Home again!

Today we travelled the last leg of our grand adventure.
As we drove toward home from Bluffton, Ohio, the skies clouded and the temperature dropped gradually from 15 C to 5 C.
We had found the sun and warmth of the south,  but could not stay forever, sigh..... although Karl did suggest turning back several times during the day!  In truth we have family and friends we love and miss, so we carried on up the 401 towards Kitchener!
We had so many great experiences, met so many wonderful and sometimes colourful people, this trip has enriched our lives!
As we drove into Donley St., we vowed to plan another trip next year! Perhaps we could wander through the South Western US or maybe we could go back to Tip of Texas!! Who knows? I think Karl has picked up some of my Gypsy spirit.
So thank you to all of our family and friends who journeyed with us through the blog! It has made our experience richer by sharing it with you!
And thank you to my sweet Aunt Henny who watched over our little home while we were away.
Perhaps Karl can add pictures to the blog on our next trip. In the meantime, please come to see us and we'll share them in person over a cup of tea!!  Until next time .....

Bluffton, OH

Last night our blue skies clouded over and we had a rollicking thunderstorm! If you haven't experienced driving rain and echoing thunder in a little trailer, well, you are really missing something! Happily we stayed watertight although a bit crowded - when Maxi our fearless protector hopped into our bed. Guess he decided that he needed to be a little closer to keep "us" safe.
The KOA we were staying at had a real Conestoga Wagon - we momentarily contemplated rounding up some horses and heading back to south Texas, but there were just no horses anywhere - go figure!! So we loaded up "our" wagons and headed north.
Over the day, the full leaves on the trees and spring blossoms have gradually become just buds with the occasional green tint seen in the distance. Honestly, it feels like we are watching the seasons go backward from full summer a few days ago to late spring and now early spring.
The rolling hills in Kentucky are just breathtakingly beautiful. Most of our trip was on Interstate highway, so we didn't get a chance to see much of the real Kentucky. Perhaps next time we will do some wandering through small towns and meet some of the people. To me that's the way to travel.
We did get to meet a lady in Kentucky when we stopped for breakfast. I am still following my gluten free diet, and this lady, a cashier at McDonalds, really went out of her way to help! This is quite typical in the Southern States, we have found most people friendly and kind.  Until they get behind the wheel of a truck - Karl has a few stories there!
Long day driving. Not hard work, we trade off driving (Karl gets more turns cause he wants me to cook, fair is fair). Difference this time is that we are going home and not heading toward an exciting new destination. Don't get me wrong, we love our family and do miss y'all, but this wandering is fun!!!
So, we ended up at one last trailer park. We have learned that our little heater is enough to keep us toasty warm, so we'll be just fine.  Trick is that when we arrived the office was closed. You can self register and we did. There are lots of trailers, but not a single person that we can find!  Guess camping in April is not a big thing here, sigh.  Oh well,  I'll just have to teach Karl another lesson in cribbage.
Believe it or not, we have not watched TV in a month, don't miss it!!

Lost River Caves

Today was sunny and 26 C! We have heard whispers from our spies in Kitchener that it might be a bit chilly on our return, but I almost fainted when I saw a forecast predicting SNOW for Ontario! ... until I saw  that it was Thunder Bay, but still!!
Well, we have seen signs on and off during our trip about underground caves but haven't had a chance to check them out. So, today we visited The Lost River Caves here in Bowling Green. There is a small canyon that looks like a tiny Elora Gorge. Our tour guide told us stories about the caves being used by Jesse James as a hideout and later by Confederates to hide from the Union soldiers.
They explained that "blue holes" are caused by an underground river breaking through to the surface. The blue colour is created by the sun shining on limestone dissolved in the water. One of these created a large enough cave opening (which is the entrance to the Lost River Caves) that an enterprising local in the 20's and 30's apparently set it up as a nightclub.
Because of the river temperature, the cave stays at 56 F so it would feel air-conditioned in summer!! There is a flat stone area at the mouth of the cave big enough to stage a good size party/dancefloor. We are told that it is apparently still in demand for weddings and functions. The trail down from the top of gorge to the caves is just beautiful, and beyond the cave opening are some stone stairs to the underground river. There were of course some interesting yarns spun by the guide, but the boat trip itself (about 45 min) was incredible! The ceiling once we were in the underground river area was between 4 to 25 or 30 feet high. There were all sorts of cave formations (stalagmites), but also rocky sides with what looked like trails and smaller tunnels. Wow, bet there are some stories there too!
They let Maxi come because he was small and cute but once convinced to get on the boat, he spent the next 45 min. with his head in my lap.....
Beyond the cave tour, there were trails with other smaller "blue holes" and springs. We spent the next few hours just wandering.
Karl had wanted to go and tour the Corvette plant in town, but that didn't work out, so we spent the rest of the day relaxing in the park and wandering around the town. Right across the road from the park is a Historical Aviation display with real planes used in Vietnam and Iran. An interesting story about one of them ... it made its first 'hit' in Nam, but the Vietnamese pilot survived. A few years ago when they were setting up this museum, he was invited  as guest of honour at the opening dinner. He and the US pilot who shot him down have become good friends.
Karl wanted one more try for a Southern Seafood dinner, so this time we went to Captain D's Seafood. Okay, it's a "chain" but the food was delicious and less than half the price of the fancy restaurant in Panama City!
Hey Dan, today we saw a neat John Deere garden tractor/mower for sale in somebody's front yard, which your mom thought you would have liked. However, we don't have a utility trailer to carry it back (imagine a trailer behind a trailer) and your mom didn't feel like driving it all the way home!!

