August 25-27, 2006: Prudence's Birthday
	January 6-8, 2006
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On Monday, May 29th, I took a three-day trip down to San Antonio to see Ron and Prudence and also to meet Guy, who was down there having his next fittings for his orthodontics. I always welcome the chance to see Ron and Prudence; they are such great people and I am lucky to know them. I much prefer it when Fred is along with me, but he can't get away during the week, of course, so I had to go it alone.

I took an early morning flight, and Ron met me at the airport with Guy in tow. We picked up Prudence at Ruckman Haus and did some errands. We just hung out around the house, and Guy and I had some more of our stimulating conversations. Dinner on Monday was at Tomatillo's, I think- but not until we'd had some frozen drinks (me and Prudence) and wine (Guy and Prudence and Ron). I was in the Luxembourg Room, as I recall.

We didn't do much on Tuesday either. I went with Guy to his dentist appointment and we went down to King William for lunch. In the afternoon, I showed some of our latest pictures, we ran some errands, and I discussed some alterations to the Ruckman Haus website. Dinner that night was at Canyon Cafe over in the Quarry.

But we did do something on Wednesday- we took a day trip to Johnson City and Fredericksburg. When Guy lived in San Antonio, it was his and the Ruckmans' habit to drive somewhere for the day on Thursday, which was Guy's light day at the church. But since I was leaving Wednesday night and Guy was going back to Green Bay on Thursday, we moved it up a day.

We headed north on US-281 out of San Antonio, and about twenty miles up the road we stopped for lunch at a roadhouse that Ron knew about- the Shade Tree Saloon. Lunch was burgers and fries and beer (iced tea for me), and Ron and I played a couple of games of pool on the free table.

Then we continued north, stopping in Johnson City so Prudence and Guy could wander through a couple of antique shops that they knew about. Looking through antique shops is not really my favorite activity, although you can often find interesting items even if they aren't something you'd want to own yourself. What was more interesting to me at this stop were some of the plants outside the shops:

We headed west on US-290, making a stop at Wildseed Farms, which is a nursery/gift/produce operation just east of the LBJ Ranch (stop #1). What caught my eye right away, as soon as we turned into the property, was the huge field of purple vervain that occupied the front of the property along the highway. We wandered around the place for a good while as Prudence and Guy looked at plants for her garden, and we stopped and had a drink at the little gift shop. One thing that caught my eye was a majestic stone corner waterfall that I thought would be perfect for my patio- if my patio was about nine times as large as it is. Perhaps you can get a better idea of what the fountain was like by watching the movie I made of it using the player below:

 

Just a little ways down the road, we came across a kind of "artist colony," which was actually a group of about six artist studios, each one selling the works of a local artist or two. Prudence met a couple of the artists, and found a picture that she very much liked, so we spent some time getting it boxed to take home. The courtyard area, where Ron and I relaxed while Guy and Prudence were seeing to the artwork, had a really nice fountain and pool that provided a soothing backdrop for a short snooze. Then is was off to Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg, Texas, was settled mostly by Germans in the 1800s, and is still today largely German in its population (#2 on the map). It is also rife with antique stores and various kind of craft shops. There were a couple of shops where Prudence has been before, and which sometimes get thing that she likes, but on this trip not much caught her eye. She is looking for piece of furniture for her hallway, I think, but hasn't found just what she wants. After walking around a bit, we stopped a block or two off the main road at a little neighborhood coffee, wine and snack place. I don't know quite how to describe it, but Prudence and Guy shared a bottle of wine, Ron had a drink and I had a soda or two. We shared a rather good fruit, bread and cheese tray and just passed a leisurely hour relaxing on the patio.

In the late afternoon, we headed back to San Antonio, coming into town on Interstate 10. My flight wasn't until almost nine o'clock, so I had time to get my things together and we all went to one of the restaurants at the Quarry and had dinner.

I always enjoy my time with Ron and Prudence, and this short visit was no exception.

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	August 25-27, 2006: Prudence's Birthday
	January 6-8, 2006
	Return to the Ruckman Haus Photo Gallery Page