February 2 through February 9, 2010: At San Leon, Texas:
San Leon is south of Houston, just 80 miles from Lake Conroe, so we had an easy trip here even though there was a light rain all the way. The RV park we're in was somewhat of a disappointment---until we saw the rest of San Leon. Hurricane Ike came through this gulfside town 17 months ago and the town does not seem to have fully recovered from it. It's pretty depressing. For example:

And this:

On Tuesday (the 2nd) the day we got here, we ventured out to Kemah,
a nearby town---much larger and nicer---also on the gulf but much more fully restored from the hurricane damage.
We had a terrific late lunch at Joe's Crab Shack on the Kemah Boardwalk.
Dinner was unnecessary afterward.
On Wednesday we went to the Johnson Space Center.
(It is, of course, the home of "Houston, we have a problem.") We visited the Mission Control room that was used for the historic Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. On a tram tour we visited the building housing one of the apare (i.e., unused) Saturn rockets.


It was just two days after the announcement that their manned space program funding was going to be cut off. The people we talked to were not particularly concerned, which I thought was strange until I realized we were dealing with people who were employed by the visitor center (operated by a separate foundation and not by NASA). These people's job security is just fine, thank you, since the public will undoubtedly still come even though one NASA program is being cut. The rest of the JSC will continue its mission.
The JSC was very interesting; much larger than I expected. There are 10,000 employees there, but the employee parking lots were only half full. At its peak, this must have been an exciting work environment.

We are definitely not here at the gulf area during the high season. There are no crowds anywhere.

On Thursday, we took Becky to Houston's Hobby Airport to fly off to Los Angeles to spend time with her buddies at the Organization of Women Executives' annual spa weekend at Bacara in Santa Barbara.

That means Daisy and I will probably veg out for the next four days. Becky will be back on Monday. On Friday, Pat, Bill, and I decided to visit nearby Galveston. Since none of us had ever been there previously, we were not able to tell the difference between the Hurricane Ike damage and normal deterioration. There were some pretty grim areas. There were also some fabulous old mansions built by the very rich more than 100 years ago. (One was 28,000 square feet.) They are largely being maintained as museums. We took a side trip by ferry to the Bolivar Peninsula. Before we went, at least two people asked us why we would want to go there, since much of it had been destroyed by Ike. They were right; there is little of interest there. But it was a free round trip that took little more than an hour, and we didn't even have to leave the car while on the ferry.

Saturday was a beautiful (read: DRY) day so Bill and I decided to go pick up the new washer/dryer I had ordered and see if we could install it. The entire venture was successful, requiring only one trip to the hardware store.

We were supposed to be here for only seven days, but the office messed up and set us up to stay for eight days, while charging us for only seven days. We decided to stay the extra (free) day, therefore, before returning to Lake Conroe.

Sunday was the Super Bowl, of course, and Bill and I observed this annual foodfest in appropriate style. Pat stayed in their rig, observing blessed silence. Both Bill and I were neutral concerning our support. (If the game does not involve the Bears or the Lions, who cares?) But both of us were pleased with the outcome and, more than that, thrilled that the game was not the usual blowout. Becky was still in the LA area, and she went to a Super Bowl party at her brother Pete's home in San Gabriel.
Her sister Wendy has a new Audi convertible.
Becky's dad
and her brother John
were also in attendance.

Monday was the day Becky was to return, so I had to tidy up and otherwise prepare for her arrival. Pat, Bill, and I were two minutes from the arrival area and Becky called to say they had never left the ground in Austin (the intermediate stop) due to problems in Houston. They had been told that, because of weather, no planes were leaving Houston so no planes could land there---the gates were all full.
We temporized by having dinner at the nearby Holiday Inn. Becky then called to say things were all messed up (they had been loaded on the plane, then off-loaded, then re-loaded) and we might as well go home until further notice. Home was 45 minutes away but we couldn't think of a reason to stay at the airport, so we left. An hour later, when we were five minutes from arriving home (with a slight (20 minute) detour due to having made a wrong turn leaving the airport) Becky called to say she was waiting for us at the airport. She had not been able to alert us after the decision had been made to take off immediately. We returned to the airport and picked her up at 8:45 pm. Whew!

(To be continued.)



