The Return

Whew! Annnnnnd we are back. Sorry for the gaping chasm of non posting there. Between saying goodbye to family and friends, driving 2500 miles and dealing with the laptop switcheroo I just dropped the bloggie ball there for awhile.

We had a nice farewell dinner with my parents and Gram. Here is the requisite family in front of the fireplace photo. You know you all have a series of these yourselves....



I am unsure why I forcibly shoved my Mother's head off to the side with my own huge head but she dealt with it very gracefully. I also have to share this one with you because I love the way my Mom is cupping Rudy's butt. You know somebody loves you when they cup you butt as seen here.... and also, you may enjoy seeing me looking toothier than a barracuda.




We let Rudy have one last romp in the frozen back yard. There's a cornfield out back and it was always full of Canada Geese. I am glad we made it through our stay without incident between dog and goose. I think we owe that to the fact that there was a polar ice shelf separating us from the field.




Our drive back west was without incident beside the fact that we had a dead battery when we went to pull out of my parents driveway to leave. That was funny timing. We had a tearful embrace with my Mom... did the wild waving goodbye from the driveway and climbed in, I then turned the key to the sound of a stone cold dead truck. We sat there stunned for a minute thinking that maybe our starter had gone out or that something major was wrong then we gradually realized it was just a dead battery. We charged it up and were on our way.

Let me tell ya... it is a long drive from Northern Illinois to the bay area of California via the southern route. You don't get any instant gratification anywhere along the route. Every state feels enormous. Well, maybe not Oklahoma.... but the rest are so wide open and vast that it really blows your mind. One highlight (funny word) of the drive was staying at The Big Texan Motel in Amarillo, Texas. You may have heard of the place on The Food Network or in a roadside attractions guide. They are famed for their 72 oz steak challenge. If you can finish the 4 pound slab of dead cow along with all the side items (baked potato etc) in under an hour you get the meal free and a cheesy certificate that commemorates your pinnacle moment as a pig. We were not interested in their steak dinners but more so the kitchy motel accommodations. Our room was made of rough wood paneling with not much to spruce it up besides a picture of a steer here and there and there was a Texas flag shower curtain in the weird little bathroom. We scored an old Bogart flick (Key Largo) on the TV and watched it until we konked out.



Just outside of Amarillo to the west you can pull off on the service road and walk out to see The Cadillac Ranch... or Car Henge. I have always wanted to stop and this time we did. We walked out and grabbed a few shots of the spray painted caddy's against the big old blue Texas sky.



We detoured up to Santa Fe for one day so we could visit with Michelle. We stayed right on our old street at Casa del Toro which is a bed and breakfast right down town. They have great rates and the rooms feel like you are staying in someones house. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to Santa Fe. You can rent a small room on a frugal budget or a fancy decked out house from them and they are great people to deal with. It felt really funny to suddenly be back in the neighborhood we left behind seven months ago to hit the road in the Airstream again. We walked around downtown and ate at a few of our favorite old haunts. I do have to express my disappointment in the Plaza Diner for changing their cherry pie. It was formally on my list of favorite things in the whole wide world to eat and this time it sucked eggs. The food overall was not great.... what gives Plaza Diner? Anyway... we had a fun visit with Chelle. We got to see her new house and stop in at her husband's coffee shop and soak up some rays. I soaked up enough to burn the living crap out of my face.



At Downtown Subscription... two mean customers.



After Santa Fe we had to just haul ass back to Cali. We made it all the way to Needles, CA on the next day of driving and then all the way up Hwy 5 (boring, boring, boring drive) to Fairfield where the trailer was waiting for us yesterday. We arrived after dark and were totally fried from driving. We had to open the trailer door with our fingers and toes crossed that it was not going to be a mold festival inside. It wasn't. Our anti mold set up worked. I can now fully endorse those little humidity soaker upper things they sell at Walmart. We had about six of them in here along with baking soda in the fridge and freezer and it did the trick. Just to be on the safe side we cleaned everything again yesterday.... all the areas that had been a problem before. Billy even climbed up top and cleaned the fan hoods.



We are going to order a dehumidifier and run it at night in Mendocino just to be sure we keep on top of things. I am hoping that once we get up above the mid forties at night condensation will be less of a problem.

