Saturday 25 November 2006

An Evening Out

Can you believe a month from today is Christmas? It just doesn’t seem like it with all the sun and nice weather. Even with the Christmas decorations in the downtown area when you’re brought up with snow at Christmas, sun and heat don’t do it for me. Not that I miss the snow and cold weather at all!

I called Mustang Island State Park and they have lots of openings contrary to what it showed online and staying a week didn’t appear to be a problem. So I guess we’re going there tomorrow. It will be nice to be so close to the ocean (gulf).

Gordon went out this morning to do a last run at photographing the Missions and when he got back I went in to WalMart and H.E.B. (a Texas grocery) to pick up last minute things before heading out tomorrow.

Last night they had a lighting ceremony on Riverwalk to turn on the Christmas lights so we decided to go tonight instead hoping there would be less people. NOT! The place was packed. It was such a beautiful mild evening we decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants along Riverwalk. Most were lined up with a 40 minute wait but one restaurant was getting them in and out and we only had about a 3-5 minute wait. So we had dinner at The Original Mexican Restaurant & Bar. I had a salad and I have to say that the Asian salad I had for lunch at McDonald’s at half the price was much better! However the atmosphere was much nicer on Riverwalk so we took some photos and looked in some shops and enjoyed the beautiful weather!

Below are some of the photos I took this evening.



Friday 24 November 2006

Fog, Housework and Meeting People from Home


This morning's fog over the field behind us

It was mild enough last night to sleep with the bedroom windows open. It was foggy this morning though and the fog was coming in through the windows so we closed up so things wouldn’t get damp.

Since we’re leaving on Sunday, I decided to get the laundry done this morning. Our plan is to stay at Mustang Island State Park for a week and there won’t be laundry facilities there so unless I go hunting for a Laundromat it will be a while before I’ll be doing laundry again.

Another beautiful day after the fog burned off so I sat outside for a while again. We also met up with another couple from Ottawa who had left their card in our door yesterday while we were at the potluck. They are also heading out Sunday but they are going to Mexico for the winter.

This afternoon Gordon went to take some more photos of the Missions so while he was gone I vacuumed and washed the floors then just read and watched TV. While we're at Mustang Island, a lot of sand will probably be dragged into the RV. We will be just over the dunes from the Gulf. We haven't booked it yet as we hate making reservations too far in advance but as of now, that's the plan.

Thursday 23 November 2006

Happy Thanksgiving and Yummy Potluck!


It was a bit foggy this morning but quickly turned into a bright, sunny day.

We showed up at our potluck with our covered dish. Unfortunately the Rocky Road bars didn’t set very well so I didn’t take them as they would have been too messy to eat. They weren’t missed however as there was lots of food and lots of desserts. Quite a few people attended, I thought there would be more though. We sat at a table with a group of people from Mission, Texas which is in the Rio Grande Valley and one couple from Albany New York. His wife was from Chile. She has been in New York for 18 years and still is very difficult to understand. The food was excellent and we both stuffed ourselves. I didn’t go near the dessert table as the main course was so good.

When we got back to the RV, there was a card in the door from another couple who are also from Ottawa that want us to drop by. I wound up sitting outside for a while but then came in and lay down to read. Next thing I know, I woke up and it was nearly 5:00 p.m. Turkey does make me sleepy!

No further plans for today so will do my posting early.

The photo was taken at the potluck of our table. All the people are looking the other way as there was a football game on the widescreen TV.

Wednesday 22 November 2006

Shopping and Potluck Prep


Photo taken by Gordon

The Torch of Friendship (La Antorcha dela Amistad)

Representing the longstanding friendship and roots shared between Mexico and the USA.
Tower of the Americas in the background.
Photographed in San Antonio, Texas USA

We’re so lucky! It’s another beautiful sunny, warm day and tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer!

This morning I ventured into the outskirts of the city where there is a couple of WalMarts, Target, Big Lots etc and spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon doing girlie things like shopping. I didn’t buy all that much except groceries but it was nice to get out on my own and see what I want to see without tying Gordon up all day. I got back around 2:00 p.m. long before rush hour hit.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and our campground is having a potluck. We are each to bring a covered dish and a dessert. Since Gordon has celiac disease, I always make something that he can eat so I’m making my usual potluck Calico Beans and for dessert, my niece, Danica’s Rocky Road Bars except I made them with butterscotch instead of chocolate as Gordon can’t eat chocolate. I’ll put the crockpot on overnight as the potluck is at 11:00 a.m.

I didn’t take any photos today so borrowed one from Gordon.

Tuesday 21 November 2006

A Cruise on the Riverwalk

The days here are carbon copies of each other, sunny and bright with clear blue skies. The sun seems much brighter in Texas than it does at home. I talked to my sister, Margie this afternoon and she said they have had 52 days of cloudy weather in the last 76 days. The sun shone today for a few hours for the first time in ages. We’ve been really lucky in the weather department since we hit Texas!

Today we didn’t do much until this afternoon when we decided to go into town and take a Riverwalk cruise. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, the Riverwalk area is very pretty. It’s lined with buildings, trees and flowers and is a horseshoe area that flows through downtown San Antonio. It has become more well known as a tourist area in San Antonio than the Alamo. See some photos below that I took on our cruise. The actual cruise boat is a barge as you can see in the photos. Our tour guide “Murray” was a good ole boy originally from Tennessee. He was full of jokes and tidbits as well as interesting information about Riverwalk and the buildings surrounding it. If you’re interested in the history of Riverwalk, click here.







Monday 20 November 2006

Nothing Happening Today!


I woke up in the night last night, couldn’t sleep so moved to the couch and read, then fell asleep again. I never feel up to par if I don’t sleep through the night so didn’t get my walk in this morning even though it was another beautiful, bright, sunny day.

I sat outside for a while and watched the butterflies flying around. They are lots of butterflies here in Texas, I read some but mostly just enjoyed the day and the fact that I’m still feeling better.

Late this afternoon Gordon went to take some more Mission photos. I asked him to pick up something for his dinner as I didn’t feel like cooking. There’s a burger place right close to the campground so he got a burger there.

Not much happening here today!

Sunday 19 November 2006

Another Sunny Texas Day!


Here's a Christmas tree that I saw on our drive today

Gordon took this photo of me yesterday when we were doing the Mission tour

And the good news is – we both feel better today! I even went for a walk this morning which I haven’t been doing consistently for the past week. Gordon went out to The Alamo before sunrise to get some photos.

Another beautiful day, sunny and 75F (24C) with a light breeze. I sat outside and read for a while. We had to do a WalMart trip today so got groceries then came back and after unpacking them we drove into the city and looked around. We were going to tour the Botanical Gardens but it was already 4 p.m. and they close at 5 p.m. So we’ll have to leave that for another day.