Traveling to the Land of Enchantment

Here we are in The Land of Enchantment, yes New Mexico.  Proof is in the pictures below welcoming us to the state.  The past three days have been an exciting trip across Texas.  It is easy to see why someone came up with the slogan, “Texas - It's Like A Whole Other Country.”  We have seen in our various trips through the state the forests and lakes of eastern Texas, the plains around Dallas-Fort Worth and endless miles of emptiness in the Panhandle, the Hill Country of Fredericksburg and Austin, the Gulf Coast from Houston to South Padre and now the mountains in far west Texas and around El Paso.  Texas is truly a magnificent and HUGE state.

First welcome sign on road

Main Welcome Sign

During our sojourn from the Fort Worth area through El Paso yesterday, we saw many things to add to our ‘To Do’ list someday.  The Civil War Museum in Fort Worth, eat at the Smokestack Restaurant in Thurber and visit the ghost town, stop in at Mary’s Café in Strawn, Texas to partake of the ‘Best Chicken Fried Steak in Texas,’ visit the McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains, go to highest point in Texas at Guadalupe Peak, visit Fort Stockton and the list continues to grow with many other interesting sights to see and experience.  For now our travels have taken us to sunny Las Cruces, New Mexico located just forty miles west of El Paso.

As I sit writing this, the view from our front window is spectacular.  The sun is rising over the mountains and is as warm and inviting as any sunrise I have ever seen.  The temp outside is around 38 degrees but it warms up during the day to the high 60s to low 70s.  This is something I can get real used to quickly.

We met David and Sophie at Lake Benbrook south of Fort Worth and took off on Wednesday after spending some time catching up and making plans.  We stopped the first night just outside of Big Spring at Whip-In RV Park.  We whipped out the next morning and the next night found us in Van Horn, Texas at the Van Horn RV Park.

Here we dined at Chuy’s Café on Broadway and sat right next to the John Madden Haul of Fame table.  John Madden (of NFL fame and no Haul is not misspelled as this is how the area is labeled) does not fly and as a result traveled by rail or coach across the U.S.  He stopped here and found the food good and the company even better so he (and his family) make it a regular stop whenever they pass through Van Horn, Texas.  As a result, the owners have a table that is permanently reserved for Mr. Madden which is strategically located right in front of the TV so he can watch whatever game is in progress during his meal.  He always orders #21 from the menu.  I considered the selection but it was too much to eat late in the evening so I chose a different entrée.

Before dining, the management of the RV Park told us about the sunset and the view of the mountains that was spectacular.  So our intrepid photographers waited for the sun to set and snap just the perfect shot.  The pictures below do not do justice for God’s scenery and can never reflect the glory He shows us all the time.  In waiting, we had a later than usual dinner.  We wanted to have a hot breakfast the next morning in the café at the park.  Three of us partook of a marvelous breakfast plus coffee, I will leave it to your imagination as to who skipped the 'early' (8 AM) morning repast.

We wondered why the sun went down so late (according to the clock) in Van Horn.  We found out the next morning as we took off.  We were only three miles from the change in time zones from Central to Mountain.  So we were located about as far west in the Central Time Zone as you could be accounting for the difference on the clock that we were accustomed to for a sunset.

This last day of travel through Texas showed us some interesting and delightful sights as the shadows on the mountains changed throughout the trip highlighting them in different ways.  We also learned interesting things along the way.  For example we passed an area called Sierra Blanca.  Now from my old Spanish class in high school I recognized ‘blanca’ as a female version of white.  But I did not know what ‘sierra’ meant or denoted so Bibi took to the internet and discovered it means saw or tool in Spanish.  So the saw implication means jagged peaks of the mountains coupled with white aptly describing what we saw at Sierra Blanca.

We arrived at Hacienda RV & Rally Resort.  It is very nice with paved streets and a super nice clubhouse.  This will be our home for the next week while we take a break from driving and before we move to Tucson for our next stay.  We will explore some of the area sights and report on our adventures in the next posting.

