Time here is quickly coming to an end for many of our Bay
View friends. Some have already left for home, and some plan to leave within
the next week. Many have plans to return to Bay View next fall, so it’ll be
only 6 months or so until we’re all
together again.
Last week I neglected to mention that Chevron’s $4Billion
Big Foot deep water offshore platform left Port Aransas in the predawn hours.
Lit up like a Christmas tree against the black early morning sky, the 37,800 short
ton structure passed between the Port Aransas jetties, on its way to the Gulf
of Mexico, moving just 1 mile an hour.
This monstrous platform originally set out from Korea, where it was
built by the Daewoo Shipping and Marine Engineering Company, arriving in
Ingleside, Texas in early March 2013 after a 3-month voyage, where it was
outfitted with water production and water injection systems, as well as the
mechanical topping of the unit.
The Big Foot platform has the capacity to process 75,000
barrels of oil and 25 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. Chevron
estimates that the field where Big Foot will operate has a 20+ year life, and a
potential of more than 200 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.
Eight tugs were required to move Big Foot’s semi-submersible
production platform to safely maneuver the rig through the channel between
Aransas Pass and Port Aransas to the Gulf of Mexico. (Here’s a video of the actual tow through the channel.) The tow to
its final destination 250 miles south of New Orleans would take 8 to 10 days.
Once safely anchored to the ocean floor (approximately 5,200 feet below the
rig), the offshore hook-up and commissioning work will begin, followed by the
development well drilling and completion, with the first oil and gas expected
this year.
Quite a few park residents got up early in the morning to
travel to Port Aransas to watch this spectacle. We did not. Ha!
Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day. Dick worked; I attended
“Stitch and B…” (We didn’t celebrate the day until Wednesday evening at the clubhouse
dinner.) At noon I joined 8 of my “Stitch and B…” friends for lunch at Mac’s, a
local BBQ restaurant. What a fun time, and the food…YUM!
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| L to R, top to bottom: Bea, Karen, Bonnie, (Karen's back) Fran, Marcy, Marty, Susan and Robin |
Tuesday night we had heavy, heavy rainfall. The rain
continued off and on through the day Wednesday, but thankfully abated in time
for us to go to the clubhouse for happy hour and dinner. As I mentioned, we
celebrated St. Patrick’s Day today with a wonderful dinner of corned beef and
cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and a wonderful “green” crème de menthe dessert.
Chef Betty did it again! Yum-yum!
Thursday morning we decided to have breakfast at Whataburger
followed by a stop at Walmart for a few items before Dick had to head to work.
That evening we had dinner with friends Karen and Steve (from Wisconsin) at
Vallarta, a local Mexican restaurant. We noshed on home-made chips and salsa,
hard shell tacos, and chicken and beef enchiladas. Yum!
After dinner Dick and I headed to the clubhouse for a few
rounds of Pegs ‘n’ Jokers with friends Bill and Carole, and Jamie and Annie.
Unfortunately, the guys won 2:1 over the gals. The guys say “yeah!” but the
gals, not so much…
Friday evening after happy hour Dick and I met my cousin
David and his wife Monica (Minnesota) at Moon Dog’s, a local restaurant on the
shoreline of Fulton, Texas. Friends Bea and Mike (Missouri) also joined us.
What a wonderful evening! We noshed on shrimp brochette, burgers, grouper,
chicken and brie on ciabatta, and smoked brisket tacos with mango salsa. YUM!
(I can’t stop thinking about those tacos!) David and Monica were in Texas to
help Monica’s parents drive their motorhome from Donna, Texas back to Minnesota,
and took a few days to visit us here in Rockport and to spent a couple of days
in Galveston before heading back to Donna and ultimately Minnesota.
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| L to R: Monica, David, Bea, Mke |
Saturday came more rain—actually, a deluge. Over the past
week we’ve received almost 5” of rain, bringing the water levels way up from what it had been due to the
drought. We can attest to the water level, as the pond behind our site is
almost 2’ higher than what it was when we arrived in November. And, Texas is GREEN! The blue bonnets are in full
bloom, as are flowers of all hues and colors. Beautiful!
Sunday we attended First Baptist Church of Rockport, where
Pastor Jones continued his sermon series of Spiritual Awakening. This week’s
message was taken from Luke 19:1-10 in the New Testament, where Zacchaeus meets
Jesus. Jesus’ mission was to seek and save the lost, initiating relationships
with people who don’t know God, calling them to draw closer to him. As a result
of Jesus seeking out Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus responds with joy, responding
willingly and obediently to him. Pastor Jones’ final questions for us are, “Do
we really want change in our lives? God’s plan is to change us, but have we
made the proper response to Jesus? Have we limited our ability to perceive and
respond correctly to God’s plan?” Here’s the link to his message: http://www.sermon.net/fbcrockport
That afternoon we attended the ice cream social at the
clubhouse, then played a few games of Pegs ‘n’ Jokers with friends Bill and
Carole, Jamie and Ann, Bob and Sharon. Gals: 3, guys: 0. Woot-woot! (The guys
are crying…boo-hoo…)
That’s it for this week. As the time is growing short, we’re
attempting to squeeze in a few things we haven’t done yet this year. Stay tuned
for more exciting outings this upcoming week! We leave you with photos of our foster kitty Lucy as she's taking her daily nap...
and a photo of our 16-month old granddaughter Anastasia walking with her daddy.
Hugs,
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