, located at the Rockport Beach. I like the fact that the mural painted on it is symbolic of local life.



Here's another mural, which suggests a whimsical side to life in Rockport.



Victoria is a city of about 60,000 people, with all the shopping that would be expected for a city of that size. Carolyn has been looking for a Hobby Lobby so she could pick up a few crafting items she hasn't been able to find elsewhere. Guess what? There's a Hobby Lobby here, and we were there bright and early, almost as soon as they opened. She was able to find just about everything she was looking for. Right down the street is the WalMart Mall, as well as Sam's Club. We drove down there and did a quick walk through in Sam's, finding a few things there that we wanted. We like the baked chickens we can find at Sam's, so we picked up one today. I guess everyone knows what we had for supper, along with an outstanding salad.

We're having to be careful that Carolyn doesn't receive too much visual stimulation, since that seems to be part of what causes her vertigo problems. After we had finishing our shopping and eaten lunch, we went back home so she could rest her eyes.

By 1330 hours, I was ready to go looking around, but Carolyn decided she didn't want to take a chance of vertigo causing her problems, so she stayed at home. Since I like the old sections of towns and cities, I went to the original settlement area of Victoria, where I found all kinds of things to take pictures of. So many, in fact, that there's no way I could put all of them in this post. One of my favorites was, what else, the old Victoria County Courthouse, built in the Romanesque Revival style, back in the late 1800s.



In De Leon Plaza, I saw this unusual statue dedicated to the Confederate soldiers.



More pictures tomorrow.

When I returned home, I stayed industrious and cleaned up the truck, inside and out. There was salt residue on the truck that needed to be removed. and the inside needed to be wiped down and the leather seats treated. By the time I was finished with that little task, I had lost some of my get up and go. By then, it was almost supper time, and I was ready for some good baked chicken.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Victoria, Texas: Trail Of Six Flags

Not all who wander are lost.