Check in and Welcome Dinner

 

WOW….here it is Wednesday morning and I am up making coffee. Sherri is still in bed so I was being very quiet not to wake her. Soon I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost 8:00 and I said to myself…Self she never sleeps this late…might ought to go and check on her. I opened the bedroom door and the cold hit me like a blue northern! It must have been in the low 60’s in there. I quickly shook her to see if she was still breathing and sure nuff she came around. Man that was close if I had not acted when I did I would be going to the dinner alone tonight.

We both got ready for the day and sat outside to finish our last cup of coffee. We noticed many RV’s coming into the park while sitting on the patio. I am not sure how many Dreamers came in the gate but it was a busy morning for sure.

John selling hats and cookbooks

Mike and Leslie doing the check in and badges

The Herr’s are here…

Howard never stops working

Check in was not until  10:00 so Sherri and I decided to head into town and get our lottery ticket for Wednesday night and Saturday night. We would hate to pass up those millions. After we got the ticket we went to Big Lots and found some 18ft rope lights for $7.00 each. The last set we bought was $16.00 so we could not pass this up. Then it was time to get back home and get ready for check in. We were not selling tickets this year but we did what we could to welcome all the new comers to the rally. It is so great to see all the new folks here and help them answer questions. I wish that more of the first group could have come to this rally to help out. I remember getting started was the hardest thing to get through and with the help of all the Dreamers things were made easier. Maybe next year more of the original crew will be able to come and join in the party!

I wont take up any more of your time with my dribble…here are some pictures of the Welcome Dinner.

Here we are at our table…left to right…Sherri Donna Ron Tim Mike Leslie Debbie and Don

Da Ya Think these two are having fun…Linda and Jim

George and Sandy (foxriver guy)…what a great couple

What can I say…Ethel and Charles…

Sherri listening to Linda and Howard

Mr and Miss Alfie made it….

 Gayle Dan Cindy Pam….I think she is in the witness protection program??? and Randy.

This is just a few of the folks that I met and I will try to get everyone in here tomorrow. We have a lot of fun things ahead so stay tuned to see it all…

Somewhere in Time

Let The Rally Begin

 

Tomorrow is the big day! Yes the rally begins tomorrow and we should see all the Dreamers start to pour in tonight and in the morning.

Sherri and slept in till 6:30 and then got up drank our coffee and got ready for the day. We had some errands to run in town before it got too busy around the park. We had decided to stay for the rally so we were trying to get a hold of Howard and Linda to see if they would let us stay. They said they had a cancellation and we wanted to  buy in while they had room. I met Howard outside his RV getting ready to leave for the golf game and he said the Linda was up at the office making some arrangements for the rally. He said we could stay and so I went up to the office to see if I could keep my space where we were. Linda was there and she said they would love to have us and so I made arrangements to stay. Buckhorn said that we could keep our spot and leave out Sunday.

With that done we both were relieved. Sherri wanted to go to Wally World for the umpteen time and I was ready to take her. Mike and Leslie needed to go too so we road with them and stocked up on more S T U F F.

We got back to the park and made plans for a dinner that night and then Mike and Leslie were going to go play cards with Don and Debbie. We were just going to head over to Linda and Howards to howdy with some of the new comers. We had a good time with conversations varying from toilet paper to campgrounds. We really enjoyed our time with all the new Dreamers.

 

Almost didn’t get Debbie in this shot but the Leslie and Sherri made it just fine.

Debbie…Linda…Sherri…Leslie

John and Bridget Hatch…Sherri and Leslie

OK I am ready for tomorrow…P A R T Y and then some. What a crazy bunch of folks we have run in to. So much in  common which leads to so much to talk about. We all broke it off about 9:00 and then headed toward the house. Sherri and I had to finish our laundry so we went over to the laundry mat to finish some clothes we needed to dry. While there we broke out the computers…Sherri Bejeweled and I wrote some on my journal. Before we finished our laundry a girl came in looking for the bathrooms. We directed her to them and when she returned we visited for a little while. Come to find out she was the granddaughter of some folks we went to church with in Wills Point Texas. Now is that a coincident or what. She was here for the rally and what luck to run into her at the laundry mat.

That was about it for today…time to turn in and get some sleep…

Somewhere in Time

I Have no Idea What Day This is

 

It is early morning and I was trying to see the clock on the wall through my blurry eyes…still dark can’t be too early…if it was just a little closer to me I could see it…oh well I will just get up and look. It’s after 7:00 am! My goodness I have really slept in this morning. Let me see what time did I go to bed last night? I think it was well after midnight…maybe that is why I slept so late.

This is going to be a long few days for Sherri and I. With all the get together and the pot lucks and visiting with all our friends we will be worn out by Wednesday. Yes we are planning on leaving by Wednesday…and heading out west toward San Angelo. Sherri has to start  the week out in Sweetwater Texas and we need to be close to there by Sunday. We also…later in the week would  be passing through Abilene and wanted to stop off and visit with my sister and her husband. Next week would be busy for us so we really needed a little rest before then. 

