News from the Island

Another super bad hair day today as we had a major rain event most of the day and when the sun comes out,  it's ridiculously humid.  They say everything is BIG in Texas and no kidding....the raindrops, rainbows and mosquitoes are leading the country for size.  Actually, the humidity is great for the skin and I never need lotion or moisturizer here.    I've got waves I didn't know I had!   The mosquitoes just showed up the other day when there is no wind and they are way worse than any MN mosquito.

Yesterday was a perfect and sunny day after the heavy fog lifted.  We hoofed the beach for 6 miles and then our friends joined us on the beach and we sat around and chatted, drank beer and talked about how cold it was in MN!  Then we all headed for $1.50 margaritas and tasty Mexican for dinner.

Turns out Jody grew up in the Assembly Grounds by Wayzata so she knows lots of the same people we do. We are still gifted with connectivity!  We've noticed a few 'local' things here on the island and one of the funniest is the news from Corpus Christi.  They say things (with a heavy Texas southern accent ) like, "ya'll, tomorrow the winds will be frisky".  Really?  What the heck does that mean?  We also have noticed that the only chain here is one Dairy Queen.  It's nice to have 30+ restaurants that are new, reasonably priced and unique.

Today we met Curt and Jody in Corpus at Howard's BBQ.  Apparently it is  one of the oldest and best BBQ pits in town.  The picture below will show it's been around for a while and located in the heart of down town.  It was fabulous!

Below are some pictures from the beach shoppe where we stopped on the way home.  Could not believe out of all the stores and people,  we would run into Liz - the earring star and her husband.  I got to give them one more thank you hug!  Also, along ocean drive in Corpus are huge mansions (picture below of one).

We are pretty sure a coconut ship sank at seas and the result was lots of beached coconuts on the beach yesterday....every day new stuff shows up.  The guy on the bike is pulling his fishing gear along the beach in the fog to find the perfect spot for the catch of the day.  Fishing is really BIG here.   Happy birthday to our good friend,  Harold M yesterday!  We wish you a wonderful year and lots of sun in Arizona.

Time for Photography

I always wanted the time to take some great pictures.  Now I have the time so below are a few from today's trip to the jetty: The desert is starting to bloom and the pelican's are forever fishing.  Really, really hard to get the dolphins.  Thanks for reading our blog.  Have a great day.

An Absolute Miracle!

This morning,while we were eating blueberry pancakes with warm maple syrup (from friends Faye and John), a knock on the door came from a person named,  Liz.  In her hand was my earring!  Her husband found it on his walk with their dog.  And she refused, adamantly refused,  to accept the reward.  I was in shock that I actually had it back and in tears because she wouldn't take the reward because she was just simply so happy be able to return the treasure to me.  For those of you questioning the good in people, you can stop.  It's real for sure.

Needless to say, I felt the strength of my guardian angel sitting right on my shoulder this morning.  I mean, 'how lucky am I'?  After breakfast, we walked the beach for about 3 1/2 miles and then headed off to make a donation in the name of Liz to the local animal rescue in Port Aransas. This was a great idea that Gil had.  Perfect!   I posted a couple of flyers at the rec center and office indicating how appreciative I was for the kindness of people like Liz and her husband.  We feel very blessed.

Next we went to the University of TX Marine Institute at the port  and sat on the jetty ---- just simply marveling at the dolphins and pelicans fishing and playing on the warm afternoon.  We attended a movie at the visitor center on Birds of Paradise from Pappa New Guinea (daughter Laurie would have loved this movie). If you have an interest, you should check out these unique birds.  The males do a very unique dance to attract the female. 

A couple other things from today:  after all the meticulous packing of the trailer, we discovered we have two ice cream scoops....not necessary for sure, but maybe the go-pass to eat twice as much ice cream:=)  Our new fav is butter pecan....nummy. 

Another things that is weird when living in close quarters, is when I'm working on the blog, Gil continues to answer when I call Siri on my iPhone to ask how to spell a word. 

We also learned about these small boats around the town...the Farley Boats of Port Aranasas.  There used to be a boat building company here run by the Farley family.  They closed their doors a while ago and recently re-opened and started building boats again.  Apparently, when they closed, they made a small mold for a boat that is now filled with flowers and decorates a lot of areas around the town.  They are all different and really cute.

