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.

Texas State Aquarium and Texas SandFest

We kayaked Redfish Bay and Light House Trails between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas for several hours one day when the winds let up. We discovered Redfish Bay and the Trails are very shallow, with many oyster fields. We scraped the kayaks and were hung up on oyster beds many times while navigating through the mangroves and openings between bay areas. We hope to kayak a couple of more times in different bay areas with more water depth before leaving Rockport.

With windy weather making it difficult to kayak more, we explored more of the local area. It is very entertaining to go to the docks and watch the shrimp fishermen cleaning out their catch. They have quite an audience of Brown Pelicans, Laughing Seagulls, and Cormorants who want the discards from the nets. It is so unusual to be in a local parking lot and see a Blue Heron or a Great Egret fly over.

We spent a day in Corpus Christi for shopping and to see the Texas State Aquarium. Sandy enjoyed shopping and taking lots of pictures at the aquarium. We were able to touch Sting Rays on their backs – very slimy! While the Dolphin show was entertaining, we had more fun watching the dolphins relaxing and playing ball on their own after the show was over. You can see photos in the Texas State Aquarium album in Webshots.

We saw our first sand-carving contest at the Texas Sandfest on Mustang Island. The artwork and the attention to detail are truly amazing! If you ever get a chance to see one, do so. The pictures just don’t do the artwork justice.

Where is Rockport? Click on Rockport to see the surrounding area in Google.

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.

Next Stop Rockport, TX

We celebrated our granddaughter Violet’s Birthday in Lawton, OK on 29 March, and the next day departed for a 3-day drive to Rockport, TX. We decided to stop along the way in McKinney, TX to look at sunscreens and shades for our windows. Nice products, we may return in the future to order and install them. We stopped in Weatherford, TX to visit with our friends, Ernie and Brenda. We asked our GPS to give us the shortest route from McKinney to Weatherford. The GPS sent us through Ft. Worth’s downtown area during rush hour. It made for an interesting drive with our 37-foot coach and tow car. Note to self: double-check GPS routing before leaving!

After visiting with our friends, we took Hwy 281 south through the Texas Hill Country. Wild flowers were blooming all along the highway. We spent the night at Lake Pointe Resort with a scenic view of Canyon Lake and lots of friendly deer roaming around the campground.

A few of our friends have been asking if the cats are adapting to their new life on the road. Hmm, yes and no. While driving down the road, Grey and Squirrel have decided to stay up front. Both spent some time on the front dash as we drove down the road. Dusty and Max are still hiding. Dusty burrows under the pillows while Max hides under a chair. All this traveling may make them nervous, but it has not lessened their appetites at dinnertime. When we stop, Squirrel makes a mad dash for the front door. He did manage to escape the coach once, only to end up under the rig crying. Sandy managed to coax him out. Of course, Squirrel had to give his mean ‘puff-fish’ hiss (swelling body to double size with air and releasing quickly into a hissing-spat combo) to let her know he was not a happy camper. His tactic is never intimidating since Sandy finds it more funny than scary. We find his hiss is worse than his scratch – “Why I ought-ta!”

We have uploaded pictures from Violet’s Birthday Party and Canyon Lake’s Lake Pointe Resort to our folder in Webshots, the photo link is in our previous post.

Our next blog will be about Rockport, and include a new photo folder link.