When Bloggers Meet... Tues., Feb. 26

...friendship blooms. Or, in the case of Karen, friendship looms. You see Karen is a very crafty person, a fiber artist. She makes beautiful weavings on her loom. She has an Etsy website (currently on vacation) on which she sells sea shells, oops, I mean hats, socks, and rugs. If you want to learn more about fiber arts, she has a Loom-a-tic Workshop with instructional DVDs.

I have been following her blog for a while. When Colleen of Traveling with the Long Dogs told me Karen was going to be in our RV park, both of us were delighted and wanted to meet her. Wouldn't you know, Karen and Steve are in the site next to us. When they were parked and situated, they came over and we talked for a while. Colleen arrived from Schertz, Texas, a half-hour later.

Karen and Steve

Steve and Karen wanted to see Riverwalk and The Alamo. We started out by going to lunch around 1:30 p.m., but that took longer than we thought it would.

Karen & Steve at Taqueria Guadalajara.

Colleen, Susan, Karen & Steve

Next we went to Mission San Jose where we caught a 45-minute, ranger-led tour through the mission grounds. People were asking about the round "balls" in the trees. She explained that they are called ball moss and are epiphytes. Epiphytes do not cause damage to the trees and live in harmony with the tree. Mistletoe, also in the mesquite trees, is a parasite and competes with the tree for nutrients and water.

Ball moss in the mesquite tree.

Our ranger talks about ball moss.

The ranger also pointed out the following golden-fronted woodpeckers.

Golden-fronted woodpecker.

I had to use a strong zoom on this so the bird is hard to see.

Steve and Karen in front of the mission church door.

Inside the church sanctuary.

Detail of the cement work over the church door.

The altar area.

Pretty flower on the mission grounds. Identification anyone?

Spanish Dagger blooming (Yucca agavaceae)

Steve checking out the Mission San Jose Bastion.

When the tour was over we finished looking around inside the mission. Before we knew it, it was 4:15 p.m. and The Alamo closed at 5:00 p.m. Whoa, Nellie! We would be hard pressed to make it downtown, find parking and tour The Alamo in that amount of time.

We decided to finish at Mission San Jose by watching the movie, briefly scanning the museum and looking in the gift shop. From the mission we headed back to the RV park, passing by the old drive-in theater which is being refurbished. Here is what the newly painted facade looks like. At night, the painting is outlined in white neon which looks very retro and beautiful.

Once back at the RV park, we sat in Steve and Karen's MH shooting the breeze. Then it was time for Colleen and I to say our good-byes for the night. Karen told us to wait a minute because she had something for us. She then handed us each a pair of socks she made! What a sweetheart. The socks are nice and thick and will be toasty on cold nights. Thank you, Karen! We are happy ladies.

Colleen, Karen, Susan, Duke

Then Karen and Steve were off to explore the Riverwalk and have dinner. You'll have to check out her blog for the rest of their evening out.

We want to welcome new subscribers JWB (no name or website given), and Karen and Steve of RVing: The USA is Our Big Backyard. Karen and Steve set out full-time RVing and after five months bought another sticks-and-bricks house which they have been making their own. Now they have the best of both worlds, a stationary place to call home and a home on wheels. 

Time to call it a night. It's "a night!"
'Til tomorrow, sleep tight.