Lake Medina

We arrived at the Thousand Trails Lake Medina on Friday, June 12, 2020.  The ranger indicated that there were not that many 50 amps sites at this park.  NOOOOOO!!!  I told her that we just really suffered with a 30 amp site at Columbus River and she went to see if she knew of one that was empty.  She came back to say that someone did just leave one.  If nobody claimed it yet we should go there first.  She felt sorry for me I guess. YIPPEE!!! It was free and we took it.  

It has this dilapidated old awning that is pretty disgusting.  Apparently this was once a full time site - there are also a couple of wooden deck areas.  But why would the park leave this awning up? 

What is that noise?  I hear this faint chirping sound.  I look under this worn out awning and there are two light fixtures.  One has a bird nest in it and 3 little bitties in there!!  I heard mom and dad replying to the chirping so I knew they were near.  I sat real still just outside the awning with my phone ready and finally they both came and fed the babies.  I didn't get a good shot of the daddy, but wow.  That was such a cool beginning to our time at Medina Lake.

 

The next morning I went out to check on our little friends and they were gone. 😭😭😭  I guess momma don't trust no stalker!!!

We got our bikes down and went for a ride around the park.  The hills are pretty extreme for this grandma, but we made it a couple of times around the park and the deer are just as abundant here as they are at the Colorado River Thousand Trails. The miniature golf course was full of them as were several of the camp sites.  You aren't supposed to feed the deer, but they do.  We also took off down a trail and it reminded me of paddling the Mangroves in Florida, we called this the Cedar Groves.

 

Above are in our campsite

 

These are around the lake campsites

 

Another thing similar to the Colorado River is that there is a large area here without sewer connections. Here is because the level of the lake may change and flood some of those sites.  Other non sewer sites are at a higher elevation, so not sure why they haven't gotten around to that. They do have a honey wagon come around if you need it (for a price $$$$), but most people have their own portable waste tank they hook to the back of their trucks and/or golf carts and take to the dump station.  We may look into one if the need arises in the future.  So far we have been pretty lucky.

We needed to have our front end aligned so we hit a Firestone on Saturday near San Antonio.  They said it would take about an hour, so we walked over to the Hobby Lobby across the street to get me some more yarn.  I had finished my first 'Market Bag' the other day and it is quite lovely, so I wanted more yarn to crochet more of those.  We got back to the Firestone and waited for an additional 3 hours. I kept looking and it was still on the rack.  The manager finally came over and apologized.  He said it was so out of alignment they were having trouble.  We had only had trouble with it for the last 2 or 3 days, so not sure what was going on.  Anyway, they finally get it finished and comped the job since it took so long to get it done.  WHAT??? How cool is that. 

So, by the time the truck is finished we are pretty hungry.  It is about 3pm and we hadn't had lunch.  We had planned on trying out this Peruvian food that was just a block away from the Firestone.  So we go down there and they are set up with tables blocking the entry.  I asked if they were only doing take-out and they said they were doing dine-in, but masks must be worn.  😏😏 Really?? How am I supposed to eat with a mask on?  She said, 'Oh, you can take if off when you food arrives.'  Well, we just asked ourselves to leave the premises.  If I can be there without a mask, then why do I need to wear a mask.

We found a Mediterranean place, Express Mediterranean, in the Hobby Lobby center so we went there.  The staff was wearing masks, but none of the guests were.  It was delicious!

We have seen more masks here than anywhere that we have traveled.  Come to find out the Bexar County Judge has ordered that we all wear masks in public. Apparently, San Antonio is quite the hot spot for Covid19.  Guess we better check things out better on our future travels.

On the way home we darn near hit a deer!  These winding, hilly roads are treacherous!! 

We decided to go see what all the fuss is about Fredericksburg and found ourselves in Bandera.  My friend Ellen loves Bandera.  It is a cute little town, but traffic is terrible down that main street.  There was a neat brewery just on the outskirts of Bandera, The Bandera Ale Project, with a winery, Hill Country Cellars, at the other end of the strip center.  How lucky are we????????  I highly recommend both!  The Chardonney at the winery is aged in stainless steel instead of oak barrels.  I had a glass and went back for a bottle.  Yeah, I know!  I am usually a red girl, but it was so hot!!! You could walk back and forth between the two as long as you used the front doors.  Where do they make these rules???  They had a shared beer garden in the back, but there was not much shade out there.  They need to work on that a bit.

So we took off to Fredericksburg and not everything was open, but most shops and tasting rooms were.  I really wanted German food, so we walked over to the Old German Bakery and Restaurant.  They had one table with guests and no one came out to greet us.  We stood there for a minute or so and decided to hit the big restaurant, the Auslander.  Glad we did.  It was delicious and the service was great.  

