The Bottom Dropped Out - Sun., Nov. 3 continued

Literally, I can't get this picture out of my head. The bottom of Jim and Peri's 5th wheel was hanging down, apparently after being totally saturated from the flood. Unbelievable. You can also see some of the sticks and twigs that got caught under the slide-out.

The underbelly of Jim & Peri's 5th wheel.

You can see through the sagging underbelly to daylight on the other side.

On our way from New Braunfels to San Marcos we stopped and picked up Subway sandwiches for lunch and took them out to the RV park. We sat at a picnic table for lunch, then started clearing out the rest of their possessions. They had cleaned out a lot of it over the previous day or two. Most everything in their "basement" was a loss. Bob helped Jim take out the washer and the two of them made a couple of trips to the storage unit they rented in San Marcos.

The water went into their 5th wheel, probably through the slides and door, saturated the carpet, and ruined all their cameras which were in a bottom cupboard. Thankfully they had time to grab the dogs and their computers before the water rose too high. The water did not go up high enough to damage anything in the bedroom or in cupboards above the floor.

The story at the RV park was that the water started coming into the park from the river about 5:30 a.m., but no one knocked on their door until 7:30 a.m. If someone had driven through the park at 5:30 a.m. and honked horns people would have had time to drive their vehicles to safety and save their things. By the time someone knocked on their door, the car they had parked in front of the 5th wheel had water up to the seat and they could not move it out of the way. Luckily they were able to save their truck!

The 5th wheel and car were totaled by the insurance company. Peri's car had already been towed away. They wanted to make sure all their belongings were out of the 5th wheel before the insurance company had the 5th wheel towed out as well.

While we were there, a tow truck came in to take another 5th wheel out.

Someone else's 5th wheel being towed out.

RVs closer to the river floated a short distance out of their sites; one even went over the bank, but it had already been towed out. Here are some pics of damage in the RV park.

The following trailer was knocked off it's supports and had floated against a tree. The tree stopped it from floating away.

Trailer wedged against tree next to its site.

The following trailer floated out of its spot, but landed with its supports still under it. You can see it is sitting on the grass and not in a site.

Same trailer as above, different angle.

Peri said the water flowed faster than that.

Letting the electrical boxes dry out.

I took the following photo so you can see all the mud that was graded off the road. Look at the middle left side of the photo. If you click to enlarge the pic you can also see the water line on the 5th wheel.

Miscellaneous debris.

Trailer knocked off supports.

The river is down in the bottom of this. You can see how the
trees are bent over from the force of the flood water.

Peri said the flood water was up to the top of the gazebo pictured below. They think the water was a total of 30-40' deep at the height of the flood. The water in the river crested over the bank, then it went to the top of the gazebo, which is at the top of the bank. That's a lot of water!

Flotsam and  jetsam stuck on the gazebo.

One thing Peri and Jim stressed to us is to make sure your insurance has enough coverage for personal belongings. Be sure you check your insurance policy to see how much coverage and how much deductible you have. They are going to up the insurance on their personal belongings after this incident.

You can see the water line, and mud caking everything.

Their kitchen floor was covered in water and mud.

While Peri and Jim were on their summer travels they had brand new decals put on the 5th wheel in Arizona and brand new axles and two new tires put on in California. Plus Jim had just finished building a new cabinet/ table combination for their dining room. What a shame to have this happen.

Soon they will be shopping for a replacement RV and car. We hope you find exactly what you're looking for and that you won't have to do a lot of work on it...ever.

Let us know if there's anything else we can do...like help you move back into a new RV.

Oh, there were a couple of other photos that may pique your interest.

The car below floated to its current location from somewhere else. It is sitting at the side of the road leading into the RV park. You can see the water line on the car.

After we left their RV park, we drove along a side road to see where the river had crossed the road. There was al locked gate blocking the road down to the river crossing. Here's why...

Debris on the bridge blocked the road.

Good night all you cats.

Travel Bug out.

Walkin' the Malls -- Thurs., Feb. 28

42 degrees outside, cloudy, with a cold wind blowing in our faces and we decided to do a 10K (6.2 mile) walk? What were Peri and I thinking? We met at 10:30 a.m. at the San Marcos Tanger Outlet Mall Visitor Center where the walk box is located. After signing in, we headed out the door and basically walked the outer perimeter of two strip malls: Tanger and Premium Outlets.

