We had a very enjoyable holiday season this year! The first part of December was spent in the hill country of Bandera and Kerrville, Texas. In this part of Texas, western traditions are
still practiced. There are working ranches everywhere. Cowboys are proud to wear their hats and boots, the hores are tied up in front of the local saloon hangouts, Christmas includes
a living manger with camels and donkeys, some evenings are spent singing Christmas carols (much like those we spent at Mystic Seaport, CT every year) and the highlight was the Cowboy Christmas parade with horses and riders in all their finery!
We moved to San Antonio for a month's stay at Greentree Village RV Park (off I-35) just south of Jennifer's house which made it convenient for visiting.
Grandson, Brandon will be turning four in January so to him Christmas was magical this year! Mark flew in from Massachusetts for a two week visit with family. It's always been important to us to spend the holidays with family. Visiting the River Walk in downtown San Antonio has always been a highlight during
the holiday season. Festive lights are strung up in the trees and all along the river's edge and traditional Christmas music fills you with that "spirit of the season." The Spanish infuence only adds to the celebration.
A friendly beast in the Cowboy Christmas parade in Bandera, Texas
While visiting Brackenridge Park in downtown San Antonio, Don
and I recalled some fond memories from almost forty years ago. (Apr-Oct 1969) While stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, we visited this park frequently. You might say it was our "local hangout" on weekends. Having little money, we were always looking for inexpensive entertainment. Back then the park only had picnic areas and a goldfish pond. Sundays always produced extended families enjoying a picnic and quality time together. Ah.....the "good ole days." Today, however, it is filled with playgrounds, walking paths, a Japanese Sunken Garden, snack bars and a train ride. After some time watching Brandon enjoy the playground, we spent the remainder of the day geo-caching. With Mark, Jen, and Brandon assisting in the treasure hunt, we located three geo-caches at the park.
We drove Mark to the Austin airport on December 30th, for
his return flight home to Waltham, MA. By some unfortunate
fate a cousin of Paul & Gay Ingram (also living in Austin, Texas)
had recently passed away which gave us an opportunity for a short visit with them when they attended a memorial service there. As it is the drive from Big Sandy, Texas (where Gay and Paul live) to Austin is over 7 1/2 hours.
