Week in Review: March 24-30

This week was our next to the last week in Rockport, Texas before we start our trek north. (We leave here Monday, April 8.) We have a bittersweet feeling about leaving; we’ve come to really enjoy this area and have made plans to come back to Rockport next fall, for 6 months. We’ve made some good friends while we’ve been here, as well, and they’ll be back, too.

We had sunshine all week, with variable cloudiness and temperatures from the mid-60s to the high 70s. A light breeze has kept us comfortable without the need for air conditioning.

Sunday we attended the First Baptist Church of Rockport, where they presented David Clydesdale’s, “The Borrowed Tomb.” The music and drama were well done, although it was interesting to hear the actors with Southern Texas accents! We do miss our church in Federal Way, however: the music, the creativity, and the teaching. (Pastor Scott Jones at the Rockport Church is almost as good as you, Don and Billy!)

First Baptist Church of Rockport

We spent the week enjoying the sunshine, warm weather, and friends we’ve made throughout our time here. Many will be leaving over the next couple of weeks, heading back to their homes and families. We rode our bicycles around the park every day, due to Dick’s inability to walk much, at least until his foot heals. Even after a visit to the doctor, he’s convinced it’s plantar fasciitis, and plans to heal himself with orthotics. We’ll see…

Wednesday we took time to visit the Maritime Museum in downtown Rockport. The Texas Maritime Museum has been educating visitors about the rich maritime history of Texas for over 20 years, from exploration and settlement, to boat/shipbuilding, to sports and commercial fishing, and the search for offshore oil and gas. 

It was interesting to learn of the LaSalle Odyssey, which tells the story of Robert LaSalle’s French expedition to Texas in 1684. King Louis IV’s program of colonial expansion included a claim to the Louisiana Territory which would encompass about 1/3 of the U.S. as we know it today. As we learned, LaSalle’s efforts on behalf the king were long on aspirations and short on lasting results. Thanks to his misfortunes, and a remarkable series of events, the Texas Historical Commission archeologists discovered one of the most sought-after shipwrecks in maritime history, his flagship LaBelle, in Matagorda Bay.

 

Photos above and below are scale models of LaBelle.

“The Belle remained mired in mud for 310 years, untouched but not forgotten. After years of unsuccessful searching, archeologists from the Texas Historical Commission (THC) finally found the prize in 1995. The crew discovered one of the Belle's cannons, an elaborately inscribed gun that confirmed the age and identity of the wreck. Properly excavating the shipwreck would require one of the most extraordinary engineering feats ever associated with an archeological excavation in Texas or anywhere else in the world. In 1996, at a cost of over $2 million, a double-walled cofferdam was built around the sunken ship. This allowed THC archeologists to pump out the wreck site and excavate the Belle almost as if they were on dry land.

The nine-month excavation yielded equally astonishing results: gooey gray mud had encased the Belle and sealed its contents from the air. Most of the ship's stores—wooden boxes jammed with trade goods, tools to support a variety of trades, muskets and munitions, yards of rope, cannons, dishes, and more—were found in remarkably good condition. Here, for the first time, was an intact 17th-century French colonizing kit containing everything needed to establish a colony in the New World.

The LaBelle, as she lay buried in mud.

 Even the ship's hull and timbers were intact—though water-logged and fragile—still looking very much like they did when La Salle last saw them. The timbers still bore the original numbers carved into each piece to aid the ship's builders in assembling the Belle…The quantities of astonishingly well-preserved artifacts and the ship itself represent a far more valuable and informative treasure than gold bars and silver coins.

Actual ropes and complete skeleton of a French sailor
found embedded in the muddy hull of LaBelle.

The THC's unprecedented excavation was completed in 1997…but the discoveries from La Belle did not end in Matagorda Bay. The thousands of recovered artifacts, dozens of wooden chests and barrels, and the complete set of ship’s timbers were brought to the Texas A&M Conservation Research Laboratory, where a painstaking process of cleaning, documentation, and preservation was undertaken. (A complete human skeleton was also found, completely undisturbed.)...Over a period of nine years, enormous concretions of artifacts and other remains were picked apart, conserved, analyzed, and identified, an undertaking tantamount to a second “excavation” of the shipwreck...

