Thursday 1/31/08

We had a bit of shopping to do and then we ate lunch. Instead of heading straight home we went to my favorite spot by the water. Of course there are always gulls around and as we were sitting there I told Don we needed to buy some bread so we could feed them.
As it so happened....we had forgotten to dump our trash bag in the dumpster when we left the campground. So Don opened it and right there on top was some apple peelings.
I took one and broke off a piece and threw it toward one gull. OMGosh!! They must have some kind of radar because all of a sudden there were dozens right by my window. It was almost scary! hahaha

1/30/08 Wed noon

Just got back home from a trip (again) to Walmart. I've been told to buy a wireless booster so my connection would be stronger and I wouldn't get kicked off all the time.
So I've just hooked it up and so far...so good. I just posted a couple of pics at the same time and I haven't been able to do that since I got here.

So now to explain the pics. This first one is the way most of the houses are built on the island. They all have a canal behind their homes to pull up their boat and dock in their *back yard*.
What a life huh? How would you like this backyard.

I thought I'd share this pic too while I'm at it. This is a WWII aircraft carrier called the USS Lexington. It is now a museum and when we were lost we drove pretty close to it. I knew I couldn't do the walking and stair climbing that it would take to go into it.... so we passed and I just settled on a picture as we were driving out of the city.

Mustang Island trip

Grrrrr!!! It has taken me two days to post this.

Good morning all. Another cloudy day here but much warmer than it has been. Now this kind of weather I can handle. :)
Yesterday (Sunday) we had a fun, full day. Took off to Aransas Pass and over to the ferry that took us to Mustang Island. The ferry ride was a real hoot. In the first pic we have just driven onto our ferry and another one is coming in from the other side. In the second pic we are on our way across.

The island is pretty much a rich tourist attraction and where the affluent live (or visit). We did see lots of RV parks but have been told that the salt air damage is much greater from the island than we would get here.

The most important part of the trip was...... (drum roll...!!!!!....) THE OCEAN!

We finally made it Deb. hahaha And here's proof.
It was kinda chilly and windy so the beach didn't have very many people. We did drive along it for a bit and saw a tug boat pulling an oil barge into shore.

No dolphins tho. Sadness :(

We stopped for lunch at a fish shack. Interesting place but way to expensive for what we got. Of course Don had a cow about the prices. hahaha I had fried shrimp and oysters with FF and Don had fish instead of oysters. Food was good. The place sold trinkets etc. and had a back room that looked like they also sold fresh fish. And a big black lab that pretty much had the run of the place. Yikes! (Health Dept???) He was very well behaved tho.

We then drove down the island till it turned into the North Padre Island and then drove over about a (5??) mile bridge to Corpus Cristi. Now I have to admit.....and I don't know what I was thinking....but Corpus is much larger than I expected. Duh!!

Hey we did pretty good. I had printed a map before we left and..... Only got lost once!

We have now decided that we weren't really lost..... we wanted to go downtown anyway. ;) haha

The trip back was pretty uneventful. All tho we did drive back on a road that we hadn't been on before so that was interesting. I wasn't quite ready to call it a day so we went back to my favorite spot. (the fishing wall by the beach) Watched some fishermen... and the gulls.... and the big white pelicans bomb diving for food.

Then we decided to check out the Aquarium. Ummmm yeah there really was 2 big aquariums inside. And a couple of oyster boat hulls and signs etc. At least they didn't charge to get in. Donation only. We can now scratch that off our list.

So that was our big day Sunday. hahaha It only took us a month to get around to it.

What are we going to do today? you ask.

I think we're going to check out a different place to buy groceries. WooHoo!

Have a great day everyone.

Sunday quilt show

A nice sunny day today and we ventured out for a change. heehee
There was a quilt show at the high school so we went. So many nice ones. Even Don enjoyed picking the ones he liked and disliked. We usually agreed on most of them....except for one or two. It was enjoyable tho. We then drove around and along the Copano Bay road. Houses are built on both sides of the road and water behind all houses. They all have their own walkout fishing pier.

I didn't get any pics of the houses but we did stop at one fishing place and we got out and sat awhile.

Here are those pics.

There are some kind of locus tree (we think) and it facinated me. Hence the pics.

Yep....if it isn't birds it's trees. hahaha.

Happy Birthday day!!

