Fun In San Antonio

On Saturday, Bob, Emily, and I met up with my sister Gail and husband Mark, their daughters, sons in law, and their grandchildren. We were quite the crowd (totaling 15,) and we even managed to score a group rate at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Gail and Emily showed off their hula hoop skills. Bob and I were very impressed, being somewhat hula-hoop-challenged.

Moving all 15 of us, including 5 children, was like herding cats at times but we managed to walk all around the Botanical Gardens and see it all. What a lovely place.

The bluebonnets were in bloom and we were thrilled to see them. Bluebonnets are the Texas State Flower but up until now we have not been around when they were in bloom.

I was finally successful at taking a photo of our grandniece and grandnephews without anyone covering their face. Not an easy task. Such cuties!

Later on, Bob and I took Emily to Nicha's for dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Early Sunday morning we bid farewell to Emily at the airport. We had so much fun with her that it was sad to see her leave.

On Monday we again met up with the family to spend the day at the Tower of Americas Park. The tower itself is 750 feet high.

What a view we had from the top, with all of San Antonio at our feet.

Afterwards, the children enjoyed playing in the splash park, sandbox, and swings. The Park also features 4D films and a museum.

We are taking a day off from sightseeing and visiting today (while Bob replaces a toilet seal,) but tomorrow will be taking the car north to visit our friends, Ron and Kathy.

From Las Cruces, NM to San Antonio, TX

We traveled from Tucson to Las Cruces without difficulty last Sunday, and quickly settled in before heading west again the next morning to visit Puerto Palomas in Mexico. We had a lovely time there, first seeing our dentist and then shopping and having lunch in the Pink Building. It’s quite a pleasant way to combine teeth-cleaning with a fun experience. Later that evening we drove out to Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and fell in love with that beautiful area.

On Tuesday Bob, Emily, and I drove out to White Sands National Monument. Emily wore her handwoven scarf for the occasion. Temperatures were in the low 70s but in deference to the blizzard that was pummeling the Northeast, a scarf seemed appropriate.

Later in the day we walked around La Mesilla, the old part of Las Cruces, enjoying the old-world atmosphere.

We capped off our busy day with a lovely visit with our friend, Joan, and a yummy meal at Andele Restaurante. It was so good to see her again!

On Wednesday we were on the move, traveling to Fort Stockton, TX for the night before moving on the next day to San Antonio, TX. We had covered 1000 miles in just over a week.

Thursday morning we hopped on a bus and rode to the Riverwalk area to show Emily some sights. We toured the Alamo, then walked along the river, visiting La Villita Historic Arts Village along the way.

We ate lunch at Guadalajara Grill, enjoying a delicious meal and excellent service. Afterwards, the three of us got back on the bus and rode to San Jose Mission to walk around this most beautiful place.

Whew! It has been a hectic week but full of wonderful experiences and memories.

Leaving Mesa

This has been a hard week, saying goodbye to friends and moving out of our little house for the season. It took us eleven hours to prepare the rig and move everything. But in the midst of that, we did have some fun. Our niece, Emily, flew in to visit us on Wednesday, and we’ve been having such fun. Wednesday was a beautiful day so she and I headed right over to the pool as soon as she dropped her bags in her room. Aaaaaaahhhhh....bliss! What a great way for us to reconnect and catch up with each other’s lives.

Thursday we worked all day moving, and by 11:00 Friday we were ready to roll. Our trip to Tucson was easy and without any hiccups. We are staying in a park that’s owned by the same organization that runs our park in Mesa and who offered us a free stay. I do like free! We capped off the day by meeting up with our friends, Chuck and Linda, at Pita Jungle for dinner. A very fun evening! Linda brought some of her truly gorgeous pine needle baskets for us to ooh and ah over. She has a real talent for basket weaving.

This morning we visited the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures on Tucson. I had gone there with my friend, Retha, two years ago, so I was eager to show it to Bob and Emily. We had a great time checking out the exhibits, and here are some of my favorites.

Take a look at that last photo—it’s a carving of Picacho Peak by Cindy Chinn, and it is carved into a graphite pencil. The detail is amazing!

This afternoon I taught Emily how to weave on my Ashford Sample-It Loom. She’s doing great and I’ll post a photo when she’s done. There’s nothing I like better than to teach someone how to weave, and Emily’s a natural.

After dinner we decided to drive out to Saguaro National Park to see the sunset. It was a beautiful evening.

Tomorrow we are off to Las Cruces, NM, which is about 300 miles away. Time to say goodbye to Arizona.

Season’s End

I had no trouble flying home from NJ, scoring a front row window seat with loads of leg room. And despite the foul weather the day before, we not only took off on time but landed 15 minutes early.

Since then, I have been setting up my studio...

...and learning how to use my new Instant Pot that’s recently arrived. It’s a small one, and it fits nicely on my appliance cart. I think I’ll bring it along in the motorhome when we leave next week.

Next week! This has been a crazy winter and I really feel like I never really settled in. In fact, the daughter of a neighbor has come to visit her dad in the park three times this winter, but I was gone each time she came. She told us that secretly she was thinking that I was just a figment of Bob’s imagination. Hahaha! I was happy to set her straight.

Check out what Bob made me today—it’s a tofu press, made from 2 small dollar store cutting boards and some bolts and knobs from Lowe’s.

Tofu that is to be sautéed requires pressing so that a lot of the liquid can be removed, and this will make to easy to do.

We are counting down all the “last’s” now—last time singing in the choir this season, last time at Fiber Arts Group, last time at Woodcarving (Bob.)  But we are looking forward to our springtime adventures and seeing family in NJ, and our little house will be waiting for us this October.