As mentioned in my previous post, we arrived in Fredericksburg, Texas on Tuesday, January 25. We stopped here knowing that friends Lynne and Jerry Goebeler would be here.
Dinner with friends Lynne & Jerry Goebeler
For those of you who don’t know, Lynne and Jerry are more moto-blogger buddies of ours who we initially met online. They are both motorcyclists and Lynne is a blogger. We finally met in person in May 2021 when they were passing through Virginia on their way to Acadia National Park. We also met up in late 2021 when we were staying on Dauphin Island in Alabama and they were camped in Orange Beach for a mini vacation on their way to Texas.
The Goebelers have not only been doing the full-time RV thing for much longer than us, they’ve been work-camping, too. Their version of work-camping has been volunteering at various campgrounds, state and national parks, historic sites, etc. in exchange for a free campsite. They are currently volunteering at the nearby Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site.
We walked around town a bit on Day 1 together and then they took us to their favorite local Mexican restaurant, Campo Azul.
We finally got some decent, big-ass margaritas! (Photo by Lynne Goebeler)
The drinks were good and the food was delicious. Win-win!
The next day (Wednesday) we all went to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area for an easy little hike.
As noted on Wikipedia, Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain (part of the Llano Uplift) about 17 miles (27 km) north of Fredericksburg, Texas and 24 miles (39 km) south of Llano, Texas. Enchanted Rock covers roughly 640 acres (260 ha) and rises around 425 feet (130 m) above the surrounding terrain to an elevation of 1,825 feet (556 m) above sea level. It is the largest pink granite hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain in the United States.
Following are quite a few pics I captured during our visit.
Signage near the park entrance. Enchanted Rock is the slope you see in the background.
Belle was excited to be out and about.
These images do not do justice to the scale of Enchanted Rock. It’s much larger than it appears here.
Prickly Pear Cacti in the foreground.
This is the first time on this trip we’ve been exposed to Prickly Pear cacti in large numbers.
L-R, Mike, Belle, Lynne, and Jerry hiking ahead of me.
Jerry was just about to duck under a Live Oak tree that was growing across the path.
Jerry makes an excellent hike leader.
The Goebelers were both very patient and understanding of our need to bring Belle along (she hates being left alone).
General scenery at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Prickly Pear Cacti (per Lynne, a lot of Prickly Pear across the Hill Country region were damaged during the Texas deep freeze in 2021)
Mike and Belle were bringing up the rear here as Belle kept getting distracted by interesting smells.
Prickly Pear Cacti
General scenery at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Close-up of a pink granite boulder.
Another large outcrop of pink granite rock. (The trees growing near the top should help provide a sense of scale.)
This is a great example of the colors of the Winter landscape throughout the Texas Hill Country.
Hiking on the Loop Trail at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Hiking on the Loop Trail at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Hiking on the Loop Trail at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Hiking on the Loop Trail at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
General scenery at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Prickly Pear cactus growing high up in an oak tree.
Lynne in action capturing pictures to share on social media.
General scenery at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
General scenery at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Wet spot with a healthy population of small ferns growing around this lichen-covered granite boulder.
Lynne and Jerry admiring the landscape.
Image captured along the Loop Trail at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Image captured along the Loop Trail at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.
Close-up of a small portion of Enchanted Rock. The sense of scale is way off here. The boulders in the center of the image are probably at least 50 feet (~15 meters) tall.
The following image, captured by Lynne, sums up the mood of the day well. It was awesome to be out in nature with friends.
Photo by Lynne Goebeler
After our hike, we drove north to Llano, at Lynne’s recommendation, for lunch at Cooper’s. That’s their favorite Hill Country barbecue. It did not disappoint. We’ve eaten some amazing brisket since we’ve been in Texas, but I think Cooper’s may be the best so far. South BBQ in San Antonio was a VERY close second.
This past week was a tough one for me. A month or so ago, we learned that our friends Amy and Zephyr would be moving to Arizona at the end of the month.
What was supposed to be a farewell on Friday, which I was dreading, turned into a Saturday morning goodbye. It was later than expected, but not any easier. They’d both become part of our lives over the last year and a half, and now they are gone.
It’s a bright new beginning for Amy, but we will miss our funny, cute, smart little friend.
Zephyr
Full disclaimer… I wrote the above on Monday. That’s as far as I got before the tears started. He’s a special little dog. His mama, Amy, always said he helped her through lots of difficult times. I can see why. He made us laugh. A lot. And laughter is really good medicine.
Making Faces
Z or Dobbie the House Elf?
Belle and Zephyr
We met Zephyr and Amy in May 2019 when we crossed paths during a dog walk. At the time, she and Zephyr lived across the street from us.
I like people, and am a sucker for cute dogs, so we started chatting. The dogs really seemed to like each other. When I learned that Amy was a firefighter and was looking for a dog sitter, I volunteered to let Zephyr hang out with us while she worked.
He fit right in and we all became fast friends. We were blessed to have them in our lives for a year and a half.
Z and Me
To be honest, I’m not sure who is going to miss him the most, Belle, Mike, or me.
