Everybody's Somebody in Luckenbach Texas

January 30/16  Good luck trying to find Luckenbach Texas with a map or a GPS.... hahaha.  Rumor has it that the signs are torn down almost as quickly as they're put up.  Tricky part of the GPS is that the town you lock into is Fredericksburg!!!!  After a couple of wrong turns we found it, along with a couple hundred other bikers.

inside the Dance hall

bikers out in Luckenbach

The tiny country hamlet of Luckenbach start in the mid 1800's as a trading post. About 1886 it became a General Store, Post Office and Beer Joint run by  a traveling preacher from Germany.  His daughter chose the name Luckenbach in honor of her fiance Albert Luckenbach. In 1970—Luckenbach the town, which remained in the hands of the Engel family the whole time, fell into eclipse. Benno Engel retired as postmaster and placed an ad in the local paper: “TOWN FOR SALE” —lock, stock and dancehall.    A Rancher and Texas Folklorist Hondo Crouch bought the town for $30,000.  In 1973, Texas country-rocker, Jerry Jeff Walker came to Luckenbach to record an album. Walker wanted a laid-back Texas locale for a backdrop.  Jerry Jeff and his Lost Gonzo Band took over the old dancehall, stacked hay bales for sound baffles and sat around the ancient saloon writing songs during the day. At night, they recorded in the dancehall— fast and loose. Four years later, Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson had the huge hit that memorialized Luckenbach to its ultimate worldwide fame.  Willie Nelson returns to Luckenbach annually for his 4th of July Picnic with thousands of his closest friends...and that’s just the list of performers.  Luckenbach has live country music most every weekend still.

Billy getting a Shiner Bock longneck at the back of the General Store

Rosey hanging out in front of the General Store

The only two things in life that make it worth livin'
Is guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women
I don't need my name in the marquee lights
I got my song and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas
With Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin'
Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and
Newbury's train songs and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain't nobody feelin' no pain

So baby, let's sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is choking me
In your high society you cry all day
We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones
Four car garage and we're still building on
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas
With Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us feudin'
Like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and
Newbury's train songs and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain't nobody feelin' no pain

The Three Twisted Sisters Ranch Roads

Jan 29/16  Riding out with the group from our park, they were anxious to show us some of their favorite rides in the area.

Jim on the left was leading - he is 81 years old - what rider

We did the Hunt Loop that takes you winding along the Guadalupe river and along miles of ranch land that has more deer than we have seen anywhere before.

Boots along a fence post line seem comical

along the Guadalupe River

Stonehenge II in Hunt

A couple of friends made an art project that is a replica of Stonehenge.  Most of the stones are constructed of plaster applied to a wire mesh frame however, two of the central stones are real.   Size wise it's about 90% wide and 60% high as the real thing.  Can you walk through these stones Clare?  Would you end up with an old Cowboy instead of Jamie the Highlander? 

Cute Tshirt

RR335, RR336, RR337  The Three Twisted Sisters in Hill Country.  The ride is out into the country side with jagged edged rocky outcrops and some curves.   Up and downs and winding trails make an enjoyable ride. 

Texas white limestone cliffs

riders out today in Leakey

RR337

Hill Country Texas

Jan 28 to Feb 4/16  Weather is warm to start then a cold front is coming thru later in the week 77, 79, 82, 82, 66, 57, 61.  Nights drop into the 30's and 40's especially with the elevation at the campground being 1,656 feet.   Apparently this is an above normal warm front so we are taking advantage of it to stay a week and ride.  We north of San Antonio in Hill Country and we are staying at Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, which is real Texas style. 

Buckhorn Lake RV Resort - the Barn is the clubhouse

Same view at night from our campsite

The day we pulled in a couple of fellows came over and asked us to ride at 10:30 in the morning.   Everyone is very friendly and happy to have another biker come along.  

Fireplace inside the barn, clubhouse

Saturday morning there was a breakfast inside the barn.... wow,  we were surprised how nice it was inside.   The fireplace was HUGE, and wood burning fire took the chill out of the air.   Breakfast was like visiting a good restaurant.....  We are thinking this is a great park and a super location.

Gun Holster and Rope centerpiece on each table

Straight Through Houston Texas

Jan 27/16 Weather sunny but chilly, high of 65 and at night low of 33 in Katy, Texas.  No clouds to keep the heat in.

