Roswell New Mexico

Friday 26 April 2019

We had breakfast in, then headed into town.  We parked and walked up to the visitors center, but we

Our new !from

the Visitors Center

already had all the hand outs that they had.  We did manage to get our pictures taken with the aliens while we were there.  We then headed down the street, hitting a couple of the shops, of course they are all alien related, go figure.  We had lunch at Pepper's Bar and Grill, my meal was good, Brad's was OK.  More walking after that and we made it to the UFO Museum.  It really was interesting to walk through.  There were a lot of the testimonials of the people that were supposedly at the UFO crash site, most from their death beds since their lives and the lives of their

A display from

the museum.

families were threatened if they ever spoke of the incident.  There was a lot of information on many more sightings from all over the world along with pictures and transcripts.   It really makes you think.  Head home, rescue Rudy a couple of walks, dinner and off to bed.

We found the New Mexico

Military Institute, where our

son-in-law, Len attended 

High School.  

Saturday 27 April 2019

We had breakfast on the grill, then headed into town to visit the museum.  We stopped at three different ones and they were all closed....what the heck.  The only thing we could find open was a

Enjoyably !!

winery....imagine that.  Well we stopped in and did a wine tasting which ended up being some pretty decent wine, so we decided to stay for lunch and have a nice glass of wine.  Well you know how that goes, we couldn't decide on something we both liked, so we each had something different, ordered sandwiches (which were wonderful).  Then we ordered another glass of wine and headed to the patio, there was finally a seat open out side.  We ended up being there about 3 hours, had a nice time, but  the shopping got put on hold, headed home and a walk for Rudy....and us.  Oh what a day, day drinking and off to bed earlier than normal.

Sunday 28 April 2019

Today is a stay at home, clean, laundry and all that fun stuff you still need to do.  We did a lot of break walks with Rudy, then headed out about 2:00 to find the grocery store and get the few things

Down the road from us

was a flying pig.  

we needed.  Back home finish all that we had started, wine didn't get opened until about 6:00, then a start to a great evening dinner.  We had the last of the Filet mignons, mushrooms and enjoyed the evening.  Not much exciting but a lot of little things got done.

Monday 29 April 2019

It was kind of a cool morning but we still had breakfast on grill.  We headed in to town around 1030 to the Historical Society Museum.  It was in a old house of one of the original cattle ranchers of the area. Is was a grand old house for the time.  It was brick/stone, some 5000 plus square foot 2 and 1/2 story house.  Beautiful wood work including a 4 foot wide front door.  Lot of historical displays upstairs including the 1956 Little League Championship team photo from Williamsport Pa.  Next was lunch at a Thai place, the food was great and we brought half of it home.   Our last task of the day was to pick up some wine.  Not an easy task, we went from one end of town to the other stopped at three stores and when it was over we ended up buying wine at Walgreens.  Finally we head home, walked Rudy and left overs for dinner and start packing for our move tomorrow.

The museum was a 

home built in 1912.

An original stained

glass window in the

home/museum.

Beautiful!!

Lubbock then out of Texas

Monday 22 April 2019

We were on the road by 9:30, it was an uneventful drive to Lubbock TX arriving and set up by 2:30.  It was our usual day of travel 207 miles but only one stop.  We have been staying off the interstates the only problem is finding a rest area.  Now there are a lot of places to pull over but I don't know if I can maneuver the motor home through it until you are passing it.  Anyway, we drove through some desolate areas and didn't eat lunch until we were about an hour away from Lubbock.  It was very cool temps only in the low 60's.  No grilling just left overs for dinner.

