Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Tue Mar 1 - Tue Mar 8 2016.. Diane and Bern visit.



Tue Mar 1 - Wed Mar 9 2016.. Diane and Bern visit. 
Note: Camera went missing Mar 6th .. so no photographs ... sad!!

Tuesday March 1st
Moved rig over to our month spot. Prep day for Diane and Bern coming tomorrow. Went grocery shopping into Hondo and got a few bits ready for their room. Really excited to see them both tomorrow. Forecast for heavy snow tonight and tomorrow morning. Hopefully they will be able to take off.

Wednesday Mar 2
Easy morning and then off to the airport to get Di and Bern. They delayed their flight to avoid the early morning snowy drive to the airport and all was well. Derek dropped Janice off at Arrivals to meet them and went to park the truck in the Cell phone lot to await their call. He promptly fell asleep with the ignition off  (he forgot the truck phone only works with the ignition on)…some time later he was loudly and unceremoniously awakened by Janice hammering on the window…oops  !!! Janice, Diane and Bern started walking when they couldn’t get Derek on the phone, and realizing it was a bit further than expected, they accepted a ride in a rather questionable airport employee’s truck… not the brightest thing to do, but it was almost a necessity. The snoozer was suitably shocked and apologetic!
Di and Bern settled into their room for a quick snooze, then we picked them up again and  brought them back to the RV park and we had a grilled BBQ chicken salad. Great to see them.

Thursday March 3
Beautiful sunny day so off we went to Fredericksburg. It is one of our favourite small towns with lots of great shopping. Sort of a Texan version of Niagara on the Lake. Walked around town for a while and then, after picking up some fresh Pecans just outside town, we headed to Becker's winery and vineyard for a tasting and a lovely picnic.  Fun day.
Friday March 4
Another fine day so the decision was to take in the San Antonio Botanical gardens. We had a lovely lunch there. Although March  is not the best time to visit a botanical gardens, they have done a great job maximizing the space with flowers and it was a great day. 
Saturday March 5
Went to Austin, Lunch at the Hilton grill then Di and Bern went on the duck bus tour while we enjoyed a walk about and a coffee.  Diane and Bern really enjoyed the duck tour and they had a great driver/guide. Dropped by Salt Lick on the return and had another fabulous Texas BBQ. Home quite late after tons of traffic and roadworks

Sunday March 6
Still no rain yet each day thunderstorms were forecast. Went in to San Antonio. First to the San Jose mission then, the Alamo and then settled down to late lunch at the Riverwalk. Di and Bern went on the boats, Janice and I went for a coffee, then realized that we had left the camera on a wall. It was gone. Have reported to the police but no expectation of getting it back.  All our photos for this year, including our trip so far have gone as we hadn’t uploaded them yet. Sad, but it was a wonderful day regardless
Had dinner back at the rig, shrimp marinara and pasta.

Monday March 7
Basically a local day to slow down a bit. Went on a great hike around the local regional park in Castroville and reached the cross at the top. Had coffee and cake at the Castroville café, must go back there! All restaurants seem to close on Mondays, so after much deliberation we ate at the Alsace. Food was excellent.

Tuesday March 8
Into Castroville for Bern to shop,  and then on the to the Natural Bridge caverns at New Braunfels. They were discovered in 1960 and are quite spectacular and interesting.  (photos courtesy of my Iphone). Then we drove to Gruene village for lunch by the river and a walkabout. Sadly in the early evening we dropped Diane and Bern at the La Quinta airport hotel, where they overnighted for their early morning flight home tomorrow. It is hard to believe that their week visiting with is over so soon. We had such a great time and enjoyed showing them some of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of Texas, as well as exploring some sights we have not seen ourselves.  Texas is a great state, such a varied landscape and friendly people.
OLD FRIENDS, GREAT FRIENDS



THE LAST SPOT THAT I LEFT MY CAMERA !!

INTREPID HIKERS

MADE IT TO THE TOP

WE DID IT

PROUD MOMENT

NATURAL CAVERNS IN NEW BRAUNFELS

CHANDELIER FORMATIONS

SO BEAUTIFUL

WELL DESERVED AND YUMMY LUNCH - GRUENE

DELICIOUS CHICKEN FRIED STEAK

CACTI IN TOWN - GRUENE

HANGING OUT IN GRUENE