March 1, 2015
I was wrong about the sunshine. Yep, it's been raining, spitting rain and windy for 3 days. This of course means, movie time and shopping new RV's. We saw "Focus" with Will Smith and it was great! We've found a new movie theatre in Rockport called the Cinema 4, which is family-owned and admission is $4. The popcorn is nummy and $5 verses the high prices of Corpus Christi where the popcorn is $12 with a pop or soda as they call it in Texas.
Fortunately, we saved our money and just window shopped RV's, had a fun lunch at Poor Man's Country Club, got Willie trimmed and shopped for pea gravel for our terracotta walkway. The walkway is nearly done and now we need some new one inch river rock to cover the white rock. In the picture below you can see some of the fossils in the stone....pretty cool.
We also went to a store (huge store) called, At Home, where we purchased cushions for the deck furniture at the lake. It was so reasonable and the selection was great! Only problem, our camper is very small with minimal storage so we had to put the two chaise lounge cushions under our mattress. While it's super comfortable to sleep on, it's made the bed really high off the ground with the 4" cushions below the mattress! Hoping no one falls out of bed!
Today was the Ribfest cook-off! We each paid $10 for a ticket, the street was blocked-off and we didn't let a little rain get in the way of our food! It was a party for 100+ people outside and hosted at one couple's RV site. Fabulous ribs and all the fixin's and trimming's made for a great feast with fun and interesting people despite the fact there was a mist in air and not a dry chair.
It seems every time we go for a walk or to an event, we meet someone new! Super fun times here in Texas. Tomorrow night we have the Bo Rivers Concert at the Club House. We gotta try the hot tub one of these days too!
Today being the first of the month meant lots of comings and goings. We heard 44 spots were turning over today so that means we've got more people to meet! Our friends from last year arrived from the Valley so we look forward to spending time with them. Happy birthday to over 1/2 our kids....Jared, Steph, Dan and Laurie all have birthdays within a week and one half! Blessed to have such a great family!
February 26, 2015
It's good to be back home, but it was a long day of flying to get here. It's always a great trip when you don't have any delays, you leave on time and arrive safely. The added bonus this time was both flights had interesting seatmates and a window seat for me!
Willie and Gil did OK without me and Gil worked hard on the terracotta walkway. This terracotta was given to us, it came from 7000 ft in Colorado and is laced with fossils that are over 100M years old. We finished up the walkway today with pea gravel and only need to get 4 more bags to complete the fill in process around the stones. It's looking really great...our gratitude walkway...totally grateful to be given this beautiful stone.
I'm back in the swing of toning on Tuesday and Thursday and today the wind was wild so no beach walk. We're still meeting new friends as people come and go on a regular basis...the park is always turning over. Right now there are about 4 couples from Minnesota here. Everyone talks about NOT going home until the weather dramatically improves!
Tonight we celebrated at Kody's for the prime rib. It was delicious and while Gil was ordering at the bar, he chatted with a guy. You can imagine how it goes...'hi, where are you from? 'Minnesota', really? Where about's in Minnesota?' Well, the world couldn't get any smaller as this couple was from Sylvan Shores by Staples, MN where our old cabin was located. Seriously, a town of 3,000 people!!! What are the odds of the guy who lived across the lake from us?
I'm glad to be back to my beloved beach, Port A and of course, Will and Gil. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to get really horrible with 30 mph winds, cold temps and rain all through the weekend. We hope it will clear up by Sunday when the rib cookoff takes place. Keep your fingers crossed because a party for 100 needs to be outside!
February 18, 2015
It's been busy at the RV park and a little bittersweet as good friends leave the park to head back home. There's been lots of eating out, bonfires, last yoga class and goodbyes. We discovered a new Mexican restaurant in Corpus, The Alcapaco, that has the best homemade tortillas and authentic food. We've been twice in a week.
I flew to Seattle to watch the kids for a week on February 17. The Corpus Christi airport is so nice, quiet, lots of bunnies hopping around the parking lot and a TSA with no lines!
I was warmly greeted by not only by the precious grands, but sunny and warm weather...not very typical for Seattle!
Becky and Jared had flown to Charlotte to attend their franchise conference. Sounds easy? Let me just say, having flown all day, arriving at 10 p.m. and trying to find their car in the lot that they had left earlier was no easy task. And then I had to find my way home stopping only to get my gate pass at Ft. Lewis which was no easy feat! I was quite proud of myself that I actually did it and only got lost once. Thank heavens for Google Maps!