Bowling Green, Kentucky

We are taking our time today to give us a chance to enjoy the slow pace that is part of life down in Alabama. Everyone has been so nice - even their "southern drawl" is peaceful. It's sunny and warm today, the birds are singing... (although no roars or screeches, being beside a zoo was fun!)
The campground atmosphere is different than the RV resort/park - more of a relaxed, country setting.   Mallard Point is run by the city of Decatur with tennis courts, pool, etc. next door and everything beautifully maintained.
After a quick stop at the local Walmart for a few groceries and souvenirs, we were off!
We were only on the road for an hour when Karl saw a "Western Wear" store and the car magically pulled in. There was just about everything you could imagine, from cowboy boots, to Stetson hats, to the fancy embroidered cowboy shirts - one of which fit Karl to perfection! Seriously, he has been looking for a nice one our whole trip, so this is great! Mom/Grandma Wassing had given him some money for his birthday and this is what he got for it - he says Thanks Mom!!
My impression of Tennessee from the car window.... log cabins, rickety wood houses, lots of trees and fields with horses everywhere!  Honestly, it looks like Northern Ontario with the rocky outcroppings except that the there are no evergreen trees.
The treed rolling hills (sometimes quite high, are they mountains?) have flattened out a bit as we are approaching Nashville. The shacks/small houses became huge mansions with field-like lawns and now, in the city, there are high rises and fancy buildings. Lots are new or under construction. Looks like any other big city. Wonder now where the Grand Ole Opry is?  I feel like Nashville should have some huge sign or monument everyone can see, cuz isn't this the heart of country music?
Around 5:30 we pulled into a KOA campground in Bowling Green, Kentucky. First time in a KOA, very impressive. Large sites, lots of trees and birds, and clean. Even the wi-fi works well which is a big change from almost all the others.
Tomorrow will be a day of rest and touring before the big push home. If all goes as planned our Kitchener ETA is Saturday night. However, if we happen to hear that it's still cold there, we are quite ready (and seriously discussing) hightailing it back to Texas!!

Decatur, Alabama

Today starts the trip home..... but we plan to take 4 or 5 days. For one, the car with the trailer attached sucks gas like crazy over 90 km/hr and for two, we want to end our grand adventure with a peaceful "wander" home before returning to "normal life"
Most of our trip today has been on county roads instead of interstate highway. This is slower, but it has given us a chance to really see Alabama. Perhaps because it's spring, everything just looks so fresh and clean (well, mostly). We have noticed not just here, but in all of the southern States, that there is almost no litter on the side of the road!! Most of the houses and even the trailer homes are neat and tidy.  And the homes range from being tiny shacks to rustic cabins to small brick bungalows to a few massive houses with front yards the size of a football field!!
Today at lunchtime, we couldn't find a park or rest area, so we stopped for lunch in the parking lot of a garage. We parked off to the side and Karl did go over to ask if it was okay. Within 10 minutes, we noticed at least 3 people eyeing us suspiciously, and two minutes after that,  4 police cruisers sped in to the lot!!! We thought we were  toast, but the police must've been just visiting someone in the shop.  We noticed later that the shop did car detailing, so who knows?  Turned out to be a bit of excitement to spice up our day ..... they waved at us when we left half an hour later!
Suzie and Karl had words again today. She wanted us to go off the interstate (we had just got back on) and drive way around to avoid an upcoming road closure! Well, Karl got out the map himself and started steering us toward Decatur AB (our destination) and eventually Suzie came onboard - it was an interesting hour till we got back on track!! As for me, without Suzie, the GPS, I might arrive, but I am not sure when!!
Suzie is now blessedly silent about upcoming road delays and it looks like we may roll in to this new park before 6pm.
We have been talking about things and places we've enjoyed on our trip, but can't always (okay rarely) remember which park.  Good thing we kept the blog, without it we could never keep these stories straight!!!!
One last thing, it is our granddaughter Rachel's birthday today, she is 17!  Happy birthday sweetheart and many many more to come!
Also wanted to note that our niece, Nicole, had a little girl last week, Jenna. Congrats to Nicole & Dave (they live in Cornerbrook Nfld) and to the new grandparents, Arnie and Rita!
So, about 6 pm we rolled into Point Mallard Campground just outside of Decatur. Nice enough place, well wooded and pretty. And a whole lot less expensive than Florida! I like that part.

Panama City Beach (2)

Today we woke to glorious sunshine, and warmth - how appropriate for our last day before the journey home!  Everything is better on a day like this. lots of kids out laughing and playing. This is a family park, but even so, there are a surprising number of children still in the park after the weekend, guess home schooling is a big thing here!
The park is right beside a zoo and although we can't see anything from inside the park, daylight brought some interesting sounds which we are presuming to be the result of "feeding time at the zoo". Not sure what animals they have! One of our neighbours here has a little dog that was acting for all the world like a tiger, stalking Max. The owner told us they camp right beside the fence, and he wonders if there are tigers on the other side!
Poor Maxi got a bath again today cuz he had rolled in some garbage outside a dumpster a few days ago and the smell is lingering.... we used "my" shampoo so now he smells like camomille (at least until he finds something else to roll in).
Just an FYI, we did go out for seafood last night, Captain Jack's Seafood Buffet. It was a good supper, but did not compare to what you would get at King's Buffet. Guess these Americans can learn a few things from us Canadians after all!!
We did another tour of the beach area today.  The places that were free beaches and open area when Karl was coming to Panama City Beach 25 years ago are now built up with highrises, hotels and condos. We did try further down the beach than we did yesterday, but you can still only catch quick peaks at the beach/water. There are occasional public access paths to the beach, but signs for no parking and "no dogs on the beach" are everywhere - it's downright discouraging! After asking in the park office, we did find a dog friendly area.  Out of about 15 miles of beach, they set aside about 600 feet as pet friendly?!?  Oh well, after all that, I had a great swim in the gulf. Max just checked it out to his belly and backed out.  Karl didn't even go that far! But, it was beautiful, and at least as warm as Mallory Beach in late July.
So we just had a fabulous pizza supper - they have an oven in the hall, so we did home made! The night is warm and sky is brilliant with stars. The park is full of palm trees and looks really pretty tonight.
And now we are planning the trip home......  sigh

