We Have Moved Farther South...

and the temperature has dropped by 30 degrees!


We left Padre Island National Seashore on Sunday since the forecast was for 3-5 inches of rain and we thought it would be easier to be settled when it hit. This was the view from my perch in the motorhome when he hit Port Isabel. And as we traveled across the mile long bridge ...

to South Padre Island...

and our home for a couple of weeks.

We settled in and during the night the temperatures dropped, the rains started and the wind picked up. When we awoke today, it was in the 60's and is now in the low fifties and the weatherman says it will get into the 40's tonight. I didn't even know it ever got that cold on The Island.

Since it was going to be a yucky day for the beach,

we took off to explore the area. We started at the Brownsville IHOP and then headed west along Military Hiway, Rte 281, which runs very close to the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. There wasn't a whole lot to see, except sections of fence ... I never really have understood the rationale behind building a fence between Mexico and the U.S. and now, I understand it less. There are many areas where there are big gaps, left open so that farmers can move between parts of there acreage, I am told. There are other places where it is not complete and a lady at the wildlife refuge told us it may never be finished. In all, it seems like a giant waste of money and manpower; I am sure it cannot be effective. We did see a few border patrol, but again, way too few to do much good. Surely, there has to be a better answer... but I don't know what it is.

Many of you know how we enjoy visiting old cemetaries. Well, since it was raining, we did not get out to take a close look, but we saw many old plots that looked like this. A sign by this one told us that it was a family cemetary began in the 1800's. I like how flowers and other momentos are still placed on the graves.

We went as far as Pharr (pun intended) and then came back east on 87. Along the way, we passed through the towns in which many of our friends have stayed over the years. It was a dreary day, but an informative one. When we got back to the park, it was time for some warm soup for supper and time to spend a quiet evening at home. The Christmas tree is lit and A Griswold Family Christmas is on TV... what could be better!

More from South Padre Island in coming days.

I Am So Thankful!

I am so thankful to be out of that nasty park in Rockport and into the Padre Island National Seashore Park! When we visited here on Monday, I met a lady on the beach who told me about the campground and yada yada yada, we are now residents. The park does not have hookups but the views are fabulous and the price is definitely right - $4 a night.


Mike and I have walked on the beach and checked out our surroundings.


We talked to a fellow who had just caught a black tail shark - that is now Mike's goal.

This fellow is absolutely a dedicated fisherman. I can see Terry doing this if he lived in this area. Notice, he is wading with line in hand while three more lines, launched from the roof, are also in the water - evidently no limit to the number of lines around here. Our new neighbors seem to like us. At least they came out to greet us...

I found Drew Carey's glasses on the beach yesterday.This is a picture of our home taken from the shore.

And this is the view from our park.

As I watched the sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico this morning, I thought of all the many things for which I am thankful. I am most thankful for family and friends who stay in touch with us, but I am also thankful for the strangers we meet who enrich our lives in small ways. And I am thankful for this bountiful and beautiful earth that we get to enjoy at every turn. Thank you, my Lord and Creator, for everything!

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I'm going to start with "The Ugly"... but I promise I will get to the good and the bad!

Early this past week, the weatherman started talking about the change coming and that rain was predicted. We both thought "oh well, a little rain, what is all the fuss about" and were we wrong! On Thursday about dinnertime, it started raining and it came down fast and furious. As we played bingo at the clubhouse, the roof was leaking in several places and one fellow said it might be a "14 bucket" rain (seems that is the most leaks they have had).

By the time we got home about 9:00, we thought the worst was past, but when we went to bed a while later, the thunder started and lightning and rain that sounded like golf balls landing on the roof. It was stuffy in the house so put on a small fan and it drowned out the noise. I got up once during the night and thought I saw a lake outside the door, but figured I was imagining things. But I wasn't! This was just outside our door. And this was out the other side.

And this was looking the other way out the door!

