Time is winding down for many of us “Winter Texans,” as some
are already starting to pack up for the trek north and home. Friends Bob and
Carol from Minnesota left Tuesday morning, hoping to get home by March 8.
Marvin and Shirley, and Randy and Jeri left Wednesday for Illinois, making a
few stops along the way, to be home by the end of March. Many others will be
leaving by the end of the month, for Michigan, Ohio, New York, Wisconsin, South
Dakota, Montana...well, you get the picture. We’ve been a bit disappointed with
the weather here in Rockport this year, but are thankful we had to put up with
only the cold, rain and wind—not snow, ice and frigid temperatures. There’s
always next year…
This was a pretty uneventful week, although we did take
advantage of the annual Oysterfest, which I’ll cover a bit later in the blog.
Dick continued to work, although not as much as previous
weeks, but he did put it a 20-hour+ week. It was nice to have him home all weekend!
The weather all week was quite chilly, a bit damp on some days, and then there
was the day of wind gusts up to 35+ mph. Brr! Although it may not seem cold to
many of you, it sure felt that way to us! We bundled up in winter jackets,
hats, gloves, etc., against the north wind, whenever we ventured out.
Tuesday I attended the weekly “Stitch ‘n’ B…” session, with
about a dozen ladies. Friend Bea (from Missouri, and whom we met, along with
her husband Mike, in Grand Portage, MN in 2012 is here in the park for about 6
weeks. She is anxious to learn to crochet so I spent some time teaching her the
basics. She’s a quick study, picking up the stitches easily. I’ll continue to
tutor her over the next few weeks.
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| Clockwise: Randy and Jeri; Jeri, Marvin and Shirley; Bill and Carole, Bob and me; Dick and Sharon; Sharon and Bob |
Thursday evening we played Pegs ‘n’ Jokers with friends Bill
and Carole, Jamie and Ann. Unfortunately, the women were getting beat game
after game. This night was no different—women:0, men:3. Sad…
Friday, along with friends Bob and Sharon, we headed to
Houston to bring the pickup, belonging to friends Joe and Ida, to them. They’ve
traded in their Chevy pickup and 36’ 5th wheel on a Nexus Class
C-32P. When Ida is done with her treatments at M.D. Anderson they plan to do as
much traveling as they are able, and decided that a Class C was a better and
easier way to go. Dick and I drove their truck, while Bob and Sharon followed
behind so we’d have a way home. (Good friends!) It’s about a 3 ½-hour drive one
way.
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| Clockwise: Joe and Ida's site in Houston; Ida's hummingbird graphic, Sharon and me with Ida; Joe and Bob; Joe and Ida's new Jeep. |
We spent a little time with Joe and Ida, catching up on
their lives, and filling them in on what’s going on here at Bay View. Ida had
been the office manager for several years before being diagnosed with cancer,
so she was anxious to hear news from the park. Was hard saying goodbye, but
they’ll be returning to Bay View within a few weeks for a time, so we’ll see
them again before we leave. And…we’re taking care of their “adopted” kitty,
Lucy, so we’ll need to transition her to them.
On the way back to Rockport we stopped at Prasek’s Hillje Smokehouse
in El Campo, Texas. Prasek's is
family owned, and one of the largest employers in Wharton County. With about 45
different smoked meat items, 35 different fresh baked bakery items, a specialty
meat market, a full line deli, specialty items, and all types of convenience
items for, yup, your convenience! They have a restaurant, gift shop, and ice
cream parlor, too. Plus, they sell fire pits, grills, hunting and fishing gear,
and tons more. Prasek's is definitely a one stop shop for anything you might
need. For you hunters, they even offer meat processing. Check out their website to see all they offer. They also offer online ordering, if anything catches
your fancy—or entices your taste buds!
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| Prasek's meat case (seems to go on forever!), and their restaurant area. |
Oh, the fragrance of smoked meats when you walk through the
door!!! We picked up stuffed pork chops, BBQ ribs, and a variety of sample
cheeses; Bob and Sharon bought pork steaks and pork chops. Oh, and we had to
have Blue Bell ice cream while we were there… YUM-YUM!!! Never a
disappointment!
