Places We Have Called Home In 2020

(We’ve Added Another New Home to our Link)

Home Is Where We Park It:  Rainbows End, Livingston, Texas

July 30, 2021

Temperature 95 Degrees

Travel Day

Here we go again.  Knowing we had another, by our standards, long travel day we decided to get on the road as early as possible.  We had packed 90% of everything away the night before as we usually do so it only took us 30 minutes to finish up when we got up.

By 7:45 am the slides were in, the jacks were up, the inverter was on, Elvira had come up to ride height and we were ready to rock and roll.  At 8 am we were on the road and on our way.  Thankfully, unlike previous days traffic today was very light on Texas 46.

Soon enough we were on Route 10 moving East.  This is by and large a great road.  There was some construction in spots, especially in the Houston area, but nothing that caused us any issues.  The only white knuckle moments I had were in several construction zones when they moved those concrete barriers right up against the the shoulder lines to the left and right.  One wrong move and I knew I was going to have a racing stripe down the right side. And this went on sometimes for miles.  Trust me, I breathed a big sigh of relief when we were pass that.

Once again toward the end of our trip we got turned around and headed in the wrong direction.  This time it was not my fault but the crazy GPS.  Thankfully, Barbara caught it quickly enough and it only cost us 10 minutes.

The sign we were looking for.  It marked the entrance to Rainbows End which is the Escapees Park we are going to call home for the next 10 plus days.  We had been on the road for a little over 5 hours and were really looking forward to getting parked and set up.

We checked in and off to our site we went.  But we couldn’t use it.  The 50 amp receptacle was partially melted and there was no way I was plugging into that.

We ended up moving one site over and so here we are.  Our site is gravel, reasonably level, FHU, but with not a shade tree in sight.  It is going to be hot, hot, hot for our entire stay.  This is definitely not my idea of an ideal place to call home but it will do.

Looking to the right.

Looking to the left.  I fell like we are in the middle of a football field, on the 50 yard line and they forgot to tell the rest of the team to show up.  I’m surprised at how empty this park is.  I mean where are all those new RV’ers everyone is talking about.

Across the street from us are some permanent residents.  Looking at the park map my guess is over 90% of the spaces here are deeded lots owned by permanent residents.

So we’re settled in.  The privacy screen and reflectix is on the front windshield.  Since the sun tracks down the passenger side of Elvira I also have reflectix in all of the windows on that side in an attempt to keep some of the heat out.  Our fans are set up where they are typically needed.  Now, as long as the two AC units continue to work we should be good to go.

This is not where we wanted to end up.  Not really.  We were planning on stopping in Houston to tour the Space Center.  However, with COVID-19 going wild in Houston we decided to bypass it this year.  We’re sure it will be there in the years to come.

That was our travel day on The Road of Retirement.  I’m getting much more relaxed driving Elvira.  Indeed, the more seat time I have and the more miles we travel together the more comfortable I become with the way Elvira handles the road.  Give me another year or two and we should be the best of friends.

Thanks for riding with us today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Keep safe out there.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Texas 281 RV Park, Bulverde, Texas

July 29, 2021

Temperature 93 Degrees

Gruene Historic District

Packing Up and Getting Ready For The Road

Just for a moment there this morning I thought we might have some rain.  The sky was dark, covered with clouds, the sun was nowhere to be seen.  Not to be.  An hour later and the sky was clear and the sun was shining bright.

Time to go back to

This wonderful historic district almost never came to be.

For many years Gruene was a prosperous cotton producing area.  However, In 1922 the town’s cotton gin burned down, which proved disastrous for Gruene. The cotton gin never functioned again after that. After the stock market crash of 1929, cotton prices plummeted, and cotton farming ceased in the area altogether.

That should have been the end of Gruene except for one individual. In 1974, Chip Kaufman, an architecture student at UT Austin working with the Texas Historical Commission and an avid kayaker floated down a little further on the Guadalupe River than usual, to the southern most public takeout known as The Gruene Crossing.

After catching a glimpse of an old water tower up the hill peeking above the treetops, he decided to investigate. Astonished by his discovery of numerous late 1800’s and early 1900’s buildings, he immediately realized their significance and requested permission from the Texas Historical Commission to inventory the buildings for their records, which they approved.

While doing this he learned that a group of real estate developers had purchased the last 200+ acres of the Gruene Estate, including all the historic buildings, and planned a housing development which included razing the old structures to build condominiums on the river bluff.

Kaufman convinced the developers of the significance of the buildings in Texas history and with their blessing Kaufman worked to place Gruene on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as an entire district. The developers further agreed to let Kaufman find new owners interested in the old buildings for new commercial ventures which would provide a core for their new housing development.

Pat Molak was among the first of the new owners.  She was frustrated with big-city life and in search of a true Texas dance hall, so she

purchased Gruene Hall in 1975.

Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall that has been continuously operating in Texas. It was built in 1878, and continued to run through prohibition, and even during the towns ghost town days.

Under Pat’s ownership the 6,000 square-foot, open-air dance hall became a virtual magnet, a starting point for many of Texas’ up-and-coming performers, and once again, the heart of Gruene.

Those that have played the Hall included The Chicks (The former Dixie Chicks) George Strait, Hal Ketchum and Willie Nelson.  Riding on their coat tails Gruene literally two stepped out of ghost town status to a bright new future.  The Hall continues to be a live music destination today,

Others soon began to invest in Gruene and these developments seem to rekindle the spark of Gruene and soon the town’s charm began to shine again.

For instance

This restaurant sits right along the Guadalupe River surrounded by large, stately trees. This restaurant is located  at what once was the center of industry inasmuch as it is built in the shell of the old cotton Gin.

And there is more.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to go inside this store.

Nor this one.

But then there was this one.

Come on, let’s go in you are going to be amazed by what’s inside.

Sadly, we didn’t bring any home.

But we did stop here.  What’s a day without a big scoop of ice cream.

Today Gruene itself has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, and many of the buildings have been awarded a Texas medallion from the Texas Historical Commission. It has also been recognized by the Texas travel industry as a premiere attraction for visitors, which is no surprise to its merchants and guests.

Our visit to Gruene has come to an end.  We definitely wish we had had more time to visit the other shops.  One thing is for sure, if we are ever back in this area this little slice of Texas will be on our must revisit list.

That’s it for our day on The Road of Retirement.  Time now to get busy packing up.  We’re back on the road again tomorrow moving yet a little bit further east.

Thanks for stopping by today.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Stay safe, wash your hands and wear your mask.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Texas 281 RV Park, Bulverde, Texas

July 28, 2021

Temperature 98 Degrees

Landa Park Railroad

Miniature Golf

I Can Hear Again 

For the first time in a long time we have no train nearby.  Therefore, no whistle, no horn in the morning.  However, we have something different.  Cows mooing!  They are right up the hill from our site, no more than maybe a hundred feet away.  Now, that’s something different to wake up to in the morning.

OK, about today.  Yes, we have more to share with you regarding our visit yesterday to

I promise we’ll get to that tomorrow.  Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

But let’s talk about today.  We wanted to go somewhere, anywhere, we just wanted to get out and about.  But where?  Our first choice was a popular museum in San Antonio.  However, neither of us could get that excited about driving into a ton of traffic besides which we really didn’t want to spend the day inside.

Then it came to us.  We had passed it yesterday and decided it would be the prefect place to spend the day.

We were going to go back to Landa Park.

The heart of Landa Park is its natural artesian springs known as Comal Springs, the largest springs in Texas and the North American Southwest.  Owned by Harry and Joseph Landa from 1847 – 1927, the property was developed as a private park for family guests.

Landa’s Park remained a popular tourist destination known as the Beauty Spot of Texas until 1927.

The park was sold to investors in 1927 and during the Great Depression fell in to disrepair.  The President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce in New Braunfels began an effort to negotiate the purchase of the park for $80,000. A bond referendum was passed, and in 1936, Landa Park was officially opened to the public.

When we passed the Rec Center we found this full size mural explaining the history of the park.

 Then there is this:  This mural captures the history and sparkling beauty of the Comal springs and river…from prehistoric times to the development of Landa Industries! Full of striking blues and greens, this piece of public art captures the ever-changing and forever-beautiful nature of our beloved waters. This was painted by Clinton Baermann and this mural was dedicated in 2004 and is located on the Parks and Recreation building at the entrance of Landa Park.

This is just one in a series of art works that belongs to the New Braunfels Historic Outdoor Art Museum.  The Museum boasts a beautiful series of 6 historic building murals, making up a beloved display of public art.  If we only had the time I would love to find the other five.

OK, now for the real reason we came back to the park.  We passed this yesterday and the kid inside of me just had to have a ride.

The Landa Park Railroad.   What better way than a ride on a miniature train to discover all 51 acres of this wonderful  park.

Every other seat is blocked off in order to maintain social distancing.

All aboard!  Ah, to be a kid again.  I remember train rides I used to take with my mom when I was a kid.

Across the river and into the park.

Come along and let’s take a ride together through Landa Park.

Playgrounds for kids of all ages.

Lots of picnic space underneath magnificent oak trees.

A statue which I just knew I was going to have locate later and discover why it was here.

Flowing brooks.

Landa Lake which is usually full of paddle boats.

Another casualty of COVID-19.  Docked and covered paddle boats here until who knows when.  Sure would have liked to take one out.

The ever present ducks.

End of the ride and our engineer begins the disinfecting process prior to the next group of passengers.

But wait, we weren’t done for the day!