In years past, the end of December/beginning of January was a time to look back at posts I’d published throughout the year and revisit the big events of the prior twelve months. I did think about doing that this year, but only for about a split second. Because I didn’t share enough on the blog to make that worthwhile. If I had shared enough, the recap would have felt, well, awful.
It was not a good year, that’s for sure. But it wasn’t all bad. It was difficult and even painful at times, but I learned a lot. I made some new friends, and lost some old ones. There wasn’t much motorcycle travel to speak of, but we did enjoy a fabulous, two-week, 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii. And, later in the year, we took an impromptu road trip to Louisiana so I could cross the final three States — Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana — off my list of US states to be visited.
There was also a fun road with a friend in August that was memorable for many reasons, all of which were good.
For me, more than anything, 2019 was a year of transition. I am not the same person who started writing this blog in 2008, almost 12 years ago. I know a lot more about myself than I did then. I know a lot more about the people around me, too.
I’m really torn about whether I should even continue this blog, trash it and start fresh, or just kill the blog, get on with my life in different ways. Some of you who have been following me for awhile may benefit from the lessons I have learned. Some may decide I’ve gone crazy (I’m still trying to figure that one out myself!) and never come back. Maybe, the whole idea will just fizzle and go away.
Decisions, decisions…
Life is tough, that’s for sure, but things could always be worse. I am blessed in so many ways. Compared to other folks, I have nothing to complain about. Rather than try to chronologically re-hash everything that happened last year, I’m going to try a new approach. It’s an approach I’m trying hard to apply to life in general.
Take each day as it comes. Enjoy each day for what it is. Learn from my mistakes. Celebrate my successes. Share my journey, for better or worse, openly and honestly.
I think that’s one of the reasons this blog sort of lost it’s appeal to me. Over the years, it became a censored version of what went on in my life. I shared the high points, but ignored or glossed over the low ones.
This year, 2020, is a good time to start fresh. It may not be pretty. There will be ugliness. I’ll curse a lot more than I did here in the past. You’ll actually get to see the real me. For better or worse and all that jazz.
Me and Mike, captured on 1 January 2020.
I am not sure what this blog will become. It might just fizzle out and die. We shall see.
The most-important lesson I learned this past year is how to let shit go. Really. Guilt is a powerful thing. It has ruled my life in many ways. It took 52 years for me to realize that the burden of guilt is something I have put on myself.
Fuck guilt. In 2020, I am going to do what I need to do to take care of myself. To do that, I need to care less about what others think about me. I need to do what I know is right. Focus on what I believe is important. Embrace all of the lessons I have learned, good and bad, and move on.
We have each been put on this Earth for a reason. We each have our own path to take. We will all reach the end one day. It could be this year, or it could be many years from now. There really is no way to know. So we might as well just do whatever we need to do to enjoy our own journey.
I have been neglecting you all again. Sorry. Finally, there was some excitement today that I think some of you will find interesting.
Mike and I had a lovely lunch with some friends today.
They were in the neighborhood to visit family and decided to drop by.
For those of you who don’t know those folks, it’s Richard and Bridget Machida from Fairbanks, AK. I know Richard through his blog, Richard’s Page. We all met in person a few years back, for lunch in a different place. So it was nice seeing them both again and doing a bit of catching up.
Our favorite Mexican restaurant caught fire a while back and we are still waiting to see if it will re-open. So, no fancy food tales, but we did have a lovely, lunch together.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after Mike left us that I thought about getting a picture. But at least we got one of the three of us. In front of our local LOVE no less.
I even took them to the famous local caboose photo spot. Now if I can manage to get a second photo uploaded, I will have successfully written this entire post on my phone. (I had to resize the image with an app on my tablet in order for it to post.)
All in all, it was a very nice visit. Maybe we will see them in Alaska next time.
Our last visit to Belgium really was spent hanging around our friends’ house for a week or so. They’d just moved in five days before we arrived. They needed time to unpack/get organized, and we said we could help while we were there. I volunteered to serve as personal chef for the week and Mike agreed to be the extra handyman.
Their house was not newly built. It’s a building they bought, gutted completely inside and out, then re-did the way they wanted. It was a brave, expensive, and time-consuming undertaking. It’s still a work in progress, but their vision is coming-together nicely.
While we were there, one of the things that kept drawing my attention was this big hole in the wall between their kitchen and living room. I know that it is meant to house a fireplace one day, but I also know that fireplaces are expensive, so it may be a while before they actually get one. Based on our experience building the WV place, I know that space will end up being a storage spot for miscellaneous boxes and other junk until it is properly filled.
Unsightly Hole in the Wall
Who wants to look at that all the time? So, I suggested that Annelies and I do a craft project and make something to hang over the hole as temporary camouflage. She’s not usually one who would go for that idea, claiming she can’t draw and isn’t very artistic. I offered to draw the thing so all she’d have to do was add paint. She agreed.
We bought some inexpensive canvases, paint, and brushes. I found some examples of cat art we’d seen on a previous trip, which I used as inspiration. I drew a cat for each of us, then we got creative.
