Friends Bill and Carole (Arkansas), and Bill and Patsy (Nebraska) went to Mexico on Monday, so we offered to dog sit Bill and Carole's rescue terrier mix, Taylor. What a cutie! We walked with her through the park since we figured she wasn't up to trotting up and down Fulton Beach Road with us later that day. The day was stellar, with temps in the low 70s and low humidity. On our walk along the beach we saw blue herons, a green heron, and many egrets. The hibiscus is in full bloom here, so homes are resplendent in bright colors ranging from deep red to bright yellow. Also in bloom is the yellow evening primrose. Lovely.
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| Great Blue Heron with fish |
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Tri-colored heron |
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| Hibiscus in bloom |
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| Yellow Evening Primrose |
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| Black Bellied Whistling Ducks |
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| Green-winged Teal Duck and Black Bellied Whistling Duck |
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| Northern Shovelers (top), Green-winged Teal Duck, and Killdeer |
Tuesday was another bright and beautiful day. With friends Ron and Kathryn (Texas) we headed to Port Aransas to take the Jetty Boat to spend the day at St. Jo Island, one of the barrier islands to Aransas Bay. St. Jo Island is about 12 miles long, and 5 miles wide at its widest point.
We boarded the Jetty Boat at Fisherman's Wharf in Port Aransas, and headed to the island. The only way to get to or from the island is by water; there are no facilities on the island--only lots of sand and water--and birds. There was a breeze off the Gulf so we stayed very comfortable all day. We brought picnic items along with us, so we didn't starve, and were very careful in what we drank, as there are no facilities on the island, if you get my drift. We walked along the beach for a couple of miles, picking up seashells, and just enjoying the water and beautiful day. We saw herons, little sandpipers, and the ever present gulls. We also saw an interesting bird, the ruddy turnstone.
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| The Jetty Boat that we took to the island |
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| Dick and me |
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| Ron and Kathryn |
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| The jetty at St. Jo Island |
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| Ron , just chillin' |
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| Blue Heron |
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| Franklin's Gulls and Royal Terns |
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| Kathryn's booty: shells and barnacles |
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| Ruddy Turnstone |
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| Our sand dollar finds |
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| Shipwrecked and abandoned |
St. Joseph and San Jose Island
History knows this island as St. Joseph Island and San Jose Island. On July 26, 1845, Lt. Chandler of the USS Alabama waded ashore and planted the first American flag to fly over Texas territory on a sand dune on San Jose Island. Units of the Third Infantry established a small military town known as Aransas. A stagecoach service brought passengers, goods and mail to the town, and a ferry connected the island with the mainland. During the American Civil War, the Union Army removed livestock from the island and assaulted the town of Aransas, of which no obvious trace today remains. After the war, the island's sole town cased to exit, and it became an exclusive hunting and fishing resort. It was purchased by Texas oilman Sid W. Richardson and used as his private island. On it he built a lavish hunting lodge at great expense, to which prominent businessmen and politicians, including then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were invited." (Today, on the northern-most section of the island is a privately owned ranch owned by the Bass family; no information is available, as they are very private and do not take kindly to folks intruding.)
Buried on the island, across from Rockport, are ornaments and gold that were designed for a Vera Cruz cathedral. Another treasure on the island, near the southern end, is payroll that was intended for Spanish soldiers.
On our way back to Rockport, we stopped at JD's Restaurant, located halfway between Aransas Pass and Rockport, for a dinner of fried shrimp and flounder, coleslaw, French fries and hushpuppies. YUM! What a perfect ending to a perfect day.
Friends Mike and Lyn (Michigan) left Tuesday for home; we'll see them in the fall, too.
Wednesday morning we woke to 71 degrees at 7 a.m., and the humidity was about 71%, too. We decided to walk early, along Fulton Beach Road. The herons were feasting on small fish in the lagoons, which are so fun to watch. The prickly pears are continuing to bloom--bright yellow against dark, bright green. Lovely.
(heron eating fish)
That afternoon we played one of our last few games of Pegs and Jokers with friends Ron and Kathryn, Jim and Patsy, Bill and Carole. Woot-woot: women: 2, men: 0!!!!
Thursday was another beautiful day; it was almost 80 by noon, and rather humid. That did not deter us from going to Sinton, Texas (almost 40 miles from Rockport), to the Rob and Bess Welder Wildlife Preserve with friends Ron and Kathryn. The Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation was established in 1954 to promote research and education in the field of wildlife science, conservation and management. The Foundation, located on a 7,800 acre refuge, has used cattle ranching as a management tool in scientific investigations. There are 16 different vegetation communities on the refuge, as well as 490 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. One of the rangers at the Foundation drove us around the refuge for about 45 minutes. Due to the drought conditions here in Texas, we didn't see as much wildlife as we had hoped to, but nevertheless we enjoyed our time there. We saw deer, wild turkey, mockingbirds (the State Bird of Texas) and a lot of cardinals. The museum was especially interesting, as it covered the history of the refuge, including artifacts found in the area, birds and reptiles, and a host of other interesting facts.
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| Marker indicating the site of the original Welder homestead |
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| A blooming prickly pear |
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| Brahma bulls and a guernsy cow; the Foundation leases land for cattle grazing. |
Friday we spent just lazing around home. 4:00 was our last happy hour for the year, held at Jim and Connie's (Colorado). They leave Sunday for home. We've made such good friends here (and all along our travels); we count them among our best.
Dick was craving French toast, so we invited Ron and Kathryn over for a breakfast Saturday morning for French toast, sausage, bacon and fresh fruit--all served with real maple syrup and (sorta) fresh squeezed orange juice. YUM!
That day we also had our RV washed (as did 4 others in the park), by a company called "Bottom Up." Yeah! Clean windows again! Pollen from the oak trees covered everything, and with the humidity--everything stuck. They charged just $2/foot. Yeah! And, did a bang-up job. (I'm glad Dick doesn't need to take this job on, and climb on top of the camper...)
That evening we headed to a new local restaurant, Capparelli's, for an Italian dinner to celebrate Dick's 70th(!!!) birthday. (His birthday is Monday, but thought we'd celebrate early.) We brought along 8 of our friends to celebrate with us. What a fun time...and good food!
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| L to R: Connie, Jim, Patsy, me, Dick, Bill, Carole, Kathryn, Ron, Jim |
Ron and Kathryn joined us for church Sunday morning at First Baptist Church of Rockport. What a good morning, worshiping with special friends. Pastor Jones continued his sermon series on Jesus; this morning's message was taken from John 21. The theme: " If you love Jesus as He loves you, you will do His work." Here's the link: http://fbcrockport.net/online-sermons/ We will miss the church and his messages, but will be able to listen to them online after we leave.
Must have nourishment after church, so we stopped at Copano Bay Cafe for breakfast. YUM! (We would've stopped at Caroline's Turtle Bay Cafe, but she's closed: gone fishing until the 29th...)
That afternoon was another round of Pegs and Jokers with Bill and Carole, Jim and Patsy, Ron and Kathryn. Women: 2, men: 1. Woot-woot! This was our last few games with Ron and Kathryn, as they leave us Monday. We will miss them...but hope to see them again down the road.
That's it for this week. We miss you, but hope to see you on down the road...
Hugs,
RJ and Gail