Panama City Beach, Florida

Today is a cloudy day and a little dampish, and the temp never made it past 15C; so, while we know it was 19 in Ontario today, don't gloat for too long cuz tomorrow we are getting 24 and sunny for a number of days.
Went driving this morning past a few of my (Karl) old haunts from long ago. About 25 years ago a friend and I bought a house (cottage) down here so I am somewhat familiar with parts of the city. But today was a disappointment cuz the old neighbourhood has become quite run-down and neglected. And a lot of the old stores, favored restaurants, etc., are gone to make room for road widenings. And the big open beach has largely fallen prey to endless beachside condos, stores, and amusement parks, almost like a king-size Grand Bend, several miles long.
However, on the bright side, the beach is still as beautiful as ever and we'll be in the water once the temp goes up tomorrow.
Church today was a place called the Lighthouse, right next to the trailer park. Wow! True southern-style high-spirited, rousing music and atmosphere and a young minister with a huge sense of humour. It was great and certainly the most enjoyable service I've ever seen.
Tonight we are going out for Easter dinner, and have, of course, chosen an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet! I expect to be there for quite a while! Woo-hoo!! Even better cuz Joanne is buying ...
That's all for the moment, will write more later if i can still write after I waddle home from dinner.

Florida

It was another driving day for us. Hoping to have learned a lesson from our last road trip, we set out earlier this time. I must say that we are getting pretty good at packing up - we've certainly had some practice the last few weeks!
Would you believe that in 10 hours, we drove through 4 states; Louisiana (where we started), Mississippi, Alabama, and now Florida? The bayous and swamps have given way to drier ground with lush green everywhere, and tall deciduous and pine trees.
When we drive, we tend to stop every few hours to stretch and walk Max - it's typically 30 min to an hour which does makes the trip a bit longer.  Some of the rest stops have walking trails and picnic areas nicer than some parks in Ontario.
We stopped at the Florida Welcome Centre for lunch. Got some great pictures, one they did in the welcome centre, with an alligator! (In case you are wondering, the gator wasn't real).
Better luck with traffic this time with no big delays (so Karl didn't need to threaten Suzie).
The park we are staying at is Emerald Coast which bills itself as the best RV park in America. I did a quick tour in the dark, but so far, I am impressed. There are 2 heated pools and a hot tub, 2 small lakes with trails around them, (one has paddle-boats and a dock for fishing- catch and release), there are 2 activity rooms, an exercise room - well equipped, and Karl just came back from his walk to say that there is a pet wash! Anyway, I think we'll be comfy here for a few days.  Lots of plans for checking out the beach to soak up some sun and gather the courage to wander back north next week (... if we feel like it!).
Tomorrow is Easter and we have found a church right next to the park which we plan to attend.
Hope all of you have a great day with your families - in one way it's sad not to be there with y'all, but you are in our hearts and we'll see ya soon!

New Orleans

Allright!! The rain is gone and the sun has come out, time to make our way to the heart of New Orleans!
We hung out at the park this morning to watch an Imax video - Hurricane on the Bayou.  It's about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on not just the people, but also the wetlands....
Just driving around the city, there are buildings and homes that were either patched or left empty with roofs torn open and walls crumbling.  These are right alongside newly built and or repaired houses. Where we are is actually beside an upscale marina  ... at least one building still badly damaged, but standing and being used.
We made it to The French Quarter just before noon. We peeked into St Louis Cathedral, a huge, white church built in the 1700's. There was a mass being held, but oh my, the paintings on the ceiling and just the woodwork/ sculpturing was incredible!!
The buildings in the French Quarter looked like something in Europe 200 years ago (probably are that old) and painted in bright colours with wrought iron balconies on the 2nd or 3rd floors and flower boxes full of brightly coloured plants. Apparently the levies broke very close to this area, so they were badly affected by the hurricane ... still, other than the occasional shop, this area likely looks a lot like it did before.
The air was full of music - some of the streets were blocked off to traffic, and jazz or blues musicians were set up just a block or two apart. There were buskers, hotdog carts, and even psychics set up on the streets. Oh and panhandlers - I listened to one fellow who was anxious to talk about his life and we ended up $4 poorer. The fellow who targeted Karl tried for $20 (for shining his scandals), but only got $1!!
We found a little Mexican restaurant where they told Max he could come in and bring his people. They had a pretty little courtyard where we had our lunch.
Lots of walking, lots of real characters!! One fellow was collecting money to legalize marijuana and then there were the artists out on the sidewalk, and on and on.
We walked along the levy and saw one of the big paddle-boats leaving, then checked out the French Market area - food and flea-market. Karl had a gator dog and I found a teeshirt - Roadtrip 2014 New Orleans. Well by that time, we had been walking for almost 4 hours, and were done and so was poor little Max.
Just a postscript about Max - everybody loves Max. He got sooooo many pets and cuddles today, wow. But the poor little thing ran for the trailer once we got back and was, within minutes, sound asleep. Same as Karl.  

