General Robert E. Lee, Gruene TX, and a tornado

First of all it’s Easter Sunday – Happy Easter Everyone.

Things have been interesting since our last post and you’re likely wondering what General Robert E. Lee, Gruene TX, and a tornado could possibly have in common.

Well, it goes like this.

We took a day trip to Rio Grande City last Monday for lunch in a great old hotel place we know out there. It has a rather chequered history dating back to the early 1900’s but its fun to visit and the food is great. While we were in Rio Grande City we went to an ex military base and found the home that General Lee used to live in. Unfortunately, due to a renovation we couldn’t get inside. It was nice to stand beside it though. Sort of a way to touch history and of course I took pictures. So here it is folks, the long awaited picture of General Lee’s personal residence.

Then last Wed. we packed it up and left the Rio Grande Valley. It’s hard to leave the valley every year because of friends and how much we love it there. This year we left much later than usual and although it wasn’t nice to say goodbye to our friends it was very nice to get out of the heat. Things are so hot and dry there it really is hard to handle.

The first stop was just N. of San Antonio at New Braunfels where we found the Hill Country RV Resort. It was a very nice clean spot so we hung our hats there for a few days while we explored the area and that’s where Gruene Texas comes into this.

Just a few miles North of San Antonio you’ll find Gruene TX which has history dating back to the late 1800’s. We had a great lunch at a wonderful place called the Gristmill which is actually an old cotton plant. Great food, in a unique dining environment. From there we went to explore the Gruene Dance Hall which was a real treat. It dates back to the 30’s and has been playing and dancing every since. Hank Williams used to play there before he made it big and so did George Strait. It was fun to explore the place. When you get there pictures of Gerry Lee Lewis, John Travolta, and dozens of others who have played or danced there are hanging everywhere. Standing at the same bar, where all of these legends once stood, was kind of neat. Bernie and I were trying to figure out how many beverages have been served at that old bar in the last 80 or 90 years. Considering it holds 800 people we figured it was quite a few.

We walked all over town and found some really unique shops and a great antiques store. A very fun day but the heat took a toll and we headed back to the RV.

Here are a couple of pictures of the dance hall.

Like all good things it had to end and we got back on the road where the above mentioned tornado comes into play. Our plan was an easy ride to Denton north of Fort Worth for a night in a campground we found. After an uneventful trip to Denton things changed kind of fast.

We couldn’t fit into the park at Denton so we decided to go on the Gainsville TX which is only a few miles down the freeway and no problem. We found a nice place to set up and were ready to kick back when all hell broke loose. The weather clouded in and for an hour we stood outside watching a funnel cloud forming overhead. If you’ve ever experienced it you know what I’m talking about. We got ready to move fast if we had to and waited. The hail, fortunately small, was pounding down the lightning was nonstop and this ominous cloud, rotating in a circular motion to the right, hung about a mile West of us drifting our way. We didn’t have TV but the radio said “ALL CAMPERS PACK UP AND MOVE – NOW.” All the while the town tornado sirens were blaring which really isn’t very calming. The storms were moving to the N.E. The radio told us the first twister had touched down just a few miles S.W. of us and that more and worse storms were coming. When we found out the TV show “Storm Chasers” were parked a couple of miles S. of – that was enough, we hit the road. The folks parked beside us went S. to see if they could get in behind the storm line but we decided to go N. to see if we could outrun it. I had absolutely no intention of driving through that line of storms unless I had to.

We did manage to get N. of it but we drove all the way to Oklahoma City to do so. The drive was an experience, with pouring rain, heavy wind, a bit of hail, dark black cloud and lightning that never ended. We certainly didn’t set any speed records but we made it safely to Oklahoma City where we’re going to ride out the rest of this mess. The storms are pretty bad but there are no tornados to deal with. It’s 1pm but it looks like it’s 9pm, the clouds are extremely dark and heavy.

So now you know what General Lee, Gruene TX, and a tornado have in common. Aren’t you glad you stopped in? :-)

More, hopefully from someplace dry, when we can.

Thanks for coming by, stay well, stay safe, and please leave a comment when you can.

Neal & Bernie