CATCHING UP - MODEL TRAIN SHOW IN MESA

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 58 Cloudy Rainy early then Sunny High 76) 

Catching up on our recent stay in Goodyear Arizona. We are always in search of indoor activities since it is so hot. We recently went to the Mesa Public Library to a model train exhibit put on by the Arizona Big Train Operators. With G-scale model trains and scenery it was pretty neat. We especially like the cars parked next to the tracks. Here are some photos.

There were some themed areas, Winslow Arizona (see the cars)

'Standing on the Corner in Winslow Arizona' 

Holbrook Arizona.

ATSF - Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
 

 More Photos

We had a great time.


We have completed a number of initial appointments with our new doctors in the Hill Country. There has been some delay with the new pain center for Jo and the urologist for Bob that we hope to resolve soon. Because of the uncertainty we still don't know exactly when we are leaving.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

HILL COUNTRY INTERIM FOODIE REPORT

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 38 Sunny and VERY Warm High 88) 

An interim Hill Country Foodie report. We start out with 'Billy Gene's' since it was on our list and also listed by Mike Mills from his 'Phannie and Mae' blog. The catfish here is real good. There are other things on the menu we want to try.

In the 1915 fully restored historic railroad depot is 'Rails - A Cafe at the Depot'. Although the food is terrific the best things on the menu might be the desserts. The bison burger Bob had was one of the best he has had. Wild mushroom quesadillas are also recommended. Everything we have had there is great. Another chapter in the "it's a small world after all" is that the son of the owners of Rails played football at Iowa State. Bob was wearing his Iowa State t-shirt and the owner came over and talked with us when he saw the shirt.

'Bill's BBQ' (Where The Bull Goes On Forever) served us probably the best brisket we have ever had, and that includes anywhere in Kansas City and at various Rudy's BBQ locations. Not for everyone but this place also serves cabrito (goat). Bob had to try it as did Jo and we agreed it was not one of our favorites. But the brisket is worth the trip.

'Pho Mosa' satisfies our new found craving for pho. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat or seafood, served in a large bowl. This is a Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant, so far the only chinese dish that we have tried is mu shu. We have been searching for good mu shu since our favorite place in Grandview Missouri closed and this mu shu is as good, or maybe even better. Here is a photo of pho.

We went to 'Lafours Seafood' mainly because we kept driving by and there was always a crowd there. We are so glad that we did. Jo is picky on her gumbo and 'Lafours' has a gumbo that she liked. The grilled fish was not too spicy and not too hot, the grilled onions on top were a hit. The salad is from a bag and the green beans are from a can but that does not take away from how good this place is. The owner stopped by our table and we had the nicest chat.

Sunset Grille in nearby Fredericksburg has one of the best eggs benedict dishes we have ever had, the smoked salmon benedict. The crab cakes and seafood omelets are also amazing. It is breakfast-lunch place but so far we have only been able to eat breakfast.

We have a few more on our list to try and will report on them later if they pass the muster, assuming of course that we don't keep eating at these great spots.

Till  next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - WILL ROGERS MEMORIAL IN CLAREMORE OKLAHOMA

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 41 Plenty of Sun High 79)

Recently while we were in Claremore Oklahoma we visited the Will Rogers Memorial. Here is an exterior view from the web.

Will Rogers was born nearby in what was Indian Territory in 1879. An expert cowboy and rope trick artist he started out in Vaudeville. Then it was on to the Ziegfield Follies. From there it seemed there was nothing that Will Rogers was not involved in. He starred in silent movies then talkies while also writing a daily newspaper column. Tragically Will Rogers was killed in an airplane crash in Alaska in 1935 and buried in California where he lived at the time.

After much discussion as to the location of the memorial it was decided that Claremore would be the site on property purchased by the family about 20 years earlier. This is what greets you at the entrance.

We first saw a great documentary in the theater. When that was completed a storyteller took the stage and told some of the history and did some rope tricks that Will Rogers was famous for.

Some interior views.

A copy of the statue that is in the National Statuary in Washington DC.

We really liked the chandelier above the statue.

As mentioned before Will Rogers was originally buried in California in 1935. In 1942 his body was moved to Claremore. He was joined by his wife in 1944 and various family members since then.

 judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/will_rogers.html

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/will_rogers.html

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/willrogers411692.html

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/willrogers411692.html

We'll end with a couple of our favorite quotes that are still relevant these days.

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."

"Do the best you can, and don't take life too seriously."

"Never blame a legislative body for not doing something. When they do nothing, they don't hurt anybody. When they do something is when they become dangerous."

