.Monday, December 5, 2011

We had rain last night and it came down like gangbusters for a little while and we wondered if the bayou would be acting up.  We were close enough to worry about the road out of here which dips down toward the water.

We would be having another “travel” day today and hoping it won’t be very exciting.  We left Willisville a little later today and got on the road about 9:30.

We stopped for gas in Houston, and that was pretty uneventful except that we found the gas for $2.99.  As cheap as we saw it anywhere.

We also stopped for lunch at a McDonald’s along the way in Columbus, Texas.  It was more or less a random stop after we both mentioned we were getting hungry.

We arrived at the Cowboy Capital RV Park in Pipe Creek, TX about 3 o’clock and very quickly settled in to our site.  The “Cowboy Capital” is actually in Bandera where we stayed a few years ago.  But this campground is a little closer to San Antonio which we’ll be visiting again.

The weather is turning cold again and is expected to get down into the 20's tonight.  Brrrr.  It’s almost like being at home in Michigan.

We planted ourselves in front of the tube tonight and watched the 2 hour special on American Chopper.  The challengers (Paul, Sr., Jesse James) keep coming to the mountaintop to  knock the King (Paul Jr.) off, but again have failed in their endeavor.

We managed to catch a few minutes of O’Reilly before we finally caved for the night.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

We were quite questionable today about what we were going to do.  We himmed and hawed for awhile and then decided we would go downtown and just look around for awhile.

Our first stop was at the Alamo where we had been before but it’s always nice ro revisit some of the places we’ve been.  After taking our pictures we sat in the “long barracks” and watched a movie about the final stand.  It was in this building that a good many of the fighters had died.

From the Alamo we drove to Market Square (El Mercado) looking for a restaurant.  We found the Cortez Restaurant in the Mercado and Sharon got Fish Tacos and I found Chicken Enchiladas on the menu.  My enchiladas were the best I’ve ever eaten and I’ve had a lot of enchiladas.  We both enjoyed our lunches that were quite good.

After lunch we walked around the Mercado for the next hour or so, not finding a thing we couldn’t live without.  It was now starting to get late in the day and we had to think about getting home before rush hour.

Our last stop on the way out was at Lulu’s Café and Bakery where we picked up a 3 pound Cinnamon Roll.  It had been mentioned on Food Network.  When we saw that baby we figured we’d be eating on that for a few days.

We got back home about 4:30 and the traffic was quite heavy before we got here.  Our campground is about 25 miles outside of San Antonio.

We planted ourselves in front of the TV for the night and our big highlight was to watch Paul Teutel Jr. Kick the a-- of Senior and Jesse James on their 3-way build off on American Chopper.  After seeing the completed bikes we didn’t think there was much competition for him.

We hung in there until about 11 tonight before we crashed and burned and headed for bed.  It looks like we’ll be traveling again tomorrow headed west.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Another travel day today.  We want to end up in Van Horn today so we can go to Chuy’s Restaurant.  Chuy’s is a Mexican place that John Madden has called the “Haul of Fame.” 

We had a lunch stop and a gas stop and a couple of pauses to change drivers, but when it was all said and done, we drove around 400 miles today.

We planned on staying at El Campo but when we drove through town we couldn’t find it, so we pulled in to Eagles Nest CG.

We pulled into our campground right at 5 PM.  We try not to drive in the dark with the motorhome, and we succeeded today.  The time is a mystery because at home at this time, or rather at 4 o’clock it’s pitch dark.  We still had plenty of sunlight here.

We got settled into our site and decided to stay here for two nights rather than just one.  For no other reason than to give us an extra day of rest.

After settling in, we took off for Chuy’s trying to find El Campo Campground before we stopped at the restaurant.  After driving to the end of town and turning around we finally spotted it.  It had a rope across the entrance and the campground sign was down.  It had been closed since the last time we were here.

Chuy’s has turned into quite the sports place since we first went there years ago.  There are dozens of banners from schools and pro teams gracing the walls and ceiling, along with Jerseys from pro football players.

We had a lovely Dinner along with a Margarita for each of us.  It had been the first time I’ve had alcohol since we went home last spring.  But it was our anniversary and we were celebrating.

The rest of the night was spent in the TV Theater in the motorhome.  We lasted until about 10:30 before we finally surrendered for the night.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

We both woke up a little later today and I guess that the plan to give us some extra rest is working out as expected.  We would be sitting around today with nothing special to do.

Sharon actually took a walk to the Post Office today to mail out some Postcards to home.  The little ones like getting mail from anyone.

