Our Year 2006 at a Glance!

New Year’s 2006 found us at Twenty-nine Palms, California. This whole area of California was enjoyed by both of us. We especially liked Joshua Tree National Park and saw one of our best sunsets there. On the 4^th we headed back to Catalina RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs as guests of members that we had met when we were there over Christmas. We really liked this part of California. Catalina RV Resort is a membership park meaning that you buy into it.

From there we headed to Yuma, Arizona. There are some amazing sand dunes around Yuma and lots of places for dry camping. The area around Yuma is mostly known for their truck gardens where a lot of our produce is grown. Other than the weather, there’s not much that’s interesting to us in Yuma. We also went to Lake Havasu and saw the old London Bridge then on to Quartzsite, AZ where we looked around the flea markets and the annual RV show. We stayed in Brenda at a really nice campground and only about 15 miles from Quartzsite. We then headed east and spent three weeks in Mesa, Arizona and had our best and warmest weather there. The park we stayed at was really nice and to make it better we had a coupon for a free week. There were people there from all over the U.S. and Canada. From there we went north to Camp Verde and used that as a base to see Sedona and the Grand Canyon, then south to Tucson then to Benson, AZ where we had a bit of snow!

From Arizona to Las Cruces, NM then on to Alamogordo where Gordon spent a lot of time photographing at White Sands National Monument. His photos of White Sands were Number One on his pbase.com site for eight days! From Alamogordo on to Albuquerque where we spent a week, then started heading home through the Texas panhandle where we stayed a couple of days in Amarillo, TX and discovered Palo Duro Canyon, a place where we want to spend some time.

We spent a few days in Branson, MO then on through Illinois and Indiana to Ohio where I ended up in the hospital overnight. I had been having breathing problems for a while so they checked me thoroughly, couldn’t find anything wrong with heart or lungs so determined it was related to my reflux disease. Increasing my medication cleared that up so we spent two weeks with Gordon’s family in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus and enjoyed seeing our new granddaughter, Lillian for the first time. She had been born two weeks after we left for home the previous April.

From Ohio we headed back to Ontario, staying a while at Rideau Acres at Kingston and arriving back in Ottawa for our medical and dental appointments in mid May. We found out then that our nephew, Nicholas planned to marry his girlfriend, Becky on July 28^th so we stayed in the area for the wedding. In August headed to Lindsay to spend the month there and see Betty & Garth and spend some time with them. They had their usual cottage weekend and Nick and Becky were able to attend as well.

On a very sad note, we had to leave our much loved little poodle, Bib behind in Lindsay. He got very sick and we had to put him to sleep.

In September, we had to return to Ottawa as Gordon had another medical appointment so after that was over we headed to Quebec City and Montreal returning to Ottawa mid-October to get things finalized to again head south. We enjoyed seeing Quebec City and the surrounding area but weren’t particularly impressed with Montreal. It’s just another big city with too much traffic and too difficult to find what you want to see.

After leaving Ottawa we stayed at few days at Mallorytown KOA waiting for the weather to be nice enough to travel and crossed the border into the US on October 30^th. We made the 11 hour drive to Columbus, OH in one day and met our newest grandchild, Luke. That makes a total of five grandchildren to date. While there we had truck problems and wound up staying longer than planned. Everything was fixed under warranty.

Onward on our southern trek to the Texas Gulf Coast through Tennessee, Arkansas and into Texas. We spent a week in Austin but unfortunately neither of us felt well that week having picked up some kind of bug. On to San Antonio where we spent 10 days enjoying the weather and touring the San Antonio sites. Riverwalk and the Missions held most of our interest. Gordon also visited The Alamo. From there it was south to Mustang Island State Park. We had a lot of favourite places in our 2005/2006 winter trip – the Oregon coast, San Diego, Desert Hot Springs, Mesa, Sedona, White Sands, Albuquerque and of course, the Texas Gulf Coast – all for different reasons!

Since January 2006 to present (December 31^st) we have put 7,341 miles on the RV and many, many more on the truck.

This winter 2006/2007 we are traveling less miles but are enjoying the Texas Gulf Coast. We were here in the winter of 2004/2005 for a while and as it’s much less expensive and not nearly as busy as Florida we decided to spend some time here again.

We spent a month including Christmas and New Year’s at the Marina Beach RV Resort at Port Aransas, Texas and will leave here on January 9^th.

