Celebrating in Port Aransas

Wednesday, 15 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 44F (7C) / Hi 58F (14C)

The sun’s been gracing our skies since it burned off the thick marine layer we woke up to Monday morning.  We’ve had beautiful blue skies since then.  That’s the good news.  The not-so-good news is that the sun doesn’t seem to be strong enough to negate the windchill from the almost constant breezes coming off the Gulf.  With lower temps, today was the worst of these past three days.  But this too shall pass.  It won’t be long before we’ll be complaining about how hot it is!  C’est la vie!

After a particularly windy night that had the slide toppers flapping away, we woke up this morning to celebrate Mui’s birthday!  Our plans were to leave early and go find some birds, but one look at the temperature gauge changed our minds.  You know, we’re fine with a temperature of 44F (7C) or less when we’re in the Arctic in the summer.  But we find ourselves chickening out and staying indoors when we have those kinds of temps here in the winter.  Haven’t figured that one out yet ;-)

Instead, we waited for the temps to rise, and by then Mui was in the mood to go on the roof with a tube or two of leveling compound to re-seal some seams on the roof.  So, it was past noon when we finally made it out for his birthday lunch in Port Aransas.

The birthday boy chooses the Trout Street Bar & Grill for his celebratory lunch.

As it was after 1:00p when we finally made it there, the Trout Street Bar & Grill was fairly deserted.  Getting seated at a window-side table with a view of the marina was the next best thing to being at a table on the veranda.

Our server, James, promptly showed up at the table to take our drink orders.  Easy decision — we are in Texas after all — what else could we order but a couple of Shiner Bocks … thanks, MZ and TZ, for introducing us to the brew!

Cheers to a happy birthday!

We started off with an order of calamari to share.  It was OK — but the batter, we felt, overwhelmed the delicate taste of the calamari.  Although we weren’t too happy with the appetizer, we both really enjoyed our main courses.  In my case, Shrimp Larisha — Gulf shrimp sautéed in garlic butter, and topped with toasted bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese; served with rice pilaf and vegetables.  Mui ordered one of the specials, so his dish didn’t have a fancy name.  Nonetheless, the blackened drum fish, served with a side of Creole sauce, and the same pilaf and vegetables, was very good.  Since we had let slip that we were celebrating Mui’s birthday, James suggested the Birthday Brownie for dessert.  Should have gone with our first instinct and ordered the key lime pie instead.  This is our second brownie a la mode in as many days, and it wasn’t all that satisfactory.  The a la mode part was good; the brownie not so much.  Oh well; now we know what not to order for dessert the next time we dine out.

Shrimp Larisha	Blackened Drum Fish	Birthday Brownie

We walked out of Trout Street with plans to go for a walk around town.  It didn’t take more than a few minutes for us to figure out that we didn’t have enough layers on.  So, we quick-stepped it back to the car and returned home, where Mui spent the afternoon accepting happy birthday wishes from friends and family, and his high school Facebook group.

We have some errands to run tomorrow … but also some special plans that I’ve really been looking forward to.  But more on that later.

Into Kuannersooq Fjord We Go … but not in the Phaeton

For those who saw this post pop up on their RSS feeds … it’s a blog blooper!  Sorry; I’ve deleted this erroneous post from this blog and re-posted it where it belongs in Two to Travel.

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 :-)

The Sun Finally Comes Out

Saturday, 11 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 55F (13C) / Hi 73F (23C)

Yes, I know we shouldn’t be quibbling about overcast skies and coldish temps when people in some parts of the country are barely thawing out after the recent deep freeze.

So I won’t complain about the dreary days we had this past week … or the temps that dropped down to freezing a few nights … or the thick marine layer that one day descended like a thick veil over GWRVR (Gulf Waters RV Resort, in case you don’t remember where we are) … or the stiff winds that made it downright unpleasant to be outside for a few days earlier this week.

Nope, I won’t complain about them; I’ll just mention them.

