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Monday, May 16, 2016

Meet and Greet in Fredricksburg Texas May 11-16 2016








5-11-16
We are part of a group on Facebook for fellow RVers, called Fifth Wheels, Trailers and Motorhomes, and a Meet and Greet was planned several months back for us to meet in Fredricksburg, TX. and we are going to participate.



We pulled out from the house around 11am.
"We" as in Chuck, Bronco, and I.
Bronco wasn't supposed to be going on this trip, but she was not going to let us leave without her.
Can't leave that sweet baby behind, and she promises to be good!!!!
Diana & Chris are going as well, but they can't leave for awhile so Chuck takes the slow road to Vernon, TX.







We take I-40 out to Clinton, OK. and then head south.
I love seeing all the small towns along the way.
Seems Texas and western Oklahoma have the court houses right in the middle of the town square.








The roads were pretty good and not a lot of traffic.  Before we know it, we are in Vernon, TX.
Our home for tonight will be at the Rockin' A RV Park.
I was so excited that we are walking distance from Walmart.
After we get set up we make our way to Walmart and pick up all the things I think we might need...LOL
Diana & Chris make it around 6:45pm, and after they get set up, Diana and I walk to Walmart and pick up the fried chicken that I had ordered earlier.
We sit outside and have a nice little dinner!






The weather is supposed to come in this evening and I noticed our neighbor was tying down his awning...or was he tying down the awning to protect his truck.
I have to say I have seen a lot of red neck things in my life, but never this one!





The storms rolled in about 2am.
We only had some wind and rain...no hail thank goodness!
Guess the guy didn't need to worry about his truck after all.








5-12-16
The rigs are ready to pull out by 9am.
We don't go too far, as we stop at McDonald's for breakfast.
Fueled and ready to make some miles we point the rigs toward Fredricksburg!
The air is cool, and the skies are blue...and the storms are no where to be found.











Diesel stop around noon in the little town of Coleman, TX.
Took us what seems forever to get the pumps to work.
There were 3 vehicles with campers trying to get fuel, and finally one of the ladies came out and got things working for all of us.

As we paid, I asked if there were any good places to get a burger.
One lady piped up and said the little convenience store down the road was pretty good.
Since we are stopped and it IS lunch, we decide to try it.
It was a little hole in the wall type place, but there were quite a few people in there eating.
The burgers probably weren't the best we have ever eaten, but they really weren't that bad!

Back on the road, and Lupie (our crazy GPS) has a mind of her own.
Diana and Chris's GPS,(Debbie) had her own directions she was wanting to go, but since they were behind us, they followed the leader  :)
Chuck made the comment that sometimes a good ole paper map is still the best!
At some point Chris takes the lead, and we just follow them to our destination.









No U-turns today, but a few miss directions, but we make it to our park around 3:30pm.
We will be staying at the Fredricksburg RV Park for this shindig!











Diana & Chris check in first, and I am crossing my fingers that they have us close to them.
Not only close but we are right next door....perfect!
By the time we get set up and meet a few of the members that are already at the park, it is time to think about dinner.
Chris grills some brats, and we pull out the chicken from the night before.
Not bad left overs!

By now, we have met a few people and it's decided that we need to drag our chairs out into the street and make ourselves comfortable!
The weather is mild, and actually a little cool, but at least we don't have rain!
It was a nice evening to sit and swap stories, and get acquainted with our new friends!
Before you know it, it is 10:30pm or maybe even later and we decide to call it an evening.
Everyone gathers their chairs and coolers, and head back to their trailers.
Today was a great day, and we are so glad to be in our home away from home for a few days.
Goodnight world!




5-13-16
Plans are to ride the bikes today as the weather is supposed to be dry until later in the day, so we get on and make a stop on the way out of Fredricksburg at an Amish Store that Chris had noticed as we came in yesterday.





I was sure I had seen the same store, so we drove right to it.

























As we drove up, this wasn't the one that Chris was thinking of but we went ahead and checked it out.
They had some really beautiful pieces of furniture....but the only thing I walked out of there with was some "popcorn".
Their selection of popcorn was amazing...and of course Diana and I had to get some!

Chris leads out of town, as he is on a quest to find this Amish store he had seen, and about 5 miles out of town, he does a turn around.
Can't seem to find it.


