Bayview RV Resort, Rockport, TX – November 4-10, 2013

We arrived to Bayview RV Resort last Friday, November 1. Feels almost like coming home.  We plan to be here for the next six months.

This was a week of settling in, getting things done that we’ve put off until we arrived here…things like washing the rigs (trailer and truck), really deep cleaning the inside of the trailer, grocery shopping, haircuts, oil change for the truck, etc. That rather filled our week, but we still had time to enjoy the area.

Monday morning brought temps in the mid-60s and sunshine. Good day for laundry so while I did that Dick got the oil changed in the truck and got his hair cut. After he picked me up from the laundry, we went grocery shopping and stopped at PJ Shrimp Co., a local fresh fish market, for shrimp and red snapper. Guess what we had for dinner that night…? Fresh red snapper! Yum! This area is great for daily caught fresh fish, so we’ll be sure to take advantage of that.

Tuesday morning I attended the “stitch and b…” session at the clubhouse. There were only 5 of us, but I’m sure that as more “Winter Texans” arrive more will be attending.  There were as many as 22 last year. Afterwards, Dick and I walked through the park for a while. The weather was so perfect. As we walked along, we met up with Bill and Carol from Arkansas, whom we had met last year.

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We received word from our daughter, Hollee, and son-in-law, David, that Anastasia Thais Cummings was born on Tuesday night at 11:05 p.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. Here’s her first photo. Beautiful, isn’t she!

By Wednesday morning, the threat of rain was fulfilled. It started raining 6:00 a.m., but by 7:00 a.m. the sun was shining brightly. Good day for my haircut! We found a great little place close to Walmart; $10 for a haircut, and it is a really good cut: short and spikey!

While I was getting clipped, Dick washed the truck; we like to combine errands… That evening we attended the weekly dinner at the clubhouse: meatloaf, smashed potatoes, corn, applesauce and frosted rice krispy treats for dessert. At last count there were 40 people attending. Good turnout for the first dinner of the season.

When Dick wants cookies he drags out my Kitchen Aid mixer from the bowels of the trailer (we don’t have room inside to keep it available all the time). That was my clue Thursday morning, to make chocolate chip cookies. So, while Dick washed the outside of the trailer, I baked. That always makes him happy! No good deed goes unrewarded around here so, just as he started washing windows, he was rewarded with a couple of fresh out-of-the-oven cookies. Yum!

Friday brought more sunshine and temps in the low 70s. We walked along the water on North Fulton Beach Road for a while, then sat outside to read. What a spectacular day! We’re so blessed to be able to enjoy this area and this weather. Later that day we attended happy hour at the clubhouse, renewing friendships from last year, and meeting new folks.

Construction of new bridge over Copano Bay

Beach along Fulton Beach Road

Saturday was the first craft sale of the season at the clubhouse. Freshly baked cinnamon rolls were also sold. Yum! I passed on making breakfast that morning so we could take advantage of those yummy delicacies. Afterwards we decided to walk off those extra calories by walking along North Fulton Beach Road. Again, it was another beautiful day, with a slight breeze off the Gulf.

As we rested outside later, Wayne and Libby from Wisconsin stopped by on their scooter to chat. (Yesterday as we were sitting outside they stopped to ask directions to their site.) They’ll be here until April, as will we, and have an English spaniel named Hailey and a cocker named Daisy.

Again we were met with rain showers on Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church. Pastor Jones (First Baptist Church of Rockport) spoke on the passage from John 9, about the blind man being healed, and the persecution he faced from the Pharisees when he didn’t deny the healing powers of Jesus. “I was blind, but now I see…”

Temperatures didn’t reach much more than the high 60s that day, and it was pretty drizzly for the better part of the day. After church we headed to Carolyn’s Turtle Bay Café for breakfast. I could hardly wait to dig into her corned beef hash topped with eggs—the BEST!! Dick had a cheddar cheese omelet with mushrooms and onions and a little pancake that covered the entire plate (you should see the regular pancakes!). 

Due to the weather It was an afternoon for football and my Mulligatawny. YUM!

Thought we’d leave you this week with photos of some of the wildlife in and near the park: herons, butterflies, squirrels and buzzards.

White egret

These two are of the squirrels at our site.

Prickly Pear, the state plant of Texas

Buzzards seen on our walk to Fulton Beach Road

Until next week stay strong, stay healthy.

Join us, if you can. We’d love to see you again!

Dick and Gail

A. Cloquet, Minnesota
B. Blackhawk Corps of Engineers Park, Wisconsin
C. Cerro Gordo, Illinois
D. Carterville, Illinois
E. Mountain View, Missouri
F. Branson, Missouri
G. Alexander (Little Rock), Arkansas
H. Vicksburg, Mississippi
I. Bullard, Texas
J. LaGrange, Texas
k. Rockport, Texas

Vicksburg, MS to Bullard, TX to LaGrange, TX t o Rockport, TX = October 28-November 3, 2013

Our last day in Vicksburg. We're so glad we took the time to visit this historical place, as it's so jam packed with things to see. While Dick took the motorcycle on a little spin through the area, to the Vicksburg waterfront to get more photos and do more sight-seeing, I stayed back at the camper to publish last week's blog. We had so many internet issues that it took me over 6 hours to get it written and published. When he returned we did the preliminary packing to get on the road again, on one of the last legs to Rockport.

The following photos are of murals and artwork found in downtown Vicksburg.

Willie Dixon

Tuesday came to us with sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s—just perfect for driving. We completed the final packing up and stowing, and got on the road by 9:00 a.m. As the day went on, the temperatures continued to rise to the low 80s, so we're very thankful for AC in the black beast. The only issue we had on the road was as we were driving into Shreveport, LA a Texas dually flew by us, kicking up a rock into our windshield leave a large chip in its wake. We're grateful it wasn't worse.

