Feb 4-7

Ingredients = Dry camping, salt air and nature at the Padre Island National Seashore

Thursday morning we were up early to drive over to Padre Island to spend a couple of nights by the beach. It was only about 15 miles from Corpus Christi. The campground is called Malaquite and it is within the Padre Island National Seashore – a national park. You cannot reserve a site, so it’s on a first come basis. I won’t bore you on this aspect, but they could use some changes and enforcement.

Facts on Padre Island (from their brochure)

• The park of 203 square miles protects the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world
• 4 nations have owned it – Spain, Mexico, Republic of Texas and United States
• Some of the oldest shipwrecks in the US dating back to 1554 have been found here
• Cattle ranching occurred on Padre Island from 1804 to 1970
• The Laguna Madre (water mass between the island and the mainland) is one of 6 hypersaline lagoons in the world (salt content is 1.5 to 3 times higher than the Gulf of Mexico)

After stocking up on groceries, we arrived and where finally settled at our site by around 11.The weather was supposed to be improving, but it remained overcast for the day with temps around 60 deg. We went out for a short walk on the beach after lunch but it was breezy. It gave Jazz a chance to run and stretch her legs which she enjoyed. We had to keep her out of the dune grass as it was full of small very prickly burrs that I think hurt us more taking them out than it did her. With so few campers, no trains, highways, etc., it was very quiet out there with the exception of the birds and the sound of the surf which was nice.

We were able to sit out a bit, but eventually retreated in doors for a few games of Scrabble. As we were dry camping, we didn’t have a constant power supply, wi-fi or cell service so our entertainment at night was watching some Breaking Bad episodes on the laptop.

Friday morning’s weather was a bit more promising, but still not what they had forecast. This didn’t hold us back though for a long walk on the beach layered up with our windshells. We were out for 2 hours walking south and found a few “beach” campers along the way. We saw lots of seashore birds, my favourite being a Great Blue Heron on the way back. (see pic)

Arriving back to the camp and with the weekend weather warming up, more people had started to arrive and continued through the afternoon and evening. The afternoon was still cool and damp so we were back in the RV playing some games. Chicken and vegetable stir fry for dinner with more Breaking Bad episodes after dinner. Another early evening!

Saturday morning we were up by 7 and the sunrise was working hard to warm us. Jazz and I (with coffee) went down to beach and just sat watching the gentle waves and enjoying the morning weather which was definitely warming prior to us leaving. A Great Blue Heron flew behind me and above by about 25’ so I watched it’s graceful flight. Back to watching the surf, suddenly I spotted a lone dolphin (fin to the right) in shallow water only about 75’ out. I watched it for another 10 minutes as it went back and forth almost right in front of me. I could have stayed there for the day! Time was ticking as we had a 10 am appointment with some 4 legged animals on the beach down the road as we leave the island.

At 9:30am we stopped at Horses on the Beach for an hour of the same at 10. The ranch had about 30 horses but that morning there was only 5 of us plus two guides. It was a nice 1 hour walk on the beach, no galloping! Shortly after 11 we were back in the RV changing into T-shirts and shorts for our 220 mile drive east towards Galveston.

We hear there is more white stuff expected at home today, so stay warm.

From the perch…….

 

 

Jan 28 – Feb 4/15

We arrived in Colonia Del Ray RV  Park in Flour (yes this is the correct spelling) Bluff which is a subdivision  of Corpus Christi located on Laguna Madre last Thursday  and have been here all this week. We soon discovered that Corpus Christi is more a summer time city and at this time of year there is very little to do. The weather however when we arrived was really nice – mid to high 70’s and beautiful sunshine . This lasted right through the weekend until Monday so we are very happy about that as we were able to be outside for those 4 days.

On Friday we took off on our bikes to tour the area we were in. We biked along Laguna Madre which we thought would be beautiful but it was anything but. On the other side of Laguna Madre is Padre Island which we are going to tomorrow for a couple of days so in our next blog we can tell you if the other side of Laguna is nicer than the Corpus side. We hope so. Anyway, at least we got our exercise that day but didn’t really see anything interesting.

On Saturday we boarded the local public bus and took it downtown and to the Waterfront. I will say that the Waterfront is a very nice area with a large Marina and seawall to stroll or bike along for 1.5 miles. It also had a few Seafood restaurants one of which we really enjoyed for lunch that day. They had a Prix Fix deal for $20 a couple which included one appetizer to share, 2 Entree’s and one dessert to share. Our appetizer was calamari which was delicious and I can honestly say that the Key Lime pie which we shared after our entrée was one of the best I have ever had. The restaurant was called Harrison’s Landing in case you are ever in the area.