As we turn around and head back to the Kerrville cut off, he notices a place with some furniture out in front...not what he thought he had seen the day before, we continue riding.
Chuck takes the lead and we make it to Kerrville around 11am...and it wasn't too soon for me to be wanting some lunch!
I was starving....so Chuck remembered this little Mexican food restaurant we had stopped at before, so we do just that.
Gosh, I was so glad to eat  :


Bellies full, we get  back on the bike and head towards Bandera, TX.
There is a lot of road work along the way, but the traffic moved quite well.
The sun has come out and it is getting warm and the humidity is really high as well.
We basically do a drive by in Bandera, and make a loop around the high school.
At the light where we did the loop, there were several police cars and police out by a fence.
I laughed and said all I could see was a bull, but when we drove back the other direction, there actually was a dead cow by the fence line.
Excitement in Bandera for sure.
We stop at the local gas station and fill the bikes, and you will never guess what I see.
A DQ is right next door!
The Texas stop sign  has worked again...(for those of you that don't know....DQ ran adds saying they were the Texas stop signs)
By the time we finish eating our ice cream and cooling off a bit, we head back to our RV park.
The storms are supposed to start popping later in the afternoon, so we feel it is time to get back and not get wet!
I am sure it is time for Bronco to get out of the trailer for a bit as well.


Back at the RV Park, Diana and I decide to run to Walmart and pick up a few things.
We also stopped at the Liquor Store and pick up what we need to make margaritas.
One of the ladies gave us a recipe for her margaritas, and I wanted to try to make some.
We bought frozen lime concentrate at Walmart, and tequila, and cointreau...so we are fixed up!
Thanks to Debbie Wood for the recipe. :)




Diana & I make an executive decision to go and find some BBQ for dinner.
We had noticed a little restaurant as we drove into town and decided to try and find it.
Just like two bloodhounds, we sniffed out the said BBQ place.David's Old Fashion BBQ
Our take out order was ready before we knew it and we were loaded up with all kinds of good eats.


Back at the trailer I mix up some margaritas, and I think the one step that needs to be done for sure next time, is to let them rest for awhile, or as Debbie said, "let them ferment"....LOL

They were really tart, but as the ice melts into them they get a lot better.
The recipe was supposed to be frozen, but heck, we couldn't wait to try them!
It was a little quieter time in the RV Park tonight, and it was a bit cooler, so what a perfect time to bring out the new fire pit and try it out.
Our little circle got larger and larger and we had a nice group of people sitting around the lovely warm campfire.
Another day is coming to an end, and again we have met some really nice new people.

5-14-16
Cloudy day, and a bit of drizzle is what we wake up to today.
It is going to make for a wet shopping day in Fredricksburg, but heck, we won't let a little rain stop us.
I know the guys would have rather sat at the RV, but they decided to go with us.
Being tourist today was fun...we stopped in several shops and looked at clothes and a little bit of everything.





Shopping really takes a lot of energy and by noon it is time to think about eating.
Tucked in the back of a driveway next to a couple of buildings we see a little burger place, and they have a sign outside promoting their "tornado fries"....well, that is all it took for us to make this our lunch stop.
Jennies Smoked Burgers






We get in the newly built building, and order our burgers.
None too soon, since as soon as we sit down, the place gets really busy.
Guess that sign is working for them!!!
The "tornado fries" were basically a spiral cut potato on a skewer.
They were really seasoned well, and had a little kick to them.
I could have probably made a meal just on the fries!

We finish up shopping and the guys are totally worn out!
Time to get back and see what is going on at the RV Park.

The RV park has a couple of areas that are indoors to have our scheduled dinner, and the ladies arrange for us to be at the one that is closest to most of our rigs.
The gather is beginning around 3:30 so the foods can get prepared and ready for us to eat around 5pm.
I was in charge of the crock pot hot dogs.
Never have I heard of these(such a sheltered life :)...)
Well, if that wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done...lets see, crock pot and hot dogs....put the dogs in the crock pot and turn it on...done!
The room is full of people running around getting the food ready.
A lady by the name of Sally (she is from Oklahoma as well) was over making a punch, and she needed to get the wine bottles opened, so I run back and get our cork screw.
How many people does it take to remove 6 wine corks from the bottles...well, let me count.
I think we had Chuck, Chris, Diana and myself...Yep, we are a team!
The sangria punch that Sally made was so good!
Our table really enjoyed it, and I really want to write the recipe down for it, as it was a winner!

The get together dinner was really nice.
The gentlemen that started the Facebook page is not with us as he is in Oregon having some treatments for cancer, and today is his birthday.
Paul may not be here, but he is in spirit.
Trina was in charge of setting this all up, and she had a fellow RVer video all of us singing Happy Birthday to him.
Another one of the group, Kim, brought the cutest cake for us to celebrate with him.
Again, Trina presented the cake to Paul via video.

There is a whole lot of food for this group to eat.
I think there would be enough for the whole campgrounds to eat and still have left overs!

Cindy made 2 of the cutest pies with a camper cut out on one, and one that says "Happy Camper" on it.



After everyone is stuffed to the gills, we start the clean up.
Cindy  made the cutest wine bottle and glass holder for our hostess Trina.
Diana & I got Trina a thank you card and a solar flower for all her hard work.
Since we have the room for 24 hours, it is decided to leave the food so everyone can come and go if the get hungry again.


