Pete and Repete

 

We went back into San Antonio today.  Even though it was kind of chilly, it was still a beautiful day.  This time we left Miss Tully Bug at home.  The Alamo was calling my name and this time I wanted to go inside and explore.  Tully was allowed outside the church but not inside.  I explained the situation to her and she was fine staying home with the cats.  She is the boss when she gets to stay home, and she also gets a little bone to chew on so she was fine.

There is a hotel behind the church called Crockett Hotel.  I didn't realize that Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone was such a huge part in the Alamo.  (I just remember John Wayne!)

The buildings around the Alamo are pretty awesome.  There are flags flying everywhere, and it is so nice to be somewhere so patriotic.  I have realized that the state is Texas is like this, and it has been like a breath of fresh air being around all of the same like people.  I think the best thing is that I can see the people that are smiling!  I can see their faces! The employees at the Alamo are so happy to help you, they are happy to be working, they are happy to be there.  That shows.  And if they're happy, then I am happy.  If I am happy, then I will spend more money.  See, it all trickles down....😀

We weren't allowed to take photos inside but that was ok by me.  I know that it is pretty hard to maintain such an old building, and the last thing that I want to do is cause them more problems.  Just walking in and seeing the walls, reading about the upkeep of the walls, seeing the individual rooms and how they were used was one of the best days being in Texas.  

It is a huge place.  I guess it would have to be since they had horses to keep back in the day, ammo and cannons, and that sort of stuff.

And even though there were visitors, (not as many as the first time we went), it was a nice and quiet area.  It was chilly and this is why we selected today to go.  The people were quiet, talking among themselves. And even though there were lots of kids, they were quiet and keeping with their parents.  No running and screaming.  It was very nice.

I'm almost positive that this oak tree has been here for hundreds of years.  It was huge!  The things that it saw!

If you click on the photo, you can read the signs.

The Alamo in 1836.  I have always thought that this was supposed to be my time.  I would have loved to be alive during 1836. 

Even though from the outside it looks like the church is two stories high, once inside it is only one.  It tells you inside what happened to the second story, and if I would have remembered what it said, I would tell you.  

So this little water way was around the Alamo.  The Khoi in this water are 3 feet long!  They are huge!

Outside the Alamo, we decided to walk to the River Walk.  This was a store on the way.  Some t-shirts are tacky.  I will leave it up to you to read.

The river walk was a huge disappointment!  All it is are thousands of restaurants down one side and up the other.  Sure you can walk.  But that is all.  We weren't all that hungry so we walked a ways, crossed over the bridge and walked back.

I'm not sure what I expected but not this.  Maybe people skipping, kids playing, maybe even some singing in the back ground, the sound of music comes to mind.

But there was none of that.  Just ducks once in a while swimming by, hostesses standing by to take you to a seat to order some food, and there was no singing.  I mean, where are the cowboys?  Even a singing cowboy would have been nice!  I would have loved to see the river walk back in the day.  But I think it has been ruined by all the restaurants on each side of the river.  The atmosphere is probably different at 9 pm but who in the heck stays up that long?

Finally! The Weekend !!!

 

It doesn't really matter to us if it is the weekend or not.  One day kind of blends into the next so...I just have to look either at my watch or phone a couple of times a day to figure out just what day we are in.

We wanted to go to old town Helotes today and do some exploring.  Above is the beautiful rock church that we parked at.  We didn't know it at the time but there was something going on in old town Helotes and there were a lot of vendors, and a live band.

Hundreds and hundreds of people, and dogs!  We had left Tully at home because we were planning on eating at a restaurant for lunch/dinner.

We have to remind ourselves that since our home is so small, be careful in what you buy!

The plants in old town are beautiful and huge!

The restaurant that we wanted to try was so busy!  People were parking out in the street, so we kept going.  We decided to drive in to Bandera where we had seen a popular Mexican Restaurant, but I found out that they closed at noon.  So, we stopped at the next one we saw and it was a good choice.

This place used seasonings!  It was so good!  Road Hog had breakfast and I had enchiladas with chicken.

The spices were all on point.  The rice and beans were good.  We have had better, but it was better than what we had last week. 

Lets talk about my birds.  I have to take at least 2 to 3 photos of my birds to make sure I get a good photo.  Here is one I took this morning and since it was so close to my window, I didn't have much time to think about what I had to do in order to take a good photo.  It was my second photo and the black area above the bird is my shade on my window that I didn't move because I knew the bird would see that movement and fly away.  So, I was in a hurry.  The above photo was my second photo.  Would you like to see my first one?

Enough said?  Yes, that is Ethel Louise.  I didn't even know she was there until I started looking at my pictures.  Silly kitty!  Photo bomber!

Exploring Bandera

 

We went into Bandera today to go exploring.  Texas is such a dog state!  Every store welcomed Tully.  Every store wanted to know her name, and if they could pet her.  We are so lucky to have her.  It makes people come up and start talking to me.  Never a dull minute with this little pup!