It appears we’ve both got some wanderlust in our veins as after a month in one place, we’re ready to move on to somewhere different.

Happy New Year!

It was 49F (9C) but sunny and bright for my walk to Roberts Point Park. There were a lot of fishermen around this morning being a long holiday weekend consequently not too many birds except for this heron that’s hanging around the fisherman.

It was 49F (9C) but sunny and bright for my walk to Roberts Point Park. There were a lot of fishermen around this morning being a long holiday weekend consequently not too many birds except for this heron that’s hanging around the fisherman.

This afternoon we went into Corpus Christi and Gordon dropped me of at a shopping mall and he headed to downtown Corpus Christi to take photos. As it turned out this mall didn’t have many stores that were still open but I still managed 1 ½ hours of shopping and bought a T-shirt, a pullover sweater, a blouse (all 50% off), a neck pillow and jogging pants. I also found a GNC there so stocked up on items needed.

Gordon had a good time taking photos and wants to go back. I also want to go back but to the mall that still has stores open!

Tonight is New Year’s Eve so have a Happy and Safe New Year! We’re not New Year’s people so will just have a regular night. I’ll probably stay up to watch the ball drop but since I didn’t sleep well last night, that may change!

We drove part way back to Port Aransas on the beach - about 6 miles total - lots of traffic and people on the beach today! The surf was lapping at our tires in some places!

This is how the 'other half' lives. This is the backyards of some of the local Port Aransas folk.

December Expenses

Campground Fees - $388.55

Groceries - $408.81

Laundry - $16.00

Entertainment - $.25

Snacks - $1.46

Eating Out - $61.62

Fuel for Truck - $155.73

Propane - $19.00

Repairs RV/Truck - $0.00

Misc - $223.43

Insurance - $151.04

Internet/TV - $189.06

Cell Phones - $88.42

Medical/Dental - $0.00

Gifts - $92.95

Total - $1796.32

A good month for expenses! I don’t think anything needs explaining except the .25 for Entertainment. This was actually for parking in Corpus Christi. Next month I’m changing some categories and amalgamating some others to make it easier.

Surf's Up!

If you look closely at the two photos at the top you will see a dolphin jumping in front of the ship (double-click on the photos). The two bottom photos are of the surfers at the beach this morning.

It was quite a bit cooler this morning – 56F (13C) , cloudy with a dark sky looking like rain so I set out to walk around town.

This morning we went out to see if we could find something worth photographing in the cloudy weather. We wound up going to the south jetty. A ship was just going by with more dolphins jumping in front of it. There were also surfers out en masse. Pretty good surfing waves today! After that we stopped for fuel, the first time since December 5^th then on to Roberts Point Park where Gordon photographed the herons. I was able to keep myself from taking more pictures of herons but probably just for today. Then as we were both hungry, we stopped at a little Mexican restaurant in a strip mall that’s very close to us called ‘Cancun’. There was a lot of food and it was pretty good. After that I decided I needed to walk so set out to take in three of the shops that are near the RV park. Didn’t buy anything. I had picked up some postcards but no one wanted to wait on me so I left them and left the store!

I had a long nap this afternoon and Gordon went out and took photos of a beautiful sunset. Check out his photos here.

Some Chores, Some Relaxing

This is part of the sign outside the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce -a lot of fishing goes on around here

This 'Old Salt' stands outside the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce building all decked out for the holidays
These photos were taken on Christmas Day.

The temperature was right this morning for walking – 67F (19C) but it was cloudy and as I was getting up I heard raindrops on the roof so decided just to walk around the park which I did for 20 minutes. I had just come inside when a squall hit. It was a brief squall but I would have gotten wet if I hadn’t been very close to our RV.

The plan for today had been to drive into Corpus Christi so I could go mall shopping and Gordon could go downtown and take photos, however since the weather forecast is for rain, thunderstorms and the possibility of hail, we elected to wait until another day. Those conditions don’t make for very good photos.

Since we were staying home, I defrosted the refrigerator, a job which I keep putting off. It only takes about an hour. I’m not sure why I put it off. I think I feel like I’m constantly on vacation so why should I do any housework? That being said, I wiped down all the wood in the kitchen, dining room and living room with some pledge wipes that I bought at Dollar Tree the other day. Still have the bathroom and bedroom to do.

The rest of the day I spent reading and napping and doing word puzzles. Not the most exciting of days!

