Mission, Texas

Mission, Texas

 

 Although citrus is still a major industry in the area, other agriculture and commerce have grown in recent years. Mission has also become a favorite destination for bird and butterfly watchers, golfers, and northerners looking to escape the cold.  They do not call them Snowbirds here but rather Winter Texans.  Lots of cars and trucks sporting their Winter Texan decals.

 

 

The town is very welcoming with "Welcome Winter Texans" banners all over

 

We came for the abundance of Square Dancing this time of year and the warm weather.  The weather did not cooperate with us.  This is the coldest / rainiest winter they have had in many years. Luckily for us Square dancing is done indoors. Most days you could dance 3 times a day.  We met a lot of nice people and were able to become better acquainted with the ones we had met before.

 

We did find some dry days and time to do as the locals

Riverside Club 

 Live music with lots of dancing

 

We even found Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

 

 

 

 

Grapefruit Pie at Lone Star BBQ

 

We were introduced to Canadian Cheezies.  They're the bomb. Cruncher and Cheesier.

 It's probably a good thing they don't sell them in the US

 

La Ropa

 

a 70,000 square foot warehouse that sells used clothing by the POUND.

 

 

The pile was approximately 40ft x 30ft x 6ft tall.  They would never see the bottom of this pile.

 

Bales waiting to be brought out.

 

 

Bentsen Palm Village

 

Very nice accommodations  

The RV park is located next door to the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and just down the road from the National Butterfly Center.

 

New Years Eve

Party at the Park

 

        Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley
  One of top birding destinations in the country, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in deep, South Texas well deserves its status as headquarters of the World Birding Center. Birders across the nation know Bentsen as a treasure trove of "Valley specialties", tropical birds found nowhere else in the United States with more than 325 species of birds and over 250 species of butterflies. The 760-acre Bentsen - Rio Grande Valley State Park, together with over 1,700 acres of adjoining U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge tracts, promises a year-round nature adventure in the richest birding area north of the Mexican border.

The Green Jay, a colorful tropical bird found primarily in Mexico and South America,  just makes its way into the United States in southern Texas.

The Plain Chachalaca typically occurs in small groups in tall, thorny thickets, scrubland, and second-growth forest edge along the Gulf-Caribbean slope from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Nuevo Leon, Mexico south to Honduras and Costa Rica. This native, non-migratory gamebird is similar in size and form to a female Ring-necked Pheasant.  Unlike most other galliform birds, the brownish-olive Chachalaca prefers to spend much of its time in the trees, earning it the nickname of Mexican Tree Pheasant and allowing it to thrive in tangled brushland resulting from logging or other mechanical habitat manipulation. Chachalaca prefer to run along larger limbs through the treetops or scurry through interior branches. They tend to select the ripest fruits available, therefore they are often observed feeding in precarious positions, including upside-down. 

 



San Antonio, Texas

 

 

 

The Alamo

San Antonio's first mission founded in 1718.

 

 

 

Christmas Eve

Dinner

 

 

Christmas on the River Walk

 Cruise down the San Antonio river.  Discover a world of sidewalks cafes, lush tropical foliage and charming boutiques.

 

Our dinner cruise awaits us 

 

 

 

 

 

The San Antonio River Walk is a public park open 365 days a year, lined with businesses composed of restaurants, hotels, attractions and more. It was surprising at how packed it was for the holiday.

 

  While here I also got to visit with Terri Bolner another former Delta employee.  She had moved to California for a little over a year back in 1989.  It was good to see her.  Her husband's extended family runs Bolner's Meats and Fiesta Spices.  We went there on Christmas Eve day.  The place was crazy busy with everyone picking up their meat for the holiday. Great place. Reminded me of Iowa Meats at home.

  

Northern Texas

Bardwell Lake, Ennis Texas

 

A Fishing what??

Yes, It's a Fishing Lounge.  You can go inside, have a seat on the bench along the walls and drop your fishing line through the hole in the deck.

Visited with Mary Fletcher, a fellow retired Delta employee.

 

We went to Granbury to visit with Marvin and Dee. 

We met them summer of 2012 in Red Bay Alabama.

 

Lake Granbury is a popular fishing and recreational reservoir. 

 

 

 

 

Luckenbach, Texas

named for Albert Luckenbach.

A Texas state of mind, where you can kick back, relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life - like a step back in time.

 One of its two main buildings houses the remnants of a post office, a working saloon, and a general store. The other is the dance hall. The post office was closed on April 30, 1971 and its zip code (78647) was retired. The general store remains active as a souvenir shop where visitors can purchase a variety of items, including merchandise featuring the town's iconic motto:

 "Everybody's Somebody in Luckenbach".

 

 

Thursday night Pickers

 

Fredericksburg, Texas 

 

 

Stonewall, Texas

The Home and Ranch of the United States 36th President

 President Johnson drew strength and solace from his ranch along the Pedernales River.

The original century-old rock farmhouse was greatly enlarged over the years.  During the Johnson Presidency it became known as the Texas White House.  

 

 The National Park Service maintains a herd of Hereford cattle descended for the President's registered herd.

 

 Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm

Where time stands still.

 

No matter the time of year, visitors to the living history farm can see park interpreters in period clothing doing the farm chores that the farm family would have done around 1918-feeding, milking, gathering eggs, slopping the hogs, cleaning the house, cooking meals, churning butter, making cheese, scrubbing floors with homemade lye soap and plowing the garden with a team of horses.

Albert, Texas
named for Albert Luckenbach

 

 

Austin, Texas

State Capitol building

Sixth Street is a historic street and entertainment district in Austin.

 

In the 1970′s, Stubb’s restaurant became the heart of an explosive music scene. Stubbs was ground zero for musicians like Joe Ely and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Other famous musicians who would “play for their supper” included Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Robert Cray, George Thorogood, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Linda Ronstadt and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.