A quaint little drinking couple with a camping problem!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas Greetings from the Frantz Family

I had to beg Tag to let us use the computer for just a bit and he finally relented.  WHEW!!!!

It is Christmas, that wonderful time of year when our hearts are filled with gratitude for our good friends and loved ones.  Naturally we thought of you!!!

It is our wish for each of you that your home be filled with happiness, your hearts with love, and your days with joy at Christmas and always. 

Shari, Dave and Moe

Sunday, December 18, 2011

YIKES!!

Yikes, I just looked to see when I updated this blog and I just realized something.  I HAVEN'T!  I understand how time would fly by if you are old and gray like my buddy Dave, but I'm not that old and I am certainly not gray.

Well, as promised in the last update, we have left Iowa and have made our way all the way to Texas.  It only took us 6 weeks to make the journey.  After a couple of nights in North Liberty and a night in Osage Beach, Mo. we made it to Branson.  Stupid's highlight of Branson was eating at Famous Dave's BBQ.  He says if you ever eat at one, make sure you get the mac and cheese.  He says it's to die for.  We stayed at Branson for 11 nights and the happy couple never went to one show in a theater.  The tightwad took Shari to a couple free shows at the Branson Mall.  One day he took her to see Johnny Cash and another to see Elvis.  He said they were great because they were free.  I did tour them around quite a bit to see Christmas lights and eat and shop. 

After leaving Branson, I guided them on a trip through the hills and hollows of Arkansas to Hot Springs.  My friend, Dave, asked if there is a better place to spend Shari's birthday than in Hot Springs?  He did manage to take her out for her birthday to a great BBQ restaurant called McClards.  This place has been in business since 1922 and they both said the food was fantastic.  After 3 days of sightseeing we moved on down to Mt. Pleasant, TX.  While in Mt. Pleasant the Happy Couple spent a fair amount of time at the Marks' compound at the End of the World.  The Marks' compound is where Joe & Renee Hanrahan have built their vacation cabin.  The Happy Couple were there for toddy time a couple of times, for steaks one evening, for Thanksgiving dinner, and again to watch the Iowa - Nebraska fiasco.   The Happy Couple want to thank Joe & Renee and all the Marks' clan for their great hospitality. 

On November 30th the Happy Couple rented a car, loaded it to hilt with about everything they had, and headed to Iowa.  The purpose of the trip was to watch grandson Luke wrestle, granddaughter Emma play basketball, and see as many family and friends as possible to wish them a Merry Christmas.  The trip was a success.  Moe and I did have a complaint or two.  Moe's complaint: while in Iowa she had to go get a haircut.  My complaint:  it was darned cold.  "How cold was it?" you ask.  Well, one morning I was out and about and I came upon a Snowy Owl.  I said "I thought you birds just spent all your time up in the Arctic tundra. What are you doing down here in Iowa?"  The owl's answer, "There isn't any difference between winter in the Arctic tundra and winter in Iowa so we just thought we would come south for the winter."  With that I convinced Super Dave that enough was enough.  We left the next morning and the temperature was 4 degrees.  We didn't even bother stopping overnight.  Straight through all the way.  It is warmer in Texas.  I want to really thank Carl & Barb Zahradnik for putting up with us for a week.  Moe and I had a great place to stay in from the cold and my friend Shari had her own bedroom and didn't have to listen to Stupid's snoring all night.  Moe and I did find something out after the trip was over....it seems that Hertz has a policy which states pets are not allowed in their rental cars.  If anyone ask, Moe and I are just little people that walk on our hands and feet.

When we were in Mt. Pleasant, Stupid came into the house one afternoon, just more than a little upset and grabbed his camera.  I asked him what had his undies all uptight and he said he was going to go take a picture to show me.  When he came back he had the above picture in the camera.  He said if this doesn't get your fire started then your wood is too wet.  What it is is a picture of a banner hanging on the Mt. Pleasant, TX post office. I ask what was wrong with it and he replied, "Why is a government agency encouraging people to send money to Mexico.  If the people sending money to Mexico have money to send there why don't they first pay  their own health care, schooling, auto insurance, housing, etc, and, if they have money left over, then send their money to help the Mexican economy?  Why are we, as American citizens, paying their way so they can send their earnings out of the country?"  I thought it was a couple of good questions.  Another thing about the sign that jerked his chain was it is written in Spanish with English in small print.  He wants to know which country's tax payers are paying the postal services' losses.  Once in a while old Dave does get his dander up and I think this was one of them.

After returning from Iowa and unloading the rental car, we packed up the trailer and the truck and I skillfully guided us to Kerrville with an overnight stop in Lampasas, TX.  We arrived here on Dec 13th.  We are at Guadalupe River RV Resort which will be our home base for a month.  It is a beautiful RV park with a lot of things to see and do in the area.  The Happy Couple are really happy about the park.  Shari is happy because they have activities such as crafts, water aerobics, etc.  Stupid is happy because they have a bar on the property.  Actually it is about 100 yards from our site.  At least, we know where to find him at night.  One of the first thing everyone noticed when we got to our site was the deer droppings all over the place.  We have found out where they came from.  There is a herd of about 30 deer that make their residence in the RVpark.  They are fun to watch and Moe likes to bark at them.  I just sit and watch.



We have taken a few road trips since we have been here.  I guided the couple to Fredericksburg one afternoon.  Both of them were very disappointed.  As my friend Dave said, the town is an adult tourist trap.  A lot of gift shops with a few high priced stores mingled in.  I doubt we will be spending much time there.  Friday, the couple wanted to try someplace else so I took them to Comfort, TX.  It is a small town that was settled by German settlers in the 1850's.  It was a neat place to visit and may be worth a return trip.  Yesterday, I outdid myself.  Stupid asked me to lead them to the hills and I took them to Bandera, TX.  The route from Kerrville to Bandera is a narrow, hilly, winding road through the hill country.  There is very little traffic on the road so you can just take your time and admire the beautiful scenery.  Above are a couple of picures to show you what it was like.  Bandera is a very interesting town.  It is truly a cow town.  During the Old West era it was a town where a lot of cattle drives were started to take cattle up to Wyoming and Montana.  Bandera is known as the cowboy capital of the world.  It is a place where good old Dave wants to go spend more time.  He'd have to get his shit kickers on first.  After leaving Bandera I took them over to Utopia and back to Kerrville via Hunt.  It was about a 70 mile drive through nothing but ranch country.  The road was up, down, and around every cedar tree in Texas.  It was a great drive.  We saw all kinds of wild life up to, and including, a bunch of wild hogs.  As Super Dave was driving along, I heard him tell Shari that he had been in this state a number of times, but this was the first time he had ever really found Texas.  What we saw yesterday was what he always thought Texas should be.  I think the couple was happy about the route I took them on.  I'll probably get to take them back there again.

While we were driving, Moe spotted this buck and doe in the wilds.  Dave stopped and asked them to pose for a  picture.  The couple wasn't anything special except for the size of the rack on the buck.  It was huge.  That couple was impressive to watch.

What's in our future?  We will be here until the 12th of January. The Happy couple will be joining many other people in the RV park for a Christmas potluck at the club house.  Ron and Vi Powell from Burlington are coming down for a couple weeks and the two couples are going to a New Year's party at the club house.  I am sure, during our remaining time here, we will be doing a lot more sightseeing.

As a close I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and the happiest of all Happy New Years.  I am sure this would be the same wishes from the Happy Couple and Moe, but this isn't their trip journal so you will  have to wait and hear from them.  I have no idea when you will hear from me again.  It may be tomorrow, next week, or next year.  Who knows.  Until then God's speed.

Tag