We had invited Mike and Leslie over Sunday night for potato soup…which by the way I made. We got together late as usual and finished eating about 9:00. After we had put away all the dishes and started to visit there was a knock at the door and it was Howard and Linda. They had come to visit with us. We had such a good time listening to the stories that Linda told about their trip here. They had a hard time to say the least getting here and then when Howard developed the nose bleed….well that was the topper. You will have to read Howard’s journal to hear the story.

http://www.rv-dreams.com/

It was almost 11:00 when we all called it a night. We had so much fun…and Sherri and I got to thinking that maybe we should re-think the going thing. Linda and Howard put on such a good rally and so many of our friends are here and we love to be with the dreamers….well it would be fitting for us to stay and be a part of the festivities that lay ahead. It was early so we decided to think about it over the next few days before the rally and then make a decision….

Somewhere in Time

    

Monday and Still Raining

We walked around the park and took some pictures. This is the office

You know the more we do in this life style the further I get behind in writing about it. My entry yesterday was chronologically out of order. We went to Medina Sunday not Saturday. Today is Monday and I just figured this all out. We are having so much fun traveling and seeing all our friends that trying to keep track of the days is not easy. I don’t even wear a watch anymore. Who cares what time it is…as long as we have day light we are OK.

Well that is enough said about that. I don’t want you to think that I am losing it…even if I am…but it is confusing to say the least.

View from our dinning room window…we were in site #6075

Sherri trying to find us a place to stay Wednesday in West Texas

That is our Carri-lite at the end of the row.

We woke up this morning…Monday…and the sky is gray and gloomy. Today we have planned a trip into San Antonio to see the Alamo and go down on the river walk. Leslie and Mike are greeters at the rally and they will be busy after Tuesday so we wanted to go before they have to go to work. We will be leaving Wednesday morning headed west and with the little bit of time we have left here we wanted to get in all our site seeing.

We made our coffee and Sherri played her game “Bejeweled” trying to beat Linda and Debbie…this is her goal in life. I did the dishes and then I sat down at my computer to enter my journal.

This will be an interesting day to say the least…so stay tuned for one more adventure…

Somewhere in Time

First Day at Buckhorn

 

We slept in until 7:00 am…The Sun was up! People were moving around. This is unusual for us…we are normally up and finished with our coffee by this time. We did get us some coffee made and sat outside to drink it. The weather here has been iffy. We are looking for rain the rest of the week. This part of the country has been in a drought for months and when we decided to head this way it begins to rain…go figure.

This is Saturday and we are looking at some possibilities for an adventure today. But first we must catch up on our house cleaning and laundry. Sherri has started a load of wash in the on board washer and I am cleaning out the cabinet over the desk. I see where we have two baskets full of CD movies that are taking up a lot of room. I think I will put Wally World on for one of the stops so I can pick up one or two of those CD holders.

Sherri has found an RV Resort down around Medina Texas that has plots of land that you can build RV covers and attached Casita. We thought we might go down there and see what that is all about. About that time Mike dropped by to say hello and told us that Leslie was over at the laundry mat. Sherri was just about ready to take her clothes over there to dry so we loaded up our stuff and Mike took Sherri over in his truck.

We all met at the laundry mat and did our laundry and told stories…we can’t stop having fun even in the laundry mats!

Laundry done we packed ourselves up in Mike and Leslie’s truck and took off to Medina in search of the RV Village. What a beautiful drive! We went up Interstate 10 to hwy 16 south…through town and through the hills to Medina. Upon reaching the address of the Park we found that this was a gated community and if you wanted to visit, it was by appointment only. I sure am glad that it was a pretty drive because not getting to see what we came for was a disappointment.

 

 

Up the hills…

 

….and down the hills

 

 

…and down…notice the signs…what a turn this was

and down.

 

We drove into the town of Medina to see what it was like…well I wont spend a lot of time on that description. Not much to look at…maybe a 1000 people existed there. Leslie wanted to stop and ask if they had a Wally World…that is suppose to be funny.

We made our way back the way we came and this time we spent more time looking for the wild life along the way. We say deer at almost every clearing and wild turkey in the fields. At one spot we found antelope. These were black and white with brown and two long horns that came straight up…I had never seen this species  before.

 

All kinds of deer and antelope…wow what a show

It was real nice of Mike to drive and take all the abuse for going to fast…too slow…turn right…turn left…not here!!…there. I get this every time I am the driver so turn about is fair play. Mike found some cheap diesel on the way and topped off.

Mike found some cheap diesel and had to get his share.

We stopped at Wally World on the way home and got some more

S T U F F.

