Every Thing is Bigger in Texas

On Thursday, September 20, 2018, I left Florida to meet my old Minnesota girlfriends in San Antonio, Texas. This was my first time ever in Texas and from what I heard, we were in for a good time in Texas. San Antonio is the third largest city in Texas and is known for being the site of the famous Alamo battle. We had a hotel right by the River Walk which is also a famous landmark in this city and we spent a lot of time walking along the river and no one even fell in. There are no railings by the river so you have to kinda watch what you're doing. We had tickets on the Hop On/Hop Off tour bus which we used everyday to get around the city. We had a very annoying bus driver who told very stupid jokes along the way and we all wanted to jump off the moving bus. Unfortunately we had this bus driver twice during our stay. Our groans upon seeing him did no good, we were subjected to his memorized unfunny comments and when we could take no more, we jumped off even tho we weren't at our stop. It was painful. The jokes, not the jump. The first day we did have a nice Mexican lunch at La Gloria and then headed over to the Towers of America and took the elevator to the top where you can see for miles. After watching a 4D movie "Skies Over Texas" we made it back to the hotel where we were all pretty tired from traveling. Friday we started the day with some San Antonio trivia and a boat ride on the river at River Walk, we learned more about the area and then headed to the Imax for a movie about the Alamo which was excellent and really helped to understand the Alamo history. We toured the Alamo then and headed over to Rosarios for another excellent Mexican lunch. We then headed to The Friendly Spot for some beverages and finished up at the Liberty Bar which was an old convent and it still looks like it. I never knew that there were bars in convents. But it makes sense. A person can only pray so much. Sharon may have been lost at that time since she headed to the Mexican shops while the rest of us bar hopped. After the convent we missed our bus back to the hotel so we walked back about one mile while Gwen whined. We made it back to sit at the pool and relax. And Sharon even showed up. On Saturday we waited for the predicted rain but we got lucky. We had our old time photo done, went to the oldest VFW in Texas for cheap drinks and jukebox hits, then headed to the world famous Augie's BBQ. It was great cafeteria style food and we made our next bus to the Buckhorn Bar in downtown San Antonio. This bar is really really old and full of mounts. Apparently back in the day the owner would take mounts and antlers instead of money. We all forgot our rifles so we had to use money. But we know for next time. We ended the day in the hot tub and unheated pool before playing more games and trying to explain rules to one person before explaining the rules to the next person who forgot the rules. And then we started all over again. We had a great time, the weather held out and now we have another place checked off the bucket list. Next year???? Sharon, you're on deck!

A Month Full of Memories

We've been home a week and we are falling back into Florida life.   Our little camper served us well as we traveled from Florida, thru Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and back home again.  So much to see and look back on.  But some things stand out.

First of all we had so much fun seeing family and friends and catching up.   We were treated to great food, beer, games, visits, sunset boat rides and lots of laughter.   Many many thanks to you all.

We saw the most cops in Georgia and were stuck in the worse traffic in Atlanta.

We drank lots of local beers when we could which was always.  We tried to pick a favorite but not possible but I must say couldn't find one I would throw out.  Everywhere we went there was a local brewery with its own specialized beer.   This new trend makes traveling even better.

The best campsite was Mystic Lake in Prior Lake and the worse was Oaklands in Niagara Falls.  The facilities were truly gaggable.   We love the state parks too and loved the Harry Truman park in the Ozarks.

Biggest surprises were the beautiful drives thru southern Ontario and thru out West Virginia.  Next time we would like to spend more time there.

We put on 5,600 miles, we are still speaking to each other, the girls were great sleepy travelers, and we had no major problems.  We are grateful all went well but it's always good to be home.   Again, many thanks to all who hosted us as we traveled thru.  If you ever come down this way, there's always a place for you.   Until the next adventure...

