We're entering our last full week here at Bay View RV Resort, Rockport, Texas. Many of our "Winter Texan" friends have left for home, so the park is getting quite empty. Over the next few days more friends will be departing.
Monday we decided a trip to our favorite local store (Walmart) was in order, so in sunny and 75 degrees we went shopping, We were wearing t-shirts, shorts and sandals. Within an hour the wind started blowing from the north with 35 mph gusts and the temps had dropped to 55 degrees...the heavens opened, and it poured. Need I say brrrr? Sure felt alot colder than 55 degrees!
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| Aransas Bay along Fulton Beach Road |
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| Raging seas along Fulton Beach Road |
By noon on Tuesday the temps were back up in the mid-70s even though they started out in the mid-40s that morning. The sun was shining and it felt like spring again. After walking about 2 1/2 miles along Fulton Beach Road, Dick spent some time working, while I sat outside reading. As I read, I heard some scratching sound in the grass, off and on, so I needed to investigate. Here's what I found: a turtle the size of a dinner plate walking through the grass, apparently heading back to the pond in our back yard after laying her eggs somewhere. Cool!
Wednesday was another beautiful day: temps in the mi-70s and low humidity. It was a good day for walking. This day we say egrets and herons along the beach. We never tire of seeing them. It's especially fun watching them catch fish, playing with them a while, then eating them.
That afternoon was spent with Bill and Carole, and Jim and Patsy playing Pegs and Jokers at the clubhouse. Women: 3, men: 0. Yippee-skippee! Later we met the few remaining Winter Texans at Jim and Connie's camper for happy hour. Most of these folks will be leaving for home the week following Easter.
We're certainly enjoying the weather here in southern Texas. Thursday did not disappoint. We awakened to 63 degrees at 7 a.m., and it only got better, warming to the upper 70s by mid afternoon. We did our usual 2 1/2 mile walk along Fulton Beach Road, ran a few errands, then Dick went to work in the office while I went to neighbor Art's for happy hour. Seems as time grows short for Winter Texans there are more happy hours...I guess to attempt to hang on to these friendships over the months we're not together.
After dinner that evening we played another few rounds of Pegs and Jokers with Bill and Carole and Jim and Patsy. Women: 2, men: 1. Woot-woot!
Our walk Friday morning gave us more bird sightings: blue herons, great white egrets, cattle egrets, a tri-colored heron, a green heron, and a woodpecker. Oh, and the ever present Black Bellied Whistling Ducks. Cool!
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| Black Bellied Whistling Ducks |
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| Photos above and below: the Black Vulture |
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| Brown Pelican with fish in its pouch |
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| Cattle Egrets |
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| Great White Egrets |
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| Red Cockaded Woodpecker |
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| Snowy Egret |
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| Shrike |
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| Tri-colored Heron |
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| Turtles at the Bay View pond |
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| Gecko on the office porch |
We also see quite a few flowers on our walks, and the prickly pear cacti is just starting to bloom, so there are yellow flowers everywhere.
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| Photo above and below: flowering prickly pear cactus |
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| White prickly poppy |
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A real sun lover, these flowers are called "Sun Drops."
We see mounds of them everywhere. |
That afternoon Dick spent some time working, and pressed me into service to help create documentation for the work he's doing.
Saturday morning during our walk we came upon a stupid car (or driver?) trick. Apparently while attempting to take photos of the birds and/or water, they drove into a ditch so the front end was buried in mud. Good grief... Due to the activity along the water (summer Texans have arrived for the Easter weekend), we didn't see any birds, but we did see families fishing off the piers, kayakers and canoers all along our walk.
That afternoon we attended another happy hour, this one at Butch and Laura's. Originally from Ohio, they're now living full-time here at Bay View RV Resort and are year-'round park monitors.
Resurrection Sunday! Hallelujah! We attended the 8:30 service Sunday morning at First Baptist Church of Rockport, where Pastor Jones continued his message series from the book of John. This day's message on Jesus' resurrection was taken from chapter 20. We become witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ when the Holy Spirit reveals the resurrected Jesus to us, thus setting us free for God and his purposes. Here's the link to the message:
http://fbcrockport.net/online-sermons/
Friends Ron and Kathryn invited us to their camper for Easter dinner, but before that Dick walked along Fulton Beach Road to see what he could see: herons and cactus flowers. I finished up our contribution for the dinner. Ron and Kathryn provided ham, sweet potatoes and asparagus; we provided green salad, rolls and a lemon ladyfinger torte for dessert. Again, I say, "YUM!" We did not come away hungry!
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| Kathryn and me at Easter dinner |
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| Lemon Ladyfinger Torte |
Afterward, we played a few rounds of the card game "golf". Fun times! Then, we headed to Ed and Angie's to say goodbye to them, as they were packing up to head out Monday morning for Wisconsin. We got to their camper a bit late, so happy hour was in full swing by the time we arrived. We hope to see them again in the fall.
That's pretty much it for this week. We head out May 1, with our ultimate destination the Lake Tahoe area for most of the of the summer. We'd love to see you on down the road!
Hugs and blessings,
RJ and Gail
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