Rice paddies along interstate 10 Louisiana

From Lafayette, Louisiana to the Texas border the interstate 10 is bordered with rice fields.  They go on for miles.   Maybe next time the weather will be a bit warmer and we can stay for a bit longer in Lafayette to see some sites, they have the oldest rice mill in the United States.  I never think of rice from Louisiana when I buy it, do you?
Getting through Houston was not too bad about 1:30 in the afternoon, we just stayed on I 10 and counted lanes, always stay in the 2nd or 3rd lane from the left side.  The lanes out farther drop off into exits all the way through the city.  That might not be too much fun in a motorhome.   About 20 miles out of the city core we stopped for the day at Katy Lake RV Resort.   Oddly you had to enter via a very long driveway into a storage lot then veer off to the RV park.  It looked wrong so we went by the driveway..... Oh boy.  Luckily there was enough room ahead on the street and several turn around lanes that we could pull a u turn.  Billy was not a happy camper..... but it turned out ok.  Is that where that term comes from???

strange entrance into the park at Katy Lake RV Resort

brand new big level concrete pull thrus

In the morning when we looked out at the Recreation center there were 3 Police cruisers sitting in front.   We wondered what had happened.    Snoopy as we are...... we walked up to the clubhouse and found all 3 officers sitting at a table having their morning coffee.   Haha ok, it just seemed weird to us seeing 3 cruisers in a campground, we had never seen that before, we thought foul play was at hand for sure.  Maybe they live in the RV park?  Who knows, we didn't have the nerve to ask after we were disappointed there was no crime scene..... we are so naive.

3 cop cruisers at the clubhouse

VW camper van

Jan 26/16   Just had to post this VW camper van that was in our Lafayette campground.   Billy couldn't get over what great shape the van was in,,,, and we had to laugh cause it had Ontario license plates.   Had a brief conversation with the fellow and they were from Toronto and heading West.  The VW was already restored and even lowered when they bought it.   Sweet ride!!!!

Louisiana Good Eats?

Jan 26/16  Weather - 90% chance of rain today, high of 60, low of 41  in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Once again we joined the 2:30 club.   Off the road and found a pull thru site at the KOA Lafayette. 
Billy felt like driving farther but with the rain persistent most of the day he gave in easily when I suggested we stop for the day.

2 lanes going both ways in Mobile tunnel

When you enter Mobile, Alabama from the East side you immediately go through the tunnel.

inside the tunnel at Mobile

It seems so much brighter and cleaner to us than the Detroit/Windsor tunnel.  Motoring on we passed through Mississippi, bypassing New Orleans on Interstate 12 and then back onto interstate 10 again we spotted the Louisiana state sign.

Welcome to Louisiana

 At this exact moment we had on our Sirius radio channel Margaritaville listening to Jimmy Buffett singing "Louisiana"!!!!!   Now is that a good travel omen??  We think so.

Mild Boudin on the left, Cracklin in the middle, spicy boudin on the right

Next door to the KOA was an eatery that I just had to find out about.  Billy's Boudin.  What is boudin??  Wikipedia says~ A white sausage made of pork without the blood. Pork liver and heart meat are typically included. In Cajun versions, the sausage is made from a pork rice dressing (much like dirty rice), which is stuffed into pork casings.  What have we got to loose?  We have to try it right?    And later we get a sampling of crawfish too.  

This is the leftover part,   I ate the meat out of the tail. 

2:30 club

Jan 25/16  Weather - high of 63, low of 50.    Quite mild today.  Cloudy so it will hold the heat in at night.   We traveled north on I75 then west on I10.   We thought about 3:30 it should be time to look for a campground, and this would be with the 1 hour time change back so it is 2:30.   We like to think we belong to the 2:30 club.  We drive 230 miles or get off the road at 2:30 pm.   Really.    We aren't in a hurry.  We have all winter to get somewhere and all spring to drive home.  One thing we noticed today was all the RV's on the road.  Wow.   We lost track of the numbers.   And it seemed they are all headed into Florida.  

the park is full, here we are right out front

We got off at Holt to pull into Eagles Landing RV Park.  Oh, Oh.  They had a "No Vacancy" sign out at the entrance.   After I popped my head out to talk to the fellow at the office he said he could put us in the overflow, no water, no sewer but we could get 50 amp and it was a nice level spot, easy in and out.   "Sure, why not we are just in transit for the night".   Come to find out it was a good sized park and filled with mostly seasonals, not many on the move like us.   We found this kind of amazing, that it was full.

