Week in Review: January 20 through 26, 2012

Sunday we again went to First Baptist Church of Rockport. The message was from Micah 6:6-8, “What does the Lord require of you?” This passage points out that our mission is to walk humbly with God, love mercy, and do justice. The message focused quite a bit on human trafficking. The pastor pointed out that Houston was the #1 city in the U.S. for this inhumane treatment of people, most of them women and children. (Among others these web sites will give you more detailed information on human trafficking: www.enditmovement.com, www.slaveryfootprint.org, www.polarisproject.org.) 

That afternoon we went to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge with our RV neighbors Marv and Shirley. We saw alligators—just a few feet from us (a couple of them were HUGE!), a wild boar piglet, and a 10-point buck, as well as lots of shore birds, including roseate spoonbills, white egrets and blue herons. We had hoped to see whooping cranes up close, but could only see them in the distance.

Monday was a 53 degree overcast day, with clearing late in the day. Temps hit the 70s. We decided to take a trip over to Corpus Christi, to go to Joann Fabrics for zippers (for sweaters) and Sam’s Club—mainly for chocolates and coffee.  After we returned to the trailer Dick decided to take a bicycle ride along Fulton Beach Road for about ½ hour, while I sat outside reading and sewing a zipper into the baby sweater I had just finished knitting.

Another beautiful day dawned Tuesday, although it was a little cooler than what we had Monday. Temps reached only the high 60s, but the sun was shining. We walked for 3 miles along Fulton Beach Road, looking for photo ops. Seems there’s always something to photograph.

Wednesday was another spectacular day here in Rockport, with temps reaching the high 70s, and bright sunshine. Dick decided to try fishing so he visited the Rockport Pier to wet his line. No luck. To make up for his lack of luck at fishing, I made him a batch of chocolate chip cookies. That put a smile on his face! That night we went to Charlotte Plummer’s, a local restaurant, to celebrate our anniversary.  One of their claims to fame is their shrimp gumbo…and I have to say it’s fabulous! We started with cups of the gumbo, followed by crab-stuffed flounder filet. YUM-MY!

I know it must be boring for you to read that yet another day dawned spectacularly bright and beautiful, but that’s how we welcomed Thursday—and Friday…perfect days to take our 3-mile walks, and spend outside enjoying the sunshine. We’re getting quite a bit of reading done! 

After breakfast Friday we decided to take a jaunt over to Goose Island State park, to see the “Big Tree,” purported to be over 1,000 years old.

According to climatologists, the Big Tree has survived from forty to fifty major hurricanes, numerous floods, droughts and wildfires. Although the Texas Forest Service estimates the tree to be over 1,000 years old, other recent estimates place it nearer to 2,000 years old—meaning that it would have been around when Jesus lived! How cool is that! Here are few Big Tree facts:

• Circumference:  over 35 feet
• Diameter:  over 11 feet
• Height:  over 45 feet
• Crown width:  over 90 feet

While walking near the Big Tree, we heard the “whoop” of three whooping cranes as they flew overhead. They are HUGE! Whooping cranes can stand up to 5 feet tall and have a wingspan of up to 7 ½ feet. Males weigh on average 16 lbs., while females can weigh 14 lbs.

Then, we went into the Goose Island State Park for the rest of the afternoon. We walked the very long fishing pier (didn’t fish), ate our picnic lunch along water, and enjoyed the very lovely, cloudless 76 degree day, with sunshine creating the equivalent of a billion diamonds on the water. The light breeze off the water kept us comfortable.

 Every Saturday cinnamon rolls and coffee are served at the clubhouse, all for $1.00. Rather than fix breakfast at home we decided to eat there—and, because there was also a craft show going on at the same time. (Our neighbor Marvin does wood crafting and was selling his wares, so we decided to go to support him…as well as partake of those yummy rolls…)  Another couple, from South Dakota, was selling “home-grown” honey from their acreage in South Dakota so we had to buy some of that. (Honey and cinnamon are supposed to be good for you, curing everything from heart disease and cancer, to bad breath and skin infections. I have more information on this miracle cure, so let me know if you want a copy.)  Afterwards we took our 3-mile walk along the water, and other than Dick’s 2-hour motorcycle ride to Aransas Pass and Ingleside, we relaxed for the rest of the day, spending it outside on our “patio.” (Sunday was going to be a very busy day so we needed all the relaxation we could get to prepare for it! More on that next week.)