And the water had actually gone down quite a bit by the time I took these pictures. We are still cleaning debris off the big rug that was under the chairs. I have a coffee pot that I use to water my plants - on Friday, it measured how much rain we got... 12 INCHES in 24 HOURS

When it let up a bit during the day, I took a drive downtown to see what it looked like and when the rains started again - another 3-5 were predicted, I headed home. Since everything was saturated at the park, the road was flooded when I came in - luckily there is a hilltop road that the Jeep could take. This is what I saw when I got home.

Needless to say, we stayed in the rest of the day!

Now, on the THE BAD. When we were house bound on Friday, I had read about a special event held once a year at The King Ranch. In case you don't know, The King Ranch is one of the largest ranches in the world and they have over a million acres on which they raise cotton and other crops, and breed horses and cattle. Anyway, on Saturday, they had the 19th annual Ranch Hands Breakfast so we decided to head over that way for the breakfast and then take the tour. They had only a couple of inches of rain so we figured it was safe. Turns out this is a really big deal; last year, they served 4000 people!

Now I thought breakfast was pretty good... Mike didn't really agree as beans for breakfast with biscuits and gravy doesn't appeal to him. Yes, they did have eggs with salsa and tortillas so he didn't starve. With coffee and orange juice, it was worth the $6 a piece... besides, there was entertainment.

I was pretty impressed with the cattle roping although the guy that was suppose to rope the legs wasn't successful too often.

Cowboys weaving... a strange picture...

Get a load of the "instrument" the guy on the left is playing.

When we had done all we wanted to do at the breakfast, we headed for the visitor center for a tour. We couldn't get on one until 1:00 so we went into town to kill some time at the King Ranch Museum. For $2, we got to see lots of pictures of the ranch during the years since the mid 1800's when it was begun and we got to see this really cool hunting car. There are holders for shotguns on each side of the car, a cooler in the back, special places for extra fuel and ammunition built in and on the front (sorry you can't see it real good, but I wasn't suppose to be taking pictures in the museum) there are braces where a chair would go so hunters can sit up there and shoot from the hood.

And the "running w" brand is everywhere on the car - that is the brand of The King Ranch.

OK, so you are thinking, what is so bad about this... THE TOUR! For $8 we were suppose to see a sample of the world famous ranch in the comfort of a small tour bus for 90 minutes. It really lasted about 65 minutes but I was sure not complaining about that. Roger, the old duffer who was the bus driver, held his microphone in place with a coat hanger he had shaped to go around his neck... should have been a sign.

I am not kidding you when I tell you what he pointed out (in a sing song voice that kindergarten teachers are encouraged not to use) in the 10 mile trip... yes, that is right, 10 miles of a million acres, go figure. First, we saw where round bales had been stacked (there weren't any there now) and then we saw dried up ponds where cattle used to be able to get water and where deer used to drink. Then we saw, and I am not lying, the telephone poles that no longer had cross bars on the top, so the poor crows hand no place to sit... Oh yes, we also saw cement feeders that were used "a while back" but they didn't work so were no longer used, just left sit in the field. When he stopped to point out cows (he didn't stop for the horses), he stopped so that he could see, but no one else on the bus could see. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

I really wanted to see the house that was built in the 1950's as the movie at the museum made it sound really neat. I had even asked the gal from whom I bought the tickets if we would get the full tour since it was such a busy day... well, this is as close as we got. The family was there for the breakfast and we couldn't go on the closer road because of their privacy. Now this gate is cool - it is known as a Texas gate and I couldn't get a better picture because of how he stopped. But anyway, it has a sailboat look to it and the other side looks the same. When a pickup with a big old cow catcher on the front comes to the gate, they just nudge it and it swings open, but don't hit it too hard or the other side swings around and whacks your back bumper... hope you get the idea, that was not a very good description. But, trust me, it was cool.

When the tour was over, I expressed my concerns to the people in the visitor center who basicaly told me "too bad".