Tuesday 23 April 2019

Woke up to the pitter patter of rain drops and that was nice because we had hard rain during the night with a  tornado warning for a hour or so.  Tired of that, this is the third stop in a row with tornado warnings.  It is not funny and Diane has started asking where the shelter is when we check in.  Anyway that didn't stop us.  After an indoor breakfast we headed out for the day umbrellas in hand.  First was the Silent Wings Museum it is a museum of the glider planes used during WWII.  We thought it would take a hour or so ended up we were in there for 2 1/2 hours.  I never realized how much they were used I knew they were used on D-day but I found out they were used through out Europe and the Philippines.  They even had a small bulldozer they carried to build a landing strip.  We were starved by the time we left so we stopped at the closest place for lunch.  We were lucky it was an event center that happen to serve lunch and it was great.  It was a smoke house and we ordered the BEAST and of course we shared it.  It consisted of 4 slices of brisket, 4 ribs, 1/4 lb. smoked turkey, 2 jalapeno and cheese sausages,  1/3 lb. pulled pork, homemade biscuits and two sides.  Oh I forgot a cup of jalapeno bean stew came with it.  We brought half of it home. And the day wasn't over next was the Buddy Holly museum and again it took twice as long as we thought it would.  And again you learn so much.  I'll just mention two things Buddy Holly's professional career only last 18 months and his group was the Crickets and they so impressed a group from England they called themselves the Beatles.  By now we were exhausted back home, walk Rudy and snacks for 

dinner.

 Glider used in WWII

Buddy Hollys Famed glasses

Child hood home of J. I. Allison, he wrote 'That'll Be the Day" and he and Buddy wrote many of their songs in this home.

Wednesday 24 April 2019

Another cool cloudy day but without rain.  To cool to grill so indoor breakfast then off again.  Today we had a lot of stops.  Started at the post office,  liquor store, lunch and then the Wind Power Museum.  We learned our lesson and had lunch before the museum.  We stopped at the Iron Skillet it was very good we both just had salad with chicken.  After yesterday we had to step it down a notch.  Then off to the Wind Power Museum again it was ten times larger than we planned for. There were three arena size buildings all connected and probably 2 acres of outside displays.  There were displays of mill wheels often turned by wind mills, huge scales train running the length of the building.  By the time we were done it was to late to stop at the winery.  I know, really, better planning next time.  Back to Rudy some walks, packing for trip tomorrow and left overs for dinner. 

This ones for Dad!

Lots and lots of

Windmills!

 

A Lady made miniature homes and 

Display pieces.   There must have been 

100 of them.  This is just one of them.

A display of Grinding stones,

many from PA and this one is

from Hershey Chocolate Factory.

                                             
There was also a huge model train display.  I didn't get a picture but it was really great and covered half of the first building then climbed a platform and ran around the building over head.

Thursday 25 April 2019

Still cool this morning but it is to warm up to 80's this afternoon.  Breakfast, cleaned up and on the road by 10:20.  Learning from previous trips we started looking for a lunch spot much sooner.  We pulled into a large gas station with lots of parking for lunch.  A very nice ride again all on secondary roads.  We arrived at our campground and WOW what a scary place, we drove in one end and out the other.  While I was turning the coach around Diane found another place just two miles away and it was great.  Temps were is the 80's so burgers on the grill for dinner.

   Lessons learned in Texas.  Everything is bigger in Texas, an F150 is just a soccer mom's vehicle.   Wind is just a way of life.  Tornadoes to Texans is just another cloudy day.  And we were surprised with industries we didn't associate with Texas.  Sheep and goats are huge along with cotton.  Today we drove for miles and miles with nothing but cotton fields with an occasional oil pumper.

Now we are in Roswell, sleeping with the Aliens!!

That's our RV in the background!!

Easter weekend

Friday 19 April 2019  (Good Friday)

Lovely this morning but it was breakfast in anyway.  We watched a group of airmen setting up for what looked like a retirement party with color guard and everything, so we headed out with Rudy just as their ceremony started.  We didn't want to leave him here with all the commotion right beside the camper.  We stopped and got a pizza then drove to a nearby state park for a little picnic lunch.   The lake is at only 14 percent of water capacity but nice anyway.  We had a nice lunch but the trails were just a little to narrow to take Rudy on.  The cactus plants were right to the edge of the trail.  We drove all around the park and finally found a mile loop of  road we could walk.  It was kind of funny to see boat ramps that are 100 yards away from the water. We would love to see it again when it is full.  Back to the camper another great day to sit outside for happy hour. 

