Lindaxtwo

Final Thoughts & Sites on Port Aransas

2012-01-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

We went to the University of Texas Marine Institute the other day. It looks like it’s in a building that used to be a school building. It’s free to the public and there are some interesting exhibits. This one was really interesting. It’s sand samples from around the world. Each of the little white things you see in the picture is a label on the region where the sand came from. There was another case in addition to this one. Who would have thought that there were so many different types of sand. No two looked alike.

The wind has been crazy strong here lately. I had hoped to get up on the roof today to install the last fan cover and wash the salt residue off the rig, in preparation for us leaving tomorrow but with 25 m.p.h. winds….no way. The water from the hose would have come back, on the wind, to give me a bath. Miguel, the mobile RV detailer, was going to give our undercarriage a salt neutralizing treatment today but we had to reschedule it for tomorrow morning. It’s supposed to be calmer tomorrow. Look at the blowing sand in these pics ! Brave souls sitting on the beach. I was freezing walking around on the beach…don’t know how they could stand it. That sand plow we watched the other day will have his work cut out for him because there were big sand drifts forming off on the side of the road.

We went out to eat at one of our advertisers’ restaurant the other night and was really thrilled to see them put their takeout food in compostable containers. Having been in the food business for 30+ years, I like to see new types of packaging. The larger takeout container wasn’t as rigid as a foam 3 section container but would work to get your food home in. I could see where it would compost right up…..I was able to squash it right up once it was empty. Typically packaging costs are impacted by sharp increases in petroleum costs due to it being part of the manufacturing of containers. These containers are not oil based, which is really cool. Years ago these types of containers were really pricey to use in huge quantities like we used to use at the college. Hope the cost of them have come down to make them more affordable for wide scale use.

Leaving in the morning for Schertz, Texas. Our friends Bobbie and Jim will be working a gate guarding position within a couple hours of us. We’re hoping to stop and see them on our way to the park tomorrow. Love to intercept our friends on the road ! Took our final drive on the beach tonight….will miss having the beach close by. Will leave you with a picture of one of my favorite things to watch in the area….pelican. This guy was catching fish off the pier the other day and he was so much fun to watch. See the bulge in his gullet…that was lunch.

Port Aransas

2012-01-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

We’re finishing up in Port Aransas and will be leaving on Sunday. One of the upcoming events, here in Port Aransas, is Sandfest. It’s happening April 20 – 22 this year and usually attracts around 100,000 people. It’s a qualifying contest for the World championships. Last year 24 master sculptors attended and the event has become the largest master sand sculpting competition in the U.S.In addition to the master sculptors, there are over 200 amateur sculptors that also attend. Here are some pictures from the Sandfest website. I would think it tough to sculpt in this sand since it’s so fluffy but apparently it makes for a great medium. If you want to see some amazing work, go to the link above and see some more of the photos. This event is completely free to the public and certainly would be an awesome thing to witness. Might be something to put on a future “to do” list.

One of the restaurants downtown, has a sand sculpture outside that is pretty neat. It’s to promote a nearby development. What an amazing amount of detail in this piece !

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, the birds that winter here are pretty spectacular. We saw this one at a nearby RV park and the blue color was so pretty. Last weekend we took the bike out on Saturday but Sunday was so windy and chilly that we took the car out. Went to the channel to see if the dolphins were playing. Sometimes, while we’re crossing on the ferry, we can see them jumping alongside the boat. We thought we’d take time to sit and watch for them but there was no sign. They must have taken the day off. We did sit, in the park near the channel (in our new camping chairs), and watch the ferries cross. Each captain seems to have their own little routine on how they cross and line up with the opposing dock. It was fun to watch. Here they are lined up at the dock waiting for some passengers.

We took our usual drive on the beach to get back to the park at day’s end. The wind is really whipping today (17 – 27 m.p.h.) and look how strong the surf is. We can’t drive up the beach without Boomer getting a little run in. Look at this happy guy ! While we were driving up the beach, we saw a grader plowing sand on the beach. We’ve seen this a couple times, since we’ve been here. Not sure if it’s a regular thing….to move sand back that’s gotten pushed up onto shore or just a prep thing prior to the season kicking off. Love our daily drive and gonna miss that when we pull out next week.

Fluff

2012-01-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

Something I keep forgetting to mention, when I talk about us frolicking on the beach, is how different the sand is here. It’s not gritty like sand typically is. It’s like talcum powder….so soft and it gets into everything. We’ve tried to end each selling day by driving onto the beach and driving up the beach to the campground. We stop and let Boomer run on the beach. Boomer acts a little like he did back home in the snow but doesn’t go so far as to roll in the sand (thank goodness). He does love to run across the little dunes though and loves the wind and watching the birds and other dogs on the beach.

The other aspect of the sand, for folks who live next to the beach, is the drifting of the sand into residents’ driveways. I know shoveling snow, back east, is a huge bummer but shoveling sand (so you can get into your driveway off the beach) would be just as bad. Boardwalks have huge sand drifts over them, which would need wading through, to be able to get into your property. I think there’s been two days of no wind since we’ve been here….it never stops.

Today we took the bike out. Did a little business in the morning and then went to a couple birding centers in town. There are so many neat birds here although the drought has had a severe impact on the wetland areas around here. We went to the top of an observation platform and could see all of the dried up areas surrounding this one small area of shallow water. A lady, on the platform, said the only reason there’s water in this one area is that the sewer treatment facility, next door, recycles its water and releases it into the wetland area. So sad to see that these birds are in danger due to lack of water in their winter home.

There were lots of different types of ducks, brown pelicans and other birds that I have no idea what they were. We saw signs telling us to beware of alligators but didn’t see any. Did see some interesting flowers, at the entry to the birding center. This one was called something like a Mexican Bishop Hat. The spiral design is really neat…..just hanging from the bush , it has a flat appearance to it until you look at it from the end.

