More Kerrville, TX

Tues., Oct. 27th thru Mon., Nov. 2nd

Today my cousin Dale and his lovely wife Delilah arrived from Corpus Christi. They are camping in their little Casita at Schreiner Park. A short drive away. They were due to arrive later in the afternoon so we said come over for dinner. I was trying a new crockpot recipe “chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.” Yes, that’s right 40 cloves! It’s French. The idea is that you’re putting in whole garlic cloves, and they are supposed to sweeten as they cook. D&D arrived in the late afternoon. So great to see them again! The last time we saw them was in February in Corpus when we stayed with them for a few days (pre-Covid). We had fun catching up with each other. Such a treat to spend time with these two! So grateful that we’ve been able to build a closer bond with each other in recent years.  They did enjoy dinner… or so they said! 

Wed., Oct. 28th

My 62nd birthday! Gary made me breakfast. Sweet! Aunt Elizabeth & Ellen & Wayne called to wish me a happy birthday. I had wonderful conversations with all of them! Mom had called a few days before. So wonderful to hear her voice! I felt very loved with Facebook and emailed b’day cards and greetings. And I even had a birthday card to open from a dear friend who had given it to me over a month before and said “open it on the day.” Thank you, Linda! 

Today we had plans to visit the Museum of Western Art with Dale & Delilah. We met up at noon at the museum. It was founded in 1893 by the Cowboy Artists of America and is housed in a beautiful hacienda-like building designed by a famed Texas architect featuring 23 brick bovedas (vaulted brick ceiling areas) and floors of mesquite wood and saltillo tile. Gorgeous.  Highlights for me included some fabulous watercolors and an actual Concord Stagecoach on display. These coaches were considered the most rapid transport in the West until the completion of the railroad. The name comes from the fact that they were built in Concord, NH beginning in 1813 (photo below). And the other highlight of the museum was seeing an M.L. Leddy saddle on display. My grandad worked there for years and his picture hangs on the wall in the M.L. Leddy store in San Angelo, TX. Leddy saddles had a “reputation for being the best with unparalleled customer service.” The sign on display said “When the President of the U.S. needs a saddle for a foreign dignitary, he calls Leddy’s.” Cool to have a family connection to that! I’m not entirely sure which President they were referring to but I’m thinking perhaps Bush Senior. 

Delilah and I visited the gift shop and she insisted upon buying me a bracelet for my birthday from an artist that we were both admiring. It’s so pretty with copper and teal. Once we figured out how I could get it on and off, we were sold on it! I put it on immediately and it complimented one of Ellen’s bracelets that I was wearing! 

After visiting the museum we headed downtown to a little family owned Mexican restaurant on Water Street. Great salsa and chips and great tacos! A find! Thank you Dale for treating us! Afterwards we wandered around the very eclectic River’s Edge Gallery in Kerrville with over 50 artists represented. We chatted with the owner for awhile who had his own body of work on display in this enormous studio… from paintings of Jesus and cowboys (not in the same painting) to vintage motorcycles he was rehabbing. Wow. There was even a vintage bar in there being sold for $20,000. As he said, “it’ll be here awhile.” Then we visited Sunrise Antique Mall with over 20,000 sq. feet of space which was located in a 100 yr. old historic building with its original tin ceiling. A fun day!!! 

We came back to our tiny home and Dale made dinner for all of us in honor of my birthday. He made a homemade roasted pasta sauce that we enjoyed with pasta and salad and garlic bread. Yum! And, to top it off, he and Delilah had brought along a homemade birthday cake from my Aunt Elizabeth. So sweet, and it was delicious!  Thank you so much Aunt Elizabeth! When I talk to my Aunt, I always feel close to Dad. They adored each other! Delilah made me one of her handcrafted birthday cards. Just beautiful. She is a talented watercolor artist and I was touched by the sentiments. This one I will keep. 