Saturday 20 April 2019

Sitting area at 

Miss Hattie's 

Breakfast on the grill cleaned up and headed to town by 11:00.  We walked through several antique stores and mercantile.  The highlight of the day was lunch at Miss Hattie's  Restaurant and Cathouse Lounge.  We split a club sandwich and soup which was very good. And then a tour of Miss Hattie's Bordello.  It was really cool, the bordello operated from 1902 until 1952 when the Texas rangers came to San Angelo just to shut it down.  The girls all left town and Miss Hattie simply locked the doors.  No one touched anything until 1975 when someone realized the historic significance and turned it into a museum. The beds, furnishing, clothing and personal items are just like they were in 1952.  Several "girls" settled locally so they had to remove the last names from the record book. With the authenticity it was one of the best finds we came across lately.  Back to the campground and wow the place has just exploded with tent campers and day use gatherings. People and KIDS running through the camp site, they were everywhere.  Leftovers for dinner locked the doors and off to bed.

Sunday 21 April 2019  (Happy Easter)

Happy Easter to everyone.  We had a beautiful sunrise and a warm sunny day. I made chorizo, egg and cheese wraps with all the fixin's  for Easter breakfast.  The tent campers and picnic people were not bad at all.  We spent the day cleaning and packing for our trip tomorrow.  And once again I waited the entire week before I cleaned the windshield and once again it was hard to clean.  The crowd started to thin out by 3pm or so. Diane had made us baked ham, pickled eggs, coleslaw and potato salad for Easter dinner.  A very nice day.

Off to San Angelo

Monday April 15, 2019

Up, packed, vehicle hooked up and we heading out of San Antonio by 10:30.  We timed that right,

there wasn't a lot of traffic and since it was 8 lanes of upper and lower roads we were thankful.  We finally get off I-10 and get on State road 87 which was a direct shot to San Angelo.  It was an uneventful ride with only 1 stop, but we did find a couple of towns that looked interesting to come back and visit.  We finally pulled into the Goodfellow AFB Recreation Area and were parked and set up by 3:30.  Nice ground with lots of potential, just needs some decent maintenance, and grass trimmed.  We took a couple of walks around the park, then we sat outside and met the neighbor lady, then headed inside right around dark.  Burgers and fixin's for dinner.

Tuesday April 16, 2019

We both got up feeling like crap.  I guess we are following the allergies right up thru Texas and neither of us slept very well as we got congested when we laid down last night.  It probably didn't help that it's a gray and cloudy day.  Brad ended up making breakfast on the grill, then about 11:00 we headed out to find a BB &B, a place for lunch, drug store and a free ATM machine then did some sight seeing of the city before we head home at 3:30, now we have found a couple of places to go visit for the rest of the week.  Back home a walk for Rudy, laundry and working on the blog.  No clue what's for dinner, but that will be a little later. 

Wednesday April 17 2019.

Up, breakfast and out of here by 10:30. Headed in town to Fort Concho an old fort from the Indian

wars time (1857) the buildings were made of stone and have held up amazingly well over the years.  We spent almost two hours there and learned quite a bit about life on the frontier.  Then in town to the  Zero One Ale house for lunch, Diane had blackened fish tacos(very good) and I had Cajun chicken(OK). We walked through town and checked out some antique stores and Murals painted on the sides of buildings.  Some are historic and some are just scenic but all are very well done.  On the way home we stopped at the grocery store trying to find something for dinner.  We ended up with stuffed mushrooms that we did on the grill, yum.

Thursday April 18 2019.

Today we had a wind warning.  Now in this part of Texas any wind less than 15 mph is considered calm, 15 to 25mph is breezy so today we found out that when they have a wind warning, it is 30 mph

Vietnam Memorial

and up.  I just finished cooking breakfast on the grill when the wind picked up.  We stayed inside and rocked and rolled with the wind.  We made some more reservations but we have been having a hard time finding CG's.  We want to go see the Carlsbad Caverns only to find the gas &oil business has overwhelmed the campgrounds out here.  Most private campground only take reservations by the month.  Diane was persistent and found us four nights at a campground close enough to the caverns.  The wind eased up a little and we went to the grocery store(wine) and stopped a Vietnam Memorial to pay our respects.  Dinner inside and by 8pm the wind had subsided.    