Niagara Falls or Bust

On Friday, July 13, we left Spring Valley campgrounds before 9 am. I took a shower with a spider as big as my hand. Apparently Mrs. Spider needed to clean up so we shared some soap, rinsed off and started our day. There wasn't really room in the camper for her. Besides she didn't have a passport. There was lots of traffic going to the Falls and we passed many, many vineyards and wineries. For those who do tours, this place should be checked out. Had no idea grapes grew in this area. We got to our campground about noon, set up and went to view the Falls. It was a beautiful day and we along with about a million other people saw a most powerful and awesome site. We took the Horn Blower boat into the Falls, got extremely wet and ended by listening to music by the Falls sipping a local brew. Saturday was very hot and humid and since I had heard good things about Niagara by the Lake, we headed there. This small town is so cool, so busy and so beautiful. We found an Irish Pub, had some of the best chicken wings and sweet potato fries along with more local brews. As we were leaving a light rain started. We were both tired and the rainy day was perfect for napping and winding down. We knew we had a couple of long driving days in front of us. We had originally planned to make some stops on the way back to Florida. After being on the road for a month, we both really wanted to go home. The girls felt the same way so we decided to just start driving at 3 am Sunday. Unfortunately it is pretty dark at 3 am and we got so turned around in Buffalo NY that we wasted about two hours trying to get on the right road. If we would have just listened to Darlene (gps lady). I hate when she's right cause it makes me wrong and I am never wrong. We got as far as Charlotte, NC, found a campground off the highway, fell into bed, and started the whole thing over Monday at 4 am. After driving all day, we made it to our house about 5 pm with a car and trailer full of dirty clothes, smelly dogs, no money, fast food wrappers and two tired senior citizens. But we made it and are grateful getting lost a couple times were the worse things that happened. After this senior citizen rests, a recap is forthcoming. I gotta go lay down now.

Oh! Canada

After some yummy omelets in Longville, we headed to Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦.  You would think that being from Minnesota we had been to this area before but not so and as we travelled we realized we had really missed a most beautiful area close to our previous home.   Should I say stunning?   Wild trees, gourges, mountains, lakes and rivers everywhere.  Basically our whole trip thru Ontario was gorgeous.

Since we are in Canada we have no cell service which isn't all that bad.  We had made some generic plans previously so basically with no phone or wifi we were crossing fingers a lot.   We were getting tired after we got thru Thunder Bay on Monday so we decided to look for campgrounds.  We saw a sign for Sleeping Giant which sounded good cause we were tired.  We figured if a giant could sleep there us little people should be fine.   Unfortunately we don't really understand  kilometers and when we saw the sign for the campground with 35 km we thought it would be right off the road.   Not so.  Forty minutes later with lots of adult words we found it.  Beautiful park with horseflies bigger than DeDe and she's fat.

On Tuesday we headed for Wawa, not the gas station.  We found a pretty good campgrounds and since it was 63 degrees when we arrived, we had a campfire.  The mosquitoes left us alone til we went to bed and since they don't really like cold weather either, they decided to sleep with us which involved a lot of slapping and more adult words.

Wednesday we headed towards South Bayport where we took a ferry to Tobermory.   We camped near the ferry at a place I cannot pronounce.  There were lots of kids there and our site was right on the playground so we could enjoy their little voices til after 10 pm.   No wonder we got up and left by 6 am.  That and we had a ferry to catch.

The ferry ride was great, it was full and there were lots of Harley riders. How they got up so early amazed me.  Although most Harley riders need a walker when they get off their bikes, it kinda makes sense.

We are close to Niagara Falls now.   Gary can't wait to put me in a barrel.  I don't get it.

Minnesota Dog Days Forever

After leaving the Schoenberg compound, we headed to my sister's place in Garrison, MN.   We had our hands full with Kirby, Waffles, Daisy, Mojo and DeDe.  I was able to get them to sit together for about four seconds before all hell broke loose.

Barbara and her daughter Ellen took me golfing to a real course with borrowed clubs.  As we all know that gives me plenty of excuses which I needed.   After a great meatloaf supper we enjoyed a sunset pontoon ride on Mille Lacs Lake.

On Saturday, we headed to a new brewery in Crosby.  What a great surprise seeing the wiener mobile there.  After a few photos, we even got a free hot dog.   What's better than a free Weinie?   We bar hopped back to Garrison playing pull tabs and leaving money and a pile of worthless pulltabs on our table.

After beating pretty much everyone at cornhole and Euchre, we called it a night.  Nothing new there.

Sunday we had our goodbyes and headed to Longville where our Cape Coral neighbors Barb and Skip have a home.   We toured the lake on their pontoon and of course had some great food with them.  We were so tired we almost fell asleep at the dinner table, not because of the company but maybe all the visiting and craziness.   Next time we will have to have a little more energy for them but we know it won't be long before they are back to their Florida home and the fun can continue.

