Ron, David and Steve didn't let the weather stop them. They golfed almost every week...
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| practicing his putting. at least he's not using a golf ball!! |
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| Coop kept watch on golf days. Keep in mind, I'd already made the bed three times....I finally gave up! |
We had lots of "park events" which, of course, revolved around food!!
Every couple of weeks or so, we'd get together for LEO'S (Lets Eat Out). We traveled to the Apple Store in Comfort (best hamburgers and apple pie), Burgers & Moore in Kerrville ~ excellent burgers. I believe this is the best burger joint in Kerrville.
We also went to Camp Verde. Camp Verde was a United States Army facility established on July 8, 1856 in Kerr County. It's located along the road from San Antonio to El Paso on the banks of Verde Creek. The camp was the headquarters for the U.S. Camel Corps, which experimented with using camels as pack animals in the Southwestern United States. Today, Camp Verde General Store and restaurant are located on the grounds of Old Camp Verde. Camp Verde General Store has occupied this piece of land for more than 150 years. The restaurant has recently expanded; the food is fantastic!
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| entrance to the general store and restaurant |
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| a hungry group |
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| Ron, Tom & Stan hanging out while we shopped |
Along with pot lucks, a soup dinner, a chili dinner, a breakfast, as well as a lasagna dinner (thanks Connie, your lasagna is the BEST!) we also ..
had a Super Bowl Party...
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| back row: George, David, Ron & Stan front row: Kyle & Myrna |
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| the party was held in Western Town. Becky and Lisa watching the game |
as well as a Valentine's Day Dinner...
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| Ron, Tom, Ryan & Stan manning the grill |
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| while the guys grilled, the rest of the crew was busy with potatoes and fish |
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| and preparing drinks... |
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| beautiful table settings... |
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| George, Jerri and Mr. Ken |
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| Shirlene, Jack & Ron |
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| Ron, Jack & Shirlene |
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| BJ, Bill, George, Jerri, Becky & David |
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| waiting for the Newlywed Game to begin... |
One evening we traveled to Comfort for LEO's. We ate at Gunthers (a German restaurant) and
listened to the Moonlites, one of the best Do Wop groups around.
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| gathered in front of Gunthers... |
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| Jack, Ron, Steve & Leanne |
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| Mr. Ken and his sister |
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| the Moonlites... |
Ron & I took a day trip to Dripping Springs (just west of
to meet
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| look who we found!! Larry & Ginger!!! |
Larry and Ginger who were doing disaster relief in Bastrop. Ron and I worked there in November, '12
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| beautiful day. waiting for a table... |
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| yum! getting their fresh squeezed lemonade |
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| weekend entertainment... |
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| lots of seating... |
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| yummy!!! |
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| we're stuffed!!! Ginger, Larry & myself |
It was so good to see friends from "home". We had so much fun catching up with them.
The Salt Lick is known far and wide for it's outstanding BBQ. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. The food was outstanding. We loved it so much, that we took another day trip with Jack & Shirlene to sample more of their great BBQ.
The Salt Lick is known far and wide for it's outstanding BBQ. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. The food was outstanding. We loved it so much, that we took another day trip with Jack & Shirlene to sample more of their great BBQ.
Becky received word from Sue Jackson (Sue and her husband Glen were with us last year at JCRV) that she and her sister were traveling through Kerrville on their way back to Odessa. Of course we had to visit with them! We met up for lunch at one of the local Mexican Restaurants,
Mamacita's...
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| Becky, myself, Connie, Shirlene, Jerri, Sue and her sister |
It was so fun to see Sue! We miss her and Glen. Hopefully, they'll be back with us next year! It was a pleasure to meet Sue's sister as well!
Lest you think all we did was eat (which, I admit, we did a lot of) we also played lots and lots of cards. Becky taught us all a new game, Pennies from Heaven which is a version of Canasta. We fondly refer to Pennies from Heaven as "panties" (long story)...
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| Connie & Stan |
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| OK, David look my way! |
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| Becky has such a great laugh |
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| Kyle, Vickey & Sara |
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| Jerri, Geroge and myself |
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| Vickey, Sara, Dee & Kyle |
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| Connie is deep in thought... |
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| David, Becky, Ron, Connie & Stan |
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| Becky & Ron |
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| Miss Connie and her beautiful smile!! |
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| David & Becky counting points |
Most Wednesdays would find the women over at the clubhouse doing some sort of a craft...
We embellished picture frames...
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| Jerri picking up buttons for her frame |
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| finished products!! very cool!! thanks Becky, for letting us "borrow" from your stash of buttons!! |
and made fabric picture frames...
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| Connie & Shirlene laying out Shirlene's picture |
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| nice job Connie & Shirlene!! |
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| Connie's map of Texas looks great!! |
In addition to crafts Jerri, Becky & myself made weekly trips to Comfort to our favorite yarn shop, The Tinsmith's Wife...occasionally Vickey, Connie or
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| selfie with Becky & Vickey |
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| Dee, Becky, Bill (who is an expert knitter, he along with his wife help run their daughter, Wendy's, store) myself & Jerri |
When Vickey, Becky and I returned from one of our fiber trips, we found Ron helping Kyle (Vickey's husband) installing vent covers on their trailer...