Happy Birthday Kianna! I know you can't read this but I still want to put it out there. :)

Sorry I haven't been posting the last couple of days. First of all....I've had a terrible time staying connected and even getting logged online. Very frustrating to say the least. Guess it's just something I have to put up with if I want to have access at all.
And second of all.... we've been very boring! Haven't done anything except laundry. (boring!!)
I have been sewing a bit....but not knocking myself out at that. It's just not been nice enough to go out to anywhere so we've been waiting for the weather to warm up.
Looks like today might be better. We'll see.
Have a happy Saturday all.

Anniversary Day!

45 years!!
Last night Debbie reminded me about our anniversary today.
After that many years....who can blame a gal for forgetting a few things after all. I have no idea what we will do today to *celebrate*. heehee Maybe we'll go to Walmart. That should be fun huh Jess? hahaha
Good morning all. We have another cloudy, misty, cold and breezy day today. Dang!!

Yesterday our neighbor invited us to go to a Music Jam. He plays guitar and sings at several jams during the week and came over to tell us about this one so we decided to go a bit early and have lunch.
Here's a pic of the place.
It's pretty run down and kinda small. The story goes that Capt Billy was (is) a shrimper and he and his wife decided to open this little cafe to give her something to do while he was out on the boat. Hence the first name. Well...the place was kinda small and they loved having music and dancing and the place just wasn't big enough to dance. So they decided they needed a bigger place so they sold it to the nephew. Yep....that's the 2nd name. haha More story goes....the 2nd place isn't doing as well as they had hoped so he had to go back to shrimping. So he's on the boat .... she runs the new place....and the nephew runs this one. And has music jams every Wed afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00.
And....This is the place I've been looking for that sells the fish I've been wanting. Shrimp, oysters and crab with a baked potato. YUM!!

1/22/08

WOOHOO!! We saw our first dolphin today. We were parked along the wall at the pier watching the gulls (and one funny little crane) when I saw something waaaayyyy out in the water.
There were no waves so I knew it had to be either a sea bird or big fish. Then the spot went away so I knew it wasn't a bird. I kept watching the area and a dolphin surfaced!
OMGosh! Talk about excited!!
He kept coming up and going back under and was getting closer and closer to shore each time. I had my camera ready and when he broke the water again I shot the pic. (click to enlarge it) But because my camera has that short delay.... I got just his fin as he was going back under. Don thought he was about 200 yards out from shore.
We've been told that they come into the bay a lot. But when we go to Mustang Island there are really bunches out there. So that will be our next day trip. As soon as the rain goes away and the sun comes out.

Now back to the funny little crane. Just as we pulled up to park... in flew a crane right in front of our grill on the truck. He landed on the wall and just stood there.
Then a guy pulled in with a red pickup and started taking his fishing poles out and standing them by his truck to put the bait on his hooks. Well.....that crane saw him and made a beeline right to him. The bird stayed between us and the red pickup for the longest time. See him peeking around the door? hahaha



Then....... behind us pulled up another fisherman and started getting his bait out. Swwwooooosh.... away went the crane right up to the other guys. he flew part of the way and then started running at the end. He almost ran right up to them. They just ignored him and he finally hopped on the wall and just watched them.

We went to Capt Benny's for lunch. Both, Don & I had the shrimp basket with hush puppies and fries. Very good and VERY expensive!
The weather is nice today. It rained a little this morning and misted on us while we were watching the dolphin but the sun is now peeking thru the clouds and we have the windows open again. We better enjoy it while we can.... forecast for cooler weather in two days. Bummer!!

Sunday 1/20/08

Good Sunday morning all. The sun is shining and there's a slight breeze and right now it is still pretty chilly. Forecast says it will warm up today tho. And I"m ready!! My bones are aching. I could feel this way at home. heehee Where's the warmer????
After church last night we did go to China Bay to eat. Delicious again!! Then we stopped at Walmart to pick up a few groceries and BRRRR...... it was colder inside than outside.!!
Today will be more sewing and watching Football. I hope it gets warm enough to open windows today.
Have a great day all
LOVE!!

Saturday 1/19/08

Whew!! After two very frustrating days of the connection here at the park upgrading and IE not working .... well I've finally downloaded Firefox and it seems to be working better.

