Who IS/WAS Del Webb, Anyway??"

Yesterday, McGyver and I drove through Del Webb’s Sun City Texas, which is just about 5 miles from here.  What this amounts to is lots of homes, big, small, fancy, some more austere,…and some areas are like little cookie cutter homes, all looking just about the same..AND, obviously most of us “older adults” like golf…I’m not sure how many  courses there were, but Sun City is called a “golf cart” community….





…and you had better keep an eye peeled because they have the “right of way”, even on the roads ….Literally EVERYONE has one of these little buggies…Boy, it sure would be nice to jump in and drive down Center Street to the local pub back home in Sandwich.I  have a feeling I would get stopped by one of Sandwich’s “finest”, and end up in the Sandwich Hoosgow!!



I’m not sure if they had one continuous huge golf course, or one for every neighborhood..but, as I said, golf is the big attraction here…not for me, but McGyver does swing a club now and again…(even though he swings like a Gorilla). These houses all had very nice well manicured lawns.  I ‘m not sure if that is a perk, or you take care of your own yard…At any rate, the Cave Dwellers would be black listed the first time they lit a fire in a fire pit and turned up “Honkin’ On Bobo” on I-Tunes…not to mention my ensembles!..Could you just imagine the first time a next door neighbor caught a glimpse of me on a quiet prim and proper Texas evening??…Moi….in my Tweety happy pants and Mickey Mouse beverage mug???  “YOU TWO ARE OUTTA HERE!!”
OK…WHO is or was Del Webb, anyway??   “He was a real person and he is no longer with us.  Webb was born in Fresno, CA, the son of Ernest G Webb, a fruit farmer, and Henrietta S Webb. Webb dropped out of high school to become a carpenter's apprentice. In 1919 or 1920, Webb married Hazel Lenora Church, a graduate nurse. In 1920, Webb was a ship fitter.  At the age of 28, he suffered typhoid fever, and as a result moved to Phoenix, AZ to recover.
In 1928, Webb began his namesake company which was a construction contractor. He received many military contracts during WWII, including the construction of the Poston Relocation Center near Parker, AZ. Poston interned over 17,000 Japanese-Americans and at the time was the third largest “city” in Arizona. Webb was associated with Howard Hughes and played golf with Hughes, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope,  and Barry Goldwater.
A lifelong baseball fan, in 1945 Webb and partners Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail purchased the New York Yankees for US$2.8 million. After buying out MacPhail in October 1947, Webb and Topping remained owners of the Yankees until selling the club to CBS in 1964.
In 1948 Webb was contracted to build 600 houses and a shopping center called Pueblo Gardens in Tucson, Arizona. This was a prelude to Sun City, Arizona, which was launched January 1, 1960, with five home models, a shopping center, recreation center and golf course. The opening weekend drew 100,000 people, ten times more than expected, and resulted in a Time magazine cover story.
Webb also developed a chain of motor hotels under the “Hiway House” name, 'formal' hotels called "Del Webb's Towne House", and built the Las Vegas Flamingo hotel for Bugsy Siegel.   He later owned his own casinos, the Sahara and The Mint in Las Vegas, and the Sahara Tahoe at Stateline, NV.Webb was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2000. The Del Webb Middle School, named in his honor, opened in Henderson, Nevada in 2005.
Webb died at age 75 in Rochester, Minnesota, following surgery for lung cancer, less than two months after Topping’s death.”…NOTICE HOW I SNUCK IN A HISTORY LESSON ON Y’ALL?? ….I’M A BIG SNEAK..GET OVER IT!!
I took a walk through the Cedar trees looking for rocks yesterday afternoon.  Of course, I also hung my camera around my neck.


I need to figure just how many rocks I can stash away in the Hiker without compromising the fuel mileage!
I have always had a desire to have a couple gargoyles to place in the front of our home….Don’t ask me why, I just like them…I think it was just after watching the movie “Ghostbusters” that I got this urge..Well, here in Cedar Breaks, we have our own “dark” messengers looming near…


He sits on the big rock on the cliff behind our Hiker…watching us, and trying to intimidate us with his “wing action”….Dude, you got a face only a mother Vulture could love, seriously…
…and just WHO was he bowing to anyway??  The DARK powers that be????  Maybe I don’t want to know…
Well, that does it for Wednesday’s vaguely textbook-like blog…I took you through Sun City, (sneaking in some history),  on a walk hunting rocks, and the grand finale was Darth Vader dressed up like a Turkey Buzzard Black Vulture (thanks Judy)..Yep, this blog segued so fast it could snap your neck..

"Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week."
--Maggie Kuhn

Historic Georgetown, TX..and feeder to The Chisolm Trail.

OK….I’m giving those of you who HATE history the “heads up”…The first part of this blog is just that..You can either speed read through it,  or quickly scroll to the end…Sorry, but it’s who I am..a History Freak!

“In the early years, Georgetown depended on agriculture for their economy.  After the Civil War, reconstruction brought prosperity to Georgetown through cattle, cotton, the railroad and the university (Southwestern University).  Because it was along the feeder route that most cattle drives used, the cattle industry was big business. There were hundreds of feeder trails heading North and one of the main cattle trails ran right through what is now the Courthouse lawn. The pioneer cattlemen drove their cattle North through Texas and would strike the Chisholm Trail at Red River Station, right at the mouth of Salt Creek in Montague Co. into the Indian Territory.”

 

“The railroad arrived in 1878, being financed by many of the town’s leading citizens.  This had a profound impact on Georgetown’s growth. Related industries, such as an oil mill and cotton gin followed.  This new prosperity motivated residents to forsake their log or frame dwellings for more substantial stylish shops and homes.  It was this surge of building and planning, with Victorian storefronts which characterized the pride and elegance of the early settlers and is still evident today in the downtown.  Georgetown was designated a Texas Main Street City in 1982, and a plan to completely restore the business district evolved..Today, the Georgetown downtown historic area is one of the finest collections of stylish Victorian commercial architecture in the State of Texas”.

I love this old fire escape with it’s ornate metal work, made by the Roger’s Fence Company….There are some neat metal sculptures…

 

 

OK….a metal sculpted Scorpion is going a bit far, but it a nice piece of metal workmanship…eh?? I guess you had to be there….

 

 

 

After our great stroll around Courthouse Square, we drove to the local VFW Hall for an adult beverage…We had been here before 3 years ago.  I must explain that McGyver and I seek out either Moose Lodges (of which we are members),  American Legions or VFW’s to enjoy a cocktail with the local people..Not all of the VFW’s or Legions allow non-members, so I always send McGyver in first to ask the “powers that be” if they let the public in..Me?..I sit in the truck, just in case they throw him out…I’m the “get away driver”…Very rarely do we find that we cannot go in.

Why do we search out these places?, you ask…Well, I guess we could go into any “joint”..and have a cocktail..But we find the VFW’s and Legions are very friendly places, having lots great characters, with many great stories to tell.

OK, DENNIS…JUMP OUT AND CHECK THIS PLACE..I’LL KEEP THE TRUCK RUNNING..

Where else can you enjoy a beverage of your choice and be surrounded by so many “heroes”??…and we were again fortunate to meet a great gentleman…He and Dennis struck up a conversation…

This gentleman is a 93 year old WWII Vet who served in the Army Air Corps..(before the US had what we now call The US Air Force, where Den spent 4 years.)..Now, I have no idea what was said, but they talked a while…and Dennis isn’t sure he got this Vet’s name…He probably told Dennis his name, but “hearing well”, especially in a place with back ground noise, is NOT one of  my dear McGyver’s strong points…Sometimes I am better off sitting between Den and whomever he is conversing with , so I can relay to Dennis what is being said…But..then again, this lovely old gentleman “hero” was also somewhat hearing impaired…and so it goes, eh?

After our great time at the VFW, (where everyone was more than friendly to 2 Winter Texans from Illinois), McGyver and I decided to swing by the KFC and pick up an 8  piece bucket for dinner.  Pay attention ..this blew my brain….I walked up to the counter, scanning the prices.  I noticed one bucket of chicken without any sides was $12.99..(a little high, but we were wanting to challenge our simvastatin)…So, I told the nice young man that’s what I wanted, but I wanted all dark meat..I KNOW, I KNOW…WHITE MEAT IS BETTER FOR YOU..BUT WE DON’T LIKE IT, SO THERE!..Anyway, he rang me up before getting the chicken, telling me the total would be $14.00 and change.  Man, I could NOT help myself, looking at him and saying, “REALLY? THAT MUCH.?”..Of course I had to add “Well I guess that is with tax, but it sure seems like a lot for 8 pieces of chicken”.  (Yep, I do have trouble holding my tongue)….So…. this kid says ,“Wait, just a minute..let me see what I can do..”…and he then did a magic trick with the numbers on the register that had me in disbelief… “OK, I found a better deal..all dark meat, right?.(I’m nodding and smiling now)… “That will be $6.45”…HOLY SCHLAMOLY…WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE??? He proceeded to serve me up an 8 piece all dark meat bucket of chicken (extra crispy) “to go”…and believe me…I WENT!!!  I almost RAN out of there shaking my head …How that tab went from $14 to $6 in a matter of seconds will top my list of “steal a deal”…AND I WON!!!!