It's Official - We are Full-Timers now!

Instead of waiting for our arrival in Arizona, I decided to post a quick blurb to the blog.  We are officially full-time living in the RV now.  We have left Longview and are on the road.  The last week included multiple preparations and was hectic.  We had numerous goodbyes including a farewell get-together with some of the family wishing us “Happy Trails.”

The weather cooperated nicely and packing up was not too difficult since the temperatures were moderate and no wet stuff falling from the sky.  I can now walk reasonably well and will finish my rehabilitation as we move about the country.

I think both of us are relieved and happy that the day has finally arrived to leave.  It was good to live in the RV before leaving our home base.  This allowed us to tweak the organization of items and more clearly decide what was necessary versus unnecessary.

Now we are at the other grandchildren’s location for a few days and will meet up with David and Sophie early next week.  From there we strike out towards Arizona for February and March.  Who knows after that where we will find ourselves.  Happy Trails to you for now.

It is a New Year and a New Adventure

Oh boy, let the adventure begin!  It is the 7^th of January and we are close to beginning our next chapter in our own book of life.  Two more doctor visits and a quick stop to get the rig inspected for the purpose of registration in the State of Texas and we are on the road again.  We have been living in the RV right next to our former home.  It has been sold and is now owned by our daughter and son-in-law.

We will say our goodbye’s during the next week and bid everyone best wishes till we see them again.  Nervous anticipation and excited nerves have us revved up to get things done.  I cannot believe how much I am getting accomplished in an eight hour day.  I think I have a full load of energy each morning that lasts the entire day.  It is amazing and so different from my 3 months of inactivity and the following 3 months of limited activity after the surgery.  Lots of fun.

The six year old grandsons (especially Shawn) will have a big adjustment to our absence.  Shawn has embraced our living close to him and really enjoys playing with his perpetual playmate, Bibi.  We have tried to prep him for the impending move but he has not really grasped what we are telling him.

 

In order to help the change in their lives and to keep a connection, we have purchased laminated U.S. maps to leave with them.  We will then send postcards and make telephone calls so they can follow our progress on their map using dry erase markers to pinpoint where we are.  We hope this is educational as well as emotionally satisfying for them.

Next week we will leave and make a quick stop to visit with the other grandchildren in Melissa.  We will make the same mapping arrangements with them.  Since they are older, they will get it quickly and there will not be the same learning curve.  After watching each of them play a game with their respective teams, we will move on and catch up with our traveling companions.

We will spend a day or so coordinating our plans and then we will begin the journey towards Arizona.  We will have a couple of weeks of easy traveling before we make our landing in Tucson for a month.  We are using the extra time to allow an easy unrushed move which has built in downtime for sightseeing or waiting out any weather challenges we encounter.  

Next stop is sunny Arizona and the next blog will be posted after our arrival.

Christmas Time 2015 - No More Falling!

Here it is a few months later, Christmas is almost here and the end of 2015.  As promised this is an update to our situation.  Beverly’s mom is doing better and settled into the nursing home for the time being.  She still needs more assistance than not but she is working on improving to the point of moving to assisted living out of the nursing home.

As for me, things are very much better.  The last visit to the doctor allowed him to see me walk on my own without a cane or walker.  He wants to see me in three months instead of six weeks as originally planned because the rehab is working so well.  Today is December 17 and I have officially had my last day of rehabilitation under the eye and direction of the trainer.  She has given me a certificate for 30 days of gym usage and a set of exercises to continue on my own.

Since I did my own rehab after a previous ACL surgery, I am confident I can finish the rehab job on this surgery with these exercises and the gym time.  Beverly and I are very pleased with the progress.  In about six weeks of time, I went from no weight on the injured leg to walking without any assistive devices.  There is still a lot of work to do to gain full strength in the leg and increase endurance so that I do not tire so easily.  We are working towards those ends now.

