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.