Demolition!!

Back to Kerrville again...picking up The Daughter after
her five weeks in summer camp.

When we were in Kerrville retrieving The Daughter from
summer camp this weekend, I noticed an old Veteran's
building that was being torn down. It seems like they
are taking a long time to do it, but it looks really cool.

It actually reminds me of a building that has been damaged
from an earthquake or a bomb...



These shattered windows amazed me with their coolness:



Peace be with you.

Mid-term at The Daughter's Camp

The Daughter will be at summer camp for a total of five
weeks this year. She has already completed the first two,
and last week, they had a break before the next three
week session where the parents get to go back out there and
visit.

So we drove the 300-odd miles back down to Kerrville to
check up on her. It is about a five hour drive, so we left
on a Thursday afternoon after work, and stopped overnight
in Marble Falls, Texas, rather than making the complete
drive all at once.

(We only had about another 2 hours to go to get to Kerrville,
but we are not allowed to enter the camp until after 12
noon on Friday, so we took our time).

The weather down here in the 'Hill Country' of Texas seems
a whole lot better than it does at DFW. Down here, it was
about ten degrees cooler (only the low 90's), less humid,
and we a pretty nice breeze as well.

These are a couple views of the lake inlet next to the
Hampton Inn, where we stayed:



On Friday morning, there were lots of Turkey Vultures
flying in low circles over us, waiting for the air to get
warm enough to lift them high:

We stopped in Fredericksburg and walked around. This
was a classic old truck that seemed to stop for me just so
I could take a picture:

These are some pictures of a gorgeous Japanese garden next
to the old Nimitz Hotel:




We finally got to camp on Friday afternoon. My bride and The
Daughter went off by themselves, so I snuck away to take
some more pictures:


Water skiing is one of The Daughter's favorite activities:


Finally, we were allowed to extract her from camp
overnight, and then bring her back on Sunday for the
three-week term. I found this beautiful classic Chevy in
the parking lot of the Cracker Barrel:


We get to drive out there one more time on July 10 to pick
her up, and bring her back home.

Peace be with you.

Dropping off The Daughter at Summer Camp

So last Sunday we made the drive down to Kerrville, Texas
to bring The Daughter to summer camp. Last year she went
for 3 weeks, and that was not long enough, she did not want
to come home. So this year, she will be gone for FIVE weeks.

Since she will no longer pose willingly for photographs any
more, the only way to get a pic of her is to try to 'sneak'
one in. She was riding in the front seat during the drive,
and I sat in the back seat. I was able to steal this photo
of her reflection in the side-view mirror.

It looks funky because not only is it just a reflection of
her, you can also see the air-conditioning vent reflected
as well, causing the odd background:

I guess this part of Texas is called the 'Hill Country':

We arrived at camp, and I was unleashed with my camera.
This is the path leading towards the creek:

The water-skiing boat, and the steps descending into the
water:

The girls have to hike up these steps to get to their cabins:

This is a cast-off molting from a Cicada:

A Turkey Vulture, and the First Aid house:

The fence by the archery range, and a spider having lunch:

Finally, I believe this is some kind of fly-catcher:

Camp is good for her, she also does horseback riding,
shooting, tennis, and hiking. Otherwise, she would be
spending all summer sitting in her room stuck on the laptop.

When I was a kid, things were very different. My mom was
home, and most of my friends lived right on my same street,
and their mom's were home too. We just played outside all
day, rode bikes, played ball, or went swimming.

Today, if The Daughter and her friends are home, they
always have to be DRIVEN somewhere...to the movies,
bowling alley, arcades, etc. And while this is all fine and good,
they feel like they have to be going to one of these places
every day...and during the daytime AND the evening.

Now, I went to movies and stuff with my friends too during
the summer, but we sure couldn't afford to go every day
like they think they are entitled to today.

It is good to get her 'unplugged' for a few weeks.
The house is quiet, I miss her already.

Peace be with you.