Pontchartrain Landing

We had arrived at Pelican RV park 2 nights ago and happily could not see much. Suffice it to say that we may not have stayed if we had! The light of day yesterday prompted an urgent need to find another park.  On a scale of 1 to 10, this would be a 0.1, the only 2 redeeming qualities are the security and Pam, the wonderful office manager who met up with us on arrival and helped us settle in. She has a great sense of humour! When  asked about noise at night, she just laughed and said, now I'm not gonna lie to you honey, yes indeed there are trains right right next door to us, we are also near a busy highway and intersection - it is noisy. If anybody told y'all otherwise, well they just weren't honest.
Well, in the morning we made our way over to Pontchartrain RV Park, only 10 min drive from Pelican RV Park. This one is waterfront, also a marina and just beautiful! It is landscaped with a large Rec hall and whatever you might need, including a pool of course. Lesson learned, you get what you pay for - this one is $55 per night.
The weather is still cool, but because of the "planes, trains and automobiles" at Pelican, plus the occasional sirens and of course intermittent tire screeching from drag racing ... we hadn't slept much at all! So once we arrived at the new park, we took the tour, checked out the pool and the pub/grill for french onion soup and loaded fries (US version of poutine; fries with cheese, sour cream, and bacon pieces). The hall is a large wooden building with huge covered porches overlooking the river on one side and the park on the other.
Took it easy for the afternoon (slept) and then set off to check out New Orleans.  We toured around the French Quarter by car because of the light rain - tomorrow we'll go back and tour it on foot. So much of really interesting buildings, obviously French, balconies with wrought iron railings - overlooking the narrow streets. Even in the car, the atmosphere was almost carnival, with people playing instruments and singing on every other street corner. Three teens with dreadlocks were strumming "air guitars" and singing. So many characters and so much history in the area!!

Louisiana

We set off this morning anxious to make it to New Orleans in good time. We knew that it would take at least 7 or 8 hours, but things can happen and ... they did! We left at 10 am and are now, at 6:20 pm., in our third traffic jam since we arrived in Baton Rouge ... sigh. We have another hour and a half to drive. As we watch the cars around us, it's easy to imagine how these accidents are happening!
However, stuff happens. Our GPS, Suzie, has taken us on a scenic tour of Baton Rouge, off the highway to get around one accident and we ended up stuck in another!! We finally got back out on the highway and ... you guessed it ... are stuck in another traffic jam. Now she is suggesting "another" route which would save us 7 min., and Karl got tired of her nagging, and pulled her plug!! Karl is vowing never to come to Baton Rouge again!!
Oh well, at least it's sunny and warm ... could be worse?
We calculated (once we figured out the actual date - you loose track on holidays.) that we were in Texas for 15 days and really enjoyed the time. For me, the 5 things I will most remember are; palm trees/cactus, warm sand between my toes on the beach, meeting up with old friends & making new ones, playing gypsy with my honey, and of course the incessant wind.
Karl's list would be meeting up with Helga and Dave in Dallas, hanging out with his honey,  Whataburger, the old guys in the morning coffee clatch at Tip of Texas Resort, and touring NASA.
On the drive from Houston to the border of Louisiana, we saw more oil storage tanks, pipes, and tanker ships than we thought possible. If anyone tells you there is a shortage of oil in the world, it all seems to be in Texas!
Louisiana, so far, is lush green with miles and miles of swamps and bayous. We stopped at a rest area and went for a quick walk on a trail over a Bayou - lotsa signs warning folks not to swim, and to watch their pets because of alligators and snakes!! Trust me, we really looked, but no alligators (woulda liked to see one ....) I think Max may have smelled something, but we thought better of letting him check it out - even if he is a mooch, we don't want him to be lunch for a gator!
Well, while we were talking just now, the traffic cleared up and we are rolling again. Since this was poor Karl's turn driving, he is now smiling and has plugged Suzie back in (although he turned off her speech, I think)
Well, after spending an hour and a half stuck in traffic, we stopped and had a quick supper in the parking lot of a service centre,  before setting out again to find our RV park.  This is definitely one of the perks of having our little camper ... meals anytime, anywhere, without the restaurant waiting and prices.  We both felt better after a supper of potato salad and sausage. Maxie never complains, but he also made short work of his supper and a fair bit of Karl's sausage!!

Galveston

What a difference a day makes! The heavy rain that lasted most of the day on Monday settled in to a cold night. Everything in our trailer was damp this morning, but we were at least warm. Our little heater worked like a trooper! Today (Tuesday) has been sunny and fresh, like a beautiful spring day!!
We spent the morning just relaxing, and visiting with the other folks in the park. Most of them are long term residents and every one of them has a story. One lady in a wheelchair totally reminds me of Cindy, our neighbour when we lived in Mission Texas 20 years ago. She looks like Cindy, but even has the same accent and quirky personality!
This afternoon we went on an adventure to "discover" Galveston Island which is about 20 miles from here, right on the Gulf coast. We saw SO many huge oil storage tanks, pipelines, and I think refineries in that half hour drive.... Tried to walk along the waterfront and check out the Pleasure Pier (amusement park) but, despite the 17 C temp., with wind off the water, it felt frigid.  So, after that, we toured Galveston mostly by car.   There is a historic district with beautiful old houses and churches which have been there over 100 years.  From there we found the waterfront with ships of all sizes, seafood vendors, restaurants - you can even see what we think are oil rigs offshore.
By this time we are cold and thirsty so we stopped at a seafood restaurant next to the pier, "Eat at Joe's". We had to explain what we meant by hot tea, and Karl checked out some of their shrimp, just to be social.....
Well, next door to the restaurant there was an honest to goodness deep sea oil drilling rig converted into a museum. We spent almost 2 hours checking it out - wow!!! They explained the whole process and we got to see/touch a lot of the equipment they would have used, even the ROV they use to explore the ocean floor.
This evening (Tuesday) poor Max got to sit home in the trailer while we finally made it over to Cracker Barrel -absolutely one of my favourite restaurants and well worth the wait!!
Tonight will be chilly for us, about 8 C, but then I hear that y'all in Ontario have had snow again.....

