We went to the Austin Convention Center and attended the Austin RV Show. Our ultimate dream is to own an RV and travel the country.
The Convention space for the Expo was huge. It took us five hours to walk from one end to the other. Everything was there from the tiny trailers to the monster motor coaches.
I did stop and take a look at one of the tiny trailers. I chuckled because I am 6’4″ and there is no way I could lay flat in those. One had a shower stall. That made me laugh with the idea of me attempting to at least close the door once I was inside. Tracy joked about it for about an hour.
Tracy gravitated toward the 5th wheels and I leaned towards the motor coaches. We both liked the idea of a toy hauler.
Tracy’s favorite was a 5th wheel that was 40′ long. It had a bath and a half, queen size bed, real refrigerator/freezer, leather sofa and chairs. It even had a washer and dryer. Tons of storage space underneath.
Mine was a motor coach diesel pusher. It was also 40′ long with all the bells and whistles. Very comfortable chairs. The passenger chair even had pull out desk so she could do her computer work as we drove down the road. I think the cabinets were of better quality with marble floors. Hers had wood floors.
Comparing the cost, we think it broke out even. With the 5th wheel, it would require a larger truck than what we have. Combine the two costs, it is the same as the motor coach. The added expense of the coach would be the car caddy to pull our car behind. If not we would be stranded at the camp site. Well unless we would want to drive the bus around like a passenger car.
All in all it was fun. It gives you a chance to dream and fantasize for the future.
Fredericksburg is an old German town established un 1846.
Many of the streets were created during the horse and wagon years. You can tell
the age on how wide the streets are in order to turn a wagon around. For many
years the primary language was German. Admiral Nimitz from WWII birthplace is
Fredericksburg. There is a Museum dedicated to him and a WWII Museum behind it
dedicated to George H Bush. It has a two-man Japanese sub on display. It is
worth the visit.
Fredericksburg is loaded with antique shops, wineries,
B&B’s, restaurants, and museums. We have visited the area many times. This
area is very popular during weekends.
But this day was a special trip. Very special!
Our day started in Marble Falls for breakfast at Bluebonnet Café. This place is getting close to being 100 years old. It is a hopping place, good food, homemade meals. When you arrive, don’t be surprised the line is all the way outside. Don’t worry, this place has a very good system of moving people. Oh, the pies! Tons of freshly made pies! Oh, a word of advice. Bring cash to Bluebonnet. They do not accept credit or debit cards. The establishment has been a cash only business since it started.
Our next stop was HEB. We purchased two grocery bags of
produce. Carrots, cabbage, bananas and apples. We were buying treats.
So off towards Fredericksburg we went. Once we got into Johnson City, we took a side road and ended up at the gates of Hill Country Elephant Preserve. /That’s right folks, we have elephants in Hill Country.
The couple who own the property and animals moved here from
California last May. They said the reason for the move was the change in
California laws pertaining to exotic animals. They said the new laws made it
impossible to work closely with these large exotics. Kari(owner) told me the
other reason was society had gotten to close for them. 30 years ago a trip to
the store was over 30 minutes. Now it is just a few blocks away.
She also said most of her staff came here with them. Many
had been working with them for over 20 years.
For those of you who know me, I am a nut about elephants. My
bucket list is a trip to Africa and spend a month with them. We had an
opportunity years ago to spend time with elephants on the back side of the
Indianapolis Zoo. That was an experience of a lifetime.
When you arrive at the property, you will notice a few red
circus type canopies. There is a greeting canopy, main display canopy, bathing,
and one for foot care display. There is obvious new construction going on
around the area.
Now before I go any farther. These are not wild Asian
elephants. They are domesticated performing elephants. They have been in
movies, commercials, and other festivities. What you will see is five elephants
performing small routines. But mostly this is about learning about elephants, how
they are cared for, and some one on one interaction with them. This is not a
circus or zoo.