The sun is shinning and it is a bit warmer today. Yeah!! Rained again yesterday and last night. And now.... I can honestly say things really ARE bigger in Texas!
Lightning and Thunder to name two.!!!
Holy Moley!!! I swear one lightning strike was right outside our door. And the thunder sounded like it was rolling right on top of the camper. Even brought Don out of the bedroom. heehee

Yesterday I got my machine out and started working on one of my projects that I brought with me. I've decided to call it my Flying Cranes. There will be six of them for one row. It's for my Mag 7 row by row quilt. I'm using all batiks. Now three more rows to go and then I'll go to the quilt store to find my sashing and border fabrics. You know....I have to have some excuse to go there. heehee


I've also finished one of the blackwork baskets. I've started the 2nd one last night. I love sitting and working on these. This will be my black & white quilt and I've got 16 squares traced and ready to stitch.


We'll be going to church tonight and then back to the China Bay restaurant.
Tomorrow will be FOOTBALL!! Go Pack!!

Thursday 1/17/08

Another cold (55 degrees) and windy day. In fact this is the most wind we've seen since we came down. But we still decided to venture out and do something today. There is supposed to be more rain coming in another day and for sure we won't go out in the rain.

....because we'd melt dotchaknow. heehee

We first decided to go to the Art Gallery. Christmas greenery and lights are still outside around the windows. Pretty. There were a couple of white rocking chairs on the porch and if it would have been warmer I'd have set a spell. ;)

We walked inside and could see the whole display area.

Completely >empty< except paper drop cloths taped to the floor. Criminy!! They are renovating between exhibits. It will re-open on the 30th.

Sooooo we'll put that back on the list of To-Do's.

But that was ok after all. We then decided to go down the street a bit and see the Aquarium. Lots of cars parked around so we drove by the front door and Lo & Behold..... Not open today. Only Fri - Sat - Sun & Mon.!!!

Again....another one back on the list!!

Now by this time we're both getting a bit paranoid. hahaha So back down the street to go to the Maritime Museum. Hoping against hope that IT was open. When we drove up to it there didn't seem to be much going on and we really weren't to sure where the entrance was. We drove around the block and then we saw a lady go in a door so we figured that was the way.

Yep!! FINALLY!! Someplace that wanted our money!! It was very enjoyable and we learned a lot. This pic is a large model of one of the French ships that sunk along the coast. Because of where it sank (in lots of sand) the whole ship was in very good shape and very well preserved because it filled up with sand right away instead of breaking up. They even found a skelaton inside it. Very interesting.

There was also an area dedicated to the offshore drilling and showed the drilling platforms and history of the dericks.

We then took the elevator to the second floor and saw a lot of models of different ships. There were fish mounted and told about the comercial fishermen and shrimpers. But government regulations and rules have really damaged them. It's a tough life!!

Then back to the elevator and up to the observation deck. OMGosh it was Windy and Cold. Only stayed long enough to get a few pics of the fishing harbor. Here's pics.

Off we went to eat lunch and decided on Apple Dumpling Deli. Soups, sandwiches and salads. Only open from 11:00 to 3:00. Don had Philly Cheese steak on a hoagie with potato salad and I had a 3 salad plate. Curried chicken - potato salad - fruit salad with either crackers or sweet potato mini muffins. I chose the muffins YUMMMY! Mine was very good but poor Don could have had a bigger portion. At least for what it cost. It was very good but I'm not sure we'll go back. Still haven't found my perfect seafood place yet. Still looking.

Now I'm going to curl up in my quilt again and work on my handwork. I'm ready for that mid 60 degree weather that's supposed to be down here.

Bye for now all.

Love ya!!

Tuesday 1/15/08

It's a cold, dreary, cloudy, damp and breezy day. We have decided to just stay put till it gets a bit warmer. Temps around 56 and the wind is blowing the palm fronds around pretty good. I did hear it rain last night but so far this morning we've seen none. The forecast calls for rain this afternoon.
I'm going to get out my sewing machine today and play around a bit.
Nothing else to chat about so I'm off for now.

Sunday, 1/13/08

Good Sunday morning all. It's football day!!! And we will be staying close to the tv.
We went to church this morning and there was a chior with one young gal that had a fantastic voice. She led the prayers and also a solo at the end of mass. It must have been the high school kids doing the mass because most of the readers, the choir and altar people were all the young kids.
This is a pic of the church. They have one mass on Saturday evening and three on Sunday morning. So far the ones we've been to have all been full. And the Priest always welcomes the Winter Texans. So we must be a big percentage of the attendees.