January 19 through February 1, 2010: At Lake Conroe, Texas:
We arrived here without incident. When we were here six years ago, there was a lot of wet ground from a rainy spell. I'm not sure it ever dried up. It's just as wet now. But we adapt. The facility is nice, other than some of the interior roads and site pads, which are almost unusable, but the property is convenient to shopping and dining. And it has pickle ball, which makes Bill happy. It would also make Becky happy, if her foot would heal faster. Other than shopping and eating, we've been mostly hanging out. The foot doesn't stop Becky (and Pat) from going on long bike rides (one was 18 miles). On Saturday (the 23rd) we had a delightful lunch at Applebee's in Conroe with Karen Fitzgerald, an old friend of Bill's---from the 6th grade.
She lives in Houston now. She brought a slew of pictures from the old days, and the two of them did a lot of reminiscing. She's coming to our park on Thursday to see how we all live. On Tuesday (the 26th) we went to Katy, Texas, west of Houston, to get Bill's car door fixed (it couldn't be opened), to see some more RVs, and to have lunch with Rollie Spradling,
a former co-worker of Becky's at the Bright Angel Lodge at the South Rim. Interesting guy; a lot of fun. On Thursday, we bought a couple of new furniture pieces for the living room---a pair of cubes to replace the coffee table and a new pedestal table to go between the two lounge chairs, which we have switched with the couch so the couch is now at the rear of the living room
and the chairs now face the TV set and fireplace.

On Thursday night, we had a brilliant lightning show, a lot of resulting thunder, and it rained like crazy here. Daisy joined us in bed for comfort. (Hers, not ours). To continue the revamping of our massive home, we ordered a combo washer/dryer so we don't have to use the facilities at the RV parks. This change will require substsntial changes in the closet usage, since much what I have been using will be taken up by the new appliance. Becky has agreed to attack the mountain of shoes she has, and to otherwise give up on some of the clothes she hasn't worn since we left Pasadena. Likewise, I will transfer some of my stuff to the "basement" storage. Tomorrow, we leave for San Leon, Texas for a week. By the way, Becky went to the doctor again today. Her foot is completely healed. Hooray!!!

January 18, 2010: At Victoria, Texas:
The stop at Victoria was just to make the trip to Lake Conroe (which is about 50 miles north of downtown Houston) less exhausting. (We like to go no more than 280 miles in a day.) We stayed in DAD'S RV Park, an older but quite adequate park. (Bill learned, by the way, that the name does not refer to the head of a family; rather each "D" stands for the first initial of the name of one of the two founders of the park some years ago, and the "A" stands for "and" of course.) While we had reservations, the park was full so they put us in what they call their overflow area. It frankly worked out to be more convenient for us, and, since they gave us a discout for the imposition, I was giddy with delight. Well, maybe not giddy. "Happy" is OK, though.

We had a little time there, so we visited "old" Victoria, which was very interesting. Victoria was settled in the 19th century (i.e., before Texas was a state) by a few Mexican families, and became an important center for farming and ranching. The wealthy ones built magnificent houses, many of which are still maintained as either private homes or professional offices. It's a real treat to drive through the neighborhoods and see them. Besides those treats, however, Victoria isn't much.

By late afternoon, Becky decided she needed to see a doctor about her foot---which did not seem to be geting any bettter. She saw a local doctor the next morning, and, since we were leaving that day, he was able only to give her a prescription for something to deal with the swelling; she would see another doctor in the Houston area for follow-up.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009, through Monday, January 18, 2010: At Harlingen, Texas:
We were scheduled to stay at Tropic Winds RV Park for two weeks. It rained all the way from Elmendorf to Harlingen. Not a hard rain, but steady. Because of the rain, we were told not to park our trailer on the grass at our site. Instead, we were instructed to park on the narrow concrete pad adjacent to the site. The concrete pad is normally used for picnic tables, outdoor furniture, etc. (I would rather park on a hard surface, anyway, so I was OK with the instruction.) We tried very hard to avoid the grass in backing into our site, but we dug quite a trench in the grass, nevertheless. One of the joys of having such a long truck is that it’s hard to steer the trailer when backing up in a small area.
We just relaxed Tuesday night after joining other park residents for Hamburger Night at the lodge. Wednesday was dry but very cold and windy. Thursday (New Years Eve) was dry, warm, and beautiful. We went on a seven (+)- mile bike ride. I discovered that a 30 amp extension cord I had made a few weeks ago (and not had an occasion to use until we arrived here) was melting from internal arcing. Fortunately, the cord was outside the trailer (connecting the trailer to the power pedestal) and an RV store was not too far away. I guess I will stop making things that other people manufacture for a living. On Thursday night, we had a very nice dinner at the local Texas Roadhouse restaurant. There was so much food we took half of it home. The place was mobbed. I think we were the youngest patrons. New Years Day (Friday) was typical for me---fizzes and football! I really didn’t care about the games and didn’t watch all of any of them. Being a Pac-10 alum, though, I was disappointed that Oregon lost to Ohio State. On Saturday, we drove to the gulf---to South Padre Island (125 miles round-trip) ---
to see what it looked like without thousands of screaming college kids during Spring Break. It was quite calm. We did, however, have a nice lunch at Amberjacks—a beachside seafood restaurant. It was right on the water with piers and birds basking in the sun.

