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| "Thee" Evergreen Church, Evergreen, TX |
May the spirit of Christmas bring happiness to your heart,
peace and joy to your home,
and blessings to you and your loved ones.
Merry Christmas to you from Texas!
This was a week of contrasts in weather. Saturday we awoke to 69 degrees and sun. Later the temps rose to the mid-70s, and by late afternoon thunderclouds rolled in. By 10 p.m. we had heavy rain, loud cracks of booming thunder, and really bright and close lightning flashes. Quite impressive!
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| Thunderclouds just beginning to roll in. |
By Sunday morning the temperature had dipped to 43 degrees at 7 a.m. With that temperature fluctuation we experienced a windy morning, and temperatures reaching a sunny 60 in the afternoon. We took advantage of the sunshine to take a trip to Conroe, TX to visit our favorite store -- Walmart! and a visit to Sam's Club next door to stock up on supplies. The wind was quite chilly, so we were thankful for the sun!
Monday morning brought temps in the high 20s, quite a change from earlier mornings. This, we were told, was unusual for this area at this time of year. Thankfully our water hose didn't freeze--that night.
The temperatures continued to dip at night, and we awoke to another chilly morning on Tuesday--29 degrees at 5 a.m., 28 at 6 a.m., and 27 at 7:30 a.m. Yup, falling temps early in the morning. We were so thankful for our furnace. Doesn't take long at all for the trailer to warm up to a comfortable 68-70 degrees!
Dick met our neighbor John while out walking Wednesday morning, and confirmed that they would meet up around 10 a.m. to do some target shooting and fishing. John took Dick to a local pond (owned by a relative) so Dick could wet a hook. Although there were stories that 12-14" trout had been caught in the pond, they didn't catch anything. Dick said there were a lot of little perch, but no keepers. Last week I mentioned the water boiling with fish as they were fed. Here are photos of the fish. Greedy little buggers!
The day continued to get warm enough for me to sit outside to catch some rays while I read. Loved it!
Thursday morning dawned with temperatures in the high 20s. Alas, our incoming water hose froze so no water...at least until the temperatures raised enough to thaw it. By 9:30 a.m. we had water--whew! Funny how you depend on the little things. With the day getting warmer, we decided to ride the motorcycle to Coldspring to visit Old Town and its historic buildings. (Last week I gave a little history lesson on Coldspring, Old Town, the jail and hanging tree. Here are photos of the buildings and the tree.)
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| Mercantile |
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| Miss Winnie's Collectibles |
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| Post Office |
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| 2-room Schoolhouse |
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| Ellisor Corn Crib 1840 |
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| The Hanging Tree |
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| Beneath the Hanging Tree |
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| San Jacinto County Jail |
Temps were a bit warmer on Friday morning, as we packed up and prepared for our trip to Rockport, TX and the Bayview RV Resort. They were a balmy 43 degrees! The trip was about 253 miles, down through Houston on the Sam Houston Tollway. The trip was to take about 3 1/2 hours, but due to the strong headwinds the last 50+ miles it was more like 5. The tollway cost us $21; I'm sure we could've figured out another route, but this seemed like the most direct.
We arrived at Bayview RV Resort around 2:30 p.m. We checked in and headed to our "spot" but found that the pin oak trees in that spot wanted to eat our trailer, so we opted for another--much more open, no overhanging branches dropping acorns and leaves, or gnarly branches. Temps were around 73 degrees, slight breeze off the Gulf...lovely. But, oh, those darned lady bugs we picked up in Arkansas were still with us! Out with the vacuum cleaner...again...) There are 350 RV sites in this 120-acre park, but even with all the sites it doesn't feel like you're crammed in.
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| Our site |
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| Pin oak trees in the park |
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| Rose Hill Pet Cemetery at Bayview RV Park |
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| One of 2 pools. There are also 2 hot tubs on the premises. |
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| One of 2 clubhouses on the property. |
Saturday dawned overcast with temps in the low 70s by 7 a.m. After breakfast we read and computed for a while, then took a walk around the park for about an hour. Saw turtles and various birds, as well as tons of squirrels and a few feral (huge!) cats. The drought has left the park ponds very low, so apparently the alligators that inhabited the area have left for wetter grounds, er, ponds...ha! Saw a beautiful pink and white spoonbill too, and lots of Texas-style Christmas cheer that some of the RVers have put up. Thought we'd share some of that with you.
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| Spoonbill |
After lunch we took a motorcycle ride along the Gulf through Fulton and on into Rockport. Still overcast and sometimes a few "raindrops were falling on my head" (sounds like a song from days long gone...) but all-in-all it was nice. Temps were in the 70s, so it was quite pleasant. Found that white pelicans love this area, so we took advantage of that as they posed for us.
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| Christmas trees and palm trees |
Hope you continue to join us on our journey, and continue to enjoy reading our blog. We're meeting some wonderful folks, and are having a blast!
Love 'n' hugs,
Dick and Gail
A = July and August, 2012: Grand Portage, MN
B = September through October 14: Cloquet, MN
C = October 14-17 : Welcome, MN
D = October 17-19 : Kellogg, IA
E = October 19-26: Lone Jack, MO
F = October 26-November 2: Jay, OK
G = November 2-9: Checotah, OK
H = November 9- 23: Ashdown, AR
I = November 24-30: Many, LA
J = December 1-14: New Waverly, TX
K = December 15-January 14: Rockport, TX
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