After church we stopped at one of the local cafes for breakfast. I had two eggs, bacon and *grits*. I had no idea how to eat them so I just added butter. I wanted syrup so I think next time I'll ask for that. They also serve biscuits and gravy that looked mighty good. But I certainly got my belly full that's for sure.

Then we started driving home and saw all these kites flying. They must have been for some kind of promotion or something because they were all being flown by just two vans in the middle of the field. We stopped for a bit and then saw two more groups of them way down the beach from us. We didn't drive there because you had to pay to get on that beach so we sat and watched these for a bit. Be sure to click on the pics for a close-up.

Then we headed home and like I said....will be glued to the tv.
Have a great day everyone.

Saturday, 1/12/08

Good morning everyone. Looking out my little window I can see the clouds drifting past and no breeze. Of course it's still early.

The last couple of days have been lazy and quiet. We haven't gone anywhere or done anything to speak of ..... well unless you call laundry "something'. heehee
Yesterday we spent an enjoyable afternoon trying out the front load washers and the tiny little dryers. :) I knew you'd think that was exciting. hahaha





I haven't even gotten my sewing machine out yet but I have been working on a Christmas bear that I started right before we left. I now have it finished. Please excuse the wrinkles. I just didn't want to dig around to find the iron.

Now isn't that adorable?

I'm off now to get ready for the day. I think we'll decide to go somewhere.
Will let you know later.

Wed. 1/9/08

We took a little excursion yesterday and drove down the coast to Aransas Pass which is about (I'm guessing) maybe 20 miles from us here in Rockport. I'm sure glad we're staying here. The countryside turns into more wetlands looking. Hardly any trees. And if there is a tree...they are short and knarly from the wind. The sceanery is much nicer up here and Rockport is so quaint. Aransas Pass is just a typical town that we'd see anywhere. I'll get pics of Rockport one day.

We stoped for lunch at The Big Fisherman and had one of their daily specials.

Gumbo soup to start.... (very good - just a little bit spice warm but not hot hot)

1 Stuffed crab, 1 stuffed shrimp,

5 fried shrimp (yum) and 4 fried fish strips with a baked potato.

I'm glad I ate it but I now know that stuffed crab and stuffed shrimp is mostly breading and a little of that goes a long way. They also have a special on Tuesdays..... All you can eat chicken fried steak for $1.75!!! Yes you read that right. We've been told the waiting line is at least an hour long if you go from 11:30 to 1:00....so we will definately go later than that.

As we were driving we came upon a marina that stored boats. They had two of these humongus buildings they called *stacked* storage. OMGosh!!! have no idea how they did that.

Again I took several pics of the birds that we saw....but I won't bore you with them here. I'll post to the web album if you want to see them.

I do want you to see what a Norfork Pine should look like if it grows outside. This is the tree I had sitting in my dining room. Gina is now taking care of it for me and it sounds like it is really loving her house.!!!! heehee

I also want you to see some of the windswept oaks that grow down here.

Today will be a quiet day again for us. I'm not sure we will be doing anything spectacular....but if we do then I'll let you know later.

It's cloudy and a bit cool so far today.

Our flyover zone...

Our campground is located right by the Rockport airport and there are helicopters that come and go every day.

We've been told they shuttle the workers to and from the gulf oil rigs. They only run during the day so it really doesn't bother much. Also there are small planes coming and going too. Nothing really starts before 7:30 in the morning tho. So far they haven't bothered me so I hope it doesn't get tiresome the longer we are here.

This morning I went to Walmart to the beauty shop and got a perm and cut. I was a little hesitant...but I just couldn't stand my hair any longer and HAD to get something done. The gal that worked on me did a wonderful job. It's the best perm I've ever gotten. And I really like the cut. Guess I'll just have to come down here twice a year. heehee

Woke up this morning with high humidity, heavy clouds and a few sprinkles even. Now the sky is clear and almost a bit too warm. I'm going to take my embroidery outside for awhile I think.

bye for now....from warm Rockport...