Monday, we headed out of the USA to our friends in Ontario.   We don't really know anyone in Ontario but we are hoping to change that.   AYE.

Let's Start with Maverick

Monday we traveled to the Belgrade area and finally met Maverick.  He lives up to his name.  He welcomed us as we arrived at Doris and Steve's place. Doris and I have been friends for close to 40 years and this was my first visit to her home.  It's not because I didn't want to but more because her home is kinda out in God's country.  But I was determined to finally get there, even if I had to come all the way from Florida.

After setting up our trailer, we drove over to Belgrade to see the giant crow even tho still not sure why and then we headed to Regal for supper.  Regal is a very small town with a very busy bar and it's also the home of our little Mojo.  We found her birthplace but fortunately the owner was not home.  I am pretty sure I would be introducing our new puppy in the blog otherwise.  

About 1:00 am there was a lightning storm so we ran into Doris' house for safety and ended up in a king sized bed where I had to be dragged out in the morning.  

We left Monday afternoon for Hillman, where another very close friend lives.  On the way we had to stop at Walmart for a kiddie scissors and I then proceeded to cut Gary's hair in the parking lot.   We got a few drive bys like this was a weird thing to do.   I've seen worse at Walmart.  

We got to the Schoenberg compound about 3:00 pm and went out for supper with various family members.  Then we went out for a twilight pontoon ride and ended the evening with a campfire.  

The 4th started with a storm but turned out to be a very nice day with cornhole, dice games and ribs.  We had a beautiful 5th with burgers, pontoon ride, kayaking, and lots of visiting.   

It's been a long time since we celebrated the 4th in Minnesota.   Seems like the place to be to celebrate anything.

Minnesota Country

On Friday, June 29, we left our Prior Lake home for Clearwater to spend some time with our old neighbors and look over the old neighborhood.  We got to Rudy and Jan's early afternoon and it was hot.  We thought we were back in Florida.  According to weather reports, it was hotter in MN than in Florida.  And since it was so hot, Jan and I decided than golfing would be a good idea and it was.  We had the whole course to ourselves.  People in the clubhouse thought we were nuts but I told them this ain't nothing.  Woosies.

Saturday was family day so we met Leigh, Pierre and Landy for a picnic and swimming at Warner Lake.  This park is fairly close to St. Cloud and was pretty busy.  It was hot and even Grannie got in the water, I brought my suit all this way and had no excuse.  The water felt great, kids were having a great time and I think we wore them out.

We got back to our trailer, napped after all the swimming and had a fun evening with old neighbors, we even had cake and ice cream for June birthdays.  The celebration never stops.

Sunday we woke up to a rainy, cloudy day.  What to do?  Well after laying in bed most of the morning, I decided to do some laundry.  Dogs and rain don't mix, we had lots of wet, soggy laundry.  We played some cards and after I beat everyone, the sun came out so we took a trip to the Annandale carnival, heard kids screaming on rides and found the Bingo hall.  Of course Jan won and picked some new Oreos from the prize table.  So exciting.  We had to celebrate so we stopped for happy hour at The Waterfront, and finished by beating the guys at cards again.  It was a tough loss for them.

So we have more happy memories from our old neighborhood.  It's like we never left👍

Mystic Lake

We have spent the last three days in the Prior Lake area visiting family.  On Thursday it was actually warmer here than in Florida.   We stayed at the Mystic Lake campgrounds which is a small part of the casino's complex.   This is one of the nicest campgrounds we have stayed at, we don't have to go far for anything and family is close.

We were able to spend time with Gary's mom and dad, Betty and Jerry.   Then we had a beautiful evening on Prior Lake with Mark and Cindy.  The weather was perfect for a boat ride and we enjoyed supper at Charlie's on the Lake.

Thursday Bruce and Julie along with Betty and Jerry came over to the casino for lunch at the Minehaha Grill.  We were able to walk over from our trailer.  After lunch, the gang had to stop over to see our little home away from home.  

Finally, Ted and Kali came over for a Weinie roast and birthday celebration.  It was pretty hot by the time they came over so the fire wasn't very welcome but I was able to throw on a can of beans and burn a few dogs before Ted opened his presents.  It's hard to believe our little buddy is 33 already.

But it's time to move on for our next chapter.