We went out for sunset to take photos at Charlie's Pasture which is just a short drive from the RV park. There was also a ship going by and the dolphins were jumping in front of the ship as usual. Does anyone know why dolphins do this?

The temperature did reach 76F (24C). We had showers and then some sun, then some cloud and so on for the day. Luckily no thunderstorms or hail at least as of this posting.

Kamikaze Pelicans

This morning was 65F (18C) and partly cloudy for my walk to Roberts Point Park. Just as I got there I saw a couple of fishermen and a whole flock of pelicans, maybe 30 or 40 and they were doing kamikaze dives into the water for fish. It was really cute to watch them.


After lunch I headed over to the local IGA to pick up a few items. When I got back Gordon and I went for a walk to Roberts Point Park. We saw a couple of cormorants and a couple of dolphins in the channel but there were a lot of people fishing so not that many birds. When we came home, I sat outside again for a while. The temperature reached 75F (24C) but it was partly cloudy this afternoon.

Not A Cloud in the Sky

Today was another beautiful sunny, bright day with no wind. It was only 49F (9C) when I set out for my walk but with the sun it felt much warmer. By the time I got back, the temperature had risen to 55F (13C). When I left the RV the air that kind of fishy, salty smell, just like the islands.

I sat outside for five hours today reading and doing word puzzles. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature reached 70F (21C). Luckily they have a pretty good exchange library here at the campground so I picked up five more books to read.

Nothing planned for tonight other than TV.

I took a photo of this Christmas decoration in honour of my friend, Mike who has always liked Garfield

This ship is called the "Texas Treasure"-it's a floating casino and it's home base is across Redfish Bay from where we are located

Pretty hibiscus flower on the grounds of the Fins restaurant

A Bright Sunny Day!

We went out last night to look at the Christmas lights. There were a few around but not nearly as many as there usually are at home in the Ottawa/Kanata area. We got back too late to go for a walk with Diane.

It was only 46F (8C) when I started out for my walk this morning but it was bright and sunny with no wind so it was quite warm. I had dressed for it to be much colder. The park and marina were much busier this morning but I still saw six herons on my walk and two of them were having a fight, pictured below.

It was such a beautiful sunny day I sat outside a couple of times during the day but needed an extra sweater. It’s about 10 degrees cooler than I would like and we topped out at 62F (17C). This afternoon we took a drive back to Mustang Island State Park so I could walk on the beach. I really like it there, too bad the showers are so grungy.

Christmas Day 2006

This is our table at the potluck. You can just see Gordon's forehead down at the end on the right.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I woke up to 49F (9C) and cloudy weather. I headed over to Roberts Point Park for my walk. There was no one around, consequently lots of birds. I counted 12 blue heron and numerous cormorants, pelicans and seagulls. I even saw a couple of turkey vultures. There were all kinds of dolphins doing their little dance in the channel. Quite a treat for my Christmas morning walk!

Our potluck went well but it didn’t have all that much that Gordon could eat. By the time we got up to eat (our row was last) all the mashed potatoes were gone but he said he got enough although this was not his favourite potluck that we’ve had since we started RVing.

Tonight I called my sister’s house in Ottawa as that was where the family was gathered for Christmas. I got to talk to Nick and then went on speaker phone and talked to everyone else. There’s no snow in Ottawa for Christmas which is a bummer for some people.

The plan for the rest of the evening is to take a drive around Port Aransas and see the Christmas lights, then probably watch TV. If it’s not too windy, I might go for a walk with the lady that I met from Madoc, Ontario.

Merry Christmas!

The gale force winds and heavy rains continued through the night. It was still windy this morning but not as bad as during the night. I walked around the neighbourhood and in the park and there were lots of TV dishes and Christmas trees that had been blown over. Apparently ours went out of skew but didn’t blow over. It was only 49F (9C) this morning and I got up a little later than usual mostly because the wind and rain kept me awake during the night. There were all kinds of things going bump in the night!

Dumping the tanks was an ordeal. The sewer connection is at the very back of the rig and our sewage outlet is near the front. Even with our two sewer hoses together it was almost a stretch to reach the connection. Don’t know why they don’t put the sewer half way up, that way it would be easy for those whose connections are at the back or at the front. DUH!

I made Sweet & Sour Beans this afternoon from a recipe I got from a fellow fulltimer at rvdreams.com. This will be our contribution to tomorrow’s Christmas potluck. It’s very similar to my Calico Beans so I’m anxious to see how it tastes.

