Life And The Holidays At Gulf Waters Beachfront RV Resort

November 15-December 31, 2016

We have been settling in to life here at our place in TX, the days are very similar which is nice after all the summer traveling we did.

We arrived in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends. Deep fried turkey has become our regular main course for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks Bev and Dennis for having us over.

My brother, sister in law and one daughter were in town for the holidays.

Once Thanksgiving passed it was time to get ready for Christmas.

 Dave has been out fishing as much as possible. His friend Steal A Fish usually joins him.

One morning Dave got attacked by the clams, all of the sudden they appeared in mass. Good thing he kept his wits about him and made it out alive. 

     One of his bigger catches.

Waiting for his handout.






We purchased a small freezer for our shed so Dave has plenty of room to freeze up as much as he catches. We can also take advantage of sales at HEB, now we can have on hand meats to BBQ whenever we feel like it. Two pork butts and brisket in the freezer, we're ready to BBQ.

I have been diligently exercising  6-7 days a week, either power walking, an aerobic workout or with hand weights and a dvd. Slowly but steadily the weight is going down and the muscles are getting toned. We have both joined the Fitbit movement and strive to get 10k steps every day.

Before the holidays some of the ladies from the park went to Santa's Texas Workshop and Christmas House in Falfurrias TX. What a treat and experience it was, the three ladies who own and run the enterprise take Christmas to a whole new level. Janie, Esther and Dorothy Minten never married and still live in the home they grew up in. Every year the start decorating the whole home in July and open the doors in late September and stay open through the end of April. Tours are done by phone reservation only, 1-800-276-4339. These wonderful ladies keep Christ in Christmas and part of all of the admission proceeds go to charity. Your tour will consist of visits to each room of their home, snacks and you will be entertained by song and piano playing, be prepared to spend 4 hours there.

For many years I purchased these Crayola Hallmark ornaments for our oldest son. 

I've spent lots of fun time with my friend Jackie, we seem to be into the flavor peach this winter so we decided try making peach moonshine. Tasting will take place in another week or so, sure tasted good as we prepared it so we have high hopes for the finished product.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love and laughter while enjoying the day with our Gulf Waters Family. Christmas Eve there was an open house, followed by a golf cart parade and ending with a Mean Santa kept us busy all day. Phone calls with family in between the events and the day was complete. Christmas Day we enjoyed a buffet lunch at the only restaurant  open in Port Aransas, all the seafood and sides you could eat, sure didn't need anything more for the rest of the day.

The Jones family, new friends who have the most well behaved kids, a pleasure to get to know them.










Francy, the one who is responsible for all the activities we enjoy here at Gulf Waters. Thank you for a wonderful day.

The winners of the most tackiest golf cart, thanks Jackie for sharing your ride with me.

The Gingerbread house sandcastle from our Christmas Day buffet restaurant.

Our travel plans for the next 16 months, we leave here on 3/21 and will be traveling with our friends Curt and Glenda east along the Gulf coast as far as Gulf Shores AL. Some of our caravan friends will join us there for 9 days of fun and good times, we also will be able to catch up with our friends Carla and Jerry who workamp at a nearby local campground. On 4/10 we will  head north to IL. In mid December we received a call from Lake Shelbyville COE, we will be volunteering for them and working at the visitors center located at the dam. We will be staying at Oppussum Creek Campground on the west side of Lake Shelbyville. We will be there mid April till sometime in October, we will then head to Cave Creek AZ where we will once again be volunteering at Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area. 

We hope you all have had wonderful holidays and wish you a safe and enjoyable New Year.

Until next time...

Traveling South To Texas

October 30 - November 14, 2016

I am very behind in posting, we are currently in Port Aransas Texas at our lot in Gulf Waters Beachfront RV Resort. We had an enjoyable ride south and stayed at some very nice campgrounds.

Site 30

After leaving IL we headed to Columbus-Belmont State Park in Columbus KY. This park sits high above the Mississippi River. It is a small park and is the site of some Civil War battles, it was a great place to stay for a few days. Fuel and a small store were about  miles away but major conveniences were quite a ways away.

view from our site

For those interested in the Civil War this is an area steeped in this history.

The infamous Trail Of Tears also passes through this area. Remnants of the trail can be seen through out the park and area.

Our next stop was at Wallace Creek COE in Enid MS, this was a repeat visit and we were lucky enough to get the same site #28. This sites sits right out on the point and has some wonderful views.

A beautiful sunset to welcome us back.

               Our last campfire of the season.

 We were treated to a beautiful moon one evening.

The local wildlife kept us entertained going up and down our ladder.

One last beautiful sunrise to send us on our way south.






Our next stop was Poche's Fish N Camp in Breaux Bridge LA. A longer ride than we usually do and the LA roads are still as bad as they were last time we came through. Poche's is a nice part with 5 fishing ponds. The are a Passport America Park, for $20/night it was a great price. We enjoyed a few days there, eating Cajun food and enjoying the park. Almost all of the sites back up to a pond, free fishing for guests, but only what you can eat.

 

Dave caught a huge catfish, he says it tasted good.

Beautiful sunsets just outside our door. 

 

Our next drive took us around the north side of Houston to Tomball TX, located on the northwest side of Houston. Spring Creek City Park is a wonderful place with an 8 site FREE FHU campground at the city park, just a mile off of FM 249. You must have reservations here and you can make them 3 months in advance, you can only stay 7 nights in a calendar month. This park is nicer than some of the campgrounds we've paid for and will now be our go to place when we visit Dave's uncle who lives on the northwest side of Houston.

We were here to visit Dave's uncle Ray and aunt Beth, what a great 4 days we had hanging out with these two. Lots of reminiscing, making new memories and eating at some great restaurants.

Full Moon on the rise.

 Tres Leches Cake from Don Ramon's, one of the best Mexican dinners we've ever had.









 
 



We attended the Texas Renaissance Festival where you never know quite what you'll see.

 


              Dave certainly did enjoy the sites.

While some of my full time friends are getting compass tattoos I found this beautiful silver compass necklace that has become my favorite piece of jewelry.













We left the Houston area and headed south to the coast, with a quick wait for the ferry at Port Aransas we were soon pulling into our place at Gulf Waters Beachfront RV Resort where we will stay until sometime in late March. Our arrival at Gulf Waters was the culmination of 6.5 months of traveling where we covered 11670 miles. We sure took the long way here.

    Dolphins to great us home.

It's nice to be settled in for awhile.









So that's a wrap on our summer travels, we've had an awesome time, made some great new friends and created some wonderful memories.

I won't be posting too much while we're here but if you find yourselves in the area look us up.

Until next time...