To date, more than one million artifacts from the Belle have been conserved and catalogued, and many of these objects are now on display in Texas museums. The ship's hull has been reassembled in a giant vat filled with water and a stabilizing compound that is gradually replacing the water and hardening the wet wood. The reconstructed Belle ultimately will be on display for public viewing in the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.” http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/belle/

Discovered in 1995, the LaBelle is being excavated in something called a “cofferdam.”   The cofferdam would effectively hold back the waters while archeologists carefully dug the shipwreck, thus enabling the crew to excavate the site and constantly safeguard the remains.

An aerial view of the cofferdam.

Inside the cofferdam, as the excavation is beginning.

 ”Nearly six months were spent building the enormous structure. Two concentric walls of interlocking steel sheet piling, each measuring roughly 57 feet long and 3 feet wide, were driven 40 feet down into the bed of the bay to encircle the shipwreck. Sand—tons of it—was then poured into the 33-foot gap between the pilings to form the wall of the coffer dam, a composite barrier intended to keep the seawater out. Once the building had been drained, however, a steady flow of leaks began. Sump pumps were set up in the bottom of the cofferdam to constantly drain water out and keep the work area reasonably dry. Screening stations and a small office were set up on the cofferdam wall. The whole structure was then covered over with a roof to provide shelter for the crews and protect the exposed wreck. The cofferdam was complete.” http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/belle/

For those of you who will be visiting this area of Texas, please make plans to see this incredible exhibit. It’s worth the time.

Thursday afternoon we went to see “Olympus Has Fallen.” When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist (Korean) mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President and avert an even bigger disaster. Starring Morgan Freeman and Gerard Butler, this is worth seeing. Exciting. Preposterous. Possible?

Friday was a day like every other day here in paradise. Sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, yada-yada-yada…  Seventeen ladies from the RV park went to lunch as a final hurrah, to the China Buffet—all you can eat for $6.80. What a feast! Everything from the usual Asian fare was available, and then some. We ate, and ate, and ate, and… What a fun time. Many of these ladies will be back next year, so there will be more times like this to look forward to, I’m sure.

That evening Dick and I went to the Good Friday and communion service at the Baptist church. These services are always such good somber reminders of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. We saw a bumper sticker earlier in the week that read, “If you can get to heaven by good works, why did Jesus have to die?”  Here’s why: our dear savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in obedience to His Father and in His unfathomable Love for us took ALL our sins upon Himself (on the cross) so we could be FREE from guilt and condemnation. Made right with God Almighty and prepared for eternity with Him. We don’t need to work for this gift—it’s free! Amen!

Who doesn't like pancakes for breakfast? Dick purchased "all you can eat pancakes" tickets at Whataburger, benefiting the American Cancer Society, for $3.00 each. So, that's what we did Saturday morning. No cooking for me! Actually, they were pretty good!

Later that day we attended a “wine and hors d’oeuvres” get together at the clubhouse, with all those RVers still here in the park. About 40 of us attended, with all sorts of appetizers available. I brought cheese and pastry wrapped (and baked) green olives--what a hit! A bit time consuming to make, but boy are they good! Live music was performed by a local gal, Janelle Reneaux. She sang to back-up tapes, but man, is she good! When not singing, she’s the head chef at a Alice Fays, a local restaurant.

Hope your week was all you hoped it would be. A special “Happy Birthday with love” goes out to our niece MacKenzie, who turned 12 on Saturday.

Blessings to you, and lots of hugs,

Dick and Gail

Week in Review: March 17 - 23

This week was real quiet on the home front. Many of the “Winter Texans” are heading home, hoping to get there before Easter. Folks from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Upstate New York, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin have either left, or will be leaving within the week. The park is looking rather empty. After looking at the national weather report, we’re happy we aren’t leaving quite yet! I spoke, yesterday, with friends Bea and Mike (we met them in Grand Portage, MN last summer) who were on their way back home to Missouri from Arizona and were caught in a snow storm in Oklahoma! The original forecast was for 11”, but may have been downgraded to only 7”. Yuck!