Today is sunny and warm…rain coming in with cooler weather tomorrow, and staying a few days to darken our moods…McGyver and I are thinking of doing a drive through Sun City here in Georgetown.  It’s just up the road from our park…Mind you, Den and I aren’t old people..we just want to see how the old people live!!

“Come gather ‘round me boys, and I’ll tell you a tale,

All about my troubles on the old Chisholm Trail.”

                                                                              ~lyrics from “The Old Chisholm Trail”

Sunny, Lazy Daze Here At Lake Georgetown…

These past few days have been carbon copies…Peeking out the bedroom window, we see a few clouds over the lake, turning to sunshine by 9AM…McGyver and I are becoming lazy butts, not prying our old bodies from bed until about 7:30AM…Back home we are almost always awake by 6AM and out of bed shortly after…Of course, that is probably because of the 2 huge double windows with no shades in our upstairs bedroom, and the continuous sounds of Burlington Northern blasting through our backyard.  It is slowly beginnning to occur to me just how much I enjoy these quiet camping mornings.. and how much I dread the “parade” of train horns back home…I shall be transformed from “Holly Golightly” to “The Exorcist” in a few weeks. I really need to try an attitude adjustment, but it’s hard to do when you can’t hear your TV, or talk on the telephone..Heck, I can’t even hear myself THINK!…oh well.
Like I said, the weather has been 70’s and sunny.  I have been sunning myself daily, contributing to the reason my skin looks  like a worn saddle…But I sure do love the sunshine!!  McGyver has been lighting a campfire every evening, and we have been listening to our repertoire of I-tunes through our surround sound.  (Making sure we don’t scare our neighbors with Aerosmith, The Stones, Uncle Cracker, Van Morrison and Meatloaf…!!

I have my bird feeders hung up and am getting a few Sparrows, a Titmouse or two, and some Chickadees.  I have heard some Wrens (you can’t miss their songs), and also Mockingbirds, who copy every noise including barking dogs..They need to get their OWN act and take it on the road…




We have been walking (sometimes I ride my bike instead) the roads and one of them takes us down by the dam.  This lake is down at least 15 ft. from the drought this year…I’m really glad to have my bike…but even on my trusty old lady bike, this terrain is lots of uphill and very few downhills…Makes for great cardio, but pumping up the hills is a little rough on the bad feet!



I love the twisty Cedar trees here, all knarly…The campground across the lake is vacant for some reason, but ours is filling up fast this weekend.  Tomorrow we are going into Historical Old Georgetown and do some sightseeing.  The “tour” will be followed by a stop at the local VFW to see if they will let us in for a beer and wine….They did 3 years ago when we were here last…But, if the local authorities give them “heads up to my law breaking activities this winter here in Texas.  If that word has gotten out,  we could be turned away at the door.!

You can see how far the lake is down behind those fisherman…The right hand photo is looking North down the cliff side from our camper…

The photo at right was taken from approximately the same place I took the header photo…except in the daylight….What a sunset we had that evening!! I want you to know that I used NO Picasa enhancements for that sunset photo…
I actually took a total of 5 photos of that sunset, and as it turns out, the very first photo I took was the best…but there really wasn’t a bad one in the bunch…Dumb luck!!

OK, so this has been a rather “dry” blog…Den and I have pretty much been vegging out here in the sunshine…Tomorrow we are going to be busy and I will be channeling history from the Georgetown Square and County Courthouse…. Get your pens and paper ready so you can take notes on the history lesson, and please try to limit the potty stops to ONE!!…Also…please refrain from yawning, burp noises, rude comments and fart sounds…THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THAT’S FUNNY, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE…AND SO DO I!!…THERE COULD BE A QUIZ!!!!

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream."

                                             ~ Bern Williams

We’re In Fossil Heaven!