In the summer, I am sure the waterfront is a very popular place and I understand they hold a lot of festivals down there during that time.

The downtown itself which is just behind the waterfront area we found to be quite desolate. Mind you it was Saturday but even during the week I cannot imagine there is much of anything going on down there. The bus ride we took to and from the waterfront was about 1 1/2 hours each way because of the many many stops the bus made and we saw some VERY interesting people get on and off the bus. There isn’t much more to say about that.

Sunday was our BEST day here in Corpus Christi. Just 10 miles from our RV Park is the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Centre. It was too far to bike to so we packed up the RV and off we went to it on Sunday morning. As many of you know, we are members of Royal Botanical Gardens at home in Burlington. RBG has a reciprocal agreement that allows members free admittance at other Botanical Gardens in North America as long as you have your Membership card which we did. This South Texas Garden is also part of the agreement so we were able to get in free.

As botanical gardens go, this one is not the norm. It has a wide variety of modern, stylistic floral exhibits and gardens, nestled near native habitat. It has winding trails and lakes, forests and natural wetlands. It had a lovely Orchid House and rose garden and pavilion. Unfortunately at this time of year there were very few flowers in bloom but the ones that were were very pretty. It also had a Butterfly house, a Hummingbird garden, and arid garden, reptiles AND LOTS OF PARROTS!!!!!!!   (See pics)

Can you guess which part I enjoyed the most? I have only attached a few parrot pics. Trust me, we have lots more but I didn’t want to bore you as I know not everyone is as excited about Parrots as I am!!

Anyway, it was a great visit to the Gardens. We returned back to the park by early afternoon and spent a wonderful relaxing afternoon sitting out in the sun . We met our neighbours who were from Northern Texas and had a good visit with them as we enjoyed the sunshine and a couple of cocktails at Happy Hour.

As it was Superbowl Sunday, the RV Park was hosting a free Superbowl party in their Rec Hall which included a full dinner of fried chicken, potato salad, homemade brown beans, rolls and spice cake for dessert. We arrived there at 5:30 pm and brought an appetizer which disappeared quickly. There were approximately 60-70 people there and they had 3 large TV’s set up to watch the game. As we really aren’t Football fans, we stayed til Half time and then came home. But we did enjoy participating in the get together and we did watch the rest of the game on our own TV.

Monday and Tuesday brought cool weather and lots of rain so we spent both days on the computer researching RV parks to go to for the remainder of February and all of March. You cannot imagine how much time it takes to do this. But we are happy to say that we are now fully booked in parks til the end of March which is a really good feeling.

Today we walked and went out for lunch and had our first “Whataburger”. This is a popular Texas wide (and beyond)  burger chain that was founded in Corpus Christi in 1950. It was delicious! (Bryn – it was better than In and Out)  Then we went over to a local Beall’s store where Rob went on a shopping spree and got some fantastic deals on summer clothes. I think he is now all set for shorts and tops for the next several years!!

I had my shopping spree back in San Diego with Melissa in January so it was Rob’s turn this time.

As we are dry camping on Padre Island starting tomorrow for a couple of days (and the weather is going to be hot and sunny – yippee) we will not have hydro, water, or Internet so we won’t be able to share any more droppings likely til the first of next week when we will be in Galveston area for a few days.

Have a great weekend and will squawk to you then.

Jan 26-28

On Tuesday morning we left Mission TX, after a quiet yet enjoyable week. It was before 9 am and we headed out in our shorts and T-shirts for a short 85 mile drive south to the Gulf of Mexico and South Padre Island. Mission is at the north end of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and as you head south you pass through McAllen, Pharr, Mercedes, La Feria and Harligen. It’s a metropolitan area spanning about 40 miles with 750,000 people. In Texas, the word “snowbird” is not heard often as they prefer to call the northerners’ coming down for winter as “Winter Texans”! That term alone accentuates that they are more appreciative than other southern states. They really understand the economic value that is brought in each year for 5-6 months and truly appreciate it. So, we are in the middle of our stay in Texas as “Winter Texans”.

South Padre Island (SPI) is a strip of land off the mainland with a long stretch of white sandy beach (34 miles long). Due to its beach component it is built around tourism. The main town Padre is about 4-5 miles long and a mile or less in width. We arrived early as you cannot reserve a site in Isla Blanca County Park unless you are staying for a week or longer. We were only staying two nights. With 600 sites, we were where told earlier in the week that they were only about 80% occupied. We got site 129 close to the beach and the bay.