We returned to Rockport in time for Happy Hour at the club
house, followed by pizza at Panjo’s. Dick and Bob figured Sharon and I wouldn’t
want to cook after our day’s outing… They were right! Panjo’s is the best pizza
in the Rockport area, as far as we’re concerned. Yum!
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| Friend Ed at Friday's Happy Hour. |
This past weekend was the 36th annual Oysterfest
in Fulton/Rockport, sponsored by the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department. Money
raised goes towards life-saving and fire-fighting equipment, training and
maintenance.
Oysterfest is a special salute to the “tasty bi-valve” found
in the water around this area. There were oyster shucking and eating contests
for men and women, as well as oyster decorating contests. And, there was a huge
carnival, which brought hundreds of families and kids to the experience. In addition, Oysterfest brings vendors from
all over Texas, and from as far away as Florida. The vendor tent had exhibits
of paintings, leather goods, wooden ware, jewelry, t-shirts and other clothing
items, various condiments, candles, etc. There were fireworks on Thursday
night, which we did not attend, mainly because it was so cold and windy—it
would’ve been miserable. Live music went on Thursday evening, Friday evening,
all day Saturday and Sunday. While we were there the group T. Kay and Bandana
Rose were on stage. There was also a parade Saturday morning, which we did not
attend this year.
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| View of Oysterfest and Fulton Harbor from Charlotte Plummer's |
Bob and Sharon went with us, hoping to spend the better part
of the afternoon there. Huh. There were so many people attending the “fest”
that it was difficult to navigate through the crowds. And, forget about getting
anything to eat! The line to buy tickets for either food or beverages was so
long it would’ve taken all afternoon to just get to the ticket booth, saying
nothing about getting in line for nourishment! We’ve never seen so many people
here on Saturday. Our thought was that everyone wanted to come Saturday, to
beat the rain coming in over the next few days. Good grief!
Oh, and one other point of interest: they usually shuck over
100,000 oysters for this festival. Good thing someone likes them!
We always turn our clocks ahead (or back) on Saturday
nights, and this time was no exception. Morning came awfully early for some
reason; it could be because we stayed up a bit too late Saturday night. Took us
pretty much all day, and multiple cups of coffee, to help us feel awake and
human again. Ugh…
Sunday we attended First Baptist Church in Rockport. Pastor
Scott was on vacation this week (Spring break week here in Rockport), so executive
and discipleship pastor Jeff Lanningham led the service. His message was taken
from the book of Matthew, chapter 14, verses 22-31, where Peter steps out on
faith to walk on the water to meet Jesus. Peter displayed faith and obedience
when doing so. Then, as he took his eyes off Jesus, Peter began to falter and sink,
placing his thoughts on his own circumstances rather than on Jesus. Pastor
Lanningham’s final question for us is this: “What would our lives be like if
we, like Peter, stepped out of the boat?” Here’s the link to the message: http://fbcrockport.sermon.net/
That afternoon we attended the ice cream social—of
course—and then played Pegs ‘n’ Jokers with friends Bob and Sharon, Bill and
Carole, and Jamie and Ann. Not much to say, except the gals lost 3:1. The guys
want me to give them a “woot-woot” but I just can’t bring myself to do that…
Lucy, our foster kitty, was at the door waiting to be fed
when we returned home. She certainly knows where her food source is! Then, as
usual, she climbs up on Dick’s lap for a snooze. Cute, eh?
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| Lucy curled up on Dick's lap |
That’s it for this week. As I write this the rain is coming
down in sheets; we expect over 2” before today is over, with the possibility of
thunder and lightning this afternoon. Thankfully the temperature is in the mid-60s
so it’s not cold…just VERY WET!
Thanks for your continued interest in our lives. We love and
appreciate you all.
Hugs,
RJ and Gail
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