  The Hiker has once again landed for a stay of 2 weeks. We are working our way into North Texas before the 2-3 night hop back to Sandwich, IL.  We left Goliad yesterday about 8:30AM.  Boy, it sure is handy to be able to just walk outside stoop over, pull the levers and “la dumpo” is “la dune-o!”..( yeah, I know..I ‘m considering the Rosetta Stone for Spanish.)
We did just fine on the drive, having programmed “Carlton the GPS”, and sitting back, cruising up Rt 183 to I-35 just North of Austin…Diesel prices snapped my head around like the Exorcist though, as we cruised through Luling and Lockhart..with prices as high as $4.11 a gallon.WHOA!!  We seriously MAY have to take out a 2nd mortgage to get home!…About 15 miles South of Austin, we ran into major road construction.   They are making some kind of 4 lane road (interstate?) going to Austin from the Southeast.  (No recession here in Texas!) We were detoured around and about , up and down, all over the place.…Poor Carlton..He’s an elderly gizmo..about 5-6 years old…and wasn’t aware of any road building on his pre-programmed route. Being totally a techno toy of rules and routines, he was now showing us on his screne going through pastures, wildflowers and mesquite with nada a road near us….That was one of the few times Carlton was totally quiet (which I quite enjoyed) , as he tried to re-calculate on his electronic fingers and toes just exactly where the road went!..Finally, he managed to get his act together as Rt.183 moved back into the spot is was suppose to be.  Ya just gotta love progress!
WARNING!! HISTORY LESSON TO FOLLOW!!!
“ Lake Georgetown was formerly known as North Fork Lake, on the North Fork of the San Gabriel River in the Brazos  river basin.  Lake Georgetown, formed by a rockfill dam 6,947 feet long, is used for flood control and recreation and as a water supply for neighboring communities.  Georgetown, itself,  is considered the gateway to Texas "Hill Country" (an area of gently rolling hills that stretches across Central Texas). The city was founded in 1848 by Thomas Huling and George Washington Glasscock (the city's namesake). Like many towns of the era, Georgetown started as a frontier town, but it quickly grew in both size and importance.much of this history has been preserved, both in the city's architecture and its fondness for tradition. In the Historic District in Georgetown, TX and you’ll see restored homes and other historical buildings offering a glimpse into the city's past.”
You know darn well McGyver and I will be exploring the historic district of Georgetown!!…Anyway…here is our little slice of “Fossil Heaven”…


WE are sitting high on a limestone bluff, overlooking Georgetown Lake…and OH!! THE ROCKS ARE ALIVE WITH FOSSILS!! .(A fitting spot for a couple of “old fossils” to camp).  I know this, because last time we were here, I took home enough for a large fireplace…JUST KIDDING!




This particular rock was sitting next to our firepit…Note the shell shaped fossil in it…This place could get me in a lot of trouble with McGyver .  If you have ever seen the movie “The Long, Long Trailer”, you will remember that Lucille Ball gathered so many rocks , hiding them in the camper from Ricky, that the “trailer” would  barely climb any hills…And by the way, if you haven’t seen that movie, rent it.   I think Lucy and I are somehow related.  We seem to find trouble wherever we go..We own this movie…and it is one of my “fav’s”…

I CAN RELATE TO LUCY….I ALSO THINK WE SHARE THE SAME HOURGLASS FIGURE..ESPECIALLY IN MY ENSEMBLES!!

This park is called Cedar Breaks….loaded with Cedar trees (NO, REALLY?? DUH!)..What a sweet smelling fire that wood makes.  McGyver managed to drag what looked like a partially burned stump as big as a Redwood over to our camp.   It was seriously HUGE!!  He drove the truck and put it in the back of the GMC, then hauled it out and cut it up with his little electric chain saw…McGyver just loves his “man toys”, and is a typical Caveman..He is definitely a hunter and gatherer…Me?..Well, I like to think I am Wilma Flintstone…I love her outfits…and the bone in her hair is really a lovely accent piece. HMMM>>>>Maybe I can steal one from the dog in the RV next to us…(now you know why I am in trouble so often).

Yeah, I know…I’m already getting on your nerves with my rocks and fossils obsession…I have a tendency to grab on to a topic that I love, and go nutso with it until Dennis has to remind me to “step AWAY from the computer, Donna”…So, I guess I will.  



Oh, wait!!!…I want to give a shout out to Judy, the very oh soooo sheek  birdlady of blogland.  She is a great sport to model her evening wear for us… in an attempt  (however feeble) to compete with “moi”…and my fine sense of “haute couture”…I shall have to take you under my wing, my dear,  showing you the advantages of Tweety Bird  “happy pants” , tho the Mickeys ARE quite stylish, a Rummage Sale lighthouse cardigan.. and also some stripe socks…You ARE, after all, a work in progress… a Jr. Fashionista in the making!!(please note..the photo left is NOT Judy..don't hang THAT on her!)

“Fashion magazines are society’s way of saying,” If you don’t feel inadequate already, read one of these!”~ Maxine