So we are glad to be back in California where spring is in full swing. We saw some fabulous displays of wildflowers along the highway yesterday....


Rudy is happy to be back in warmer temps (he did not love the cold in Illinois.) Although he did love eating popcorn and cheese with my Mom. One thing balances out the other.



I am so looking forward to Mendocino. We head up there this Thursday. We are unsure if we will be able to get online from our campsite but I will be posting pics as soon as I can! I am hoping the flowers are in bloom there just like this gorgeous rosemary bush here at the ranch.

A Texas Stone Henge Induced Vision Quest

Well.... yesterday was epic. It has all the elements needed to induce exhaustion. We finally got out of the house (trailer) and headed out with bright eyes and much excitement to go exploring for a few hours.


Down the road in Hunt a rancher got the wild idea some years back to build a replica of Stone Henge on his ranch. It's about 60% the size of the real deal and it sits smack out in the middle of a flat grassy field. We decided to make this our first stop of the day. I don't know what else to say about it. It was there. We were there. Rudy peed on it and then we left.



After Stone Henge we took off for Lost Maples State Park. This was where things started to get ugly. The road to Lost Maples is as squiggly as they come. Curvy, curvy, curvy. What does this matter? It matters because in our truck curvy equals puke. Dog puke that is. Rudy gets car sick. It happens the same way every time.... we are driving along and I keep looking down at him laying there. He starts to lay in increasingly uncomfortable looking positions, a green aura starts to form around his head and I start to think... "Oh man, he's gonna puke." And then about 2 seconds later.... Blam! Rudy's breakfast is on display all over his dog bed and he is looking up at me with that "I'm sorry! I'm sick!" look on his face. So we pull off to the side of the road and the clean up procedure takes place. This is why you should always take a few extra napkins from Starbucks. You can then use them later to clean up puke.

My attitude at this point is one of anger... toward Texas, for having curvy roads that make us car sick. I remained angry all the way until we reached the park (which seemed to take FOREVER) and I was able to escape the confines of the truck cab. I was feeling creepy too at this point from the curvy roads. I was attacked by bees in the parking lot so I yelled and stomped about and cursed Texas some more. Then we took off for the hike and I managed to be lulled in to submission by the beauty of the river and the trees. Texas.... I forgive you.



Anyone who knows us knows that we are frequent accidental adventurists and that one of these days we will end up featured on that show "I Shouldn't Be Alive." We always end up on epic hikes without proper supplies. Yesterday was a good example. Rudy of course had an empty stomach by the time we got to the park. And we had had a small breakfast several hours earlier. We brought nothing with us except for a small water bottle a piece. It was 75 degrees and dry as a bone outside. So we set out on a 5 mile hike. There was only one moderate climb about half way through... but I don't know about you all... I need a little snack or something to keep wind in the old sails on that long of a hike. Long about three quarters of the way through Billy started cracking jokes that we were on a vision quest and before it was over maybe we would see our spirit animals. I was weak with laughter and hunger.



Rudy was in and out of the creek and was probably feeling a little trippy due to lack of fuel and the Texas sun cooking us... here's a taste of what he was going through...



He looks to me in that photo like the lead role in an Akira Kurosawa film. He is the 8th samurai. He is Yojimbo... or perhaps even Red Beard.

Toward the end of the hike when he was getting really tired there were several installments of "Where's Rudy? Hmmmm.... has anyone seen Rudy? I wonder where he could be?"



He's not very good at hiding.... but we try to let him believe that he has us confused every time.



We made it back to the truck around 5. We were deliriously hungry and drove down the road to Vanderpool to a little road side store. Now... Vanderpool has a population of around twenty people... and this is the one and only store for about thirty miles. It was my only chance at food for almost two hours til we got home. So I snarfed down a Snickers ice cream bar and bought a bag of Cheetos. Then five minutes later I wished I was dead. Rudy got to have two Cheetos and two bites of a peanut butter granola bar. I was afraid to give him anything else that he might puke again and of course I don't feed him crap like Cheetos normally anyway. I would not normally feed Cheetos to my worst enemy. My judgement was impaired by the vision quest.

We took the straight roads home and made it puke free. Today we all laid around like slugs. It was a good and much needed weekend adventure.