For $75 per person, you get to be up close to elephants.
Kari talked about their history owning them, routine for caring for them, described
each elephant, and differences between African and Asian elephants. You then
follow an elephant to the wash bay. Everyone gets a chance to brush one of the
elephants as she lays on the ground. You can watch her breathing while lying
there. She was relaxed and seemed to enjoy the attention. During this time the
other four are just hanging around away from everyone. Occasionally you would
hear one of the trainers call out a name and tell them to back up when they
tried to mingle with the crowd.
Next, we went to another area and learned about the anatomy and
care of their feet. Did you know elephants walk on their toes? The trainers
have the elephants put their feet up on tables for you to see the bottom of
their feet. They describe how they inspect and clean their feet. There is an
opportunity to feel and inspect their feet. You will be amazed how smooth and cushiony
their feet are.
You do get to spend some quality time with a few of them.
You will be amazed on how soft their skin is. The owners said they receive
daily baths and semi-annual olive oil treatment. Can you imagine how much oil
is used to give these girls a rub down? Tai the big girl, she and I can see
almost eye to eye. We had some long eye contact. She curled her trunk and
checked me out a couple of times. Yes I
was in heaven with the trunk checking me out and getting snot on me.
Our time there was almost three hours. I wish I had more
time with them. Maybe I can talk them into me going over and just have some
play time.
The trip was well worth it. It was a great opportunity to
see them up close and able to touch and feel them. The rumbling sounds they
make, puts me at total peace.
Before we left, I talked to some of the staff. They pointed
to where the elephant barn will be. There are plans on bringing in other
exotics such as giraffes. Eventually there will be an Australian petting area
with small animals, cabins and a possible event center. I think this will take
years to complete. You can see areas where they are building structures now.
Sunday was a very cold and wet day. The weather was gloomy
and stayed in the 40’s with fog. Pretty miserable for the human folk. The elephants
felt so warm when you held onto them. They have the capability of regulating
their temperature much better than we can.
We left telling them we would be back.
Off to Fredericksburg. We decided to have a late lunch. Once we arrived, the streets were quite busy. We wanted to try something different and decided on The Old German Bakery and Restaurant The place was quite busy for being 2:00 on a Sunday. We enjoyed our meal very much. Tracy couldn’t finish her meal and half went home for Monday’s lunch. Unfortunately, or fortunately we sat next to the bakery display. During lunch we kept giving the display a look. We decided to share an apple turnover and a blueberry pastry. Really enjoyed the apple turnover. And yes, we just had to take home a loaf of fresh pumpernickel.
We decided to check out Quintessential Chocolates down the street. /Not bad, not great, but worth stopping by. Sorry, Wiseman in Hico is still our favorite. They have a huge assortment of chocolates. You are allowed one free sample. Tracy really enjoys dark chocolate. I tend to sway toward the milk or while chocolate. Their prices are very good, and the staff is well informed about chocolates. Tracy bought chocolates for her coworkers and a small box for herself. I bought a couple peanut clusters.
We had planned on walking around and check out the shops,
but the drizzling started again. It was too unpleasant to walk around being
that cold and wet. So, we packed up back in the car and headed to Johnson City.
While traveling down 290 there are a ton of wineries that
have popped up throughout the years. Most were pretty busy as we drove by. Tracy
couldn’t get rid of that wet cold feeling, so we did not stop. Trust us, it is
worth the trip to check out these wineries. Our next trip in this area we will
dedicate to wine tasting. There are probably 20 wineries, rum distillery, and a
micro-brewery between Fredericksburg and Johnson City.
Our Sunday trip was an eventful one. We were able to
experience something the majority out there will never experience. Just
imagine, holding onto an animal who weighs about four tons and is as gentle as
can be.
We did have a fantastic time visiting our grand babies, daughter, son in law, and friends in the Tampa Bay area. We also got an opportunity to meet our in law’s twin grandsons. OMG, are they tiny compared to our babies!