A lot has transpired in the last six months.  Having moved into the motorhome (to begin full timing) the day before the accident, we did not expect to stay in the sticks and brick house anymore.  The plan was to finish prepping for a living estate sale and then sell the house.  Due to the accident, we had to move back into the house because the steps to the motorhome were too much for me to negotiate right after the surgery.

After regaining some strength, we moved back to the motorhome to re-establish our living quarters there and finalize the house and contents for selling.  I learned to “bobo” walk up and down the stairs, which is not an easy feat because the treads are covered with a non-slip surface.  It felt like I was sandpapering my bottom each trip up and down.  Not a good feeling or an efficient way to lose weight.  The prep work has been done and we are happy to report all of our possessions have been reduced to a storage unit facility or carried with us in the motorhome.  We are “official” full-timers now. 

So when is the next adventure?  We anticipate wrapping up doctor visits and such by the middle of January.  We will meet up with our traveling companions to finalize plans and head out around that time.  Our initial inclinations are to pick up with our plans from last year (before mine and David’s health interrupted them) to head west.  We are thinking Arizona might be just the ticket to wait out the cold temperatures and begin another exciting adventure.  As soon as we are underway, we will post an update.

The Week and The Year That Was---

The last time I posted, we were still at Lake Somerville outside of Brenham.  We had planned a return visit to the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory the following week and the day before we planned to go, they announced their complete shutdown, to the utter dismay of our crew.  Not only were we deprived of the treat in their ice cream parlor, but now the entire nation is as the product is removed from all retail store shelves.  What a way to start the summer season.

We decided to visit the George H. W. Bush (#41) Presidential Library on the campus of Texas A&M University before ending our adventure.  This trip was extremely enjoyable and I learned quite a bit about our 41^st President and his family.  One of the things that really stood out for me was this statement (see picture below) he made while in office.

After touring the interior of the library we visited the garden area and the cemetery where the President and his wife, Barbara will be buried.  It is a stop we recommend you make when in the College Station area.  It was informative and inspirational to see how this man chose to live his life and the experiences his family had over the years.

After leaving the area, we returned to Longview to find the monsoon season had set in.  All the lakes we visited and saw were severely low due to drought conditions from prior years yet in a single month’s time most had recovered to the point that there was flooding due to release of water to maintain safe pool levels.  It is incredible to realize just how much rainwater had to fall to bring these lakes back to normal levels yet here it was happening right before our eyes.

Of course the rain wreaked havoc on our yard while gone.  Sunshine, beginning of the growing season and plentiful rain combined to create the jungle of all jungles of grass in the yard.  In fact, it was so wet mowing was impossible therefore it just grew and grew.  So the order of the day was to mow at the highest setting whenever we got a few days of sunshine to allow some semblance of drying.

It was at this point something happened that affected our immediate future.  The lawnmower broke!  Not just any mower but the only riding mower we owned capable of managing the jungle that had grown up while traveling.  Beverly and I had been thinking about our future and planned a discussion in the fall about going full-time in our RV like our good friends David and Sophie.  So it seemed this was as good a time as any to discuss since we either needed to commit to such a plan or spend over $2,000 to replace an aging mower that continually seemed to break down.

Well after a few days of in-depth discussion, we took the very natural course of deciding to rid ourselves of the sticks and bricks house and land which eliminated the need to replace the mower and begin a full-time RVing experience.  Of course we still had to address the immediate needs of mowing.  David comes to the rescue, once again.  He managed to get the mower operational enough to limp through the current mowing season while we get all of our ducks in a row to begin this new chapter in our life.

Now fast forward to July and the week that was.  After contacting an estate sale organization, discussing the sale of the house with the children, making plans to actually transition to full-time Rving, we have made significant progress with getting things arranged and in order.  In fact, we actually moved into the RV and out of the sticks and bricks house on Friday July 10^th and took the RV to Texarkana to watch our grandson’s team play baseball in the state tournament.