These are much more to our liking than snow in late March!

Temperatures have stayed pretty static through the week: lows in the 60s, and a day or two of highs in the mid-80s. The average for the week was a perfect 75, with light breezes. Hard to beat that!

Sunday was a typical day for us: church in the morning, followed by breakfast at Caroline’s Turtle Bay Café. As we walked in to Caroline’s we met Rusty and Bonnie, neighbors from the park, who had just placed their order and asked us to join them. They’re from Phillips, Wisconsin, located in the north central part of the state. Knowing they’d probably be heading into snow country, they were planning to leave Monday to make it home for Easter. Dick and Rusty talked fishing and RVing, while Bonnie and I talked recipes and cooking (she owned Bonnie’s Café in Phillips). Fun!

Fifi

As we returned to our site, we saw that other neighbors from near Victoria, Texas were getting ready to leave. What a lovely family. They had arrived Thursday, mom Annabelle and dad Adán, 2 teenaged daughters Victoria and Nadia, and their beloved Chihuahua named Fifi  (a Mexican dog with a French name…we laughed at that.)

Temperatures reached into the 80s on Sunday, so for the first time since we arrived here we turned on the air conditioning. Thankfully, the evening cooled off to the 60s so we were quite comfortable at night.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were uneventful, with temperatures in the high 70s during the day and 60s at night. Dick had somehow injured his left heel so he spent his walking time on his bicycle. I walked a bit around the park, but not the usual 3 miles we had been doing. I’m still getting my sea legs under me, on the bicycle—funny how you never really forget how to ride, but the confidence is lacking. (By the end of the week I was getting better, by just riding around the park, not on the main roads.)

Navy plane landing at Aransas County Airport,
located within 1 mile of our RV park.

Wednesday evening we had dinner at the clubhouse: happy hour at the pool, followed by corned beef and cabbage dinner—all for just $6. There were about 40 of us at happy hour, but only about 22 for dinner. Lots of food!

The pool and clubhouse

Thursday and Friday were uneventful, as well, with nothing really new to report. Dick did go to the doctor on Friday for his foot problem, but the diagnosis was inconclusive (no break or chip, no plantar fasciitis, perhaps just bruising), so he purchased a pair of orthotics hoping that will give him some relief. The doc said to continue riding the bike, not walking. We’ll see… Friday night we decided on pizza at Panjo’s, a local restaurant with really good pizza. Nice to not have to cook…J

Friday and Saturday mornings were very overcast, with a marine layer that wouldn’t skedaddle until mid-afternoon. The air was so humid, but not really warm. Weird. As I was sitting outside on Saturday, a pair of cardinals (male and female) flew within 20 feet of me, to hide in trees across the road. Such a beautiful site, but they didn’t cooperate to sit for a photo. Made banana bread and baked another batch of my grandmother’s “oatmeal crispies” cookies. (Dick says they’re really quite good, even though they don’t have any chocolate chips in them!)

Next week we’ll attempt to have a little more “fun” and provide more good stuff. Hopefully by then Dick’s foot will be healed enough where we can walk the Aransas Wildlife Preserve, the Maritime Museum, and whatever else comes our way.

We hope this finds you well. As we head into the Easter holiday, please remember that Easter isn’t about the little bunnies and chicks and candy baskets—it’s about Jesus and the unbelievable price He paid on Calvary, that we might be saved from an eternity in darkness to spend it with Him in heaven.

Blessings! We’ll see you down the road…

Dick and Gail

Week in Review: March 10-16

This week was rather uneventful. We stayed pretty much at home, with a few jaunts around the area on the motorcycle. This was also Spring Break here in Texas, so there were lots of families and kids around! These flower photos are just another reminder that Spring is just around the corner.

