Thanksgiving and Grandson Birthday

We were fortunate to have almost all of our family present for Thanksgiving dinner. The only one who was not present was our son Charles. Maybe he'll be able to make it next year.

As always Jerry made the dressing since the girls have not quite learned how to make it like she does. She made two large pans of dressing and there wasn't very much left after dinner.

We had a lot to be thankful for, we all had our health and it was a pleasure to be with all the children, grand children and great grand children again.

Today was also our grandson Dalton's birthday and he asked Jerry to make a chocolate cake for him. However by the time he finished Thanksgiving dinner he didn't have much room for cake. We left it there so he could have it later.

As always everyone ate too much and afterwards all they wanted to do was take a nap.

Much needed surgery

I've been having problems with my left knee for quite some time and I finally decided to see the Doctor that did Jerry's knee last year.

He took some x-rays and then did an MRI to see what the problem was. I've been told that I was a prime candidate for total knee replacement.

After all the test were back he told me that all I had was a torn meniscus and that he could fix that on an out patient basis real quick.

He did the surgery on Thursday, October 23 and I went home late that afternoon. He gave me a prescription for pain medicine which Jerry insisted I get filled. I had to take one cause Jerry insisted I do so before the pain started. I was having pain but it was the PIA type.

The Doctor told me I could take a shower on Sunday and that I could begin driving on Monday. On Sunday Jerry wanted a paper so I drove to "Wally World" and got one. No problems and no pain.

I went back a couple of weeks after surgery for a check up and the Doctor said I was doing very well and that he'd see me sometime next year.

I wish I had done this a lot earlier cause it feels good now.

A Double Happy Day

Today we celebrated Megan's 21st birthday and Morgan's 15th birthday. It seems like only yesterday that mamaw and I were baby sitting them and taking them on short trips. It's hard to believe that Megan is enrolled in college and will graduate next December and then begin to work on her Master's Degree in Accounting.


Morgan is now in High School and she has not yet decided what she wants to do after she graduates High School. We're sure however that she'll make us proud as she has always done.


There were several of their family members present and they received several nice gifts and of course what they liked most, money.

Tarpley Volunteer Fire Dept. Labor Day Parade

Tarpley, Texas is a relatively small town, population 75, but it has put on a Labor Day Parade for several years and has a large crowd attend each year. They had a nice parade, wonderful Texas bar-b-que, auction, door prizes and of course good ole Texas hometown music. I'm not real sure but I'd guess there must have been about a thousand people in attendance today. Needless to say, I took a few pictures and I hope you like them as much as I liked taking them.

Celebrate Bandera 2008

Bandera is a small town, population 375 but they really know how to put on a parade and celebrate the fact they are "The Cowboy Capital Of The World"

Maybe these pictures will give you some idea about which I'm talking.

We Bid Butch A Fond Fairwell

One of our park residents and good friend Butch will be leaving Monday for about a six week trip to California to visit with his sister and do a few chores for her. We'll miss him but he says he'll be back and to make sure of it he'll leave his motor home here in storage.
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Visitors Enjoying Their Snacks

Most every day the park owners sprinkle corn around the grounds so that our daily visitors would have something good to eat.

They arrive anytime from mid day to late in the afternoon and search the grounds for their snacks. Jerry and I had some crackers and cheese curls that were a little stale for us so I put them in the feeders to see if our visitors would like them.

The following pictures can answer that question better than I can.

National Day Of The American Cowboy in Bandera

Bandera, Texas celebrated the National Day of the Cowboy today. Festivities began at noon when Bandera's World Champion Rodeo Cowboys arrived at the courthouse

The national publication, American Cowboy recognized Bandera's National Day of the Cowboy celebration as one of the best in the nation. The American Cowboy listed the first "best" place as the Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City , the Fort Worth Stockyards came in second place and the third best place to be on the National Day of the Cowboy was Bandera, Texas.

Bandera is a small town, population 975, but it is widely known as the Cowboy Capital of the World and really goes out of its way to put on a celebration.

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Caribbean Cowboy RV Resort

There are a lot of nice things to see and do while at the Caribbean Cowboy RV Resort. The Texas Hill Country is all around us and the scenery is beautiful. The quaint towns nearby are really a place one needs to visit. Everyone is friendly and go out of their way to make you feel at home.

One of the best programs here at Caribbean Cowboy is the physical fitness and water aerobics program. We've been taking part in it since we arrived the last of December 2007. Both Jerry and I have gained more flexibility and have either lost weight or inches from our bodies. We would strongly recommend the program to anyone who wants to improve their body and gain more flexibility. For more information about what they have to offer here check out their web page. http://www.caribbeancowboyrvresort.com/

These pictures will give you an idea of what the water aerobics program looks like.<

Strange Things You Hear At A Happy Hour

Last night we were at a Happy Hour here in the park and of course there were all sorts of jokes and strange tales from everyone there. As we had a few more libations some got really involved and began to tell some interesting stories about their RV travels.

One of the RVers there told the following story, I'm not sure if it really happened or not but it was really funny.

He said they were driving down the road and the wife had to make a "nature call" and was in the bath room when a rear tire blew out and the carcass began to hit the underneath of the coach and make a terrible noise. His wife came out of the bath room all excited and in a real loud voice asked what the "He.." happened. That was not the funny part, the funny part was that when his wife came out of the bathroom her shorts etc were down around her ankles. HA HA HA.

