Memorial Day Weekend

 First and foremost....

Here’s to the families of those that didn’t make it home. I know it’s not a “Happy” Memorial Day, but I thank you for your sacrifice and for your loved ones that served our country. God bless! 🤗

I took some time off for the weekend and headed for one of my favorite places...the Texas Hill Country. 💕 I got off work a little early on Thursday and ran home to change and load everything. Headed out towards Wimberley and made the trek along the Devil's Backbone headed west and made it the Devil's Backbone Tavern in one shot. It was 2 1/2 hour drive. Grabbed a beer and checked out the place. Talked to a guy from Maine and told him about the bats in Austin where he was headed. He asked if bats were a "thing". I explained that it's a BIG thing around here. 🦇 

Got back on the road and made it to The Cocky Rooster Bar in Comfort by 8:00 pm. It was a nice drive, but a little overcast. I love the hills! Had a light mist by the time I got to Comfort. Met my good friend at the Rooster and we hung out there most of the night. He's the "Mayor" of Toonstone and it was so good to see him again.

Friday

Got up and had coffee, then went to Kerrville to the Save Inn Restaurant for breakfast. Went to The Cartoon Saloon for a little while. I love this little tourist stop! It's just north of Comfort on RR 473. Go check it out and tell them I sent you!

 It was misty raining again so we went north to visit friends a little ways up the road. We hung out there for quite a while under the garage overhang. They made a pork loin and ribs. More tall tales ensued... 😂 

We stopped by the James Kiehl River Bend Park by the old railroad tracks to take pictures but couldn't stay long because it was raining. I LOVE the sound of the water bubbling downstream! 

We went back to the Rooster for drinks. Got some food from the Food Truck there and a wonderful Oreo Cookie Pie that Wendy made. 😋 You gotta try it! It POURED down raining and we had lots of lightning like a strobe light. No steak night that night! 🌩

Saturday

I headed to Bandera for the Memorial Day Parade. It was nice and sunny. Met up with with a friend from our Campin' and Dancin' group and went to 11th Street Cowboy Bar for Donice Morace. He plays pretty good music! More of our friends showed up and we stayed there a while. 

It was the early show in early afternoon. It was HOT and HUMID and no breeze blowing. We were all playing hide and seek from the sun under the beach umbrellas over the tables. The heat and the street tacos didn't set well with me. Ugh! 🤢

Went down to see Justin Trevino at Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar (one of my very favorite places). There's just something about going down those stairs into a great old Honky Tonk! 💕 It was cooler there, but the tacos were working on me.

I went back to Comfort for a while to relax and cool off. Went back to River Bend Park at the Guadalupe and watched, listened and sat in the water a bit. It was muddied and flowing fast but it was slowly going down. River therapy accomplished!

I got ready and headed back to Bandera to see Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley. There were both really good, even at their age. It was cool to see them in person. Another band came on after them on the small stage and they played good music too. I had to leave to go back to Comfort. Uh-oh...one of my tires is getting low!

Sunday

I found a nail in my tire and had to go to Manuel's Tire Shop first thing for a patch. At least it was an interesting stop. They had a very large cage with a multitude of birds - peacocks, macaws, lovebirds, chickens... 

I tried to locate a couple of geocaches with no luck, but I put out a Munzee. Went over to The Cartoon Saloon to do a few things and dug up a few of the Twist-leaf Yuccas to take home and found a nice piece of cedar to add a visual interest to my "Campsite" at the house.

Then we headed to Alamo Springs Café for lunch. The burger was HUGE and so good! Fries were tasty. The Chicken Fried Steak wasn't a disappointment either. There's a good reason they have been featured on Texas Country Reporters and other Texas hot spot shows. They are popular, so don't expect an in & out experience. They are right next to the Old Tunnel State Park. Did I mention that bats were a THING in Texas?! The Saloon is just down the road, so there's several things to do in that area off Old 9 Road. 

Phil & Stacy from You, Me & the RV (Today is Someday) and their friends met us at the Cafe. It was their friend's birthday and they brought mini "Nothing Bundt Cakes" cupcakes for dessert. 😋 Brian, the owner of ASC, give him a cap for a birthday gift. We sat around for a good while listening to their Navy stories and cracking up. So glad Goofy is OK!  They followed us to The Cartoon Saloon and checked out some of JP Rankin's creations. He's the Cartoon Cowboy and one of the partners in the Saloon project. They did some filming around the location and even did a segment with me. Look for their sticker in the guest book. I'm their first "Insider" to meet in the wild and I think the Hill Country definitely qualifies as "the wild". They are super great people and a lot of fun to hang out with. I'm so glad it worked out for us to meet in person. Safe travels when y'all get back to it! Speedy healing Phil. Hope to do it again. Check out their video of their adventures in the Hill Country. I was so glad I got to join in for part of the fun! 

Check out the YouTube video from You, Me & the RV about their adventures in this area. 

After they left, it started to rain and some of us holed up in the Saloon building to escape the downpour. We went back to my friend's place and finally had our grilled steaks. 🥩 YUM! He did a great job! It started to rain while he was out there, but he was able to finish up in time. Yes, the weather has been spitting on most of this trip, but there have been some really fun times in spite of it. 

Monday

After getting gas for the trip home, I went by the Hygieostatic Bat Roost and captured another Munzee. Yes...more bat stuff! 🦇  DNF'd a couple geocaches (and I gave them a good long look). 😡 Put out a Munzee though. Went to The Cartoon Saloon for a while. I hated to leave my COMFORT zone!  BTW, Paulie...Maroon & White trumps Purple & Gold! 👍🏻

I got on the road and decided to drop down and hit 46 and go through Gruene on the way home. That town was BUSY on Memorial Day! Hit heavy traffic on I-35 between New Braunfels and San Marcos. TERRIBLE standstill traffic in Bastrop. I've never seen it that bad. Took almost 5 hours to get home when it normally takes about 3 1/2 hours. Ugh! 

530 miles for the entire trip. Lots of back and forth, but I love the drives and the hills. They do something great for my soul. I did this trip without the camper, but it was nice not to have to tow it...especially with the holiday traffic. 

My son was at my parent's house when I got home. We don't take your typical family photos, can't you tell? 😂 Had some leftover fajitas for late lunch/early supper (since I got so delayed) and hung out with Colton a while until he left. Unloaded everything and crashed.

 All-in-all, it was a great long weekend and I got to do everything I wanted...except those darn geocaches.  Next trip...

T

There are cool painted rocks at The Cartoon Saloon. This one was featured in Phil and Stacy's video. Great minds think alike! 

Spread the love and Do More Better!