APRIL Ketchup - St. Louis, Mo

First off, apologies to Carrie, Angie and several others… we just ran out of time while we were there. It happens like this often when we go to St. Louis, just not enough time to see everyone. Next time it will be for a longer duration……

We camped at a new RV park in St. Peters, 370 LAKSIDE Park. A brand new park and close to everything on the north side of town.

Old friend Forrest came over the first night we were there….It was good catching up with him.

The sunsets were beautiful , from our camping site.

During the week we met with a group of alumni from my grade school - St,. Augustine's in North St. Louis. From that first meeting we have initial plans for an all-school reunion and a FACEBOOK page -
St. Augustine Catholic School - St. Louis, Mo. Anyone out there that would like to attend or participate in the upcoming reunion please contact me at 972-951-4853.

Activities during the quick week in St. Louis included golf and fun with the old group – Dottie, Eric, Sue, Steve, Bob and Nancy. It has been a long time since we lost golf balls with them. We also -

Took in Kickball at Tower Grove Park with Ginger, Carrie and Ariel.

Ed and Kathy hosted dinner for us with Rod and G-gay - cebrating our re-Retirement.

Kathy, G-Gay, Leo, Debbie, Eddie, Gracie and Rod

Lunch with Grayden and Holly Augusta Brewery

After lunch with Grayden and Holly we visited Byerly RVs in Eureka MO. During this trip to StL we recognized that IF we are going to start spending large amounts of time in our RV – we might want to consider up-sizing and adding more creature comforts. Byerly had a great inventory – however we were just looking….However, we did order an on-line non-bias RV comparison analysis for 2012,

On our last day in St. Louis, Rod had arranged a tour of the New Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis – it was a beautiful day and it was a great tour. So many memories came my mind - ball games at old Sportman Park on grand Avenue - and the 1964 Opening day game in the then NEW Busch Stadium.


 A few pics..

Ed, Zane, Grayden and Rod in the dugout.

Great Smile, Zane !

We traveled home to McKinney to unwind for about 5 days although we wouldn’t rest very much.

When we got home the RV comparison guide was waiting for us and once Debbie reviewed it – we were on the road to Corinth Texas to look at Heartland’s BIG Country 5^th wheels. We traded in our 2006 JAZZ for a 2012 BIG COUNTRY 3250 TS – Big difference !! More Info:  Big-Country-3250ts


Pics don't do it justice, you will have to come camping with us...

 

It took two extra days to get the RV and us ready - so we delayed our departure to the west coast.


Stay tuned for the May Ketchup - Leo and Debbie

APRIL Ketchup - Fredericksburg, Tx

Finally, Finally, Finally ......April, certainly started off easy enough. Debbie and I re-retired for the last time, leaving the only company we basically worked for most all our lives. Leaving the company was easy [it really isn’t the same company we started with] , although leaving old friends and co-workers – not so easy – telephone people are a caring and genuine group…You all will be missed.

We wasted no time, we packed the 5^th wheel and headed south to Fredericksburg, April 5th thru 12th – nestled in the HILL COUNTRY of Texas and home to many bluebonnet and wild flower fields. 

Willow City Loop - Bluebonnets

Willow City Loop - Indian Paintbrush

Willkommen !!

We stayed at the Fredericksburg RV Park, A very well-maintained gathering place. We were able to walk the residential areas each morning to get a sense of the town. It’s a nice country town, moving at a slower pace than we are used to. Although in the area where we walked, we found interesting evidence that the residents stayed current with the political process, regardless of the pace of life.

We played golf at a course outside of town, where only billy-goats should be allowed to play. It was very tough terrain requiring precision ball striking....we made sure we left many balls behind - for the goats...

Charles and Jeannie Hall joined us for a few days. We checked out Willow City Loop, The Wildflower Seed Farm, The Johnson Family Ranch [Texas Whitehouse], Perdanales Falls State Park  and a winery or two.  It was a good time.   

Charles,Jeannie - Debbie, Leo
Willow City Loop

Wildflower Seed Farm

Wildflower Seed Farm

Wildflower Seed Farm

One of the most interesting tours was at the Johnson Family ranch. Once the Texas Whitehouse, while LBJ was in office, the house and the ranch's belongings have been kept in prime condition over the years. A lot of history took place there and the tour guides did a good job of sharing it with the tourists. Unfortunately, like other museums, no pictures were allowed in the home....

Entrance

The Johnson Family Cemetary

Charles and Jeannie with AIR FORCE ONE-HALF
More info on AIR FORCE ONE HALF

On our last day in the Hill Country, we visited Pedernales Falls State Park. It was a great day for exploring the rocks and falls that run between them.

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We got home just in time to unpack, give Annie several kisses and repack for our trip to St. Louis(April 16th thru 22nd).
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Spring in Texas - Part 2

On Sunday, April 1st,  we had a ‘Dye the Easter Eggs Party’ in the front driveway. The Easter Egg dyeing all started out nice and organized – all the colors were in the their own plastic cups and most of the eggs made it to the outdoor table.

Then somehow the colors all came together in the tray and formed a new ‘mud’ color…Annie did a lot of watching of the adults as all the dippin ensued.

Annie’s eggs were mostly pastel as she chose to ‘hand-dip’hers.

 

I love the dark blue eggs, but I can’t tell the
 plastic ones from the real ones at this point

And they all go in here ?

Tell-tale proof of Easter Egg mastery

OK, Gram now what ?

Let me help with cleaning

Almost done…

Learning how those plastic ones work…

When does Grandpa put $$ in those plastic ones ?