Couple days of Maintance and Recover

Friday 12 April 2019

Breakfast on the grill and it was a cleaning, phone calls, and planning kind of day.  We were sitting outside talking when a gust of wind came up and we heard this bang, looked over to see the cover from the sewer vent lying on the ground.  Something else to fix later.  About 3pm we made a quick run to the class six store. By the time we returned the road to camp ground was closed.  We went looking for a go around couldn't find one, went back and were directed through the aquatic park parking lot where another solider assured us that road was also closed.  We went back for the third time to where the road was blocked off sat in a line waiting.  One car coming toward us went around the barricade. I waited a while to make sure he made it to the CG road, then we went rogue out thru the grass over the ditch and into the camp ground. We were sitting, talking, laughing about the ride when another gust of wind blew the door shut.  Diane came out and door wouldn't stay open, yep it broke the spring that holds the door open.  Put it on the things to fix list(s).

Saturday 13 April 2019

Quick breakfast and Diane was off for a pedi at 10;00.  I spent the entire time watching the weather and timing my run to the tornado shelter.  Well, nothing happened to us, just a thunder storm or two,  but just west of us they had a lot of hail with some places getting 3 inch hail stones.  Diane returned and by the time we had lunch the sun was out.  I went up on the roof to check the broken vent.  And it is the hard fix, I will have to scrap off old putty, remove old broken fixture, install new one, re caulk  and then replace cover that blew off.  Don't you just love having a camper?  Next was three loads of laundry and finally happy hour.

Sunday 14 April 2019

Breakfast on the grill and day of cleaning, scrubbing, and packing up the camper for travel. I washed the front of the Moho so we could see to drive.  The bug juice was smeared pretty well and now it has dried on for a week. Another year or two I'll learn to clean that soon after we park.  A last minute run to the commissary and chicken on the grill for dinner.  This is a very nice campground with spacious sites, cement pads and paved roads.  We spent more money for down town parking then we did for the camp site.

Waco to San Antonio

Sunday 7 April 2019

We got up to the sound of rain again this morning.  We had breakfast in, then in between rain

Just had to eat here!!

showers took the laundry down to the laundromat.  Back to the house, showers and off to 'Rudy's BBQ' for lunch, great food.  Back home and I hooked up the Nintendo game Shane got us for Christmas, that was a nice break from the radio and TV.  After that I packed up some of the inside things planning on our move on Monday.  About 3:00 the rain quit, so outside with Rudy and while we were out there, the planes from the airshow next door started to perform.  We stood outside for about an hour watching the planes and talking with the other campers, we were all were glad to be able to be outside.  About 4:30 we headed out for another walk, but that got cut short due to more rain.  I had put a beef roast in the crock pot and we had BBQ sandwiches for dinner. 

Monday 8 April 2019

Up this morning for a quick breakfast and then Brad packed up the wet/soggy out side stuff to get ready to move.  The rain had quit over night, but from the wet and dampness, the sand just stuck with everything.  Oh well, we are on the road about 10:00 heading south on I-35 to San Antonio.  It was an uneventful ride with the first stop at a rest area for lunch and a nice 45 min. break.  The speed limit on the roads out here is 75, we don't travel that fast, but it really makes you pay attention to all that's
going on around you.  We were about 30 min. out from our CG when we found the famous 'Buc-ees' gas station/store.  I swear there were 100 gas pumps (and no it isn't a truck stop, 18 wheelers are not allowed at their pumps) and the store was huge.  We spent about another 45 min. there, got a cup of coffee and just strolled through the store checking every thing out.  Back on the road and we pulled into the 'Fort Sam Houston RV Park' about 3:10, but it took me 20 min. in the office to get us checked in, there was a line of RV'ers checking in.  We finally get to our site, park and set up by 3:45.  Beautiful CG and our site is wonderful, it is 85 degrees here but we have a nice shade tree that covers the patio and the side of the Moho.  We enjoyed the evening out side while Brad made burgers on the grill and we were all off to bed by 10:00.