Back at the trailer, Chuck pulls out the fire pit and we have a good gathering of people.
Kim and Robert are a joy to be around.
Seems that Kim buys and sells RV's for a living.  Kanar RV Sales
The Landry's that are right across from us are celebrating their wedding anniversary today as well.
Cindy and Tom have been a real delight to be around as well and have a lot of motorcycle tales to tell as well.

Sally the lady that brought the wonderful punch, and her husband Bob came over to enjoy the fire.
As the evening slowed down, there was talk about a few of the attractions around the area, and the LJB National Park was discussed.
Kim and Robert wanted to go check it out, so we decided we would go tomorrow and do just that.
Time to get some shut eye and get ready for tomorrows adventure.





5-15-16
Our destination for this morning is the LBJ National Park.
As we get around and ready to head out, Trina and her husband are riding with Debbie and Brad, and Diana, Chris, Chuck and I are riding with Kim and Robert.















As we enter the main office area, the movie was about to start, so we go into the room and watch it.
I have to say it was very interesting to know a few facts about LBJ that I had no idea about.
The park guide was very nice at the desk, and showed us on a map which direction to go first.
We walk the path to the working farm that is on the site.









Apparently the rangers that are at the farm work it as they would have back in the day.
They have chickens running around,  and we see a blacksmith area, barns, and cows.
We later find out from one of the rangers that the cow is "Buttercup" and she had given birth the day before we came.











As we make our way to the home that LBJ was born in, (actually the home was rebuilt several years ago, but was recreated to the original), we can smell something cooking.
The smell was Divine, and we had to seek it out.
Chuck beat us to it, and tells us they are cooking fried steak over in the kitchen.
You have never seen a group gather around a location as fast as we did.




Hoping to get some of the food, we stand around and ask questions.
The guy that was cooking, takes up the steak, and begins putting flour in the fry pan to make gravy.
He tells us since Buttercup hasn't been milked for several months, they have no milk, so he pours water from a mason jar into the gravy mix to create his gravy.
We were all so hungry by the time we left that kitchen area, I don't know if we saw anything else!




The farm was really a neat and interesting area.
The workers really played the part well.
As we make our way back to the vehicle, the wild flowers were really making a show.
Lady Bird Johnson really loved her flowers and I can see why with the hills and valleys covered with all the beautiful colors from their blooms.










Robert drove us by the airfield that was for Air Force 1/2 when President Johnson was in office.
One of the rangers told us how the landing strip grew in length as Johnson went from senator to Vice President, to President.
Seems the runway was never long enough to land Airforce 1 so they got a helicopter to vehicle to get the  President from Austin or San Antonio to his farm.
The small jet (Jetstar) was used for direct flights from Washington.
Johnson named the Jetstar "Air Force One Half.
The Air Force One Half was on display as well.
It was sent to the graveyard some years back, and the pilot that flew for the President was told it could be found in Arizona, so it was purchased and refurbished and finally returned to its home at the ranch in 2010. 
It sits next door to the Johnson's home.
We didn't take the tour of their personal home, but I think next time we are here, I would like to come back and see it.




With food on our minds, we make a quick stop to get a picture of the water bridge that LJB was so proud of, and then it was peddle to the metal to start searching for food!




Mamasita's was the restaurant of choice.
It is in the heart of Fredricksburg, and luck would have it, as we must have missed the Sunday crowd, and only had about a 10 minute wait.
The margarita's and the fellowship of these people were absolutely priceless.
Seems we were the noisy table as usual.
We had a laughter filled lunch, and enjoyed every minute of it.









Time to get back to the trailer and let Miss Bronco out.
The afternoon became more and more overcast.




The guys have to go over to the Landry's and check out their little scooters they had brought down.
We laughed so hard and Chris and Chuck riding these little pint size motorcycles.
The drizzle has started by late afternoon, and it continues through the night.
We sit under the Biggs awning and attempt to stay dry.














Tonight we cut a little short and head back to our rigs as the rain has taken its tole on us, and some of us are COLD!









5-16-16
Monday morning and there is a lot of bustling around the camp.
The drizzle has continued through the night, and it is time for everyone to be packing up and leaving.
We had planned on staying until Tuesday, but since the weather was going to continue to rain, we decided to go ahead and head home as well.

We say our goodbyes to Kim and Robert as they are the first ones to pull out.
Diana & Chris aren't far behind them.

We depart around 11am, and start the journey home.
What a great time we have had.
I think the Meet and Greet has been a real success.
We have met some really nice people and look forward to the next time we get together.

Our drive home was uneventful, thank goodness, and we pull into the drive around 8pm.
I know Chuck was tired but we are glad to be home, and able to get the trailer in the barn before the weather, if any, makes its way here.

What a great life I have, and so thankful for all the people that make it so much fun!















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