Sunday was a warm, but rainy, day, with temps reaching the mid-70s and the humidity exceeding that!  We attended First Baptist Church of Rockport again. This week’s message was on forgiveness, on a personal level, as well corporate. The key verse is found in the Old Testament, where Solomon is asking God for forgiveness for the children of Israel, when they sin. God answered him with four conditions for forgiveness: 1) to humble yourself by admitting your sin; 2) praying to God, asking for forgiveness; 3) seeking God always in all things; and, 4) turning away from sinful behavior.  True repentance is more than just rote talk; it’s a change in behavior.  Following these four steps earnestly will bring about forgiveness, when we sin individually, as a group, or as a nation.  II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” As believers it’s our responsibility to follow these steps, leading to forgiveness, and to pray earnestly for ourselves, our family and friends, and for our country.

After church we usually have breakfast at Caroline’s Turtle Bay Café. This week she was so busy we couldn’t find a parking spot, so we ventured out of our comfort zone to Taqueria Puerto Vallarta, just down the road. While it was good, with home-made tortillas and scrambled eggs loaded with peppers and onions, nothing beats Caroline’s corned beef hash!

Monday was another warm day, but sunny. We walked along Fulton Beach Road for about an hour, enjoying the breeze off the water. Then, we relaxed for the remainder of the day. Dick did ride the motorcycle to Rockport’s Heritage District, to survey another RV park but he was unsuccessful. I stayed back at the trailer to read. Nice day.

Tuesday morning is my morning to attend the “Stitch and…” session at the clubhouse. This week 7 of us spent about 90 minutes, knitting, crocheting, beading, etc., and catching up on the latest park news. It’s such a good way to get connected to other ladies in the park, many of whom are full-timers like us, some who live here year-‘round, and some who are here for just a week or two. I’ve learned some special stitches from these gals, as well as some lessons on RVing!

Tuesday was also our first of four sessions at Rockport’s Bay Education Center, on Science On a Sphere®, covering planets, atmosphere, land and oceans. What a fabulous afternoon!

Sphere in the Education Center. Impressive, huh!

Science On a Sphere® (SOS) is an animated globe that can show dynamic animated images of the atmosphere, oceans, and land images of a planet, beamed from satellites around the world. The sphere is just 68" in diameter weights just 50 pounds, and is suspended from the ceiling by 3 cables. It's made of carbon fiber, painted white, which reflects the images beamed to it from 4 strategically placed projectors. As of today, there are 91 spheres worldwide, and 53 in the U.S. Some fun facts about the sphere are that over 24.2 million people see the sphere every year, and over 42.3 Terabytes of real-time data is downloaded by SOS sites every year! More information is available at the SOS/NOAA site: http://sos.noaa.gov/What_is_SOS/index.html. Check it out! There may be a sphere in your area, so don't pass up an opportunity to experience it!


This photo is of the Earth, called “The Big Blue Marble,” taken at the Education Center. This is what astronauts see as they look down on us from space. The shading is true color with the oceans shades of blue, the clouds white and the lands varying from green to brown. The brown areas are the sands of the deserts.  Most of the information came from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, which is attached to the Terra satellite 435 miles above Earth. The background image of the land and oceans was created using data from June through September of 2001. This couldn’t be done in a single day or even a week because on any given day clouds are blocking a significant portion of the surface. The cloud image is a composite of three days’ worth of data. (The first two days of data were collected in the visible wavelength and the third day was needed to get a view of the clouds over the poles using thermal infrared imagery.)
Our first session was on planets. Much of what we heard we already knew, but there were a few things that were new to us. We learned specific information on planets in our solar system, how planets differ in makeup and size, and temperature. We looked forward to the next three sessions!

As the week progressed, temperatures continued to climb, with no rain in the forecast. Wednesday was no different. The temperatures rose to the mid-70s again, but the cooling breeze off the water helped keep us sane! One would think that we’d be adapting to this warm weather, but for some reason the 70 degree weather feels a lot warmer here in Texas.  Guess that shows that things are “bigger” (and hotter!) in Texas! Our second session at the Education Center was on atmosphere. In this session we learned how temperatures and wind currents help determine the location of hurricanes, tornadoes, etc., as well as the severity of weather.

