About Bandera County, TX

Ricki Eichler & I met here on Active Rain back in November when she joined and I was one of the first members to welcome her. There was an immediate connection - of course, we're both in Texas and both with Coldwell Banker franchises but there was more to it.

We've been scheduling lunches since November and life and business kept getting in the way. But, yesterday, we were finally able to work both schedules so that we could meet in Bandera, TX (with a little tweaking of schedules throughout the morning). What was supposed to be a 12:00 o'clock lunch turned into a 1:00 o'clock lunch.

Ricki arrived a few minutes before I did and was waiting in the parking lot - directing me into town and to the parking lot. Big hugs in the parking lot and non-stop talking for the next 5 hours!

Just as we were seated in a comfortable booth and trying to stop talking long enough to order lunch, my cell phone was ringing. I checked the number and was not familiar with the area code so decided I had better answer. OMG!!! It was Lenn Harley calling from Virginia! What perfect timing - a true AR Gathering with Lenn, Ricki and me. Lenn & I chatted a few minutes and I handed the phone over to Ricki so she could speak with Lenn too. Lenn had no idea what she had stepped into!

We finally ordered our lunches and the time just flew! We had lots to talk about and plans to work out. Just as we were finishing lunch, Cheri Lynn arrived and we visited for awhile, then decided we had things to do so we better get out of there! OH WAIT!! We had to take pictures in the restaurant - K's Seafood. We took lots of pictures - hmmm, I think there were other people in the restaurant but none of us really noticed we were having way too much fun.

Ricki & Cheri Lynn have the Pomarosa RV Park in Bandera, TX listed for sale and we needed to go put the sign up. Well, I just want to say it was hilarious! The battery for the drill had very little charge left. We managed to get the sign secure but just barely. Then Ricki says, "I know where we can get another drill". And we headed to another one of her listings to "borrow" a drill. That's where the story ends...I'm pleading the 5^th!!! I will say that the sign is now very secure!

Cheri Lynn had other errands to run so Ricki & I headed to the Flying L Ranch. It is sooo beautiful out there! We were driving along the road in the Flying L Ranch and we noticed 2 adult antelope - as we got closer to them - suddenly the rest of the herd popped up out of the tall grasses and there must have been 20 or 30 of them. Running (hopping) thru the grasses, bushes and trees to take cover!! They ran so fast we couldn't get a picture of the entire herd! While we were at the Flying L Ranch, Ricki gave me a tour of another one of her listings - it's a beautiful home on the creek with a huge patio overlooking it - absolutely breathtaking.

From there she gave me a quick tour of downtown Bandera, TX. I had only been there once before and that visit was a very brief business trip. So, I really enjoyed getting the driving tour of the downtown area.

We certainly enjoyed the day and will be planning future AR Gatherings. We hope to persuade some other AR Members to join us - we promise you that it'll be a fun, memorable experience!!!

Here's a link to Ricki Eichler's post about our afternoon - "Another great afternoon, aother great AR gathering".

Another great afternoon, another great AR gathering! Only 3 of us but, oh well! It could not have been any nicer. We had a blast! I will save some of it for Judi to write about. Hopefully, she won't tell everything we did!!:)

My good friend and real estate partner Cheri Lynn Venditti joined us and we had some wonderful discussions about real estate and Active Rain. After lunch, we had a photo shoot in the restaurant. Everyone watching but not minding. We did not notice, we were having too much fun.

Next we took Judi to the Pomarosa RV Park. That is mine and Cheri Lynn's listing on Hwy 16. We finally got our big sign to go there and we needed to put it up. There is a cedar post fence along the front and we wanted to attach it with screws. You can imagine three ladies out on Hwy 16 attaching a 4 by 4 foot sign to a cedar post fence. Wouldn't you know it! The screw gun ran down and the job was only half done.

Little did Judi know what she was getting herself in for. Flagging down passing pickups with contractor looking guys in them that might have a working screw gun was not the answer. Driving back to Kerrville to get another one from home was not either. So what's a savvy Realtor to do? Go to the nearest listing and borrow one. That's as far as I'm going with this story. The job got done!

It was a wonderful lunch from 1:00pm until 6:00pm. We enjoyed the day for sure, and many more are planned. We hope to meet lots of you in the near future.

See the Black buck antelope under the tree? There are literally hundreds here in this area of the Flying L. This one let us get a good shot without getting up and running. We saw lots of babies today and we love they way they hop away.

To many in Bandera, the Cabaret is a national treasure, an historic landmark, having been on Main Street for 70 years. Many a young man and woman had their first dance there, their first kiss, their first longneck. Well, it has been sitting empty for at least 2 years now (seems to be more) while new drinking and dancing establishments have cropped up to take it's place. But not in the heart of the Bandera faithful, the Bandera Community Foundation recently met to discuss the possibility of a purchase by the foundation to give it new life as a museum and multipurpose facility.

The Foundation has 60 days to raise the $315,000 to purchase the 12,000 square foot building, by having fundraisers, soliciting donations from the community or securing grants. Sounds like a monumental task, but not for the foundation, with their "can do" attitude. The cause is great, the plans large, a western swing music museum, a local radio station, a hall for special events and entertainers- a huge draw for the town and a magnet for tourists. May they suceed in their endeavor!