#42 Alamo and more 12-2008

We had Thanksgiving Day dinner with the residents at the recreation center. There were 16 of us at our table. It was nice, but no leftovers--so I made a small turkey with dressing. Alice made sweet potatoes and pecan pie on Friday. So we had two Thanksgiving dinners.



We have jumped right in to all the activities in and around "the valley." All during the year I've been doing little craft projects. I've learned how to make jewelry and wanted to see if any of it would sell. So I put together a craft table and set up at the Craft show at our park on Dec. 10th. A couple of my pieces of jewelry sold, some badge lanyards sold, a couple of Frank's walkikng sticks sold, and lots of Dixie's home made "Almond Roca Candy." It was a fun show. We set up at 7:30. The show started at 8:30 and was over at noon! Don, Alice, Frank and I went to the local high school musical. Suessical the Musical. These kids are amazing. It was so entertaining. We went to the afternoon matinee. There were a lot of "Winter Texan's" there supporting these kids.

Our next outing was to Hildago for the "Festival of Lights." We were served dinner, and then rode a trolley all around the town to view the more than two million lights. There was a lady on the trolley that told us about the lights and the displays. The night was cool, but not cold.

The lighted dragon above is all made of medicine bottles tied together and then lighted from inside. These were donated to the town from China. It was beautiful.

These are four of the boys that entertained us after the trolley ride. They belong to an all boy performing group from Mexico. They have performed in Disneyland and many other places. We felt priviledged to be able to see them. Almost all the songs they do are in spanish, but they are all great performers. This entire evening cost us $8.00 each!! What a bargain.

Here is our house all decorated for Christmas. Right next door is Alice and Don's Holiday Rambler. We both live on Azusa street. Having them next door has been fun. They are as spontaneous as we are and always ready to go somewhere or do something. We have already had an "Azusa Street" luncheon with about 20 of our neighbors attending. Our next outing will be a "50--'60's dance here at the recreation center. I can't believe how much there is to do. We have to keep a calendar for all the events.

#41 Alamo, TX 11-22-2008

Here we are back again where we left in January of 2008. We were welcomed like old friends coming home. No wonder we like to be here. The palm trees at the gate welcome us, the sun is out, the weather is warm. We arrived on Saturday and by Monday morning Dixie was in the swimming pool.

Our friends Alice and Don were here waiting for us. We even got a space right next door to them. It is cocktail hour and we are all enjoying our drinks.It has been almost a year and a half that we have been traveling and living together in our motor home. And yes, we are still speaking to each other as pictured below.

I think we are starting a tradition. Our first meal in Alamo was at the local Mexican restaurant, just like last year. Then Monday we headed for Progresso, Mexico to have fried shrimp at the local hangout for Winter Texans. The waiter took our picture, and you can see we are living it up eating shrimp basket dinners.

The little boy below, was playing the drum while his dad played the guitar. Both were just walking down the street. But, he was so cute we had to take his picture.Frank, Don and I all got our shoes shined. Juan has been there a long time and has a good reputation. He did an excellent job of shining our shoes. He charges $2.00 and people wait in line.Frank also got a haircut while in Progresso. The barber did such a good job on Frank that I got my hair cut too. It was a really good day in Progresso. The weather was great and everyone there are always glad to take the "Winter Texan's" money.

#40 Oklahoma & Austin, Texas 11-16 thru 11-19 2008

We wanted to go to Oklahoma and see a little bit of that state, so we left Branson and went west to see what the state of Oklahoma looked like. The "corn wasn't as high as an elephants eye," because it had all been harvested in the summer! We were warned not to take Hwy 69 because it is really a rough road. We stopped at the tourist information center right on the border and asked if the road had been repaired. The lady behind the counter told us that this summer when they took their boat down to the lake to go fishing, the road was so rough it broke the bracket that holds the motor and they almost lost thier motor while driving. So we decided to take an alternate route. The Indian Nation Highway is a toll road and a little further west, but to save wear and tear on the motor home, we drove the extra few miles and paid the tolls. It was well worth it. The road was good and smooth. Just before we crossed over into Texas we stopped at a state park. Lake Hugo.
Because it is winter, and very close to Thanksgiving, we had the place to ourselves. We parked right on the edge of the lake. Looking out the window it seemed like we were on the lake instead of beside it. The day was cool, but not freezing. We really enjoyed our night there. Very peaceful and quiet. No trains!Our first stop in Texas was the capital of Austin. We stayed there three nights. We took a tour in a van. The lady driver took us out to the west side and we saw some of the mansions built by the corperate techs. Austin is home for the Dell computer. The tour was very interesting.
After the van tour we took the free tour of the capitol building. It is a beautiful building and has been restored to its original look. Because the government of Texas is bigger than it was when the original building was built, there had to be an addition. That addition is four stories--down! They built it below ground level so the asthetics or the original capitol would not be ruined. We are in the tunnel, which is covered with sky lights, looking out to the capitol building. Very unique. So where I am standing taking this picture, I'm underground.
Inside the main capitol building we were able to go up to the 4th level and look down and see the main floor below, and see the mosiacs on the floor. The state of Texas is very proud of their star. All the door knobs have the star right in molded in the brass.

The hinges on the doors were made special for the capitol. They are really pretty, so I had to take a picture.