In the overflow spot

Chilly Florida

Sunset the night before we pull out

Jan 18 - 25/16  Weather is Coooool and even Cold.   Frost 3 nights.  Sunny during the day - low 60's mostly - one day 70.  But as many Snowbirds say, it's Winter but still like Spring here.  Actually Billy unhooked our water hose 3 of the nights, just to be safe.   We went back to Grand Oaks RV Resort in Lady Lake to see some friends and do some errands before heading out West for the rest of the winter.  Originally we thought 2 days would do it but the week was necessary.  It took us 3 trips to the grocery store to get enough supplies to restock.   We do empty the fridge completely and most of our pantry items too.   So we say goodbye to a beautiful setting and get our wheels turning.  Kind of excited to go!!

53 foot Horse and RV trailer

I kept meaning to show you this huge RV and horse trailer.   This couple bring their car, horse, carriage, and golf cart in this unit.   They had a smaller one the very first year we came here,,,, and have upgraded to this monster!  Isn't that something.   The truck they pull it is a small Freightliner transport.

Going Home for Christmas Summary

New sign at our old home area - pretty snazzy

I find it interesting to recap after we return and file papers away for future reference.  We talk to many campers who want to go home for Christmas but other than jumping in their toad and driving back few don't think of warehousing and catching a plane.  This is our fifth trip back.  yr 1 Tallahassee, yr 2 Orlando,  yr 3 Orlando, yr 4 Sacramento, yr 5 Sanford.  Year 6???  Oh yes there is always next year......  We haven't had enough yet.
Adult Toy Storage Warehouse Outdoor $120
Trailer Warehouse Indoor $110
Taxi from Warehouse to Hotel $35
Hotel with free shuttle to airport $120
Shuttle tip $5
Airline tickets round trip from Sanford, Florida to Windsor, Ontario $380
(if we can fly to Detroit for $300 we think that is great, $150 per person round trip, so flying into Windsor saved us taking a shuttle over the border about $80)
Our son picked us up at Windsor to take us to the farm to get our car - we filled his tank, bought him dinner, and gave him a really big hug:)
Place to stay.......  Our friends in Florida had us stay in their home while they were away.  Great people.
Returning my brother dropped us at the airport for the cost of breakfast, homemade cookies and more hugs:)
Hotel with free shuttle $120
Shuttle tip $5
Taxi from Hotel to Warehouse $35
Total USF $930 (exchange at 1.43)= $1320 Canadian Funds

Advantages:  Besides the chance to see family and friends this trip back will "refresh" our personal out of country health insurance.  We need to be home for only 24 hours and it will restart for another 60 days free coverage. 

Disadvantages:  Can't think of any????

Adult Toy Storage in Altamonte Springs - Huge and Well Kept

Billy found our motorhome

2 Hours

We are feeling this...... 

Jan 17/2016. Weather in Windsor, Ontario 19F Brrrr mild snowfall.   2 hours later in Sanford, Florida 65F sunny.   Isn't it amazing what can change in just a 2 hour flight.   We are loving this flight route by National Airlines.  Today only 64 people on the 180 seat flight.   Gosh we sure hope it fills up on the rest of the winter flights so National will continue this service.  It is so convenient for us to have family and friends drop us off.    No border crossing to Detroit makes a big difference.  When we landed in Florida we cleared US Customs easily.   Great travel day.

From take off in Windsor

Landing in Sanford

Is it Winter?

Happy 2106 and what is happening with the weather?  We have been in Ontario now for close to 3 weeks and really only had 1 nasty day of ice and wind.  Yesterday you could walk around with a spring jacket and today we saw a motorcycle out riding.   Where is winter?......   Mr. El Niño .  That's what the weather man predicts, worst in 18 years.   So in the north it will be abnormally warm and dry and in the south it will be cold and wet!   We are finishing up appointments and things to do.    Doctor, dentist, insurance agent, car maintenance to be ready for the spring, year end paperwork for the farm, prescriptions, out of country insurance, fix things for Mum, and on and on.  In the month we have probably had 1 day where we had a quiet day, with no where to go.   Coming soon we will be flying back, Yes, we miss our Motorhome😄