Our waiter, Manny, was terrific. Sunday and Monday were devoted to pickle ball,

shopping, and a little trailer maintenance.

On Tuesday, I stopped at the local NAPA auto parts store because one of my truck batteries had been diagnosed as leaking acid at one terminal when we were in Yuma. I had bought the battery two years ago when we were at the Grand Canyon. It happened to be a NAPA brand battery, and, while I knew it was out of warranty, I thought there would be some sort of proration of the cost of a new battery. In addition to the new battery, they sold me some acid neutralizer for preventive purposes. I sprayed it on the offending terminal. The can said the stuff (which was red) would turn yellow if there was any acid present in the area. It did not say anything about the way the stuff would foam up. It looked like the laundry soap scene from "Mister Roberts" when the bright yellow foam covered the battery and surrounding area. The installer dutifully cleaned it all up for me. It turned out that the old battery was one with a seven-year “guaranteed” life, and, while a proration was appropriate, the dealer decided to simply give me the new battery for free. He even installed it at no cost. What a guy! What a surprise!

That same evening, we saw "Invictus" with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It was fabulous, and had another terrific Texas meal---this time at Logan's Texas Roadhouse. Again, half of it came home in a doggy bag. The Texans sure love their beef and large portions.

There are many jack rabbits at this RV resort. Daisy has been entertained.


Because of the expected good weather where we were (the prediction for the weather where we intended to go next was awful) and the fun Bill and Becky were having playing pickle ball, we have decided to stay at Tropic Winds for an extra week. Because that exceeds our "free" time under the rules of our Thousand Trails membership, we had to not only pay retail for the extra week, but move to another part of the park (away from the area reserved for "those Thousand Trail people"). So be it. We moved to a terrific spot closer to the pickle ball court, so Bill and Becky were ecstatic.

We worked in a side trip to Mission, Texas, a depressing town about 60 miles west of Harlingen. We had lunch at what was purported to be the best Mexican restaurant in town. We then visited a new RV/Second home development outside of Mission. The setup was strange. There were partial houses connected (roof and all) to a place to park one's RV. The front door to the "house" opened to a breezeway between the RV and the house. Apparently, these were designed to have you live in your RV but have an easy transition to a couple of extra rooms.

We went to an RV show in nearby Mercedes, Texas. RVers love to see what's new in the genre and to gloat about how much better what we have is than what is now on the market.

We also took advantage of the hot tub at our park.
On our last Saturday at Tropic Winds, Becky injured her foot chasing a pickle ball. She was not a happy camper. On Monday, the 18th, we finally said goodbye to Harlingen and Tropic Winds and headed for Victoria, a one-night stop on the way to Lake Conroe, Texas, where we are scheduled to stay for two weeks. A final word about Harlingen: After three enjoyable weeks there, we (all four of us) agreed that the town was so strangely laid out that we still had no idea where we were going at any time. We knew how to get to various venues, but we never knew where we we while on the way.


Monday, December 28, 2009: Heading to Elmendorf:
Today we traveled to an RV park near Elmendorf, Texas, so we could spend the afternoon and evening with Linda and Murray Metcalfe,
some co-workers at the North Rim in 2006. Their home is nearby. We re-lived the campfire experience we used to have at the North Rim. Murray even supplied us with peanuts, which we used to have at our campfires.
Linda made us a very nice dinner, including eggnog, which I drank with gusto.

Wednesday, December 23 through Sunday, December 27, 2009: In Austin, Texas:
We made the 120-mile trip from Medina Lake to Austin without mishap, and settled in at La Hacienda RV Park---next to the Wheelers. We called Rick and arranged to have them meet us at the RV park and lead us to a place for dinner. We ate at the Iguana Grill, overlooking Lake Travis---good food and even better margaritas. Thursday morning we woke to ferocious winds, which made the 45 degree temperature feel like 25 degrees. The winds lasted all day. We all went to the local gas station/mini-mart for coffee. On the spur of the moment, we left there and headed for the “nearby” Costco. We got directions from Joell by phone and proceeded to miss a key turn, making a 20-mile round trip into a 53-mile round trip. Naturally, we over-bought at Costco.

We were all invited to Barbara Coad’s sister’s house for a Christmas Eve party. Rick suggested we meet beforehand at the University of Texas Golf Club for a round of adult beverages. We talked our way past the guard by telling him we were going to have dinner there. When we arrived at the club house, it was eerily quiet. It turned out to be closed (something the guard should have known, I think). We ended up at Rick and Joell’s house for our pre-party beverages.
The party was fun. Barbara’s sister (Debbie) and brother-in-law (Don) are very nice, and comfortable to be around.