I started the Newsletter today which wasn’t all that strenuous.  I had to get it going sometime, and today was a good choice.

By the afternoon we were both trying to secure a little snooze in our respective places but only one of us succeeded, and it wasn’t me.

Sharon whipped up some Gnocchi and Meatballs for Supper tonight.  She had the gnocchi frozen and just had to make up the meatballs.  It was quite good indeed, along with some garlic bread.

After dishes we camped-out in front of the Telly for the rest of the night.  In my recliner, is actually my best position.

We both made it to 11 tonight after sitting all the way through the O’Reilly Factor  We would be traveling again tomorrow headed toward Deming, NM.

Friday, December 9, 2011

We had a short ways to go and a long time to get there today.  We would be sleeping in Deming, New Mexico tonight.  We finally reached our short travel days for a change.

Our only stop today was for gas and we managed to find it in Anthony, Texas at the Flying J for as cheap as we’ve seen it in two days. We also filled up with propane again.  We only needed 11 gallons but it’s been so cold, we used the furnace extensively.  We don’t dare using just spaceheaters for fear of freezing up our water inside the coach.  In order for the compartments to be heated the furnace must run.

We pulled into the Little Vineyard Campground about 2 o’clock in the afternoon.  We’ve been coming here for years.  Ever since we’ve been coming West for the winter we’ve stayed here for 1 or multiple days don the way out or back.

Sharon took off for Wal-Mart as soon as we got settled.  We needed some groceries for the next week and I stayed at home.  My back is getting worse and worse and I’ll probably need a chiropractor by the time we get to Casa Grande.  I’ve been trying to ignore it but it’s not working anymore.

Sharon picked up fish for Supper tonight and fried up some potatoes and heated up some broccoli.  I think the fish was Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks.  The leftovers always make a nice sandwich the next day.

The Christmas season is in full swing with the shows on TV tonight.  Frosty the Snowman and The Elf on the Shelf are just a couple we’re being graced with tonight.  It’s a Wonderful Life can’t be far behind.  We hung in there surfing all night.  We only made it to 10 tonight however.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

We were planning to just have a leisurely Saturday today.  Sharon was anxious to take off with the laundry and I knew I had to fill the water tank today.  Tomorrow will be our get-ready-to-go day when I’ll dump the tanks and refill the water.

After Sharon got back from doing the laundry we decided to go to the Si Señor Restaurant downtown where we’ve eaten before and the food is scrumptious.  Over the last few days we’ve gotten to eat our favorite food on a regular basis at places we’ve eaten before and known to be good.

We drove to the church on the way to the restaurant to check on the times for Saturday evening mass.  Sharon knew the one of the two had masses on Saturday and as luck would have it, it happened to be the first one we stopped at.

On to the restaurant, and our Mexican food.  Over the last week we’ve had mexican 3 times and it’s all been good.  The nice touch at the Si Señor Restaurant is that they bring you each a Sopapilla for dessert when your almost done eating.  A very nice cap to a good meal.  You end up licking your fingers to get the honey off before you leave the place.  So the place is really finger-licking good.

For the rest of the day we camped out in front of the TV even though there wasn’t much to watch.  We did catch the debate that was on tonight, and the attack was on for Newt.  Although we still didn’t see anyone who could hold a candle to him in a debate.

There wasn’t much else on tonight so we watched Lockup on MSNBC for a couple of hours.  It’s nice to watch every once in a while just to confirm how nice we’ve got it.  We only lasted until 10 tonight before we folded up our tents and headed south.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

We planned  a quiet Sunday today and we decided to make ourselves a Big Breakfast.  So I whipped up a batch of Sausage gravy and Sharon baked some biscuits and fried some bacon and scrambled eggs.  It was the first time since we left home that we made ourselves a decent Breakfast.  It turned out very good and I’m sure it will last us until Supper.

Our tanks needed dumping today and I took care of that in the afternoon.  It only takes about 10 minutes and I filled the water tank also.  The temps outside at night are cold so hooking up a water hose is pretty much out of the question.  And ditto for the sewer hose also.

We watched football on TV this afternoon waiting for the Packer game to come on at 2:15.  By the time the game came on and started, it looked like it was going to be another good day for a game.  The Packers got off to a 14 point lead in the first quarter and never relinquished it after that.  They just kept adding points until they won the game.

Sharon made Chicken with Lemon-Scallion Linguine.for Dinner tonight and it turned out quite good.  It was a new experiment that she was trying out.

For the rest of the night we parked in front of the tube trying to find something to watch.  It was a terrible night for TV.  We lasted until 10 before we cashed in our chips.