Rain !!

OK, so our run of luck has finally fizzled.
Today started off at 22C so after a leisurely breakfast we set out for Walmart about 10:30. slummed there a while and started to hear rumbling like thunder. Yep, it was, and then the rain started. Y'alls might know that down here there is no such thing as 'gentle' rain ... when it rains you can't see the house across the street, just like we couldn't see our car when we came out of Walmart. Of course we had left the windows down a bit for Max, so now all the car seats were drenched. Ewwwww ....!
Worse yet, the rain came in on a cold front and the temperature had suddenly plummeted to 17C. Ugh!
After a quick lunch I thought a rainy day might be a good time to go to the Houston Space Centre (NASA), only 9 miles from here. Max wasn't allowed in so he stayed behind to keep Joanne company at the trailer. Joanne volunteered to stay behind and be on clothes-dryer duty after our sitting in our drenched car seats.
The Space Centre was great, with lots of history, actual space capsules, actual moon rocks, space suits with real moon dust still on them, etc., but a large part of it was a kids' educational area with stations for experimenting with gravity, friction, propulsion, etc.
Upon coming out of the Centre it was, like, really bleedin' cold, the temperature having dropped to 12C !! Oh man!!! ... anybody feeling any pity for us yet?
So, as I sit here waiting for supper to magically appear, the temp has again plummeted, now to 8C. Shame to have to put on sox and long pants!

Houston

Today was a driving day, from Corpus Christi to Houston.
We are getting quicker at packing up and hitting the road! It really only takes 30 or 40 min., usually. Unless of course you get talking with some of the other campers! The lady in the next trailer, (a toy hauler, so besides the 5th wheel style living area, it has a sort of garage for their motorcycles, etc.) Sheila, has a little dog about Max's size. When we were packing up, she took Max to the dog park to play with her little Rufus. When they got back, we ended up talking .... this is part of what makes everything so enjoyable, but it also slows you down!
Quiet drive. Lots of open land and huge ranches until we got close to Houston. Sometimes there are long gaps between gas stations so you need to fill up when you see one!
We are now parked at the Kemah RV Resort in Kemah, a suburb on the southeast side of Houston, for a couple of days.
It was a cloudy day, so we didn't feel like we were losing any sun time in the car. We just got pulled in and set up here, and exactly 30 seconds later the rain started. It's supposed to rain thru the nite until about noon tomorrow.
While the previous park (Pioneer) was great for those who love the beach, it was a bit of a nuisance cuz the constant high wind blew the sand around a lot and things got a little gritty, and the breeze was always onshore so the air was never dry. Bathing suits hung outside in the evening were still wet in the morning, and your skin always felt a little clammy from the dampness.
Here, we're not by the water, and although the sites are quite small, there's a lot of trees and it promises to be very 'woodsy' when the rain stops and the sun comes out.
We met a few of the neighbours already. Since the park office is closed on Sunday, the fellow in the trailer next to us filled us in on a few of the "need to know" things, like how to get onto the internet. (Really interesting man, a marine vet) The fellow across from us helped Karl with positioning the trailer and then setup.  The park itself is "quaint" but clean and friendly. Hard to see much because of the on/off rain, but there is always tomorrow!
This gives us a chance to catch our breath and do some planning for the next few days and of course the next few weeks.  We still have a list of things we'd like to do, but there is time yet....
We aren't really heading home, but the road signs are starting to read north?!?! Not sure about this!?! First we'll just go east for a while.

Port Aransas Sand Festival

I am sitting at the table in the trailer looking out over at the ponds just across the road from us. Brilliant blue skies, lush green around the ponds with tall bullrushes, small trees, and palms here and there. I am listening to the sound of dozens of birds, with seagulls, smallish dark ducks, and a few flamingos, and even numerous pelicans have been spotted here!
So, we are taking a siesta. This morning we took the Shuttle bus into town to check out the sand-carving festival. There weren't as many as we thought, but what was there was incredible! The really good competitors were carving castles and pirates etc., some as tall as 10 feet! The detail, wow! They are completely made of sand packed solid with water.  There were also amateur competitions for families and kids with some really good carvings there too! Other than that there were, of course, the vendors with every imaginable souvenir, t-shirt, and thing to eat! Got a pic of Karl standing in front of the world's largest BBQ which was an entire transport truck trailer! They were grilling Johnson Brats (sausages) so we scooped up one each for lunch, mine without the bun of course, which Maxie happily shared.
Lots of sun and heat. Bought water for Maxie, but by the time we were heading back to the bus, he was toast, and crawled into the shade at the back of a pickup truck and dug himself in to the sand ... refused to walk any further (couldn't blame him, really). Ended up carrying him for a bit, but once we got away from the heat of the beach, he would at least walk....... Sigh, gotta quit giving him those extra cookies and such......
The shuttle bus driver toured us all over Port Aransas before taking us back to our park.  The town is so much bigger than we thought!  Apparently a pirate, Lafayette, buried his as yet unfound treasure in this part of the Island. There is a board-walk that has two 18-foot alligators that hang out underneath (but don't worry, they just eat turtles and such), the port is the 5th largest in the USA, they have fishing derbies almost weekly with prizes that range from the hundreds to half million dollars, and then there all the neat places to eat......... We were also shown on the higher dunes the foundations of guns were set up to destroy the German U-boats in WWII. Apparently they did capture one which now rests in a museum.  Who knew they came so close!!
We finally got back to the park and I saw a little van cruising around selling "hot tamales" but only by the dozen, sigh, and Karl doesn't like spicy food.
Well, gotta go check my laundry, Karl and Max are sleeping cuz we're going swimming in the Gulf as soon as it cools off a bit.
The wind here is constant, sometimes a breeze but mostly a steady blast strong enough to whip up the sand on the beach. In this climate it's refreshing!
Just got back from a swim in the Gulf of Mexico!  Karl has been anxiously awaiting a dip in the 'big water'! From what the locals tell us the water is frigid. The reality was a romp in rolling waves and water warmer than the warmest day in Wiarton!!! It was a blast!

