Bay View RV Resort – Rockport, TX – December 19-25, 2016

Activities continued as usual for Christmas week, with Yoga, Wii bowling, Dick working, Stitch & Bitch, etc. In between we ran errands, did laundry, etc. And, we retrieved the Sundance 5^th wheel from the RV dealer where we had left it over the weekend after switching out our stuff from the old to the new camper. The old one is now set up at another site here at Bay View until such time in January that Dick delivers it to Denton, TX for the new owner. We’re almost all moved in with stuff put away so photos of our new unit will be coming shortly.

Tuesday evening we had dinner at the Oyster House, where raw oysters on the half shell are still under $5.00 per dozen. Prepared with a squirt of lemon juice, a bit of horseradish mixed in with the cocktail sauce and, just a drop of Tobasco sauce on each oyster—you have a delicious morsel! Yum-yum! However, Dick and I decided to split one of their wonderful burgers with fries instead of oysters. Still pretty good! There were just 12 of us at the Oyster House that night, enjoying one another’s company, stories, jokes, etc. Fun times!

 

Wednesday morning at 11:30 we left for San Antonio, with David and Marihelen, aboard the Rockport Tours bus to see the Christmas lights along the famous Riverwalk. Here are some photos for you to enjoy.

6 of us from Bay View took the bus to San Antonio; l to r: me, Marge, David, Sharon and Marihelen.

We arrived at about 3:00, and strolled up and down the river for about a couple of hours before meeting up with friends Ron and Kathryn for dinner. We stopped at Rita’s on the River for one of their famous margaritas and homemade tortilla chips—still warm! Two strolling musicians stopped by our table to serenade us.

 Ron selected the Iron Cactus Restaurant for a wonderful authentic Mexican meal. We were not disappointed! Apparently the restaurant started over 18 years ago, drawing inspiration for their menu from various regions in Mexico. They’re now in 4 locations throughout Texas; it’s one of the few award-winning Mexican restaurants in San Antonio. The Iron Cactus is known for their unique tequila infused creations and over 100 premium tequilas available for sipping, or for mixing into your favorite beverage. And…the food was wonderful! 

We secured a table outside and started our meal with margaritas and a fabulous guacamole prepared and served table-side, with warm freshly made chips. From there we moved to our main course: Marihelen dined on Pescado del Mar (seared mahi mahi, jumbo shrimp, bay scallops, in a citrus butter sauce with sautéed spinach and cilantro-lime rice); Ron and David had Southwest Paella (jumbo shrimp, mussels, bay scallops, roasted pobalanos, jalapeño Texas sausage, sauce, Mexican rice and charro beans); Dick had the Baja Fish Tacos (blackened mahi mahi, slaw, lime crema, cotija cheese, Mexican rice and charro beans); and, I ordered the Chile Relleno Rústic (fajita-style chicken, sun-dried cranberries, pepitas, pepper jack and toasted pecans stuffed inside a poblano chile over verde sauce, with Mexican rice and black beans). Oh, my goodness! Our mouths were still watering at the end of the meal!

And, for dessert, we ordered and shared their luscious tres leches, a traditional Mexican cake, served with three milks (condensed, evaporated and cream), strawberries and whipped cream. Oh, my…wonderfully fabulous!

We had hoped to have enough time to take a boat ride along the river, but we had enjoyed our meal so much and lingered too long, so we had to put that off ‘til next year. The Riverwalk is so magical at night! Thousands (or perhaps millions!) of lights are hung from the trees up and down the San Antonio River under which gondolas and boats make their way laden with passengers. Along the river are dozens of restaurants where patrons sit outside, or inside, enjoying the holiday atmosphere. Mariachi bands and other musicians stroll up and down the river as well, entertaining the folks with Christmas music and popular songs. Beautiful! 

We hopped on the bus at 8 p.m. for our ride back to Rockport. It’s so good to leave the driving to someone else! We arrived back home at 11:45 p.m.

Dinner Thursday night was at Panjo’s Pizza, followed by Pegs & Jokers at the clubhouse with Bill and Carole, John and Sara. Women: 3, men:1. Hooray!!

