February 16-19, 2012: Natchitoches, LA: The "Steel Magnolias" Tour
	January 4-18, 2012: Our Winter Trip to Florida
	Return to the Index for 2012

We haven't been down to see our good friends, Prudence and Ron Ruckman in a while, so we have planned this trip from Sunday to Wednesday. Prudence's sister Nancy and Nancy's husband Karl are also coming down. Since Nancy and Prudence's mother died last year, Nancy has been contemplating having a home in San Antonio so she could go down more frequently to see her sister without always having to impose on her sister's B&B. Fred and I were with her at least once last year as she looked around, but now she seems to have found the house she wants. Nancy wants Prudence, Ron, Fred and I to see it before she finalizes the sale, and that is one of the purposes of our trip down here this time.

Getting to Ruckman Haus

You've probably seen a map of the route from Dallas to San Antonio before. It is pretty simple, for once you get on the Tollway south from my house, and merge onto I-35 South, it is a straight shot for about 280 miles all the way to downtown San Antonio.

We are going to try something we've not done before on this trip- take the new bypass around the city of Austin. The traffic on I-35 through Austin is regularly stop-and-go for quite a ways, but we've been told that the bypass is almost empty. (Plus, the speed limit on the bypass is 85 MPH to entice folks to use it.) It does require a toll, but the Tolltag on the car works there, so we are going to try it.

You can see the bypass route in the left hand map below; it seems that it might actually save a lot of time, for there was no traffic at all and we kept a steady 85 all the way around the city. It is longer, I think, but quicker. But it is expensive, and we might save it for those times where we might be in a real hurry.

Once in downtown San Antonio, all you have to do is follow I-35 South until you come to the exit for San Pedro Avenue. Once off the expressway, you just take San Pedro Avenue north. You can see this on the right-hand map at right.

Finally, you just take San Pedro Avenue by San Pedro Park on your left, and, one block past the park, you turn left onto French Place. Prudence and Ron have their bed and breakfast at the end of the first block on your right.

Nancy's House

After we arrived, Nancy made a date with her Realtor to walk through the house (which is empty), take some measurements and take some pictures. Nancy wanted Fred and I to take those pictures. She'll use them to plan out where the pieces of furniture that she wants to keep from her parents' house might go.

The house is a very nice one in a very new subdivision about 20 miles by car northwest of Ruckman Haus. Nancy wanted something closer, but most of the houses near Ruckman Haus were either too expensive or needed too much work. This one Nancy can decorate to her taste.

I won't bore you with the pictures we took of the house- inside and out. These are really meaningful only for Nancy and, in any case, are her business alone. But I can show you her house from the air, and a picture of us waiting with the Realtor to go in for a look. These two images are below:

Although it is a bit of a drive from Prudence's, the house is a nice one, and we expect that Nancy will be happy to have a place of her own near to her sister.

Breakfast at Taco Haven

We have been down to Ruckman Haus so often, thanks to Prudence and Ron's hospitality, that we've taken about all the pictures we can of the house and grounds. About the only time we take new ones is when we do something like go visit Nancy's new house, or do something we haven't done before.

One thing we have done before is have breakfast at a place called "Taco Haven" on the south side of downtown San Antonio. But until this visit, which I think was Tuesday morning, I hadn't had my camera with me.

Taco Haven is a very "local" place, and a lot of fun. The place, run by two families originally from Mexico, has a loyal following; it gets its name from the fact that almost everything it serves, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, is served on a taco (or rolled up in one). It is colorful inside, and the patrons are as colorful as the decoration.

I took a few good pictures inside, and you can use the clickable thumbnails below to have a look at them:

We spent the rest of our time around Ruckman Haus, and I did a bit of work on the SABBA website while Fred helped Prudence in her garden. We always have a good time on these visits, and yet again must thank Ron and Prudence for their hospitality.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	February 16-19, 2012: Natchitoches, LA: The "Steel Magnolias" Tour
	January 4-18, 2012: Our Winter Trip to Florida
	Return to the Index for 2012