Escape from Orange County

....or in the vernacular of the region, Escape from the OC. Everyone in Southern California is in a hurry, all the time. Radio announcers have no time for length descriptions of local regions such as the "Inland Empire", so it's now "the IE". If you aren't well schooled in the lingo of local acronyms the new cast will make sense to your head swim, as it's largely a series of numbers (for freeway designations) and letters (all the acronyms).

All that hurry and scurry is easy to forget in some areas. Leisure World in Seal Beach, where we were staying with Steve's mother, is like a giant park, a world unto itself. Calm, green, and quiet in spite of the nearby freeway. We had a busy week getting everything on Mom's To-Do list done and visiting with family.

We took an afternoon off and met longtime friends Mike and Nina for lunch. They had their RV parked at the Orange County fairgrounds, a nice place to grab a few nights for not too many bucks. They'll rent space with or without hookups. Nina introduced me to a great fabric shop - this will probably become one of my favorites! Piecemakers Country Store, just a few blocks from the fairgrounds, has an amazing array of fabrics, patterns, embellishments, and more. 'No pub next door, but they do have a coffee shop area so the guys had coffee and visited while we shopped. Perfect!

We finished up the to-do list (and started one for next time!) 'Good to have it all done, but good also to now be on the road headed for home. We learned the hard way on the trip inbound to trust Ohura, the navigator  in the dash, when it comes to re-routing around traffic jams, and she did a good job routing us around a couple of jam-ups on the way out. We had great traveling weather Monday morning. A beautiful sunny morning and clear skies accented by the snow covered San Bernardino mountains in the distance.

 The day warmed up nicely and we had an uneventful drive until we hit Arizona, when the skies darkened and we began to notice a  it of rain, then slushy snow on the windshield. By the time we arrived in Benson (just south of Tuscon) our stop for the night, the whole place looked like a winter wonderland. It was late, dark, cold, and we were hungry! So we threw our stuff in the room and took off for a restaurant the hotel clerk recommended.

We had  a pretty good meal at Magaly's Mexican Restaurant, so we'll probably look that one up again. It's always iffy, finding a decent meal on the road, and we really miss having our kitchen with us.

Tuesday was chilly but uneventful, and we made good time, arriving in Fort Stockton (TX) just about dinner time.  We unloaded the luggage and then headed for K-Bob's Steakhouse and had a nice, inexpensive steak dinner. 'Only downside was that the service was pretty slow, and according to other patrons that's typical. Looking around it was obvious they have way more business than they are used to handling. Increased activity in the surrounding oil fields has brought hundreds of temporary residents. The hotel parking lots are all full of dusty pickup trucks, and the restaurants are all busier than they can manage. As we sat eating our dinner there was a constant stream of men coming in to the restaurant. When you read about increased petroleum exploration and production in the Eagle Ford, this is it. We're right at the edge of the region, which extends east and south to the Gulf.

We've got sunny skies and warmer temperatures today. We'll be home by early afternoon.

The Enterprise has landed! January update

'Seems like we're way past due for an update around here.

The Enterprise

First the big news..... we've got a new ride to tow our home for the upcoming season! Old Yeti was getting a little long in the tooth, so Steve began haunting the online discussion forums, checking out various makes and models and doing his research. Right after New Year's Day we went shopping and here's what followed us home. A Dodge Laramie, in basic white, with the mega cab.

The thing's so smart that we figure it will take us awhile to learn all the gadgets and gizmos. With the built in navigation system and all the other automated features we feel a bit like we're in a space ship - hence the name! The trick will be to keep it from outsmarting us. I know we'll enjoy all the features, and Shiner is really enjoying all the room she has in the back of the mega-cab (Yeah! I can bring more stuff home!) The Snug Top camper shell was installed this afternoon, so she's ready to roll. The inaugural run will be a quick trip to Arizona to watch the Super Bowl with friends, then on to California for a brief visit with family.

We're tucking this little trip in between remodeling the master bath and finishing up the skirting on the porch. The master bath project is basically a back-to-scratch project, so it may not get completed before we leave for the summer. Those little activities have been keeping us busy on the one hand, while with the other we've been helping to watch Jax while Kendra goes to therapy appointments for her shoulder.

We also made a weekend trip down to Mathis, near Corpus Christi on the Gulf, to help Skot's dad with an addition to their house. The guys did the carpentry work and the gals chased the little one. . . That's division of labor for you! Believe me, it takes three people to keep up with Jax! He had his little hands on every tool there, did a bit of hammering, and tested out the new floor.