What a great time this has been and we have more to come…

Somewhere in Time 

We Made it to Buckhorn

We had a plan of leaving around 10:00 am and sure nuff we made it out. She and I had our coffee early and then started our routine of packing everything down. We both finished about the same time her with the pink things and me with the blue.

About 10:00 on the dot Mike and Leslie popped over to let us know that they were ready to go. We were just putting the finishing touches on everything and Mike helped me hook up to the trailer.

I pulled out and had to be careful not to hit the tree to the right of the trailer and Mike ended up having to back out of his pull through site due to a turn that he was not sure he could make. Out on the Interstate we rolled and I called Mike on the two ways to see if all was OK. We have a go for departure Houston. We were off headed towards Kerrville Texas with some unplanned stops along the way. We were not sure where we would stop and eat lunch but we knew we would so that became the unplanned stops.

We did make a short stop at a picnic area just out of Burnet but decided to go on as far as Johnson City and the President Johnson's Historical Site. There we would have our lunch and then tour the park. This was made up of the Texas White House…the Air Strip…the car collection and the cemetery where the President and First Lady are buried. It was a real nice tour and we all had a good time.

Livestock just runs wild here

We later saw the sign that said “Do not pet the livestock”….Mike

No one petted this guy

Our group

Sherri and I having fun

Sherri wishing she could pet the cows

Antelope are abundant on the ranch

President Johnson’s grave site

Sherri laughing at my jokes

Mike and Leslie in deep discussion over something…I think Mike was trying to figure out some way to get one of those cows in my truck….

From there we headed west to Fredericksburg and then south toward Kerrville. It was an uneventful drive from there and soon we were pulling into Buckhorn Lake Resort. We all got checked in and the girls had to resuscitate Mike and I when the lady at the desk told us how much we owed. We had been staying in COE parks at $9.00 a day so these prices were a bit of a shock. I soon caught my breath and was able to go and park the rig.

What… this is not in our budget?

Once park we were able to relax and make our trip to Wally World…you know the usual task most RVers have after they reach their destinations.

Let me see we need to drop about $100.00 here tonight.

After returning from shopping Mike and Leslie had us over for dinner. Leslie prepared Lasagna and was it good. Sherri made Italian bread and for desert we had Ice Cream from Blue Bell . Thanks Mike and Leslie for a great time and good eats to boot. Tomorrow night will be our turn…

Somewhere in Time

Travel Day to Belton Texas

 

OHHHH….AHHHH…..Are we there yet? Wait I am still in bed…or should I say the recliner…never made it to the bed. Yes it is Thursday and I have to pack it up…back it up…and hitch it up. Sherri is pouring the coffee I can see her through the slits in my eyes. Even with the glaze I can tell it is her and and she is getting the first cup so I must get up and get my share of the ration. After all I need that caffeine to get my joints bending and legs moving.

OK I am up and I am drinking coffee…of which I have to eliminate before pulling out on the highway. Why do I do this to myself each and every time I travel I drink too much coffee and then I have the over active bladder…which has me pulling off the road several times to empty the onboard water tank….well you get the idea.

Coffee was consumed in record time and I was in the shower and out the door…I did slip on some clothes…and I was hard after my chores. I had listened to the weather and they were saying that we had a good chance of thunderstorms this morning and afternoon so I Rain-X’d the windows on the truck and tried to get the inside somewhat clean. I also had to run down to the gas station to fill up at $2.59… then back to hitch up.

Soon we were on the road and headed south on Interstate 35. Sherri and I discussed our plan…which by the way we decided that we did not have…so an attempt was made to make one up. We finally came to the conclusion that we would be better off if we got with Mike and Leslie and let them help us make a plan.

We arrived at Belton RV Park about 12:45 and went into the office to see where they had put us. While we were checking in Leslie and Mike came in the door and we had to stop and get our hugs…after all we had been apart for 3 days! We got parked and before the diesel cooled down Leslie and Sherri had dinner plans made and I had to get back in the truck and head back out on the highway.

I was hungry or I would have put up a fight. We decided on  Chili’s and just before I turned into the lane going there the plan changed to Olive Garden…OK you all know how that story goes…I am sure and if you say no your lying. I swerved over in front of two other automobiles almost hit the curb and shot across three lanes of traffic to go into the drive way at Olive Garden on two wheels. With my passengers all screaming “What the Hell are you doing” I calmly parked in the first available slot nearest the building. I think that will be the last time anyone changes their mind on eating places when I am driving…even though I did an excellent job in changing directions they all were a little frayed around the edges.

We were seated in a…Not too busy Restaurant…with a not too busy waitress and ended up with the meal from hell. It all started out with a 45 minute wait on a meal that did not come due to what we found out was a dropped serving tray with all our food on it. They could not have come and told us that the food had been scattered out over two isles 15 minutes ago…oh no they wanted us to have to ask where it was. Well…bless Tweedalie Dee’s heart she had forgot that she had dropped it and had to re-order or she would have told us. Makes you wonder how often that goes on. Also makes you wonder if it was scraped up off the floor…re-heated and then brought out to our table???