Peri prepared for the cold way better than I did. I had on a fleece sweater with a T-shirt under it. She loaned me an extra pair of gloves she had in the truck. I was so thankful because the wind had a very cold bite to it, it went right through the fleece. 

Nike.

Nice architecture on the Premium Outlets side.

These signs reminded me of Europe.

The view from outside the arches.

And the view from inside the arches.

But no Golden Arches here. The restaurants included Cracker Barrel, Outback Steakhouse, Subway (two locations), Johnny Rockets, River Grille, Wendy's, Taco Bell and a food court. About an hour into our walk, we stopped in the food court for lunch. Peri had a foot long turkey sandwich and I went to the Italian place and had a side of mac 'n' cheese with marinara sauce added to it. My lunch wasn't very big. Because Subway is having their "Februany" $5 foot long special, Peri bought the foot long because it was the same price as a 6" sandwich. She couldn't eat all of hers and offered half to me. Thank you, Peri. Your sandwich choice was very good. 

All in all it was a fun walk because we got to window shop along the way...check out all the colorful spring fashions. The following shoes are for your self protection, ladies. All you need is a bruiser dog collar and some big spiky bracelets. If your "dogs are barkin'," these are the shoes for you. LOL.

Who let the dogs out??

1960s revisited?

Neiman Marcus. See how pretty the day turned out?

I was intrigued by the 24-hour clock on Neiman Marcus. On the outside ring are Roman numerals up to 24; the inside ring has signs of the zodiac.

We had a choice on our 10k of walking two 5Ks (basically walking the mall twice) or walking the mall once, then walking three miles round trip on a sidewalk along a busy street. We chose to walk the mall twice. That way if we got really cold we could go into a store or restaurant and warm up. Plus we had the windbreak protection of the mall stores. I'm very happy we didn't walk on the main street. We would have been blasted by the wind coming from cars and trucks.

We could hardly believe how soon our walk was over. I guess Peri and I could say we Volksmarched into March.

Peri invited us to go with them to the Austin Kite Festival this coming Sunday. We will drive up to San Marcos and ride with them the rest of the way to Austin. Maybe we'll get in another Volksmarch in Austin. We'll play it by ear and see if it fits into our day.

Here are our watchcats. They keep an eye on the RV park for us, sort of, when they're not sleeping.

Bowie and Sunnie

Bob enjoyed his basketball last night. He went to the Spurs game with a co-worker. Then he came back to the 5er and watched the Portland Trailblazers. Unfortunately both teams lost at the end, but the games were exciting. As he watched the Blazer game, Bowie claimed his usual spot on the footrest lodged between Bob's legs.

Bowie bonding with "dad."

That's all folks.

Travel Bug out.

Wine, Dinner, Dancing, Walking, Pinochle -- Sat., Jan. 12

We had an invitation for dinner and dancing on Friday night. Bob's boss, Michael, asked us to go out with him and Mary. Originally, we were going to meet them at the restaurant at 7:00 p.m. You know how things change. Friday Bob called to ask me to be ready earlier and he was rather mysterious about it.

I went about my afternoon, doing laundry. Next thing I know Bob is in the laundry room at 4:20 p.m. telling me I have to be ready to go by 5:00 p.m. because a LIMO is picking us up. From the RV park? Seriously? I have 40 minutes to get ready?

He finished folding the laundry and I zipped back to the 5th wheel to change my clothes and put on a little make-up. I was ready by 5:00 p.m.! Whew.

So, there we were, standing in front of the RV park office and we saw the limousine drive by...a very long, black stretch limo. The limo must have been at least 30' long. About five minutes later, the limo came back, having missed the RV park on the first pass. He pulled into the RV park and we got in the car. The RV park manager was walking by and said, "Very nice." I don't know if they get many limos in the park.

The limo then took us an hour on the other side of San Antonio to Michael & Mary's place. They live out in the country where we saw deer in yards. We were invited in, had a quick glass of wine, and a tour of the house. They have a very lovely house and deck with pool overlooking the hills.