Then “IT” happened.  When exiting the bleachers after the first game, I slipped and fell.  When my left foot hit the ground, I immediately knew things were not right.  After I fell and bounced a couple of times, I realized I could not move the left leg at all and there was an extreme amount of pain.  An ambulance was called and I was transported to a hospital.  After some time had elapsed, they moved me to an x-ray room to take pictures.  The tech was having difficulty getting the picture due to my position and pain when they tried to move me around.  So the doctor was called to take a look at the pictures to see if what they had done was all that was needed or more maneuvering and pictures were called for.

Up until this time, I did not realize just how serious this injury was.  When the doctor came in and went around a small wall to look at the picture, I heard him exclaim, “Oh My!!!” I then knew how much trouble we were in.  As it turned out, I had a Tibial Plateau Fracture.  Yeh, me either.  Best way to explain it, the top of the main lower bone in the leg, the portion behind the knee cap had exploded.  As the doctor said, it is like Humpty Dumpty and would require surgery to put back together again.

Long story short.  I was transported by ambulance from Texarkana back to Longview for surgery and rehab where we will maintain our home base.  For three months no weight at all is allowed on the left leg, which means I have to hop using only my right leg and a walker from point A to point B.  For longer distances, a wheelchair is used.  Then after the three months, if healing has advanced enough, I begin the process of physical rehabilitation and learning to walk again.  So our process and plans to start the full-time adventures in the fall have been put on hold and delayed until the first of next year probably.

Hardware needed to put Humpty Dumpty back together

The hero in this story is Beverly.  She has to be my arms and legs for EVERYTHING.  She has more on her plate than she deserves.  The first day I was in the hospital, she and her siblings were called and said they needed to come to the other hospital in town, their mother had been moved to ICU and was not expected to make it through the night.  Her mother had fallen and broke a hip, had surgery and been in a nursing home rehab center when her health took a turn for the worse and she was moved to the other hospital in town.  So she is shuttling between hospitals looking after her mother and me who both are down.

Good news is that things have settled into somewhat of a routine, albeit still stressful for my wife, for the time being.  Her mother has recovered from the seriousness of that night and is now back in the nursing home rehab facility and I have been relegated to a routine that is relatively uneventful for her.  Beverly still is my hands and feet but we are learning how to manage for the time.  Here is a picture of her mother and me recently.  We ended up at the doctors’ offices (our doctors are different but in the same practice group) at the same appointment time.  Looking at her, you would not think she recently was very close to death, while I look like I am ready anytime to bite the bullet.

Major fun - aggravating each other!!!

So far now, our adventures are curtailed.  Our traveling companions are patiently waiting for my recovery so we can begin.  As Sophie said, this may be God’s way of teaching me to pace myself and slow down.  I commented, God not only slowed me down, the brakes were completely put on because I cannot do anything right now but sit.

Our other friends (Sam and Brenda), even had to make a special trip to Texarkana to retrieve the motorhome and drive it back to Longview for us.  So it pays to have great friendships but even more it pays to have a loving spouse.  Maybe that is the REAL lesson.  We will post again to update the progress and describe the beginning of the full-time adventures in a few months.  Until then, stay safe and watch out for the falls, they can be BRUTAL.  Just sayin'

Festivals and Ice Cream

I am sitting outside at Lake Somerville as I write this.  It is Saturday afternoon and a very pleasant 72 degrees with a slight southerly breeze.  A lot has transpired since the last blog post and so I am trying to condense the events and remember details, as there is a lot of activity around me today.  With nice weather it seems this campground at Yegua (pronounced Yay’ wah) Creek Park is quite a draw.

There are a number of families gathered here this weekend.  This is quite a change from the norm during the week which sees mainly fishermen launching boats and only a few campers in the campground.  It is really buzzing today with bicycles, conversations and campfires.

We visited and toured the Brenham Creamery now known as the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory.  This was a tour we really enjoyed and are unable to share any photos with you as cameras are not allowed to be used during the tour.  We learned how the milk is brought into the factory and turned into ice cream while we were introduced to the various stages of production and watched the production lines filling continuous cartons of ice cream.  Not all flavors are made all the time.  There are seasonal flavors and rotational flavors in addition to the standard flavors made at the factory.  You can find these listings on their web site.  Of course, at the end of the tour, we were served a generous scoop of our choice.  A very nice way to end a tour in my opinion.

