Riverwalk in San Antonio and Family

 We arrived in San Antonio via 35 South today.  Wow, the traffic was pretty thick compared to what we have been driving in.  We arrived at our Sister-in-laws home to see our grand-niece.  This is as good as it is going to get as we have no potential grandchildren coming for a while.  I was thinking about my sister-in-law.  Right about the same time as all our kids left the house, our SIL sold her house and moved in with her daughter to help care for her grandchild.  What an ultimate gift that was.  I am not sure I would be able to do that (truthfully).  In the last year and half, I have enjoyed having time to myself, and the ability to go where I want to go.  Maybe that will change with the first grandchild.  We will see.  

We picked up our SIL to give her some time away from that sweet baby, and went over to the Riverwalk.  Since she had never seen the Alamo, we did the obligatory walkthrough, and then made our way to the Riverwalk.  Did I mention, it cost $10 for parking?  I guess "paving paradise" really does cost something.  

I will never get tired of Mexican food.  We stopped at El Rio, one of the oldest restaurants on the Riverwalk.  Here is an interesting fact.  The Riverwalk was built in 1941, and everyone believed that the city would flood because of it.  So the builder built his office right next to the Riverwalk to show the town folks that it would not flood.  Five years, later, they realized he was right. 

It is not as hot or humid (almost) as the last time we were here.  We are staying the the Mission City RV park as it is super convenient to downtown, and the bus runs right next to the park.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Hanging out in Northern Texas

I spent the last few days hanging out in Northern Texas.  We stopped at Martin Creek State Park, and just rested.  I have been tired lately on the road.  I think it might be road burnout.  We spent the first day just catching up on our sleep.  The second day, we had a visit from a "Barney" who lifted my spirits a bit, because he was just so darn engaging.  We spent several hours just standing at the RV and then sitting at the picnic table talking about everything from Hanford Nuclear site to catching fish down in southern Texas.  We realized that we had the art of drawing in common, and it made me realize that I have got to give more time to the right side of my brain.  Drawing and writing give me such pleasure.  Barney must have realized that because he came to the van the next morning before we left with a set of wax pastels that positively made my fingers itch.  

I liked Martin Creek State Park.  It definitely was the quiet time of the year there, because I was able to get on my bike and tool around the campground without having a threat of being run down.  We walked over to the island one of the evening we were there, and watched people fishing and just generally enjoying themselves.  I slept really deeply while I was there and I think it was because I felt at peace.  

We are now in Waco, Texas for the next few days at the ACOE Midway Campground next to Waco Lake.  We spent much of the day driving in circles around the Magnolia Silos and Table in town.  We had some good food, and shopped a little for Christmas.  When we got back to the campground, I felt a sense of lethargy (maybe due a little to the heat) that has accompanied my attitude for the last couple of days.  As we head towards home in the next couple of weeks, I am realizing that this may be the last of our travels for a while.  I have so many other places that I wanted to go, but could not get into the plan.  I need about 3 more years to really get a grasp of the USA.