MERRY CHRISTMAS

from

Richardson, Texas

 

Christmas Eve as the presents were placed with care beneath the tree, grandson Everett could only guess what was in the boxes ... and what Santa might add to the collection.

 

 

After Ev was in bed the elves began assembling the massive race track set that took about 2 hours to get the 500 parts to sort of look like the picture on the box.

The next morning he attacked the gifts with a passion and expected to play with each item before unwrapping the next one.

Then Mom had him pose "one last time" times maybe twenty or so with one of the new outfits and he was probably saying, "if they ask me to say cheese one more time ..."

But the Santa offering of the car set was a huge hit for all generations with much hooting and cheering as the cars almost made it through the loop ... few did.

And finally how many new construction vehicles can one little guy fit into the sandbox at once ... and still get a kid in with them? Ev made it happen and enjoyed the sunny afternoon with the new machinery.

It was a great Christmas event for Bruce, Jo-Anne, Brooks, Leighanne, and Everett; and we hope it was tremendous for you and yours wherever you are!!

Animal Time in Grapevine

 

OK it's animal time as you know we love the critters. But here is the epitome of fat park pets ... I mean we just lie with our fat rolls spread on the ground on the elbows and graze on the grub.

 

 

Another shot of Mr. Fat Cheeks as he sat up to make more room for the generous grub provided by we the animal lovers.

And then there are some animals here at the Grapevine park that appear less than grateful at first meeting. The tongue treatment is pretty awesome but the hiss that accompanies it could be pretty scary if you didn't know better ... I mean if you are begging for a handout ... jeez.

But after the first aggressive confrontation they really are pretty sweet animals and very responsive to human interaction. We've been giving them dog food and a chicken scratch formula from the local feed store ... goose farmer Bruce eh.

Big Storm!

 

Of course as we had made plans to go up to Denton for RV repairs a massive ice storm pounded the area. We left Bryan in what had been one of the most colorful fall displays we had seen in many years and headed north on I-45 to the Denton area. It was a nice clear 45ish day when we left and the Flying Scotsman was particularly shiny.

 

A mere 200 miles later we arrived to WINTER. They had about 3 inches of ice and major power outages here starting on Sunday night. We arrived on Tuesday to the scene above ... pretty, but cold, slush, mush, mud, ice, sand, salt, and about 34 degrees. That is one dirty bus and HHR. As we came into the site the ice was thick enough in the rear that it took several attempts to get the RV to its present position as all 20 tons kept sliding backwards ... always something new.

But it was a nice setting at the Dallas Destiny RV Resort actually situated in the town of Corinth about 5 miles south of Denton proper and an evening walk about the park was really neat.

In the foreground of the pic above kids were building a bit of a snowman in the ice stuff and were doing some pretend figure skating on the frozen surface. Also in the picture above you can just see Venus to the right and above the office ... pretty night!

You had to be really careful as the surface was totally ice encrusted and slick, even the walkways up to the office.

And finally this guy seems to be welcoming us to northern Texas, eh? We hope.

Birthday Boy!

 

It is November and when the grandson was born in November it becomes a special month. While we were in the Dallas area we went over to the kid's place in Richardson where the BIG event was held ... Three years since we hauled our ol' bottoms the 200 miles up to Dallas from Bryan ... time goes fast!

 

And here is this year's masterpiece. The theme for this year was construction stuff so the cake is covered with yellow vehicles and a pile of rocks which they will move somewhere. The rocks were actually colored chocolate and very realistic looking ... and very good.

 

 

But as the guests arrived the birthday boy was a bit shy and hid in a corner by the front door. It didn't take long though for the star to understand that he was supposed to be the center of the action.

As dad lit the candles with what acted like a blowtorch Ev was amazed by the candle light. But a second later when Mom and Dad got him a bit too close to blow out the three big ones he almost singed his eyebrows.

Then Ev and a couple of friends, Vivian and Nick, and Mom in the background, all eyeing the newest piece of construction hardware. Let's see does it make noise and does it move dirt and rocks ... yes.

After the party on Sunday we said bye to the birthday boy and headed back to Grapevine in gradually worsening weather. It was about freezing and a bit of precip and the drive home was iffy but ok.

But as we left in the morning the ice formation was ominous as evident with the frosted trees you see below.

As this is November and as we normally celebrate Thanksgiving in Bryan with Bruce's parents we headed back to Bryan to do that again.

And again we went to La Riviera restaurant which we have gotten to really enjoy. Here's a shot of Mom and Dad Gunn on the way to dinner. Unfortunately the blogger was stuffing his face with turkey and all the other gourmet things on the buffet to get out the camera to show off the variety of dishes.