Today was another great day!  Feel better my little Xochitl bug!

More from Super Bowl Sunday

OK, so I'm in love with Pelicans.  They are amazing birds and seem to find a home on every pier around this area. (I am also in love, yes in love big time with the Budweiser ad about the little Clydesdale horse...if you haven't seen it, please check out YouTube.  It brings me to tears and I've watched it more than once.

The last picture is from the University of Texas Marine Institute in Port Aranasas.  It's down by the jetty and channel.  Tomorrow we will visit the visitor center but the photo is from the Pelican Refuge Center where birds are healed and kept safe to recover from injuries.

We finished the day with a great steak on the grill which is on the back of the trailer!  Really good! High tomorrow is 76 ---- YAY

A Lazy Sunday in Port A

Today started out with me loosing a very important earring.  I searched and searached and posted notices with a reward, but so far no luck in anyone finding it.  It's especially hard when I'm not even sure when I lost it!  Totally my fault for not checking the lock on the back:+(

However, we went to a new area today so we would have a strong cell signal for calling my mom  with FaceTime as she had her birthday party to celebrate all 90 years!  What a great accomplishment mom!  I hope I can follow in your foot steps for just as long.  We were at the actual port entry for Corpus Christi....known as Port Aransas.  There is a channel where huge barges and boats come and go.  The pictures are from this afternoon as we enjoyed this amazing park with some of the local residents.

Sheephead Fish and New Friends

February 2nd - so the ground hog isn't right very often, and for sure not in MN, but the balmy, warm and dry temps here are simply wonderful so we really don't care if there are 6 more weeks of winter, if it's like this!  76 tomorrow! 

George and Cindy, our neighbors from Michigan, are avid fishing enthusiasts.  They've given us Pompano, Whitey and today invited us to a fish fry at 4:00.  They had been to the jetty fishing and had their limit and no more room in the fridge.  A total of  4 couples came, bringing a variety of salads, breads, desserts and beverages.  We have more new friends from Sioux Saint Marie, Ontario and New Hampshire.  Such fun hearing the stories and adventures...something to learn from everyone.

The fish was so mild and firm it reminded me of walleye or crappies...it was wonderful!  Today we took another trip to Corpus Christi to do some returning and errands. A swing through Home Depot brought an unfamiliar sight.....fresh annual flowers!  Beautiful!  Besides make up.....I've given up my watch!  Is this the new me???  I'm loving it!  Cindy with her catch of sheephead on the jetty....

We need to hit the beach for more walking tomorrow after eating all the nummy fish! 

Happy Love Month!

February 1, 2013  - A 6 mile walk on the beach this morning started our day.  The sunrise was gorgeous and before we left at 6:30 a.m. our neighbor knocked on the door bringing us a bunch of whiting fish.  He needed  to clean out his freezer so he could go fishing today.  Super nice people from Michigan and I will make corn bread for them tomorrow night to share back.  Below is dinner tonight:

This is too weird...the days seem to just pass and I'm perfectly content with the slower pace of island time. Definitely not missing the cold and wind chills of MN and I think I don't miss work because I know things are in such capable hands.  I've really enjoyed hearing from lot s of LinkedIn colleagues as I posted my new career as 'retired'.

My dad has been amazing.  He is our full time mail forwarder and sorter.  He's  been great at getting the critical stuff to  us and I'm humbled to say my dear mom will celebrate on Sunday (without me:-( her 90th birthday.  Thanks to my sis for hosting a birthday party that my mom is so excited about.  I am hoping we can FaceTime with her on Sunday.

Amazon delivered a new rack to hang things on by the door and Gil got that installed.  I was the queen of laundry today which is my least favorite RV job for sure.  We were sitting in our new lounge chairs enjoying iced tea and sun, when we heard it!  Yep, it was the tamale truck.  We bought 12 and enjoyed 1/2 of them tonight.  Pretty fun that the truck rolls through the RV park periodically bringing warm tamales!  Tomorrow we head to Corpus Christi to do some returning.  We still need to visit the USS Lexington, but sad for our MN family and friends to hear, we haven't had a cool or rainy day yet so haven't taken the time to do the tour.  Maybe next week. Thanks for following our adventure and fun.