After setting up, it was near lunch so we took a quick walk over to the beach and as we crossed the parking area, low and behold we met up with Oscar – a 4 year old Double Yellow Amazon parrot. (see pic) An older couple from Minnesota had brought him out for the day to get some sunshine and socialize. We spoke with them and Oscar for 15 minutes and learned a bit about SPI since they have been coming here for 22 years. As we were looking for food, they suggested Dirty Al’s for the best shrimp on the island. They also told us about the free shuttle bus that runs up and down the main strip in town. Both pieces of information proved useful!

As we were hungry at that point, Dirty Al’s was just outside the park and yes the fried shrimp basket and secretly spiced fries were excellent. Hmm,hmm… After lunch we walked out of the restaurant and spotted the free shuttle. SO, we jumped on it and headed to town and took a ¾ loop and then got off for a cold beer at Wanna wanna beach bar (see pic)

Afterwards, we walked along the Gulf Blvd looking at all the condominiums, thinking this may be a future option to escape winter for a couple of months.

We picked up the shuttle later in the afternoon and headed back to camp to enjoy the warm weather and the sunset. (See pic)

Wednesday morning we woke to a very heavy fog of think sea air. Everything was dripping salty water but was soon gone when the sun finally came out in full force. Today’s plan was to bike into town in the morning and go up Laguna Blvd. The Island has 3 main Blvds. – Laguna, Padre and Gulf – pretty self explanatory! After returning we had a quick lunch and headed off to the beach for afternoon. Temps were mid – high 70’s, lots of sun and a slight breeze. Back to the rig late afternoon to watch the sunset and BBQ pork tenderloin!

No complaints from the perch this week! Yes, Jazz had fun too. Check out her pic’s of the new friends she made.

Enjoy your weekend!

Squawk later

 

 

January 20-27/15

We arrived at Seven Oaks RV Resort in Mission Texas last Tuesday. It is a 55 Plus park so Rob had to sneak me in since I haven’t reached that age yet!! lol

As soon as we arrived, we were warmly greeted by many of the Winter Texans who spend their winters here. In fact everyone here has been so friendly and welcoming . We wonder if many of them just like talking to us as we likely remind them of their own kids as we are probably closer in age to their kids then we are to the people in this park.  (that’s maybe a bit of a stretch but not too far off)

One of my goals while in Texas was to learn how to Line Dance. This park offers Line Dancing lessons on Wednesday and Friday mornings so both days Rob and I went to the class and learned how to dance. The first day Rob was the talk of the park as he was the only man in a class full of at least 30 women. The Teacher was very kind to us the first class as she went over the dances several times and didn’t teach anything too complicated to learn. The second class didn’t go quite as smoothly though as we were taught harder dances and had a lot less practice time before dancing to music. When you have to learn 5-6 different dances in 1 hour it is difficult. Rob felt a little more comfortable during the second lesson though as one other brave man joined the class that day. (See pics of our lesson)

This park has many social events on it’s weekly calendar. On Saturday night we attended one of them which was ” Italian night “. It was a 5 course Italian dinner put on by some of the park residents. They had been cooking for several days leading up to the dinner. Once again, we felt very welcome. We were invited to sit with a group of people from Wyoming and we had a delicious dinner and good company.

The weather this week has not been quite as hot as we had hoped it would be. When we arrived last Tuesday, it was in the mid 80’s so we thought that was great. The warm temps lasted 2 more days after that but then cold weather  and very high winds blew in for the next 2 days. The wind was blowing so hard, our rig was rocking back and forth like a boat on water. Yesterday we had temps in the low 70’s and today is promising to be in the mid to high 70’s so it will be a pool day today!

Tomorrow we are leaving Mission and heading to South Padre Island which is about 60 miles away. We plan to spend 2 nights on the Island which we are really looking forward to as we have heard great things about the location.

We’ll be back on the perch with more droppings towards the end of the week so stay tuned.

January 20, 2015

Arrived in Mission Texas mid afternoon today to hot weather in the 80’s. We may be off the blog waves for a couple of days as we spread our wings and enjoy the fine temperatures. It has taken almost 4 months and getting to the south tip of Texas (near Brownsville) to find the tropical weather!

We are SQUAWKIN>>>>>>>>>>>