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| thanks Becky for snapping the picture!! |
We did a little bit of home remodeling ourselves...we took down the wallpaper and put up a back splash behind our stove...
We took Coop on lots and lots of walks...
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| Coop always manages to find someone to converse with! |
Mr. Ken is a huge part of Johnson Creek RV. He does so much for all of us and we appreciate and love him for everything. Not to mention, he's a nice man!! He picks up everyone's trash everyday and hands out treats to our dogs. He's also taken Cooper for rides in his golf cart when he goes to feed the horses...
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| Coop loves Mr. Ken... |
Among other things, Mr. Ken also keeps the fire going in the
Clubhouse and Western
Town California .
He thought we were gathering to meet his sister. Little did he know!!! Lots of plotting and planning of the gag
gifts...
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| of course we had food! |
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| Miss Lisa roasting Mr. Ken |
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| Miss Connie's turn... |
Lots and lots of laughter!! Success!! Mr. Ken was completely caught by surprise. We really do appreciate him!!
As the weather warmed up, we did a bit of revisiting favorite places and some new places...
We went back to Bandera a couple of times. It's a cool town and is located on the Old Spanish Trail.
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| Medina River in Bandara |
We went to Trade Days in
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| so much rust, so little time... |
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| Ron with "Walter"... |
One of the more interesting places we visited was the
Wildflower Ranch Alpaca Farm, between Fredricksburg and Kerrville .
We learned a lot about alpaca's today.
Alpacas are gentle animals with very expressive eyes. Of course I purchase some alpaca yarn while we were there.
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| Don giving us all kinds of information on the alpacas |
Alpacas are gentle animals with very expressive eyes. Of course I purchase some alpaca yarn while we were there.
The guys, most of them sires, were kept in another pasture.
They keep them separate from the females until they needed them to get
together. The males have these cute bottom teeth called fighting
teeth. However, if they show signs of fighting, they are neutered.
They would very gently eat the treats out of our hands. If we tried to pet their heads or necks, they'd move back a bit.
They are very protective of those two parts of their body. They didn't mind us petting their backs. Alpacas live about 22 years and can weigh between 165-205 pounds.
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| Jerri feeding... |
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| my turn... |
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| Steve's turn... |
Alpacas have 16 natural colors. Multi-colored alpacas
have more than one color on their blanket (basically this is their back) and
are in less demand because the yarn wouldn't be prime. The white alpacas are in
the highest demand because they tend to have more fiber than the others.
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| George & Becky... |
April is shearing month. Alpacas are hogtied and laid
on a table or ground for the shearing. Don assured us they don't fuss long
while being hogtied. They relax and seem happy and frisky when they get that thick
fur off. April in the Texas Hill Country is pretty warm.
Don gave us so much information! His wife Beth aka, the fiber freak, gave us more info when we hit their little gift shop.
Beth sells yarn from their own alpacas. Some of it she spins some herself. However, the majority of their fiber is sent to The Shepherd's Mill inPhillipsburg , Kansas
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| Beth showing me some roving... |
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| Jerri...decisions, decisions |
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| what color do you like best? |
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| Don, George, Leanne & Steve... |
Beth sells yarn from their own alpacas. Some of it she spins some herself. However, the majority of their fiber is sent to The Shepherd's Mill in
Of course I had to purchase some alpaca yarn while we were there...
This was one of my favorite trips this winter. Thanks Becky and Jerri for putting it together!! I do believe I'll make a return visit next winter!! I can't get enough of those lovely alpacas!!
As the weather warmed, we had to revisited (more than once) our favorite DQ!!
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| what can we say? the boy loves his ice cream!! |
Cliff is a permanent resident of JCRV. He trained in classical music and plays the accordion. He invited us over for a mini-concert. We were not disappointed!!
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| Cliff plays beautifully |
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| Verlene, Sue & Phil |
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| Leanne, Steve, Connie, Stan & Jack |
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| Stan, Jack & Shirlene |
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| Sue & Phil |
The great northern migration has begun...David & Becky
are in Wichita Kansas, Jerri & George are headed back to Arkansas prior to
journeying out west, Jack & Shirlene are headed back to Iowa, Steve and
Leanne are headed north to Minnesota, while Connie and Stan are headed to
California.
Before we all left, Connie, Shirlene and myself had to have one final spa day...
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| Shirlene, myself & Connie... |
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| mani/pedi |
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| pretty toes! |
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| we had sooooooo much fun!!!!! |
We have had the most fun this winter!!! We will miss everyone so much!! And are already looking forward to spending next winter at JCRV!!
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| Johnson Creek runs behind JCRV |
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| bluebonnets!! |
