We are HOME!!

After 5+ months and 9500 miles we made it back home..  As we expected we found a few problems when leaving the house empty for that long of a time,  but will have all in order soon..  Just glad we are home again. 

Looking forward to seeing all our Wisconsin/Minnesota family and friends..  missed them terribly!

Next seasons post:

http://fall2012rvtrip.blogspot.com/ talk to ya'll in the Fall! Kathy and Eric

almost home!

we are in Clear Lake Iowa this morning.  should be home by 3:00 this afternoon!  it has been a long but wonderful 5 months away from home.  we have met so many wonderful people, seen some great and not so great sights and of course the food..

next years blog will be

http://fall2012rvtrip.blogspot.com/

Heading home Day5 & 6: Fort Worth Texas -Tulsa Oklahoma

Monday we got up early and headed out in the fog..

The traffic was not too bad until we hit bigger cities.  stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, which held us until we arrived at Ray Roberts State Park just north of Fort Worth at about 3:00pm.  Our final day in Texas until next November!

Went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  pretty good.  I had my favorite (we could not find it in the valley) Carnitas, Eric had a burrito.. 

time for a small campfire before heading in to bed.  driving with the RV's behind us is very tiring.  we try to go about 250 miles a day, giving us a longer rest each afternoon/night.

Tuesday we left camp a bit later, Fred's truck wanted to stay in Texas..  but we got it going, stopped at the Ford dealer for a look see, then got to just south of Tulsa in the late afternoon.  long day but we managed to avoid another storm.  Dallas/Fort Worth got hit with tornado's.  We did have some rain but nothing hard. 

Spent the night at Sequoyah Bay State Park, a bit of rain just as we were finishing our hot dog dinner.  but a peaceful night.

Heading home Day 4, San Marcos, Texas

Another beautiful day in Texas.  we decided to take it easy today, as we need to drive everyday this week. 


We went to Lockhart for BBQ

The Barbecue Capital of Texas
There are four BBQ restaurants in Lockhart. The restaurants estimate that about 5,000 people visit their establishments each week. This would be roughly 250,000 people a year who eat BBQ in Lockhart.
We ate at Smitty's..

Eric's goal for our wood pile it to match this one by Nov. 1st!  he might need help,,

these smokers are over 100 years old.. 

our lunch:  beef brisket, beef shoulder and pork ribs..  all were very good.  Fred and Kim had some sausage and prime rib that was also very good.

not very fancy but the way Q' is suppose to be.

Lockhart county courthouse:

time to go back for a rest.. 

Life is good! we are so lucky to be able to just enjoy..

Went grocery shopping before heading out tomorrow.  Our "old" (they left our park this morning) neighbors here in San Marcos, Wayne and Jeanette told us about a bloody mary mix, we bought it but did not try it yet..

After our big lunch we wanted a light dinner.  so Hot Dogs on the grill...

Kim and Fred's dog  (T.D.)  came out to have dinner with us..  we think he might have a drinking problem..

after dinner we had a football practice session.  Coach Fred was happy with our abilities..

we did pretty good.. but we need a bit more practice.  our first group practice is scheduled for Sunday April 15.  Rose, Nancy, Sue and the other girls will need to catch up to me and Kim..

on the road tomorrow..  should be a good day for travel.

Heading home day 3, San Marcos, TX

Another beautiful day in Texas.  Our first stop was at the local airport:

we have been to a few but so far this was the best..

went back to camp for leftover brats and:

they have frosting in the middle..  we like them, some others did not! 

Our next stop was the town of Kyle where they had a BBQ cook off

there was about 40 smokers and all were very generous with their fare...

time for pie:

time for a nap! then off again to the Cobra Car Rally at the convention center:

there was about 60 cars there.  all were different, all were very nice.  I think they were either replica's of 1965 or 1966.  very fun..

back to camp for dinner..  Fred made steaks...

our neighbors Wayne and Jeanette came over for a drink and campfire.   They are from Texas and full timers.  Will be following their blog.  At 10:30 the camp host came and told us to "keep it down"..  we felt like teenagers, but really we are just oldsters with hearing problems...

One more day in San Marcos before we really start to head home.



Heading home day 2, San Marcos, TX

We spent the day roaming the area.  We headed out to Gruene, TX about 10 miles from our camp site.

cut little town, lots of shops, something for everyone.  car rally in town, (we plan on going tomorrow) but here is a preview..

We went into a few shops before stopping for lunch at:

my lunch:

beautiful trees and flowers throughout the town..

big dance hall..

Back to the campground:

critters:



river rats:

Fred's truck had some issues so it had to go to the dealer!

Kim brought a game that was suppose to be hours of fun,, it was more like hours of frustration!

out for dinner in San Marcos at Grins..  Kim and I had catfish, Eric had a burger and Fred had a Mexican plate.  good food, good drink and good friends!  great way to end the day, of course we had a camp fire!

heading home day 1

The electricity went out at about 7:20 this morning..  we thought it was a sign to get out of town so we left!

We headed out at 8:15.  it was hard to say goodbye to our new friends but we will see most of them later this year when we all return.

they sky was overcast, the traffic light (until we hit San Antonio) and we had a few drops of rain, not enough to use the wipers.  great day for traveling.

we arrived at Pecan Park RV park in San Marcos (about 50 miles north of San Antonio) at 3:00 pm. 

welcome bucket.. with our favorite Wisconsin beers on Ice..

Fred and Kim have been here for a week, enjoying the weather and the sites of the Hill Country.  Now we are here to add a little excitement!

Fred does not look happy but he was so excited to see us he was shaking..

we are right on the San Marcos River..

the sound of rushing water is wonderful..

we got back from our walk around the park..

we need some food..  Fred made Wisconsin Brats, Kim brought out Wisconsin cheese and crackers and of course our Wisconsin beer.  wonderful dinner with wonderful friends. 

now time for the camp fire..

what a wonderful way to end the day.  we did a little bit of wind, so no bugs..

We did hear on the news that a bad storm (high winds, hail and heavy rain) hit McAllen last night.  hope everyone we left behind is OK.   we are sure there are lots of trees down on our trails!  but we are heading north. 

we will be here in San Marcos until Monday.  the weather looks good here for the weekend, high 80's and sunny.