Corpus Christi

The day dawned warm, sunny and with only a gentle breeze!  What a difference from the gusty winds we had yesterday! The good thing is that they keep you from feeling hot, but the flip side is that after a while, the wind itself is exhausting!!
We puttered all morning and got a chance to meet some of the other campers.  Captain Bob and his wife are from Houston area. He was a port pilot (he would guide the big boats into harbour). Anyway, he offered us some great advice about where to stay in the Houston/Galveston area and places we really should visit, like NASA!!  Forgot about that one!! Another fellow named Tom is from Texas as well, but travels a lot and has seen most of Canada. The couple next to us are full time RV'ers and look like they are in their late 40's........ and so many more......
Late morning we loaded up our sunglasses, hats, and camera, and headed out to discover Corpus Christi. Lunch was a picnic on the grass just outside a Whataburger Restaurant. (Karl gets excited every time we pass one) We wandered the waterfront boardwalk (actually cement) for a few hours. Blue skies, palm trees and beautiful stonework - there were hundreds of boats in the marina and on the opposite end of our walk, an aircraft carrier!!
We checked out another RV park down the road, just in case we wanted to try something different when/if we come back. Gorgeous park, but higher cost and "no activities". Duh.......
Also checked out a few big souvenir stores that advertise that they have everything ..... except of course the souvenir patches we are after. Oh, well ...
After supper, we wandered out to the beach for another walk.  There are now several couples or families camping on the beach.  I think the RV parks are full because of the sand sculpting festival which is billed as an international competition. I can imagine that the beach would be beautiful at night, especially with the stars and a roaring campfire.

Memorabilia:
In this park we are directly across the laneway from a couple of ponds with ducks, gulls etc. Yesterday we watched 3 pink flamingos fly in for a landing and bath. Beautiful! ... And, silly me,  I always thought flamingos were just plastic things you stuck into someone's front lawn on their birthday!
This morning there was a turtle, about 12" in diameter, crawling across the field and sliding into the pond.
Pelicans are more plentiful than gulls here.
Some cultural differences too. There's a little level of respect and politeness amongst people. When you go into a restaurant you get called "sir" and "ma'am" rather than 'you guys'. Nice !!

Port Aransas TX

After one more 6 a.m. coffee-klatsch with the ol' boys at Tip O Texas, it was time to start packing up for the drive to Corpus Christi. Rolled out about 10 a.m. headed for Port Aransas, just outside  Corpus.
A few interesting things about Texas. The landscape is generally very flat with lots of fields and foliage, ranches, etc. Noticeable is the lack of tall buildings and lack of tall trees (not enough water to grow tall), so there is always lots of unblocked open sky in view. Further remarkable is the cleanliness of the state. People don't litter here, the streets are not strewn with MacDonalds cups, empty pop cans, or cigarette butts ... streets and curbs are clean!!  Very noticeable. Also nobody here has eavestroughs (gutters) because people don't want to lose the water from their gardens.  Recall that here it gets so dry that it's common to have 18"-deep cracks in the ground.
We rolled into the Pioneer RV Resort on Padre Island, mid-afternoon. Much different campground, tighter spots, less vegetation, and this place is full to capacity cuz there is a sand-sculpting competition in town this weekend.
However, it is right on the outer beach of Padre Island, so, after supper we went for a salt-water stroll. While the locals stayed home and were muttering about how cold the water is, we had the whole beach to ourselves, wading along the water's edge, it was wonderful and warm! Even Maxi ran into the waves, chased seagulls and of course..... rolled in the sand - why not? (He did not seem impressed with the taste of the salt water and the ever-present wind).  NB - wind plus salt water spray, plus sand dunes, makes for sand that you taste and just doesn't wash off!!  Well not easily anyway! But it's fun just the same and you don't have to shovel it!!

Mexico!

Another great day!
Every day I get up later and Karl gets up earlier! This morning even Maxie was sleeping, so Karl wandered down to the rec hall and found a group of men coffee-clatching at 6 in the morning!  Apparently there is an even earlier group that meets (without wives of course) in the workshop at 5:00!!!
Well we finally made it over to Mexico- Karl's first time. We only did the first few blocks of Progresso.  Lots of incredible bargains and LOTS of tourists, like us.... We bought a sun hat for me, a copy of the movie Noah, and at least 3 or 4 people tried to buy Max!!  Sheesh, he stayed close to us!! We had a really nice lunch at a balcony/patio restaurant where Maxi was welcome. I had chicken fajitas and a pina coloda, and Karl had fish steak and chips and a Corona. The bill was $14!!!
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, swimming, and talking to other folks in the park, this would be so easy to get used to!
This evening we went to visit Kristy's friend, Sarah. She hasn't changed a bit, still a very nice girl, sweet and and so pretty.  She is teaching special ed at a high school - I can totally see how she would be good at that!. Her little girl, Sequoia, reminds me of Melissa's Kaiya, wise beyond her years - only 8 years old and already a real character. Sequoia had to save Karl from their dog when he went to take Maxie for a walk, and again when we were leaving, Sarah had to save Max, the wimp dog, from their cat ?!?! Oh well, he was tired by then........
Busy day, wish we could stay longer, but there is so much more to see and well, tomorrow we head out for ......

