Texas - Here we are!

Texas was our big goal for the first half of our trip west. Our oldest son Joshua lives in Dallas with his wife Michal, and four of our grandchildren, Ariella "Cookie", Maya, Jonathan "Uzi", and Shira (oldest grandson Daniel is in Edinburgh in Medical School). Leaving Louisiana we stopped at one more Harvest Host location, Valle della Pace Winery in Garden Valley, TX. After settling into our site under the trees, we sampled a number of their wines. I'll be honest, I didn't have high expectations, but they were very nice, Instead of buying a bottle or two, we settled into the chairs on the terrace overlooking the vineyards and enjoyed several glasses of wine. It wasn't busy so we had a long conversation with the owner's daughter, Bethany, and learned the history of their family and the business.

The next morning we braved the miserable traffic on the highways around Dallas in the pouring rain to arrive at Josh's around noon. Happily, the rain ceased and the sun came out. Scott and Josh somehow managed to shoehorn our rig through a narrow alley and gate into their back yard. I couldn't watch. That was last Saturday and now it's a week later. We've been exploring hiking locations around the city almost every day. There has been no more rain and mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60's to 70. We took this opportunity to bring the truck in for some repairs too.

This little fellow shared our table,
snuggled into Scott's mask.

 

Our hostess and Scott at Valle della Pace winery

Jonathan, Shira, Ariella and Maya at the Botanical
Gardens in Dallas

What a beautiful place!

With lots of sculptures to horse 
around with.

As you can see...

Next, we visited the Arbor Hills Nature Center -
our favorite of the week's hikes. The trails formed
a tangled web that the kids found fascinating - so
many choices. The high road and the low road!

Jonathan and Shira joined us for a trip to 
Cedar Ridge Preserve where we hiked a 
number of shorter trails.

This beautiful mass of green/red leaves and berries
really caught my eye. I may paint it later.

One day we walked a couple of miles right
from their house to this lovely pond where
we fed the ducks and geese. 

That's Maya and Ariella studying at the kitchen
table. They are all attending school online.

My two sous chefs in the kitchen - Ariella and 
Shira. We made waffles, cake, brownies, etc.

Josh snuggles up with Shira and Ariella