Abilene, TX 2021

 We stayed in Abilene for a few days to visit with the Smith's. Gabby and Keith were off working, but we had a great visit with the kids (Megan, Katie, Sean and Aunt Dana).  We got to meet all the girls and boys (coos), lol.  Had a great visit.

This was a feisty little guy.  He really loved pushing people around

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Adding to their menagerie, they have sugar gliders, very cute little marsupials.

The next day we took a walk around the static airplane display at Dyess AFB. About a 4.5 mile walk.

On Tuesday morning, we got ready to leave and were about to pull out when Cherie noticed we had a flat tire.  We had to wait about 1.5 hours to get a repair truck out, but were on the road at about 2:30; on our way to Grants, NM.

Waco, TX 2021

We spent 10 days in Waco, to reaffirm whether or not this should be a place to consider settling down in.  It has remained at the top of our list. Baylor University is here and so is a VA hospital.  There are also things to see such as the Mammoth National Monument, wineries, Waco Lake, and Homestead Heritage.  As for things to do, they have the Backyard and the Hippodome for shows; and they have plenty of restaurants.  As our search continues we narrowing down the communities that look the best for us.  Right now we are looking hard at Lorena, Texas.  It is a small community but close to Robinson and Waco.  

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at Barnett's Public House.  There was a freelance piper there who entertained us with occasional tunes as he walked about the pub.  

Enjoying a glass of wine at County Spring Winery in Lorena, TX. About 14 miles away from Waco. We really enjoyed this small town which offers country living.

We visited Waco Mammoth National Monument.  The bones that are in the pictures are still in their original place. Other bones have been removed for preservation.  They believe that the mammoths died due to a flash flood that came through.  A camel was also found among the remains.  This site is the nation's first and only recorded evidence of a mammoth nursery bed.

Drove to Copperas Cove (near Ft. Hood) to visit our friend, Cameron Hamnquist.  Such a nice visit.

 

Cherie practiced driving the RV while on our way to Abilene.

Flower Mound, TX

We stayed at Lake Whitney for 5 days. It was an awesome Thousand Trails park, with the exception of the road, full of potholes!

While at Lake Whitney, we drove up to Flower Mound 4 times to see our great friend Jackie and her family (Sherry and Quinn).  Her grandson, Quinn, was excited to see us as well. He and Graham are great friends. Graham helped him to build wooden 3-d models while visiting.

Lake Conroe, TX

After our winter experience in San Antonio, we stayed at Lake Conroe for 2 weeks and fell in love with the area. This area quickly became one of the top two on our list for a place to buy a home.  The weather was great and the Thousand Trails park was awesome.

Sunset from the dog park.

Martha, the water dog.

Although we didn't see any armadillos while we were in Conroe, TX, we had to take this picture 

We went to the Whitley Vineyards in Montgomery and had a great time meeting people and making friends.  The people at the wine bar are part of the reason we fell in love with Conroe.  They made us feel like we had been friends for years.  They have entertainers on Thursday nights and on Sundays.  We went there 3 times and on one of the Thursdays they had a karaoke night, what fun!  We actually got up and sang.  Didn't clear out the bar but, that shows their stamina. LOL

Next to the winery, they had a Pioneer Museum. It was closed due to COVID, but you know Graham, he was able to get some pictures through the windows.  It would have been really nice to have toured the museum and learned about some of the history in the area.  

We also went to their newly built Margaritaville hotel for a beerfest.

We did a walking tour of downtown Conroe where they have benches that were painted by local artists.

Our good friends Bear and Susan contacted us and said they were in Huntsville to pick up a new puppy, so we took a drive up to see them.  We had a great time visiting and catching up on what we have been doing.  Graham was able to help train the puppy to walk on a leash while we were there.

While there, we visited the Huntsville Prison Museum.  Graham spoke with one of the Associate Directors (retired) from the Texas Prison System.  He compared the Texas system with the California prison system.  There are some big differences, as you can imagine.  If I ever go to prison I don't want it to be in Texas.  It was surprising how big Huntsville Prison is, right down to its own rodeo arena.  They don't hold the rodeos anymore but, for many years the public was invited to attend the Prison rodeo where only prisoners would compete.  
 

We also went to their Veterans Memorial. It was an interesting place as it had tons of photos and memorabilia from people who served in the different services and different wars.  It was probably one of the best war museums we have seen.

Back in Conroe, we went to Lone Star Flag Park to see all the different flags that have flown over Texas.

The flags tell the history of Texas independence from 1821 through 1839. 
The State transitioning from Mexico to the Republic of Texas. 
The Texas Navy flag, created in 1836, was interesting because
is was patterned like the American flag but with one lone star in the blue field.