A Special Day

Wow, yesterday was so special! I reconnected with a friend I had lost touch with for many years! Sharon Rice (along with her husband Michael and their kids) and I shared many really great times when I was living in Texas back in the early 90's!  Since for a long time I couldn't find their phone number anywhere, we left a phone message for their son, Christion, whom we finally found on the internet because he is now a doctor!! Christion called his Mom at work and gave her Karl's cell phone number.......
Mike and Sharon treated us to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Mission. We spent a fabulous evening getting reacquainted and giving Karl the chance to meet the people I talked so much about over the years!
 Phew, other than that, we did some shopping in the morning, then tried out 3 of the 4 pools in the afternoon. Beautiful blue skies and 31C.  I actually had to use sunscreen and a hat!! We ended up in the indoor pool because the ones outside were so crowded!
We got the park manager to show us some of the rental trailers .... in case we decide to come back next winter for a month or so. Who knows?  Why wouldn't we want to get away from the snow? The idea is really tempting.  Some of the used trailers here are selling $10,000 to 20,000 and there are also a good number of rental units available.
We also wandered thru Mission and checked out where the house that I used to live in was (it has since been torn down), on Lucksinger Rd, and where we lived on Bryce Rd. Then we went to Sharyland School and told them the kids used to go there "way back".  I spoke to one of the Superintendents - she gave us a Sharyland t-shirt, pens, etc. for the kids!!
Well, busy day and today we'll gather up our courage and go to Mexico and perhaps meet up with Sarah, Kristy's friend.

Pharr, TX

We found it!!  we found it!! We came looking for warmth, and here it is!

Rolled out of San Antonio around 9:30 this morning, it was about 12C. But as we headed for Pharr, near Mission/Brownsville, the thermometer started climbing and by 2pm we were again peeling clothes off as the temp hit 31C. Woo-hoo!!

Pulled into the 'Tip O Texas RV Resort' about 4 pm to a lush park of palm trees and other southern vegetation. Great place, lots of full-time residents, great facilities (huge rec hall, 2 pools and 2 hot tubs - one set indoor & another outside, bingo room, card rooms, billiard room - with 6 tables, library and a sparkling laundry room - with 30 to 40 washers and that number again of dryers, about a dozen shuffleboard lanes, etc.). The park is very reminiscent of Riverside in Florida where Dieter and Heather have spent the past numerous winters. A guy could easily be swayed into buying a park model trailer here for about $12K. Too bad it's so darn far from Kitchener!

Now that we have found some decent temperatures here, guess we won't have to carry on south, to ? Peru ? Bolivia ?

Tomorrow we'll spend some time wandering ....

San Antonio (2)

The day dawned cool (14 C) with intermittent mist, drizzle, and rain. Sounds like the perfect weather for playing tourist? But, by late morning, the skies started to brighten and we decided to take a chance.
It was only a 20 minute drive to downtown San Antonio. Max guarded the car while we first checked out the Alamo. A fabulous old building!  Most of the main buildings (mission and fortress) still exist along with beautiful gardens and fountains. Turns out the history of Texas starts with San Antonio and "the Alamo". With the weather being cool & cloudy, we thought we would have the place to ourselves ... not!  There were crowds almost everywhere!!
Max did come with us on the famous River Walk.  The walkway winds its way along the river through downtown with sidewalk cafes, flowers, and gorgeous brickwork everywhere. There were small tour-boats full of tourists cruising all along the river - looked like something in Venice Italy!!  The River Walk actually goes for miles beyond the downtown area.  Still has the gardens and stonework, but only a few tourists.  We walked for almost 3 hours in total!  It was actually a good thing it wasn't a sunny hot day!
Along the River Walk, we found an open-air amphitheatre and above it, Villista, a market place for arts and crafts. Karl found a picture he really liked and I found ..... a pottery mug!!
Well, Max was not ignored. It seems that he makes friends everywhere he goes without even trying!! If I had a nickel for every person who stopped to pet him or otherwise, I'd be rich!  And he was happy too, until he saw a horse, which kind of unnerved him (biggest 'dog' he ever saw), and a scary guy in a sideshow dressed up like a ghoul who called out to him (he looked like a head and upper body on bones).
We got back to camp and had a quick supper so that we could go to the ice-cream social at the campgrounds. We ended up sitting with a poor lady whose home was apparently taken by the state to build an exit ramp for a highway.  I did feel bad for her.  Apparently the state (Wisconsin) tried to settle and she refused.  Very angry lady, she went on and on and,  sigh.....
So, another day in the books.  Gotta take Maxi out before the snow starts, it is after all 11C. Next, we're off to the southern-most tip of Texas, the area around McAllen and Brownsville.
Joanne.

San Antonio (1)

It has been kinda cloudy and coolish since we got to San Antonio, and we are anxiously awaiting some 'normal' temperatures (just like we've been waiting for some normal temps in Kitchener for several months). They say it will happen tomorrow.
We met a "local" working at the park who turned out to be a relocated Canadian from Brantford. Her comment to us was that the winter and spring so far have been colder than what she can remember in 15 years! But..... the occasional Canadian cold front is still better than what is at home!!
Yesterday was a sit-back-and-relax day, which included a lot of walking around the park, a trip to HEB (a major Texas grocery chain) and Lowes. We also took advantage of the hot tub here.  Which turned out to be just "heavenly" and warm.  They also have 2 beautiful pools, unheated,  so ...68 F.  Does that number sound familiar?  Trust me, too cold for us yesterday!!
The rec hall is decorated like something out of the wild west with a cushy TV lounge (leather chairs and couches), ping pong, pool table, dance hall, etc., etc.  Most of "these" campers have biggish rigs which likely include their own TV, so we had this huge hall to ourselves! A quick game of stripes-and-solids at the pool table and part of a movie on the big screen.
Since it was Saturday, we loaded up the wagons and went out to Whattaburger for burgers and shakes. ( Whattaburger is a major Texas-based burger chain - around since 1950) Then back to camp for a long walk around in a very quiet park and an early night.

