Moving Onto Port A … Tomorrow

Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Marvin Shields RV Park — NAS Corpus Christi, Texas
Temps: Hi 78F (25.5C) / Lo 67F (19C)

As the month draws to a close, so does our stay at the Marvin Shields RV Park onboard NAS Corpus Christi.  One more sleep here and we’ll be heading to our home pad in Port Aransas tomorrow morning.

We arrived at NAS CC about 2:00p on the 27th.  The drive down from Houston was mostly uneventful.  I say mostly, because we got a low-coolant alert about a 100 miles out of Houston and had to deal with that before we could complete the rest of the drive.  This was the second alert in the space of 24 hours, the first one being when we were at the storage facility the day before.  Mui had topped off the engine coolant then, so it’s now apparent that we have a slow leak somewhere.  Anyway, nothing we could do about it there and then except to monitor the situation, so once the coolant was topped off again, we got back on the road.  The rest of the trip went fine with no blinking red lights or beeps to worry about.

The awkward location of the coolant reservoir means Mui has to get creative with the funnel.

Arriving at NAS CC, we negotiated the narrow maze of concrete dividers that were instituted last summer to slow down any potential do-no-gooders on the approach to the security checkpoint.  Then it was a simple matter of checking in at the park office to get our site assignment — #67.  Nice site; with plenty of space between rigs.  Unlike when we were here in July of last year, the entire campground is nicely greened up; makes the facility seem so much nicer.

Panorama of Site 67 and our neighbors.

Sunrise Panorama from Site 67.  Love all that green grass!

After settling in, we headed off to grab an early dinner at P.F. Chang’s.  Always a favorite, we started off with the restaurant’s signature chicken lettuce wraps.  Normally we would have then followed up with a single main course to share, but since the next day was going to be a busy chore day, we ordered two main courses and brought the leftovers home to give Mui a break from cooking for one more day ;-)

We finish up the chicken lettuce wraps (top right) at PF CHang’s, but bring some of the
ginger chicken with broccoli and beef lo mein home with us for lunch the next day.

The four days that followed were indeed busy … not much fun, but necessary chores after traveling overseas for four months.

One of the reasons we opted to come to NAS CC for a short stay before settling in at our pad was to take advantage of the free laundry with four big washers and dryers.  It was a smart move on our part.  I got all the laundry that would have taken me at least two days to wash and dry in the rig done in half a day.

The other reason we opted to come to NAS CC — get the routine medical appointments taken care of … the medical facilities are much closer to the base than they are to our RV Resort.

Of course there was a third reason for coming here — to finish provisioning the rig with a shopping trip to the commissary ;-)

Chores and provisioning … check!  Medical appointments … check!  Now it’s time to relax and have fun.

Time Flies …

Saturday, 26 July
Martin Shields Campground — NAS Corpus Christi, Texas
Temps: LO 80F (27C) / Hi 91F (33C) … Feels like 106F (41C)

Time flies when you’re having fun!  At least that’s how the old adage goes.  I’m here to tell you that time flies whether you’re having fun, or just doing chores and living life.  It sure doesn’t seem like we’ve been here at Martin Shields RV Park aboard NAS Corpus Christi for a week, but the calendar says otherwise.

To say that it’s been hot here would be an understatement.  The temperature gauge itself hasn’t risen above a humid 94F (34C) … and that was just for a couple of hours on one day.  The feels-like temperatures, on the other hand, have been sweltering — ranging from 104F to 107F (40-42C).

The good news — the campground overlooks Corpus Christi Bay.  That means the breeze is constant, making the heat quite bearable.  So, we’ve actually been quite comfortable, managing to get out for our daily walk in the mornings — granted, we do so at 6:30a when the temp is only 80F (27C)!  And when the shade hits our patio in the late afternoon, we can sit outside … that’s a bonus we weren’t expecting!  Since the bulk of our days have been spent doing post-travel chores, being inside during the hottest hours of the day has not been onerous.

