Out My Window

Out my window when we stayed at Fox Park at Granger Lake.

Now this was an interesting stop over.
When the kids were just babies, we started camping a lot. This was the same place we took the kids on their first camping trip. We spent many happy weekends on the lake. The kids learned they didn't have to have toys to have fun. My little girl found out she couldn't pee on a tree like daddy. My son learned to operate the boat while Grandpa and Dad fished. And Lenora learned early that her style of roughing it was staying at a motel that didn't have a breakfast bar. (But she was always there)
This is where I taught the kids that we could live off the land. We couldn't of course. While they were pouting for cereal, I had to grill two little bait-sized perch for their breakfast.
We put out trot lines here when it was so cold that the bait froze when we lifted it out of the water.
This is the place that we decided if we just had a little rubber raft, we could get out in the lake to where the big fish were jumping. We wound up with a 19 foot IO progressive hull cruiser that we docked at the marine club. Times sure change.
We relived the memories and moved on.

So we have all heard how the gas stations don't make a big profit on the gas they sell us and they blame the foreign oil.
We have heard the big oil companies say domestic drilling won't work because it cost more for us to bring out our oil and they won't make enough profit from it.
We have watched our politicians refuse to pass windfall taxation for the big oil companies because it will stifle new exploration (for oil that cost them too much to drill for).
Oh, then we find it is not any of the oil industry at all that is sending prices up. It is the market. Investors are trading oil futures for huge profits.
We have listened to the reasoning as to why the price at the pump goes up twice a day because of news that crude prices have gone up. Although they bought the gas at a cheaper price, it cost them more to replace it.
Now... with crude oil prices going down, down, down, why is the price at the pump so slow to change?
And for goodness sakes!, what is this about "gas prices going up in anticipation of a hurricane"?

What it boils down to is that we are gas junkies and we will put up with anything from anybody, except doing without our gasoline.
We will keep letting the profiteers and politicians take control of our lives.
They say they let supply and demand regulate prices. What they do is bleed everyone of us until the poorest of us start dying. Then they know they have to stop raising prices or they won't have a base to sell to.

Every place we go. I just can't seem to keep her out of trouble.
Still having fun. Tell ya all about it when we get back

It is sad to announce that after such close relationship for more than a year, our little one has to be put in the repair shop while we go on vacation.
Yes, it troubles us to have to leave our little friend behind while we go have fun but, in our hearts, he will be with us.
It all started yesterday when I ran out to get him so I could photograph the return of the little owls nesting in the oak outside our office. Snap!... Error 01 Can not communicate with lens. Oh, yes, I did try everything to no avail. The only thing that worked was the old 1300mm and that doesn't count. No electronics at all in it.
So it is with heavy hearts that we start our vacation today without our friend.

The good news is that several weeks ago, I gave Mom my old camera because hers had been acting up and she loves photography soooo much. She was ecstatic about it.
She has agreed to loan the camera back to me at a reduced rate. Just kidding, Mom.
So we will be able to take more pictures while we are gone.

Nothing fancy this time. We decided on a road trip. We enjoy riding and having no place to go. We see a sign we like and make a turn.
The object would be to gather more courthouse pictures but, who knows what adventures we will find.

Now we have one of the most exciting parts of our trip.
We had left Karnes City after dark and decided to stop at the next little town and get a motel for the night.
As we came upon the city limits of Kenedy, I spied an old building with an airplane as a sign for the place. Jerry B's. I told Lenora, after we are settled in lets go have dinner there.
We stopped at the Holiday Inn Express. Filled up???? Nothing in town???? Oh, no! the next stop was an hour away.
Wait, we found one. Have one room left. Only thirty dollars? Oh no! Their credit card machine is down. No cash, no problem, run to the ATM. How can the towns only two ATMs be out of cash?
Ah, buy gas and get cash back! Now we are talking!
Back to the motel and check in. OMG, what you don't get for thirty dollars now days. Oh well, just a place to sleep, right?
But I degrees.
We did get to go back to Jerry B's for our dinner.
The place was packed. They had a small group (Raisin' Kane) playing on the bandstand. Let me be a fanatic here. This band was great for this venue. I'm not much for a two piece band but these guys pull it off well. Be sure to see them if they come to your area. Hear them on their MySpace page.
Couples were sliding around the dance floor. Locals were hanging out around the bar. Families were eating at large tables. I was enjoying this more and more.

The waitress came by and was the friendliest that can be. We got our food. I have seen lesser restaurants base their entire reputation on a dish that keeps their customers coming back again and again. This was no exception. So far this place is really living up to our expectations. Then the bill came.
We were about to leave this place for under twenty dollars!!!! I called the waitress to make sure she hadn't given us separate checks. Nope, was there something wrong? Well, hell yes there was something wrong. You don't come into a place like this and only pay $20 for a meal for two.

The waitress brought the manager/owner, Allen Brown, over to our table. Get out! A real person? What a nice guy. He gave us a tour and told us the history of the place. I won't go into a lot of it because I want you to visit his site that his wife Lynn and Connie O'Brien has done such a great job on. Besides, their pictures do them a whole lot more justice because all of mine are night shots.

The decor was the typical but refreshingly done antique/barn wood effect you see at all the popular places. The patio is nicely done and seems like the kind of place you would want to bring the kids to for a picnic on Saturday.
At night it becomes a romantic hide away. Softly lit under large oaks, it is sprawling enough to find a quiet intimate spot to relax with friends.
He has plenty of room to expand. We took a look at the upstairs where he plans to open more seating as soon as he gets a dumb waiter put in.

We routinely drive to our favorite steak house that is 32 miles away. This is only 100 miles so I think we will be going back several times. Jerry B's is only 60 miles from San Antonio so you guys better visit soon before it is so crowded you need reservations.

Now I am giddy. This is one of those little undiscovered back places that people drive miles and miles to go and relax, have a great meal and be entertained. I will be writing to Texas Highways about this place tomorrow. I am sure you will see it in an upcoming issue.