I think our high today was about 54F (12C). It was cloudy all day with some rain but the wind did subside around noon.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

It's Not a Very Nice Christmas Eve Eve's Day

It was mostly cloudy, 59F (15C) and very windy this morning. I walked to Roberts Point Park anyway. It was tough walking against the wind but I got pushed all the way home There weren’t any birds sitting on the fishing piers or the rocks because of the wind. The herons tend to stay crouched down somewhere out of the wind. The pelicans and seagulls were flying around though and I did see one dolphin but couldn’t get a photo of him.

I forgot to mention that last night we went to the south jetty for sunset. It wasn’t a great sunset but there were some nice clouds over the Gulf. My pictures today are ones I took last night at the jetty.

The pink cloud's from last night's sunset

A different heron (he's not as big as the one I see at RPP) at the south jetty

The sun sets behind a condo at the beach

The birds gather at sunset

Today was very, very windy and the high only got to 61F (16C). We also got some rain. We stayed in all day and vegged. The highs for the next couple of days will barely make it into the 60s F.

Gordon has posted our cyber Christmas card on his web page here.

My Blog hit the 10,000 mark today!

That's a Monarch on the left and a Queen on the right both on our sunflower plant right behind our rig.

My blog hit the 10,000 mark long before the end of the year. Thanks to everyone. Now if I could just get some comments.....

It was substantially cooler this morning – 54F (12C) but it was bright and sunny with a good stiff breeze. I elected not to go down by the water as it would be colder with the wind and walked around town instead.

I went out to the post office and the IGA this morning and drove around town a bit, then came home and sat outside in the sun. Although the sun was bright, the wind was cool and our high only reached 65F (18C).

This morning I had met Diane (from Madoc, Ontario) when I was out and she wanted to get some ladies together to go carolling around the park tonight. However, only she and I showed up so instead we went for a walk and then sat outside their rig and chatted for a while.

We Stayed at Home Today

This is a photo that Gordon took of me the other day in one of the little electric cars

A cold front came in last night so I was surprised when I got up this morning to see that the temperature was 64F (17C) but cloudy. I went on my usual walk to Roberts Point Park but it was fairly windy so the birds were sitting low and in different places than usual.

The day remained cloudy and we had rain off and on. The temperature got to about 67F (19C) before dropping in the early afternoon. We spent the day indoors, reading and napping. I went up to the office and signed us up for the Christmas Day potluck. Not a lot of people have signed up so hope it will be a success. There’s apparently another one going on at the local community centre where some of the park residents go to take tai chi and do crafts etc. so that may eat away at our attendance. Also some people have gone elsewhere to be with family. It sure won’t be as well attended as the last two years when we were at larger RV parks.

Other than making stew and cornbread today, that’s it for me!

Back to Rockport and Goose Island State Park

Sunrays taken through the windshield of the truck on our way from Rockport to Aransas Pass

This is one of the ferries that cross Redfish Bay between Port Aransas and Aransas Pass

I see this handsome fellow almost daily at Roberts Point Park and each day I take a picture of him. Who knows why? I can't help myself.

We had some wind for a while overnight but by the time I got up this morning it was gone as was the fog leaving cloudy conditions but 66F(19C).

My goal a couple of months ago was to reach 10,000 hits on my blog by the end of this year and it looks like I will reach that goal before that time as when I checked today I was at 9913.

Later this morning the sun came out and it was probably out all day here at Port Aransas but we decided to head over to the mainland. The pots and pans I’ve had were very cheap. I had bought them when we got our old Class C and they badly needed to be replaced so we headed to Rockport. Our first stop was Goose Island State Park. I was talking to a woman in the laundry room yesterday and she told me that Goose Island starts filling up after Christmas so it would be best if we made a reservation so we made reservations for a two week stay after we leave here, then Gordon dropped me at Walmart where I purchased my pots & pans and a few other items. While I was shopping he was out photographing birds along the waterfront. We made another stop at the Dollar Tree at Aransas Pass before crossing back to Port Aransas on the ferry.

Foggy and Cloudy Day

Some really nice yachts in the fog!

A couple of pole sitters at the marina

It was very foggy this morning but 65F (18C) so I walked to Roberts Point Park. While I was walking along the water I had to keep cleaning my glasses as the mist from the water and the humidity were causing them to get wet. There was also quite a breeze blowing. When I got back, my hair was wet too.

