Passing Time on The Gulf Coast of Texas

February 1 – March 14, 2021 Our time here in Port Aransas has drawn to a close. It’s been a very different winter season this year, with activities canceled here and around town, things have been much quieter. 

Dave has enjoyed fishing as much as possible, cold and windy weather has made for fewer fishing days than in years past. 

Beautiful sunrises. 

Sunsets weren't too bad either. 

On the subject of cold weather, we had no issues when Texas decided to have its lowest recorded temps in 100+ years. Being from the northeast we took the predictions of real cold temps seriously, we prepped accordingly. We made sure all of our propane tanks were full, giving us 100 pounds of propane. We filled our fresh water tank and emptied our black and grey tanks. We stocked up a little on some food items. In the end, we went 60+ hours without electricity, our water was out for a couple of days longer. Thank goodness for boondocking skills. The only issue we had was our gasoline can wasn’t big enough so we started running low on generator fuel. Dave ended up siphoning fuel out of a friend’s golf cart then the office opened up the park's fuel cube-used to fill the maintenance golf carts-for anyone who needed gasoline. Our temps here on the Gulf Coast bottomed out at 19 but the winds made the feel like temps much lower. 

Dave siphoning gas, hope the neighbors don't catch him

Many had to use their trucks to charge their RV batteries

                                                                                                             

                                        

                                            Right after the freeze, these plants have since died.

                                         

                                         

 

The fish in our park's ponds didn't survive the cold.
The hardheads (catfish) in the Gulf
didn't fare well either.

                                                                                 

During all of this, a retired veterinarian friend of ours put out a plea for lubrication and eye gel. The local wildlife rehabilitation center needed these supplies for all the cold-stunned sea turtles they were helping. We headed to our local grocery store and bought supplies for them, you do get strange looks when you're checking out with all kinds of personal lubrication. Later on, that day people from The Ark- Amos Rehabilitation Keep-was having a fundraiser, they were selling shirts to raise money for the turtles.

#lubeaturtle

Our plants took a major hit on our lot and around the park, while our palm trees made it we think everything else is dead. We’ve cut back our hibiscus and oleanders with hopes they may come back. We’ll be back here for a short time in November and reassess what needs to be done. 

Below one of our hibiscus after the freeze, they have since lost all their

 leaves and we've cut them back to the ground.

                                            

Our friend Pat's family came for a visit, he and Dave had fun fishing and beaching with the kids. 

Beaches and birds.

We’ve been able to enjoy, besides happy hours, a few meals with our bubble of friends. We’ve also enjoyed our weekly lunches with our friends Linda and Patrick, got to help out the local restaurants so they’ll be here when we get back. 

DuWayne and Jackie where many of our gatherings were held

The guys-Dave, Chuck, Pat, DuWayne,
Denny, Dick & Jay

The ladies-Faye, Sally,
Judy, Jackie, Kathy & Joyce

Our weekly lunch partners: Linda & Patrick

 

Fresh shrimp for the freezer
Can't beat the local fresh seafood

                                        
Early March found hitch itch set in, we are ready to hit the road. Tomorrow it's jacks up and we'll be off to Brazos Bend State Park, as we start our leisurely trek to IL. 

Until next time…

878: Before and After

December 30, 2020-January 31, 2021 

We timed our leaving from Goliad State Park so that we would arrive in Port Aransas soon after check out time. Shortly after leaving our friend Jackie texted and said the renters had left our site  Down the road a bit some of our intermittent brake problems reoccurred, a sensor indicated our trailer brakes weren’t connected. Then we threw another turbo code that Dave was able to clear with our code reader. We did make it safely to Gulf Waters, we knew we had time now to delve into what the issues could possibly be. But first, it was time to catch up with friends and to say hi to our beach. 

One of the commenters from my last post asked if I’d share how we lost so much weight in the past 6 months. We have followed no “diet”, what we have done is intermittent fasting, we don’t eat after 8pm and wait till noon to start eating, we do count calories but have not cut any foods out, we just eat less. We have done lots of walking, we are now averaging 7 miles of power walking daily, except while we were selling Christmas trees. Prior to July 21, we had been averaging less than 30 miles a week, we are now up to 55+ miles a week. Basically, it boils down to moving more and eating less, doing it together has made it easier to achieve our goals. Dave has 10 more pounds and I have 5 more to goal, Dave has lost 56 pounds and I’ve lost 53. We both feel so much better and are looking forward to getting out on some trails next winter when we are in AZ where hiking opportunities abound. 

Before-6/30/20

After-1/2/21

On January 2nd we decided to visit the local Dodge dealer to see what they had on their lot as far as dually trucks went. They had 2, a 2018 Ram short bed and a 2021 Ram Limited long bed, we took the short bed for a ride but after a short discussion concluded we really needed a long bed. After all the 2 toolboxes, hitch, extra propane tanks, and generators wouldn’t fit in the back of a short bed. So off we went to see if we could even qualify for a loan, well long story short, I guess when your credit score is 878 they’ll give you just about whatever you want. We now have a dependable under warranty vehicle again, since next winter we’ll be traveling a lot this is quite reassuring. 

Before

After

Everything fits!! 

Scenes from the last month. 

For many years at Christmas, my Dad would get me a special gift, all of which are stored away in our storage unit in IL. These days he always sends flowers wherever I am, doing the Christmas tree lot means these flowers come after we're settled somewhere. As usual, they were beautiful, they and the thoughts behind them are very much appreciated, thanks so much, Dad. 

Dave has been enjoying the fishing and I've spent some time watching/reading while he's fishing. 

Steal A Fish looking for handouts

Whoopers from our friends Steve and Paula's deck.

We've enjoyed lots of beach walks.

A walk at The Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center.

Sunrises have been beautiful.

1/1/21 What a beautiful start to the year

Sunsets can be just as spectacular. 

It's been a great month, we've joined our local bubble of friends, we've gone out for a few late lunches when restaurants hardly have anyone in them, once again supporting our favorite dining establishments. 

We are here until March 15th when we’ll take a month to get back to IL, our expected arrival date there is 4/12. Our trip will north will take us to Houston to see family, with a stop beforehand at one of our favorite state parks, we’ll then head up the east side of TX where Dave will have access to lots of crawfish meals. 

Until next time…