Hiatus

The truth is, this blog is on hiatus. The truth is, we're not having many adventures these days. The truth is, we're just living our lives.

We're happily ensconced at a Texas hill country RV park and are kind of hunkered down.

I mentioned how our grandson, who is with us, is attending school via online public school. He...how shall I say this...simply doesn't display the initiative I still hope he will develop, and homeschooling is a five-day-a-week job for us, leaving very little time for exploration.

PLUS

We incurred some expensive repair bills for the truck and the trailer so are staying put until we get those paid off, hopefully before the end of winter. (Meaning, I hope nothing else goes wrong.)

PLUS

We are dealing with some medical issues and need to stay put for a bit to work with the medical providers on these issues.

We will do some more sightseeing over the next few months, and try to share with you, but please understand we are basically just living our lives right now. We're looking forward to being on the move next spring.

New Braunfels: The Gruene District

The Gruene (prounouced "green") district of New Braunfels has a strong grounding in the area's German heritage. It is also wildly trendy, and, being just a half hour's drive from a large city (San Antonio is America's 7th largest city!), it is a very popular destination for a weekend outing.

We hadn't realized that, and when we arrived, the streets were as jammed as any tourist spot. We found a parking place, finally, at the far end of a huge parking lot. Forget finding a parking spot on the street!

The funny thing is, we came to see a museum, which we never did find. Oh, well; we decided to just mill around with the crowd. Join us!

This old house is an inn, now.

There were places to get some Texas barbecue and listen to live music.

An antique store, now:

The "general store;" yes, that's Jan in the hat, and yes, the whole place was crowded with souvenir shoppers.

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You can taste some wine if you wish:

Or visit any of a plethora of shops:

The Texas Clay Festival was in full swing (see what I mean about parking?):

A customer in the fly fishing store was trying out a rod, with the Clay Festival as a backdrop.

There were demonstrations:

and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Someone at church said that the Gruene District is also very busy during Christmas shopping season; I can understand that, as there are so many interesting shops.

San Antonio: The Medical Museum at Fort Sam Houston

On our first expedition into San Antonio, we visited the Medical Museum at Fort Sam Houston.

This museum presents the story of American military medical care from the beginning of the story to the present, dovetailing it with concurrent medical developments and other relevant historical milestones.

The museum exceeded our expectations. As we traveled through the displays, we traveled through time, from Revolutionary War days to today.

A leech kit:

An amputation kit:

Early ambulances:

The iron lung:

An Army hospital train car:

A couple scenes inside the car:

A MASH helicopter:

A few more displays:

This museum was well worth visiting!