When I came home Gordon suggested we go out for breakfast so we walked just behind our RV to the Whataburger and had bacon and eggs, home fries and a biscuit with free coffee (for seniors). Their coffee was good and the breakfast wasn’t bad. We’ve had worse. Below is a history of the chain taken from Wikipedia.

Whataburger is a privately held, regional fast-food restaurant specializing in hamburgers. The company, established by Harmon Dobson opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 8, 1950. By 1960 the chain had grown to 17 locations in Texas, Tennessee and Florida. Today, Whataburger, Inc. is still owned and operated by the Dobson family and has over 600 locations in 10 US states and in Mexico. The corporate headquarters are in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Whataburger was known for its distinctive A-Framed, orange and white striped roofed buildings (newer buildings are built similar to other fast-food chains, though the roof is built in the orange-and-white triangular shape). Most Whataburger restaurants are open 24 hours, unlike most other competitors Whataburger's breakfast menu is served from 11:00 PM through 11:00 AM each day, a wider window than most other fast-food restaurants, and all regular menu items are still available during breakfast service.

When we got back to the RV we spent some time on the internet then decided to go out for a drive to see what we could see. With it still being very foggy we couldn’t see much but drove around town and along the city beach and found a few other RV parks. We still like the one we’re at now though. It’s very central and you can walk to lots of things. We also stopped at the store with the shark and I bought a Port Aransas hat in black identical to the one Gordon bought yesterday although his is gray.

It was still foggy when we headed back to the rig. It burned off in the afternoon but it remained cloudy all day with some rain.

I also decided since it was not a really nice day to get the laundry done so that’s overwith for another week or so.

Around the Town

The photo at the top is of the cute little electric buggies. They are all colours but are very expensive starting at $20 for ½ hour going up to $125.00 per day plus contract and cleaning fees and sales tax. I don’t think I’ve seen any around town yet and from the prices I know why. The name of the company is “Nautical Wheelers”. The next photo is of the pelicans swimming in pelican formation. Then of a butterfly that I haven't identified yet. The next photo is one I took in the fog this morning of a pretty little palm tree in front of one of the harbourfront restaurants. The photo of me standing in the shark’s mouth is at a local beach souvenir type store called ‘Destinations’. It’s a very big shark! The next photo is a cute little boat outside the local newspaper office where I also saw a cute black and white kitty waiting for someone to come to work to give it some attention.

We had another foggy morning but it was 65F (18C). I walked around town and it was only when I was on my way home that I realized my camera card was in my computer and not in my camera. Luckily I had another smaller card with me so although I took photos of my walk, I don’t have the photos to show for it. By 9:00 a.m. the fog had burned off and it turned into a hot, humid day. So far the humidity down here hasn’t bothered me the way it does at home in Ontario in the summer. It’s kind of like in the Caribbean islands, there is enough breeze so that it doesn’t seem so humid. We are, after all, located on a little spit of land in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gordon had located another birding place that we hadn’t been too so late this morning we went there after stopping at one of the stores behind us where he got a Port Aransas baseball cap to add to his growing collection. There were some birds there but too far away for photographing. I could see them with my binoculars. After that we took some photos around town as you will see above and then we stopped again at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Centre where we saw lots of birds but again they are quite far away for my camera.

Our high today was 77F (25C) and it remained sunny all day even though there was cloudiness in the forecast. We may not be so lucky tomorrow however.

After sitting outside and reading for a while this afternoon, I took the truck and went out and checked out some more stores and stopped and picked up some groceries at the local IGA. It really is quite a nice grocery store for such a small town.

Nothing else is on tap for today, just dinner and TV!

This is the restaurant where we had lunch this week

Cormorant drying its wings on the jetty

Heron sitting on a light pole

This is one of the ferries that crosses Refish Bay coming back from a fuel stop - note the heron on the pilings on the left

It was another bright and sunny morning with clear blue skies and 66F (19C) when I set out for my walk to Roberts Point Park and the Marina.

When I got back I made my refried beans for tonight’s potluck and sat outside and read while they were cooking.

This afternoon we took a drive to the beach for a while. There were some surfers and swimmers out. The surfers were in wetsuits but the swimmers weren’t. Methinks it was pretty cold in the water! The sun and waves were beautiful though.

