Winter 2014

We left CT and flew into Dallas, where, luckily, our Jeep was right there in the parking garage where we left it in August!!  Disabled veterans are allowed to park in DFW lots indefinitely, and we take advantage of this benefit every year.  Texas loves it's veterans.  As we approached the toll booth, we handed our ticket stub over, and the attendant said: "No, this one is old!  I need the current one".  I replied: " That is the current one!" He looked at us, a tad bewildered, then I reminded him that Tony is a disabled veteran, as indicated on our license plates, and there should be no charge......I said: "Just call your supervisor over."  As the supervisor passes in front of our car, he notices the DV plate, and signals: " No problem....no charge".  We thought.....wait until he gets into the booth and sees how much the charge is!  The attendant tells him the stub is from August, which is now 5 months ago, and the charges are $ 2,281.81 !!!!  All we had to do is have TZ sign the back of the stub, and away we went !!  Gotta love Texas !! What a country !

We drove the 2 hours to our place in Quitman and settled in.  The weather was cold, and more of the same to come.  Can't complain, though, because the winter up north must have been the worst on record, with bitter cold temps and snowstorms every few days!  We had our share in East Texas, and after a dusting of snow, we were treated to an ice storm that had us homebound for two days, since we don't have any salt spreaders here.

Time to get out of town!  We drove to Florida, and visited with friends and family....Carol & Vinny in Palm Coast, and went to a state park where manatees take safe haven.  What beautiful, docile animals.

We also visited with Andrea & cousin Lenny in Juno Beach, Margie & Danny in Lake Worth, and then over to the west coast to see Loretta & Greg, and Dolores & Jeff in Naples, before spending some time in Englewood, with Mom.  Nina came up to see us too.

When we returned to Texas, we enjoyed a visit from Peter & Laura. 

We went shooting and fishing, and of course, had cocktails and played Texas Hold 'Em.  

Since the weather never improved, we headed south, and took a RV trip to the Corpus Christie area.  Stayed in a RV park in Aransas Pass, and took a ferry over to Mustang Island, where we drove the Jeep on the beach for miles!  Very cool....this must be a great place in the summer.

All aboard for the ferry ride to Mustang Island

Fishing on the Jetty

Or from the surf

Park your RV on the beach

What a great view for your morning coffee!

One day we toured the USS Lexington ("Lex"), an aircraft carrier in Corpus Christie Bay.

View of Corpus Christie from the "Lex"

Knots and rope work

Viet Nam Memorial, with replica dog tags
from over 3000 Texans lost in the war

Replica of plane Pres Bush 41 flew in WW II

Hanger Deck

Jet used by Blue Angels

We also visited the Texas Museum of History and Science, which was wonderful, and the Art Museum.  Ate at the famous Hester's Cafe and Bellino's.  

On another day, we went to Goliad, about an hour north.  This is where the Mission Espiritu Santo is located, as well as the famous fort, Presidio La Bahia, the most fought over fort in Texas history, having seen participation in six National Revolutions / Wars for independence.  The Spanish, Mexican and Texas soldiers all gathered within Presidio La Bahia.  The cattle industry had its start at La Bahia, with soldiers of the Presidio overseeing the herds of the nearby missions, to supply other settlements in the Spanish Southwest.  

The darkest day in Texas history, the Goliad Massacre, took place here, where Col Fannin and 341 men were executed by the Mexican dictator, Gen. Santa Ana, called the "Napoleon of the West".  There was twice as many lives lost at Goliad, as there were at the Battle of the Alamo.

The first Declaration of Independence was declared at the Presidio in 1835, after which the first flag of Texas was flown.

Mission Espiritu Santo

Presidio La Bahia

After Corpus Christie, we drove south to check out Harlingen, Brownsville and South Padre Island. Brownsville is where a border crossing into Mexico is located;  the city looks as if you are in Mexico. What did impress us, however, was South Padre Island.  SPI is a big tourist area, but is it very clean, and we had some great meals, especially at Liam's, where we enjoyed appetizers of oysters marinated in soy and teriyaki, and fish, shrimp and crab cerviche. Our main meals were just as delicious.....filet mignon, and monkfish with a creamy pesto sauce.  

There is a non functioning lighthouse, and dolphin watch boat trips.      
And lots of fishing charters, of course.  The weather was so-so, and we passed up on them.

Pirate Ship

Driving the beach in South Padre Island

Surf fishing

Our next stop was about 135 miles north, to the city of Kingsville.  Over 150 years ago, the town was built up by a wealthy businessman and rancher, Richard King, who invested in railroads, packing houses, ice plants and harbor improvements for the port of Corpus Christie.  He recruited vaqueros (Mexican cowboys) and their families, with the promise of food, shelter and income, if they would come back and work his ranch in Texas. Over the years, he developed the biggest ranch in the western hemisphere.  It sprawls over 800,000 acres, and is about the size of Rhode Island. Although the Kingsville ranch is the largest, there are King Ranches all over the world, but none of the caliber of this one.  Their biggest income comes from cattle sales, of course, but the breed a unique kind of cattle called Santa Gertrudis, which are reddish in color, and very hardy.  They were originally crossbred from Brahman bulls with British shorthorn stock.  They are recognized as the first American breed of cattle, and through his vision, he created a legacy that is world renown as the birthplace of American ranching.  His predecessors at King Ranch bought properties and made ranch partnerships worldwide, not only in a number of states, but also in Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Australia, Venezuela, Spain, and Morocco.