It was a fun and busy week with the kids and I was glad to welcome Becky and Jared home to relieve me! We had some very special times and Maycen and I went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time together, gathered globs of tickets from our wins, and 'got' a colorful bracelet that Maycen loves. And the pizza 'ain't too bad either'. It was fun to be there to help make the birthday cake for Jared and spend some much needed quality time with Becky.
We also did some fun hikes up to the falls at Snowqualmie and along the sound. This is such a beautiful area...especially when the sun is out! I was so lucky to have clear skies and sun almost all week. Spring has come very early to the Pacific Northwest and the drought that has cursed California, is also hitting the area.
February 14, 2015
Yesterday we went to Robstown with friends to go the Coastal RV show. What a bust...we tried to get our $10@ admission fee returned...no new camper at this show for us! We love our camper and while we really would like to get a 5th wheel for a little more room, it would mean we'd have to purchase a truck AND a new rig. Something is really appealing about having a rig that works great for us AND is totally paid for! Well, maybe in our future. On the way back from the show, we had a fabulous lunch at the Acapulco House...authentic Mexican and so reasonable and nummy! Nothin' better than home made tortillas, chips and a beer!
Today brought Valentine's Day with 75 degrees, a long walk on the beach and a few strange things in town. First, there is local bar/restaurant called, the Gaff. Today they had Belt Sander races and many from the park went to cheer on the local contestants. Belt sanders...really? It's hilarious to think about and even more fun to attend we hear. There was a beach parade to start the Mardi-Gras season and Chicken S--- Bingo sandwiched in between. In case you aren't familiar with this type of bingo, there is a bingo card on the ground, and a chicken walks around and where-ever he takes a s---, is the number that is called for bingo. We can't imagine the fun spring break will bring, if it's this crazy and it's only Valentine's Day!
Our good friends, Mick and Kay have their daughter and grands here this weekend. I loaned them my heart cookie cutters and the girls brought us over Valentine iced sugar cookies...nummy! It went perfect with our popcorn dinner. Are we losing any weight? No!
We spent some time today getting our turtle spray-painted (thanks Jody and Curt for the gift!) and getting our Texas star ready to mount on the 'bird house'. We are loving this place, more and more, every day. While we miss our family and friends, it's so wonderful to be able to enjoy a warm, beachy winter. We got word today that our friends from last year who live in Winnipeg, that they will arrive March 1st. It will be great to see them again! For those who have traveled with us, this is the couple who were with us when we went to Alan Jackson last year and were rear ended by the taxi.
The really great news this week...mom's house closed and she has the money in the bank! YAY, the last big ball out of the air for helping mom to get her house sold and closed! Hoping you each had a love-filled and special Valentine's Day.
February 11, 2015
Time is flying too fast here on the Island. Life moves at a slow pace on Island time and the funkiness of a beach town are the reasons we love it here. This will be the longest amount of time we've been in Texas and yet it's half over already! Dang, we love spending winters in the sun and at the beach. While the weather isn't always perfect, it's far better than the sub-zero temps in Minnesota....the friends and fun are even better.
We celebrated our new patio with good friends for a dinner of chicken on the grill, drinks and the fire pit blazing and warming to cool evening. Becky and Jared gave us this great gift a coupla years ago. It is so great and takes the chill off when the sun sets.
We met a guy this week, who was walking in the park. He has a cute schnauzer named, Writer. This puppy is adorable and penning a book through his owner. We were lucky enough to get Doc (the owner) to agree to share his book with us. Writer is telling what it's like to be puppy in a RV park and what life is like living as a dog in a camper. It's a number one best seller for all the dogs here in the park, and most of the owners can totally relate to the escapades of these RV park puppies. What a cute story.
Our new friends (Reb and Patty), two spots down, had to go back to Ft. Worth so we dog sat, Piper. The sweetest golden retriever ever. She spent two nights with us and promptly crawled into Willie's beddie right away. The two dogs got along great except when Willie, paraded through the camper with his Greenie in his mouth like a cigar and totally taunted poor Piper who had gobbled hers up really fast.
We've had great weather this year compared to last year! We've welcomed many more sunny and warm days, which is awesome. It's troublesome and we are sorry to share our good fortune with our friends and family "up North" who are suffering through a cold and windy winter. Lots of people on the beach and in town are from Minnesota, so we've had fun connecting with people from all over the State of Minnesota and celebrating how glad we are to be in Texas!
February 9, 2015
On a too cool day that was wrapped in high winds, a group of us decided to take the jetty boat over to St. Joe's Island. Some were fishing, some were shelling and some just hanging out. After a $12 per person 15 minute ride on the boat, we found the wind too strong, the fish too few and the shells already cherry-picked. The cost per fish and/or cost per shell, was too high, so we ate our picnic lunches huddled behind the sand dune as a wind break and headed back to the Island on the next boat after about a two mile hike down the beach.
