Mar 19th brought some windy weather so we stayed off the water but still did our 2 mile walk! The rest of the day we hung out around the trailer. Barb worked on her pine needle baskets and her Shirett rug crocheting while I put another coat of varnish on our patio table and sanded the finish off the kitchen stools.

Monday brought sunny skies again and we enjoyed our 2 mile walk and even shaved a few seconds off our time – yes, we use a stop watch to time our trek so we can improve it! The rest of the day was Barb quilting and I put the final coat of varnish on the table and a coat on the stools.

Weather's great and so on the water we go. Barb decided she wanted to steer. We went up some of the canals that run through the homes on Key Allegro. There are several for sale if anyone has an extra $1M you want to invest! Barb was amazed at how quickly she could 'U' turn us. Then on our return, Barb took a different route that ended with us stuck on an old Oyster reef! Was I suppose to navigate instead of enjoying the scenery? We quickly lifted out peddle fins and got the paddles going to get us into deeper water!

We're just not getting enough exercise so after lunch we decided to ride our bikes to WalMart for milk and hobby paints – that's about a 6Km (4 Mile) return trip! Yes, we were pooped! On our way back, a turtle was on the road looking to commit suicide but our hero got off his bike and lifted it to the other side of the road – let's hope we moved it to the right side!

Well, it's been quiet here and hoping all is good with you out there.....

Whew, we spent the rest of Saturday recovering from our walk! With some found energy, we washed the truck and did some painting and staining. Tuesday, the rains descended and drove us to the show again. Opppss, we didn't plan on spring break! We actually had to wait in line for tickets and of course, being only a few minutes away, didn't get there none too early either! We saw Blind Sided and it was great entertainment. Again, well worth the $4.00 each – hear that Canada, we can see a show without putting a lean on the truck!

The 'bug' has a hold on us! We now walk every other day over at the Rockport Beach Park – 2 miles (3.2 Kms) and in 37 minutes! We are gonna be too healthy when we get back to Ontario! We are really going crazy today, we walked our 2 miles then went boating after lunch through the housing on Key Alegro. Here is one of the typical homes on the Key. Many are not presently in use – just cottages for the wealthy of Huston and San Antonio.

Thursday a we toured the northern areas of Port Lavaca, Magnolia Beach and Indianola. On our way through Port Lavaca, crossing Lavaca Bay, we saw many, many boats Oyster harvesting. They would throw a square bucket over the side and drag it around in a circle, haul it out and the crew would check all the catch and cull out the small and dead ones. It was interesting to see as we crossed the bridge.

Indianola used to be a bustling port town until hurricanes destroyed it before the 1900's. Now it is just a small community of homes and cottages right on the bay. There were lots of RVs dry camping on Magnolia Beach. We parked on the beach for a bit and enjoyed the waters edge in the heat of the sunshine, watching tankers sail by and one of us watched girls in bikinis, but no pelicans or other waterfowl to entertain us.

On the way back, we saw a carcass with black vultures feasting so we stopped for a photo - no kicking my ass this time!

We hope all is well with you out there and until next time, keep well....

On Thursday, we trekked over to Corpus Christi for the day and we made our way over to the South Texas Botanical Gardens. It is quit the complex! A greenhouse for Bromeliads, Orchids and a butterfly Garden. After our experience this past summer in a butterfly conservatory, we didn't think it would be a good idea to enter so we watched from outside! There is a hummingbird garden but we were too early for hummingbirds. We walked along the bird trail past Gator Lake and onto the boardwalk through the wetlands. We back tracked to the rose garden with 30% of the roses in bloom – it was beautiful and smelled wonderful.

The temps were in the 80's so we had to stop off for an ice cream before we headed down to the Padre Island National Seashore. The skies were bright and clear, we stopped off at a beachwear shop to find a swim noodle to put under our kayak when its loaded in the truck. When we came out 15 minutes later, we couldn't see a kilometer down the road! A cold front moved through and the fog was dense and the temps dropped 20 degrees F! So, a planned afternoon of sitting on the beach and visiting the National Seashore was scrubbed! We turned the truck north along Mustang Island and returned to Port Aransas! The fog had lifted so we stopped at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center to see if what had landed since the last time there. We saw many Spoonbills, Cormorants, Stilts and ducks but no gator (again)! No sooner were we there and the fog rolled back in so we left for the ferry and home.

And they're off! Yes, that's the sound – along with the starters horn – we heard early – yes at 8 AM Saturday morning! Barb & I signed up for the annual 5K, 10K run and 2 mile walk for the Whooping Crane Strut. We had to register by 7:30 – one of the few times we see that time of day! Then the starter had us off the mark at 8. 36 minutes later, Barb & I crossed the 2 mile walk finish line! I bet some of you thought we were in the 5 or 10K run! Not! We hung around for the awards but none were coming our way since we crossed last for our age group. That's fine, our goal was to finish, not win.