With surgical precision, Mui replaces the DVD player of his laptop with a 1.5 terabite hard drive.  those are not specks of dirt in the pink bowl; rather, they are the screws he had to remove to get under the hood, so to speak.

OK, so no one likes the kind of weather we had last week.  But if I am to be honest, I didn’t mind being indoors.  We had plenty to keep us busy, including dental appointments in Corpus Christi for our six-month check-ups.  It was an especially productive time for me — processing photos, and writing catch-up posts for last September’s trip to Greenland.  And we even figured out what we’ll be doing May through mid-July.  No; not sharing those plans yet, but suffice it to say that we’ll be heading north and east.  No, don’t beg; I’m keeping mum for the time being.

Left: Snowy Egret
Right: Cormorant with a pair of blue-winged teals.

So as not to jinx ourselves, I’ll quietly whisper that having paid our weather dues, it looks like we’re finally in for the kind of weather the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce likes to see around here.  Sunshine and comfortable temperatures.  Yes, today we had both; and if the forecasters are to be believed, there is plenty more of the same for the foreseeable future.

Celebrating the break in the weather, this snowy egret and blue-winged teal pair
are just some of the visitors to our pond at GWRVR today.

The turtles that live in the pond like the far shore where
they can warm up on a sunny winter day.

Like the birds, and ducks, and turtles that came out in droves to enjoy the beautiful day, we were also out to have some fun in the sun.  Our first stop was the Port Aransas Visitor Center where Tricia answered our questions and put together a selection of brochures for us.  She even tossed in a reusable mesh bag to encourage us to pick up litter when walking on the beach.  As you might imagine, she was thrilled when I told her about my “beach-litter challenge” to one and all (post here if you don’t know what I am talking about).

Our goody bag stowed in the car, we then headed over to the jetty for a stroll.  What a great place for a walk.  Next time, we’ll plan to go out earlier in the morning.  We didn’t see any of the sea turtles or dolphins that others have mentioned seeing at the jetty, but the pelicans were out in full force; as were the fishermen.

Huge granite boulders are easy and fun to walk on, and reach quite a distance out into the gulf.

Watch out Mr. Pelican; that wave’s gonna get you!

Instead of returning home the way we came via TX361, we opted to drive back by way of the beach.  Yup; the beach at Port Aransas is one of those that can be driven on.  It’s free unless you plan to park on the beach; in which case, you need an annual pass ($12).  Starting out from the jetty, the sand is so hard packed that you’d swear you were driving on pavement.  After a while, the sand becomes looser, but nothing that would really hinder a careful driver.  Along the way, we saw trailers and a few ancient motorhomes that were boondocking in the hard-packed areas, and lots of fishermen who had driven their vehicles clear down to the edge of the surf.

Let’s go for a drive on the beach!

With no vehicle access from the beach into the campground, we had to drive past Gulf Waters about 4 miles (6½ km) in order to get back on TX361.  We knew we’d have to do that, so it came as no surprise.  It might have been a roundabout way of getting home, but we had great fun driving the beach route.

Mui stops the car to pick up litter — in this case an empty beer bottle
that someone half buried in the sand!

Now that the weather is starting to improve, we’ll be out doing more stuff; so you might hear from us a little more frequently.  In fact, we have some fun plans in the works for tomorrow.

Lovely Day for a Stroll … and Join Me in a Challenge

Saturday, 4 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 52F (11C) / Hi 67F (19C)

Can you believe it?  The sun finally came out for two days in a row!

And the temps warmed up, too — though not for long.  Another cold front is headed our way.  Our temperatures are expected to drop down to freezing for a couple of nights starting tomorrow.  Considering what the eastern half of the country is experiencing, however, we’re not complaining.

Gulf Waters allows rigs and cars to be washed — for a price.  Mui paid his $15 just days after our arrival, but didn’t feel like playing with water until he had a mostly sunny day.  So, instead of going sightseeing as planned, he took advantage of the turn in the weather to wash the rig yesterday and give it a wax job today.

