Rockport, Texas - November 18-24, 2013

Even though our blog covers the week preceding Thanksgiving week, we wanted to wish you a very happy and ful-"filling" Thanksgiving.

~~~

What a muggy start to our week in Rockport! Monday's temperatures were in the low- to mid-70s, with humidity in the upper 80s to low 90s. Ugh...the air was so thick, it was hard to breathe outdoors. Finally had to run our air conditioner!

By Tuesday the humidity had dropped somewhat, so we were able to spend more time outdoors. We always feel better when we can walk along the water, which we did Tuesday morning.

Blue Dayflowers

Pelicans: they were "fishing" so it was
difficult to get them captured. 

The pink flowers are Agalinis; notice the
white egret hidden in the background.

Even though these flowers are yellow, they're
called Texas Greeneyes.

Dick has been working with the owner of our RV park on some software issues, so that's what he did after our walk. He figures that about 40 hours will take care of their immediate needs. Also, Dick just can't be still, so he decided to pursue a part-time job at a local computer repair place, Tech Time, here in Rockport. After an interview on Wednesday they hired him to work 2 days per week, starting Thursday. He continues to work on the park software, too, so he's a busy guy!

Temperatures continued to hover in the low 70s, which was just the prelude to more wintry weather expected by the weekend. Wednesday we had our weekly dinner at the clubhouse: burgundy meatballs over noodles, green beans and salad, with pecan pie and vanilla ice cream. Yum! All for $6 per person.

Thursday morning Dick went to go to his first day of work at Tech Time. (I'm packing a lunch for him, too!) He works 8 a.m. to almost 6 p.m., which is a long day--for both of us. It was weird having him gone so long, although I did manage to fill my day with reading, knitting and riding my bike.

Friday was our last morning of warm weather; the temps were in the mid-70s when Dick left for work at 7:45 a.m., with the threat of rain throughout the day. By 9:30 a.m. the temps had dropped by 20 degrees, and continued to drop throughout the day and night. The wind started, and then the rain. Brr!

By Saturday morning the temperatures hit a new low: 40 degrees. Good thing the furnace in our trailer works so well! We needed it! (and continue to need it!) It was a perfect day to run errands and have a quick breakfast out, so we stopped at a local McDonalds on our way to the Dollar Store and WalMart. Afterwards, Dick spent part of the day at the RV office working on their software issues, while I finished up some Christmas gifts.

Sunday morning's temperatures were in the high 40s--after Friday and Saturday it felt like a heat wave! Jordan Mims, the youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockport, brought the message that morning. He spoke on the importance of leading your family spiritually; his scripture references, although found in the Old Testament, are still relevant today: Deuteronomy 6:1-12, Joshua 24:14-18, and Judges 2:6-12. With so many broken homes today, this is more important than ever.

Temperatures continued to hover in the 40s throughout the day, and the report is that they will continue like this through the first part of the week. By Thanksgiving Day they'll reach the mid-60s, with bright sunshine. SO looking forward to that!

We hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving, with family and good friends surrounding you, filling your lives and homes with love, laughter, and lots of good eating.

Blessings,
Dick and Gail

Bayview RV Resort – November 11-17, 2013

Another day, umm, week in paradise!

This week brought beautiful sunny days with temperatures ranging from the low 40s on Wednesday, to the mid-80s on Saturday and Sunday. Quite a contrast! Every day was pretty much the same: sunshine, cloudless skies, temperatures warming to the mid-70s, a slight breeze off the Gulf.  Wednesday brought a cold front from the north, giving us morning temperatures in the mid-40s; quite cold for this time of year, and for this area. The sun was shining, though, and by the afternoon temperatures had reached the mid-60s.  

 Every day we walked somewhere: either through the park, or down Fulton Beach Road to see the water. If we didn’t walk we rode our bikes.

Tuesday we took a break from our normal pattern and went to see “Last Vegas,” starring Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline. It’s a weekend recount of three sixty-something friends taking a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal. Cute. (Oh, and the popcorn was good too!)

Wednesday afternoon we attended happy hour at the clubhouse, which proceeded the weekly dinner. This week was pork chops, sweet potatoes with apples, coleslaw, and carrot cake for dessert. Not bad for $6 per person! There were about 40 people attending. That evening we met the owner of the RV Park. Apparently he needs help with park management software, so Dick’s the man!

By Friday, Dick needed to throw his leg over the motorcycle and cruise. I decided to stay home to knit and read; he decided to head to Port Aransas. There was a 20-minute wait for the ferry at Aransas Pass to get to Port Aransas. He didn’t mind, knowing what was on the other side—the Gulf. (Because it was a Friday afternoon, it took almost an hour to get on the ferry to come back.)