No one was able to top that story.

Here are some pictures that were taken of our happy group.

New Sites and New Things To See

We went to Hondo for a little "Wally World" outing and along the way we stopped at a ranch to take a picture of a strange deer, not real sure what kind it is but is was pretty. We stopped at a quaint shop to let the ladies do a little looking around.

Of course I had to take a couple of pictures of the places we saw.

Caribbean Cowboy Skinny Dippin

Our new friends Dick and Loretta said they were going over to the pool area to cool off from a rather hectic day. They said they might even do a little "skinny dippin".



I went over, camera in hand, and boy was I surprised.

Who Says You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

Hey I learned something new today. I learned how to add text to pictures and add then to the blog. YEA, YEA!!

A Little Tour Around The Hill Country

Today we took our new friends, Dick and Loretta Pyke on a little tour of Bandera and some of the Texas Hill Country.

We went into Bandera and let the girls do a little shopping and have lunch. We are lunch at OST, the Old Spannish Trail restaurant which has been in business since 1921. They had a real good MexTex lunch buffet today and as always the food was super. You can always find a lot of the "locals" there having lunch or supper. Dick and Loretta each ordered a hamburger and they couldn't get over how good and how big they were.

After looking around Bandera we drove to Camp Verde which was the original place where the Army experimented with using Camels in the Texas Hill Country and finally in the Big Bend area. The experiment didn't work too well so the Army finally gave up on it.

As always I took a couple of pictures which I hope you will enjoy.

Happy Birthday America

Today we held a celebration of the birth of our wonderful country. Loren and Carol hosted a wonderful get together with the park guest and a friend of everyone ,Clara.

We started the morning off with a little golf game which quickly proved to everyone that Tiger Woods has nothing to worry about. The contest was won in a show down by one of our new guests, Loretta. She hit a "hole in one", hey maybe she was a ringer.

To cool off from the golf game we went inside to the cool pool and had a water volley ball game. We didn't have too may participants but those who did seemed to really enjoy themselves.

To complete our day we were lucky to have a little rain. Some people wouldn't like the rain, but here we really need it and are thankful for every drop we receive.

I took a few pictures of the events today and I hope that everyone enjoys them.

Riverfest .. Bandera, Texas

Today they have the annual Riverfest here in Bandera and the crowd was quite large. They had all sorts of arts and craft booth and of course a lot of good old Texas Bar-B-Que being prepared for the cook off.

There were a few small canoe races and of course folks swimming in the Medina River. The river is clean and clear and the park it runs through is real nice. These folks in the Hill Country really take pride in their facilities.

I took a few pictures that I hope everyone will enjoy.

Yancey, Texas

The Town Store and Meeting Place

We were going to Hondo today to make our "Wally World" run and saw a sign about the town of Yancey, Texas. We've never been there and thought it might be an interesting Texas town to see. It's only fifteen miles from Hondo so it wasn't that far out of our way.

The country side along the way is totally different from what we've become accustomed to, it's flat and mostly farming country. It was a change to see large fields of corn and cotton growing.

The town of Yancey has a store, post office and church and a population of about two hundred, maybe give or take a few. The lady running the store told me we should be back tomorrow morning. Each day for a little over fifty years some of the older men of town meet each morning for coffee. They refer to themselves as the "Board of Directors" of the town. They discuss town business, if they can find any, swap stories, and solve all the world's troubles. But mostly they just drink coffee.

The Post Office

Inside the Store

An Interesting Building Enroute to Hondo

Our good friends, Suzie and Henry came by and gave Jerry a bouquet of flowers to cheer her up. They are the nicest people you can imagine.

Happy Father's Day

Jerry and I had lunch at a real good Chinese restaurant in Bandera. Hey don't you think Cowboys can like Chinese food too?

All my daughters called and wished me a Happy Father's Day and two of my grandsons called and sang Happy Father's Day. My son also called and wished me Happy Father's Day. I really appreciate all their loving thoughts.

My daughters sent me a "Wally World" card and Cracker Barrel Card, wow now we can eat...YEA.

We spent a quiet day just relaxing and watching TV, it finally got hot here in the Hill Country.

New Baby Birds And Strange Cocoon

We recently discovered a bird's nest in a cactus planter and I got some pictures of them. The biggest one is a baby "Cow Bird" and we're not sure what the little one might be. We believe the eggs are also "Cow Bird". Our Baby Birds

We have a cocoon that we cannot identify, it's been around for quite some time. It was first seen on the lower part of the post and now has moved to the very top. We'll keep our eyes on it and hopefully will be able to get a picture after it matures.

Strange Cocoon

A Nice Drive Through Texas Ranch Land

A Texas Hacienda

Today we took a drive through the Texas Ranch Land looking for exotic animals or whatever we could find. We didn't find any exotic animals but we did see a lot of interesting sites. It was a real nice drive.

A Small Texas "Weekender"

Jerry's Love For Cactus

This is a "Life Saver" Cactus

Jerry has always had a love for cactus, she has several that she has raised from seed in our motor home. She also completely landscaped Oakwood RV Park in Fredericksburg.

Cactus Flower

Yucca Cactus Flower

Prickly Pear Cactus

Barrel Cactus Flower

Prickly Pear Flower