Laid up in Central Texas

Lets start off with an aerial tour of the Texas Hill Country Highland Lakes.

Back in Branson, MO we had a bit of a problem when traveling with the circus. Based on some bad information we found ourselves in a cul-de-sac that was clearly not made for the length of our rig. While backing up the coach jackknifed into the trailer causing damage that required repair (lesson 357 of the 10,000 we still need to learn). The decision was to head to Buda, TX to have the coach repaired. With 4 family members living in the area, it gave us a good base for the expected 3 weeks (turned out to be 4.5) we would be out of the coach. The plan was to have the trailer repaired at the same time at the same facility.

Being truly homeless we piled what we thought we would need for the repair time in the Jeep and headed to Wimberly for a couple of weeks at some local cottages. These turned out to be really nice and made a great home for us. They were right off of a creek that wound through the area. For those who have not been, Wimberly is a great place to get a small town Hill County feel.

With the trailer in the shop, I needed a place to leave the plane. The folks at Berry Aviation in San Marcos were amazing. They let me keep the folded Kitfox in a hangar for weeks. It took up some space they could not use anyway. When I got the trailer back (unrepaired - decided to take it to In-Tech instead) they let me keep it in an out of the way part of the ramp.

While flying out of San Marcos I was able to join in to a fantastic event in Kingsbury, TX Aerodrome and Pioneer Flight Museum. I flew to their grass runway not really expecting much and was surprised to find a major event in progress. The museum is focused on WWI era aircraft and vehicles. And they are doing great work. People from all over Texas came in to participate or just view what people flew in. Drop by to see them. Particularly during their Spring or Fall Wings and Wheels events.

Central Texas is one of the best areas for just getting outside and enjoying the scenery. We took advantage by riding our bikes along the Guadalupe River. The weather was great and the traffic was low. We were thinking how bad that road must be in the summer when everyone heads there to camp and float down the river in tubes.

One other day turned out to be the Perfect Hill Country Day. It started at Pedernales Falls State Park. This is a beautiful place to get out and crawl on rocks. Nellie turned out to be a real mountain goat as she happily explored with us.

While flying around the Hill Country I came across one of the many wineries in the area that looked quite busy. So after visiting the park we decided to check it out. The Driftwood Winery turned out to have some great views and some pretty good wine.

We wrapped up the day in the backyard of the Hays City Grill. Some great food, music and scenery. It does not hurt to have absolutely fantastic weather that day. It was a little cool, so the table heaters and blankets really came in handy.

While we stayed at the cottages in Wimberly for a couple of weeks, my brother Eric and his wife Sarah invited us to stay at their place in Wimberly (thanks again guys!) for a while as well. It worked out great as they essentially had a downstairs apartment that was empty. We also spent a couple of days with brother Eddie and his wife Tricia in Lakeway and brother John's and his wife Kathy in Buda. The highlight for Karen was getting to ride one of the horses at Eric and Sarah's ranch. While we were there they were able to get the fencing up for the dogs and the horses. This allowed all of the animals to roam freely and provide a great riding trail. Those were some happy horses.

That's it for now. We start our travels to the west coast on Dec 10. On the way we will stop in Big Bend in Texas, Silver City NM and Tucson AZ. We will be in LA for the Rose Parade over Christmas and New Year holidays then will work our way to Quartzite AZ for a huge RV Rally in mid-Jan. We have no official plans after that other than to stay in the Southwest during the winter. But who knows what might happen in 2020!