Thursday brought warm temperatures early in the morning: 61 degrees by 7:30 a.m. We knew it was going to be another warm and humid day.  We relaxed for most of the day, reading and meeting more folks as they walked by our site. That afternoon we attended our third session at the Education Center: land.

In this session images were displayed of the “big blue marble” and its land masses, both above the water and below. It was interesting to learn how many mountain ridges are below the surface of the ocean, and how the earth’s plates are continually moving to form new ridges. These moving plates also cause the earthquakes so prevalent today, including the Japan earthquake in 2011 and how it affected ocean currents worldwide.

We returned to the trailer to find that the power awning fuse had blown. I extended it that morning, so we couldn’t retract the awning. The rocker switch seems to be inoperable. Just a glitch in our RVing experience! We learned how to retract the awning manually, but it needs to be attended to before we hit the road in 3 weeks. Until it’s fixed we won’t be using the awning!

Friday’s temperatures soared to near 80 degrees. The wind was near 35 mph, but thankfully we were somewhat sheltered by the pin oaks in the park.
Friday was our last session at the Education Center, on oceans. We learned how water shapes our planet and nearly every aspect of our lives. Using data sets from a variety of sources, including NOAA and NASA, we were reminded that water is the driver of Earth's dynamic systems, the source of all life on the planet, and it underscores just how rare and precious Earth's fresh water resource is. The Earth is comprised of 71% water of which 3% is fresh. Of that 3% fresh water, 2% is inaccessible , and 1% is usable. What a precious resource!

Afterwards we trekked to the Aquarium at Rockport Harbor, which features theme-based aquariums providing views of jetties, oyster reefs, offshore rigs, and indigenous sea life. The main feature during our visit was of Morley, the honeycomb moray eel, currently on display. The honeycomb moray eel is the second largest moray eel to inhabit the Indo-Pacific oceans, and resides among the reef flats and slopes of the continental reefs. Their distribution ranges from The Red Sea and East Africa to Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea north to Japan and south to Australia.

Honeycomb eels are known to reach lengths of 6 feet or more and live 25-30 years. Marley is approximately 11 years old and over 4 ½ feet in length, and is the only fish within this facility that is not native to the Gulf of Mexico. Quite impressive!

We rose Saturday to warmer temperatures in the morning, indicating that it was going to be a very warm day. Temperatures were near 80 that afternoon, with a nice breeze attempting to cool us off! We did a short bicycle ride around the park—it was just too warm to do much more. I made a wild rice casserole for dinner, one of Dick’s favorites. Thankfully, temps cooled to the low 60s during the night, allowing for good sleeping weather.

The following photos were taken of the parks around the Rockport Harbor. There are always things to see  and photograph!

We hope this finds you well, and looking forward to the first day of Spring, Wednesday, March 20
.Happy Trails!

Dick and Gail

Week in Review: March 3-9, 2013

This week’s blog is partially split between Minnesota and Texas. (I left Minnesota on the 6^th, back to Dick (er, RJ) and the warm weather of Texas.) These flower photos were taken on one of our walks.

These flower / cactus photos were taken on one of our walks.

Minnesota:

In last week’s blog I mentioned that MacKenzie spent the weekend at Grandma’s, with Grandma and me. And Dolce, MacKenzie’s 18-month old Chihuahua was there too. Sunday we rose early to make sure we could make it to church for the 9:30 service. Afterwards I served a ham dinner with all the fixin’s to Mom, brother Rich and MacKenzie. Later that day my dad’s youngest sister Millie and her husband Wayne from Renville, MN stopped by for coffee and freshly made chocolate chip cookies. They had driven up from the southern part of the state for a friend’s funeral scheduled for Monday.  Was good to see them again.

