Bay View RV Resort – February 10-16, 2014

Spring has finally sprung here in south Texas. With the exception of Tuesday when temps didn't get much higher than 45, the temperatures teased us the rest of the week, reaching the mid-60s to high 70s. Yippee-skippee!

We were able to walk quite a bit, either on Fulton Beach Road or around the park. This nice weather brings out the wildlife, so Dick was able to take some great photos of birds.

We also played quite a few games of Pegs and Jokers. Dick was working in the office Wednesday afternoon during our regularly "scheduled" game, so we could't play teams (men vs. women). We were all in it for ourselves. Bob (Missouri) and Marvin (Illinois) each won a game—sorry, guys, these don't get added to the tally guys. (Ha!)

Afterwards we stayed for happy hour, followed by dinner: homemade bean soup. The remainder of the meal was supplied by attendees: salad, rolls, dessert. Yum! Kudos to Lyn (Michigan) who made the soup. It was the best. Then, we played another couple games of Pegs and Jokers = men: 1 vs. women: 1.

Thursday morning our friends Marvin and Shirley held an RV class. (If you remember, they own an RV dealership in southern Illinois.) It was very well attended; Marv shared interesting information and answered questions for about 1½ hours.

Followed by our walk that afternoon where we were able to photograph the spoonbills, we sat outside for an impromptu happy hour at Steve's and Karen's (Wisconsin) site, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. Bob and Sharon (Missouri) joined us. Such good times sharing and laughing.

Friday was Valentine Day: cupid delivered a sunny day with temperatures in the 70s. Yea! 
We walked along Fulton Beach Road for about 40 minutes, and were able to shoot videos of spoonbills feeding in the shallows. They're so entertaining! Enjoy these short videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQombr9d4X4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbGfV_BBLnA

That evening was the Valentine Day dinner and dance: prime rib, baked potatoes with sour cream, green beans with mushrooms, and cheesecake with strawberries. There was a table decorating contest, where our table came in 3^rd. We shared the table Steve and Marty (Michigan), Steve and Karen (Wisconsin), and Bob and Sharon (Missouri). What a fun time! The prime rib was so good, and the servings were HUGE—enough to take home for another couple of meals. We were stuffed! A good time was had by all.

1st place

2nd place

3rd place

Dessert: cheesecake with strawberries

Checking everyone in for Valentine's dinner

Chef Lyn and her husband Mike (Michigan)

Folks at our table prior to dinner

80 folks were served for dinner

DJ for the dance

Saturday was "Lamardi Gras", held in Lamar, Texas, just across the bridge to the east of us. This event is sponsored by the volunteer fire department in Lamar, and raises money for their facility and upkeep of their equipment. Bob and Sharon joined us, to take in the parade at 11 a.m., followed by music and food in the new fire hall. 

Waiting for the parade to start (don't know who the
guy to my left was)

Lamardi Gras Dog waiting for the parade across from us

The following are some of our favorite floats from the parade.

Notice the dog riding along

From Caroline's Turtle Bay Cafe, one of our
favorite places to eat in Rockport.

This float and the following are
LaMartians

This photo and the next 3 are of the Little Bay Sea Queens,
a community organization that meets regularly, hosts charity events
and appears in parades throughout the Texas Coastal Bend. 

Steve (Michigan) in his new hat, playing blackjack

Table of Lamardi Gras souvenirs

Live music in the tent

Afterward Dick and I spent a couple hours playing blackjack ($20 buys $500 in chips, with all proceeds going to the fire department). We sat at a table with Lee and Lilly, a couple from Lamar, both who are teachers in Sinton. Their 9-year old daughter Sophia was with them, and we became great friends…so much so that I gave her all the Lamardi Gras beads I had collected, and she gave me a long-stemmed red rose; her parents bought us beverages. What a fun family! What a fun day! Temperatures were in the 70s, with a bright, sunny and cloudless sky. Nice.

Sophia decked out for Lamardi Gras

Sunday we attended church in the morning, followed by a quick breakfast at Whataburger on the way home. Then, Dick needed to spend some time in the office while he had access to a computer there. While he did that I spent time outside with friends Karen, Marty and Sharon—just talking.

Pastor Jones' Sunday message was on worship, taken from John 12:1-8 (where Mary washes the feet of Jesus with precious perfume), and our responsibility towards worship. The bottom line is that real worship is understanding the supreme value of a gift to the receiver…in this case is it Jesus and his purposes, or me and mine? Here’s the link to the sermon: http://fbcrockport.net/online-sermons/

It was ice cream again at 2:00, followed by Pegs and Jokers. Due to conflicting schedules, there were only 4 of us playing. We played 4 games, and again: women rule and men drool! Gals beat the guys 3:1. Woot-woot!

A bit of good news: the release of about 200 "cold stunned" turtles took place on Sunday, at the Padre Island National Seashore. If you remember from the December blogs, I mentioned the turtles and the dilemma they were facing due to the cold weather and water. The turtles need to be in temperatures of at least 50 degrees, so those rescued in November and December have been recovering at Animal Rehabilitation Keep (A.R.K.) Rehabilitation Center at the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. The weather has finally warmed to the point where they can be safely released. Over 1,000 people attended the release.

Turtles on the way to being released

A released green turtle

That evening, as we had the other nights, we spent watching the Olympics. Even though we knew the outcome of races and competitions, it was still fun to watch.

We will be leaving Rockport, on Tuesday, for a few days, driving down to South Padre Island to meet friends Bob and Nancy from Federal Way, Washington. We'll leave the camper in Rockport, though, and will stay in a hotel for the few nights we'll be gone. It'll be good to see good and old friends again, and we'll be looking forward to exploring a part of Texas that is new to us. Dick's parents used to spend winters there in their camper, so we’re anxious to see what they liked about that area.

Hope this finds you well. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

Hugs,

RJ and Gail