In preparation for the park’s Christmas festivities, I collected travel sides from some of the folks in the park: Keith and Beth from Mankato, MN; Gary and Pam from Oregon; Bob and Sharon from Missouri; Mitch and Cindy from Colorado; and Dick and me. There were close to 250 slides, providing a glimpse into travels over this past summer. I spent all day Friday and quite a bit of time Saturday preparing them for a looped slide show that was shown Saturday evening during the Christmas Eve celebration and again on Sunday during Christmas dinner. 

Friday evening during happy hour at the clubhouse, the Bay View Players performed, which included Tom (from Minnesota), Steve and Marty (full time here in the park), Hap (from Texas) and me. Tom, Steve and Hap played guitar and I was on the keyboard. We were all vocalists. Dick insisted on videotaping our performance, so here ‘tis. We’re not ready for prime time, but we had fun anyway.

Wagon Wheel

Amarillo by Morning

Canadian Whiskey

He'll Have to Go

Christmas Eve festivities started with happy hour at the clubhouse at 5:00, followed by heavy hors d’eouvres, games and a $10 gift exchange.  (Dick came home with a $10 gift card; I came home with a soft and cuddly sofa throw…score!) I served my famous eggnog, too. Over 80 folks were there for the fun!

Christmas Day brought more fun with park friends. Before dinner Dick played pickle ball with 3 friends, while I finished up with preparations for our dinner contribution. 

Later, about 100 folks showed up for Christmas dinner at the clubhouse. The kitchen provided ham and scalloped potatoes; everything else was potluck.  I can guarantee that no one went away hungry! 

Another blessing on Christmas Day was the return of Gary and Pam to the park. They had gone to Hawaii for 12 days on vacation, and were meeting some family members there, too. Unfortunately, Pam got sick and spent 5 days in the hospital (in Hawaii) with pneumonia, the flu and upper respiratory problems.  We were really concerned for her health, but she’s slowly regaining strength and stamina. It’s so good to have them back home.

Well, that’s it for this week. We hope you had a joyous Merry Christmas with family and friends. Now, it’s on to the New Year, so we wish for you all health and happiness in 2017.

Luv ‘n’ hugs,

RJ and Gail

Bay View RV Resort – Rockport, Texas – December 12-18, 2016

As we enter the week of Christmas we'd like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, with love!

This week was more of the same activities: Yoga, Wii bowling, Texas Hold ‘em, Pegs & Jokers, etc. As more folks come into the park, more folks join in. Such fun! 

Dick worked almost every day, too, but does take time out to be involved in some of the activities. Now that the pickle ball net is up, several folks have been playing. We’ve not yet taken advantage of that activity, but I know it’ll be on our agenda. (Perhaps when the weather gets warmer we will. Temps dipped to freezing last night and will continue to be cold through Tuesday… Brr!)

Last week I mentioned we decided to upgrade our camper. We are now the proud owners of a 2017 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS. LOVE IT! Dick now has a larger shower (with a seat!) and I have a kitchen with counter space! We also have a fireplace and a really large closet. Yea!! Although I’ve been working like a dog to get everything put away, there are still boxes and bags around. So, I’m taking advantage of what the internet has to offer with photos of our unit. This is exactly what our unit will look like once everything finds a home—promise!

We're thrilled with the quality and workmanship of this unit: all hardwood cabinetry and woodwork, combination microwave/convection oven (and a real oven, too), large shower with a seat and triple glass door, working fireplace (nicely heats up the room in the mornings!), large island in kitchen with a country sink, automatic leveling system and, a huge king-sized closet with lots of shelving. There are motion detector lights in strategic areas, ample storage under the queen bed, a double refrigerator/freezer and, lots of storage space. Lovin' it!

Wednesday evening was spent at the clubhouse with about 40 friends, first for happy hour and then for another one of Lynda’s wonder dinners: salad, hearty beef stew, homemade bread and, cheesecake with blueberries for dessert. YUM! As I’ve mentioned before, we do not go hungry around here!