We bought a Whataburger combo and went to the dock area to eat it. We’ve never had a Whataburger….they are not in our neck of the woods..back home. Gotta say, they are pretty awesome ! Vicki, your talk of Whatabugers has made believers out of us. We love the wheat buns that you can get them on. Left the dock and drove down Padre Island way. Had a great time walking on the beach and enjoying the warm temps (was around 76 today). It was a wonderful day, driving around the area. Not sure what tomorrow holds in store for us.

Alaskan String Band

2012-01-18T20:59:00.001-07:00

There was a performance tonight, here in the park, by the Alaskan String Band, from Juneau, Alaska.

What a talented family ! Here is a video of them from four years ago. The youngest, Abigail is now 14. They travel and tour, in the warmer areas of the country, during the winter months. The women were dress in traditional KUSPUK attire, that had been hand-made by the mother and daughters. Learning how to make these traditional dresses is something that’s passed down from mother to daughter, over the generations. They were beautiful with beads and rickrack stitched on for decoration. Each of them played so many instrument. I saw mandolins, banjo, violin, guitar, bass and snare drum being played at one point or another. They played bluegrass, gospel, swing and some things that were a combination of styles. They all sang too. If you recall me mentioning, in a previous post, the mother (Melissa) and one of the daughters (Laura) were in the hot tub last week when Linda and I went over. We got to spend a little bit of time talking to them. They recognized us tonight, when we sat down, and waved to us. The young man, who played bass, had a whole basket full of hats and he put on a different one for each song. It was really cute ! He’s quite the showman too and a real charmer with the young ladies, I’m sure.Such a fun night….so glad we went over to listen to them ! If you ever hear of them coming to a place near you, be sure to go see them. They’re great !

New Chairs

2012-01-16T18:27:00.001-07:00

Linda and I have had the same camping chairs since before we went on the road and besides being big and bulky, they were getting a little beat up. On a recent visit to Camping World, a chair there caught my eye that was folded up really compact but I was on a mission for something else so didn’t take the time to open it up and check it out. I found the chair on Amazon but since they were almost $50 each, I put it on our wish list. After discussing it with Linda, we decided to buy two of them and try them out. When we went back to them, on the Amazon site, they had gone done $10 each so yippee, it was meant to be. On top of that, we had built up a bunch of cash back on our Discover card so the whole purchase was done using our cash back proceeds.

They are called an X-Press Lounger Director’s Chair and are made by GCI Outdoor.The carrying handle is part of the back rest. They are super compact….17.5” x 2.5” x 16.5”. They are really comfy and we think we’re going to store them in the car since they are super small. That way we’ll have them if we get to an event where we want to sit a spell. There are pockets on each side of the chair, for a cell phone or book or a bottle/can. Seems like some good thought went into the design of the chair. I was a little concerned that some of the people who had purchased them had problems with the chairs and needed to get a replacement. That’s why we got them from Amazon…we knew how good they are about replacing them if there is a problem. There is also a lifetime warranty on the chairs from the manufacturer. We’re happy with them…they take up less space and are comfy.

This Really Sucks….

2012-01-15T17:00:00.001-07:00

This morning Linda, Boomer and I walked down to the beach. There is a nice boardwalk at our end of the park that crosses the dunes onto the beach. Folks were out walking, jogging, fishing, and just hanging out. We stopped to talk to three guys who were fishing. They were catching whiting, which from the looks of their bucket, were biting really good today. We asked what they use for bait and they said “ghost shrimp”. They use home-made “suckers”, made out of PVC pipe, to get them out of the sand. You look for a mound of sand, where there are air bubbles coming out and you put the tip of the sucker over the spot and start sucking. The plunger pulls the sand up inside and then you dump the sand out on the beach to see if the shrimp is in there. You usually have to do this 2-3 times because these little buggers dig like crazy to get deeper in the sand. The tide was pretty high so he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find one for us but he finally did. They don’t really look like shrimp but are probably distant cousins to the ones we like to eat. They are very delicate so it’s hard to keep them on the hook when you cast out into the surf. They wiggle for a long time so that, and their smell, attract the fish. Here are some pictures of a ghost shrimp.

Those flat things on their bellies act like paddles and help them to dig down into the sand really fast. This is a really small one. They can be as big as six inches or so, he said. Those they break into pieces to bait their hooks with. The guy we were talking with is from Ohio. He’s been coming down for the last eight years and he enjoys the relaxation of fishing in the surf and listening to the waves. I can’t blame him at all. We’re really enjoying it !

I also saw this thing on the shore. It looks just like a red onion so not sure if there is something that grows in the ocean that looks like it or if someone threw one on the beach, thinking someone like me would come along and wonder about it. If they did, it worked. Hope you learned something new today and were amazed by something simple or complex. Ain’t life grand ?

CC & Beyond

2012-01-14T18:43:00.001-07:00

We left the house this morning around 10:30, intent on going on a nice ride. We backed the bike out of the garage and discovered the front tire pressure was low. This has been a thing that’s been occurring lately and upon closer observation, Linda discovered that there was a crack in the valve stem. We added some air to the tire but decided that we really didn’t feel safe going on a really long ride until we got it fixed. This was AFTER we had to jump the battery to get the bike started. We’ve been putting off having to get a new battery cause, well you know….ya just get sick of shelling out money to fix things ! I’ve resigned myself to the fact that ever since I bought that 1972 Chevy Vega, when I was 16, that I work to pay for vehicles. I guess the alternative is that I’d need to take a bus or some sort of mass transit to wherever I need to go and that just wasn’t possible when you grew up in the country. So quit whining, Linda, and go get it fixed.

We went to a couple of garages in Port Aransas and they either didn’t do tire repairs on motorcycles or were closed. A guy, at the one garage we stopped at, told us to go to Corpus Christi so off we went, hoping the finger nail polish I applied to the crack would buy us some time. We found a Yamaha dealer in CC and after a donation of $213, we rode away with a new valve stem and a new battery. I could stop worrying about breaking down out in the middle of nowhere.

