ON TO ROCKPORT, TEXAS

Monday, November 8 – Today we headed down the road for Rockport, TX. We are going to a little site seeing and lots of R and R. The ride was a very pleasant one. It took us four hours to get there. At one point, we saw hundreds of wind turbines. It is such an amazing site.

We are staying in Coastal Oaks RV Resort. It just opened last year. They have standard and premium sites. The premium sites are huge. They put us in one of those at no extra cost. We are in Site 404. All sites are paved with paved roads.

Just about every site has trees but just enough to give a nice mixture of sun and shade. Our host, John, is really nice. When we went to back in, he didn’t like how some of the limbs looked so he and his wife, Linda, got the backhoe out, he climbed in it and up he went and trimmed the limbs for us. The roads are very wide.

The clubhouse is open with a laundry room. They have many activities that include everyone.

 

Pool and hot tub.

There is a pond and a paddle boat.

Bella enjoys it here…lots of trees and water.

We both agree that this is the friendliest park we have been in!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all real soon. Have a great day!

WURSTFEST OR THE CELEBRATION OF THE SAUSAGE

Friday, November 5 – We headed to Austin, TX this morning. On the way are two outlet malls we stopped at to stroll among the stores. The people sure seemed to be out shopping, not sure if they're buying, but the parking lot was FULL. Marsha found a couple of bargains she couldn’t pass up.

In Austin, we headed to the University of Texas. We visited the stadium....Home of the Texas Longhorns....Hook 'em Horns! We could only get in the outer area of the stadium....shucks! They aren’t playing so hot this year and Saturday was no exception.








Then we tried to drive through campus but it is pretty well secured. Remnants of 911 or the shootings at various Universities I suspect. Without proper passes you can't really drive onto campus. There sure were a lot of kids heading to and from classes. University of Texas is one of the nation's largest college campuses with over 48,000 students.

We then headed to East 6^th Street. On the National Register of Historic Places, Sixth Street is Austin's famous nightlife destinations with nearly 50 clubs and live music venues. Everything from jazz and reggae to country and rock. Of course it was in the middle of the afternoon, so things haven't started “swinging” yet. Unfortunately, we are a 45 minute drive away from home and don't want to risk partying the night away. I guess it will have to wait until our “next youth.”







Saturday, November 6 - We are meeting Jay & Betty Crane at the German Wurstfest Celebration today. The beautiful Comal River runs right through the park where the festival is held.





Since 1961, people have come to the Wurstfest (or Sausage Festival) to sample tasty sausage, pretzels, potato pancakes, and other German/Texas treats served up by fun-loving folks. Some come to polka and waltz to non-stop oompah music performed by more than forty entertainment groups.





Others come to visit with friendly Texans dressed in lederhosen and dirndls as a tribute to the rich German heritage of the community.







Marsha wanted to wear her outfit but was glad she didn’t. Her outfit looks exactly like this lady’s…LOL



Everyone comes to Wurstfest for Gemutlichkeit....fun and fellowship German style!

The Big Tent



Wurstfest always begins on the Friday before the first Monday in November, this year, that's October 29. The festivities continue through November 7.
Had a great time with Jay & Betty.



Really enjoyed the Polka music and the Country music. We had some German Beer and some sausage and some potato soup.....hmmmmm!
Where all the food is!



One of the big items was HATS! Crazy hats, German style hats, Sausage hats, beer hats, and a few cowboy hats.









To see more of these crazy hats, please click here.

They even sang beer songs about loving their hats....ha ha!



To see more pictures of the Wurstfest, please click here.

We'll be seeing Jay and Betty this winter in the Rio Grande Valley and maybe even next week in Rockport, TX.....that's our next destination.

Sunday, November 6 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! Today is Marsha's dad's birthday. If you ever see or saw a picture on this blog, you would never be able to guess his age. Paul hopes he is in such good shape when he is Fred's age.

We went to church this morning and spent the rest of the day RESTING. We talked with Carrie and Kelly, both our doing super. Nice relaxing day. Marsha talked with her dad twice to see how his birthday day went. He said great.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya’ll again real soon. Have a great day!

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY…NEW BRAUNFELS AND GURENE

Wednesday, November 3 – A windy day with a little rain today. We just hung out at the MH today. Don and Kathy Zaleski arrived in the park around 4:30 pm, just in time for happy hour. We met them when we were at Red Bay and kept in touch via email. We visited for several hours, then decided to head downtown for a German dinner. We found a real neat little German Restaurant with authentic German cuisine and even a German waitress....der LindenBaum, "The Linden Tree". We had a really nice meal and wonderful company. Don even spoke a little German with the waitress and recommended a couple good German beers for Paul.

Cathy, our sweet waitress, Don

Don, Cathy, Marsha and Paul

Marsha had Gulaschusuppe…spicy stewed beef with herb noodles. Everyone voted this the best of all our choices. YUMMMMMM!

Paul had Buergermeister…sausage sampler with German potato salad and sauerkraut. We use to make our own sauerkraut but it didn’t taste nearly as good as this.

Thanks for stopping by Cathy and Don. We had a great time.

Thursday, November 4 – We moved the MH from Fredericksburg to New Braunfels. The history of the City of New Braunfels is based on the migration of German merchants, tradesman, and farmers moving to the area under the direction and leadership of Prince Solms.  They came searching for economic opportunities, the opportunity to own land, and more personal freedom.

We are now located near I-35, almost midway between San Antonio and Austin. We are at Hill Country RV Resort in New Braunfels. We are in Site 287…no I mean 290…no wait 291. Yea 291. The first site had some one in it...back to the office. We moved to the next site…guess what…some one was in it…back to the office. FINALLY, Site 291…no one was in it. The sites are tight.

There are lots of nice amenities to this park…2 indoor, heated swimming pools and hot tubs. sauna, snack store, individual shower rooms, pool table, fitness room, etc.

They take PPA which is wonderful! We would really like this park if the sites weren’t so close.

We are here to see some sights in Austin and to attend the German Wurstfest 50^th year celebration in New Braunfels.

We went to historic Gruene (pronounced Green) this afternoon. German farmers became the first settlers of what is now known as Gruene, Texas. Ernst Gruene, a German immigrant, and his bride Antoinette, had reached the newly established city of New Braunfels in 1845, but acreage was scarce. Thus, Ernst and his two sons purchased land just down river, and Ernst built the first home in Gruene in early fachwerk style. His second son, Henry D. Gruene, built his home (now Gruene Mansion Inn) and planted his surrounding land with cotton. Having become the number one cash crop, the cotton business soon brought 20 to 30 families to Henry D.'s lands.

This is another quaint little town of shops, restaurants and honky tonks.

Gruene Mansion Inn

Gruene General Store ranks as one of the top 40 places to visit in Texas.

 

TONS of stuff!

The Gruene Antique Co. The building was built in 1903 by Henry D. Gruene as a place where tenant farmers could buy their wares and do business on the weekends. We enjoyed this store. Much more than antiques…which we don’t buy.

That is Paul looking at some cowboy boots. Should he or shouldn’t he?

Speaking of honky tonks....Merle Haggard is playing tonight at Gruene Hall. It's sold out...tickets were $69.50. Tomorrow is also sold out with Lyle Lovett appearing. Tickets of his performance were $95.

It is HUGE!

One of Merle Haggard’s equipment buses. They arrived while we were there.

Man has it been WINDY in Texas Hill Country the last three days. What's with the wind??? Luckily, it didn't blow while we were on the road this morning. Still nice weather....70's-80's during the day and 50's at night, but we don't like the gusty wind.

Another wonderful day to be alive.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya’ll real soon. Have a great day.