Earlier I posted about some of our travels in Tampa. We did not do as much as last time in Florida. It was about baby time, and three days of our trip was full of rain. Being winter, it is not much fun being rained on in the cold even if it is Florida.
We visited Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs. It was a cool windy day when we arrived. I kept chuckling while there. Tracy asked what was so funny. I was remembering my first winter in Florida. I was in High School and on Christmas day the family made the trip to Clearwater Beach. I remembered there was about three families out on the beach. We were the only family who went into the water. At Fred Howard, most license plates were from out of state, that is why I was chuckling. We walked the beach for a while, but the water was just too cold to walk in. It is free to go inside the park. But there is a cost to park along the water. I think it is $5. You can hang out at the beach, fish all around. There is an area where you can rent sail boards and other floating play toys. On the main land there are hiking paths and picnic areas.
We then decided we wanted some authentic Greek pastries. The only places we knew were at the Sponge Docks. So off we went. We drove around looking for an open parking space along the road. Our day exploring was a short one, and we didn’t want to pay for parking if we were only going to stay there for a couple of minutes. I highly recommend a trip to the docks. We were pressed for time so off we went to pick up one of our friends to head to St Pete to meet another longtime friend.
We stopped at Dickey’s BBQ on Tyrone. Being from Texas we are kind of a snob when it comes to smoked meat. I can honestly say this place was not bad. The meats had good bark, good seasoning, and good flavor. Our group stayed there for about three hours. While there Tracy was pulled aside and invited to a surprise birthday party.
So a few days later we headed to the Key West Bar and Grill in St Pete. We really enjoyed this place. It is old school just what you would expect for an older bar in Florida. Our party was in the patio and there was about 50 for the surprise party. There was a two-piece band that only would play music that was at least 30 years old. They have a very nice menu and the food was really good and fair priced. We had a blast. It is definitely a do over.
Key West Bar is located in the Grand Central Historical District We did not know this until we were looking around waiting for our friend to arrive. Of what we saw, there are a few micro breweries, sports bars and blocks of buildings we couldn’t tell what was inside. I think our next trip to Tampa Bay will be exploring the District. Looking at Maps, there is also a Florida Holocaust Museum east of the bar. Sounds like a good day trip.
We as a large family visited Broken Yolk a few times in New Port Richey This place has been here a long time. It is a hole in the wall. Serves comfort food. The food is good.
Now I did make a couple of trips with my friend Ronnie to the Tampa Bay Clays. Ronnie got me hooked a few years ago. To me it is like playing golf but with a shotgun. Golf is more of you and the ball. You are your own competition. Shooting clays is the same. It is just you and the shotgun. Each time I go I improve my score. Last trip I shot at 40 clays and hit 30. Ronnie hit 48. Yes he gave me grief too!. The staff there is very friendly. You ride a gold cart to each area. It takes about three hours to go through one of the courses.
One day after our clays we met up with Tracy at Toast in Holiday. They are only open for breakfast and lunch. You guessed it, most of the meals are based around toast. They have great omelets, hamburgers, and such. Very nice staff, and great atmosphere. We don’t go after fancy stuff. We just like a good meals and great service. This is located in the Bealls strip mall off of 54 and Rowen Road.
And you guessed right, we went Greek again. We went to Mr Souvlaki’s for dinner one night. And we ordered carry out another night I suggest you arrive very hungry or split your order with someone. Their plates are huge. This place has been around for over 30 years serving home made recipes. It is located on Alt 19 just off the Sponge Docks. Our other favorite places is Momma Maria’s and Mykonos We highly recommend all three restaurants. Being family recipes, if you order the same item from each, they will all taste a little different. We have had lamb at Maria’s and Souvlaki’s.
All in all we had a fantastic time. We got our baby time, family time, and friend time. We do plan on going back in a few months.
But for now it is time to start focusing on some Texas travel time.