The ferry line to Port Aransas

Ferries

Ferry going across to Port Aransas

Barge

Camping on the beach (not us).

 

Dun buggy on the beach, owned by a Mercedes dealer.

Hoping to catch a big one (notice oil platform in distance).

Caught the big one!

Park at Port Aransas

Restaurant on the beach at Port Aransas

Unseasonably warm weather hit us Saturday and Sunday, with highs in the mid-80s, and humidity to match, or higher.  We ran the air conditioner more this week than we have all year. We are thankful, though, that we haven’t had the terrific storms that the Midwest has had, or the unseasonable cold that hit the upper plains, including Minnesota.

Saturday we woke to a cloudy, drizzly morning, with temperatures already in the 70s. The humidity was high, too, so the air felt thick. Ugh… Regardless, we took a walk along Fulton Beach Road. There was a breeze coming off the water from the east, so although the breeze was warm, the air was moving. We stopped in the park office afterwards to check on mail, then took a “shortcut” through the grass to our place. Here’s what I collected: about a hundred burs! Dick collected some too, so we took turns removing them with pliers—those suckers hurt if you get them stuck on your skin.

Afterwards, while Dick met with the owner of the RV Park for a couple of hours to determine the scope of work and requirements for the management software, I prepared taco pie for the potluck dinner that evening at the clubhouse. About 40 people showed up for that dinner, as well. Lots of good eatin’—and some new things to try, too, like corn chip cookies (thanks, Bonnie!)

Sunday we attended First Baptist Church of Rockport. Pastor Scott Jones is preaching a series from the book of John in the New Testament based on John 30:21, “So You May Believe and Have Life.” This day he spoke on the scripture from John 11:1-46, “so you might have life,” the story of Jesus raising Lazarus. Wonderful message; you can listen to this message and others from this series at  http://fbcrockport.net/online-sermons/

After church we hit Caroline’s Turtle Bay Café again for breakfast. Just can’t get away from her corned beef hash or pancakes! The only table available was one for 6, so we sat at one end. An older couple came in after us, and asked if they could share the table with us—that’s how we met Nick and Polly from Aransas Pass. We spent a wonderful hour with them, listening to their stories and just chatting. We exchanged contact information, and they said they’d like us to come for coffee some afternoon—we’ll wait to hear from them.

The rest of the day was spent indoors watching football, and staying out of the 80+ degree temperatures and the 90%+ humidity. No breeze this day!

Hope this finds you well. Send us an email—we’d love to hear from you!

Until next week, we send hugs your way,

Dick and Gail

Bayview RV Resort, Rockport, TX – November 4-10, 2013

We arrived to Bayview RV Resort last Friday, November 1. Feels almost like coming home.  We plan to be here for the next six months.

This was a week of settling in, getting things done that we’ve put off until we arrived here…things like washing the rigs (trailer and truck), really deep cleaning the inside of the trailer, grocery shopping, haircuts, oil change for the truck, etc. That rather filled our week, but we still had time to enjoy the area.

Monday morning brought temps in the mid-60s and sunshine. Good day for laundry so while I did that Dick got the oil changed in the truck and got his hair cut. After he picked me up from the laundry, we went grocery shopping and stopped at PJ Shrimp Co., a local fresh fish market, for shrimp and red snapper. Guess what we had for dinner that night…? Fresh red snapper! Yum! This area is great for daily caught fresh fish, so we’ll be sure to take advantage of that.

Tuesday morning I attended the “stitch and b…” session at the clubhouse. There were only 5 of us, but I’m sure that as more “Winter Texans” arrive more will be attending.  There were as many as 22 last year. Afterwards, Dick and I walked through the park for a while. The weather was so perfect. As we walked along, we met up with Bill and Carol from Arkansas, whom we had met last year.

.

We received word from our daughter, Hollee, and son-in-law, David, that Anastasia Thais Cummings was born on Tuesday night at 11:05 p.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. Here’s her first photo. Beautiful, isn’t she!

By Wednesday morning, the threat of rain was fulfilled. It started raining 6:00 a.m., but by 7:00 a.m. the sun was shining brightly. Good day for my haircut! We found a great little place close to Walmart; $10 for a haircut, and it is a really good cut: short and spikey!

While I was getting clipped, Dick washed the truck; we like to combine errands… That evening we attended the weekly dinner at the clubhouse: meatloaf, smashed potatoes, corn, applesauce and frosted rice krispy treats for dessert. At last count there were 40 people attending. Good turnout for the first dinner of the season.

