Justin,
We own a condo on the Island. Have since late 2006. We come a couple of times a year. The rest of the time it's in the vacation rental pool.

We were hoping for an uptick in business when the Schlitterbahn went in down the street, but nothing has really materialized. We have observed that place take off way slower than expectations. It still does not appear to be finished.

The good news is we have a good management company finally and a fair amount if repeat clients so income is remaining at reasonable levels. That and we have a cool place to visit when we want to. I retire soon and we are discussing becoming Texas residents. It is a much more veteran friendly state compared to California. That and our money will go a lot further.

-Mark

 

Concur with your observations (even tho I don't own a 5er I have a camper in the back)

Big event this weekend in Rockport, Sea Fair

Rockport-Fulton Seafair - Home

Wife and I will be down...

 

Don,
Thanks for the info about Rockport's event. We are headed back to San Antonio tomorrow and leaving to head back to home on Thrusday. Looks like we are getting some bad weather along the way. Imagine that, thunderstorms in Texas, and New Mexico. j/k.

We could sure use more rain at home. 4th year drought is hammering the well on our property. Weather guys are predicting an El Niño rain event, should bring us lots of the wet stuff. We managed 7 inches plus or minus last year, we are in the coastal mountain. Range so normal would be 20-25", an El Niño can bring three times that. Thanks goodness for lots of sandbags and wattles. LOL.

-Mark

 

I'll have to discuss with the wife on attending

 

Yeah, Schlitterbahn had a rough start because they kept expanding the plans bigger and bigger but didn't have financing in place during planning to cover the additional cost (project is 3x larger than originally planned). It's finally moving at a faster pace. Hopefully it will be complete by this time next year.

Texas is indeed a great place to live. California has the geography though. Can't get enough of the hills.

 

Hope you kept those tires. I'd contact them and get some money back.


everyone should know that ST tires are speed rated for a max of 65.

 

Scott,
I knew that going in and took my chances. They were the factory installed tires, with only the delivery miles from the factory (I'm guessing 2000 from Indiana to California), plus the 2100 we put on that we logged prior to and 1800 so far this trip one way, so less that 7500 miles. My experience with the ST tires dates back to my car hauler, we had a catastrophic blowout that did 2K damage to that trailer. I switched to BFG Commercial TA on that trailer and to Nexen, sold by Michelin dealers on this trailer. I'lll keep you posted on how these do.

-Mark

 

Mark,
We are leaving out Thur am for Rockport or I would toss you an invite for coffee. Not sure what time you will pass thru Boerne (on I 10, N of SA). Great place to eat in Boerne. Take the Hwy 87 Main Street exit for Boerne (fist exit), stay on it till you get downtown, go R on Old San Antonio Rd, (At Pops place,black/white small building. Find a place to park as you drive past the Cty Courthouse, across street is the Hungry Horse ( http://www.hungryhorsehillcountry.com ), Texas Food, LOTS of it, cheap, hometown cooking... 2 short blocks off Main (old Hwy 87, I 10 too its place). Or pass thru Boerne and take exit 533 on I 10 IIRC to PoPo's http://www.poporestaurant.com

Great food, low prices, been there forever.

Enjoy and drive safe...

Have not seen rain here since Jun IIRC, here is a pic of my pond:







El Nino arrived in Apr/May, then left...





Been clearing land and dragging my trees down in the DRY pong so I can burn them, if we get any rain...

Of course I did kill an alligator down in there with a beer bottle, LOL

 

Coffee out the nose....

I owe you one Don!!!!

Nice job on the Gator!!!!

 

LOL, glad you enjoyed...next time you are down this way, bring your beer and help me kill off some of those gators...

 

Don,
We left our RV at Alamo Fiesta Resort in Boerne, we have friends that live there in Boerne.
It was easier to hop on down to CC since there is no RV parking at our Condo.
May take you up on coffee. We plan on packing up that morning.
Not sure we'll have time but......
If the offer is still good?
-Mark

 

Mark

Good place, we stayed there about 3 mo when we bought out place and were having work done on the old house. Since you have friends here they can vouch for the Hungry Horse and PoPo's.

Not sure what time we are leaving, but wife is packing now so my guess is we are rolling first thing. Usually we pack the same day we roll, but she wants to get down early and get setup as we are staying in a new RV park.

I will talk to her when she gets back from the barn and find out her plans. Generally we pack in the early morn and leave out catching lunch over in Boerne...speaking of which.