Another wonderful year with Mom (almost 95) and Dad (now 97) and brother Rich and sister-in- law Kerry ... really cool to be able to do this after so many years; here's to next year!

Grapevine Texas

 

The Vineyards RV campground is it for camping enjoyment rivaling our Barrie KOA. The big difference here is that this is a city park .... wow. Above is the entrance complete with functional vines and the colors of the trees right now.

We have not seen Texas this colorful in the fall season. The locals say it was a particularly hard freeze a month ago that set the trees off, but the result is really very northern.

Speaking of the weather, right now it is 35 degrees in a pretty good downpour with a mix of sleet and maybe a flurry or so and the next two days predict to be the same. However, look at the marina and the tree below!

And then off to the Gaylord Texan resort hotel here in town for din-din on the San Antonio Riverwalk imitation. Here's the ol' guy with a fresh Dos Equis awaiting the arrival of the fajitas.

Our dinner was a burrito and also a plate of chicken and steak fajitas which we shared. This was really good and being able to sit on the Riverwalk replica in 68 degrees was fun. Good service and great food served quickly and hot ... what more can you ask for.

Then another shot of the whole Riverwalk scene in the Gaylord Hotel and our dinner table next to the bridge toward the back ... yes, it is all indoors.

And finally the entrance view as you walk into the Gaylord Hotel and gasp at the over one million lights for their holiday display.

It really does take your breath away and is literally free if you have dinner. Later we will take little Everett into their snow slides and skating adventure ... it keeps getting better!

Grapevine

 

We came up to Grapevine for a couple of weeks to be near the kids and to enjoy this wonderful park. Above is the view from the front of our RV toward the marina.

Unfortunately the lake has water problems and is slowly getting lower ... some say a leak in the dam, others, just the climate. The result is that the marina above is 9.5 feet lower than when we saw it before and that is really an ugly reality.  All the smaller inlets are now just grass and the boats above will have to move to deeper quarters fairly soon.

The kids and grandson Ev came over for the weekend and what better than to feed the geese. Here's the boss giving some military instruction to the worst behaved of the goose-guys ... accompanied by some not so respective back talk by the leader of the pack.

They actually do listen ... even to Bruce ... and eventually calm down to a normal chat and feeding with the little human who is shorter than they are.

Grapevine Vineyards park is a wonderful place whether you are 3 or 68 ... neat and love it.

Mature Moose Moving Inc.

Better known as, "Two Old Farts in an HHR"

 

Below is the moose detail on our shirts as we again engage in one of our most frequent activities of moving boxes and furniture from one place to another.

The more serious reason is that Mom has now been moved permanently to the nursing section of St Joseph Manor. The result is that Dad must now downsize from their two bedroom apartment there in the independent section to a smaller efficiency one ... it's all money ... and big bucks it is.

Anyhow we have gotten Dad now situated in his new quarters and the good part is that he is still just down the hall from Mom and they often eat and do organization functions together on a regular basis.

Speaking of regular functions, October 28th was Pop's 97th birthday and, of course, Cenare's Italian was on for the event. Here is the crowd for the celebration, including Mom, who was very present and patient for the gathering and us nattering about the old guy next to her.

And the patriarch himself on number 97 ... we should only hope for the active longevity he manages to maintain, eh.

Again we reinforced the promise that we will rent the entire place for his 100th party ... and with every year I am more regretting making the promise as he seems determined never to age. We really hope he will be there in a couple of years and are looking forward to the event.

Beer Fest

 

On the 26th of October we headed down to Austin without the Flying Scotsman to attend a beer tasting event that Brooks had bought us tickets for. The event was to be on Sunday the 27th near Dripping Springs about 20 miles west of Austin.

 

Because we were staying in Oak Hill near Dripping Springs on Saturday night we popped over to the Salt Lick BBQ ... YES Bob and Julie be jealous! We were there about 15 years ago with you guys and the place has just gotten better ... hey even their own wine.

 

And here is the fire pit where the tons of good meaty stuff comes from with Brooks explaining to Ev the process of cooking over the open wood fire.

Yes this is the Cracker Barrel favorite golf tee puzzle with Ev mastering a new twist that Jo-Anne had just presented to him.

The event itself on Sunday was interesting. There were 1000 ticket-only patrons privately invited to the Jester King Brewery near Dripping Springs for a tasting. Those 1000 tickets were offered only on one day and sold out in about 20 minutes ... just to show the fanaticism of these serious beer fanciers.

After about an hour standing in the mud to show our tickets we got in and had a really nice pizza and some wonderful weitzen beer before doing some actual tasting.

There were three main lines ... let's see that's about 300 people each ... but each moved fairly quickly so you could sample some of the brewery's most recent craft.