Sunset at Shields RV Park aboard NAS Corpus Christi.                

This will be a catch-all post to make the blog whole.  That means I am going to go back to the day we arrived in Houston after our summer vacation overseas and come forward from there.

Thursday, 17 July … Welcome Back to Texas

The timing of the thunderstorms that greeted us in Houston could have been better, but at least the weather cooperated long enough for our plane from Washington DC to land without delays.  We’d arranged for a very special ‘private limo service’ to pick us up from the airport … actually, our friends, the Zs, were kind enough to drive down to Houston to give us a ride from George Bush Intercontinental to the storage facility where the Phaeton was awaiting our return — thanks, guys!

Since we have solar panels to keep the batteries afloat,
we rented an outdoor spot at the storage facility.

The solar panels we had installed a year ago once again kept the batteries afloat and the Phaeton’s engine purred to life on the first try.  Not so lucky with the toad.  As was the case when we left it in storage last year, the batteries of the CR-V were dead!  Mui suspects the small solar panel he installed is simply not sufficient to float the car batteries; he’s going to look at alternative solutions.  Anyway, the Zs came to our rescue and gave the toad the jump it needed — thanks, guys … again. 

While Mui went about getting the coach road-ready, I mapped out our route.  It was at about this time that the worst of the thunderstorms hit the area.  No problem, I switched my ‘navigator hat’ for my ‘weather officer hat’ and checked the local weather radar for a break in the storm for the short drive to Cummins Coach Care in north Houston.  I must have done my job right as nary a drop fell until after we had pulled under the canopy at the service facility ;-)

Since we had towed the car to Cummins instead of driving it after we got a battery boost from the Zs, the CR-V needed another jump before we could get on the road again.  No problem — the Coach Care guys had a portable battery jumper to give us a boost.  With instructions from the tech to drive for an hour, we headed off to the Sheraton North Houston for an overnight stay.  Of course, it didn’t take us an hour to get to the hotel, so Mui waited in the car with the engine running, while I checked us in.  That done, we went for an aimless drive in the area for another half hour.  Actually, the drive wasn’t that aimless — we were looking for a place to have an early dinner.  Though we found some options, nothing really tickled our fancy, so once we’d fulfilled the instructions from the Cummins tech, we returned to the Sheraton and had dinner in the hotel restaurant instead — wasn’t half bad!

We wrap up our “Welcome-back-to-Texas” day in a comfy room at the Sheraton North Houston.

Friday, 18 July … The Phaeton Gets a Check-Up

A good night’s rest … a great breakfast at the hotel … and we were ready to pick up our nomadic lifestyle, even though the Phaeton has been quite stationary this year.

If there was nothing wrong with the coach when we picked it up from the storage facility the day before, why did we take it in for service?  Well, regular readers will recall that the annual maintenance we planned to have done at Cummins Coach Care Houston in May had to take a backseat to resolving an intermittent “water in fuel” code instead (post here).  Better late than never, the service on the engine, chassis, and generator was all completed today — and very satisfactorily, I might add.

I didn’t take any photos at Coach Care today, so this one from May will have to do.

When we arrived around 9:30a, the Phaeton was already in for its ‘check-up’.  There’s no visiting of the service bays here, so Mui had to patiently wait in the customer lounge with me.  But he was kept apprised of what was happening on a regular basis — both the service manager and the service foreman came out several times while we were there to give him updates.  Based on our experience — both times — we would not hesitate to recommend Cummins Coach Care Houston.

Except for the different outfit I’m wearing, this photo could have been taken today!

Given a clean bill of health, we left Coach Care around 3:30p — perfect timing as the afternoon rush hour was not yet underway.  By 4:30p, we were set up in site 802 at Advanced RV Resort, which has become our Houston base.  While I did some light housekeeping, Mui went off to Costco to begin the process of re-filling the Phaeton’s larder.  He loves to shop, so I assure you this was no hardship for him ;-)

The photo doesn’t do Site 802 justice; it is more spacious than it looks here.