Thursday, Oct. 29th

Today we made plans to visit Fredericksburg with Dale and Delilah. It’s about a 40 minute ride from Kerrville. A charming historic German town. D&D picked us up and we headed off. First stop was the Marktplatz (city park). Located in the center of town. They already had a Christmas tree in the park and a wooden “Christmas pyramid” which apparently is a German tradition and is believed to pre-date the Christmas tree. Fredericksburg’s pyramid was handcrafted in Germany. Also in the Marktplatz was Pioneer Garden with some lovely sculptures and plants and one of the oldest buildings in Fredericksburg which is octagonal in shape and is now the Vereins Kirche Museum. The Marktplatz is also the location for the annual Octoberfest Celebration and numerous other music events with ample green space and picnic tables. Very cool to have this in the downtown area of a city. On either side of this city park are restaurants, amazing art galleries, and other downtown shops catering to foodies, western gear, etc. We had an enjoyable afternoon walking around and had lunch at Dale’s parents (and particularly his Dad’s) favorite German restaurant called The Auslander. It had a funky interior with wooden floors, a collection of German cuckoo clocks, and some animal heads on the walls. (I maybe could have done without the animal heads, but that’s just me.) The German food was delicious as was the homemade apple strudel for dessert. Since we arrived at about 3 in the afternoon, it was also quite empty which was nice from a social distance standpoint. Just a delightful day spent with D&D! They dropped us off at our tiny home in the late afternoon and we had a quiet night. 

Friday, Oct. 30th

D&D picked us up after lunch and brought us over to their home-away-from-home… we got to see their little Casita parked at Schreiner Park. Lots of deer over there. We saw a deer right outside their Casita. We did one of the hikes in Schreiner Park… made a wrong turn… and doubled back and tried it again. Then we came back to our place and played several rounds of corn hole at Troy Stadium. Great fun! We made dinner at our place… leftovers of Dale’s Roasted Pasta Sauce served over half a baked potato and a salad. The it was time to call it a day.

Saturday, Oct. 31st

We did some chores such as menu planning, grocery shopping (Gary), and booked some future reservations. I made chicken soup with the leftovers from the Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, which turned out quite good! In the afternoon, I did a 2 mile walk down by the Guadalupe River behind the campground. Gary and I played some corn hole, which I lost miserably. Since it was Halloween, trick or treat was happening from 6 to 8. We set up the table at the end of our site with candy on it and the kids could help themselves. So cute to see them in their costumes! We did an evening walk to catch the Blue Moon and saw more deer. 

D&D spent the afternoon with their daughter visiting from San Antonio. It was a short visit so we didn’t have a chance to meet Fanina. Another time! 

Sunday, Nov. 1st

Gary and I messed around in the morning then headed out for a drive to see a nearby dam we wanted to check out. Afterwards we visited Louise Hayes Park in downtown Kerrville and did a 2 mile walk. Just a beautiful park! The Kerrville River Trail encompasses this area as well. The park is on the banks of the Guadalupe River. People can come for picnics, walking, running, biking, and fishing. So pretty! I left Gary parked in the shade near the river with a duck for company, and I did a walk over to the other side of the park to see the dam over there. Just a cool spot! I saw two dams in one day. Not bad!

In the afternoon Dale & Delilah joined us for some more corn hole, and we did a combined dinner with Gary grilling some pork. After dinner the four of us did a walk to catch the almost full moon. 

Monday, Nov. 2nd

Today Andy & Linda were arriving and were going to be parked next to us for 10 days in their trailer and my other brother Bob was arriving with Deb and they had rented a cabin for 4 nights! D&D had extended their stay one more night so we could all be together. What fun! Gary & I made a Beef Bourguignon in the crockpot so we could host everyone. A&L arrived first at around 1 in the afternoon. Then D&D arrived mid-afternoon followed by Bob & Deb. So wonderful to all be together and have a chance to catch up with each other! We sat outside and visited, came in for dinner, then went back outside for a campfire. Delilah gets the gold star for suggesting the campfire and s’mores! Between us and D&D we had procured everything we needed for the campfire… and more importantly s’mores! Fireball (cinnamon whiskey) was also passed around the fire for those who wanted it. A fun time! Plus we brewed some bourbon infused coffee that Bob had brought along. AND we still had birthday cake for dessert. (Thank you again, Aunt Elizabeth! We enjoyed that for several days!) Whew! Nobody went hungry. Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes to D&D as they were headed back to Corpus Christi tomorrow. 

But we’ll look forward to a fun week with the Stapp clan… to be continued!