Tonight we went to the potluck and sat with people from Florida, Arizona and St. Thomas, Ontario. This is a fairly small RV park so it wasn’t as good as some we’ve been too but we had enough to eat. Now we’re settled in letting our food digest.

A Very Beautiful Day!

Pelicans just hanging around

Pretty flower

Today was such a beautiful day! Not a cloud in the sky. I went for my walk at Roberts Point Park and saw a few more herons and pelicans. There was a really nice breeze and at its peak reached 78F (26C).

I coloured my hair this morning as the roots were coming out and we have a potluck tomorrow. Also wanted to have it done for Christmas so now that’s overwith. Gordon wasn’t feeling well so he spent most of the day resting and I sat outside and read and did word puzzles.

There are a couple of large souvenir beach type stores right behind us so I checked them out this afternoon but found nothing I couldn’t live without.

A Very Foggy Morning

Some foggy photos that I took on my morning walk

This morning was very foggy and I awoke to the fog horns on the ferries as they cross Redfish Bay on their way to and from Aransas Pass from Port Aransas. I just walked around the area this morning as the fog was too thick to be able to see much in the park.

I called my sister this morning to wish her a Happy Birthday while I was sitting outside enjoying the day. She said that our cousin, Ed called this morning from England to wish her a Happy Birthday. Ed is such a nice man. Except for his height, he reminds me so much of our father. When we were in England in 2000, we stayed with he and his wife, Jean for a couple of days.

After the fog burned off it turned into another bright, sunny and beautiful day so I spent most of the morning and afternoon sitting outside.

Later this afternoon I drove to the post office to get some things mailed and then to the local grocery to pick up a few items that I couldn’t get or forgot yesterday. Then I stopped at one of the touristy shops but didn’t buy anything.

Now we’re in for a quiet night of TV.

A Trip to Rockport

A heron squats by the shore while a dolphin frolics in the channel

This heron was in front of me on the sidewalk when all of a sudden he flew to the top of this structure and made like a weathervane

Here's a pelican sitting on a piling in front of some nice houses. They kind of reminded me of the houses along the water in Curacao

First of all, I want to wish my sister, Betty a Happy Birthday tomorrow. Unfortunately she doesn’t have a computer so I’ve sent my birthday wishes via snail mail.

My walk this morning was under mild, cloudy skies with a temperature of 62F(16C). By the time I got back it was 67F(19C). I walked over to Roberts Point Park again and saw more herons and pelicans as well as some cormorants and the odd dolphin frolicking in the channel. There was also quite a bit of ship traffic and boats leaving the marina to go fishing both commercial fishermen and fishing enthusiasts. Fishing is a really big deal around here.

Late this morning we headed over to Rockport to go to their SuperWalMart. I didn’t really like the one in Aransas Pass that we went to last week. I needed to get some photocopying done so found a UPS Store to do that. Then we went to a couple of RV Dealers to see if we could get a longer sewer hose. The sewers in a lot of these RV parks is at the back and our sewer connection is close to the front. Nope, the longest sewer hose they make is 20 feet. We can join two together but then they leak and that’s not pretty! So, we have to tie a plastic bag around the connector – just not very efficient.

After that unsuccessful attempt, we stopped at McDonald’s to get me an Asian salad. I ordered it, it took forever to get it. McDonald’s sure aren’t very organized. Then on to Taco Bell for Gordon’s Southwest Steak Bowl. Then we tried to find a picnic table but found a nice spot and ate in the truck only to find out when I opened my bag that I got a Caesar Salad instead of an Asian Salad. Not happy! That’s the second time in a couple of weeks that McDonald’s has gotten my order wrong.

After lunch, Gordon dropped me at WalMart and headed out in search of egrets to photograph. I got the shopping done and he got his egret photos so we headed home to Port Aransas.

Just Lazin' Around

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I took this photo yesterday of part of the Marina beside Robert's Point Park

This morning was sunny but not as warm as yesterday morning. Gordon went out to shoot photos at sunrise and wasn’t back yet when I left for my walk. I just walked around the neighbourhood this morning. There’s a housing development behind us. By the time I got back, Gordon was home and had been all around the area shooting photos. He said he took a whack of them! Check them out at www.pbase.com/merriwolf.

Today was spent just lounging around, sitting outside and reading. We had sun all day but we’re to have some cloud tomorrow.

Of Birds and Butterflies

And turtles too!

