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....