Livingston, Texas

Tuesday the 25th we made it on to Livingston. We got all checked in and set up and stayed in the rest of the day. The middle of the afternoon here with the heat and humidity is not a pleasant thing.

Wednesday morning we checked in with the Volunteer Coordinator at Care and then went to take care of a few errands.

Thursday morning we had a volunteer meeting and then started in "shadowing" the couple we will replace on June 1. There is lots to do and lots to remember. There will be 5 new couples (including us) taking over. One other couple besides us is staying for June, July and August. The other 3 are just here for the month of June.

The participants that are here are sure special people. They appreciate all we do for them.

So far we have mainly worked in the kitchen. Other duties are driving them to appointments and being on call at night. Usually not too much goes on when you are on call and that is what you hope for--no emergencies.

Today we have having a typical Memorial Day cook out with potato salad etc. Think we will settle into a routine once the couples we are replacing leave. They are really a nice bunch and have had a good time together. Think we will enjoy our crew as well.

Austin, Texas

Saturday we drove from Hondo to Riverbend RV park just outside Luling, TX. We are a little closer to Austin here. Sunday we had a lazy day and caught up on some chores. We did go into town and eat BBQ. Finally getting into a part of the country where they don't think BBQ is anything cooked on a grill. It was pretty good.

Monday we drove into Austin, only about 40 miles. Found our way to the Capitol building and took a guided tour. It is a very pretty building and of course being in TX it is Big. After a stop at the nearby visitor center we headed out for lunch. Had seen a place on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives we wanted to try. We found Maria's Taco Express. It is a very interesting place and the food was good too.

After lunch we made our way to the LBJ Library. It is the only Presidential Library that is free. That was a mandate by President Johnson. It is a quite a big place and has lots of interesting displays. We finished up there and made it out of town before rush hour traffic started. We had a very enjoyable day.

Fredericksburg, Texas

On Friday we drove up Highway 173 from Hondo to Kerrville. What a beautiful drive. This is a really pretty part of Texas. We took 16 on over to Fredericksburg. It is an old German town and has wonderful old buildings. The main reason we went was to go to the National Museum of the Pacific War. Fredericksburg is the boyhood home of Admiral Nimitz and part of the museum is in the old hotel owned by his grandfather. We spent all day there and could have stayed longer. Your ticket is good for 2 days so that gives you an idea of how much there is to see. It is very impressive. They have lots of static displays and wonderful pictures and videos. It takes you step by step through the war in the Pacific. We really need to stay longer in the area and check out lots of the other things to do there. Fredericksburg is also renowned for its peaches but they were not quite ready.

The museum has an excellent web site if you want to see more: www.Nimitz-Museum.org

San Antonio

Left the cave and drove on to the Escapees park just west of Hondo, TX. It is a very nice park. The laundry was very nice and after a week on the road it was time to do a couple of loads. Drove into San Antonio on Thursday. Went to the Alamo and rode the boat around the Riverwalk. It was a cloudy day and even sprinkled on us a little. We enjoyed our visit but get tired of the city quickly.

Caverns of Sonora

This part of Texas isn't overflowing with campgrounds. Decided to drive a little off the highway and spend the night at Caverns of Sonora. It was a pretty drive. Not much of a campground but Gary took the tour of the Cave and says it was worth the drive. My knee has been bothering me a little so decided the 300 plus steps might not be a great idea. No internet service and hardly phone service here. There were at least 15 deer in front of our motorhome the next morning.

Pecos, Texas

Didn't travel too far today. Made it back to Texas. Stopped in Pecos at the Escapee Park. It is a very old park and needs some attention. Have to get our vehicles inspected. Had the car done today and will get the motorhome done in the morning and then head on out. Not much left of this town but you can tell it was a pretty good sized town at one time. Claims it is the site of the world's first rodeo. I think Prescott, AZ claims the same thing. It is the home of Pecos Bill. Our kids had a record about him they used to listen to a lot.

Roswell, New Mexico

Saturday we drove from Las Cruces to the Escapee park at Lakewood. We had a beautiful drive over the mountain from Alamogordo to Artesia. The road wasn't bad and they had lots of passing zones.

Sunday we drove about 45 miles to Roswell. Have always wanted to go check out all the "Alien" stuff there. Not a whole lot going on this time of year but everything in town is Alien themed. It was fun anyway. We toured the White Home in town that is the Historical Center for southeast New Mexico Museum. It was a beautiful home and had wonderful exhibits.

We also drove out of town to the Bottomless Lakes State Park. Really neat area. They are actually sink holes that collapsed into caves. One of them has a wonderful swimming area with a beach and nice facilities.