When Dick wants cookies he drags out my Kitchen Aid mixer from the bowels of the trailer (we don’t have room inside to keep it available all the time). That was my clue Thursday morning, to make chocolate chip cookies. So, while Dick washed the outside of the trailer, I baked. That always makes him happy! No good deed goes unrewarded around here so, just as he started washing windows, he was rewarded with a couple of fresh out-of-the-oven cookies. Yum!

Friday brought more sunshine and temps in the low 70s. We walked along the water on North Fulton Beach Road for a while, then sat outside to read. What a spectacular day! We’re so blessed to be able to enjoy this area and this weather. Later that day we attended happy hour at the clubhouse, renewing friendships from last year, and meeting new folks.

Construction of new bridge over Copano Bay

Beach along Fulton Beach Road

Saturday was the first craft sale of the season at the clubhouse. Freshly baked cinnamon rolls were also sold. Yum! I passed on making breakfast that morning so we could take advantage of those yummy delicacies. Afterwards we decided to walk off those extra calories by walking along North Fulton Beach Road. Again, it was another beautiful day, with a slight breeze off the Gulf.

As we rested outside later, Wayne and Libby from Wisconsin stopped by on their scooter to chat. (Yesterday as we were sitting outside they stopped to ask directions to their site.) They’ll be here until April, as will we, and have an English spaniel named Hailey and a cocker named Daisy.

Again we were met with rain showers on Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church. Pastor Jones (First Baptist Church of Rockport) spoke on the passage from John 9, about the blind man being healed, and the persecution he faced from the Pharisees when he didn’t deny the healing powers of Jesus. “I was blind, but now I see…”

Temperatures didn’t reach much more than the high 60s that day, and it was pretty drizzly for the better part of the day. After church we headed to Carolyn’s Turtle Bay Café for breakfast. I could hardly wait to dig into her corned beef hash topped with eggs—the BEST!! Dick had a cheddar cheese omelet with mushrooms and onions and a little pancake that covered the entire plate (you should see the regular pancakes!). 

Due to the weather It was an afternoon for football and my Mulligatawny. YUM!

Thought we’d leave you this week with photos of some of the wildlife in and near the park: herons, butterflies, squirrels and buzzards.

White egret

These two are of the squirrels at our site.

Prickly Pear, the state plant of Texas

Buzzards seen on our walk to Fulton Beach Road

Until next week stay strong, stay healthy.

Join us, if you can. We’d love to see you again!

Dick and Gail

A. Cloquet, Minnesota
B. Blackhawk Corps of Engineers Park, Wisconsin
C. Cerro Gordo, Illinois
D. Carterville, Illinois
E. Mountain View, Missouri
F. Branson, Missouri
G. Alexander (Little Rock), Arkansas
H. Vicksburg, Mississippi
I. Bullard, Texas
J. LaGrange, Texas
k. Rockport, Texas

Vicksburg, MS to Bullard, TX to LaGrange, TX t o Rockport, TX = October 28-November 3, 2013

Our last day in Vicksburg. We're so glad we took the time to visit this historical place, as it's so jam packed with things to see. While Dick took the motorcycle on a little spin through the area, to the Vicksburg waterfront to get more photos and do more sight-seeing, I stayed back at the camper to publish last week's blog. We had so many internet issues that it took me over 6 hours to get it written and published. When he returned we did the preliminary packing to get on the road again, on one of the last legs to Rockport.

The following photos are of murals and artwork found in downtown Vicksburg.

Willie Dixon

Tuesday came to us with sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s—just perfect for driving. We completed the final packing up and stowing, and got on the road by 9:00 a.m. As the day went on, the temperatures continued to rise to the low 80s, so we're very thankful for AC in the black beast. The only issue we had on the road was as we were driving into Shreveport, LA a Texas dually flew by us, kicking up a rock into our windshield leave a large chip in its wake. We're grateful it wasn't worse.

We arrived at our destination, the Lavender RV Park in Bullard, TX, by about 2:00 p.m., where we had reservations. Hmm…no office, no-one to welcome us, nothing but a sign and a grassy field of full RV hook-ups…and no lavender, contrary to the name of the park.  We attempted calling the park quite a few times, but were always switched to the recorded message that there was no voice mail set up yet. Hmm... Obviously, this was a relatively new park. There were no facilities such as rest rooms, showers, laundry, no meeting rooms, and definitely no WiFi. What to do… We decided we'd select our spot, get set up and wait to see if anyone showed up. Unfortunately, we didn't get photos of the place; wish we had… We were going to take photos the next morning, but that didn't happen due to the weather. (You'll just have to visualize a beautiful green grassy field, surrounded by trees, with full RV hookups...)