We headed out for our ride and had a wonderful afternoon, driving along the coast. We stopped outside of Portland, near a fishing pier and walked along the water. There was a bird sitting in the water and he could barely move. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with him but after looking around him, I saw a jellyfish right next to him so we’re wondering if he got stung trying to eat the jellyfish. I thought he might drown cause his head would fall down in the water and he wasn’t moving his legs at all. I reached down to pick him up and he mustered up enough strength to reach around as if to peck me. I put my gloves on and reached down and gently closed his beak, then put my hands around his body and picked him up and placed him on a rock. We’re hoping that if he did have a neuro-toxin in his system, that it would wear off in time. We left him there…hoping for the best.

All of the “stuff” that was part of the jetty appeared to be construction waste….slabs of concrete and such. With shells and seaweed all over the surface of these chunks, it was actually really neat looking. Looked a bit artsy in its’ new form.

Temps today were in the low 60’s and the air was a little cool but it was so great to get out on the bike. It’s been far too long since we’ve had Vanessa out on the road. Hoping tomorrow is a repeat of today (except for the donation part of it). Hope you enjoy whatever you do this weekend…..live life !

The Beach

2012-01-13T20:20:00.001-07:00

Finished up a busy day with a meeting with one of the campground owners. Since his park is on the beach, we drove down to the beach to check it out. We’ve never been to a beach before that you could drive on…it was pretty neat. Sunny day today, with temps close to 60 and just a slight breeze (an oddity for here). We parked on the beach and took Boomer for a walk. He had a ball, running around. You could tell that he was really happy, he was running as best he could out to the end of his leash and around in figure eights. As we drove down the beach, there were a number of campers set up. Wow, talk about the ultimate boondocking location. The sound of the surf would lull you to sleep and you’d get to see the sunset over the water. Apparently they know how far high tide comes in, so they aren’t set up in harm’s way.

I had a meeting today with one of the advertiser’s who is an RV detailer and we were discussing the salt spray’s affect on the rigs. He said he’s heard, from the RV’ers that it’s the worst here of any place in the US. He’s developed a special spray-on protectant that the full time residents, in this park, have him put on about every six months. It clings to the frame and is a rust inhibitor. He has a salt neutralizer that he said he can put on our undercarriage, for $25, before we leave to combat the affect of the salt spray while we’ve been here. We’re going to run our car through local car washes every week to keep up with keeping the spray off since it’s already got a lot of rust underneath. We don’t need an accelerator on that process!

This is the beach access for the park where we are staying. One of the neat things about Port Aransas is that golf carts are licensed and can be driven on the road, down to a road called “beach access road 1….the entry point to drive onto the beach. This road is where one of the RV parks, we are working, is located. RV’ers here can park their car throughout their stay and drive a golf cart to town to shop or dine and use it on the beach. The park where we are staying cannot have rental golf carts in the park. They can own a golf cart but cannot rent one. Carts cannot be driven on the road here, since it sits further down the coast from town. As you can see in this picture, they have driven their carts from the park onto the beach but I’m wondering if they can just drive down the beach to the access road and then go into town (as long as their cart is licensed). There were golf carts all over the beach and I can only imagine how crazy the beach is in the summer when it’s crowded. You’d need a traffic cop directing cart and car traffic on the beach to keep people safe.

Supposed to be a nice weekend. We’re anxious to get the trike out and go riding. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend doing what you love to do !

Hold Onto Your Hat…

2012-01-12T20:32:00.001-07:00

Wow, was it windy last night ! Had 40-45 m.p.h. winds and it was rocking the rig and blowing the car around as we were driving around this morning. The guys on the ferry were all bundled up and I felt so bad for them. They looked like they were froze to death. I did see a little of the dolphins as we crossed on the ferry, amidst the white capped waves. There are docks for four ferries so we never have to wait to cross. It’s a very quick process to get across so we never have to add in a lot of extra time when we know we’re doing to Aransas Pass or Rockport.

Yesterday was gorgeous…temps of 82 when we went to Corpus Christi and a great breeze.

We’re trying to figure out what to do this weekend. There is a uninhabitable island that we can take a boat to and spend a few hours wandering around. There are no services, no buildings….nothing. Kind of like pretending we’re Gilligan for a few hours. Might be fun…a lot will depend on what the weather is going to be.

Last night, when we went over to the hot tub for our nightly soak, there were two women in the tub already. They are from Juneau, Alaska and have a large bus-type rig that they use during the summer months. They escape the winters in Juneau and travel around the warm states, performing for RV parks. They are called the “Alaskan String Band”. They were double booked last night so they got the night off. They will be back to perform on the 18th. There’s a mother, father, two daughters and a son who perform in the band. We’re hoping to go listen to them when they return to the park to play. We had a nice time talking to them. They said they already had four feet of snow before they left Juneau. They leave their rig in the states, when they return back home. It’s so nice to meet people on the road and learn about their lives and where they are from.

Anxious for the weekend to be here so we can explore the area. We’re hoping the temps will be warm enough that we can get the trike out and get a ride in. We’ll let you know what we come up with.

Lack of Humanity

2012-01-08T18:30:00.001-07:00

Been a long day and I don’t mind telling you, I’m a bit weary. We had a great time at Pecan Park, in San Marcos, TX for our overnight stay. They had a hot tub (more like a tepid tub) and an indoor swimming pool with a waterfall spillway at one end. We had such a good time, relaxing in the tepid tub, letting the one good jet work the kinks out of our sore backs. Then we got in the pool and paddled around. Then back to the tepid tub, to realize yes it was a little warmer than the swimming pool. Slept like babies last night !

Got on the road at 8:45 this morning. We were going down the side street, leading out to the main road when we hear sirens and see lots of cop cars in front of us. An ambulance comes up this little road and pulls in front of us and parks right in the middle of the road. On our right is a shirtless man, covered in blood and holding a towel to his head. The paramedics rush to him and we squeeze around the ambulance, while hearing tree limbs screeching down the side of the rig. (I hate that sound !) Down the road, maybe a quarter of a mile, are five cop cars. They too did not practice courteous parking methods, respectful to passers by. Linda sees a guy, in the back seat of a police cruiser and another guy sitting at a picnic table in the front yard. Other police officers are seen inside the open front door of the house, milling around. Linda had heard something on the news about a shooting this morning. Was this where it had happened ? Sure was a lot of blood on the guy we saw. What over ? Humans being indifferent to each others’ needs. Violence taking its toll on someone’s family. How sad….