We arrived at our destination, the Lavender RV Park in Bullard, TX, by about 2:00 p.m., where we had reservations. Hmm…no office, no-one to welcome us, nothing but a sign and a grassy field of full RV hook-ups…and no lavender, contrary to the name of the park.  We attempted calling the park quite a few times, but were always switched to the recorded message that there was no voice mail set up yet. Hmm... Obviously, this was a relatively new park. There were no facilities such as rest rooms, showers, laundry, no meeting rooms, and definitely no WiFi. What to do… We decided we'd select our spot, get set up and wait to see if anyone showed up. Unfortunately, we didn't get photos of the place; wish we had… We were going to take photos the next morning, but that didn't happen due to the weather. (You'll just have to visualize a beautiful green grassy field, surrounded by trees, with full RV hookups...)

As we were setting up, a neighbor stopped by tell us the owners had gone to Dallas for a couple of days, but would be returning the following day. They wanted him to collect the fee from us, which we gladly paid. Apparently the neighbor sings, and tried to get us to stay for a few extra days so we could hear him sing at the rodeo to be held Friday night. We said "thanks" but that we'd be moving on. We had planned to stay for 2 or 3 nights, but when we saw and heard the weather report for the next day or two we decided to pack up and leave immediately in the morning...up to 5" of rain was expected the next day, with the potential for severe thunder storms and flooding

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By 7:00 a.m. Wednesday morning the rain had already started; we were packed up and ready to head out by about 8:30 a.m. We were drenched by the time we finally got in the truck to head out. So glad we made the decision to leave, as the rain proceeded to get worse as the day went on. Driving was precarious—and some Texans do not slow down no matter the weather. The rain came down in buckets, making visibility almost non-existent at times. It continued for most of the day, gradually lessening the further south we got.

As we were heading south we passed what appeared to be game farms, offering game and bird hunting. We saw elk, deer, turkeys, and ducks. In addition we saw fields of cattle, goats, llamas, and sheep. There were alot of breeds we had never heard of: Sante Gertrudis, red and black brangus, and others I can't remember. 

When we finally had cell phone reception, we were able make reservations at Colorado Landing in LaGrange, TX. What a beautiful park alongside the Colorado River. Full hook-ups, WiFi, level sites, great TV reception, flowers—well, you get the picture.

It was 85 degrees and humid by the time we arrived. That night the rains started again. Up north toward Austin, TX there was major flooding due to the over 10” of rainfall they received. The rivers were swollen, homes were flooded, major evacuations were called, and it continued to rain.

Rivers in the Austin area flow into the Colorado River so that was expected to eventually crest in LaGrange by Saturday afternoon at 46.3'. The RV park is about 50' above the normal level of the river, and it had already risen at least 10' by Thursday morning. We woke to heavy thunderstorms and wind, starting at about 4:00 a.m. Thursday. The slow moving system finally moved through the LaGrange area by mid-morning Thursday, with the threat of occasional showers throughout the day. LaGrange had received only 2" of wet stuff. By noon the sun had come out and it was beautiful. We took a walk along the river, which had already risen substantially.

That evening we decided to have pizza, so went in search of the best place in town. Frustration set in when we realized that all of downtown had been cordoned off for the kids to trick or treat at the local businesses. According to the town map the pizza place was smack dab in the middle of town. After parking and walking 3 blocks to find that the pizza place didn’t exist, we asked a kind gentleman for suggestions. He directed us to Reba's, a local pizza/deli, located not in the middle of town as the erroneous map said, but rather a few blocks away. We're so glad we asked, as it turned out to be one of the best pizzas we've eaten. The supreme pizza had 20 toppings, including jalapeno peppers. YUM! It was so loaded that we could eat only 1 ½ pieces each, leaving enough for 2 more meals at home. Being Halloween, parents decided to eat out as well—at Reba's—so it wasn't a real quiet meal, but  good none-the-less.

Friday morning we packed up and headed to Rockport, TX, our final destination. Only 140 miles away, we had arrived and checked in by shortly after lunch time. Again, weather was great for driving: sunny with temps in the low 80s. We had decided last year to move to a different area of the park for our stay this winter, where it's not so heavily trafficked. So happy we did; friends, whom we got to know last year are in this part, called The Villages.

As soon as we got parked we  met Art, our neighbor from Wisconsin, widowed and traveling in a large motor home. That afternoon we attended a "happy hour" at the family club house to talk about activities we'd like to have this year. Friends Robin and Connie are co-directors of activities this year so we're looking forward to what's in store!

Thought you'd like to see photos of this rv park, 

Laundry, restroom and shower facilities

Our back yard

Family clubhouse

Adult clubhouse

and photos of the area.

First Baptist Church of Rockport, where we'll be attending.

The following photos are taken along Fulton Beach Road and Marina, and Rockport Harbor.

Saturday, our first real day as "winter Texans," dawned warm at 64 degrees, and sunny. There was a wonderful breeze and low humidity. Temps got to the high 70s later in the day, but it was perfect. Dick and I rode our bicycles around the park in the morning, and Dick took off on the motorcycle for a bit to check out the area, for any changes. It was such a beautiful day, that I stayed home and read outside for the afternoon. Neighbor Art invited us over to his place for happy hour that afternoon, where we caught up with friends, and what's been happening in their lives since we last saw them. Feels good to be "home again,"

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday, weather-wise. What a perfect way to welcome us.

Hope this finds you well. We'll catch up with you again next week

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Hugs 'n' blessings,

Dick and Gail