Sunday, 20 July … Moving south to Corpus Christi

Didn’t really do anything blog-worthy on Saturday, so I’m skipping on to the next day.  Eagle-eyes might have noticed that the subtitle says Corpus Christi and not Port Aransas, where our home-pad is located.  That’s because our site was rented; hence our week at the Shields RV Park at the naval air station.

We were on the road by 8:30a.  And what a pleasure it was … traffic was non-existent and we made really good time getting out of Houston even though our chosen route to get to US59 took us through several urban neighborhoods.  By 1:15p, the 232-mile (371 km) drive was behind us and we were settled into
site 51 (50 Amp FHU for $18/night).

Site 51 at Shields RV Park aboard NAS Corpus Christi.

After setting up, we headed off to get a bite to eat.  To celebrate being back in Texas, we went to Rudy’s for some BBQ!  If your ears were ringing, Sue and Mo, it was because we were reminiscing about what newbies we were when we went to Rudy’s for the first time with you last February.  Showing none of the ‘we have no idea how this works’ hesitancies that marked that first time, we got in line and placed our order like we were old hands at eating Texas BBQ … in reality, it was only our second time ;-)

Tummies sated, our next stop was at the commissary on base to pick up groceries and whatnot to complete the replenishment of the larder.  Chores … starting on Monday … after all, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, and that’s what we did once we returned to the coach.

Back to the here and now … and a week past

The first three days of the week were spent unpacking; doing laundry; putting away our Arctic gear — until the next time we find ourselves heading to the polar regions; cleaning the rig and making it habitable after 50 days of being in storage.  Thursday, we took care of appointments, including our bi-annual visit to the dentist.  Have no idea where yesterday went — some accounting work somewhere in there — and here we are at Saturday, which is into the evening hours already.  I told you — time flies.

13-lined ground squirrels run around the campground in a feeding frenzy all day long.

As I mentioned above, it’s been hot here, but the saving grace is the breeze.  Today we have winds strong enough to rock the coach, but for the most part the breezes have been gentle.  They’ve been quite welcome; especially when we go out for our morning walk.  Without a breeze the humid, sticky temps would have kept us from getting our daily dose of exercise.  Or from sitting outside when the patio is in the shade.

From pinks and mauves …

… to golds and oranges … colorful sunrises accompany our morning walks.

An unexpected bonus … we get to sit outside when the patio is in the shade.

Despite the high temps, we’ve been quite comfortable inside the coach.  The MCD shades have been great at keeping the sun and heat at bay.  So much so that our two AC units haven’t had to operate around the clock to keep us cool.

That said, we’ve taken to heart the warnings that the worst of the heat is yet to come in August.  Mui picked up a roll of reflective insulation from Lowe’s and made a windshield shade that we placed on the dash in front of our MCD shade.  He bought the 2-foot wide roll and pieced the shade together, which will allow him to fold it into a smaller roll for storage.  He also used the same stuff to cover the skylight in the bathroom — can’t use the hatch cover since I didn’t want to remove the drip-dry station (post here) from the shower stall; and placed a piece behind the blinds in the window in the bathroom.  That our proactive steps have helped keep us as comfortable as we’ve been goes without saying.

Piecing together pieces of reflective insulation, …

… Mui creates a sun shade for the windshield.  May not be pretty, but it gets the job done.

Now for some thoughts on the campground.  To be frank, I’m torn about this place.

On the positive side, we have a level, concrete pad that is quite wide.  The spacing between the sites is best described as oversized — even if the layout of the sites is ‘odd’.  The laundry has four fairly new washers and dryers … and they’re FREE — I got through a mountain of laundry in record time using just two of the four machines.  Although almost completely full, the campground is quiet.  And critters abound.  Aside from the usual shorebirds near the water, we have long-billed curlews whimbrels poking around the campground looking for tasty morsels; 13-lined ground squirrels running around — the babies are especially cute; and jackrabbits cavorting and playing chase with each other when they aren’t busy munching away.

LONG-BILLED CURLEW
THE CONSENSUS FROM THE TWO BIRDERS I KNOW IS THAT THIS IS A wHIMBREL …
WHO AM I TO QUESTION THE EXPERTS ;-)

“My, what big eyes and ears you have,” said the human to the black-tailed jackrabbit!

On the negative side, the campground is in need of a lot of tender loving care.  I can understand that the grass isn’t lush, and that there are bald spots and weeds … Texas is in a drought after all.  But the roads in and around the campground are cracked and rutted; the washrooms are in sad shape — I’m glad we don’t have to use them; and several of the buildings nearby are in a state of disrepair.  In fact, one would be excused for thinking that the base is slated for BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure).  That’s certainly not the case, but whatever funds are coming in are obviously being directed towards the mission of the base and not towards MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) facilities.

Our Hilarious visitor!  This jackrabbit comes to visit every afternoon.
I don’t know if it is in the ‘family way’ or has just given birth …
haven’t seen any leverets around … but its teats are quite full.

The cons aside, should we be in the area and our site be rented out, we wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again.  In fact, the big, free laundry facilities alone would draw me back here after we return from any long-term off-the-road travels that might be in our future ;-)

We have one more day here before we pack-up and move to our home-pad at Gulf Waters RV Resort down the road a bit.  I’ll be back once we’re settled in.

They’re Baaack!

Sunday, 20 July
Martin Shields Campground — NAS Corpus Christi, Texas
Temps: LO 80F (27C) / Hi 92F (33C) … Feels like 105F (41C)

Yes, we’re back.  In fact, not only are we back in the US, but in the past four days, we flew from DC to Houston … got the Phaeton serviced while there … stayed two nights in the area so Mui could get his Costco fix … and drove 232 miles (371 km) to Corpus Christi today.  We will be staying at the Shields Campground aboard Naval Air Station Corpus Christi until renters vacate our Gulf Waters site at the end of the month.

That we had a terrific vacation goes without saying.  Those of you who might have taken a peek at our Two to Travel blog already know how we spent the past month and a half.  For the rest of you — a summary ... we visited family in Turkey; explored Helsinki, Finland; made a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia; and — drum roll, please — attained the North Pole aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker!

As you can imagine, we’re exhausted — pleasantly so.  But before the R&R begins — and I get back to blogging — there are chores that require our attention.  And so, we begin to ‘live life’ again ;-)

Our New Home at GWRVR

Saturday, 25 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 35F (1.5C) / Hi 57F (14C)

The polar vortex once again made its presence known to us this week.  But not with the fierceness experienced by those who were in the path of Winter Storm Janus elsewhere in the country.

While some of our Texan friends who live further north did get snow, the worst we had was strong winds that buffeted the rig Thursday night, and temperatures that never got over 34F (1C) the next day.  With the windchill, the feels-like temperature on Friday was around 23F (-5).  We hunkered down until today, when the sunshine warmed us enough to go for a walk around the campground … and on the beach.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have extended our stay in GWRVR to the end of April.  But, we will have to move a few times during that time frame.  After a month in site 756, Monday, the 20th, was the first of such moves.  We waited until the Prevost that was in our new site moved out before taking the Phaeton for a spin.  Our excuse — topping off the diesel.  In reality, we wanted to get the wheels rolling a bit before settling down again for the next six weeks.

For the first time since we bought the Phaeton in 2010, we took it to a regular gas station.  Having checked it out first, we knew getting her in and out wouldn’t be a problem.  But she sure did overwhelm the place!  Should have taken a photo while Mui was manning the sloooow diesel pump.  It took a while to quench the Phaeton’s thirst.

To return to GWRVR, Mui then had to execute a u-ey to get from the northbound lanes of South Padre Island Drive to the southbound lanes.  I was never as glad that we have a 55° wheel cut as I was that morning.  The increased maneuverability allowed Mui to easily make the tight turn.  Should have videotaped that turn, but I was too busy clutching the arm of my seat to think about it!

From Roughing It Smoothly; April 2008, Volume 5, Number 2 (Inside Cover).
The ad shows an Allegro Bus, but our Phaeton is capable of making these tight turns as well.

Anyway, we returned to GWRVR shortly after noon.  Sal escorted us to Site 461 and guided Mui into place.  We considered going face-first into this back-in site, but we would have been literally face-to-face with the Prevost in the site behind ours.  So, back-in we manuevered.

We moved from 756 (red arrow — bottom right) to 461 (blue arrow — top right).

We don’t have a pond view this time, but our corner lot is spacious.  Our only immediate neighbor is an owner lot that is not in the rental pool.  They’ve got their 5’er sitting there empty, so unless they come, there won’t be anyone on our driver side.  It’s pretty much the same with the lots across from us.  Only the corner lot is occupied; the others are all empty owner lots.

From the front …

… From the right.

It didn’t take long for us to get settled.  As it was a lovely day with plenty of sunshine and only a light breeze, Mui lost no time setting up the grill to cook up some of the köfte left over from our lunch with friends the day before.

Our first al fresco meal at GWRVR.

On the menu: köfte (ground beef patties), domateslİ pİlav (rice made with
tomatoes), cacık (cold cucumber soup with yogurt), and pİyaz (white bean salad).
[You saw this photo before when I cheated and used it on the previous post]

Our visit to the opthalmologist on the 16th had yielded a new Rx for me — no surprise there.  On Wednesday, the 22nd, we drove into Corpus Christi to run some errands and get that prescription filled.  The manager at the Walmart Eye Center took her time helping us and I ended up leaving a chunk of change behind.  Now that I am supposed to wear these glasses all the time, I also splurged on a pair of Rx sunglasses.  Looking forward to being able to see the GPS when I am driving!

I knew I was going to need a new prescription — sigh!

Our errands took long enough that it was 1:00p by the time we were done.  Time for lunch.  We decided to go to the PF Chang’s nearby.  I know, we should have gone to a local joint instead of a chain, but we had our reasons.

We used to go to this China Bistro when we lived in Northern Virginia — mostly to enjoy the chicken lettuce wraps that Mui has been unable to duplicate at home … must be some secret ingredient they use.

Anyway, we had more than just the lettuce wraps this time.  Our meal included chicken lo mein for me, and crispy shrimp with a side of fried rice for Mui.  We washed it all down with a couple of Tsingtaos and walked away well-satisfied with our meal.

What, no dessert?  Yes, we did have a sweet treat at the neighboring Marble Slab Creamery. We enjoyed our ice cream at one of the patio tables overlooking the fountain — another al fresco opportunity for us.

We didn’t take a camera on this errands-outing, so no photos of any of this — except for the one of the lettuce wraps, which I borrowed from the web.

The temps are supposed to warm up further tomorrow.  If I can get rid of the headache that’s been plaguing me today, we’re going to check out the birding center.  We’d like to get a fun outing in before the next polar vortex hits us early next week.

10K Volksmarching in Corpus Christi

Sunday, 12 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 54F (12C) / Hi 69F (21C)

It’s late — about 10p — and boy is it blowing strong out there.  It’s also been raining on and off since we returned from today’s outing.  Good thing this front waited until now to come through or it would have put a real crimp in our activities today.

The blogosphere is a big one, but when you filter it down to people with like-minded interests — full-timing in an RV being one of them — that sphere shrinks and becomes a very small world.  It seems at times like we are all stalking following the same people.  That’s how we met Faye and Dave, who are also at GWRVR for a while.  Turns out that Susan (of Travel Bug fame) dropped them a comment mentioning that we were at the same campground.  A few email exchanges and a couple of G+ comments, and before long we had all agreed to do a Volksmarch in Corpus Christi.  During our walk today, we learned that Karen and Steve (of GoneByRV) also mentioned us to Faye — sorry guys, you’re too far away, or we would have invited you to join us as well.

For those who are not familiar with what a volksmarch is, the word comes from German and means “peoples’ march.”  Essentially, it’s a fitness walk on an outdoor path.  The length of the walks vary, but the most popular ones seem to be 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).  The nice thing about volksmarching is that because it is not a competitive walk, you can take your time exploring the places on your route.  If you have company during the walk, as we did today, so much the better — you don’t even realize how far you’ve walked.  (There’s more information on the website I linked to in the first paragraph.)

volksmarches ARE HOSTED by local clubS; THE WEBSITE provideS ROUTE information, including the start point from which TO collect directions.

Susan, an avid volksmarch participant, had chosen the shoreline walk in Corpus Christi for us.  Compared to the 2+ hour drive she and Bob made from San Antonio, our 35-minute drive to Corpus Christi was a piece of cake.  As we don’t have a back seat in the toad, Faye drove herself and we all arrived at the meet-up point within minutes of each other.  Directions for today’s volksmarch were in the walk box at the coffee shop inside the Bayfront Plaza Hotel.  Soon, armed with route instructions, we were off at a comfortable pace that allowed us to chit chat and get to know each other; and stop for photo ops along the way.

The Alice M. Milloy Corpus Christi International Seamen’s Center is a not-for-profit
“home away from home” for seafarers visiting the Port of Corpus Christi.

We started our walk under blue skies and sunshine, but as the forecasters predicted, the clouds soon moved in.  The temps remained in the 65F (18C) range for the most part, and when it reached around 75F (24C) at noon, I was happy to have the clouds filtering most the hot rays.  It cooled down considerably, and got windy later; but we really can’t complain about the weather we had for our walk.

We have blue skies when we stop to check out the houses at the Heritage Park,
the site of 12 historical Corpus Christi homes, the oldest dating back to 1851.

Right: a new addition perhaps, this house is in need of a lot of tender loving care.
Left: (1905) Simon Gugenheim house (top); 1908 Galvan house (bottom).

Bob and Mui walk around the inside perimeter of the Water Garden in
the Bayfront Science Park, while Faye stops to take a picture of …

… the cascading waterfall along the outer perimeter.

I love the dancing fountains that flow down a stepped wall.

Our route took us from the neighborhood streets of Corpus Christi to the Seawall, which was constructed between 1938-1941 to protect the downtown area from storm surges.  A popular place for locals and visitors to take a stroll, ride a bike, or go roller-blading, the seawall raised the shoreline 14 feet (4.3 m) above sea kevel.  Inside the charming, free-standing gazebos along the way are historical markers; and further along the path, informational panels about the planets are positioned on a scale that allows people to easily navigate through our solar system.

The Corpus Christi Seawall is a great place for a walk.  A stepped wall overlooking
the water, as well as double-benches along the way, afford places to take a load off.
The Miradores del Mar gazebos (Spanish for overlooks by the sea), copied from
similar structures in Morocco, Mexico and Spain, add charm to the scenery.

Untitled History — a sculpture by Mel Chin.
one part of a five-part sculpture (linked to above), the website describes it as:
”a dog looks up to what would have been a statue, its vanished master,
a Karankawa indian.  The feet remain.”

Left: USS Lexington from one of the miradors on the seawall.
Right: a “double the pleasure” mirador image from the marina.

From the seawall, we walked in and out of two of the T-Heads at the Yachting Center of Corpus Christi.  The calm waters of the marina afforded excellent “reflection” photos that doubled our pleasure in the scenery.

Fishing vessels at the marina.

A mural at the yachting center depicts the Corpus Christi skyline with
the USS Lexington and the harbor bridge in the distance.

The calm waters of the yachting center reflect the skyline to double our pleasure.

Reflections … reflections.

Some of you may be familiar with Selena, the Tejano songstress who was from Corpus Christi.  We knew of her from a TV docudrama that we saw years ago.  She was killed at the young age of 23 by the former president of her fan club, whom Selena had fired after she caught her embezzling funds.  A much-loved daughter of Corpus Christi, there is a memorial gazebo (Mirador del Flor … Lookout of the Flower) in her honor at the corner of the Peoples Street T-Head and the seawall.  I meant to get a reflection shot of it, but the sun went behind the clouds before I could do so.

The pedestal of the memorial gazebo has tile mosaics hand-painted by
Texas children who loved Serena; and on the street level is a statue of her.

A little further on, along the Lawrence Street T-Head, we came across the replica of the Niña, one of the three ships with which Columbus crossed the Atlantic on his voyage to the Americas.  Spanish-built replicas of the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María were sailed across the Atlantic and came to rest here in Corpus Christi.  There seems to be an ongoing dispute about what to do with the ships — two of which are on display at the Museum of Science; Niña is undergoing restoration at the marina.

Bob and Mui provide perspective for the size of the Niña;
we all agreed that none of us would have wanted to cross the Atlantic on this ship.

No one in our small group said anything, but once we reached the turnaround point of the walk, we sort of sped up the pace — perhaps because we were all starting to feel hungry.  The only stop we made was at a crosswalk where Susan told us the story of the first time she and Bob did this volksmarch.  She relates the story of that day, which she describes as one “that will live in infamy (in my mind),” on her blog.  I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say that it was a “major ouch moment” for her.  Hopefully, our shared volkswalk today has erased — to some degree — the painful memories from that first time.

No Volksmarch would be complete without a meal.  Today was no exception.  No one took up Mui’s challenge of walking back to the Peoples Street T-Head to find a restaurant, so we picked up our vehicles and convoyed over there.  Despite the clouds, and the occasional drops of rain, we settled on the outdoor terrace at Harrison’s Landing.  Turns out that the place is named for a landing at Berkeley Plantation on the James River in Virginia, where “the haunting Taps bugle call was composed by Civil War General Daniel Butterfield.”

Plenty of conversation and good camaraderie at lunch wraps up our volksmarch.
[Faye on the left; Susan and Bob on the right]

While the menus could have used a good wipe-down, there was a good variety of food from which to make our selections.  I ordered the grilled shrimp tacos — with a bed of coleslaw on flour tortillas, dressed with a spicy (for me) chipotle aioli sauce, and a side of corn tortilla chips and homemade salsa.  Knowing that he’d be eating one of my tacos, Mui went lighter with a jumbo lump crab salad — that included sliced avocados, sweet red bell peppers, diced red onions, and crumbled blue cheese on a bed of mixed greens.  We both enjoyed our entrées, but agreed that the fudge brownie à la mode left a lot to be desired — which may explain why I neglected to take a picture of dessert.

Mui and I enjoyed our main course order —
grilled shrimp tacos for me; lump crab meat salad for him.

Susan and Bob had plans to continue their day at the birding center in Port Aransas.  As we had errands to run — including getting our much-delayed flu shots — we begged off.  I sure hope they weren’t caught in the sudden downpour that drenched Port Aransas soon after we returned home.  As we plan to visit the birding center in the near future, I am looking forward to Susan’s upcoming blog post.

Hopefully, we’ll have another chance to meet up with our new friends from San Antonio in the not too distant future — there are two volkswalks to do right here in Port Aransas … hint, hint.  Faye, and her husband Dave, who was unable to join us today, will be at GWRVR for a few more weeks, so we’ll get to see them around the campground I’m sure … BYOB happy hour maybe :-)