We had some rain this past week and so outside activities were somewhat curtailed.  We did manage a drive early in the week to explore the countryside.  We decided to take a southerly route to see what we could see.  Again we were not disappointed with the results.  We found ourselves on a highway through Round Top.  Matt and Rikki were down here to go to the annual antique show a few weekends ago.  Rikki mentioned it was big and she found out about it on one of her DIY type shows she likes to watch.  I asked her if they found what they were looking for and she told me they found some things but did not even begin to see everything.

I had a hard time understanding her statement, because every time I have attended these type events, I was able to see pretty much everything at the show.  After making the trip through Round Top, I now fully understand and believe her.  I don’t think you could see everything if you had two full weeks to look; it is that big.  Of course, it was all shut down when we rolled through but you could see the various venues, buildings, tents and display areas.  I cannot imagine the traffic jam and swarm of people that would show up at the annual event.  This will probably be a future stop for us and definitely is in the bucket list to revisit when the event is held again.

When driving through the area, we noticed the smallest church building we have ever seen.  Of course, this means stopping to get a photo.  So here is the "World's Smallest (Active Worship) Catholic Church."  The name is St. Martins and visitors are welcome. (That is what the sign has printed on it.)

After leaving Round Top, we found ourselves in La Grange.  Another place we have not been or seen before and was pleasantly surprised.  We found some very large older homes in the town itself and drove around looking at them.  The other surprise we had was when we turned the corner to see this tree growing in the middle of the street.  There was no explanation or plaque giving the reason why the tree was left and the street built around it.  There were only some warning signs located on each side of the tree that would illuminate at night when headlights shined on them.  Just one of the curiosities of life we find in our travels.

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

View from around the corner.

Later in the week, I took advantage of our location’s proximity to visit Elgin, Texas.  The ‘g_i_n’ in Elgin is pronounced the same as in the word ‘begin’.  The reason for the visit was to do some genealogical research.  My second great grandfather, James Madison Quinn, moved from Tennessee after the War Between the States to take up residence in Texas.  He is the first Quinn in my direct line to make his way to Texas between 1865 and 1869.  Beverly and I spent part of the day in the local library, visited a historic train depot museum (that houses local historic documents and photos) and toured a couple of cemeteries.  The day was quite productive and fun for me as I learned new information and got to walk some of the same ground my ancestors walked.  I remarked to Beverly that doing genealogy research is a lot like a detective.  As you find information and answers to your questions, it invariably brings up more questions.  Oftentimes, these are questions that will never be answered.

Saturday found us sampling some local Bar-B-Que and then visiting a local festival.  This festival is located in a town of just 300+ people.  The town is Burton and the festival was the Cotton Gin Festival.  When we got up this morning, we had no idea we would see and tour a Cotton Gin that actually still bales one bale of cotton each year during this festival plus see an antique tractor pull.  Yes, you read that correctly, an antique tractor pull.  The only thing we missed (much to my dismay) was a performance from the Shiner (as in Shiner, Texas) Hobo Band.  We heard a little of the music as we passed by the tent when we first arrived but were drawn to the vendors, the cotton gin tour and the tractor pull before circling back around to the tent.  By the time we made it back, we saw them breaking everything down and storing it back into their buses.  Yes, two buses as there were probably two dozen band members.  Oh well, that goes into the bucket list too; to make a future performance of the Shiner Hobo Band.  (If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to get a bigger bucket.)

This year's 500 pound bale of cotton produced by this historic gin.

Hooking one up! ...And here we go!

Now I am back at the campground enjoying the ambiance and reminiscing over the previous week’s activities and sharing them with you.  Until next posting, keep on adventuring, for we will.