As we were setting up, a neighbor stopped by tell us the owners had gone to Dallas for a couple of days, but would be returning the following day. They wanted him to collect the fee from us, which we gladly paid. Apparently the neighbor sings, and tried to get us to stay for a few extra days so we could hear him sing at the rodeo to be held Friday night. We said "thanks" but that we'd be moving on. We had planned to stay for 2 or 3 nights, but when we saw and heard the weather report for the next day or two we decided to pack up and leave immediately in the morning...up to 5" of rain was expected the next day, with the potential for severe thunder storms and flooding

.

By 7:00 a.m. Wednesday morning the rain had already started; we were packed up and ready to head out by about 8:30 a.m. We were drenched by the time we finally got in the truck to head out. So glad we made the decision to leave, as the rain proceeded to get worse as the day went on. Driving was precarious—and some Texans do not slow down no matter the weather. The rain came down in buckets, making visibility almost non-existent at times. It continued for most of the day, gradually lessening the further south we got.

As we were heading south we passed what appeared to be game farms, offering game and bird hunting. We saw elk, deer, turkeys, and ducks. In addition we saw fields of cattle, goats, llamas, and sheep. There were alot of breeds we had never heard of: Sante Gertrudis, red and black brangus, and others I can't remember. 

When we finally had cell phone reception, we were able make reservations at Colorado Landing in LaGrange, TX. What a beautiful park alongside the Colorado River. Full hook-ups, WiFi, level sites, great TV reception, flowers—well, you get the picture.

It was 85 degrees and humid by the time we arrived. That night the rains started again. Up north toward Austin, TX there was major flooding due to the over 10” of rainfall they received. The rivers were swollen, homes were flooded, major evacuations were called, and it continued to rain.

Rivers in the Austin area flow into the Colorado River so that was expected to eventually crest in LaGrange by Saturday afternoon at 46.3'. The RV park is about 50' above the normal level of the river, and it had already risen at least 10' by Thursday morning. We woke to heavy thunderstorms and wind, starting at about 4:00 a.m. Thursday. The slow moving system finally moved through the LaGrange area by mid-morning Thursday, with the threat of occasional showers throughout the day. LaGrange had received only 2" of wet stuff. By noon the sun had come out and it was beautiful. We took a walk along the river, which had already risen substantially.

That evening we decided to have pizza, so went in search of the best place in town. Frustration set in when we realized that all of downtown had been cordoned off for the kids to trick or treat at the local businesses. According to the town map the pizza place was smack dab in the middle of town. After parking and walking 3 blocks to find that the pizza place didn’t exist, we asked a kind gentleman for suggestions. He directed us to Reba's, a local pizza/deli, located not in the middle of town as the erroneous map said, but rather a few blocks away. We're so glad we asked, as it turned out to be one of the best pizzas we've eaten. The supreme pizza had 20 toppings, including jalapeno peppers. YUM! It was so loaded that we could eat only 1 ½ pieces each, leaving enough for 2 more meals at home. Being Halloween, parents decided to eat out as well—at Reba's—so it wasn't a real quiet meal, but  good none-the-less.

Friday morning we packed up and headed to Rockport, TX, our final destination. Only 140 miles away, we had arrived and checked in by shortly after lunch time. Again, weather was great for driving: sunny with temps in the low 80s. We had decided last year to move to a different area of the park for our stay this winter, where it's not so heavily trafficked. So happy we did; friends, whom we got to know last year are in this part, called The Villages.

As soon as we got parked we  met Art, our neighbor from Wisconsin, widowed and traveling in a large motor home. That afternoon we attended a "happy hour" at the family club house to talk about activities we'd like to have this year. Friends Robin and Connie are co-directors of activities this year so we're looking forward to what's in store!

Thought you'd like to see photos of this rv park, 

Laundry, restroom and shower facilities

Our back yard

Family clubhouse

Adult clubhouse

and photos of the area.

First Baptist Church of Rockport, where we'll be attending.

The following photos are taken along Fulton Beach Road and Marina, and Rockport Harbor.

Saturday, our first real day as "winter Texans," dawned warm at 64 degrees, and sunny. There was a wonderful breeze and low humidity. Temps got to the high 70s later in the day, but it was perfect. Dick and I rode our bicycles around the park in the morning, and Dick took off on the motorcycle for a bit to check out the area, for any changes. It was such a beautiful day, that I stayed home and read outside for the afternoon. Neighbor Art invited us over to his place for happy hour that afternoon, where we caught up with friends, and what's been happening in their lives since we last saw them. Feels good to be "home again,"

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday, weather-wise. What a perfect way to welcome us.

Hope this finds you well. We'll catch up with you again next week

.

Hugs 'n' blessings,

Dick and Gail