With a lot of time spent like Jo-Anne and Leigh above waiting for Bruce and Brooks to sample the last 2oz offering of sour apricot mash ... or something.

Given the setting and the beers and pizza we were able to sample in a short time, we would definitely go back without the massive crowd to just enjoy the brewery and its products.

Oktoberfest

 





Last weekend we decided to refresh our German experience with  a bit of local October culinary action at the Messina Hof winery here in Bryan. They had an Oktoberfest cooking class and of course we couldn't resist ... hey, schnitzels r us.

As usual in these classes the above menu was explained by the chef as he prepared the dish along with some very neat cooking techniques and then once he had finished, the group of about 25 or so was served that dish ... with copious paired wines from the winery of course. With the really neat backdrop of the vineyard in the background he is chopping up cabbage.

Somewhere in here I need to apologize for the cell phone pics as we now have new "smart" phones ... I will work on them so they don't come out fuzzy ... I promise.

And as we progressed through the five courses, all nicely prepared and explained he got to the step on how the schnitzel is pounded out ...

Yeah that old frying pan is what Anthony Bourdain would use in the five star joint in New York to whack the pork to a thinner state. The point was that like Anthony this chef uses whatever it takes to make a great dinner ... the high end cookware doesn't make for better food ... only the chef does that.

Aggieland

 

OK, I know, the next picture is really dull but it's where we live, eh. As of the 6th of October we booked into Aggieland RV Park in Bryan for a month as we have done for several summers now.

 

The big difference is below. Aggieland is a relatively new park but continues to expand. Below was our lot as of April of this year ... no not where the truck is but the road to its left. You can actually see the remnants of our hose hookup just in front of the pickup tire.

 

This was a really neat, private, lot that we left in April and now the park has expanded, cutting a road through the woods to about 40 new lots beyond.

 



 

 
About 50 feet heading South from the last photo you have this view of the new expanded park. Nice wide road with ample parking and a new washateria and straight ahead is the exit to Highway 21 into Bryan.

And our lot on a sunnier day. It's been about 75-80 during the day and really quite pleasant. Here's our new screen porch addition in operation ... super addition and makes up for a poorly designed awning.

If you look close you can see Jo-Anne through the screen. The sun sets here directly to the left of the bus and is quite intense ... Texas style ... so the screen gives us a bit of help from the heat. The screen is in two pieces; a three foot piece at the top which retracts with the awning, and a six foot piece on the bottom which zips off quickly and has four tent stakes to hold it in place ... neat.

And lastly the park life pic of the day. This guy came in and was so desperate to grill something (couldn't find any of the 250 excellent eating places within 5 miles of here) that he fired up the grill in the back of the truck ... you can just see the flames erupting from near his tailgate.

You keep thinking that you have seen everything .... but nah ... there's always another individual intent on providing amazement and humor for my life!

More Bits

 

When we arrived in Texas and stopped at a rest area this locust attached to the window. After we got going again he/she was still attached at 65 ... then 70 ... and finally departed after about 15 minutes at 75 miles per hour ... good little feet!

 

 

And little Ev mouthing the words, "Oooo wow," over a breakfast taco of bacon egg and potato from Taco Cabana.

Lastly, some guys and or gals have a beer fridge in the garage (been there done that til I got an RV). OK here is the beer lovers BEER FRIDGE ... obviously Texas style.

The real story is that son-in-law Brooks has embarked upon a really successful craft beer review business and this is where he will store his potential subjects for review and posting on his website.

Texas!

 

After Memphis we motored down the interstate still in the light drizzle until we arrived at the KOA in Hot Springs. This is a super pick for us and here's why.

 

They have a variety of other lots but we chose the one by the pond that we have shown in previous from here. Here's the pilot in a needed break from driving and sewer duty.

 

And the navigator chatting on our patio. Really great park with super management and care for their facility ... all it takes.

 

 

Then we hit the road toward Texas and ended up here ... yuk. We opted out of our favorite place in Grapevine as the place in Carrollton was closer. Yeah, I think we said that we wouldn't ever stay here again ... oops.

Still a crappy park but they actually gave us one of their best lots as we would be here for several days seeing the kids and the grandson ... the view says it all.

I think we are almost caught up with the travel so far and will be in the Aggieland RV park in Bryan tomorrow as we make our medical and dental appointments there for the next 10 days or so.

And a last bit about our travelling companion, Bandit. He pokes around the house as a cat does until the room slides come in then pops into this portable house for the trip. When we stop at a rest stop or Walmart he joins the line at the restroom down the hall, does his thing, eats with us, then pops back into the thing until we reach the final destination. When the slides come back out he resumes normal cat life about the place ... a true RV buddy.