I started the day with a nice walk to Roberts Point Park. To walk there and back and take some photos it takes about half an hour. The weather was so beautiful I almost felt like I was in the Caribbean. There were a few Great Blue Herons around this morning, one of which is shown above.

The couple we met yesterday had told us they had seen Roseate Spoonbills on the Aransas Pass side so we took the ferry over this morning and drove around the mudflats where they had been seen but they had obviously moved on so we came back to Port Aransas and went to the Leonabelle Turnbul Birding Centre. There we saw all kinds of butterflies and birds including Roseate Spoonbills but they were quite far away.

As it was lunch time, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant. There is a place called Fins just across the road from the RV park. They will cook the fish you catch but they also have a menu. I had the Seafood Gumbo which was very good and Gordon had a hamburger which he said was good as well.

We then took a drive trying to find a way to get closer to the Roseate Spoonbills that we had seen earlier but had no luck there either. On our way back we stopped at Paradise Pond. There were quite a few birds there too but too far away for my camera. I did however get a photograph of some turtles which you will see above.

Our First Day in Port Aransas

Photos from l to r: Me on the jetty; an egret in flight; a handsome little pelican on the fishing pier in town; ships passing in the channel

This morning was very foggy but this afternoon turned out to be sunny and nice reaching about 75F (24C). Gordon went out and took some photos at Roberts Point Park this morning in the fog.

Today we spent most of the day just settling in, getting to know the park. A couple that are here from Madoc, Ontario and used to live in Ottawa dropped by, then we met them again this afternoon on the jetty. There are quite a few RVs here from Ontario. I expect we will meet more of them in the days to come.

The jetty divides the channel where the ships go through to get to the Corpus Christi Harbour from the Gulf and it goes quite a ways out into the water. We didn’t walk all the way to the end but there were lots of people and birds out there. Also there is lots of beach, but you have to drive to get to it.

We got some groceries and then stopped at one of the fishing piers in town. From there you can see the lighthouse although it is far away. Something tells me we’ll be taking a boat cruise to see it and the dolphins. There are lots of dolphins in the channel and they like to jump in front of the ships as they are passing by.

Now in Port Aransas, TX for a Month

Our site at Marina Beach RV Resort

The sun is trying to come out to say good-bye to me at Mustang Island Beach

It was mostly cloudy this morning and 57F (14C). The sun was trying to come out so it made for a very pleasant walk this morning. Unfortunately nothing unusual had washed up on the beach overnight but it was very peaceful with the waves and the sand and I got to say good-bye again to Mustang Island State Park Beach. We’ll be in the area for a month so we might be back but it won’t be the same with just leaving the RV and going for a walk on the beach when I feel like it.

We left Mustang Island State Park around 11:00 a.m. and then stopped at the dump station so we were on our way by 11:20 a.m. and traveled the 13 miles or so to Marina Beach RV Resort. When we arrived the lady that we saw earlier in the week was at church and we didn’t get the site that we had expected but we’re here and we were set up by 2:00 p.m. The sun tried to come out a few times and the temperature reached 72F (22C).

Betty called to see how we are doing and then we went for a walk around the area at dusk. That’s about it for our first day in Port Aransas!

On My Beach Walk

With this sign on the beach and these waves, would you swim here? Some pretty shells though!

It was an interesting walk this morning. I saw a lot of different seashells. It seems that each day the waves bring in different things. I haven’t seen a Portuguese Man O’War since last week and no jellyfish since the beginning of the week but different seashells mostly every day. It’s interesting what nature does. There was even a fish on the beach with no tail and his eyeballs gone. YUCK! Wonder what did that.

This afternoon we watched “Four Weddings and a Funeral” with Hugh Grant. Wasn’t bad, wasn’t great. Then I went for another walk on the beach. Our time here at Mustang Island State Park is drawing to a close (this time we definitely are moving). It was much nicer this afternoon. The wind was almost balmy and I had too many clothes on. There were two surfers out but they were just coming in as I walked by and said the surf wasn’t too good today.

I e-mailed my Christmas letter today. For those of you on my mailing list, although my husband’s given name is Gordon, he is also called David (mostly by my family) and answers to both names, so they are one and the same. I will publish the updated Christmas letter here on my blog at the end of the year.

The 'Short Trip' to Aransas Pass

See the sand drifting in the wind!

It was 46F (8C) and very windy this morning but I dressed in layers and went for my usual walk.