Hope this finds you well, and healthy. We send you sunshine—at least for your hearts! Thanks again for joining us this week.

Love ‘n’ hugs,

Gail and Dick

Week in Review: January 13 - 19

Sunday, January 13 dawned cold and blustery, with spurts of rain all day. Brr... We attended the 8:30 a.m. service at First Baptist Church of Rockport, followed by breakfast at Carolyn's Turtle Bay Cafe. The cafe is a local legend, and has the best breakfast in town! Everything is home-made and lots of it...and is served on paper plates and in styrofoam cups. Pancakes are the size of dinner plates; the corned beef in the hash is the leanest I've had (freshly chopped for the hash). Our plates were empty when we left, and our tummies were full!

Monday and Tuesday were cold, rainy and breezy. Other than going out to run a few errands, we stayed close to home. When I complained to our good friend Billy about the Texas weather (he's from Texas but lives in Washington State), he told us to stick around for a few days--it'll change.  And, it did!

Wednesday the sun came out! What a wonderful site on our 31st wedding anniversary! Although the temp was only 39 degrees at 7 a.m., it warmed up to the mid 60s by noon. We walked along Fulton Beach Road for 110 minutes, including photo op stops.

America Proud

Texas Proud

Giraffe-shaped driftwood

That night, instead of going out to celebrate our anniversary, we opted to attend the RV park dinner for a $6.00 Chicken Cordon Bleu, green beans almandine, cheesy scalloped potatoes and chocolate mousse. Yum! (I'm not letting Dick off the hook, ladies; we'll be going out for dinner next week to celebrate.)

$6.00 dinner!

Last week I mentioned the flowers Dick gave me--here they are. Lovely!

Wednesday night the temps dipped to the mid 30s. Very early Thursday morning propane tank B ran out of propane, so we woke to a very cool 53 degrees inside (the furnace runs on propane). Dick braved the cold to go outside to switch to tank A and very shortly we felt the effects. Warmth! Oh, how much we take for granted! As the day went on, the temperatures climbed to the mid 60s again, so we decided to ride the motocycle to Port Aransas for a day of shopping and photo ops. Can't pass up a good day on the bike!

These photos were taken in Port Aransas, at a "tourist trap" t-shirt shop. (No, we didn't buy any:))

Friday morning we woke to a sterling day of sunshine. (Billy, you were right!) It was a good day to get the laundry done, so between short walks around the park I was able to get that accomplished. While I finished that chore, Dick washed the black beast. Then, we headed for the clubhouse for another lunch with the RVers: $3.00 hamburgers with all the fixin's. Yum! That afternoon while I knitted, Dick rode his bicycle on Fulton Beach Road.

Another sunny day dawned Saturday, with temps in the mid-70s. Was a good day for a 60-minute walk on Fulton Beach Road, and more photo ops.

Parrot-painted lawn chair. Cute!

Peaceful scene, with sunshine creating
a million diamonds on the water.

Pin oak growing sideways due to prevailing winds.

Pelican flying over Capano Bay.

Bird refuge pier at Rockport Harbor  - so many birds!

Turtles sunning themselves at a local pond.

Later we went to an arts and crafts fair at the Paws and Taws Conference Center in Fulton. It turned out to be more of a food show than anything else, so we walked away very unimpressed. Afterwards we visited a local farmers market, as well as "our favorite store," Walmart. Later that day Dick rode the motorcycle to investigate local fishing spots including the Copano Bridge fishing pier, and to talk to some local fishermen for tips and info. Here's hoping he'll go fishing soon--anxious to dig out my filet knife and get to work!

Hope this finds you well. Thanks for joining us week after week. We miss you!

Gail and Dick 

  

Rockport, TX Week in Review: January 6 through 12

This week has been a study in weather contrasts: sunny and 80 degrees to cloudy, windy, and 45 degrees. We're still hoping for sunshine and warm weather...