Tuesday 9 April 2019

Brad and I at the Alamo

 Up, showered and we are out the door about 9:30.  We stopped at the office and got a map of the base, directions on how to get down town and where to park, we are only about 10 miles from the Alamo.    We bought the 'hop on/hop off' bus ticket on line, $30.00 for 3 days or if you buy it in town its $35.00 a day, go figure.  We visited the Alamo and  learned a lot, the most interesting is that it was originally a church, but we probably spent about an hour to 1.5 hours there, lots to see and read.  After that we claimed our bus ticket, then headed down to the river walk to find a place to eat, imagine this, we had Mexican food and it really wasn't too bad. We strolled around the river walk for a while then headed up to the street to catch the bus to do some site seeing.  Back home about 4:30, a walk for Rudy and chicken on salad for dinner.  84 degrees today


Wednesday 10 April 2019

We were up, off and running about 10:00.  We found another place to park then headed over to catch the bus to go to the far end of the route to the Pearl Entertainment center (an old brewery).  It was rather disappointing, everything was outrageously priced.  We headed down to the river walk from there and walked over to the VFW Post 76, the oldest VFW in Texas.   After that back to the river walk to head to the restaurant area, Brad neglected to tell me it was a 3 mile walk (or at least it felt that long), but we made it.  We stopped at Joe's Crab Shack for lunch (2:00 pm), and for a chain restaurant the food was actually pretty good. After that we strolled around some more then headed back to the truck about 3:30.  Back on base we stopped at the Class six store for some wine and checked out the PX while we were there....this place is huge and so are their stores here on base.  We got back to the RV about 4:30, rescued Rudy with 1 quick walk,, then sat on the patio and had cheese and crackers for dinner.  It was a nice evening to sit out and enjoyed the evening.  94 degrees today.

                                                 

The Pearl Area

           and the VFW Post 76






Thursday 11 April 2019

Up this morning and back in town, it's our last day to use the bus pass.  First thing we did was head down to the river walk and headed away from the restaurant area.  The hotels all lined this section

Some of the Art work

on the River Walk!!

and it was beautiful, peaceful and quiet.  We enjoyed that walk then headed back to the restaurant area to find a place for lunch settling on the Salt Grass Steak House....we weren't disappointed. I had a grilled pineapple margarita with some food, yum.   After lunch we caught the bus and took it over to the Mexican Market, over 300 shops.  What they neglected to tell you is that all the shops sell the exact same items.  We walked around there for a while then hopped the bus again and rode it back to the main station.  They really do give you a lot of the history of San Antonio and show you sites that you would never find on your own.  By this time it's 2:30, so we thought we would surprise Rudy and get home early.  It was a nice evening for sitting out side while Brad made chicken on the grill.   87 degrees today.

Still in Waco!!

Thursday April 4, 2019

Thursday morning we got up had a quick breakfast and were off and running again.  First we drove

One of the homes

that were redone!!

past a couple of the homes that were on the Fixer Upper show, we both were surprised about the area of town they were in, not the nicest.  Next stop was the Harp Design Company, I did have to get myself a long sleeved t-shirt from there.  After that a quick bite to eat then off to find a couple of junk shops to hit and then another house or two from the show, much nicer areas.  Lastly we drove past an old restored 1929 Gulf station that was pretty neat to see.  We headed home about 4:00 pm, rescued Rudy with a couple of walks around the park then left overs for dinner.

 

This is the Harp Design Co. Shop

And on the right is the restored Gas Station.

