Bay View RV Resort – February 10-16, 2014

Spring has finally sprung here in south Texas. With the exception of Tuesday when temps didn't get much higher than 45, the temperatures teased us the rest of the week, reaching the mid-60s to high 70s. Yippee-skippee!

We were able to walk quite a bit, either on Fulton Beach Road or around the park. This nice weather brings out the wildlife, so Dick was able to take some great photos of birds.

We also played quite a few games of Pegs and Jokers. Dick was working in the office Wednesday afternoon during our regularly "scheduled" game, so we could't play teams (men vs. women). We were all in it for ourselves. Bob (Missouri) and Marvin (Illinois) each won a game—sorry, guys, these don't get added to the tally guys. (Ha!)

Afterwards we stayed for happy hour, followed by dinner: homemade bean soup. The remainder of the meal was supplied by attendees: salad, rolls, dessert. Yum! Kudos to Lyn (Michigan) who made the soup. It was the best. Then, we played another couple games of Pegs and Jokers = men: 1 vs. women: 1.

Thursday morning our friends Marvin and Shirley held an RV class. (If you remember, they own an RV dealership in southern Illinois.) It was very well attended; Marv shared interesting information and answered questions for about 1½ hours.

Followed by our walk that afternoon where we were able to photograph the spoonbills, we sat outside for an impromptu happy hour at Steve's and Karen's (Wisconsin) site, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. Bob and Sharon (Missouri) joined us. Such good times sharing and laughing.

Friday was Valentine Day: cupid delivered a sunny day with temperatures in the 70s. Yea! 
We walked along Fulton Beach Road for about 40 minutes, and were able to shoot videos of spoonbills feeding in the shallows. They're so entertaining! Enjoy these short videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQombr9d4X4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbGfV_BBLnA

That evening was the Valentine Day dinner and dance: prime rib, baked potatoes with sour cream, green beans with mushrooms, and cheesecake with strawberries. There was a table decorating contest, where our table came in 3^rd. We shared the table Steve and Marty (Michigan), Steve and Karen (Wisconsin), and Bob and Sharon (Missouri). What a fun time! The prime rib was so good, and the servings were HUGE—enough to take home for another couple of meals. We were stuffed! A good time was had by all.

1st place

2nd place

3rd place

Dessert: cheesecake with strawberries

Checking everyone in for Valentine's dinner

Chef Lyn and her husband Mike (Michigan)

Folks at our table prior to dinner

80 folks were served for dinner

DJ for the dance

Saturday was "Lamardi Gras", held in Lamar, Texas, just across the bridge to the east of us. This event is sponsored by the volunteer fire department in Lamar, and raises money for their facility and upkeep of their equipment. Bob and Sharon joined us, to take in the parade at 11 a.m., followed by music and food in the new fire hall. 

Waiting for the parade to start (don't know who the
guy to my left was)

Lamardi Gras Dog waiting for the parade across from us

The following are some of our favorite floats from the parade.

Notice the dog riding along

From Caroline's Turtle Bay Cafe, one of our
favorite places to eat in Rockport.

This float and the following are
LaMartians

This photo and the next 3 are of the Little Bay Sea Queens,
a community organization that meets regularly, hosts charity events
and appears in parades throughout the Texas Coastal Bend. 

Steve (Michigan) in his new hat, playing blackjack

Table of Lamardi Gras souvenirs

Live music in the tent

Afterward Dick and I spent a couple hours playing blackjack ($20 buys $500 in chips, with all proceeds going to the fire department). We sat at a table with Lee and Lilly, a couple from Lamar, both who are teachers in Sinton. Their 9-year old daughter Sophia was with them, and we became great friends…so much so that I gave her all the Lamardi Gras beads I had collected, and she gave me a long-stemmed red rose; her parents bought us beverages. What a fun family! What a fun day! Temperatures were in the 70s, with a bright, sunny and cloudless sky. Nice.

Sophia decked out for Lamardi Gras

Sunday we attended church in the morning, followed by a quick breakfast at Whataburger on the way home. Then, Dick needed to spend some time in the office while he had access to a computer there. While he did that I spent time outside with friends Karen, Marty and Sharon—just talking.

Pastor Jones' Sunday message was on worship, taken from John 12:1-8 (where Mary washes the feet of Jesus with precious perfume), and our responsibility towards worship. The bottom line is that real worship is understanding the supreme value of a gift to the receiver…in this case is it Jesus and his purposes, or me and mine? Here’s the link to the sermon: http://fbcrockport.net/online-sermons/

It was ice cream again at 2:00, followed by Pegs and Jokers. Due to conflicting schedules, there were only 4 of us playing. We played 4 games, and again: women rule and men drool! Gals beat the guys 3:1. Woot-woot!

A bit of good news: the release of about 200 "cold stunned" turtles took place on Sunday, at the Padre Island National Seashore. If you remember from the December blogs, I mentioned the turtles and the dilemma they were facing due to the cold weather and water. The turtles need to be in temperatures of at least 50 degrees, so those rescued in November and December have been recovering at Animal Rehabilitation Keep (A.R.K.) Rehabilitation Center at the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. The weather has finally warmed to the point where they can be safely released. Over 1,000 people attended the release.

Turtles on the way to being released

A released green turtle

That evening, as we had the other nights, we spent watching the Olympics. Even though we knew the outcome of races and competitions, it was still fun to watch.