Here I am, painting my cat.
Annelies painting her cat.
She had more fun than she thought she would.
Cats in progress.
Things got quite colorful.
Colorful cats.
Voila! Two artful cats.
Perfect to hide the junk.
All it took was about 30 Euros(?), a little time, and some creativity. No more unsightly junk-collection spot.
Cute cafe at Knokke-Strand on the North Sea in Belgium.
I freely admit that I am easy to entertain. It doesn’t take much to make me laugh. Hubby pretends to be above silliness most of the time, but, lately, he’s been enjoying googly eyes, though, and he sometimes does other stuff, like happily make goofy faces for pictures, that convinces me his inner silly-boy is struggling to be set free.
During our last trip to Belgium, when we went specifically to see Annelies and Yves’ new house and “just” visit with them, as opposed to gallivanting together to some other destination(s) as we had on previous vacations, we took a little day-trip to give our friends a break from unpacking/organizing. They’d only officially moved in about five days before we arrived.
A classic goofy-face pic.
One of the things I’d always wanted to do was see a Belgian beach town. I know that beach towns in the UK are nothing like American beach towns. Annelies told me that their beach towns are not really very picturesque, But I wanted to see for myself. So we went to Knokke Beach.
It was early Thursday, October 5. The latitude of Knokke Beach is 51.35′, which is pretty far north. In North America, the rough equivalent to that latitude on the Atlantic side would put us around the northern tip of Newfoundland Island. On the Pacific side, that would put us well north of Vancouver Island. So it was cold. Windy, too, unfortunately.
After strolling around a bit, we were all freezing and hungry, so we ducked into that cute cafe for lunch. I left the table to find the toilet, leaving my phone behind. Later, I discovered that husband of mine had taken a couple of pictures while I was away, enlisting the help of our friends in his shenanigans.
Those pics made me giggle, so I decided to share them with you.
Mike (the ringleader)Annelies (prankster #1)Yves (Prankster #2)
Funny, right? Our friends have their own silly side!
I am, and have always been, the picture-taker. Annelies takes a lot of pictures, too, but I’m usually the one that makes people pose next to interesting stuff or in certain spots for pictures. And it’s always me who has the selfie-stick, if I remember it, and long arms if I don’t.
On the day we drove to Knokke (pronounced like kuh-no-kuh), we also stopped in the town of Sluis (pronounced like slew), which is in the Netherlands, just so we could say we’d gone to the Netherlands, too. We’d only driven through that country previously, and had once briefly visited the spot where Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany meet.
I was delighted to see they had a cow statue.
Me and Annelies with a cow.
In Sluis, there was also a windmill. Nothing says “we visited the Netherlands” like a photo with a windmill, right? That cow photo could have been taken anywhere.
The conversation probably went something like this…
“Oooh, look. A windmill! We HAVE to get a group photo with the windmill!” I probably said.
The group would have groaned collectively and Annelies would’ve said something like, “A windmill? Really? Why?”
“What do you mean why? Everyone knows windmills are synonymous with the Dutch!” I probably said, by “Dutch” meaning inhabitants of the Netherlands or the country itself, not speakers of the Dutch language.
“Should we all buy clogs, too?” she may or may not have asked, sarcastically.
I would have already been seeking the perfect spot by that point while they chatted amongst themselves, good naturedly (I think) bitching about this weird photo thing I always subject them to, cracking jokes about the number of pictures I take, Mike again remarking how much money we saved when we switched from film to digital images, etc.
“Okay, here’s a good spot,” I would have said, pretending to ignore their complaining. “Annelies, stand there. Mike, get next to her. Yves, beside Mike or in the rear.”
“Where will you stand?” Yves would have said, pretending to be concerned about getting me in the frame while secretly plotting the optimal spot for him to stand while making photo-bomb faces, or doing something else unusual.
Here are some of the lovely images we ended up with that day…
Mike photo-bombed the practice shot.
Annelies always tries to be serious, to get it over with quickly.
All but Yves smiled normally.
Yves really likes these photo antics.
Finally, Yves smiles normally so Annelies had to act-up.
We never did end up with one where we are all smiling normally, but that’s okay. Images like this have become “classic” group photos, marking the various holidays we’ve enjoyed together.
Here are a few of the others…
First, from Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, taken in September 2011.
The closest we got to “normal.”Not quite synchronized, but close.Altogether goofy.
There’s usually a story behind the pics, too, but I won’t bore you with those details. It’s just significant to the four of us, and seeing these images instantly brings it all back.
Here are a few more of my personal favorites, from Kutna Hora, Czech Republic in September 2016.
It’s almost like Yves was gasping for air.
Perhaps his open-mouthed look is just a newer creation?
Of Yves’ many silly faces, this one always makes me laugh the hardest.
There are MANY more. It would take me hours to find them all.
I’ll end this post with an image that still holds the record for Annelies’ best photo-bomb ever!
I was trying for a signature selfie with one of David Cerny’s Crawling Babies in Prague when she interrupted.
Posing for photos may sometimes seem tedious, but I have found that it’s almost always worth it in the end. For me, anyway.
