Camping at River Bend on the Frio River

This weekend I went camping about an hour and a half away from Eagle Pass on the Frio River. It is in "hill country" which is beautiful! I went with some of my neighbors that live here on the ranch. Some of their family owns a campground called River Bend and they invited me to come out. Last minte I decided to go. I never did take my camera to the river since water and digital cameras don't mix, but I caught a few shots I thought I would post.

A view of the campground laden with Cyprus and Mesquite trees. They are also all along the river, making for a beautiful float on a tube.

My little neighbor Brandon, with his dog, Elvis

Setting up camp under the pavilion

View from the top of the campground at the hills.

My neighbor Gentry

Ok Holly, Here's a New Post!

Eagle Point Ranch- the ranch next door neighbors:

Holly keeps bugging me that I haven't made any new posts lately. Sorry Holl and any other viewers (if there are any). I have been kinda in a funk. I go to work, hit the gym, come home beat, eat, shower, and bed. I have gone away over the last few weekends, but my camera needs new batteries... :( Here are some pics taken a few weeks back at the neighboring ranch, Eagle Point. It is beautiful there and the owners are developing it into a community. You can buy property and build to suit. Don't worry, I'm not thinking about it. If I HAD to stay, I would build here though. Check out the view of the Rio Grande from the bluffs!

Nephews- I LOVE EM!!!

I just wanted to post a blog with some of the latest nephew pics taken a few weeks ago when we all met up in PA to visit Florida relatives and the grandparents. I flew in for a long weekend from Texas and we all had a blast!

Kaeden Zayne Hinton; 4 years old and JUST like his Daddy!

Michah Lovell Hinton; 3 years old and JUST like his Auntie Kiki!Noah David Hinton; 1 year old and just as SWEET as his MommyGabriel Glenn Alan Weaver; almost 1 year old! A big name for a BIG boy full of "boy", just like his daddy!

To friends, family, and remembering good times...

I made several attempts to try to get away this weekend, but nothing seemed to pan out... So I stayed home, alone, and tried not to be too depressed about it. There is something about a holiday that just makes you wish you were with family and close friends, neither of which I have here. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of people to call "friends" here, but I miss the good old day friends- The kind when we would go camping on the bluffs at Fairhaven, or take a day trip- to Stoney Brook at hike the river, followed by swimming and a picnic; or take a week and vacation in the Adirondacks and do things we would never do in front of anyone but family and dear friends, and feel surprised we even lived to remember it...; or go to a Yankees game and walk around for hours to find a plce to eat, watching fireworks at high falls and everyone getting pissy at each other; going to VA Beach and watching my brother-in-law join the lobster family (need I say more?)

There are soooo many memories made over those years, and most take place over the holidays, vacations, and summer time. I now realize how much I took these experiences and these people for granted. I wonder if I will ever experience such wonderful friendships and adventures again. So, to my family and my dearest friends, I miss you today. I think of you often, but I truly miss the times we have shared together. I can't even find people to take a day and go to a lake here... So, I sit, typing; remembering the good old times...

If we were all together again, maybe we would be hiking waterfalls in Grimes Glenn and I would almost push megan to her death again and fall down the side of a cliff getting stung by hornets...

Or maybe we would be having a family picnic at Letchworth at the Trailside Lodge. Babies would be crawling around, women preparing food, the men (and me) playing football, and all of us just happy to be together...

Or we may be camping- with the Evans family, at Sampson State Park, riding our bikes through deserted paved military paths, swimming, riding on the boat, making s'mores over the campfire, and singing age old familiar songs by firelight and guitar...

Maybe I would be off with Alanna in the Dominican Republic again, exploring the bluffs to sunbathe, snorkeling, eating strange food, meeting people from all around the world, and learning life lessons of true friendship...

Maybe we would all go to a drive-in movie tonight and see a 2-for-1 deal. We would jam into our parents vans, take out the seats and sit them on the ground, and Steve would take out his sound system from his trunk...

Maybe this week we would be camping in the Adirondacks. Jen and I would be riding double on the wind-surf board being puled by the boat, trying to get up, and end up with massive bruises. They would later be numbed by the evening activities, and Joy would fall in the campfire. Steve would catch everything on film to blackmail us if we ever ran for political office... Holly and Ty would be caught in awkward positions, Kinyon would take 2 hours to jump from the cliff; And we would ALL wear funny hats and leave with enough memories to tell a lifetime of stories...

Or, maybe I would just be hanging out at the house with my mom and nephews, discovering how little boys make cookies, with water guns as measuring devices...

I love you all so much and miss you!

New Beds for the Beasts!

This is where they used to sleep... On my bed taking up too much of my king-size bed and leaving too much hair for me to brush off in the morning.

So, mommy decided it was time to invest in some "Prince" and "Princess" beds for her babies.

I put treats in them and brushed and petted them. It was a big hit at first, but Sebastian apparently likes pink and keeps stealing Ariel's bed. Most nights they start out in their beds, but by morning, they end up back in bed with "mommy". Good thing I don't have real kids yet. (All you real moms must be laughing, but hey, at least it's some kind of practice...)

Scorpion Scare

So, I don't have a pic to post, because from the time of death to the trash was so fast, I didn't even think to get a pic first, but I found my 3rd scorpion in the house today while my cleaning lady was cleaning the house. It was the biggest one I've seen yet, and I'm thankful my cats didn't get stung! The creatures here in Texas are something else! I have a big lizard living on the side of the house I'll try to catch a shot of soon!

Off Islanding again!

Why was I born in the North??? Didn't God know I belonged on the ocean? Well, I guess he just wanted me to have to figure it out myself- I'm sure he knew all along!

So, I was back at the bosses condo on South Padre Island again, covering for him while he was out of town- poor me. :)
My friend from Eagle Pass, Norma, and I ready to go out for a fresh sushi dinner. Boy, was it amazing! I could eat sushi every day and never get sick of it! Again, why did I grow up in Upstate NY???
This sea turtle lives at the Sea Turtle rescue mission on the island. They house injured seat turtles, most of which have had one of their flippers bit off by a shark. Believe it or not, this lucky guy is having a prosthetic flipper engineered for him by a team including a surgeon, a dentist, and and engineer! Pretty lucky little guy!
Notice the dolphin jumping in front of this huge barge on the ocean! Pretty cool!
Norma and I on the Dolphin watch cruise!