Author: Anna Elman

Wow, what a fun five days!  And such a fantastic group of women!

Wednesday, six of us arrived sufficiently early to set up camp and then five of us (EolaL, Jacque, SusanW, Tammy, and TracyP) enjoyed Tammy’s grill work on Wagyu steaks.  To that we added: slaw, potato salads, and grilled corn-on-the cob with butter.  SandyB joined us after her own dinner at her site.  We toured Tammy’s new rv that Santa brought.  None of us were hungry when we went to bed!  Cold that night and used an electric blankie.

Thursday, very cold morning.  Several of us went birding and walked the Onion Creek.  Some ran errands.  More campers arrived and we so enjoyed a hot campfire!  Continued to be very cold.

Friday, another cold morning.  More campers arrived.  By evening we had 17 campers:  BevT (with Chico), CarrieL, CindyS, DonnaDeG, FloM, GloriaB, Jacque, KimF (with sweet kitty Shugie Babe) , LindaBW, NancyL, SandyB, SandyO, SandyS (with Silky), SusanW and EolaL, TammyM, and TracyP.  We completed the evening with another great campfire.  About 3 am, the rain arrived.  And of course, tenters had the greatest challenge trying to stay dry.

Saturday!  Hiking and Holiday Party!  Those who attended one or both of the Saturday activities included:  BevT, CarolC, CarrieL (with Aaron), CindyS, DonnaDeG, EffieK, EolaL, FloM, GloriaB, Jacque, JanetFB, JenniferM, JennyF, JulieanneA, KarolM, KathleenC (with Baby & Mamie), KimF, KobyF (with Mikayla), LindaBW, LynsieP, MarieV, MarilynF, MartyMcG, NancyL, SandyB, SandyO, SandyS, StephanieN, SummerG, SusanW, TammyM, and TracyP,

Hike!  JennyF led our hike on the Onion Creek Trail beginning at about 10:15 am.  So much fun visiting and seeing members we had not seen in forever.  Twenty-two members hiked together.  Thank you Jenny!

Holiday Party!  New members and current members completed applications for 2022 and paid their $20.

Two tables were set up for the gear exchange.  Lots of new items and plenty of used ones.  Shoes, pants, socks, head bands, shorts, sweat shirts, jackets, slacks, shirts, a lantern, magazines, hats, caps, vests, children’s outdoor clothing, etc.  Lots of choices.  Gear left on the tables was donated to Goodwill.

Everyone brought a brown bag lunch or plate of food and beverage.  Some ate outside and some inside.  Lots of laughing and talking.  Desserts were provided:  peanut brittle, toffee chocolate bars, flan with strawberries, pecan pralines, and chocolate bars.  Yea sugar!

Lunch was followed by our White Elephant Exchange which we held inside.  The laughter, smiles, groans, and applause says it all.  Gifts were stolen and exchanged, but everyone had a fun experience because that’s how it should be!

Members helped fold and replace the tables, plus stack the chairs.  Plenty of trash to take out to the bins.

And a huge thank you to each of you who helped set up and take down.  I do enjoy the Dining Hall!  Looking forward to the Holiday Party in 2023!

Jacque

President

We had a chilly morning at the start. But with the sun out the temp kayaking was comfortable. We had 8 Town Austin women,  Debbie B, Jody R, Anna E, Gloria W, Judy A, Linda Foss, Karen K, me and one guest Debbie W who braved the cool temp! We had some wind and the water was a bit choppy. We kayaked toward Red Bud Island against the wind and current with hopes the wind would be at our backs on the return. This was Jody’s first time kayaking and she caught on quickly. Anna E, Gloria W, Judy A,Karen K and Debbie W were in the lead and kayaked around Bud Island. The rest of us kayaked to the edge of Red Bud and enjoyed floating and visiting. It was a crisp, clear morning and there were few people on the water. We all had a good time and no one was cold. The wind was at our back and we returned with the current. The Rowing Dock staff were so accommodating with getting the kayaks ready, helping us in and out of the kayaks. Afterwards we decided to have lunch at Maudies on Lake Austin Blvd. That is one popular place. We had a 20-30 minute wait but the time passed quickly visiting. Once seated we followed a tradition that Linda F started a few years back.  We go around the table and each person has an opportunity to share with everyone what they have been doing, trips taken, caring for grandkids, loss of a fur baby, activities they are involved in, hopeful future travel plans that were canceled due to COVID, getting a new fur baby.  It is always fun to be on Lady Bird Lake with a wonderful group of women!            Gail P-C