Humm, reminder to self....only go to St. Joe's on really warm, no wind day in the future! The good news is all three dogs came along and they ride for free!
The work on our lot has turned out so good! We are very excited and now have decided to put a sealant on our exposed granite pad area and to stain the smooth cement pad a color that compliments the aggregate and new cobblestone. The crew did an amazing job and we're done with the stamping and xylene topping (very stinky stuff).
It looks so great! We'll be glad when all the 'work' is over. Gil is still busy getting the sprinklers set up and we need to place the terracotta stones along the service side of the lot.
We will have phase 2 next year with new rock in the grassy area around the palm trees and building a brick cook top between the palms to put our grill on. Today I painted the terracotta turtle our friends were giving away. We are re-purposing lots this year!
On Saturday night we had a huge beach bonfire and picnic. Our friends, Mick and Kay made the best pulled pork and the rest of the group brought salads and desserts. We had about 10 couples so he food was plentiful. It was great fun as the stars became blinding and we all downloaded the Sky Map app to figure out what each of the stars were called.
One person had an app that tracks the ships coming into and out of the Corpus Christi harbor. This is a major shipping channel and huge ships come and go frequently. The app shows different colored dots for each type of ship (tankers, barges, container ships, etc). It shows where the ship came from and where it's going. It's pretty cool especially with great friends on a perfect moon lit night at the beach. The dogs all have their own party of course. Best buddies are Utah, Murphy, Piper, Kiki and of course, Willie. Most loved dogs on the Island.
The beach always has some unique treasures. Lately we've been able to find some lucky sea beans. The picture below is from a beach store, but the ones you find on the beach are exactly the same.
Last night we went to a beach bar by the Bob Hall Pier. Lots of surfing and big waves by this pier. While the restaurant was in a great setting...it hung over the waves and beach, the service was horrible. We ended up leaving after one beer to head to Chedder's (super good food!). We did see a new drink, a Dosarita.... a margarita with a Dos Equis beer upside down on top of the margarita! We didn't try one but sounded interesting. Maybe next time! Thanks for being a Winter Texan with us!
February 5, 2015
It's been a busy and great week! One of the best things was getting mail from home. We had lots of thank you's for Christmas gifts and special letters and little presents from Xochitl. Thank heavens for FaceTime and Tango!!! Sure missing the family.
We went to a happy hour at some friends site a coupla nights ago only to discover he makes moonshine! Real moonshine...one was 200 proof! Yikes! This is the same guy from Tennessee who wears a red, white and blue flag type shirt, cut off shorts, cowboy boots and navy knee high socks with a cowboy hat. He can totally get away with this look, because he's a drop-dead look alike to Alan Jackson!
We've had a week with lots of 'liquid sunshine' as they call rain here on the island. In between the rain, the crew prepped, poured and stamped the new patio and kitchen area with a pattern like cobblestone and a color to blend with our exposed aggregate cement on the lot. Stay tuned for photos of the finished product after it's sealed tomorrow.
We got a text from our MN friends, who needed some real estate help on a purchase they were involved in. We picked them up, headed to the DQ for some comfort and proceeded to woof down hot fudge sundaes as we connected with our friend in Brainerd, who was able to provide the name of a good real estate attorney! Thank heavens for friends!
Today we had an interesting experience. We went to Home Depot to return something and to buy some landscape fabric along with some things for the patio. After the Depot, we stopped for lunch at Bill Miller BBQ, when I said to Gil, "did you put the landscape fabric in the trunk". I had leaned it against the bumper of the car. Of course, it wasn't in the car so back we went to Home Depot after lunch.
I talked to the girl who checked us out in the garden center and told her what happened. I asked if someone had turned it in. She said, "Are you kidding? No one, no one would turn it in". So thinking we'd have to re-buy the $24.95 fabric, she proceeded to say, 'just go get another one...it's OK'.
I told her I would write an amazing letter to Home Depot with lots of accolades about her great customer service. Odd thing is, we had trouble finding the one we bought because none of the inventory showed a price of $24.95. The one we thought we bought was only $19.95....hummm? We must have overpaid for the one we left in the parking lot! We never mentioned the price difference and left the store happy as larks with another role of fabric. When we got home I sent the promised letter to Home Depot about Miriam and how lucky Home Depot was to have her!
Today was my mom's 92nd birthday....can you imagine? How lucky is she to be healthy and alive at 92? We are blessed to have our momma for all these years.
