Forgot I had a BLOG

 Oh boy!!  I hadn't realized how long it's been since I wrote here until I looked at my camera and realized I hadn't been taking many pictures and if there are no pictures then there are no adventures.  This is definitely NOT true.  We have done something almost everyday and have been just enjoying the moments and not looking at life through a lens!  Calm down now people & fear not........there will be pictures included!!   Mostly we have been just walking about checking out different places and finding some interesting things and laughing daily.  We went to downtown to just walk about and ended up on the Riverwalk.  We have been here before so it was not the plan to walk it again but since it was there and we were there and it was the middle of the day and all the people were at work and it wasn't wall to wall people, we headed down the stairs and walked a few miles.  

It was way more exciting not having to dodge all the people we had to the last time we were here &  

we saw so much more!!  We also took another bad selfie.  We will never perfect this but will post anyhow since you forgot what we look like. Dick found $10 in a park on the walk as well so we had some lottery fun on the way home and a brewery! Beer was great and we will go back.  The Pizza was pretty good as well. 

Dicks sister Barb and her grand daughter Ashlynn came to the zoo with us for a pretty cool adventure!  We got an awesome family 4 pack deal that included tickets to get in, dinner and a giant souvenir zoo cup.  Dick and I were in this picture but I cut us out because we looked really bad!!

I wanted to go at night because they had awesome Christmas displays and lights so we went around 4 and walked around and saw all the animals then walked around some more and saw all the lights.  Zoos are soooooooo fun.  Everyone we have visited has surprise us with something different.  This on has a hippo viewing area. This was most excellent and I could have spent hours watching these fat boys (or girls). They were so graceful in the water doing summersaults and popping up for a bit of air.

We had a great zoo visit took way to many pictures!!  Enjoy!!

*To-morrow I'll reform, the fool does say; To-day itself's too late; -the wise did yesterday.*

Fix it

We have been in San Antonio two weeks and thus far are enjoying all we have been doing.  As much as we enjoy traveling around it is great to be planted in one spot for a time.  There are still adventures and fun to be had.  We get to see all the little things that are missed by the travel through tourist.  Life is pretty stress free.  I didn't even yell much at Dick when he pulled into the parking spot at the grocery and hit the car in front of him.  No damage done and no alarm when off so we ran into the grocery before anyone could confront us.  I also didn't yell when he backed out and hit the cart return thingy with the drivers front quarter panel and most likely dented the truck (I was scared to look).  So yes......stress levels are low.

We have been busy painting, cleaning, organizing, and fixing things at Dicks sister Barb house.  I guess we needed a dose a homeowners life.  Sooooooooo glad we put that behind us for a while, but still love the fix it mode and helping out where needed.

We have been driving around a bunch and realizing that this is a ginormous city.  We also remembered how much we hate traffic and stupid drivers.  Dick says we will never live anywhere that a 5 minute drive turns out to be 1/2 hour.  It really is pretty ridiculous.  We have visited about 6 breweries since we have arrived and 4  disc golf courses.  I don't know if you can tell from this picture but we saw some pretty strange animal tracks at a golf course.  I personally thought it was an animal that would gallop out of the wood and trample me to death but we never saw this creature.  Thanks goodness!!!!

Texas has some pretty weird trees.  Mostly short and pokey. There are not many pines in this area but the short pokey trees have their own beauty.  There was one patch of blue in the sky and it showed up looking pretty cool in one of these pictures.  

Things have been really dry here with little to no rain, so there is lots of dust in this the air when the wind is blowing but the temps here are awesome.   I think the lack of rain keeps the creek and rivers looking a bit clearer and this one that we came upon was beautiful and we should have jumped in but there were fish swimming around in it that looked like piranhas and again I feared for my life. (really we just didn't have our suits with or we would have jumped in). I can say with all honesty that fresh fallen snow is beautiful but the temps that come along with it suck, so you can send me pictures cause I am not living in that crap again.

We have discovered that Texas has an overabundance of deer.  Much different of my complaints of no wild life in Michigan.  They are everywhere & just standing in the road waiting to get run over.  I am sure that one of these days Dick will run into one of them with the truck & put another dent in it.

The weather is getting to almost a perfect 75 with no humidity so I hope to get out for more adventure hikes and small town touristy things.  We have met some pretty amazing people here in Texas thus far and hope to meet more.