Bandera is the typical southern Texas town.  Even though the population is 900 and something, the town has so much energy and happy people!  There is a lot of southern decor....I wouldn't mind this mule but I don't have anywhere to put it in my home.

Some of the signs caught my eye and reminded me of certain people.  Chicken and dumplings is definitely my Aunt Jackie since she loves them.

And for some reason I can see Cindy saying this to Dave.  But laughing while she said it.  Or maybe I was laughing when she said it.  Or maybe I was laughing when I told Road Hog.  I don't know.  My memory is kind of fading...I'm taking the fifth on this one.

I have a lot of family and friends that this sign goes to.  It could also be me, maybe.  I do love sarcasm....

This Howdy Bitches was pretty cute but I don't think I could wear it.  Well, I guess I could if my BFF was wearing one too.

This was on a store wall and talks about all the schools here in Pipe Creek and Bandera.  Pretty interesting.  You might want to click on the picture and make it bigger.  I know a lot of old older people read my blog so I am just trying to make it easier for them to read.  😁

When we got home, Tully found a little friend.  Tully was on her leash and they went nose to nose, until the cat swatted Tully's nose.  Without claws though so the only thing Tully got was hurt feelings.

Found My Big Brown - Eyed Cowboy!!

 

OK, maybe not my cowboy, but his horse!  This guy is beautiful!  He was over by the fence when we were out for our walk.

Tully did pretty good.  I picked her up and the horse and her went nose to nose.  I had a pocketful of baby carrots, and I don't think he ever had those!  He let the first one drop to the ground, but was pretty interested in the others in my hand.  Those carrots disappeared pretty quick!

When I told him that I didn't have any more carrots, and that we had to continue our walk, he blew a raspberry my way.  Even with his tongue out, he is still pretty cute.

We had a purple and pink sky last night.  It has been getting down in the 40's which is just right for us.  75 degrees today, and we went into San Antonio to do a bit of shopping.  But really, we went to get some of Road Hogs favorite ice cream and the place wasn't open until noon!  Even when we shopped at old navy, bed bath and beyond, and half priced books, the place still wasn't open!  I know this was all before noon, but still!  Road Hog was so looking forward to Lemon Custard ice cream!  (Eww).  I was going for goo goo cluster, which is made in heaven!!  Don't judge me!  It has been a long time since I had ice cream, and I can't eat it in the afternoon because I will have such a sugar rush that I won't be able to sleep.  If I eat any sugar, it has to be in the morning.  So, no goo goo cluster for breakfast dessert!

We barbecued dinner tonight.  There was catfish, stuffed salmon, watermelon and strawberries.  Can you take a guess who ate the catfish?  I had a bite, but that is it.  I love stuffed salmon and I picked some up from Costco last week.  But when we shopped yesterday at HEB-Plus store yesterday, they had it, and cheaper!  So I bought a pack just to see which one is better.  They both were very good!  Both Costco and HEB-Plus had fresh fish.  And because we are adults, and we are retired, we didn't have any veggies for dinner.  So there!  Fruit and fish.  I love this retirement thing!  😂

A Little Bit of Everything...

 

We have been having awesome weather!  Still cold at night, but low 70's during the day.  So much blue sky!!  This is where Road Hog goes when I am trying to clean the house.

When Tully and I went on our walk this morning, we had some eyes watching us.  Big beautiful eyes.  Look at that gorgeous thing!

We had more eyes on us when we went on our afternoon walk.  Look at those cute little faces.  I love those ears!

They were more interested in Tully though.  Tully did her little growl, but that was about it.

She wasn't afraid of them at all.  Little toughie!  The red one on the right wanted Tully to come closer.  Tully said nope!

We were walking in the back and found this crazy thing.  Bones and a skull, plus empty plastic bottles.  This is just a fake well.  I hope.

This is one of the deer feeders in the back, but no longer used.  Well, it isn't used anymore to feed deer, but something is using it...

Something built a nest in it.

Here is a gnarly tree we walk by.  I think it might be an oak but I'm not sure.  

We bought our first watermelon of the year and man!  It is one of the best!!  I love watermelon season!  And yes, I add a little salt to it.  When I was in first grade, my Aunt Jackie always gave me some watermelon to eat when I got home from school, and she always gave me a little salt sprinkled on it.  Yes, this was in Texas, and yes, I have the best Aunt Jackie!

Ethel Louise found a box to fit in.  She wants everyone to know, especially Gene, that the camera adds a couple of pounds of weight to all her photos.  Plus, her fur is pretty fluffy, and that adds a little weight too.  Just an FYI.

Here is last nights sunset.  I love the sunsets here.  And the sunrises, and the sunny days.  I don't miss the rain yet.  

I haven't seen any big bugs or spiders yet.  Or scorpions.  I was taught how to hunt scorpions also back when I was in first grade.  My cousin used to take me out to the sand dunes and go hunting.  We would turn over old wood or something like that and there would be bugs under there.  I say ewww now.  Aunt Jackie didn't like us going over to the sand dunes, which was across the street from the house.  I can kind of see her point now, but back then....