Along the way this month my computer has also crashed twice, which has put a real dent in the genealogy work I've been doing - oh yes, that's the other little activity going on here. After moving crates of family photos and other information my relatives have saved over several generations I decided it was time to do something with them, so we took out a subscription to Ancestry.com. It's a pretty slick system, and makes organizing the material and locating missing bits of information quite easy. Perhaps, after I get it all organized, we can incorporate some of what I've learned into one of our trips.

A winter morning at the ranch

December update

My goodness but time does fly. 'Seems just yesterday we were pulling into the driveway, saying goodby to the road for a few months and planning our approach to unpacking the rig (a daunting task if there ever was one!)

All that unpacking, reorganizing, making a few repairs on the travel equipment, and mowing the grass took care of the first week home. We fluffed out the guest room in preparation for our friends from Nevada, who arrived for a week-long visit. What a good excuse to take a day trip over to Shiner!

Shiner is a quaint little town that began life in the mid 1880s as a trading post/ post office named Half Moon, some say for the arrangement of the orchards of fruit trees. In 1887 Henry B. Shiner donated land for the town that eventually came to carry his name. Shiner, "The Cleanest Little City in Texas", is now well known for it's restaurants, shops, and the brewery.

The Spoetzl Brewery produces our favorite beer (and the one for which our dog is named) a German/Czech style brew called Shiner Bock. They produce several other varieties too, which we had the opportunity to sample while we waited for the tour to begin and shopped for collectables. Shiner now has a beautiful red collar with her name on it!

The brewery is situated right near the railroad tracks, convenient for shipping I would guess, so very easy to find. Opened in 1909 under the name Shiner Brewing Association, the brewery soon felt the creative touch of brew master Kosmos Spoetzl. He leased the brewery from the association in 1914, did a bit of renovating, then began producing his own old-world recipe brews. Kosmos' recipes and his special touch made the brewery what it is today. A few years ago the brewery was sold, not to a large company, but the relatively small Gambriunus, owned by Carlos Alvarez. 'A smart man who knows a great beer when he tastes one! The business is still managed as if it was owned by the original small family firm, and the result is a contented production staff and great beer.

We really enjoyed the tour, which takes one through the history of the brewery as well as all phases of the brewing process, and includes a great recipe for beer brownies: just replace the water in any box mix with Black Lager. . . you can also combine Black Lager (which is similar to a porter) with softened vanilla ice cream, re-freeze and serve with the brownies. Yum!                         

After the tour we drifted over to 7th Street, which is the main street paralleling the railroad tracks on the northwest side. An excellent lunch at the Shiner Restaurant and Bar restored our energy.

 The restaurant's centerpiece is the beautiful richly carved original barback that extends the full length of the room. 

 Authentic tin ceiling tiles, stained glass windows, and the antler chandelier add to the opulent Victorian decr. The larger dining room has photos of early times, so you can spend quite a bit of time soaking up the history of the establishment.

Of course, I had to pop in to Martha's, the quilt shop just two doors down. A quick tour of town yielded a bakery selling kolache's, a Czech or Polish baked treat our friends were craving. There's something for everyone in Shiner!

A few days later our friends treated us to a fantastic dinner out at Bordeaux's, a cozy little restaurant in one of the few original old buildings in Kyle.  Good friends, excellent food, and a very relaxing ambiance, what better way to cap off their visit.

Once our friends departed for home we regrouped and headed north to the airport in Austin to pick up Steve's mother, Daphna. Yes, practically the same name as mine, and things do get confused around here at times.

We managed to tuck a few Duck games on TV into the schedule, and we're making sure Jax is raised up as a proper duck fan. Though he does have trouble sitting still long enough to watch a game, he enjoys the accessories very much.

Mom was here through Thanksgiving, and for the momentous occasion of Jax's first birthday.

A Dr. Seuss theme set the mood, and in spite of having her arm in a sling (as a result of shoulder surgery) Kendra had things so well planned that the day went perfectly. I can hardly believe Jax is a year old already. Curious about everything, and very "busy", Jax is already racing Grandpa around the ranch, and going to keep us all on our toes for years to come!

Now we're preparing for the holidays, which should be more fun than ever now that we have Jax to spice things up. Oh yes, we have done a bit of work around the place, in between parties, dinners out, etc. Our list of "to dos" keeps growing, and we seem to add two items for every one we scratch off, but at least we aren't going to run out of entertainment any time soon.