Monday, 1/7/08

Yesterday was a quiet restful day for us. We didn't do anything to speak of. Had to find a quick-stop shop close to us to buy milk and bread so we don't have to go all the way to Walmart.
Then we just sat around and watched football and the Republican forum last night.

This morning we drove to a RV store and picked up a couple of things we needed. You know....things we just couldn't live without. heehee
Our neighbor (Ron) came with us and showed us around a bit. He and his wife have been coming down here for the last 4 years so they're pretty familiar with the area. He also showed us a few places to eat. Yeah!
Speaking of eating....it's time to fix a bite for lunch.
bye for now. :0

Water....

See!! WooHoo! We left after lunch and drove around a bit. Found this nice beach so someday we'll take our chairs and just go sit. We also found an aquarium to visit and a museum.

And lots and lots of places where we can buy fresh fish and shrimp. Still haven't found the right place to go eat it yet. I'll have to do some asking around. Did find the quilt store tho! Yeah!!
Here are more pics of the beach. Altho this pic is a bit deceiving. This is just a small beach that is the end of one that a person would have to pay to go to. Beaches along the shore is not the norm. Most of what we saw was rock and man-made sea wall. We did see lots and lots of small fishing boats. I suppose that is how a lot of the men make a meager living. Must be a hard life.

We drove along the beach road on the way back and there are walking piers at least every 50 feet. We also saw black pelicans. I did get a few pics but I'm afraid they just aren't close enough to see much detail.

We then came back home and put out the rug and tablecloth on our table. That made it cozy. :)

Then we went to church at 6:00 and then tried to find somewhere to go eat. Settled on a restaurant called China Bay. They had a buffet and OMGosh it was soooooo good. We will definitely go back there....even tho it wasn't exactly what we were looking for.

It has now warmed up nicely and I'm looking forward to taking my handwork outside on our *patio*. :0

(PS) if you click on any of the pictures that I have posted on any post....they enlarge. Enjoy.

Our World now

This is our little corner of the park. This is the street we are on. (4th street -- 2nd pic). We have just enough space on the cement pad to park the truck. The table will be moved under the palm I think. We still need to set up our grill etc….but that will come later. As soon as Don finishes his meds I’m hoping he will feel more like doing something. He’s been out visiting with the neighbor several times today.

This morning I’ve reorganized one of my cupboards and have been watching my puter run virus scans and download updates etc. It is taking forever to scan and upload.

We watched KU win last night!!! Woohoo!! Good for them.
Ok for now I’m going to do some handwork so I’ll post more later.

outside our door

We have a palm tree right outside our door. Also a table we will be moving around later.
Don is feeling a bit better but I still don’t want him to overdo just yet.

This morning we went to Walmart. And I got myself in a riding cart because of my knee.
Woo hoo…should have seen me.
I was careening around those corners like a mad lady!!
Hahaha not really.
But I sure wanted to. Heehee


Maybe tomorrow we will take a drive. I would like to go see the water. I’ll take my camera.
That’s it for tonight. More tomorrow.

Our 2nd day

I woke up early this morning (5:30am) and couldn’t get back to sleep. So I decided to play with the computer to see how to log on. It took a while but I finally found my connection and was able to get to my emails. WooHoo! I’m learning!!
I’ve figured out a cool setup for the puter. We took out two of the chairs before we left home so I would have some space to set totes etc. So I just set up the tv stand in the corner – set my laptop on it -- and I now have a *desk*. Works for me!!


It’s pretty darn chilly this morning. I think we must have brought the cold with us.
Don’s outside now trying to get the satellite set up. We met our neighbor and another man while we were working on trying to get cable hookup. Can’t figure it out so will stick with satellite and antenna. As long as I can get my soap and Fox News I’m a happy camper. Heehee

Day 1

Ok … here we go. We can now officially call ourselves *Winter Texans*. We pulled into our campground around 5:30pm and Don had to back down our street between 7 campers on each side to get parked. Holy Moley!! Sure glad he was a trucker. I don’t know how some guys would do it. We have the last site on 4th street. Right by the laundry. Yeah!!

When we first pulled in Don went to get our papers….and he didn’t come back very quick. So when I finally went in the lady at the counter was going over papers a mile high I swear. Oh My Gosh!! Well…we’ll get thru all of them eventually. But first we rest!! Don is really exhausted and I’m even tired. We’re going to call it a night early.
I’ll post more later.