We’d been driving for a couple hours when I needed to stop so I pulled off at a picnic area. I took Boomer outside and noticed two boxes along the side of the road. I thought it odd that there was a 20# bag of cat food and two gallon jugs of water sitting near these boxes. I put Boomer in the house and went to check out the boxes. Approaching the boxes gave me the same feeling I get when I come up on a wreck and look in the wrecked car to help those who wrecked. I really was hoping there wasn’t an illegal alien in those boxes or a child….oh my. There were air holes cut in the tops of each box so I figured that some living breathing “thing”, was or had been in there. Was there still something in there? I leaned down and peaked in and two sets of eyes looked out of each box. Four black cats in total. Who could be so heartless as to leave these four kitties out here ? Linda and I were sick over it. She took our tablet and started calling SPCA’s and shelters, from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. Answering machines or overflowing facilities….No one would come get them and no place to take them. I spoke to one woman who only takes in stray dogs or puppies and she didn’t have any answers for me. The kitties didn’t have any more water left. Someone had left them two jugs with slits cut in them, sitting in aluminum pans. Our water level, in the rig, was below the level where the water pump would work since we don’t like to travel with the weight of a lot of extra water. I filled a water pitcher with water, from the low drain valve and filled their pans. One kitty came out and drank and drank. I took some of the cat food and put it inside the boxes, as they acted really skittish and only one would venture out to the edge of the box. A couple of the kitties ate the food. Adopting four cats wasn’t a possibility for us since I’m allergic to them and we already have Boomer. We pulled out of the picnic area, with heavy hearts and tears streaming down our faces. Linda took a black marker and wrote on the boxes for someone to please adopt them. We hope that they find great homes and make out ok. It made for a really sad ride to Port Aransas.

We took the ferry over to Port Aransas. What a slick operation. The deck hands guided us onto the ferry and told us when to depart. It’s a short ride….you can see the far shore from where you sit at the first shore. The smell of the ocean air, blowing through the rig’s windows, was heavenly. It only took a few minutes to cross over and get unloaded.

We arrived here around 2:15. Temps were in the 70’s….still 68 degrees out tonight. Great breezes, blue water….blue skies. Our site is about 100 yards from the hot tub…..I’m headed over there as soon as I post this to find out if it’s truly “hot” or if it too is tepid. I’ll let you know next time around.

Debate Fumbles

2012-01-08T06:45:00.001-07:00

Summary

Truth took a punch or two at the first of two GOP debates before New Hampshire’s critical presidential primary.

Romney, talking about taxes, said federal, state and local government consume 37 percent of the economy today compared with only 27 percent when John F. Kennedy was president. In fact, taxes now consume only 27.4 percent of GDP.
Paul blasted Gingrich for avoiding the draft during Vietnam, and Gingrich said Paul had a “long history” of inaccuracies. The truth is Gingrich was both a student and a father at the time, and probably would have failed the physical anyway, according to his stepfather, an Army man.
Santorum said the term “middle class” implies class warfare and is one “I don’t think we should be using as Republicans.” The fact is his own campaign used it in an Iowa flyer, and he has used it in the past himself.
Paul attacked Santorum as a “high-powered lobbyist.” Santorum was never registered as a lobbyist, though he earned more than $200,000 working as a consultant for a lobbying firm and an energy company.

Candidates also recycled some false or doubtful claims we’ve gone over before. Romney repeated his misleading claim that his firm Bain Capital invested in businesses that “have now added over 100,000 jobs.” Huntsman again claimed Utah was “No. 1” in job creation while he was governor, which isn’t true according to the standard statistical measure for employment. And Santorum again put words in President Obama’s mouth by claiming that the president “supported” the results of a disputed election in Iran.

And finally, Gingrich, Santorum and Romney were all a bit confused about which sports teams were playing an important game on another network. Perhaps they had more important matters on their minds.

To see the full article, go to http://factcheck.org

Hitting the road this morning to continue our trek to Port Aransas, Texas. Will be there this afternoon.

This and That…

2012-01-03T20:37:00.001-07:00

It’s been a few days since I’ve put up a post. Vacation is over for us. We moved back to Arlington on Sunday. We left Livingston on Saturday and hung out with friends on New Years, part way to Arlington. On the way to their place, we could see how much the lakes have receded. Boats, in their dock cradles (don’t know what the official name is for the things that pull them up out of the water at the dock) were high and dry….a long way from being able to be launched in water. So sad to see how dry everything is. Had a nice time hanging out with them but Linda and I didn’t make it to midnight. Just a couple of old farts….made it to about 11 p.m. but then off to bed for us.

We’re back at it, trying to wrap up this job in Arlington. Still was hard to find people at work today….still off from the holidays. Frustrating for us but not much we can do. While we were out today, we went to Petsmart and bought a “cone” for Boomer. Apparently he’s got allergies or scratched his eye and nose and he won’t leave it alone. It would just start to heal up and he’d scratch it again overnight and open the wound. Poor guy looks like he was in a bar room brawl ! He must feel so clumsy with it on his neck cause he keeps running into things. I’m sure it might be tough for him to get comfortable tonight and sleep but he needs to let his scrapes heal up. We’re putting antibiotic cream on it so in a couple of days he’ll be as good as new.

I replicated the cover that our friends Wendy and Cindy put around their water softener. Had to look in several stores before we finally found a pop up hamper with cover. Just cut holes in each side for the garden hoses to pass through and it’s good to go. The black material attracts the warmth of sun first thing in morning for those chilly overnights. The girls put a trouble light in the bottom of theirs if they need to generate a little warmth for those iffy nights when it might get chillier than we’re comfortable but not a horrendous freeze. Here’s a couple pics of what it looks like now. The lid zips on so it’s really handy to get in to check things or dismantle to move to a new location.

We got an e-mail from a friend of ours who just left for Hawaii on a business trip. He arrived and was at the Marine base, working out in the gym and President Obama was there working out. That would be kind of cool….to look over, while working out and see the President of our country on a piece of equipment next to you.

Speaking of light” moments…I heard on the news the other day that production of the incandescent bulb has ceased. Once the existing supply, in retail stores or warehouses around the world, runs out we won’t be able to buy a regular ‘ole light bulb anymore. They are energy hogs…better to buy a CFL. Wouldn’t Thomas Edison be sad to hear that his invention has outlived its usefulness?

Hope everyone had a great New Years eve and have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012.

Johnson’s Rock Shop

2011-12-29T19:24:00.001-07:00

Several friends told us that we need to go to Johnson’s Rock Shop before we leave Livingston. It’s located about 30 minutes from the park, way off the beaten path with just a few home-made signs showing the way off of route 190. A cute little old lady, in her 80’s (I’m assuming she’s Mrs. Johnson) runs the “complex”. I call it that because there are a bunch of little buildings, all clustered together in a little village-like atmosphere that each house different types of rocks.

Mrs. Johnson said that they’ve had the shop for only 38 years but have been rock hounds for 67 years. They go to Tuscon, to an annual rock show to buy the rocks they sell in the shop. Her daughter, who has recently retired, has moved back home to help her mom. She makes a lot of the chokers and jewelry. Her mom seemed to be very happy to have her daughter helping her these days since her husband has been sick off and on and unable to help her. There’s so much to see as you walk through the village.

One building was the silversmith shop, another the music shop and another was called Tammy’s Hotel. Prices seemed pretty reasonable compared to prices for similar gems we’ve seen elsewhere but when you live in an RV, rocks are the last thing to come home with. Neat place to check out on your next visit to Livingston.

Speaking of heavy….tomorrow morning we’re scheduled to get our rig weighed here in the park by the Smart Weigh folks. We went into town and filled up with gas today (dang it if gas hasn’t gone up 13 cents in the last couple days). Water tank is filled and tanks are dumped. We’re ready ! Will let you know what the verdict is.

Got word on our next assignment. Our new scheduler called and we’re going to an island below Corpus Christi….Port Aransas. There are two parks there that need to be done so we’ll be there for three weeks once we finish up next week in Arlington. We’re excited ! The parks are right along the water and the temps have been pretty nice there (especially the night temps). As good a place as any to spend January !

Monday

2011-12-26T19:02:00.001-07:00

First thing this morning we drove down to the local RV repair place to see if they can order the part for our coach steps. Over the weekend, I had Linda open the door from the inside (while I stood outside) so I could put the awning out. I wanted to let it air out since we’ve had so much rain over the last few days. When Linda opened the door the steps acted really weird and didn’t open up correctly. I got under the rig and discovered a big bolt laying under the steps….sheared off. We need to talk to the local repair place and see if they can get them fixed before we leave Sunday to go back to Dallas. If not, gonna look kind of weird to have them bungied to the underside of the rig so they’re not swinging to and fro in the breeze. It’s always something….

Spent the day with our friends Cindy and Wendy, down in Houston. We drove from Livingston, down to Houston, to hang out with them for the day. Taught them how to play Mexican Train and being the quick learners that they are, Cindy whupped us. It’s been so long since we’ve played that we’d forgotten the rules and called the ladies who taught us to get a refresher on the rules.

On the way home, from Wendy and Cindy’s place, we stopped at Church’s chicken to get some chicken strips for supper. At the drive through, I asked over the little speaker if they had plain chicken strips, without a combo deal. We had a distinct communication problem when I couldn’t understand anything she was asking me. We mudded our way through the ordering process….enlisting Linda’s help periodically to translate what I thought this woman on the other end of the intercom (which I think was located in Mexico somewhere) was asking me. We get up to the window, she opens her window and says the total and I hand her our Discover card, since it’s 5% cash back this month on restaurant purchases. She takes it and turns around to process it, turns back around and hands it to me, saying “pizza and mustard”. Now I know that I have two strikes against me since my bad ear is on the left, closest to this woman but I’m thinking that “pizza and mustard” might be the dipping sauces to choose from. I’m thinking perhaps I had heard her incorrectly until I turn to look at Linda and Linda says “pizza and mustard” ? We’re thinking that the mustard part makes sense but pizza as a new flavor of dipping sauce seems a little bizarre. We both lean towards the window and look at the woman who says it again…pizza and mustard. We must have looked like deer in headlights because when we looked at her again she annunciated very slowly…Visa and MasterCard. We both started laughing and Linda says, “We’re so sorry but you have a bit of an accent”. DUH ! Ya think ! I hand her my other credit card…the mustard one, I believe and she runs it while Linda is busting a gut. Oh my, it was funny. When she truly did ask what dipping sauce I wanted, I asked her for honey mustard and got it. Apparently she understands English better than I understand Spanish. Hmmmm…..

Hiking Over the Holidays

2011-12-24T16:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to Lake Livingston State park, with Boomer, to go hiking. We figured we better get out and enjoy the outdoors before the rain got here. We took the one mile interpretive trail that is wheel chair and stroller accessible. It’s like a boardwalk through the woods. A little tough to sneak up on animals .since our boots on the wood planks, clunk as you walk. The temps have been really cool (in the 40’s)so we bundled up for the walk. Seems there have been some serious wind storms lately as there were lots of trees down. Not the small Loblolly pines but large trees were uprooted.

There’s a riding stable in the park with a path through the woods for the trail rides. There are several places where there are descriptive boards that tell about the area wildlife that one might see as they hike along. It was very tranquil to hike through the solitude and listen to the birds.

The next three days we’re supposed to have rain…Grrrr…day started out around 45 degrees…it’s now 43. Not my idea of vacation weather for our time off. We will certainly make some changes in our schedule so we’ll spend December in Florida next year. There is a chance for snow up in Dallas, where we need to return to finish up this assignment. Need to start thinking about where we might want to go if not given another assignment once we finish up in Arlington. Someplace warm !

A while back Linda bought some wax for our spa machine. Today we fired it up and both treated ourselves to wax treatments on our hands and feet. Those full hand potholders sure work nice for keeping your hands warm after dipping in the wax and putting bags on your hands. After Linda’s dip in the wax, I then painted her toes and nails with pretty polish. Trying to make the best of a blah day. Wishing all of our friends and family a happy and healthy holiday season. Hope your day is bright and cheery wherever you are.

