Howdy Hondo

Saturday of last week we stopped at PJ Shrimp Co., filled our ice chest with fresh fish, shrimp and oysters, and said goodbye to funky little Rockport and its colorful vehicles and buildings.

Mid-morning found us en route to Hondo, Texas.  On the way, we passed scores of enormous wind turbines like these busily generating electricity.  Most were some distance off the road, but this one was close enough for us to get a good look.  Environmentalists say that these oversize windmills kill thousands of birds every year.  We looked and were relieved that we saw no dead ones on the ground.  

There was also plenty of oil drilling and pumping activity.  These pump jacks looked much larger to me than others we saw.  They dwarfed the tanker that had stopped to load crude oil.  

We stopped for a divine lunch at Rocky’s Roadside Grill in tiny Devine, Texas.  (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.)  It’s an unassuming place, and Rocky and his wife have been expanding and improving the place since it opened in 2003.  In addition to the fantastic cheeseburger and fries that John and I split, they offer a variety other sandwiches and pizza.  The dinner menu also looked interesting, and there was an impressive selection of wines.  We recommend you stop if you’re in the area.  

In Hondo, we stopped to visit RV friends Jay and Anita, whom we got to know last summer during our stay at Custer’s Gulch RV Park.  They showed us around the Escapees SKP Lone Star Corral RV Park where they are staying.  

The park is located between Hondo and D'Hanis.  Park residents have long-term leases on their RV sites and all have a definite personal touch.  Most sites have not only space to park an RV, but outbuildings.  Some of them are quite spacious and could be called “casitas.”  

Jay and Anita also showed us around the area, which includes the settlement of Old D’Hanis.  The ruins of St. Dominic’s Catholic Church are there.  The congregation was formed in 1847 when the town of D’Hanis was founded by settlers from Alsace, France.  The church was built in 1853, but has not been used for many years.  As small sign in front says that a restoration is being considered.

Tombstones in the old churchyard date from the burial of a child in 1847, and the cemetery was used until 1893.  

After our short area tour, the four of us stopped for dinner at El Charro.  The food was very good, and I had a true Texas-size "two-handed" margarita.  It was excellent as well.

We had a great time visiting Jay and Anita and exploring the area, and look forward to going back.  

On Sunday, there was a heavy fog and we knew we could not get back home in time for church.  We did have a special treat, though.  We drove into San Antonio to worship with our friends Josh and Cara de Koning.  Josh is senior pastor of the newly “planted” Harvest Bible Chapel San Antonio, and we were thrilled to join them for services.