Friday April 5, 2019

We got up to a gray overcast day, so we took our time getting ready to head out and Brad even made

Great Shop!

breakfast on the grill.  We didn't head out until about 11:00 and headed to the Magnolia Market just to see if it was any busier on a Friday then Wednesday... oh my there were just throngs of people and the line for the bakery was around the corner and almost a block long.  Brad had dropped me off at the market then headed out to find a place to park....not an easy task.  We meet up at a store just down from the market called 'The Findery', it took us almost an hour to walk through there.  We went next door to 'The Backyard Bar and Grill' for lunch, I can't even say it was OK.  I think that was the worst meal we have had since we started traveling.  We were heading back to the car when we passed a familiar name, Jimmy Don, he was the Metal sign guy on the Fixer Upper show and he was actually

Jimmy Don heading

into his little

store area!

at his little store front, I got a quick picture and off we go to the car.  It is still rather gray day, but we decided to head out to Lake Waco just to check out the CG's and see what they looked like.  The CG's weren't to bad, but the haze over the lake made it a bit eerie.  After that trip, it's about 2:30 so we decided to head home early, but did a detour to the Cheese Shop that was actually in the 'Homestead Village', and didn't leave there until 4:30.  We hurried home, walked Rudy and sat outside with the computers, looking up stuff and planning our next trip until it was time for dinner.  We had burgers on the grill and coleslaw and a relaxing evening at home. 

Gray day at Lake Waco

Saturday April 6, 2019

Not much to say about today.  We woke up to rain, that turned into a thunder storm that turned into a tornado watch for our county.  We had the radio on most of the time, but did have to switch to the TV just to figure out how close or far away anything was.  Finally about 1:30 it seemed to get a little brighter so we headed out to do our grocery shopping for our next trip.  Back home, two walks for Rudy while the rain held out then Crawfish Etoufee from the freezer for dinner tonight.  Hopefully Rudy will get another walk or two before bed.

Magnolia Market Waco

Sunday 31 March 2019

Clock on the square

in Centerville

Traveled from Livingston to Waco

  A cloudy cool day for traveling but  not all that bad.  We pulled out around 10:30 and took the back roads all the way to Waco.  We stopped at this neat little town (Centerville), had lunch (a salad with left over steak), took a walk and just enjoyed a hour long break.  We rolled in around 3:00 and were parked and set up by 3:30.  another good travel day 190 miles.

Monday 1 April 2019

 We had to change camp sites today and as we all know it takes the same about of work weather you travel 200 miles or hundred feet.  After settling in to our new spot and getting everything out we headed to Waco to check it out and stop at the visitors center. They was an old cemetery dating to the early 1700's.  Most of the old part is void of markers because they just used wooden crosses to mark grave sites.  They were a few names cut into rocks from the area but very few were legible.  And when they excavated for a new building they found more remains thought to be graves of the poor, black and Indians. And that was it for today.  

  The old cemetery at the Visitors
Center

And our site for the week, nice!!





Tuesday 2 April 2019

The Take Away patio at 

Magnolia Table

  Up early and off to the much anticipated Magnolia Table.  The line was long, over an hour wait time.  We went  around to the Take Away section and got two coffees and a piece of quiche and all that for just $18.00.  Next we headed into down town Waco.  We walked around and found the Spice Village Shops, which was some 20,000 square feet of "crafts, clothing, collectibles" it was OK but a lot of Baylor University stuff and very pricey.  We then walked three or four blocks looking for a restaurant getting hungrier all the time.  We checked the tourist map and found the lunch trucks location and decided to ride the free trolley to get there.  When it stopped it was right beside the Spice Market. Go figure.  These places are located beside Baylor U and there were just kids everywhere hundreds of them maybe more.  We ended up having burgers at Billy Bob's Burger Joint not quite what we were looking for.  We still had to walk 4 or 5 blocks back to the truck.  Then a stop at the grocery store and back home.  A bit of a disappointment but will try again tomorrow.

Wednesday 3 April 2019

  Up early again and off to Magnolia Bakery and Magnolia Market.  The line for the Bakery was long so we just looked as we walked by and headed to the market.  The market was a place to behold just about anything Chip and Joanne that you could imagine.  The place was packed but orderly and we made our way around and found a few thing to purchase.  Things as you would guess are VERY pricey. We had lunch there from the food trucks parked in the Market area and we were not disappointed it was very good. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out several other antique shops and wrapped the day up with a tour of the Dr. Pepper Museum. A wonderful day.  Back home BBQ ribs for dinner(have been cooking all day in the crock pot). 

 These are pictures from the
Magnolia Market.  The place was great.

 Another shop we stopped at.                                                                  The Dr. Pepper museum!