Leroy

2011-12-23T20:36:00.001-07:00

We picked Leroy up and went to Jerry’s for dinner. We worked with Leroy and his wife, Bonnie when we came to the Care Center in fall of 2007 to volunteer. They worked with us for a good bit of that time. He’s had some serious health issues in the last year and his son thought that the Care Center was the best place for him so that the staff could keep an eye on him. He’s also close to relatives in the area and he’s always on the go doing things and helping out as best he can. Had a great time catching up with him. Leroy’s the “south mouth” and has lots of great stories to tell. Catfish, jumbo shrimp, home-made rolls, onion rings, coconut cream pie and a good friend…it doesn’t get any better than that.

Whole Lot of French Frying Going On…

2011-12-22T16:49:00.001-07:00

Short night of sleep last night. Storms started right after I went to bed and it really POURED ! In the “treehouse” bedroom, it sounds like when frosty french fries hit hot oil in the fryer. It was crackling so loud, we couldn’t hear the sound on the TV so gave up and shut it off. Boomer was petrified and wound up in bed with us all night long. The storms would die down a little and then swoop in again. I remember asking Linda at one point what time it was and it was 3:05 and raining really bad out. Today it was cloudy all day and in the 50’s.

We went out and about for a while and then returned to Livingston to eat at Bodacious BBQ. It was really good. Tonight we went down to the Care Center, where a friend of ours who we met when we all were volunteers here in fall of 2007, is now a resident. Everyone was sitting down to supper and I walked up and put my hands on his shoulders, where he sat at the table. He turned around and saw Linda, was so surprised and jumped up and gave us both a big hug. We’re going to take him out to Jerry’s Restaurant tomorrow night so we can catch up with him.

Not much else going on. One of the other ICR’s, from our company, is staying here in the park. Her mom has a house here. We went down Tuesday night and had happy hour with Trudy, her mom and a friend of her mom’s. Had a great time and sampled a wonderful cheese that they had recently discovered. It’s called Santiagio Balsamic and it melts in your mouth. Wow…good stuff !

So happy that I finally figured out how to print, from the laptop, without having to get up and walk to the printer…hook it up, etc. When we had the broadband card, for our internet, we had purchased a modem and was hoping that would do the trick. Nope, doesn’t work with broadband card. But now that we have the tablet that serves as a MiFi, it can work. I just had to download some additional drivers, from Epson’s website. Most all of the new printers are able to print wirelessly…just need the correct drivers on your laptop. Voila…it’s done and now I can shoot stuff to the printer and not worry about running out of power (from unhooking from the power supply) while I truck out to the printer. I also set the printer up here in the living room so the “commute” would be shorter. Gadgets ! Cant live with ‘em…can’t exist without ‘em.

Holiday Christmas Party and Grapevine

2011-12-19T18:22:00.001-07:00

Saturday night was our boss’ Christmas party at his house. We were able to meet several of the other couples that sell for AGS or Texas Advertising. It’s great to put faces with the voices/names of people we’ve talked to but hadn’t met yet. Brian and Debra have a great house and it’s decorated beautifully for Christmas. We got to meet Rick, who will be the person taking care of scheduling and other duties for Brian. He’s from Maine and is excited to start his new duties after some training with one of the trainers that we started out with. There were a lot of people there…probably around 35 or so. There was a Chinese gift exchange, where people can steal a present that someone else has already gotten and then that person gets another present. It was fun…Linda got a new back massager that I’m currently sitting on. It’s great !

Today we drove to Grapevine, Texas which is only about 30 minutes away. One of the other RV parks that our company does is Vineyards RV Resort and we have heard that it’s a gorgeous park and that the town of Grapevine is really cute so off we went to check it all out. The resort is situated around a lake and the layout of the park is awesome. They took advantage of every view for RV site placement and it’s gorgeous. There is a view of the marina and I can only imagine how spectacular the view is on a sunny, warm day when the lake has more water in it (remember there’s a bad drought going on here. Look at where the water level should be in the pictures.) There was a storm coming in so it was really overcast and windy but still a perfect setting to put an RV. Many of the sites had little decks, large fire rings with a grilling grate and nice picnic table. Some even had little pergolas over the deck area.

A short distance from the RV park is the historic downtown area, which is really cute. Lots of great shops and decorations for Christmas too. We had heard that Grapevine is the Christmas capital of Texas with all of the events and decorating and I can see why. We walked up and down the streets, checking out all of the shops and restaurants. We really enjoyed the town and would definitely go back again.

Tomorrow we leave for the Escapees park in Livingston, until after the first of the year. Anxious to get on the road and see some different sights out our picture window. Will post again once we get there and get settled in.

Singing, Cowboys and Rangers

2011-12-17T08:40:00.001-07:00

Arlington is like the sports capital in the country. The Texas raceway is nearby, as well as the Texas Rangers park and Cowboy Stadium. We drove to the Cowboys Stadium so we could say that we saw it. It’s’ not in the kind of location I would expect to see a huge sports complex. It sits directly across the street from a Wal-Mart and on the fringe of a business district, where the residential area begins. It’s a very pretty structure; the side panels are reflective glass. The parking lot markers have the pictures of Cowboy legends screen printed on the marker. I saw Landry and Roger Staubach’s pics on the ones I saw. There was a high school football game going on at the stadium. Can you imagine how those kids must feel playing on the same turf that their idols play on ? The Cowboys stadium will be home to this year’s Super Bowl and Cotton Bowl. The parking attendant that Linda chatted with while I was taking pictures said that there are all kinds of events booked at the stadium all the time. From the sky, the stadium looks like a giant football. Glad we got to see it.

Within site of the Cowboys Stadium, is the park where the Texas Rangers play. Another huge structure but in a very pretty setting. As you probably recall the Texas Rangers won the 2011 World Series.

