Dean & Linda Stock
Well-known member
DAY 1 ? March 13 ?Fredericksburg, Texas
Whew! We?ve arrived on our first day of our Texas adventure. We drove from near Disneyland in CA to Tucson (487 mi.)?Wal-Mart, then to El Paso (342 mi.)?Wal-Mart, then to Kerrville (486 mi.)?Wal-Mart. We spent the day visiting the cute town of Kerrville. We started at the small Riverside Nature Center, which is next to the Guadalupe River. People have worked hard to plant a lot of trees to attract birds, and they are well-signed. It is free, but they welcomed our donation. Riverside will be alive with blooms in another month. But now the leaves are just beginning to set on, except for the Mexican plum tree (picture). These were at their peak and just loaded with blossoms and BEES! We left the bees alone, and they left us alone. We saw lots of what I think were finches (picture) and beautiful red and orange cardinals, but they were too camera-shy and there were too many people walking around for them to stay for more than a second or two. If anyone reads this log thinks I mislabeled, you are probably correct, so please let me know?I don?t want to give bad information, and no hurt feelings at all.
We then went to the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center. They had 4 ?micro-mini? shows, one photography exhibit by just one photographer, a tiny Japanese exhibit with 3 ikebana (Japanese flower arrangements), and 2 groups of juried art works. 4 of their members had gone to Japan to study flower-arranging, and they had a loop of their slides playing, which I found fascinating?awesome gardens, superb close-ups, great ?people? pictures, and wonderfully sharp photography with great composition. They also had an intriguing room of fluorescent minerals. I thought it was well worth the stop, and we donated to help keep them going.
At the gardens and cultural center we met wonderful, chatty ladies who were full of good information. We were told to go to a nearby framing and art store, but it was small and so crammed we couldn?t see much. We stopped at a sidewalk caf? at the corner of Water & Earl Garrett and had a nice, but pricy ($8.50) lunch. We by-passed the Museum of Western Art, which I think may be nice, and we will go there another time.
This is just like small-town Alaska, really nice people and modest everything. Don?t expect big-city museums or set your expectations too high. We are just enjoying the wonderful ?warn feel? of the area.
It?s a good thing we didn?t dally any longer in Kerrville. I tried the two ?best? RV parks in town, and they both had waiting lists of weeks. When we got to the Fredericksburg Wal-Mart at 4:15, it also was pretty full. It seems that there is an re-enactment of WWII going on this weekend! It could be a gem if we get to see something special, or it could be a dud if there are crowds everywhere.
Miles traveled: 34
Temperature: 79?F
Stayed at Wal-Mart in Fredericksburg
Whew! We?ve arrived on our first day of our Texas adventure. We drove from near Disneyland in CA to Tucson (487 mi.)?Wal-Mart, then to El Paso (342 mi.)?Wal-Mart, then to Kerrville (486 mi.)?Wal-Mart. We spent the day visiting the cute town of Kerrville. We started at the small Riverside Nature Center, which is next to the Guadalupe River. People have worked hard to plant a lot of trees to attract birds, and they are well-signed. It is free, but they welcomed our donation. Riverside will be alive with blooms in another month. But now the leaves are just beginning to set on, except for the Mexican plum tree (picture). These were at their peak and just loaded with blossoms and BEES! We left the bees alone, and they left us alone. We saw lots of what I think were finches (picture) and beautiful red and orange cardinals, but they were too camera-shy and there were too many people walking around for them to stay for more than a second or two. If anyone reads this log thinks I mislabeled, you are probably correct, so please let me know?I don?t want to give bad information, and no hurt feelings at all.
We then went to the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center. They had 4 ?micro-mini? shows, one photography exhibit by just one photographer, a tiny Japanese exhibit with 3 ikebana (Japanese flower arrangements), and 2 groups of juried art works. 4 of their members had gone to Japan to study flower-arranging, and they had a loop of their slides playing, which I found fascinating?awesome gardens, superb close-ups, great ?people? pictures, and wonderfully sharp photography with great composition. They also had an intriguing room of fluorescent minerals. I thought it was well worth the stop, and we donated to help keep them going.
At the gardens and cultural center we met wonderful, chatty ladies who were full of good information. We were told to go to a nearby framing and art store, but it was small and so crammed we couldn?t see much. We stopped at a sidewalk caf? at the corner of Water & Earl Garrett and had a nice, but pricy ($8.50) lunch. We by-passed the Museum of Western Art, which I think may be nice, and we will go there another time.
This is just like small-town Alaska, really nice people and modest everything. Don?t expect big-city museums or set your expectations too high. We are just enjoying the wonderful ?warn feel? of the area.
It?s a good thing we didn?t dally any longer in Kerrville. I tried the two ?best? RV parks in town, and they both had waiting lists of weeks. When we got to the Fredericksburg Wal-Mart at 4:15, it also was pretty full. It seems that there is an re-enactment of WWII going on this weekend! It could be a gem if we get to see something special, or it could be a dud if there are crowds everywhere.
Miles traveled: 34
Temperature: 79?F
Stayed at Wal-Mart in Fredericksburg