*He that spills the Rum loses that only; He that drinks it, often loses both that and himself.*

Las Cruces to San Antonio

We left  Las Cruces and headed toward San Antonio taking our time and stopping a couple places along the way. Remember the sketchy campground we stayed at??  Well we found a sketchier on in Van Horn TX. These people must stay in business because of people like us who care not to read reviews or research. We are ok with sketch!! You meet some pretty interesting people in sketchy places. Probably should be packing a gun but I think I could do some real damage with my Burts Bees. What criminal wouldn't scream like a little girl if bees wax lip balm was thrust in the their eye!  Any how, we drove so close to Mexico that we could have spit on it! Didn't see any wall and I don't know how to spit without it dribbling down my face so I didn't and why would I? I love Mexico??

We stopped before we hit San Antonio and we are sooooooo happy we did.  It was an awesome campground called Cowboys and Angels in Mountain Home, TX.  The property was gated and there were tons of deer and other hoofed animals which I can not identify (not cows) but were totally awesome to watch wandering around the property.  The owners had feeders all over and they have a burger night every Saturday night and opened their little saloon and had a fire and hey ride.  Really a neat quite place.  NOT SKETCHY at all!  

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We also hit up some small town touristy things and a couple breweries (of course).  Our friends in Las Cruces gave us cookies and glasses for going away presents too so we had some fun with those.  We took a walk along the Guadalupe River and saw some funky trees with Dr Seuss balls in them too.

  We made it to our 3 month home in San Antonio and although the campers are parked kind of close it is quite and I don't feel like we will die here.  Death experiences are yet to come.  There was a close call with a prickly cactus today though!!!

We had dinner with Dicks sister Barb and her son Jonathan yesterday when we arrived and look forward to many more visits with them over the next couple of months!!

*Clean your fingers, before you point at my spots.*

Death in the Desert

I bet you all thought we died whilst out here in the blistering hot, hot, hot because you have not heard from us in days.  Well we almost died.  OK maybe it was only me!  Desert life is certainly something you have to get use to and you definitely have to plan your activities around the sun.  Water, water, & more water is a must!  Here is the picture of the sketch campground we were at last.  Just had to include to let you see the wringer washer and the pleather couch outside.  There was a black plastic bag for a door.  NICE PLACE!!

We have been parked in front of a friends house for a week mooching off their electricity and using their pool and hot tub while having an awesome visit including hiking, disc golf, card playing, breweries, eateries, shopping and catching up and laughing a bunch.  Our sister in law Ann and niece Amy came from Wisconsin to visit as well and we did some fun touristy pictures.  There are more giant things in the pictures.  A roadrunner at a rest area was pretty amazing.  It was made of junk.  If you zoom in on the pictures you will see all the cool stuff.  I know you can't zoom in on pictures on your phone so if you want to see details or faces get out you laptop or look on that ancient desk top collecting dust in that office of yours! There was a giant chili was at a hotel that was kind of crazy.  Everything has chilis in it or on it including custard (which I just couldn't bring myself to try).  I did however love the green chili beer and the chili margarita!

The sign says people have DIED hiking these mountains!!  Perfect sign to tell me to turn back early!! Six people started the hike and 3 finished!!  The none finishers still had fun playing cards in the cool, cool shade at a covered picnic table in the park. 

I gotta say that we could get use to this weather.  Then the SNOW HAPPENED!! This morning we woke to 26 degree weather and snow on the ground.  Dick took Amy and Ann to the airport in El Paso and said interstates and all kinds of roads were shut down and it was the trip from hell and he almost died out there in the desert getting all turned around on out of the way roads that the GPS took him.  He thinks the boarder patrol was chasing him for a bit.  I am sure he is fine!  He called and sounded disoriented, parched & shivery but I am sure eventually he will show up sometime today.  His adventures were not all that bad.  He got to see some Oryx (long pointy horned creature).

We were to set out for San Antonio today but will wait for these southerners and there lack of snow knowledge to pass and hope for smooth sailing tomorrow.  Kind of crazy and I am certain there is more crazy to come!

Enjoy the picture of all the pretty and crazy.  October has been a busy month soon to end. We saw so much and did so many things. 

                              * Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices.*