What every RV’er needs — a Palm tree that grows wash & wax rags!

While Mui was busy spiffing up our home today, I made myself scarce and went for a walk on the beach.  The breeze was light; the skies were blue; the sun kept me comfortably warm; and visibility was good, with the sea-mist haze quite a ways away.

There is some sea-mist haze, but it’s not as bad as it gets when the wind is blowing hard.

Zooming into the distant sea-mist haze, that end of the beach looks like a parking lot.

I love the beach here.  This time of the year there are few people around.  Although today being such a lovely day, and Saturday to boot, there were more people out sunning, walking, biking, driving, and fishing.  Most of them were at the far end from where I was walking, though, so all was good in my world.

I have a question for you?  Do you stoop down and pick up litter when you encounter it on the beach [you could actually insert any habitat in lieu of the beach]?  We do.  Although oftentimes we forget to take a bag with us, so our efforts are more limited than we’d like them to be.  Well, today I saw three separate incidents on the beach that made me resolve to become a better steward of the beaches on which we so enjoy strolling and otherwise spending time.

One of the many jellyfish that littered the beach like so many cow patties to be tip-toed around.

It all started when a young couple driving a cart on the beach stopped to look at a plastic bag that had washed ashore.  The next moment, they were driving off; the bag still lying on the sand.  Within minutes, a biker came to the same spot, saw the same bag, swerved to avoid it, and rode off.  It wasn’t long before a young man strolled by.  Again, the same bag.  It stayed on the ground after he passed by without so much as glancing at it.

Rainbows in sea foam.

By the time I had these three encounters, I had already criss-crossed the width of the beach to dispose of small handfuls of litter in the trash bins located at the base of the sand dunes.  Nothing big — a couple of bottle lids, some broken pieces of styrofoam, some balls of fishing line, one or two crushed plastic bottles filled with sand.  I added the aforementioned bag to two others I’d already picked up and threw them all in the bin at marker 49.

This was the biggest piece of litter I picked up off the beach today.
It was lying on the sand within a few yards of some sun worshippers and fishermen.
Too bad I didn’t find it until I was almost back home; I could have filled it with even more litter.

So here’s my challenge to all of us.  The next time you go for a stroll on the beach, pick up just ten small pieces of litter — more would be better, but all I’m asking is ten small pieces — and throw them in a trash bin.  If there are no trash bins — and often there aren’t — dispose of them at home.  Can you imagine what an impact we would have if we all did this?  And how much bigger that impact would be if you issued the same challenge to your own blog followers — especially since many of you have much bigger readerships than I enjoy.

(And if you’re not a beach-goer, you can apply the same challenge to your preferred walk/stroll/hike habitat.)

I PICKED UP A COUPLE OF THE BIODEGRADABLE DOGGIE-POOP BAGS FROM THE STAND
AT THE BEACH BOARDWALK HERE AT gULF wATERS.   mY LITTER PICK-UP KIT IS READY
FOR ME TO GRAB-AND-GO THE NEXT TIME I HEAD OUT TO THE BEACH.

I returned home to find Mui finishing up the Phaeton’s wax job.  A few more minutes of elbow-grease and he was done.  Although the breeze had picked up, there was enough sun on our patio to encourage us to eat lunch al fresco in the company of common grackles that were flitting about.  They didn’t come begging for food while we were eating.  I guess that means that the patrons of this resort don’t make a habit of feeding the birds.  That’s a good thing.

After bathing in the pond that fronts our site, this common grackle perched
on the back of a nearby bench to preen himself.  I’ve been told that as long as
the bird’s eye is in focus, a photo will pass the test, so I’m keeping this picture.

Tomorrow the weather pendulum swings the other way.  Who knows when the sun will grace us again.  I’m glad we made the most of the good weather Mother Nature gifted us with these past two days.