We sampled wines at the Perspective Cellars and Fiesta Winery.  At Perspective they have other peoples wine and it is housed in the old home that General Nimitz was born in.  They have several separate rooms set up as living room type spaces!  Loved this place.  So comfortable and eclectic!   Right up my ally.  I had a white blend that was to die for.  Wish I had written down the name.  They even had wine from Israel!  

Here we are in our living room on our couch!!!

We walked down to Fiesta Winery and they were only doing tastings at the bar, so we did a tasting and everything we chose was great.  Then when we were finished she packed up the glasses for us to take home.  What are we gonna do with those.  We ain't got room for another glass in this place!!!  Especially not a glass glass.

We went back to Bandera a couple of days later to really check the place out. Found out that all residents are required to smoke cigarettes.  At least that is how it seemed.  They even had this stuff for sell at the General Store:

As you can see they have bubble gum cigarettes, chocolate cigarettes 

and the old stand-by candy cigarettes.  

We had seen a really neat looking place called the Chicken Coop and decided to go there first.  The doors are all open, but you walk in and you are hit with a cloud of smoke.  They are only two occupied tables, but everyone at them is puffing away at the smokes.  I checked out the patio outside and it is hot without a breeze to be had.  I walked back in and Dennis said, 'What do you want?'  I just had to so no thanks and we left.  

The HUGE Cowboy Bar is around the corner so we tried that place out.  Guess what???  We walked into a large plume of smoke in a tiny little room with about 10 smokers at the only table.  We only had to walk through there to enter the amazing patio area. During their busy time it looks like they have 5 bars and two stages.  They had plenty of fans going outside so we had a couple of beers there and can't wait to go back in cooler times of the year.  I cannot believe I didn't take any pictures of this place because I was really impressed with it.

Found out that one of my besties, Kristal Voth, was gonna be at Fredericksburg on the weekend, so we planned to get together.  Come to find out, her group had rented a bus to do some wineries, but one couple did not show up.  So we crashed the party.  We went to Luckenbach, and it was hoppin'!  

 

This salsa is pretty good.  A little on the spicy side!

If there was one motorcycle there, I would swear there were 200!  After we left we tried to go to one winery, but because there was 13 of us, they would not let us in, so we moved on to another and had a couple of beverages there.  The driver left us in Fredericksburg and we found another drinking establishment called Der Daiwel.  It was an interesting place!  By then I needed some food. So I got me some more German deliciousness at the Silver Creek Beer Garden and Grille restaurant.  They had a great front patio and we ate there since it had cooled off so much during the evening. All in all a great day with my friends!

Time goes on and Dennis decides to redo his rack for our bikes and kayaks and while he is doing that we get a new neighbor moving in.  It is pretty funny watching people make camp.  They are all different.  This guy did not rely on his wife for any instruction whatsoever.  She stood aside and he backed up, got out to check it all out.  Pulled out and backed up again . . .  Over and over until he got it precisely where he wanted it. When he let her know he was finished he told her he had to make sure her car could also fit in the spot and I guess that is because he doesn't disconnect from the RV.  But that is not the funny part.

 

He put out traffic cones and a caution sign.  There is even an orange painted 4X4 with a post and reflector on it.  He must have been a safety guy in his former life!!!

We talked to them and they are very nice people.  I am sure they have some inside joke about the safety stuff.  They are from Florida and sold everything just like me and so many of my friends.  Traveling and seeing the country while they are still young and can!

Another GREAT thing, we got to meet up with Greg and Ruth Lynd!!! And I did not get a picture!  They were here seeing her sister and mother before their big take off to see the country.  We were talking and decided to meet at The Four Way Bar and Grill - we are both staying in Lake Hills - Imagine that!!  Ruth wasn't sure what time they'd make it, so I told her we'd just go ahead and for them to take their time.  We are on our second cup of coffee and Dennis said.  It sure is taking them a long time.  It was THEN that I noticed the menu said La Cabana Cafe!!!!  We were at the wrong restaurant.  Dennis was outside with his GPS trying to see how we could be in the wrong place and I asked the waitress if this was also called The Four Way and she started laughing.  NOPE!  I told her I needed to pay for this coffee and she laughed and said not to worry about it.  So we hightailed it out of there and 1/4 mile down the road was out real meeting place!!!  They were getting their breakfast when we got there - LOL!!!!  We got our breakfast and enjoyed the visit.  It wasn't crowded, so we were not in a rush.  The Four Way was actually recommended to us by one of our neighbors in the Columbus River Thousand Trails.  Great breakfast and great getting to see our friends! We are hoping to find each other again along the way.  

We have another week and a half here in Lake Hills before we head out to see more family in Abilene, but since we have decided not to visit the San Antonio Riverwalk, we may just rebuild our toy rack and enjoy the wildlife and the lake until we pull out on July 1.  

All in all this has been another great leg of the trip!

Until next time . . .