Dreary Day

We woke up this morning to the coldest day we have had yet here in Texas. It's in the upper 30's and really foggy and rainy. I know this is nothing to complain about considering what most of the rest of you are dealing with right now for weather.

We had planned to drive to Lost Maples State Park today but decided (obviously) to wait until a nicer day to go. Instead I bundled up and set out with the camera to see if I could find a few bright spots in an otherwise dreary day.

I did find some lovely bright orange feet...




My own yellow rubber clad feet...




And of course Christmas adds a nice splash of color to the scene.



Who knew Texas was so wet? We have pretty much stayed inside reading and chatting on the phone with friends and family for the better part of the day. I may have to take a drive up the street to get a chai tea in a few minutes. It's a perfect day for one.

Live Long, Prosper and Always Eat the Best Enchiladas

Who knew you had to travel to San Antonio, TX to get your picture taken in front of an air brushed painting of Spock? I had no idea going in that the opportunity would present itself.

So we have just returned home from our over nighter. It was totally worth the trip.... in weird and unexpected ways. San Antonio is one of those places you just have to go see if you are at all curious about it. There is enough to do and see to fill up three or four days if you have a car to get around in. We stayed right on the River Walk in the Omni La Mansion Hotel.



The hotel was in a good spot and we walked around downtown all day yesterday. The River Walk is pretty far out. It's kind of like a Texan version of Venice.





It was only disappointing in that there is nothing much besides restaurants along the walk. I expected more boutiques and/or specialty shops. We did eat lunch on the walk and had fresh guacamole prepared table side by our waiter. It was really good. After lunch we made our way the short distance through town to The Alamo. Yes... remember The Alamo? Well, it is a busy, busy place to visit. And it is really hard to get a sense of what it must have been like during the war when there are a couple of hundred cheesy (us included) tourists crawling over the place snapping pictures and buying souvenirs. Also... it is surrounded very closely by huge hotels, a mall and parking lots etc. So... while it is interesting to see the main mission building it is kind of a benign experience. It was for me anyway. Maybe I am just not a big enough history buff. We did do the requisite retarded tourist thing though and took pictures of one another standing in front of the mission. SMILE! Thousands of people died here!





Because standing around next to the place for two minutes and having your photo taken means you have a significant history with the place. I was at The Alamo. Actually... Billy got up way earlier than I this morning and he went out for coffee and a walk around town from the hotel. When he returned I asked him where he had been and he said... " I went to The Alamo and no one was there." Ahhhh... a profound experience to be sure.

Last night we had a fabulous dinner at the restaurant in our hotel. The place is called Las Canarias and they do a great job. I do believe it is one of the most favored restaurants in San Antonio. We ate ourselves silly. We started off with something literally called "The Cheese Experience" which was a platter of 5 select fancy cheeses (some locally made) with dried fruits, grapes, strawberries, walnuts and fancy crackers. Giant margaritas were ordered to accompany the cheese experience. For dinner Billy had blue crab and swordfish tempura with an Asian tatsoi salad and Asian inspired mashed potatoes. I know it is nearly impossible to imagine Asian mashed potatoes but you will have to trust me when I say they tasted like sweet and sour mashed. I had a polenta dish that was beautiful to look at... I had no idea for the most part what I was eating but it tasted divine. There were some mushrooms, asparagus and broccolini in there along with lots of other stuff. We shared a dessert. Carrot cake. Carrot cake with pineapple, ginger and blueberry compote. It kicked ass. And I am a real picky snob about carrot cake too. Since I was half drunk and was getting along really well with our waiter I was crying to him a bit about missing out on some kind of chocolate fix with dessert so he brought us out comp house made chocolate truffles to have with our coffee. Perfecto.

Today we had lunch in south town at Rosarios. If you are ever in San Antonio make certain you eat here. It was terrific. Acoustically the place is horrible... you can't hear yourself think. But the food makes it worth the visit. We both had Enchiladas Mexicanas made with a gaujillos and pasillas chile sauce and stuffed with queso fresco. It was serious comfort food.



