Witchita Fall, Texas

Day 2 sees us in Wichita Falls.  WF is a city in the county seat of Wichita, Texas, and closer to Fort Worth than San Antonio.  There is lots to see and do here and today we spent sometime visiting the Museum of North Texas History.  The museum is amazing and takes the traveler through how North Texas was settled and how past wars have effected the area.  Following is but a snap shot of what one can see.  To see more have a look at https://www.museumofnorthtexashistory.org which provides a great overview of what there is to see.
The Choctaw Native Americans settled the area in the early 18th century from their native Mississippi area once Americans negotiated to relocate them after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.[6] American Settlers arrived in the 1860s to form cattle ranches. 

The Civil War,

WW1 and WW11,

Vietnam,

Medals of Honor, Silver Star and Bronze Star,

Pearl Harbor,

Surrender 1945,

Iwo Jima

Diseases that effected the world

Tornadoes,

Bygone past,

Well known local folks who have enriched their community,

Hats and more hats,

Memories of times past.  Our mothers had a sunbeam mix master just like these.

To my nursing friends,  the cap with the stripes reminds us of times past.

Wouldn't this chap below be pleased to know that it was because of he and his buddies we are free today to enjoy a walk back in time

Tomorrow we are off to Oklahoma City.

Cheers Ross and Bev

The Adventure Begins - Abilene , Texas

We are finally on the road in our trusty RV with our Canadian 4WD which we tow behind. On day one we made it to Abilene.  The weather is very sunny and ideal for RVing.
Abilene is located off Interstate 20, between exits 279 on its western edge and 292 on the east. Abilene is 150 miles (240 km) west of Fort Worth, Texas. The city is looped by I-20 to the north, US 83/84 on the west, and Loop 322 to the east. A railroad divides the city down the center into north and south. The historic downtown area is on the north side of the railroad.

 The city has a variety of things to do and see.

It was a very quick visit and we we need to return for a longer stay.

Another Week

Every now and then we get the opportunity to have a night out on the River Walk.   This evening we dinned at Luciano's, a very nice Italian Restaurant.  This is the jolly chap that welcomes all to come in and eat.

 The outside dinning provides a pleasant view of the River Walk.

 Ross enjoyed the lobster and crab dish.

 We finished the evening with champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries.  All very good.

This is the first selfie we have ever taken.

Occasionally on a Friday evening we enjoy pizza and good Australian red wine with Albert and Justin.   It was a fun evening with lots of laughs.

In preparation for our upcoming trip we decided to get a sign made for our RV.  Monarch is the place to go to get all manner of signs, trophies and so forth,

You can even get a silver cowboy hat.

We did not expect our sign to be so big but it is Texas.

Early in the week I had to travel to Dimmit County and this restaurant served a fantastic steak fajita. 

Last Sunday was Mother's day in the USA and Justin gave me these beautiful flowers.

Best wishes,

Beverley and Ross

The Hidden Vine

 Every now and then we stumble upon a good find and over the many months we have been coming to our RV of a weekend we had passed The Hidden Vine, a wine bar and bistro.  Unfortunately we thought it was not open being a seasonal area not everything is open until summer.  So yesterday we decided to knock on the door to see if it was open and to our great surprise it was.  It is a real find and some where we will frequent in the future.

 

 This was the antipasto that Ross enjoyed for lunch.  While there, Donna the owner, mentioned that there was to be a wine tasting that evening so we decided to come along and enjoy some wines.

On arrival we were greeted by this sweet little girl called Rose, named thus as she was born in the wine bar. To get some perspective on her size your can see how tiny she is when cuddled by Ross.

 We have all heard the song "red solo cup' well yes they are still used here.  This one was for discarding the wine we did not like.  It remained empty.

 Heavy appetizers were served with the wine.  All very delicious.

We are hopeful  the other residents of Canyon Lake will come and enjoy the fare provided by The Hidden Vine.

Best wishes,

Beverley and Ross

Texas Cactus

The ever changing landscape of Texas. 

Now you know why the Texans of old always wore boots.

Best
Beverley and Ross

Spring in Texas

This spring has seen lots of much appreciated rain and these geraniums located outside of our back door have provided a spectacular display of colour.

Even our back yard has come to life after a rather cold winter for Texas.

For those Australian and Canadian friends who have come to visit you will remember the huge grocery stores of the HEB.  This is our local HEB. 

A sample of the brightly colored pots with a distinct Mexican flare.

It is surrounded by the high flyover roads that can be seen in the distance.

This day they were creating international dishes.  On weekends it is possible to graze as you shop with all of the different food stations dotted throughout the store providing samples of what is the latest foods to sample.

It is also crawfish and shrimp season.  The crawfish are worth a try , but it does take patience to actually get  a good feed.

However, if you dine at our place we serve a shrimp, avocado and mango salad and all you need is a good appetite and a fork.

As you know we travel with work to various parts of the State.  This evening we were in Goliad which is a very historical County , 2 hrs South East of San Antonio.  We have previously written about this area in an earlier blog entry.  This evening however, was devoted to dinner and we were pleasantly surprised to find this very tasty meal of fish, shrimp , chicken and vegetables served in a very hot volcanic rock bowl.

While in Eagle Pass which is a 31/2 hrs drive West from San Antonio and located on the Mexican Border we found this great Pho Restaurant where Ross enjoyed this amazing seafood crepe.

Finally back to our second home at Canyon Lake were youngsters enjoy "toobing" on the Guadalupe River

Cheers Bev and Ross