Miniature Golf!  Yipee!  It’s been years and years since we last played and today was the day to get back in the swing.

Look out Arnold Palmer!

Does it look like I have the correct stance?

Now doesn’t this look interesting?

Around the cho cho train.

The 18th hole.

What a wonderful time we had.  We laughed.  We walked hand in hand.  Together, we were kids and best of friends having fun in God’s great outdoors.

Remember that statue?

That wraps up our day at Landa Park.  We’re so glad we made the decision to come here rather then to another museum.  Just to be out and enjoying the world which God created was so terrific.  We’ll remember this day for a long time to come.

On the way home we decided to make a stop at the local supermarket.  We decided to stop here because this is where

was located.  Yup, you go to the supermarket to see the doctor.  Now, when was the last time you did that?

When we arrived here last Thursday I realized that I couldn’t hear out of my left ear.  Time to find out what was going on.  Simple enough and a reoccurring problem I have with my ear – in fact both of them – they were completely clogged with ear wax.  Some 30 minutes later and I could hear as clear as could be.  Thanks doc.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  A beautiful, fantastic, wonderful day that ended on an even higher note with a piece of German Chocolate Cake with coconut that my sweetheart surprised me with.  She is the greatest.  Well, once again we managed to find some fantastic places to go while we were here.  Once again we had a terrific time while we called this park home.  Time now to pack things up and get ready to get on the road early Thursday morning.

We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did ours.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Stay safe, wash your hands and wear your mask.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2020

Home Is Where We Park It:  Texas 281 RV Park, Bulverde, Texas

July 27, 2021

Temperature 96 Degrees

Alpine Haus Restaurant

The Barn

Time to go sightseeing.  Nope, not there website says closed.  Well, how about, nope that’s closed as well.  OK, we could go see, sorry most exhibits are closed to the public.  It is getting darn hard to find places to visit and attractions that are open.  But we don’t give up easy.  Stick with us and you’ll find that out in just a bit.

I’ve been getting up later and later each morning.  The difference is quite simple that the sun now comes in the front windshield and not the bedroom windows.  That, added to the fact that the sun doesn’t come up until almost 7 am leaves our bedroom dark and cozy until late in the morning.

Eventually, though, one does have to get out of bed.  Up and at it this morning we decided it was time for hair cuts and then we were going to treat ourselves to a special afternoon lunch.

Off we went to Great Clips which is less than a mile from our home.  Yes, everyone is wearing a mask and they restrict the number of people allowed in at one time.

We had discovered in New Braunfels a German restaurant with excellent reviews and a personal thumbs up from a friend of my sisters.   Inasmuch as we both love German food we knew we had to give it a try.

It really doesn’t look like a typical restaurant, rather it looks more like someones home.

Which we discovered is exactly what it once was.

Unfortunately, the only two on staff that were wearing masks.

The welcome mat was out for us.

This is a local, family owned and operated German restaurant.  The owner and head chef is Chris Hammond.  He has been an executive chef for over 30 years.  His German heritage provides him with the knowledge needed to create authenticate German cuisine for his guests to enjoy.

Getting ready to enjoy a meal like no other.

Barbara started with a salad.  I had cream of garlic soup.  We then ordered a basket of fried mushrooms.  Absolutely delicious.  We were off to a fantastic start.

Time for the main course.

For lunch we both had sauerbraten, premium roast beef marinated in red wine served with potato dumplings and red cabbage.  We were told that it might take a bit of time for it to come out since each meal is prepared to order.  Believe me, it was worth the wait because it was oh so delicious. We savored every bite.

Some pictures from inside.

How is your German?

Our tummies now full we were off to visit a historic part of New Braunfels Barbara had discovered on the web.

The historic Gruene (pronounced like green) is a small town nestled in the heart of New Braunfels, The Guadalupe River meanders along the West end of the tiny hamlet, and the enormous cypress trees make it seem like a slice of heaven in the midst of the Texas Hill Country.

A little research reveals the following about Gruene:  Arriving in Texas in the mid 1840s, German farmers became the first settlers of what is now known as Gruene, Texas. Ernst Gruene, a German immigrant, and his bride Antoinette, had reached the newly established city of New Braunfels in 1845, but acreage was scarce. Thus, Ernst and his two sons purchased land just down river, and Ernst built the first home in Gruene.

Much more to come tomorrow about this interesting historic district but for now, let’s visit

What exquisite pieces inside.

Everything is made in house.

OK, we’re back home now with our feet up and just relaxing.  Another day on The Road of Retirement is in the books.  We had a wonderful day from start to finish.  Oh yes, despite a world turned upside down we continue to find things to do and see.  I’ll say it again because I never tire of saying it we are two of the most blessed and fortunate people in the world.

We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did ours.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Stay safe, wash your hands and wear your mask.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!