Now, for THE GOOD. On the way home, we drove to Mustang Island again and drove for about 10 miles on the beach. My new goal is to capture birds in flight - it is not an easy task.

This guy was so focused on a lady who had just caught a fish; it was like he knew she was going to give it to him...

and when she did...

I still have not really figured out where his other leg is.

Then some more good. Today we went to a fishing pier near us and although the fish weren't biting, the dolphins were swimming and playing and that was very entertaining. Tomorrow, we are off to Padre Island National Seashore.

P.S. Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday...

Birds and Alligators and Lunch for $5.83

I am happy to report that I am liking this area a whole lot more this week - let me tell you why.

On Sunday, we found a very nice church to attend. The minister was in his 80's but still managed to preach a good sermon and we sang "Blessed Assurance", a favorite hymn of mom and it was a favorite of Mike's mom - brought tears to my eyes. The congregation is the kind of group that celebrates any and all things with food and this Sunday, they were celebrating the return of the "SnowBirds" with a full meal. So, of course, we participated and I can tell you that there are some good cooks in the area.

On Monday, we took a drive north to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and did we see wildlife. This is a huge refuge with several stopping and walking trails and a 16 mile driving loop. I'll take you on a tour with my pictures, but first... on the way to the refuge, we saw big ass birds in the field and stopped to take a look. They were so far away that my camera had a hard time capturing them, but I am quite sure they were whooping cranes (of which there are only 500 in existence). The refuge is where they winter. Just take a look at the size if these wings and remember they were over two blocks away from us.

Once we entered the park, the ladies in the office directed us to the most popular areas for birding and alligators. We started down one of the trails and this fellow greeted us about a couple hundred yards in. Turns out that he was just a little fellow in comparison to the ones we saw farther along the trail. This guy was either yawning or he thought Mike looked like an appetizer.

As we walked farther, we were both stunned by the number and vibrant color of the butterflies. It still amazes me that flowers are in full bloom this time of the year.

The peaceful sunbathing of this fellow reminded me of my mom. Once when we were on vacation in Florida, she walked right up to an alligator basking on the lawn because she was sure that it was fake. She was sure it was going to be made of Firestone rubber, but instead it opened its mouth just as she was going to touch it! I have never seen my mother move so fast! That night, one of the grandsons put a rubber aligator under her pillow as a joke... I don't think she was too amused!

When we finished that 1.5 mile walk (It is so good to have Mike free of back pain.), we headed up the road to another area that included an overlook of San Antonio Bay. You can tell the erosion that has taken place in the last few years due to Hurricane Ike and high coastal tides.

We saw herons galore

and Ibis (or wood stork, I am not sure which).

And then we walked to a small, nearly dried up lake and spotted this mud caked beauty. It was only when we looked more closely that we realized this must be the mama the ladies in the office were telling us about. The banks around her little "gator hole" was teaming with babies. First I spotted this one on the bank behind mama then, I looked across the hole and saw these...

the babies were literally everywhere you looked. We counted 16.

Now how could you not love this face.

When we got done admiring the new family, we took off on the driving trail. And we were warmly welcomed by deer, and more deer,

views complete with windmills,

and birds.

An armadillo crossed the road in front of us, and when we got back to the shoreline, we saw a wild pig going down for a late afternoon drink. Once again, my camera was too far away for a really good shot, but the binoculars proved it was a wild pig. And we saw more of the curved long bill birds - I really do have to find out what they are for sure.

Then it was time to head for home. On the way, we saw sandhill cranes in the field.

It was a beautiful day! And today, we started the day with a 5 mile bike ride.

Oh yea - lunch for $5.83 for both of us today - that is a total cost for 2 - chicken fried steak and pototoes and gravy and coleslaw and soup and I even had a margarita... Snow Bird Special every Tuesday at a local hangout.

So now, I have a more positive attitude. Tomorrow, I think we are going for a day of beach and fishing. More from the coast later.