Volksmarching with Friends in Boerne - Mon., Nov. 11

Today was the first of a number of monthly group friendship walks put on by Susan and Darren M. of the Randolph Roadrunners Volksmarch group. A group of five Volksmarchers met at the start point - Comfort Inn in Boerne - to check in for the walk at 7:30 a.m. Susan M. brought out a pan of chocolate chip/berry bars for a snack. Wow, those tasted so good!

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, with cool temperatures and blue sky with high swirly clouds. The walk took us into many Boerne neighborhoods, through an old cemetery, and along Cibolo Creek.

What fun to walk and talk, getting to know people who instantly became friends. I spent time talking to Susan and her husband Darren who met in Germany while both of them were stationed there. Darlene was also fun to talk to. I knew Ellen from previous walks as she is president of the Randolph Roadrunners Volksmarch group.

While walking in neighborhoods it is fun to look at the homes, landscaping, flowers, dogs, cats, birds and historic markers.

The flowers in the photo below are huge! We asked the owner of the home what kind of flowers they were. Unfortunately I didn't write down what he told us and have forgotten the name.

Huge blooms on this plant.

Whimsical tree decor.

Morning gory vine.

As we approached the cemetery, Ellen and Darlene talked about the grave of "Hoppin' John." When we got to the cemetery, we found the headstone for "Indian John." No one in our group knew what he was famous for.

Cute home in Boerne.

Fragrant flowering bush with little white blooms.

Old church.

The Creek Restaurant overlooks Cibolo Creek.

Sculptures in front of a fine art gallery.

Darren and Susan M.

Susan A.

Ellen, Darren, and Susan M.

Darlene, me, Susan M., Ellen and Darren.

After the walk, four of us went to Taco Cabana. I had my usual: potato and egg burrito plus cold orange juice. The food tasted great after walking!

I'll close with a few kitty photos...The cats had never been in this cupboard before. I took out my file, sat down at the table, and was working on a couple of things. When I looked up, this is what I saw. Once again my busy cat, Bowie, was the instigator. You can see Sunnie trying to follow suit.

"I'm the king of the castle!"

"Hey, how'd you get up there?"

"Aha, that's how you did it." (Do you see
Bowie's head in the back of the cupboard?)

Sunnie didn't make it in the cupboard.

 After all that exploration and work I found a couple of zonked out cats.

On the way home from walking, I stopped by the biggest, most luxurious theater in San Antonio, the Palladium, to see if "Thor" was playing in IMAX 3D anytime soon. It started in ten minutes. With no time to waste, I bought my ticket, found my seat, and was fully engaged in the experience for the next two hours.

Tomorrow, I will write a review of "Thor: The Dark World" (IMAX 3D).

Good night. It's time for me to find my dark world. 

Movie Review: Captain Phillips - Sun., Oct. 13

Rain once again changes our plans to Volksmarch. The remnants of a tropical Pacific cyclone have made their way to south Texas. It looks like Oregon in winter outside, gray, gloomy and rainy. Luckily it's still warm, but not what we want to walk six miles in.

Plan B: see "Captain Phillips" with Tom Hanks. Excellent decision. If you've been boondocking or out of touch with current movies, time to catch up.

"Captain Phillips" is the true story of the Maersk Alabama's harrowing experience with Somali pirates. Tom Hanks is superb in his role as Captain Phillips. He had his crew follow orders to hide on the ship and gave them clues via radio on how to cripple part of the pirate crew. The movie provides suspense, thrills, intensity, and also mayhem on the part of the pirates.

The four main Somali pirate actors were chosen from Minneapolis' large Somali population. Barkhad Abdi, who plays Muse, decided to audition with three of his friends: Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdirahman, and Mahat M. Ali. None of them had ever acted before. The result of casting the young Somalis adds a degree of authenticity to the supporting cast.

Bob and I both give this movie five out of five stars. If you want a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, see this one.

After the movie, we went to 54th Street Grille for dinner. Bob had chicken fajitas and I had Coyote Chicken. Good stuff. Here are a few pics.

Decor of 54th St. Grille

Bob waiting for dinner.

Bob took a good photo, don't you think?

This evening after laundry, we watched "60 Minutes" and "Amazing Race." Bob is now watching the Cowboys vs. Redskins.

Have a great week everyone. Travel Bug out.

Castroville, Texas Volksmarch - Sat., Oct. 5

News here is the weather has cooled a little. Temperature at the start of the Volksmarch this morning was 76 degrees and, when I finished 2-1/2 hours later, the temp was 82. Humidity, however, has not lowered at all. I'd say it was 80% humidity.

Castroville, Texas' historical influence comes from the Alsace region of France. Historic homes have Alsation design.

Today's Volksmarch was an event sponsored by the LoneStar Walkers Volksmarch club. The start point was the Castroville Chamber of Commerce and the start/finish table and checkpoints were staffed by club volunteers.

Bob played basketball this morning, so this was a perfect activity for me to do without him. I was able to dawdle, go to Pioneer Days at the mill, and take lots of photos along the way. I'm proud of myself for doing a 10K  (6.2 mi) walk in 2-1/2 hours which included time looking at exhibits and taking over 100 photos. (When I use "we," it is a collective we including a number of Volksmarchers.)

St. Louis Catholic Church. That's me and
St. Louis in front of the church.

Original St. Louis Church, 18468

A restaurant in Castroville.

Arcadius Steinle House circa 1847.

Historical Hotel Tarde (Est. 1852)

A repurposed gas station - now an antique store.

You can buy this at the antique store.

About a mile into the walk, all walkers could get into the Pioneer Days celebration at the old grist mill for free. Bob and I had never been to the mill area before, so I had to check it out. My two favorite things were Tiny Town and the pole showing flood levels over the years.

Tiny Town had a few dioramas on display, each was meticulously put together. There is so much detail in the tiny town below which you cannot see. A 1/4" frying pan with two fried eggs in it has shaved graphite pencil lead to look like pepper on the eggs.

Tiny Town

The grist mill

Flood marker next to the two-story grist mill.

Below is the flood marker next to the grist mill to show scale on how deep the water has been over the years. A couple of pictures above, you can see how high the grist mill is above the river. Bob and I figure the highest flood waters must have been 30-40' higher than the river!

Grist mill with flood marker next to it.

The Bathhouse circa 1853

Period dress at Pioneer Days.

Volksmarchers listening to history from a volunteer.

Explaining about this pistol.

I loved walking through town and seeing all the historic houses. We then walked out to Castroville Regional Park and followed the one-mile trail around the perimeter of the park. Castroville Regional Park has an RV Park with pull through and back-in sites.

Castroville Regional Park

Long lines of cars looking for parking for soccer matches.

Soccer in the park.

Artsy drinking fountain.

Volksmarcher taking a snack break.

High-fiving after the game.

Pull-through RV site - pretty basic.

Castroville Regional Park RV sites.

Large pull-throughs.

 Out of the park now, back walking through neighborhoods...

Love the goat.

Old truck in cherry condition.

Creative mailbox.

Reppold Hus - 1875

Wild, or Britton's, petunia

Zion Lutheran Church - 1939

Toward the end of the walk, I was given permission to take a photo of the man below working in his carport doing a wood carving of a deer lying down. Real antlers are attached to its head.

Two blocks later, I was done. The Volksmarch was well attended today. After the walk it was time to go home and shower before my 1:45 p.m. hair appointment.

Saturday blog to be continued - this blog is long enough and the day is only half finished!

Stay tuned.