August 13, 2010: August Birthdays (and Rudolf Lowenstein's Visit)
	June 2-16, 2010: A Trip to Fort Lauderdale
	Return to Index for 2010

Guy is going to be down at Ron and Prudence's this week for their annual trip to Big Bend. They will be leaving on Thursday this week. So we've decided to come down on Monday and stay until they leave, and then head back home ourselves.

Getting to Ruckman Haus

You've probably seen a map of the route from Dallas to San Antonio before. It is pretty simple, for once you get on the Tollway south from my house, and merge onto I-35 South, it is a straight shot for about 280 miles all the way to downtown San Antonio.

Once in downtown San Antonio, all you have to do is follow I-35 South until you come to the exit for San Pedro Avenue. Once off the expressway, you just take San Pedro Avenue north.

Finally, you just take San Pedro Avenue by San Pedro Park on your left, and, one block past the park, you turn left onto French Place. Prudence and Ron have their bed and breakfast at the end of the first block on your right.

We wanted to be down here this week not only to see Guy, but also to do a few things we hadn't done around San Antonio. Also, on the way, we made a stop in Austin to see Ty and Scott who have left Palm Springs and are now traveling around looking for the next place to alight or business to get into. We had lunch with them at Threadgill's, and they seemed to be doing quite well. Next time we see them, I'll get some pictures of them.

While we were in San Antonio, we basically hung out with Ron, Prudence and Guy, but we did do a few specific things.

Visiting the Sandy Oaks Olive Orchards

On Monday, Prudence and Fred had been talking about olive trees. Fred has wanted one or two for a while, and Prudence thought she might plant one in her garden. But where to get them? A quick Internet search turned up the Sandy Oaks Olive Orchards only about ten miles south of San Antonio. So we planned a trip down there for today. I drove Prudence's SUV and she, Fred, Guy and I headed down there. Finding it was no problem at all.

The orchards were a large affair. There was a residence, some work buildings, a gift shop, a small office structure and some buildings used for classes and demonstrations. Apparently, Sandy Oaks sells olives and olive trees all over the South and Southwest. We did not walk through the actual orchards, although you can see them in the background of this picture of some of their olive trees for sale. Both Fred and Prudence purchased some trees; they are slow growing, so don't expect Downhill Run Acres Extra Virgin Olive Oil anytime soon.

Fred was very interested in the olive trees, and spent quite some time talking with one of the employees about soil needs, watering and other aspects of growing his own trees. Meanwhile, I wandered around and after a while filmed a movie.

Sandy Oaks Olive Orchards

While standing out in the sales area with Fred, Guy and Prudence, I made a movie panning 360 degrees around the area.

Fred didn't want to carry his camera around while he was looking at olive trees, so I took it and was able to add to some of the pictures he had already taken. Click on the thumbnails below to have a look at these pictures taken at Sandy Oaks Olive Orchards:

Lunch at the San Antonio Museum of Art

For lunch on Wednesday, Prudence and Ron wanted to go down to the San Antonio Museum of Art for lunch, and so we drove the short distance from Ruckman Haus over there.

The museum has a small restaurant for museum visitors and others. To get to it, you go through the museum entry and across a small plaza. This plaza has a nice little fountain, and we stopped to take a couple of pictures. You can have a look at them by clicking on the thumbnails below:

When we got to the museum, we went through the lobby and across a courtyard to the Cafe des Artistes. We could have sat inside, but it was a nice day- perfect for sitting on the balcony overlooking the Riverwalk at the back of the cafe. While we were waiting for our lunch, we took a couple of group shots. You can look at the one Fred took here and you can look at the one I took here.

In the aerial view here, I should point out that the northern extension of the Riverwalk shows as not being completed, although we have walked it with various people since last October. So this aerial view has to be a year old or more.

At the Cafe des Artistes

While we were placing our order here at the Cafe des Artists, I borrowed Fred's camera and made a movie of our group, the cafe and the Riverwalk below.

We had an enjoyable visit with Ron, Prudence and Guy. On Wednesday night, they did all their packing for their Big Bend trip, and on Thursday morning we got up very early to see them off. We got a little more sleep and then said goodbye to the house sitters and headed off for Dallas.

You can use the links below to continue to the album page for different day.

	August 13, 2010: August Birthdays (and Rudolf Lowenstein's Visit)
	June 2-16, 2010: A Trip to Fort Lauderdale
	Return to Index for 2010