Monday brought temperatures in the 20s, with a cold, raw wind off Lake Superior. Even though the lake is about 20 miles away, it still packs quite a punch weather-wise. At 11:30 we joined six gals from Mom’s church for lunch at Trapper Pete’s, a steakhouse in Cloquet. Meeting every month for lunch, these ladies helped to continue Mom’s birthday celebration by singing Happy Birthday to her. Not one to like attention drawn to herself, she was embarrassed by this show of recognition. Happy to oblige! Set in a rustic atmosphere, Trapper Pete’s food is fabulous and inexpensive.

   

Mom's birthday flowers from RJ and Gail.

That afternoon I started a pair of wrist warmers for MacKenzie, using leftover yarn from the slipper-sox I made for her for Christmas.  Was a good day to stay in and do some knitting. We expected snow to fall late in the day, and we weren’t disappointed. It started to fall around 8 p.m. , not letting up until late Tuesday. The weatherman said to expect up to 8”–this time he was right!

Photo taken from Mom's back deck, showing
5" of the 8" we received on Tuesday.

Temperatures on Tuesday morning were just right for snow: 22 degrees at 6 a.m. By that time only 4” had fallen, but by that evening we had received the full 8”. Brother Rich plows snow when he isn’t busy with his contracting business (Cornerstone Construction), so he was busy, busy. He started plowing Monday evening, and plowed until the early morning hours on Tuesday. After just a few short hours of sleep he was back at it Tuesday morning, and with the exception of a few breaks, was plowing until about 11:30 that night. During one of his breaks he joined Mom, MacKenzie, his wife Karen and me for a pizza dinner. He was so tired! Temperatures at 8 p.m. were still in the 20s but the snow had stopped. (I was thrilled! Did not want to get snowed in and not be able to fly out on Wednesday!) Oh, and I shoveled Mom’s driveway before Rich could back with his plow—I haven’t shoveled snow like that for years!

 

Thought you’d like to see the latest photos of MacKenzie (and her dad, my brother Rich). She’s in the 6^th grade this year, and is growing up so quickly. Loved spending time with her, as I was able to do, since I picked her up from school almost every day while I was there. The 2^nd photo is of MacKenzie and her dad at the annual “Father-Daughter Ball” held in Duluth.

Wednesday morning’s temperature was 10 degrees. Brr! At least the sun was shining brightly off the new fallen snow, and it was gorgeous. Snow was hanging heavy on the trees, and the snow was such a pure white. Rich picked me up to take me to the Duluth airport, where my flight was due to leave at 12:55 p.m. We took off on time, arriving in Minneapolis with about 40 minutes to spare before my flight left for San Antonio. Dick picked me up the San Antonio airport for the 3+ hour drive to Rockport, stopping for a quick bite at Whataburger. We arrived, tired, back in Rockport and our trailer at about 9:30. Good to be home! (I need to mention that when Rich returned to Mom's after dropping me off, he found her outside on her back deck shoveling! Again, he took her "toy" away from her and hid it, hopefully in a better location this time!)

Texas:

Sunday’s temperatures were a bit cool for Texas; only about 47 degrees in the morning before church. Dick attended the 8:30 service at Rockport First Baptist, followed by breakfast at Caroline’s Turtle Bay Café.  (I was happy to hear that he was keeping up that new-founded tradition!) Later that day, when temperatures had reached almost 70, he rode his bicycle along Fulton Beach Road for about 5 miles.

Although Dick doesn’t like to be alone, he did manage to keep himself busy. Monday’s temps reached the mid-70s by noon—a perfect day for a walk. But, he reported, it was really windy! The winds, at 40 mph, made for a tough walk along Fulton Beach Road. He managed only 45 minutes rather than the usual 60. Because we’ll be here in Rockport for only another month, he worked on the route we’ll be taking on our trip north in early April. Stay tuned—more to come on that as the date for our departure draws closer.