Leaving Dallas

Yesterday we bid a fond farewell to Dave and Helga around 09:30 and headed out for San Antonio. Pleasant uneventful drive. We did notice increasing numbers of palm type trees with the occasional cactus at the side of the road. Wow, what a difference from Kitchener!
Also noticed that some highways down here have a speed limit of 80 mph or 130 km/h (!) -  we just trundled along at our 55. We did catch a break, though, with a strong tailwind, as our gas mileage was almost what it is without the trailer!!!
Around 5 pm we found the Stone Creek RV Park in Schertz, about 20 miles outside San Antonio. Nice enough park, well off the road - kinda looks like Dieter and Heather's park in Florida. It is a bit crowded, but at least there are trees which by the way, are in full leaf!
People are of course great here, not sure whether that's just basic southern hospitality or campers' relaxed frame of mind.
After supper, found a Walmart store nearby and replenished our fridge. Haven't had to worry about groceries for a few days while Dave and Helga were hosting us, and very well they did!
A little cooler today, 14C, had to put long pants on again! Supposed to be cloudy so perhaps a chance to sit back and relax, but I'm not sure whether Gypsy Jo will let me get away with that!
We hear that there is to be an ice cream social tonight in the rec hall ....  perhaps we'll go out for that seeing as we missed bingo last night.  When in Rome......
...Karl

Wandering in Dallas

Wow, two days in the same place!  But we are having a wonderful visit with our "old" friend Helga and our new friend Dave!
They have been good enough to show us around Dallas and Fort Worth.  There are a number of smaller cities, and in total, the metropolitan area is several times the size of Toronto. Can you imagine me finding my way "anywhere" in a city that size on my own??
We headed off to downtown Dallas and the site of JFK's assassination this morning.  Lots of people taking pictures on the exact spot he was shot.  Interesting to see the place the shots came from and hear the story again. It was something Karl and I grew up with, so as macabre as it sounds, it was like visiting a piece of history.  Karl did also go to the museum (I opted out ).  Beyond that, there were other bits of Dallas' history, like one of the original log cabins from when the area settled, but JFK was really the biggest draw. (we were told they see 1000 tourists per day)
We went for lunch at a German restaurant, Koby's, which allowed us to bring Max in!! Food was great, very ethnic German - complete with double smoked pork chops, red cabbage, potato salad, and sauerkraut - a nice treat.
This evening some major rain, hail, and thunderstorms passed thru the DFW area complete with tornados, missing us by about 30 miles.
Well, tomorrow we'll bid Helga and Dave good-bye with heartfelt thanks, and head off to San Antonio and .. whatever adventures await us there.
Joanne

Fort Worth

Another good day yesterday. After enjoying Helga's home-made breakfast, we left for Fort Worth, approx 35 miles down the road. Fort Worth is adjoining Dallas, much like Kitchener-Waterloo. The whole DFW (Dallas-Fort-Worth) metropolis is about 60 miles in diameter with a population of 6.5 million.
Our first stop was at Dave's sister's house just down the road. She had kindly agreed to doggy-sit for the day. Max had to stay behind cuz we were planning on going out for lunch.
Around 11 am we arrived at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, consisting of 109 acres and 2500 species of flowers, trees, shrubs, etc.  Beautiful! We wandered for about 2 hours, tho you could easily spend 2 days there!
Then off to Joe-T Garcia's Mexican Restaurant, a beautiful walled-in huge open-air spot with tables interspersed among lush gardens, even a fountain and pond. The food was great (fajitas, nachos, etc) and as usual, the servings were big enough that we shared one appetizer and one entree and still had lots of leftovers for an evening snack at home.
While Dallas is more of  a city/business centre, Fort Worth is heavily into western/cowboy culture. a whole section of town is known as the stockyards, which has been a hub for cattle trading since the 1800's. Many cattle-related businesses and tourist attractions here, including a covered open-air mall of entirely western-type clothes, souvenirs, etc. And of course Joanne and Helga each had to take the opportunity to mount a real-live long-horn steer for a photo op. One of the neat touristy items was a cattle-run thru the district every day at 4 pm which we took in, after visiting the world's largest honky-tonk, Billy Bob's, a huge place much reminiscent of Kitchener's original Lulu's. Great numbers of well-known musicians have performed here, and numerous episodes of the TV series, Dallas, had scenes shot here.
Around 6 pm we went to pick up our doggy at Barb's place and wound up having a great chat and dessert there until about 9 pm.
By then we were kinda exhausted and packed it in for the day.
...k

Texas!

Yesterday was a fairly uneventful but good driving day. Left Estes Park in Tulsa at 10:00 headed for Dallas. Weren't on the road very long befor the temp started to rise, working its way up to 28C in the glorious sunlight! Peeled off layer after layer of clothes, and man, that felt good! Had to leave the pants on tho.
Cruised into Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas, around 5 pm, and easily found our friends Helga and Dave. Great to see them again!! Were treated to a super bbq dinner on the patio! Had a great chat until about 10 pm, when we had to call it a day cuz the temp had dropped to 22 and felt a little chilly outside!
BTW yes, we are again having technical difficulties publishing photos to this blog, and have exhausted all the workarounds I could think of. I give up! Reverting back to vacation mode instead of tech-support problem-solving mode.
Here in Dallas all the birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and grass is green. Shorts and t-shirts are the order of the day.  Y'alls outta c'mon down here and join us!!! Our trailer is like, really small, but we'd fit ya in somehow!
Cheers ... Karl