After lunch we headed to The San Antonio Museum of Art where we had our brains blown out by a traveling exhibit of works by Walton Ford. (Please click through on that link to get an idea of his work.) I cannot say enough how seeing these works in person is a mind blowing experience. First off most of them are huge... some up to ten feet wide and five high. People.... these are watercolors. That is one Hell of a huge water color. They are amazing. I was actually in tears at one point over one particular piece that I wish I could find an image of on the net so you could see it. If any one of you has ever been moved to tears over a painting or other work of art you can appreciate what an intense moment that is. If you have not ever cried like an idiot in front of a painting in a museum then I highly suggest it as a viable pass time. Go directly to to a large museum that houses masterful works of art and wander through until the right thing reaches out and smacks you upside the head. If nothing smacks you upside the head then you might actually be the living dead. A zombie perhaps.

After doing our tofu turkey day shopping at Whole Foods we headed back up to Austin to retrieve Rudy from the boarding place. You want to talk about a stinky dog. Well, that is what we got back. A super stinko dirt ball. I brought him straight home and stuck his weenie ass in the shower. Being that he was pretty much maxed out tired from his two days of doggie day camp he was less than thrilled.



But after some drying time and some sweet talkin' he finally perked up and was glad to be home... and so are we.



I am looking for a cheese experience recovery time. So much eating out has got me feeling like THIS.

Trick or Treat, Texas Style

And now for your Halloween viewing enjoyment.... Longhorn steer and bat head dog!








FYI! Bat head is wearing a costume... Longhorn is not! No bats were harmed in the making of these photos.


Happy Halloween!

The Lonely Turkey of The Blanco River

So for any of you who are concerned... Rudy has had a full recovery from his scorpion sting earlier today. He spent the better part of the day sleeping it off. He can walk and actually put weight on his little foot again. He is a trooper that one.

Here are a few pictures from today. Nothin' fancy. I just wanted to show a bit of where we are. Here's our site...


Cottonwood Creek runs through the trees right behind us. It has been really dry down here so the creek is really low.


I grabbed a few shots while we were out driving this afternoon, coming back from the post office in town. The area where we are is pretty much one ranch after another for miles in any direction. There are a lot of great trees and the color of the grass is really striking. The sun just intensifies all of it.




We did have a chance to walk the banks of The Blanco River for a stretch before the stinging event this morning. The river is gorgeous... it is a really milky shade of jade green. We kept spotting big groups of geese and ducks hanging around on the river's edge.



Then we spotted "The Lonely Turkey of The Blanco River." Poor fella. He was the lone ranger of his species. The geese could have cared less about him but he was tryin' like Hell to hang out with them. They eventually took to the water and started cruising downstream. He ran alongside on the banks looking oh so very distraught and left behind. I hope he did not decide to try his swimming skills because I am sure it would end badly.

Screw You... We're From Texas

Yeah... don't take offense. Those are the lyrics of a Ray Wylie Hubbard song that I have thought was very funny for a long while and now that we are actually in Texas for the next three months I may adopt it as my theme song. It's either that one or Ray Wylie's "Snake Farm." Both songs are just deliciously stupid.

Anyway... here we are in Texas. We are spending tonight in a state park 100 or so miles out of Dallas just because we would have hit Dallas in 5 o'clock traffic had we kept on driving and even though I have never been to Dallas I'm guessin' that 5 o'clock traffic is not where you wanna be. So here we are at Bob Sandlin Lake. It's nice.




The sites are huge, heavily wooded and there is an owl hootin' in the trees just outside the trailer. Rudy is standing guard at the door listening, growling and watching for the owl in case it should decide to launch an attack upon us. Because you just never know with owls. They can be dangerous... especially in Texas. We are also sharing our space with a couple of these guys...




I did some googling and found out this is an Orchard Spider. Pretty fancy eh? It's the first spider I have ever seen dressed in a bright green and yellow suit. He could get a gig in the Emerald City. I will confess that my hurried google search to find out what sort of arachnid we were dealing with was fueled by the possibility that bright green and yellow spiders could be nature's way of saying "POISONOUS SPIDER." But it turns out the Orchard Spider is completely harmless. Good news.

Tomorrow we hit Dallas. I have strong feeling that it may blow our brains up... being in Dallas. I am truly excited to be in Texas. And to have Texas blow my brains up as often as possible.