Hope this finds you all well....

This was the Oyster Festival weekend in Rockport-Fulton and of course we had to go – there was a parade, music/beer/food tent, carnival rides and an arts and craft tent! The brochure advertised a free shuttle service from the old WalMart parking lot and we thought that would be the better way as we wouldn't have to fight traffic searching for a parking space! Well, what they didn't say was, yes a free shuttle but you had to pay to park! Oh well, next time we'll know better! Anyway, it was a good day out and lots of people having fun times.

Where would parades be today if we didn't have politicians around to fill convertibles and wave to us as if we care that they are there! Otherwise, the parade was good – fire trucks, dancers, bands and of course the Shriners buzzing all around in their go carts, mini bikes and cycles. The craft tent was full of the usual retailers with a sprinkling of artful displays. We went away with a few more ideas.

The shuttle was a 20 minute wait going so we decided to walk back to the truck . Ouch, it was a bit longer than we thought but we made it anyway and got our exercise in for the weekend!

The weather forecast wasn't great for Tuesday so we went to the show and saw Shutter Island – we give it a 2 out of 5! Kinda boring most of the way through. You've heard me whine about the weather and now we're in great weather. It was only a short time ago we had the heat on and now we're considering the A/C!

Hope all is well with you.....

We've been on the water again! The weather has turned much better and it is great! This trip we launched at the northern end of the Rockport beach park and paddled across the inlet to Key Allegro. This is a spit of land that has large 7 figure homes on it along with their own boat slips and some huge yachts. We just skimmed along the edge but next time we plan to enter into the many canals through the Key. Awesome!

Thursday we took a day trip up to Goliad, Tx, about 60 miles (100 Kms) NW of Rockport. On the road there, we saw a bunch – at least a dozen buzzards feasting on a very ripe Javelina ! Now, this is where I try to explain why my ass is sore! Both Barb & I have been kicking it since I didn't stop to get a picture! This is something that we don't get to see very much back home.

We drove into the town square before touring the mission, our main reason for going. This has to be the best small town that we have visited in the US. Many small towns are built around the square but most have the newer building facades but Goliad has maintained it's heritage. The hanging tree is located right outside the courthouse which was used in the 1800's for those law breakers that may or may not have deserved it! The town was worth the trip!

Next, we went to the Goliad State Park and toured the Mission Nuestra Senora Del Espiritu Santo De Zuniga. I can not do the mission justice here in our blog so we encourage you to click on the link and read more about the history. The park has an excellent RV park as well with full hook ups on each site.

We walked the nature trail and returned back to the park and had a picnic lunch. The trail took us down towards the San Antonio River. At the entrance to the trail, we had to step around a fairly large Leaf Cutter Ant colony. We were lucky enough to see an ant carrying a leaf back to the nest!

After our picnic lunch, we toured the monument for Fannin Battleground State Historic Site! Col.Fannin surrendered his troop and a few days later they were slaughtered by the Mexicans. Lots of historic information and interesting info on the historical demographics of south Texas. There is a re-enactment later in March so we may wander back there to see what life was like back then.

Our return trip took us through Stinton, Tx where they boast of the world's largest squirrel so we just had to go see! From there, back toward Rockport. Wow, we were pooped!

Hope all is well where ever you are....

The weather is starting to turn better here and we were out on the water on Friday. I can't explain the reason for the odor – I'm sure some of you have a few suggestions for me – but the breeze was off shore and it was really bad (worse than dead fish) in some areas. I think it is from all the stagnant standing water that is around here. Most of the ditches have slim and crud growing on the top of the standing water. Anyway, we had a good time paddling our way around Little Bay at the Rockport Beach. Here is a video clip of the two of us in the boat.

Saturday, I finally got a switch installed that had been sitting on the 'honey do' list for 2 years. The short people in the rig have trouble turning the fan off and on so the switch solves that problem! Barb continued to work on a new sewing project for some of our boat accessories. She also spent a day 'playing' with her embroidery machine, learning more of it's nuances.

WOW – Go Canada! We have watched the Olympics since the opening and in the beginning, our results were disappointing! But, what a finish! It was amazing to see their faces when they crossed the finish to realize they had made the podium! There was a lot of cheering going on here! All of our athletes were awesome – all except Pierre Lueders! As he came off one of his not so stellar runs, he complained terribly about other athletes accidents and upsets. Now, that is not good sportsmanship is it Pierre!

Well, Monday was a beautiful day even though March was coming in as a lion! Barb & I biked over to a local park nearby and rode around on the trails until flooding water crossing the trail stopped our trek. I guesstimate about a 4 mile ride in total! We had a great time anyway with the weather holding warm and sunny. The rain and now the sunny skies have brought out the blooms of spring - wild flowers and greenery abound. The day ended with heavy winds and cooling temps (I think this is the lion part)!

Keep well and be safe where ever you are.....