Well Mike and Sherri ordered a creamy soup and Leslie had a different type of soup. Me I had the fat boys dish…pasta and meat balls…and to think that my balls might have been rolling across the floor one isle over…I dare not wonder. We did get our meal and Mike and Sherri were not at all happy with their soup consistency…you would think that if it came off the floor it might be a little thicker than it was…

We ate our meal and had a good visit and then it was time to pay the check. Upon inspection of the check Sherri noticed that they charged me for two balls that should have come with my order to begin with. When I told the waitress about my two extra balls she said, “Oh yes they probably wrote it up as Pasta and More”. Well that struck me as kinda odd…she was the one that wrote up my order and I could not figure out who “They” were. But “They” did charge me for two balls. I got the two that came with the order  but not the two “They” charged me for….were those the two that rolled across the floor?

After much commotion at our table the manager came over and told me that he would comp me my dinner and only charge me for the soup that was watered down. I then told him that Mike and Leslie too had to wait for nearly an hour for their food and it was not thick…as we were told it would be…by “They”. The Manager agreed to comp Leslie and Mike’s two soups and that left them paying for two salads and me paying for one watered down soup.

Coming across the dam at Lake Belton.

View from one of the sites at Cedar Ridge Campground

Sites have tables and covers. The lake is low here. Normally you cannot see that much of the cliffs.

Not sure what site this is but it is nice. The views here are great.

Then it was on to Belton COE Park…I kinda knew how to get there…you know kinda…Well I got us there and we found a real nice park with no one at the gate. We decided to just go on in and look around and then stop back by the gate on the way out and get a map of the park so we could mark our favorite sites. This park is located along the edge of the lake and the views are really great. We found several favorite spots and finally found the gate attendant making her rounds. I asked if she had a map of the park we could have but she said she did not have one with her but that if I met her back a the gate she would get me one. “Be sure to give me about 30 minutes”  She said.

“OKie Dokie”, was my reply and we went on our way exploring the park. We arrived back at the gate about the time she was pulling up to the office. I met her around the side and asked her if I should wait here or should I wait on the other side…. “Oh you will have to wait at the window on the other side” she said. “You will have to give me some time to get my things together” …Now maybe it is just me but what “Things” does she need to get together in a gate booth. “It will take me 15 minutes so  you will have to wait”…OK so maybe it is the drought that they have been having down here in this part of the country that has made all the folks here a little unstable? First the waitress at the restaurant forgot she dropped the tray of food and now I have a lady that needs 15 minutes to get two pieces of paper together open the blinds and slide the window back put the two pieces of paper between the index finger and thumb…I did check and she had a thumb…and hand it to me.

Not bad for a day on the road. And to think I almost killed us all to get to the Olive Garden…that day in Belton Texas….

Somewhere in Time       

Packing up and heading south

We woke up this morning….me in the recliner Sherri in the bed. Once again she was up before me and flipped the switch on the coffee maker. I had loaded it up the night before so that we would not waste one minute of time in the morning.  

This is Wednesday and I am getting ready for tomorrow when we have to pack up and start our journey to the South Texas Hill Country. We are meeting the Dreamers down there for their 2nd Rally. We did not plan on going to this one due to all the doctor appointments I have been having… but since the doctor said I was in good health we decided to crash the Rally and see some of our friends. We did not get in on the seminars due to time constraints but we will have time there to see our Dreamer friends that we have not seen in some time.

We were fortunate to meet up with three couples that were at the first rally in '08. Gina and Rollie who put on a show with us at the Hillbilly Contest…

Now that is some fine looking Hillbillies….

And then we also met up with Don Cheryl Leslie and Mike

 

No hillbillies here but some real great Dreamer friends that we will hang out with in times to come.

We all met up at Hickory Creek Park in North Texas. Mike and Leslie will follow us to Kerrville on Saturday and we will  spend some time down there exploring the Hill Country when they are not in seminars.

I must show off my shirts that Sherri Gina and Leslie picked out for me. I am not sure which one picked out which shirt but they all three did a great job and I like all three shirts. I will wear them at the rally.

One thing I can say is I sure fill out those shirts.

The plan is to leave from here and travel to Belton Texas. We will be staying at the Belton RV Park on Interstate 35. While there we plan on going over to Cedar Ridge COE park and seeing how it looks. Karon and Dan of:

http://discoverytravelers.blogspot.com/ said that they stayed there and really liked it.

From Belton we will head on down to Kerrville and arrive there on Saturday the 3rd. And that is the plan for now. By the time I post all this tomorrow it may all changed but then that is how it works traveling…

Somewhere in Time.