Bluebonnets, Bluebonnets and more Bluebonnets

We are still on the lookout for the tallest Bluebonnet (as previously reported in the last posting) ever recorded.  Luckily our intelligence sources keep providing clues as to possibilities.  Our latest location is near Spicewood, Texas in an area known as Muleshoe Recreation Area.  This is an area adjacent to Lake Travis in a spot controlled by the Lower Colorado River Authority.  Imagine our surprise when we topped the hill to take in this view.  (click the arrow to view the video)

According to our source, you can actually smell the flowers before you see them.  Since the wind was blowing rather strongly, we did not smell them before seeing them but once we made our way into the midst of them, we were enveloped in a smell that cannot be described but only experienced.  It was glorious to see the sights accompanied by the beautiful fragrance of all these flowers.  Since our mission was to locate the largest Bluebonnet, we drove through acres and acres of these bluebonnets but to no avail.  Even though our search was unsuccessful, we have experienced something beyond our wildest dreams with all these blooms.

After such an excursion, we were famished and decided we needed nourishment.  As we looked on our iPhone app to see what was around us to choose from we discovered an obvious choice after seeing so many Bluebonnets. Located just a few miles from the fields of Bluebonnets is the Bluebonnet Café in Marble Falls, TX.  It was as if a ‘sign’ was provided to affirm the choice.  So off we go to find this ‘landmark’ business that has been around since 1929.  One of the interesting phrases associated with this establishment is ‘Pie Happy Hour’ and you know that was enough to seal the deal.

Upon arrival (around 1 PM) at the café, it is determined this is a great choice according to the line waiting to get seated.  The line stretched out the door and was steadily growing in length.  In order to secure our place we hopped out of the car and hastily made our way to the end of the line.  We were not at the end very long as there were a number of folks with the same intent.  We spent maybe 30 minutes waiting before being seated.  Interestingly, this is what you pass right before you get to the point in the line where you will be seated.  You get to spend approximately five minutes in this spot surveying all of the possibilities.

Yes, that is super tall meringue on the pies.

Once seated, you are amazed as you watch this machine like performance of the workers as they steadily provide drinks, take orders, deliver food and slice the aforementioned pies to serve to the guests.  It is a well-oiled and practiced crew that can turn the seating over efficiently and keep that seating line moving at a respectable pace.  The food is fabulous too and the pie is delicious as well.  Unable to continue our search for the largest Bluebonnet (due to stuffed bellies and sleepy eyes) we managed to make it back to the campground for some needed rest.

See that guy staring at my pie, wishing he had a bite?

Lemon Meringue

During our stay at Canyon Lake, it was nice to catch up with folks from our past.  David and Sophie met with a former co-worker and caught up on what has transpired between the time they last saw each other and now.  Beverly and I got to meet her former supervisor and his wife at their Canyon Lake condo home.  After some very good directions we pulled up to a great looking place that was even nicer on the inside.  We had a nice visit and got to see their place with a view that was really outstanding.  We also encountered this friendly reminder during our visit to the lake and the dam.

  

As with all things, time moves on and we needed to do so too.  We left our recent home to head east towards our next destination at Lake Somerville just outside of Brenham.  This is our next destination in our quest for wildflowers, including the largest Bluebonnet on record.  Upon arrival at the park, we are pleasantly surprised about the beauty of the sites chosen online having never been here before.  We are not so pleasantly surprised to find out there is no water in the park and the distribution system is being repaired.  My comment to the gate attendant is for one day only correct?   Her response is, “We hope so, too!”  We had water by the end of the day and are very thankful we did not have to move.

Our first excursion into this area reveals many wildflowers but unfortunately, the grasses have grown up taller than the flowers.  Many spots have some beautiful fields of color that are all but obscured by the waving tall grass.  Oh well, we commented we have been blessed beyond measure as to what we have already seen.  Besides, we still have a Bluebonnet Festival to attend this coming weekend.  What better place to look for the largest Bluebonnet on record than at the festival celebrating Bluebonnets?