From there, the limo took us to dinner at A Tempo, a beautiful restaurant in Olmos Park. Beverly, a blues and sultry singer, whom they enjoy following, was singing there last night. We sat on the outdoor patio for dinner and Michael ordered two bottles of wine for all of us to share. (We were joined by another couple, Catherine and Jim, as well.) Mary and I ordered Chicken Tagine, Bob had Redfish Veronique, Catherine and Jim had mussels (which were quite yummy--they shared), and Michael had calamari steaks and crab-stuffed mushrooms. After dinner, all of us got up and danced in the aisles of the patio to Beverly's soothing, velvety voice.

The evening was perfect. All of us had a great time. We were there until Beverly quit for the night at 10:00 p.m. Four of us hopped back in the limo and we reversed the drive, dropping Michael and Mary off at their house, then we were dropped off at the RV park.

Bob and I stayed up until around 2:00 a.m. At 8:00 a.m. the alarm went off and we were up and at 'em for a jam-packed Saturday. I had my fanny pack all decked out with my Volkswalk record books, camera, cell phone, Kleenex and left it on the counter in the 5er. We had already driven about 15 minutes when I realized I didn't have it. Withdrawal. No camera today. Luckily, at sponsored Volkswalk events they have extra insert sheets for the record books, because apparently I am not the only one who forgets their books. Photos today are courtesy of Peri D. and her smartphone.

At 10:00 a.m. we met Jim and Peri at Texas Rivers Center in San Marcos, Texas for a 10K Volkswalk. The temperature was about 70 degrees and very humid. Luckily it was cloudy with a little breeze, otherwise the humidity would have been oppressive.

Texas Rivers Center, Texas State University

Aquarena Springs Lake.

Starting out fresh.

Our walk took us through the Spring Lake Preserve (here is a link to pictures from last year's Volkswalk in the Preserve--note the picture of the analemmatic sundial) where we saw an analemmatic sundial (a description of the sundial), a sickly looking xeriscape (dry landscaping) garden, and a viewpoint of the hill country. That was just the first quarter of the walk. [Note: I'm sorry for the very confusing paragraph above. It is easier for you to click the links to see and learn about the sundial than for me to try to describe it.]

From Peri--analemmatic sundial.

Viewpoint.

We progressed through a beautiful neighborhood, back to the Texas Rivers Center, then into downtown San Marcos.
 

Two hours and 15 minutes later, we were all hungry so Jim and Peri recommended Grins Restaurant in San Marcos. Great lunch, including peach cobbler for dessert. 

Grins at Grins Restaurant.

Jim and Peri had a Groupon for the Glass Bottom Boat Tour at Aquarena Springs and they graciously invited us to go with them on the tour. What a fascinating boat ride. We saw a spotted gar, bluegills, sunfish, shiners, Mexican tetras, largemouth bass, Texas River Cooters (turtles), red-eared sliders (turtles), cormorants (actually saw one eat a fish), snowy egret, some small grebes, flowering Cobomba (aquatic vegetation) and Rio Grande cichlids (a tilapia-like fish). The water is so clear. 

The glass bottom boats.

Jim and Susan interested in what guide is saying.

Texas River Cooters on log.

Aquatic vegetation and fish.

View of boat from roof of visitor center.

The springs can be seen bubbling or flowing underwater.  It's amazing how powerfully the water comes out of the ground!

The history of Aquarena Springs goes back around 12,000 years when native peoples frequented or lived in the area because of the availability of fresh water. Fast forward 12,000 years to 1946-1996 when Aquarena Springs was a major tourist attraction with glass bottom boat tours, Submarine Underwater Theater, and Ralph the swimming pig. 

In 1996, Texas State University purchased the property and changed the focus from amusement park to preservation and education. Now visitors are taught about the springs flowing from the Edwards Aquifer. I love springs anyway, so taking the tour, looking at the visitor center and doing the walk today all reinforced my love of nature.

After the glass bottom boat tour, we headed over to Jim and Peri's 5er where we played pinochle. Bob and Jim beat the socks off Peri and I. Then we played Sequence. It was very intense. You could have heard a pin drop we were so engrossed in the game. Peri made some snacks, we enjoyed a glass of apple wine that they had purchased at an abbey in Colorado and called it a night. 

We had two wonderful events in a row including last night and today. I feel like we've already done a weekend's worth of activities, but we still have Sunday left! Tomorrow, another Volkswalk.

Once again, thank you to Peri for the use of her photos from her smartphone.

Travel Bug out.