Today we headed over to Aransas Pass to do a little WalMart shopping, mostly groceries but as Gordon went with me this time we found him some braces for his pants and some new slippers. I also got a toque for walking in the wind down here. Now that I have it, I probably won’t need it. I usually wear my baseball cap to keep the sun out of my eyes but the last couple of days there hasn’t been any sun but lots of wind so this will help. I didn’t notice that it’s wool when I bought it so it’s itchy but I won’t be wearing it for long periods.

Going to Aransas Pass entails either driving through Corpus Christi which is the long way or taking the ferry from Port Aransas to Aransas Pass which is the short way. We took the short way. There are usually four ferries running – there is no charge and I have no idea why they don’t build a bridge. It takes all of five minutes to cross the channel on the ferry. You’d think in the long run it would be cheaper to have a bridge.

Lots of Wind and Rain Today!

Note re comments: For the last week or so I have been unable to post comments on other people’s blogspot blogs. I have advised them but nothing seems to have been done. I’ve tried with both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Hope they get it fixed soon!

The rain waited until I finished my walk this morning but it was pleasant and mild when I was out.

This morning I got the laundry done. When I left the rain wasn’t too bad but by the time I got back it was very windy and the rain was heavy and it continued that way throughout the afternoon. The forecast had called for ‘light’ rain. HA! Just after dark the wind went down and the rain stopped at least for now.

No photos taken today.

Another Day at the Beach!

Looks like some weather coming in. Hard to tell the difference between water and sky

Oil rigs in the Gulf

This morning was warm and cloudy. I decided not to take my camera today and wouldn’t you know it, right there on the beach was the great blue heron and hunkered down waiting for some fish to come to him. Oh well, that’s the way it goes. As I walked down the beach he flew down beside me. That would never happen if I had my camera with me.

I had planned to do laundry today but since it was warm and the sun was coming out briefly every now and then, I elected to sit outside and wait till tomorrow to do the laundry as it’s supposed to rain.

We had lots of people come in today. There’s a couple here from Barrie, Ontario and a lady and her dog who have a truck and fifth wheel. She’s planning on selling her house and going full time. That takes guts!

It reached 75F (24C) today and was quite humid but will be much colder tomorrow with 'light' rain. The weather on the radio station that I listen to is saying 57F (14C) for Corpus Christi. It may be a bit warmer here but not much!

We Found a Campsite for the Holidays!

The first photo is of one of many jellyfish that I found on the beach this morning. Lots of them are huge. When I saw the first one I thought it was just a plastic grocery bag until I got closer so that's about the size it is. The second photo is of a dark blue shell that I saw this morning. There were quite a few of these on the beach too as well as ones like I posted yesterday. The third photo is a sign that you're greeted with just before entering the campground area. I have watched for said snakes and haven't seen any. Sure hope it stays that way!

It was sunny, not so windy and much warmer this morning 63F (16C)! I think our high today was 65F (18C).

This afternoon we had to get propane and I wanted to get some stamps and a few groceries so we drove into Port Aransas. I was quite impressed with the IGA store there so we decided we’d look for our RV park in Port Aransas for over Christmas. We looked at one where the sites were fairly tight and then Gordon spotted one that it seemed that we couldn’t get to. We finally found the entrance to Marina Beach RV Resort and found that it is a new resort only opening last year. There were quite a few empty spots and we liked the looks of the place so we signed up for a month beginning this Sunday. We’re right in town and only a short distance from the ferry that takes us to Aransas Pass so it’s a convenient location and the sites are fairly large and easy to get in and out of. It doesn’t have a swimming pool yet but they do have pot lucks, breakfasts and crafts so I’m happy. We shouldn’t have any problem finding the satellites for the internet and TV either.

Glad that’s out of the way, now we can go about enjoying the area!

Beach Stuff

Today was bright and sunny but not very warm when I left for my beach walk. I mentioned yesterday that when the full moon comes, the tides come in farther toward the dunes and you can see from the photo that I took this morning that the tide came in much further last night than it has since we’ve been here at Mustang Island. I also found out that the full moon is this week not next.

I also found a lot of seashells on the beach this morning that were still intact. Some of them were quite large. There were also a lot of little birds (we think, plovers) scurrying around the beach as usual. They are really funny to watch.

Although the day was sunny we only got to about 55F (13C).

We didn’t go out anywhere today, I just walked around the area and the beach looking for the great blue heron which I never did find.