Change of Plans:

We canceled our trip to Padre Island National Seashore and extended our stay in Rockport by one week due to windy weather. Our plans to spend a few days camping on the beach would not have been fun if we were being sandblasted each time we left the coach. We spent the week kayaking in sheltered waters, swimming, and enjoying some local restaurants.

Sandy has been using the large patio awning to create an outdoor sewing area for her quilting projects. The spring inside the awning popped one day and we could not roll it back up automatically. You can say the awning’s old spring has sprung. So we hand rolled it (19 feet long, 7 feet wide), and tied it off at the top as a safety measure. The new spring on order arrived today and we hope to have it installed tomorrow morning before we leave the area.

We have been on-the-road for seven weeks (or almost 2 months) now. So, do we like our new lifestyle? That would be a definite Yes! We are feeling more relaxed and healthier than we have for years. We are spending more time being active indoors and out. We have had our run-ins with Mother Nature as well – furry caterpillars dropping from trees, a small invasion of ants and of course, mosquitoes. But, we have also made friends with squirrels and deer. Our new friends, the squirrels, will strategically sit in the big tree watching us through our front window. “Hey! I know you are in there. I’m hungry. Where are my peanuts (or cherry tomatoes, or grapes)?” When we open the door, there’s one of our friends sitting on the patio waiting to be fed. We were pretty sure that one of the mornings when we opened the blinds we would find a squirrel hanging onto the window ledge – “Hi there! Got any nuts?” The winter-Texans have them well trained for asking for handouts.

There are additional bird pictures from the Birding Center and the Rockport Beach area. They were added to our Kayaking and Surrounding Area folder in webshots this week. Here are few pictures of our cats enjoying their time outdoors. Grey at age 17 does well off the leash, but we stay within several feet of him. Squirrel and Dusty remain in harness with leash attached, and enjoy laying, rolling on, and eating the grass while watching for birds and squirrels. Even though they are wearing harnesses and a leash, we cannot walk them. The leash does help us keep them under control though.


For anyone wanting to know who won the sand carving contests, here is a link to the Texas SandFest 2009 Winners website. The competition was good and the winners are very deserving.

Good-bye Rockport

We finally kayaked by the Aransas Pass (Lydia Ann) Lighthouse (1855). The only access to the lighthouse is by boat. We had decided not to go deep into the Lighthouse Trails since it is easy to get turned around in the mangroves or get stuck in the mud or on the oyster beds. While we were looking at a laminated map on the water, another retiree was kayaking by and stopped to see if we needed help. He knew the area well and had been kayaking here for years. He offered to guide us through the maze of mangroves with shallow water over large oyster beds to the lighthouse and back through the channel. We had a great deal of fun and saw many birds in the mangroves and dolphins out in the channel. We never dreamed we would get so close to the lighthouse. We want to thank our volunteer guide.

Our Kayaking and Surrounding Area album includes pictures of the lighthouse and the Fulton area. We also have some great action pictures of different birds eating at the docks in Feeding Time on the Docks.

A few of our friends and family have asked about our future travel plans. The following plans are tentative - all subject to change.

We are leaving Rockport on 1 May for Padre Island National Seashore, just across the sand dunes from the open water. No hookups for the motor-home (no incoming water, power, or sewage drop). There is a sewage drop and fresh water a couple hundred yards away from the camping - just drive over to dump and refill. We have 7 large 12 volt batteries, 3 solar panels, 100 gallons of fresh water, 50 gallons each for black and grey water sewage storage, and a 10K Kilowatt generator on board. Fridge, hot water, ice maker, yep we will be roughing it with no hookups. Quiet hours (no generator) are 10 pm to 8 am. The rate is only $4 per night with our national park pass.

After Padre Island, we need to be in McKinney TX just north of Dallas May 10 thru the 15. We are having all the day night blinds and the front windshield pull curtain removed, and a nice blind system installed instead on all but the 2 bedroom windows (we already went to traditional curtains in the bedroom). We are putting in the American Duo blinds http://www.mcdinnovations.com/ . Manual on all but front windshield, power there so we can use it a sunshade while driving.

Next we will head back to Lawton OK to see the kids. Not sure how long we will stay, probably 1 week, maybe less, maybe more. After Lawton, we will take our time and head towards South Dakota for some business in our new domicile state.

EDIT:
1 May update on travels. Winds have been heavy along the seacoast. We have decided to stay 1 more week at Drifters RV resort in Rockport Texas, versus parking right next to open water with heavy winds and potential blowing sand.

The Coastal Bend Area

It is hard to believe we have been in Rockport, TX for 12 days. We are parked at Drifters Resort. The campground is nice and quiet with lots of large oak trees, wildlife, and friendly people. Several times we have watched wild guinea fowls and squirrels near our RV. We were told there is also a wild potbelly pig, but we have not seen him yet.

It is so nice to hear the ocean and smell the sea air again. We spent some time trying our new kayaks on the bay near the Lighthouse Trails, however it was windy that day so we did not stay out too long on the choppy waters. Since the weather has been more windy than calm for kayaking, we have been exploring the Coastal Bend area. We have been as far north as Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and as far south as Corpus Christi. We have driven quite a bit on the beaches of Mustang Island and Padre Island. We bicycled on the bay in Rockport once, and have walked nearly every day.

There is a new album in Webshots with pictures of the Coastal Bend area.