Last night we went out to dinner with our boss and his wife and some other folks from AGS. Had dinner at Romano’s Macaroni Grill(?) which was very good. First time I’ve been to a Romano’s. After dinner we went to the Will Roger’s Center to see Ernie Haase and Signature Sound Christmas tour. They are a gospel group that our boss really likes and I must say, they were really good. They played some real toe-tapping, hand clapping songs. I think a lot of the songs were original songs that they have written because I didn’t recognize any of them. Beautiful voices and a great show that lasted over two hours ! A super nice evening…tonight is our bosses Christmas party. Today we’re headed to the Fort Worth stockyards to check that out.

Our trip to the Grassy Knoll….

2011-12-15T20:31:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the sixth floor museum…the place where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shot that killed President John F. Kennedy. Upon arriving in Arlington, Texas, to do this job, I had seen mention of this museum as something to see and do in the area and thought what an odd name for an attraction. If it wasn’t for Cindy and Wendy telling us that it’s the book depository where the assassination took place, I never would have made the connection. So glad they told us about it. I would have hated to miss something like this; something that had such a prominent place in American history.

The museum is an audio tour, narrated by Pierce Allman, the first reporter to report from the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963 and that fateful day. Through photographs, news reports and eye witness accounts, it takes you through that day. The picture on the right shows the depository (brick building behind that teal van). Lee Harvey Oswald was in the far right window on sixth floor (building is seven stories tall). This picture shows where the motorcade took the sharp turn onto Dealey Plaza and started down the road. In the middle lane, to the right of that teal van, there’s an “X” that marks where the first shot hit President Kennedy. A second later the second shot rang out and this was the shot (where the “X” is in the empty street) that killed President Kennedy. In that split second, our country’s history was changed forever.

The museum shows footage of the funeral, swearing in of Lyndon Johnson and the outpouring of emotion felt worldwide. There’s an interesting video by Walter Cronkite, making us ponder if what happened almost 50 years ago, was the beginning of the unraveling of civility among US citizens. After Kennedy’s assassination came his brother’s assassination, Martin Luther King’s, tormoil and unrest. The hope and optimism that Americans had been feeling during those thousand days of Kennedy’s term in office, went up in smoke when he was killed. The museum also has pictures showing Lee Harvey Oswald’s killing, by Jack Ruby, as Oswald was being transported to county jail.

There were some school groups there today. A number of the children were African American in heritage which made me wonder if they grasped the enormity of what they saw today in what Kennedy did in bringing equality to the table for them. I was only three when he was shot so I don’t remember any of this but from watching footage of the man and reading quotes from his speeches, he was a charismatic and insightful man with a wonderful way of speaking that touched everyone…young and old, rich or poor. I’m so glad that Linda and I got to see Dealey Plaza and the book depository while we were here.

Arlington

2011-12-14T20:02:00.001-07:00

Things are moving along, here in Texas. Our friends, Cindy and Wendy arrived last Friday and will be leaving in the morning. They have been in the site next to us. It’s been so fun to walk out our door and walk to the next site to visit, have dinner or watch a football game. They are on the diet that we were on (Dukan diet) and are within a couple of pounds of their goal (way to go girls !). They look and feel great and say the same thing we said, “We can’t believe how easy it was to lose the weight”. We gave them some of the recipes that we used during the early stages and they gave us the meatloaf recipe they made last night, which was awesome. We are in the stabilization phase where we can eat anything six days a week and one day a week is our protein day, which takes care of any transgressions during the week. We don’t go crazy cause we don’t want to go back to the weight we used to be. We follow the core principles of the diet and it’s so easy to stay on track.

Anyway, they leave tomorrow and we will probably be here until January 1st to finish up the guide. The manager has been nice enough to let us stay longer than normal. We’ll need to move to another site this weekend, just a couple sites down from where we are now. Not a problem…It’s great here, close to the laundry and dog park. Boomer loves it too !

This is Frank. Frank is a pet pig of an RV’er who was a couple of sites the other side of us up until a few days ago. In this picture, Frank is out for some exercise (apparently his owner didn’t tell him that you lose more weight if you don’t EAT while you’re walking). They walked around the pool and back to the coach again. He needs to lose weight because his belly is dragging on the ground (maybe he needs a skateboard to alleviate that problem) or maybe dad needs to quit giving him treats. I’ve seen dogs and cats in RV’s as pets but this was a first. Good thing it was a large coach. There’s not much getting by this big boy when he’s coming down the aisle in the rig.

We saw this “vehicle” the other day. Is it broken ? It sure looks saggy in the middle. Maybe it’s one of those hip hop cars that raises up when you start it but where the heck is the back end of it. Youth…

Last night the girls and us went to see “Prairie Lights” in nearby Grand Prairie. It was similar to the light show that we saw over Thanksgiving with Linda’s daughter and her family. It was a nice display of lights. In one section they had a wire frame with lights over it that strobed so it appeared as if it was a tunnel. We drove through it real slow to experience the different affects. Good thing none of us are prone to seizures…it was pretty intense !

Warm today…around 70 but rainy all day. I think it’s supposed to clear up tomorrow and be nice but temps will be cooling off again to the high 50’s, low 60’s. Thinking about the weekend and what we might go out and explore. Lots of things to see and do. Hoping for good weather to do it in.

Dallas

2011-12-08T20:19:00.001-07:00

We’re finishing up our first week, working the Dallas/Arlington KOA project. It’s been colder than I imagined it would be for Texas but I’m told that this is typical weather. Been in the 40’s during the day and 20’s at night. Tomorrow it’s expected to get up to low 50’s and the same for the weekend. I’ll take it !! Tired of freezing to death. I feel like I’m back home in Pennsylvania…Ughhhh !

Since this is a new job for our company, it comes with all of the legwork and research that goes into a new job. We’ve covered about 70 businesses so far…got another full week of selling ahead but looking forward to tomorrow cause our friends Wendy and Cindy are arriving to hang out with us for a week. Yippee !! We’re excited to see them. Didn’t expect our paths to cross since we originally were supposed to go to Florida to work. They are leaving the Escapees park in Livingston tomorrow and driving here and staying till the 15th. Will be great to explore the area with the girls and warmer temps to boot to do it in. Yeah !