Before we make it to the festival, we have stopped to examine the first location of Baylor University at Independence, Texas.  Just down the street from where Texas declared its independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836.  This location is also close to where Sam Houston lived prior to taking up residence in Austin as President of the Republic of Texas.  The university was eventually abandoned when moved to Belton for the females and Waco for the males, eventually becoming Mary Hardin Baylor and Baylor respectively.  From there we pushed on to Washington-on-the-Brazos state park operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife.  Here we saw lots of historical sights and things associated with the birth of Texas.

Original site of Baylor

Flowers at Independence, Texas

Lutheran church built in 1860, addition on left was recent

Before heading back to the campground, we made our obligatory stop at Wal-mart to stock up on supplies once again.  It is tough having to rough it like we do.  Here is an example of one of our camp meals and just how tough we have it when traveling.

Baked Ham, Purple Hull Peas, Mac n Cheese, Rolls, Pickles, Iced Tea - This is roughing it!

The day has finally arrived.  It is overcast and threat of rain and thunderstorms so we head out early to the festival.  Not just any festival but the ‘official’ Bluebonnet Festival of Texas as designated by the Texas Legislature.  It is held on the second weekend of April each year at Chappell Hill, Texas right outside of Brenham, Texas.

51st Annual Bluebonnet Festival

Upon arrival, we head directly to the whirligig exhibit just inside the gate.  We could load up on these fun and animated by the wind objects but through great restraint just admire them and move on.  Now the same cannot be said about certain products encountered along the way.  Towards the end of the exhibits on Main Street, David and Beverly spotted a strange and unique sight.  It was a gentleman wearing an odd-looking apron (with a pattern resembling a Holstein cow) of black splotches on white background.

 

Like a magnet, they were immediately drawn to this odd looking sight and listened attentively to the sales pitch.  That was not their downfall, it was the next extremely smart marketing move employed by the gent.  He dropped some of the product he was hawking onto their hands and asked them to rub it in.  This they did obediently (since he had them in an almost trance-like state) and he began to close the noose, er I mean push for action on their part.  Being strong-willed our intrepid festival going partners resisted the urge to make a purchase and moved on.  However, this skilled peddler was not through with them by a long shot.  The product he was peddling and had liberally spread onto their hands was having the desired effect.  About a block later, the two of them had discussed the most economical means of obtaining this highly desirable product and had done an about face, double timing it back to the concessionaire’s location.  Here they are coming back, triumphantly showing the purchased goods.

Guess what we got?

Now what is this alluring, cannot be resisted product you ask?  Why it's Udder Balm!  Yes, that is correct ‘Udder’ as in a cow’s udder.  Of course that is part of the sales pitch.  “The balm that will make even a cow’s teat soft and just think what it will do for your skin.”  I am happy to report that it does make the skin soft and according to Bibi, makes her feel good.  However, I am not sure she appreciated my remark after caressing her skin, ‘that makes me want to milk your arm.’  I can say without hesitation that it is udderly fantastic as to how much fun I am having in describing this udderly wonderful episode from our udderly great travel adventures.  I think I will ask her to pass her udder arm to me so I can caress it too!

That is not the only strange and beautiful sight at the festival.  There were many things to see, including various live performances from different types of musical performers.  One of the most outstanding items was a huge, old house that was not part of the festival but belonged to a local resident.  This is a side view that shows its size, the manicured lawn and gardens.

Side view of house on Main Street in Chappell Hill, Texas

After leaving the festival, we decided we needed a pizza fix.  After consulting the iPhone app, we located a pizzeria and headed there to satisfy the urge.  There were other folks there and some we even recognized as having attended the Bluebonnet festival.  During the meal, Sophie announced she needed a new hairdo and was possibly entertaining trying the look sported by a lady in a booth close to our table.  From this ensued a very serious conversation between David and Sophie (as you can see in the following picture) about the ‘do’ under consideration.  You can see the ‘do’ in the picture immediately following the discussion picture.

David wants to know if she is serious about this potential change????

The DO - Please DON'T do the DO Sophie!!!!

Until the next post, let this thought (along with the udderly marvelous udder balm) dominate your every udder thought.