Christmas morning started with a few batches of Ebbert Fizzes (my personal version of a Ramos Fizz). The rest of the morning was spent in quiet repose (actually, naps). In the afternoon we went to Rick and Joell’s again, this time for dinner. Their neighbors Chip and Andrea Cooley joined us. In the early afternoon on Saturday, December 26th, we all went to Hamilton Pool, a state park with a waterfall, in the woods.

There as a steep hike in and out. Sunday morning we went to Rick’s warehouse to see his inventory of cars.

Very nice. Afterwards, Rick took us on a quickie tour of Austin. The main sights were the Capitol and the University (of Texas). The football stadium there is awe inspiring. We went to lunch at The Oasis, overlooking Lake Travis.


Saturday, December 19 though Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at Medina Lake:
This stay at the beautiful Thousand Trails Medina Lake preserve was supposed to be a relaxing warm-up for the hectic Christmas week to follow. For the most part, it was. The Map Quest instructions we gave the Wheelers were wrong in one important place, and they ended up on a dirt road that was not wide enough for their motor home. They had to unhook their tow car from the rig, and back out. A couple of phone calls later, they arrived at the preserve. We arrived (without incident, having printed directions from a different source) just in time for the Saturday afternoon ice cream party. Since it cost only a buck, we had to participate. That afternoon, Becky and Bill found a couple who were into pickle ball, and the competitive spirit took over. Pat and I rarely saw them after that. I found time to repair a drain valve problem that had arisen a few days earlier. We fed the deer a lot. They were glad to see us back.

Thursday, December 17 and Friday, December 18, 2009; at Fredericksburg:
We came to this pretty little town because we had seen a little of it in August, and were intrigued. It was the birthplace of Admiral Nimitz, and there is a museum in his honor as well as a museum dedicated to the Pacific War in general. Of course, we went to neither one. We did, however, ride past the war museum while on a bicycle tour
of the residential area of town. There is an unusual mix of architecture there, and I’m not sure they have much zoning control. One interesting highlight: The town was founded by German immigrants, lured there by the gift of free farm land and an additional small plot of land in town. They built a small house on the town property to use when they came to town for business, church, etc. Many of the so-called “Sunday Houses” are still there, not used any longer but preserved as a part of town history. One of the homes had a funny banner on the front lawn.


Sunday, December 6 through Wednesday, December 16, 2009:
We returned from Park City to Wilderness Lakes on Sunday, and rested a bit due to the constant rain. Without much to do, we decided to back up some of the data on our computer, which we hadn’t done for a few years. Big mistake! In the process, our hard drive crashed for the first time in the 25+ years we have had PC. Because of the timing, we couldn’t deal with the problem until we got to Yuma, Arizona.

On Tuesday, we left for Yuma, mainly to visit Jerry and Robi Sypkens (former colleagues from the North Rim), who were spending time there. We stayed at Yuma Lakes RV Resort, a nice place. Bill had his transmission cables repaired and I had our fuel filter replaced (to get rid of the “check engine” light on our dashboard). If it’s not one thing, it’s another! We were enticed by Jerry to join in the stupidest card game in the world, Pegs & Jokers.

The girls kayaked with Jerry,


Yuma is the lettuce capital of the world!


We left on Saturday, and headed for Tucson to stay at the Voyager RV Resort. It was very nice, but had a lot of old people. We had an uneventful trip to get there. We spent three days there, Becky and Pat hiked; Bill and I relaxed, including a visit to the RV park where Bill and Pat stayed when they worked in Tucson a few years ago. Bill renewed acquaintances with some of the old timers there. We started to deal with the computer problem. After some confusion involving the geniuses at Best Buy (Never again!) we got our old computer back with a blank hard drive and our old program disks. We also now have a notebook computer, as well. We couldn’t resist its cuteness. Its main purpose is to give us both the chance to be “working” at the same time. (Sometimes, “working” means playing hearts or free cell.)

Becky had dinner one night with a former Grand Canyon South Rim colleague, Laura Dillon.
Since we had been there just a couple of months ago, and because Tucson isn’t very interesting, there wasn’t any sightseeing to do. Going to Costco was a highlight.

On Tuesday, we headed for Las Cruces, New Mexico (to the Siesta RV park), for a one-night stay. The RV park was laid out at the time of the Model T Ford, apparently, since the sites were miniscule. It was easy pulling in, but quite a challenge to get out. We spent some time at the historic Mesilla area of Las Cruces.
New Mexico State University is located in Las Cruces. Yippee! On Wednesday, we headed for Fort Stockton, Texas, also for a one-night stay at the same (nice) Fort Stockton RV park we had occupied on prior occasions. I got diesel at the nearby filling station the night we arrived (i.e., the night before we left) and forgot to retrieve my American Express card. I realized it the next morning, just a few seconds before we were to enter the highway leading out of Fort Stockton. I was quite relieved when the clerk was able to locate, and return, my card.