We will be leaving Rockport, on Tuesday, for a few days, driving down to South Padre Island to meet friends Bob and Nancy from Federal Way, Washington. We'll leave the camper in Rockport, though, and will stay in a hotel for the few nights we'll be gone. It'll be good to see good and old friends again, and we'll be looking forward to exploring a part of Texas that is new to us. Dick's parents used to spend winters there in their camper, so we’re anxious to see what they liked about that area.

Hope this finds you well. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

Hugs,

RJ and Gail

Bay View RV Park, Rockport, Texas – February 3-9, 2014

What a crazy weather week this has been! We complain daily about the chilly temperatures—no, that's not right—cold temperatures (for here)—until we see the weather reports from around the country and see what you all are facing. Thankfully, nothing has frozen here as it has in Houston and Dallas, but none the less it's chilly. And, we've had no precipitation unless one considers the heavy dew. Here's the rundown of what the temps were when we got up in the mornings:

Monday: 39

Tuesday: 51 (heat wave!)

Wednesday: 46

Thursday: 37

Friday: 35

Saturday: 41

Sunday: 49

Daytime temps last week didn't get out of the 40s, and we had wind most every day. Tomorrow night (Tuesday) the thermometer will dip to the low to mid-30s as it will at night the rest of the week. Weather reports say we'll hit the low 60s during the days, but we're not holding our breath. We're also facing ½-mile visibility at night and in the mornings due to heavy fog. So different from last year.

Because the weather was so crummy all week, this was movie week. We saw 3!

Monday night we went to the clubhouse to see "The Butler," the story of a White House butler (Forest Whitaker) who served eight American presidents over 3 decades. Based loosely on fact, the film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man's life and family. The story recounts the life of Cecil Gaines, born to sharecropper parents on a cotton plantation in 1926 in Macon, Georgia; how he is taken in by the estate's caretaker and trained to be a house servant. In his teens, he leaves the plantation, breaks into a hotel pastry shop and is, unexpectedly, hired to work in the hotel. He learns advanced skills from the master servant, who, after several years, recommends Cecil for a position in a Washington, DC hotel. While working at the hotel, Cecil is hired by the White House during Eisenhower's administration, beginning his 34 year career as a White House butler.

Thursday: movie #2, "Nebraska," starring Bruce Dern as Woody Grant, a cantankerous father who thinks he's struck it rich after receiving a sweepstakes letter in the mail. After seeing the letter, his son realizes that it's a mail scam to make a person purchase magazine subscriptions. Woody refuses to give up; his multiple failed attempts to walk to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim the $1 million fortune causes his youngest son to give in and take a road trip with him to Lincoln. Slow moving at the start of the movie, family relationships are developed and quirks are portrayed throughout. The movie is shot in black and white, with very little music. We went to the movie with friends Bob and Sharon, and we all agreed that we weren't sure if we liked the movie or not, but bits and pieces keep coming back to us, causing us think about life in our own families. (I remember my dad always submitting his weekly entry to the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes, so the movie was particularly poignant—although Dad, unlike Woody, never thought he won the prize. Like Woody, he just wanted to leave something to his family, if he won.)

Saturday: movie #3, " Monuments Men." We highly recommend this movie! Based on a true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, the film focuses on a group of seven unlikely, mostly older men comprised of museum directors, curators, and art historians. They were tasked by FDR with entering Germany with the Allied forces during the closing stages of World War II to rescue artworks plundered by the Nazis, saving them from destruction or damage, and returning them to their rightful owners. (Artworks included fabled works from great museums; paintings, jewelry, gold fillings, and gold and silver heirlooms from Holocaust victims, even brass and iron bells from ancient church towers.)  Hitler had issued an order that the Nazi loot must be destroyed if he dies or Germany falls, so the race is on to save mankind's cultural treasures from being destroyed. This American-German war film was written and produced in part by George Clooney, who also produced the movie. Starring George Clooney as Lt. Frank Stokes, who hand selected the remaining team, including Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, among others, and Cate Blanchett as a French Resistance operative who spied on the Nazis. For more background on this phenomenal undertaking portrayed in this movie, please read this article, which appeared in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/arts/design/not-all-monuments-men-were-men.html?_r=0

Wednesday's dinner at the clubhouse was "shrimp and grits," that I enjoyed, but Dick was "iffy". He would've preferred a dish of shrimp, just without the grits.

The rest of the week was filled with regular activities, including Pegs and Jokers played many times during the week, when we introduced 4 more couples to this fun game. We attended "happy hour" at the clubhouse Wednesday, and the ice cream social on Sunday afternoon—all either preceding or following Pegs and Jokers. Just can't get enough of that game!

Sunday's message at First Baptist Church of Rockport, brought by Pastor Scott Jones was entitled, "Who's Your Daddy?" Based on scripture from John 8:31-59, Pastor Jones outlined the distinction between hereditary children and children of God. The thought-provoking question was asked: "Is my life being shaped by the Word of God, or is it shaped by its absence?" Here’s the link to the message:  http://fbcrockport.net/online-sermons/

A few weeks ago I mentioned a dear friend who is facing some health challenges. I spoke with her yesterday; her treatment is scheduled to start next week, in Houston, so please continue to keep her in your prayers. I also covet your prayers for another dear friend in Washington who is also facing life challenges, as well. She's currently undergoing treatment in Seattle. Both these women are very special to both RJ and me. Miracles do happen—please pray for them. Thank you.

Until next week, we hope this finds you warm, healthy and happy. We are!

Love 'n' hugs,

RJ and Gail