Boomer is having a ball here at the park. We are parked directly in front of the dog park and so far he’s met Molly and Amy. Whenever he sees these two ladies come to the park, he goes crazy and Linda takes him over for their play date. He comes back a happy boy. He goes out with us during the day and squeezes in play time at lunch and supper time. Boomer’s got it rough !

Hoping to do some sight seeing this weekend and check out the area. Who knows what mischief we’ll get into. Just hope this head cold/sinus thing that Linda passed on to me goes away cause I don’t have time to feel crappy. It’s no fun trying to keep your nose from running, your face from hurting and your head from feeling like it’s going to explode. It seems that I get this 24-48 hour dose of ?? whenever we gets several days in a row of rain. Kick up the leaf mold ? Throw pollen around ? Don’t know what it is but it can just hit the road and get out of my head. Gotta run….need a tissue.

RV, The Movie

2011-12-03T17:07:00.001-07:00

A pre-requisite movie for all newbie RV’ers is to watch Robin Williams’ movie – RV. This poor guy certainly gets in some predicaments with his rig, which I think his kids nicknamed "The Big Rolling Turd”. He has an encounter, of the worst kind, while dumping his tanks and I think all Rv’ers would agree, it’s an experience none of us want to go through.

A few days ago, when I was making preparations to leave Mocksville, I was preparing to dump our tanks. Our site was super convenient in that the sewer hook-up was only about 3 feet from the side of the rig. When we first pulled onto the site we weren’t able to find the hook-up and eventually did, under a bunch of dirt. (Hold that thought !) I squatted down next to the compartment, where the black and grey valves are, and pulled on the black valve. As usually happens the force of the “black water” comes roaring (yep, that’s the word that fits) out of the tank and the sewer hose (no matter how short a length it is, turns into a wild beast and starts stretching and expanding all over the place). We have a clear connector where the hose meets the pipe going into the ground so you can see the “progress” of the dump. It should flow fast, but smoothly and then taper down to a trickle. This time, it’s flowing fast but doesn’t seem to slow down…then it starts backing up the sewer hose AND then I discover that we have two holes (about the size of a pencil eraser) in the hose. Then the squirting starts except with TWO holes, it’s shooting in two different directions. While I was trying to dodge the shooting fountains (not nearly as impressive as those synchronized fountains you see at Disneyland but if someone had been watching me, probably as entertaining), I realized I had a major back-up. I made the stupid mistake of grabbing the connector to see if there was a clog or something I could “fix”…DUH ! That created a volcanic flow of brown stuff so I slammed the connector back down but not before it made a mess all over the ground. I quickly decided the proper course of action involved closing the valve. Ok…breathe….It appeared this was going to be a long process….do it in small “batches”. One hand on the valve, one eye on the connector, dodging and weaving the two fountains. It sort of resembled some funky hip hop routine you’d see on “So You Think You Can Dance”. For two seconds, I thought I had the one thousand and second use for duct tape in fixing the two holes but quickly dismissed that idea. Pull the valve…peek at connector…dodge the fountains…close the valve. Repeat….After doing this routine for what seemed like a hundred times, the tank was empty. SIGH ! Not sure what would cause the pipe to be clogged (did someone knock a bunch of dirt into it that plugged it) or did someone stuff something down it intentionally or is it just a super slow running drain. Who knows? Even when I hooked up the garden hose to flush the tank, it wouldn’t take the flow of water without backing up (and we only have 30# of pressure at our site). Pretty nerve wracking and really messy ! Can you imagine what my “dance” would have looked like if our sewer connection had been the typical 10 or 15’ away from the rig ? Oh my !!

I think I’ve been officially “baptized” as an RV’er.

Making Our Way West….

2011-12-01T19:04:00.001-07:00

We left Mocksville Wednesday morning and tonight we are as far as Vicksburg, MS…stopped at Ameristar Casino & RV Park for the night. Last night we stayed in Heflin, Alabama at a new, little park just off the highway. Decent park..the owners are dog lovers and will be catering to dog owners as they add several amenities such as a large off leash area, agility activities, etc. It was 24 degrees when we got up this morning. Frost was thick on everything, including this tree stump that was near our RV site. These little sprouts were white with frost.

We arrived at the casino park this afternoon about 2:30. Got set up and filled the fresh water tank as it’s supposed to get cold again tonight. Hoping to get on the road by 7 tomorrow as we have a conference call tomorrow afternoon and will have to come off the road by 3:45 to get set up in time for the call. We’re going to push to make it all the way to Arlington tomorrow…have 400 miles to go. Route 20 hasn’t been too bad so far. Some construction going on and one stretch had lots of dips in the road that made the rig hop as went over them. Made me think of those custom cars you see on TV that hop up and down as they go down the road….our rig had the same feel today. Linda was trying to write up some paperwork while I was driving through hip-hop land….I’m sure that will look interesting.

Took the shuttle over to the casino and had the buffet for supper. Had lots of yummy things. Was a good girl and only looked at the chocolate fountain. The coconut macaroons were just like the ones I used to make at my bakery…very good. Outside the restaurant, there was this gingerbread house that the pastry chefs had created. It was cute ! After supper, we went into the casino and spent $12 on the slots…that’s my contribution to the Vicksburg economy.

Good News for Passport America members….

2011-11-28T19:24:00.001-07:00

Just heard from one of our other rep teams that Camp Club USA, one of the Good Sam enterprises, has been sold to Passport America. Here’s the info from the Camp Club USA website: “We recently announced that Camp Club USA members will now become members of Passport America, the leader in 50% off discount camping. As a member of Passport America, you will enjoy over 1,800 campgrounds where you can receive 50% savings on nightly camping. If you are a member of Camp Club USA, you will automatically receive a membership card from Passport America equal to the months remaining on your Camp Club USA membership, plus one additional bonus month free. We are working closely with Passport America to make sure this transition is a smooth one for all of our members. To read the full notice from Good Sam Enterprises Chairman & CEO Marcus Lemonis regarding this transition click here.”

More discounted parks added to the Passport America line-up is great…more choices for inexpensive camping as we travel.