With the impending move to our new camper, I spent most of Wednesday and Thursday packing to move into our new home. Dick has always lauded my ability to find places for things, but I’m not so sure that’s a good thing! My, oh my, we have a lot of stuff! However, that said, everything turned out quite well. 

We had dinner Thursday evening at Panjo’s with 16 of our closest friends. Sure hit the spot! Panjo’s pizza is so yummy! Afterward Dick and I played Pegs & Jokers with Bill and Carole: men: 2, women: 1. Boohoo…

Friday was moving day. We purchased our 5^th wheel from Camper Clinic here in Rockport; our salesperson Mike Franks was phenomenal to work with, and helped make our transition so easy. We pulled our Sundance adjacent to our new Reflection on their lot; a ramp was placed between the two campers and we were able to move items from one to the other without stairs, making the whole process easier. Friends David and Marihelen showed up to help. We are so grateful to them for their friendship, love and of course, their help. We completed the ordeal in less than 2 hours. While Dick and David continued to move stuff, Marihelen and I made up our bed so at least that was ready for us to fall into that night! Of course not everything was put away, but everything was in one unit! Should’ve taking a picture…

Friday was also the debut of my friend Marty and me singing with the Bay View Players, a small group of 2 guys and their guitars. We sang 4 songs with them during happy hour, so it was a full day for me! We’re not ready for “prime time” but we did have fun. Dick didn’t get videos of our performance, but we’ll be doing it again this coming Friday so he’ll try again. 

We then drove to Paradise Key just west of Rockport for dinner. Joining us were David and Marihelen (to thank them for their help), and Sharon (Bob was rehearsing with his band so wasn’t able to make it). We enjoyed grilled salmon with a  honey glaze, grilled flounder with crawfish etouffee sauce, coconut shrimp, and cheesy grits with shrimp. YUM-YUM! 

Saturday Dick worked in the park’s office; I worked in our new camper finding places for all our paraphernalia... Amazing how much I accomplished in such a short time. Our camper moved from complete chaos to organized chaos! Ha!

That evening our park was the debut venue for another band, Southern Wave Shakedown (friend Bob’s band). They played from 7-9:00 in the clubhouse, entertaining 80-100 friends. Their repertoire included country, oldies, and rock ‘n’ roll. Everyone appeared to enjoy them. Dick was asked to videotape their performance, so here are samples. I faded after about ½ hour so I went home and crashed.

Walkin' after Midnight  and  Bad Moon Rising

That evening temperatures dipped to the high 40s. Our furnace kicked in for the first time about 3 a.m. It was also the first time that the fire alarm went off, scaring us out of our wits. Apparently, the furnace was burning off some residue so it set off the alarm. We turned on the unit’s exhaust fan which cleared the smell our rather quickly. We found out the furnace worked—thankfully!!

Sunday we went to church, where we celebrated the 4^th Sunday of Advent as well as the Lord’s supper. It was such a good service with traditional Christmas music and responsive readings by Pastor Scott and the congregation. 

Breakfast followed at JJ’s Little Bay Café where we noshed on a Denver omelette, bacon and eggs, hash browns and rye toast. And, lots of hot coffee. YUMMY!

We returned home where I continued to unpack; Dick went to work. We met at the clubhouse at 2 p.m. for the ice cream social and an afternoon of Pegs & Jokers. Men: 2, women: 1. Boo…

Well, that’s it for this week. We wish for you a very happy Christmas, with family and loved ones. We’ll have another jam-packed weekend here in the park, with celebration get-togethers on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Take a moment to remember that the real reason for Christmas is more than the presents under the tree, glowing lights, stockings filled with toys hanging from the mantle and, Santa Clause. 

Jesus is the real reason; He is our gift from God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son; that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Much love to you,

RJ and Gail

Bay View RV Resort – Rockport, Texas – December 5-11, 2016

Winter hit us here in Texas last week, with temperatures dipping to the low 40s at night and hitting the high 50s during the day. This, along with wind and rain…brrr… I know this seems balmy to those of you in other parts of the country but to us here along the Gulf it’s cold! This week upcoming will bring temps in the mid- to high 70s—perfect.