Also supporting the ranch, is the breeding of superior quarter horses, some of whom have won major racing events, including Assault, a 1946 Triple Crown Winner. I include an excerpt from the King Ranch website (http://www.king-ranch.com/the-legacy/) :

This era also launched the famed King Ranch horse legacy. Acquiring and breeding superior foundation stallions, the King Ranch Quarter Horse program produced the number one registration (WIMPY) in the American Quarter Horse Association Stud Book and Registry, as well as the youngest horse (MR SAN PEPPY) ever to be inducted into the National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame. It was also at this time that King Ranch acquired the prized Thoroughbred stallions that went on to produce, among others, ASSAULT, 1946 winner of the prestigious Triple Crown, and MIDDLEGROUND, the 1950 winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Interesting facts about Assault, the Triple Crown winner, bred on King Ranch:
Not only was he plagued throughout his life with kidney problems, splint bone, wrenched ankle, bad knee and bleeding problems, but he overcame a major injury that occurred when he was a foal, when he stepped on a surveyor's stake, which caused the foot to become infected and the damaged hoof to be cut away almost entirely.  He had to wear a special shoe for the rest of his life; He limped at a walk or trot, but ran perfectly. And he won the Triple Crown !!

There is also a huge cotton gin, which produces a major amount of cotton.  There are groves of fruit trees, nut trees and a sod farm. King Ranch also owns a publishing company;  Revenue also comes from hunting deer, wild turkey, quail, antelope, javelina and wild hog on the property.  Through its property in Florida, King Ranch is the largest provider of orange juice in the US.  And tourism, of course, plays quite a role in providing income, as there are 2-3 bus tours a day, 7 days a week.

!!!

Note Santa Gertrudis cattle's 
signature reddish color

Lone newborn calf calling for it's mama

Don't remember the name of this guy

A hawk scoping out lunch

Loom to weave riding blankets

A couple of longhorns 

King family's stable

We visited Fredericksburg, a town settled by German immigrants.  There are a number of Biergartens, museums, galleries, and many restaurants and German Bakeries.  We were happy campers !

There must be a quarry nearby, because so many of the buildings are constructed of, or have facades of limestone, and it's beautiful.

The Library

Limestone everywhere you look

Beautiful split log home

Store signs:

A smoker !

As we drove through the Texas Hill Country, there were beautiful wildflowers that Texas is known for:

We drove over to Stonewall, outside Johnson City, to see the Lyndon B Johnson "Texas White House". Apparently, LBJ was quite a character, but he loved his Texas roots, and couldn't wait to get back to Texas whenever he could.  The LBJ Ranch is enormous, and the home is as it was in the 60's.  

LBJ's "Texas White House"

There is a 6300 ft runway on the ranch

Johnson Family Cemetary

A variety of animals on the ranch

And some of LBJ's cars:

We had dinner out, at the Cabernet Grill - TZ had Grilled Quail, and I had an eggplant bowl filled with shrimp and crabmeat with creamy asiago cheese.....mmmmm!

We found the Garrison Brothers Bourbon Distillery, took the tour and sampled the goods:

The first "legal" bourbon distillery

Read Carefully.......

Tying a deerskin strip around the top

Dipping the neck in a crockpot
full of melted wax

And now for the tasting.....
TZ's happy, happy, happy !

They had miniature bourbon barrels that can be used to age any liquor, or to enhance the flavor of a lighter bourbon.  Of course, TZ HAD to buy one !

TZ's out of control !!

Ariel & Nikki came down to see us for a few days. They couldn't wait to go fishing.  Caught a bunch of catfish, which we promptly cooked up that night......delicious and so fresh.

And TZ doing what he does best !!

Took the girls out to a shooting range and had it all to ourselves:

There is a Glass Bathroom in a nearby city, Sulphur Springs, and we took the girls to see it.  It's impossible for someone outside the bathroom to see in, but the person inside can see outside easily.  Heard about these, but never saw one before:

Glass Bathroom !!

Use the john and enjoy the surroundings....

Enjoyed having Ariel & Nikki, and we kept them busy every day.


Tony had a patio and awning added to the house:

Bass boat before camouflage

After camouflage

10 X 12 shed

Grading for a patio

Ribar in

Concrete mixer delivery

Smoothing concrete

TZ the Tile Guy.......

Finished

Leo & Andrew came down for a week.  Planned lots of activities to keep them busy.

They loved the Glass Bathroom !!

AJ decorating the Easter eggs

Took the kids on a short, 3 day RV trip to Arlington, after which we'll meet up with Christie & Brandon on Friday evening for a Texas Rangers game.  Think we had enough activities planned for these guys??

Yes,  it's real !

Horse drawn carriage ride

Leo riding the mechanical bull
in the Ft Worth Stockyards

Cowboys lead a longhorn cattle drive
through the Stockyards twice a day 

Leo HAS to put his finger up the nose

AJ says: "I can do that too!"

Want a pair of custom hand made cowboy boots?
That'll be $ 8,000 !!

AJ at the cowboy bar

Dinosaurs made out of car bumpers

Wax Museum:

"I'll get you, my pretty!!"

Barbed wires with inventors info for each

Replica of the actual  8'11" man

So that's how they make Krispy Kreme Donuts....

Great form, AJ

LEO !! Come back !!

Leo was the big winner

Leo & AJ, forever on our doorstep  :-)

WOW -  we did so much with these guys, that after they left, we needed intensive care!  

Our roses are in full bloom and very colorful:

Our Blooming Cactus...

One more month here, then we'll fly back home.  I understand that the winter is finally gone in CT, so it's ok to go home.

We went to an outdoor concert with Robert & Joann, and one of the bands was Little Big Town:

CLICK ARROW:

Went out for some crawfish with Robert & Joann, and Charlie, Laurie and family.  Too much work for me.....I like my food ready to eat, but TZ dove right in:

Craw daddy