We awoke Sunday the 6th to 44 degrees--but sunny. The day did warm up to around 65 degrees so we could be in shirtsleeves rather than jackets. A walk around the RV park for 45 minutes got our blood moving.

Monday we decided to take a little trip to Port Aransas and Corpus Christi to explore other RV parks. Port Aransas  is located on the barrier island just off the coast of mainland Texas. It was a partly sunny day, breezy, but temps were in the 60s. Thought we should do this while the weather was decent, as rain was expected over the next couple of days. We took a 15-minute car ferry from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas, then drove along the barrier island to the causeway taking us to Corpus Christi.

We looked at three RV parks, as well as Mustang Island State Park. An exploration of other RV parks showed us just how good our site was at BayView: trees in the site, distance between sites, etc. Most parks really pack in the RVs, with little space between, and no trees except possibly in the perimeter.

(When we got to Corpus Christi we decided to stop for lunch. Don't know if any of you have had burgers at Whataburger, but this was our first experience. When we received our order we realized they were HUGE and had double meat in them. Wow! We felt like we couldn't eat for a week after that!)

Tuesday was an overcast day, with the potential of up to 2" of rain before the clouds moved out. We were able to walk for about 40 minutes around the park. Then Dick braved the elements and walked for another 40 minutes down Fulton Beach Road (just across the street from our park). Was a good day for me to stay in and work on some knitting projects. That night was really stormy, with heavy thunderstorms, and lots of rain. The weather people were right this time--we received over 2" of rain between the time it started on Tuesday and when it stopped around noon on Wednesday.

Wednesday we took another little trip to Port Lavaca, about 50 miles NE of Rockport along Highway 35. On his solo walk on Tuesday Dick met a gentleman who spoke highly of this little town of about 12,500. We  wanted to scout this area for other RV parks. Found a lovely and new park, Texas Lakeside RV Resort, in Port Lavaca. It opened last year, and boasts a lovely clubhouse with huge granite-tiled and individual restrooms with showers, heated pool, concrete pads, free WiFi and cable, and lots of grassed space between sites. The landscaping was almost done, with palm trees to be planted in the Spring. Although we're not in the market this year, we'll keep the park in mind for future trips. We looked (fleetingly) at other RV parks, and found they were quite dreadful. On the way home we encountered a few rain showers, but the skies were quite beautiful!

Thursday brought sunshine and warm temperatures, topping out in the high 70s to 80. Today our walk took us along Fulton Beach Road and the water. Lots of diving birds, including pelicans, which are so much fun to watch as they make a big splash going after their meal. They wouldn't cooperate with us for a photo, though. We walked for 60 minutes, seeing private homes and piers, pin oaks growing sideways (like the "divy-divy" trees in Aruba) caused by continuous prevailing winds off the water, and private beach clubs. That afternoon Dick rode the motorcycle into downtown Rockport to run some errands and investigate fishing stuff, the aquarium, and other miscellaneous places.

The BayView RV park, where are currently, has lots of activities for its guests. It offers everything from daily card games to line dancing classes, happy hours to ice cream socials, cinnamon rolls with coffee to craft shows. Fridays at noon they offer a $3.00 burger lunch (or $2.00 hot dogs) with all the fixin's. We did go for the burgers, which were really quite good, and we met more park guests, many who live here full time. That afternoon Dick surprised me with 2 dozen roses in a rainbow of colors to celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary (coming up on the 16th). Will post a photo of them in next week's blog, after they've opened a bit more. (He doesn't know it yet, but I've decided to keep him around for another 31 years! Shhhh!)  Being in a big fishing area we had purchased some fresh shrimp, so I tried a recipe for shrimp primavera for dinner--super easy and really good! Of course, ice cream for dessert is always good, too!

Saturday dawned cloudy, windy and cool. We walked again along Fulton Beach Road, but after 40 minutes of dealing with the wind we decided to return to the cozy comfort of our trailer and an afternoon of football. 

Rainy day in Texas

Hope this finds you all well. We're thankful for your love and friendship, and for keeping up with us on our journey.