Apple Dumplin' and Titanic Tour with Ken and Vivian

Monday, March 8, I was up at 7:00. It is cloudy, warm and windy with of low of 64 and a high of 67; not much difference. I get on-line to work on journal pages and then we have a light breakfast (we have to keep having light breakfasts as we seem to be having a lot of Social Hours that entail too many calories.) Some day we'll cycle again and eat power breakfasts. It sprinkles as I put out the trash just before 9:00 a.m. Nan calls at 8:50. We decide to brave it and use umbrellas. Tom joins us as well with Roxy in tow but they leave us after one round. I'm pretty sure Roxy is happy about that; I don't know about Tom. Anyway, it turns out they were the smart ones. It really starts raining on our second round. My sweat pants and sleeves are wet when we get home. The wind almost turns our umbrellas inside out.

This morning I vacuum, clean myself up and read. We leave at 12:30, pick up a San Antonio paper at Stripes and battle a light rain to arrive at Apple Dumplin' at 12:45. They still have their CLOSED sign on the doors from the Oysterfest on Saturday and we wondered at first if they were open. They are and I tell our waitress who rips them off the door. A few minutes later our friends Ken and Vivian arrive. They live in Silver Bay, MN, but we met them at Arrowhead State Park in Oklahoma, can it be four years ago! Our two RVs were parked right next to each other and were the only units in the entire park in the fall. It is great to see them again as it has been a few years. They both look great. Ken lost 91 lbs. and is a shadow of his former self. We all talk at once it is so great to see them.

I have the Trio Salad Plate (Chicken Waldorf Salad, Black Bean Salad and Egg Salad with three mini-muffins.) What a great lunch. Bob has the tuna sandwich that he loves and Baked Potato Soup. Ken and Vivian split a sandwich and each have soup. Ken tops it off with Cinnamon Walnut ice cream (Yikes, I'm glad I didn't know they had that!) One of the couples we met at Woody Acres a few years ago (that's where Ken and Vivian are staying) come in to the cafe. It's nice to see them again. We tell Ken and Vivian that Lorraine and Bob from MN pulled us out of the mud at Woody Acres three years ago.

We invite Ken and Vivian out to Southern Oaks. They stop at a flooring/decor shop to buy a seagull yard art figurine and a True Value Hardware metal bank. They have been eyeing them and want to get them before they leave the Coast. Bob and I head home and they arrive shortly. It is raining hard when we leave the restaurant but it stops and the sun comes out by the time we get home.

They get the nickel tour of The Titanic and seem to like our new digs. It turns out they are trading in their 5th wheel for a Lance camper as they want to downsize and make driving easier. They plan to take it to Alaska next summer after getting it in May. It is so fun to visit with them. They are off to the big rodeo in Houston tomorrow. They are staying overnight in a hotel. Then they leave for Fredericksburg on 3/16. We have coffee and HEB chocolate drop shortbread cookies (my favorites). What a fun visit. I'm so glad we were able to get together before we all left. We point out Lake Murray State Park in OK as a good place to stop on their way back north.

Bob and I knock on Nan's door to see if her and Roxy want to walk. Tom is in work mode filling out an application for some Federal contract work. They saw Dan--he wanted to go to lunch but Tom is on a mission. Nan told Dan about our shrimp boil later this week.

On our walk we meet Gretchen, a mini-dachshund/Jack Russel terrier, in a red sweater with her owner Rae. Actually we saw Rae at the Grand Opening of the clubhouse. She was serving BBQ. Jerry and Ann are getting PVC delivered as we pass by their place.

Back home we're snacking and Jean, my Austin friend, returns my call. She's home from the hospital after her knee surgery on schedule today. It all went well she is happy to report. I'm so glad to hear it. We have a nice chat and she sounds great. She starts her physical therapy tomorrow and has folks staying with her this week. Her beagles rejoin her from the kennel on Friday maybe. I am so glad she called to let me know how she's doing. It's 6:35 p.m. and j66 degrees with 85% humidity.