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - REVIEW OF WILL ROGERS KOA IN CLAREMORE OKLAHOMA

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 52 Morning Rain then Clearing High 74)

Catching up on our recent stay in Claremore Oklahoma. We really liked Will Rogers KOA in Claremore OK. We chose Claremore to be honest due to the length of travel. We would now come back just to be at this park.

The park had easy access off of the Highway from the Turnpike. The roads and sites were gravel. We had a long pull thru and the hookups, except for the sewer hookup, were convenient. The sewer hookup was one of those that were elevated too far above the ground creating less than desirable drainage. We had good line of sight for our roof mounted satellite dish.

The main draw was how close we were to the race track. Here is a shot from the our rear window.

Loading the horses for the race.

And they're off!!

Here is the Lifestyle from the front.

To the right towards the Grandstand.

To the left.

From the rear.

As mentioned before, we would stay here again.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

ADDED BIRDS TO OUR LIST

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 45 Clouds Break for Sun; Warmer High 82) 

One advantage to traveling this great country is you might see some birds you have never seen before. We set out our feeders where the cats and us could see them and it wasn't long before we ended up a couple new birds. Although we have seen the tufted titmouse we have never seen the black crested titmouse until now.

Here is a closeup view.

And the black backed race common goldfinch.

A lot of birds enjoyed our feeders.

Including this collection of doves.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

CATCHING UP - REVIEW OF TIMBERLINE CAMPGROUD IN WAUKEE IOWA

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 33 Mostly Sunny High 62) 

Seems like all we have done since we got to Kerrville is fill out paperwork and go to doctor's appointments. We realized that we should have used this time to catch up on blog entries. So here is our review of Timberline Campground in Waukee Iowa.

Timberline is easy to find with our gps. The location in Waukee is nice because it is close to relatives in Perry and close to Des Moines for sightseeing and eating. The park roads and sites are gravel. We were in a pull through with fairly convenient hookups and a good line of sight for our roof mounted automatic satellite dish. Here is the Lifestyle from the front.

From the rear.

To the right.

To the left.

We would stay at this park again, in fact we are trying to figure out when this year we will be back in Iowa.

While in Waukee we saw this Batman-like motorcycle.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

HEALTHCARE ISSUES CAUSE YET ANOTHER CHANGE OF PLANS

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 58 Cloudy High 72) 

Bob had a couple of issues that needed checked out that we left until we got to Texas. Turns out he has nodules on his thyroid and a goiter. In short a goiter is any enlargement of the thyroid gland. Here is a depiction of the thyroid gland with nodules.

The good news is that a majority of us have thyroid nodules. The better news is that all the recent bloodwork indicated normal thyroid functioning. We've got a baseline (bloodwork and ultrasound) that we can compare to in 6 months. So our big plans of Highway 2 in Montana to Canada for the circle tour of Lake Superior to Door County will have to be delayed a year. The great news is that if all appears the same in 6 months is that yearly reviews will be possible.

We still don't know exactly when we are leaving the Hill Country but when we do we will spend part of the summer in Colorado and then head to the Kansas City area on our way back to the Hill Country to recheck Bob's thyroid.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

FILLING OUT PAPERWORK AD NAUSEUM

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 53 Partly Sunny and Warmer High 83) 

It seems like all we have been doing lately is filling out paperwork.

As you get older you get more doctors and each doctor's office has their own paperwork. Sad thing is that it is a repeat of most of the same information. But we are going down our checklist and seeing all the doctors we need to see.

In the future expect an update on our healthcare situation as well as a foodie report.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

HILL COUNTRY KOLACHES

Currently in Kerrville TX (Low 38 Mostly Sunny and Very Warm High 78) 

Whenever we are in an area we like to immerse ourselves in the local cuisine, scenery and history. Driving around Kerrville we saw kolaches a lot, even saw them in the frozen food section at the grocery stores, so we decided to investigate further. From wideopencountry.com we found this out.

"According to Texan vernacular, a kolache is a breakfast food comprised of sweet bread filled with various breakfast items. A Texas kolache can contain sausage, eggs, cheese, or any number of other creative delicacies. However, denotatively, that is a klobasnek. A kolache, in fact, has no meat in it at all, and instead is filled with fruit purees, cream cheese or other sweet fillings. For the sake of simplicity, however, we will refer to all of the above as kolaches, because this is Texas, and our language is not always based on accuracy."

We went to Snowflake Donuts and Kolaches for our first adventure with kolaches. We had a sausage and cheese and a ham and cheese for breakfast.

Of course while there we had to try the traditional kolaches, a lemon cream cheese and an apple cream cheese.

We give a thumbs up to this regional offering. There are places that are supposedly better in the Hill Country, if they are better they must be incredible because these were pretty darn good.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo