Adieu Port A

Friday, 2 December 2016
Advanced RV Resort — Pearland / Houston, Texas
Temps: Hi 66F (19C) / Lo 55F (13C)

Yesterday we made the rounds at GWRVR and bid a bittersweet adieu to the friends we made here.  While we have no immediate plans to come back this way, we will definitely set time aside for a return visit to GWRVR if we find ourselves in the Texas coastal bend at some point in the future.

An advantage of site 452 … beautiful sunset views.

Hooking up the CR-V to the Phaeton at first light, we were on the road by 7:30a.  Why the hurry to get on the road to Houston?  We wanted to stay ahead of the forecasted storm.  And by golly we did just that, arriving to a few sprinkles as we pulled into Advanced RV Resort in Pearland around 12:15p.  It’s raining now, but looks like the storm has stalled and the worst of it won’t get here until the wee hours.  No matter.  We’re off the road and it can rain all it wants now.

Boarding the ferry to Aransas Pass for the last time … at least for a while to come.

Thus the Port Aransas chapter of our life on the road is now behind us.  Our sadness is tempered by all the exciting plans we have to look forward to in the years ahead.

We’ll be in Houston for a month.  Don’t expect that we will do much sightseeing, though … this is our prep time for the next overseas adventure we will be embarking upon come January.  More on all that later.

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Our Temporary Home @ GWRVR

Friday, 25 November 2016
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 76F (24C) / Lo 68F (20C)

We vacated site 408 as owners for the last time this morning.  But before we moved to our temporary home, we took advantage of a beautiful morning for a stroll on the beach just as the sun was rising.

Now that the temps have fallen a bit, we’ve been delaying our daily walk until after breakfast — long after the sun has risen.  So, today’s early sojourn was a special treat.  Not many people were out and about … but we did have the company of a great blue heron as the sun broke the horizon.

We enjoy the rising sun in the company of a Great Blue Heron.

The new owners weren’t arriving until noon, so we didn’t have to hurry to vacate site 408.  Nonetheless, we were ready to go by 9:00a.  So, while Mui took care of disconnecting the hook-ups, I headed to the office to pay our rent.  I have to admit that felt a bit weird ;-)

When we made our reservation about a week ago, the only sites available were back-in sites.  No problem, we thought.  But the ladies at the office kept an eye out for pond availability, and when a site became available, they asked if we wanted to switch.  We did.  A good decision as it turns out.  We love the privacy of #452 … which happens to be on the only pond we’ve yet to enjoy as renters at GWRVR.

Panorama of Site 452 … spacious with plenty of privacy on either side.

All settled in!

The only pond we’ve yet to enjoy as renters … we get to do so before bidding GWRVR farewell.

Thus the move is now complete.  We have chores and errands next week, and then we’ll be hitting the road.

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Owners No More

Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 78F (26C) / Lo 73F (23C)

The title of the post says it all … we are no longer owners at GWRVR!  We signed on the dotted line and transferred our pad to the new owners today.

Why would we give up the haven that has served us so well since we bought it in 2014?  At the end of 2017, we’ll be leaving Texas to continue our travels further west.  At that point, Port A will become a little ‘out of the way’ as we don’t have any immediate plans to come back this way.  Could we have kept the site in the rental pool?  Sure, and it would have rented out well.  But we wouldn’t be here to maintain the landscaping and such ourselves, and that was a concern to us.

So, deciding to test the waters, we put site 408 on the market in October.  Didn’t think we’d actually have many nibbles as snowbird season was not yet underway.  But we did … two of them serious.  Three weeks later, the sale contract was signed and a closing date was scheduled for late November.  Timing is everything they say … it certainly was in this instance.

An aerial view of Gulf Waters … I captured this shot from a framed image at the
title company while we were waiting for the signed sale documents to be copied.

The new owners take over on the 25th.  We’ll move to another site and rent for a week … we have a dental appointment and a few other things to complete before heading north to Houston for the month of December.  Will we be leaving Texas after that?  Yes … but not with the Phaeton.  We have some international travels to complete first.  More on that in January.

We have exciting plans that we are looking forward to as we close this short chapter in our vagabond lifestyle.  And that eases the sadness that will accompany our departure from Port A.

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Feathered Friends @ GWRVR

Monday, 31 October 2016
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 84F (29C) / Lo 77F (25C)

It’s been a great couple of days here in Port A.  Even with the temps higher than normal for the area this time of the year, a near-constant breeze made it quite nice to sit outside in the shade.  My “al fresco” office got a lot of use, that’s for sure.

I didn’t get around to any of the wildlife refuges … yet.  But a few feathered friends paid us a visit at the pond that fronts our RV pad.

Great Egret …

Snowy Egret ...

Great Blue Heron (juvenile, I believe) …

Snowy Egret bids us “The End!”

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Alive and Well in Port A

Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 85F (29C) / Lo 76F (24C)

We’re still here … alive and well at our GWRVR pad in Port Aransas.

The expected cold front has been and gone … enjoyed nice fall temps with no humidity to speak of while it lasted.  Summer-like temps have since resumed, but with nice breezes most days making it tolerable.  We’ve certainly been able to sit on the patio to enjoy peaceful sunset colors and reflections on the pond.

I’ve even managed to sit in my “outdoor office” to get some research done for upcoming travels and write about past travels.  And here I am in my “office” again, writing about a quickie outing we made after lunch with friends at our favorite Mexican restaurant in town today.

This “office” gets the creative juices going and inspires me to write.

Paradise Pond, which sits behind San Juan Restaurant, is one of the places in Port A where birds and waterfowl congregate.  I usually stop by a few times in the spring — not always with a camera — to see who’s visiting.  It’s always alive with feathered-friends then … especially in the early morning and evening.  Fall is a quieter time … even more so mid-day, but we were so close to Paradise Pond that it seemed a shame not to at least take a peek.

This black-capped night heron is focused on something in the brush and pays me
no heed … doesn’t even turn his head for a photo op even though I linger awhile.

Sure enough, I didn’t see much in the way of birdlife — but mallards were aplenty.  I enjoyed a few quiet moments anyway since I was the only human visitor … not always the case.

Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks

You might think this is a photo of two oil-rigs, but it isn’t.  They just happen to get in
the way of my photo of a couple of mallards and a green heron … can you find them?

One of these two photos of mallards includes a green heron.  Can you find it?

I did say mallards were aplenty.  The ones in the back are displaying “position A” … as a
guide in Alaska once described some waterfowl we saw similarly scavenging in a pond.

Least Grebe

If this white ibis is striking a ballet pose to attract my attention, he’s succeeding!

White ibis fluffing his feathers to dry off after his bath.

I’ll try to get to some of the Port A wildlife refuges in the weeks ahead to see what I can see.

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

We’re Baack!

Saturday, 15 October 2016
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 88F (31C) / Lo 79F (26C)

Actually, we returned to the US on the 3rd and moved to our Port Aransas home base on the 6th … so we’ve been back for a while.  We arrived to nice fall-like weather, but that didn’t last long.  As the song says, the heat is on … and so is the humidity.  We’re told fall will reappear next week … keeping fingers crossed.

Did we add a snorkel to the Phaeton so we can drive across the water ourselves???
Nah!  It’s just an optical illusion from our front-row perch on the Port A ferry.

Those of you who have taken a peek at our Two to Travel blog or our Facebook posts already know that our travel plans for Europe took an unexpected twist immediately after our hop across the Big Pond in July.  I won’t go into the details, except to say we spent almost all of our time in Turkey, and during that time Mui’s 93-year-old mother passed away after a sudden decline in health.  May she rest in peace.

So, what does the future hold for us?  We’ll be in Port A through the end of November, and then head to Houston in December.  After that … well that’s a story that will be told at a later date.  There may or may not be anything to write about in the coming weeks … at least not in this blog.  But if that changes, I will be back.  In the meantime, I hope to process photos and get some posts up for the replacement cruise we squeezed in after canceling the Scandinavia & Russia cruise we were to have taken in August.  Hop on over to Two to Travel if you care to read about our Italy & France cruise.

A peaceful sunrise on the beach at Gulf Waters RVR.

© 2004-2016 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Wrapping Up Our Port A Stay

Wednesday, 13 July 2016
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 87F (31C) / Lo 79F (26C)

We’ve been at our Port A pad since March 24. Today is our last day here, so I thought I’d do a quickie post.

As I anticipated at the time of our departure from Houston, we have not done anything exciting or noteworthy.

That’s not to say we haven’t been busy.  We have.  But everything I did was in preparation for our overseas travels.  And everything Mui did was related to the maintenance of our home on wheels …. inside and out.  While he was at it, he also made sure we didn’t go hungry.

White Christmas ... Port A Style

Friday, 25 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 73F (23C) / Lo 69F (21C)

Nope, it wasn’t snow that made our Christmas white … it was fog!

The fog, which wrapped us in a warm ... if damp ... cocoon yesterday evening, was supposed to burn off by noon.  There were occasional signs that the forecast might come true.  In the end, though, it was to no avail, and we continued to be enveloped by the thick mist.  The sun lost the battle today. 

This is what it looks like on the beach when we go for our walk this afternoon.

It’s only slightly better looking back towards the GWRVR beach access …
You’ll have to take my word that we’re not that far from it.  As for that black
spot on the photo … that’s not a spot, it’s a kite that the group is flying.

Oh well; can’t complain.  We’re at the beach after all, and we’re not having to shovel any snow ;-)

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Merry Christmas … Happy Holidays

Thursday, 24 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 72F (22C) / Lo 66F (19C)

Merry Christmas — or if you prefer, Happy Holidays — and a Happy New Year to all.  May 2016 be a healthy, happy, and enriching year that we all share with family and friends … one that is filled with safe travels to destinations of our choosing regardless of the mode we use to get there ;-)

The Emperors of the Ross Sea join Erin & Mui
in wishing everyone a fantastic holiday season.

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Grainy but Gorgeous

Sunday, 20 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 70F (21C) / Lo 64F (18C)

It’s been a week of gorgeous sunrises here.  For the most part, I’ve been enjoying these colorful starts to our days from our site — often recording the memories with my eyes only … leaving the camera sitting on the dash of the Phaeton — Thursday was an exception.

Sunrise — Thursday Morning — 17 December — Site 408.

This morning’s sunrise, however, proved to be too much of a temptation.  I grabbed the iPhone and headed over to the big pond, hoping to get some reflection shots.  Alas, the breeze was rippling the surface, so I walked the additional steps to the beach access ramp instead.

Today’s colorful sunrise from the beach access pathway.  But wait … it gets better.

I should have grabbed the Fuji camera — I would have gotten better shots … certainly less grainy ones.  But hey, these get the message across.  Except for a little contrast and noise reduction applied in post-processing, the colors are what came out of the iPhone … and more importantly, what I beheld with my eyes.

Certainly a sunrise to remember on a warm December Day just a few days before Christmas!

---

P.S.  I published this post using OLW — the Open Source version of Microsoft's Live Writer, which no longer works with Google/Blogger.  Sure, there are some functionalities that are missing, such as the ability to add categories (I simply went into the Blogger html tab after I published this post to add the categories).  But that's a minor irritant.  Just having the ability to write WYSIWYG blog posts offline is priceless.  Thanks to all those who volunteer their time to make OLW possible.  Now could you work your magic and make OLW possible for MAC OS ... pretty please ;-)

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel's Phaeton Journeys.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

A B&W Kind of Day at #408

Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 73F (23C) / Lo 64F (18C)

Except for some early morning fog yesterday, the past seven days have been sunny with bright blue skies and comfy temps.  Today’s high actually feels more like 77F (25C) according to the forecast … sure felt downright hot during my beach walk this morning.  But at our pad, we still seek out the sun when we sit outdoors.

On a clear day, you can see Aransas Pass across the water, but when we went for a walk in Port Aransas yesterday morning, you could just make out the ferry terminus on our side of the Corpus Christi Channel.

Nary a complaint from us; we’re loving this December weather and making the most of it white it lasts.  I hear we might get some rain by this weekend.  And that will be OK too — aside from the fact that Texas is still in a drought, I could use the time indoors to reorganize some cabinets now that Mui has completed his TV box-to-storage conversion … but that’s for another post.

A foggy, moody morning from our pad at GWRVR yesterday might qualify for the B&W theme …

… but it would be the exception, not the norm … our days have been looking
mostly like this ever since December rolled around on the calendar.

Rosie Pays Us a Visit

Thursday, 3 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 62F (17C) / Lo 53F (12C)

After a week of mostly overcast weather, the sun finally came out today.  Nice to have bright sunshine and blue skies even if the temps are on the coolish side.  Normally we go for our beach walk first thing in the morning, but I waited for the temp to reach the day’s high before going out … Mui was excused to work on a project in the coach, but more on that later.

Anyway, I had just returned to the pad after my walk when what should I see across the pond but a roseate spoonbill.  Granted, its coloring was rather pale — a juvenile would be my guess ... but it was a roseate nonetheless.  The bird was inching its way along the edge of the pond, its bill constantly sweeping below the surface of the water for a tasty tidbit or two.

Giving Thanks on Our Anniversary

Thursday, 26 November 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 77F (25C) / Lo 70F (21C)

Thirty-four years.  That’s how long Mui and I have been married.  Today we took a step into year 35 — and we did so with the dawning of a beautiful day on the beach at GWRVR.

When we got married in İzmir, Turkey in 1981, 26 November happened to fall on Thanksgiving.  Every so many years, the calendar brings us back to this special holiday — perfect for giving thanks for all we have … all we are able to do … times two.

Beginning Year 35 with a beautiful sunrise.

What made today extra special was that we got to celebrate it with friends here at GWRVR.  We were asked to bring dessert to the Thanksgiving dinner our friends were hosting at their pad.  So, Mui had the idea to surprise everyone with an anniversary cake.  Laughter and camaraderie … the crowning touch on our day.

Our dessert contribution to Thanksgiving dinner — surprise!

Happy Anniversary to us … and here’s to many, many more happy returns.