Tuesday was another sunny but windy day, with temperatures in the mid-60s to low 70s. (Tough to hear, eh?) Dick met with Dave, a friend from another RV park; they compared notes on visiting the USS Lexington, which Dave and his girlfriend Pat did on Tuesday. Later, Dick walked 60 minutes on the Copano Bay Fishing Pier. Nope, he didn’t fish, so therefore he didn’t catch anything! (A few days ago when we talked on the phone, he said he was having fish for dinner. I asked if he caught it, since I thought he’d take advantage of my time away to go fishing. He was truthful, saying that it was from a can—tuna! Ha! I’m still waiting for fresh fish…!)

Finally, Wednesday arrived! I was coming home! Dick did his usual 60-minute walk, and then picked up the rental car to drive to San Antonio to pick me up. Then, he vacuumed the entire RV before he left. He’s such a good guy! My flight arrived on time at about 5:20. As I mentioned above, we got home about 9:30. (Marvin and Shirley, it’s just not right to look out and see that your King of the Road and Freightliner is gone!!!!)

Thursday was a typical day one has on returning from a trip: getting groceries, and residual cleaning (I dusted and Dick did the exterior windows). There’s a wonderful fruit market not far from our RV park where we picked up grapefruit, oranges, green pepper, and tomatoes. (A couple of weeks ago I picked up a quart of full-strength vanilla for $11 at that market. That should last a while!)

As it’s getting closer to April 15, we met with an H&R Block rep on Friday, to go over our taxes and file. (Our accountant back in Washington State is no longer in the business.) Glad that’s done, but we’re not liking our government very much.  We had our weekly lunch at the RV park’s clubhouse: hamburgers with all the fixin’s for $3. Yum! Then, it was time for laundry. Luckily we able to get right in at the park’s laundry facilities. With over 350 sites, you never know if equipment will be available, even though there are two laundry facilities on site. I was able to do three load simultaneously, which was great. We were done with that chore within about two hours. It was nice to be able to sit outside, enjoying the sun and slight breeze that afternoon. Nice to be home

.

After breakfast on Saturday we walked for about 40 minutes, along Fulton Beach Road. So beautiful. The sun was trying to shine through the cloudy skies, and a brisk wind was blowing off the water. Not much photo opportunity this day

.

Thursday March 7 through Sunday March 10 is the 34^th annual “Fulton Oysterfest,” in Fulton, TX, sponsored by the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department. Not wanting to miss out on the festivities, we rode the motorcycle the 5 miles to the “fest” on Saturday, during which they pay tribute to the “tasty bi-valve found in the local waters.”  And, no, we’re not raw oyster enthusiasts, preferring to just watch others enjoy this tasty(?) treat.

The Oysterfest features carnival rides, games, food, and oyster eating contests for men and women, as well as live music, vendor booths and lots of fun for all ages.  (Sorry, we did not take advantage of the rides—yup, we preferred to just watch, as most of them would’ve made us either dizzy or sick!)

One of the refreshment stands: Tropical Sweeties.

The Ferris Wheel

The Zipper loading its riders.

The Zipper spinning and rotating.

The Slide for the younger set.

The Kamikaze

The Tornado

The food and beverage tent: this was just 1/3 of the tent, with
food (shrimp, oysters, Polish sausage, fries, crab cakes, etc.)
at this end, and beer and oysters at the other. Live
entertainment was in this tent, too. The tent was HUGE!

8- and 10-year old hula dancers
were part of the entertainment.

Belly dancers, part of the entertainment. There was also
live music thrown in from 11 a.m. to midnight.

Alex from Equador, winner of the belly dancing contest!
He was really good!

These are just a few of the shots we took as we were walking around.

Last year over 36,000 people visited the Oysterfest, making it the most successful festival in Oysterfest history. Over the past 32 years funds from the festival have been used to purchase new firefighting equipment. This year proceeds will go towards a new fire station. The monies from these festivals are the major source of funding for the life-saving and firefighting equipment in the community.

Stay tuned for more fun-filled stuff next week! We wish you the best as we’re away from you.

Hugs ‘n’ Love, 

RJ and Gail