We’ve had some changes in our lives: we sold our Sundance camper and bought a new 35’ Grand Design 5^th wheel. We take delivery on it Friday. Now to pack up everything to transfer to the new unit… I’m hoping it’ll be an easy transition. Will let you know next week. We’re excited! The Sundance has been a good home for us for the past 5 years, so we hope our new camper will serve us as well. We'll share photos next week.

Our week was full of the usual activities: Yoga, Wii bowling, poker, Pegs & Jokers (women still rule, as we won 3 of the last 4 games we played), Pilates, etc. Dick also worked almost every day last week. Sometimes it’s like a full-time job! Dick and I also installed a pickleball net, as there are quite a few folks in the park who play. Activities abound!

We also did our share of eating out. Dick thinks I forgot how to cook! Monday it was dinner at a relatively new restaurant, The Fisherman’s Daughter, where we ate our fill of scallops and stuffed shrimp. Tuesday was dinner at the Oyster House for their $4.50 raw oyster special; of course we also had burgers and a yummy Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich and onion rings. Wednesday was dinner at the clubhouse where Chef Lynda served spaghetti and meatballs (stuffed with mozzarella), salad, garlic bread and, French silk pie—YUMMY!! Of course, we couldn’t have a week go by without pizza at Panjo’s, so that was our dinner Thursday night. Friday’s lunch was burgers at the clubhouse. (Good thing I have Yoga, Pilates, and a walking class during the week!)

Friday early evening was spent at the clubhouse celebrating the birthdays of 2 friends in the park: Ed (Wisconsin) and Marge (Michigan). Appetizers and cake were the fare and, we were entertained by the Riptones who were with us a few weeks ago (and will be back on New Year’s Eve!). Wonderful music and entertainment. Here are photos of the evening, as well as a couple of videos:

Boot Scootin’ Boogie
Luckenbach, Texas

Dick worked Saturday morning, and then took a walk around the park. Here’s what he found: American Wigeon ducks and the ever-present (and my favorites), Roseate Spoonbills.

Saturday evening we attended the Christmas choir concert at our church. What a treat! David and Marihelen joined us. Entitled, “Christmas in His Presence, the Timeless Story of His Coming,” the cantata told the story of the Savior of the world lying in a humble manger. It brought to mind the sense of childlike wonder, not through the familiar Christmas cards and gifts or decorations of the holiday, but through Jesus’ divine presence. It was 45 minutes of traditional Christmas music, narration, and special solos by some of the choir members. Here are videos of our 2 favorites: Hannah Dishongh sang Heaven’s Child and Eric Scott sang All Rise with Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty. Beautiful!

After the concert we had dinner at Moondog, a nearby restaurant on the water. Fish tacos, grilled shrimp salad, corn chowder and nachos were our choices. Good stuff!

Because of the concert Saturday evening, and again Sunday morning there was no regular church service. Instead we attended brunch at the clubhouse with about 30 of our park friends, where we were served an egg ‘n’ cheese casserole, sausage, hash browns, muffins, orange juice and coffee. Good stuff!

Then, it was off to Symphony by the Sea, our annual tradition to welcome in the holiday season. Nine friends from the park joined us. Held at the Rockport-Fulton High School, it featured the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra and the award-winning Rockport-Fulton High School choir. Directed by guest conductor Paul Haas, we were treated to traditional Christmas music, classical selections by early composers like Tchaikovsky, Handel and Bach to more contemporary composers. There were vocal soloists as well as a teen cello soloist who was magnificent. Here are some photos and videos from the concert.

Sleigh Ride
Let It Go from "Frozen"
Hallelujah Chorus
Let There Be Peace on Earth

Then it was off to Arandas Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Enchiladas, tacos, nachos, and chicken fried steak were our choices. We did not go away hungry!

Well, that’s it for this week. Hope you enjoyed our musings. Hugs ‘n’ love,

RJ and Gail