This is good living here in the Tx Hill Country. So if you are thinking Texas (AND you should) over Ca this is a GREAT choice. We moved here from Scottsdale, AZ.

Quality of life in small town Tex is as good as it gets, especially for folks that drive Fx50 Dually's, you look like you belong, more so if you have a cowboy hat and boots.

I will shoot you a PM if the wife wants to hang around for coffee or head south. If so we we plan on meeting at the Starbucks on Bandera Rd-Hwy 46 and I 10, SE side.

 

Sounds good Don.
We are back in Boerne now.

-Mark

 

Good to hear Mark...

WHAT a DAY!

Looks like one of my batteries is not holding a charge...ok fine they are over 6 years old for sure and time for new stuff.

Got these in the RV: Sears.com

Good, I will call Sears and pick up a new set or so I thought:

Started out at about 1 or maybe a bit earlier this afternoon, its now 5:15, finally found and bought batteries. Dealing with SEARS is a NIGHT MARE, just gave up. Could not order them, stores did not know “our inventory is out of date”. Spent almost 4 hours on fone calling Sears, Sam’s club. When you ask to get transferred to Auto dept and then ask for batteries, its a BLACK HOLE, chances of talking to a human, VERY LOW, if you connect, chances of getting someone on the fone that tied their shoe laces before they came to work (because they knew how) LOWER.

OK what I am complaining about I just bought a set of Odyssey batteries (some of the best with free shipping) ODYSSEY Batteries - 31M-PC2150ST-M

I think I need a drink of something HARD after this grinder of a day...WOW, EXHAUSTED mentally to say the least.

Wife says says we are heading out, she want to get some beach time and shopping in for the last of the season and possible rain on Fri/Sat.

 

17 Oaks... I think I can offer an explanation for the problem at Sears.


You wanted the Sears Die Hard PLATINUM batteries right? These are their premium absorbed glass mat models, manufactured by Enersys, which is the same company that manufactures the Odyssey brand batteries that you eventually bought, right?


And you went to Sears first because Sears is local, has nationwide servicing facilities, generally offered these identical AGM batteries (in the past) at a lower price, and supplemented them with a longer (8 years, 4 replacement + 4 pro rata) warranty (prior to the big class action Interstate lawsuit that triggered the deletion of most pro rata battery warranties throughout the industry, with all brands following suit.)


I don't blame you. I'd have done the same, and have often recommended the same for the last 7 years, ever since Enersys partnered with Sears to remarket the Odyessy batteries under the Sears brand. Only that was then, and your experience is now.


What changed? Enersys shipped their last batch of batteries to Sears back in May. The relationship between Enersys and Sears was severed by both parties. Only Sears isn't telling anyone, not even their own employees, until Sears sells out of their existing inventory of Platinums. The last shipment back in May was a standing fulfillment order from several months prior. Sears will not get anymore Enersys built Platinum AGM batteries, but Sears is keeping that a secret until they sell out of all of the ones they have.


That leaves the employees of Sears looking incompetent, as they don't know. Unfortunately or fortunately, I knew of this a year and a half ago. I called the account manager for Sears to confirm, and he didn't even know, and said that 10,000 more batteries were scheduled to be made. Well, I said, change is afoot, and sure enough, a year and a half later, the last battery shipped and the Sears resource is OVER as far as getting an Enersys made battery is concerned.


So keep that in mind, if you are looking to Sears for an Odyssey equivalent. If you find a Group 31 (especially) or a Group 65 (less so, as these turned more), it will be at least 6 months old as sitting on the shelf. This isn't a catastrophe, as these batteries are made to handle two years of shelf life without significant depletion.


But, since all the warranties have been reduced to just 4 years replacement with no pro rata, that is a strong strike against buying it from Sears now. Why? Because they won't have any equivalent replacements by the time your already shelf aged battery might prove to be needing remediation under warranty. You will be given a lead acid replacement, and at best it might be the Gold level battery made by East Penn. At worst, it will be a random Johnson Controls battery. Neither of which are bad, but they are not the premium AGM battery you paid twice as much for.


So at the end of the day, it worked out better for you that you did not end up buying the battery at Sears. One day, their employees, and the general public, will learn that Sears doesn't have the Platinum AGM battery anymore. It's just a mystery when Sears will actually come forward and tell them, and change their website as well.