It was another chilly, grey, and rainy day. We decided we would travel. It wasn’t really nice enough to do much else. We headed north on 77 with the intention of going to Padre Island National Seashore. We passed through miles of farm country, fields fallow. We also passed lots of windmills today.
We chose to camp at Mustang State Park for at least tonight. There are hookups here and it is supposed to be cool. We read and rested while it rained.
A short Jeep ride on the beach at the park.
We went into town for dinner at Scuttlebutt’s Seafood Bar and Grill. We enjoyed great salads and gumbo and mussels and live music!
November Days of Thanksgiving Day #13: We are grateful for every day that we get to spend traveling and enjoying life together!
The weather for last night
was forecasted to be very windy at 9pm.
We had walked to dinner and the water was still and calm, the
temperatures were warm and balmy. At 9pm,
we still had the windows open and it was comfortable. At 9:17, the wind whipped itself into a
frenzy…so quickly the weather changed!
I woke up a little after
1am. I checked the wind speeds…WOW!
For the rest of the night and
then all day today, the wind was wicked.
There was driving rain and it was cold.
Herman came out to fix the
thermostat and unfortunately, the new thermostat did not fix the problem with
the heat…It was WAY TOO windy for the repairman to get up on the roof and look
at the unit…They will have to come back.
We have the rear unit which
is working properly, but it is not enough to keep the whole RV cozy. We plugged in a portable heater and piled on the
blankets. We had hot oatmeal for
breakfast and hot tomato basil soup for lunch and hot tea this afternoon…just
trying to stay warm!
This was a good day to do not
much! We never even left the RV. I practiced Spanish, read, journaled, and
made some phone calls. I organized the Tupperware
and took everything out of the pantry and put it all back neatly.
We cannot decide what to do…whether we should stay put and hope to get the heat fixed…it will not be warmer anywhere else that we go…we might just wait until tomorrow to decide. I am definitely glad that we hadn’t planned to travel today. The wind would have been pushing us all over the road!
I didn’t mean to say that it was a terrible day…because it wasn’t!
November Days of Thanksgiving
Day #12: We are grateful for quiet,
restful days!
Such warm and beautiful weather…it’s kind of hard to believe that tomorrow it is supposed to be 30 degrees colder!
We took our lunch to the
beach. It was relaxing to read by the
surf, in the sunshine.
On our way back the beach was
much narrower!
This evening we went back to
Pier 19 for our dinner. I had shrimp
diablo…enough spice to make my mouth sing but not over the top spicy. Tim had fish tacos.
As we were walking out, we
got a call from David. We stood in the
parking lot talking on FaceTime with David and Dre and Oliver and Austin and it
made a terrific day even better! My
heart is happy 😊
November Days of Thanksgiving Day #11: We are grateful to those who have served! Happy Veteran’s Day!
Today was a perfect day for a bike ride. The weather was gorgeous.
I spent the afternoon shopping, reading, and practicing
my Spanish. Tim watched football and
NASCAR.
We packed our cooler and drove to the beach for dinner. We grilled bacon wrapped scallops and enjoyed a small fire. We watched the sunset, the moon rise over the gulf and the stars pop out.
November Days of Thanksgiving Day #10: We are grateful for peaceful, quiet solitude, campfires, and dinners on the beach.
When we got up today, it was still grey and cloudy
with wind speeds about 17mph. Biking in
the wind is not that fun so we decided to take a long walk.
We walked along the marina. There was a yacht for sale for $350,000.00…not
our cup of tea but it was a pretty boat and it will make an amazing adventure
for someone out there!
We saw several schools of these fish. Not sure what they are but they were hanging
around the boats.
At Isla Blanca Park we walked the perimeter.
Some beach wildflowers still bright and blooming in
November!
As we headed back the sun began to shine through!
Julio and his crew washed Big Baby today. After all that time in the dusty desert, she really
needed a good soapy bath!
Even the wheels and tires are shining!
We went to the Food Truck Festival at the Convention Center this afternoon. We chose beef brisket BBQ sandwiches for our lunch. We took our food to the beach. It was still windy so we sat near the Jeep in our jeans and sweatshirts! The warmth from the sun felt glorious and made us sleepy.
November Days Of Thanksgiving Day#9: We are grateful for blue skies and warm temperatures!!
During the night, the wind began to wail. It battered the RV until morning and then did not let up all day. Winds were 26 mph. There was supposed to be rain and we had a little.
We spent the morning doing laundry, changing, sheets, cleaning the bathroom, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…
The mobile RV repair guy came and they have to order a
new thermostat. It just means a few more
days at the beach!
We took a Jeep ride this afternoon. We ventured to the sound side. It smelled marshy and organic, the sky was leaden, and the wind was stiff.
White pelican mingling with the brown pelicans. The white pelicans come here to overwinter.
Such a pretty shore birds!
The ocean was roiling and rough. The tide was high so we didn’t travel far
down the beach.
We had fun watching the windsurfers. They were racing across the water. It looks like it requires a lot of upper body
strength. The surfers were certainly
enjoying the brisk breeze!
Blowing sand!
We napped and read this afternoon. I used Duolingo to work on my Spanish lessons.
This evening we went to dinner at Senor Donkey. We needed to get out for a while. We had Mexican seafood and to go with it, I had a Mango Chamoy Margarita. Chamoy is a combination of fruit, in this case tamarind, and chilies. It was sweet and sour and spicy and left my mouth feeling tingly!
The Christmas decorations and the donkey with the Santa hat made me feel anxious…it’s only the beginning of November!
The churning water at the campground pier.
November Days of Thanksgiving Day #8: We are thankful for hookups and heat and TV.
We began our day with a bike
ride. We started at Isla Blanca County
Park.
This statue pays tribute to
the fisherman who went through this pass and never returned.
The beach.
We went to the visitor center to find out what is happening in town this weekend.
Tim was ready to head back to the RV but I felt good and wanted to keep riding. I found a small shop and stopped in to check if they had new flip flops for Tim. I got back on my bike and turned around to go to the campground. When I was almost to our site, I realized that I had dropped my wallet. The short story is that someone turned it into the police…so I am very grateful to have it back!!! Thank you Officer Garcia!
I ended up riding for a lot longer than I had planned. I felt like a baked potato when I returned. We turned on the air conditioner and it didn’t work! We got an appointment for a mobile repair guy tomorrow morning. Then, we found a long line of ants streaming across the bathroom floor. We drove to ACE Hardware to get ant bait, spray, and powder.
The causeway over the sound.
We found Los Tortugo’s Seafood market. We got Super Jumbo shrimp.
We packed the grill and the cooler in the car and went to the beach. Yes it is and NO, WE didn’t!
We drove 24 miles on the beach all the way to the channel between South Padre and North Padre.
We drove to the sound side.
We chose our dinner spot.
Salad and Super Jumbo shrimp.
Some shore birds.
This heron came to sit on the hill behind us and he stayed for the sunset!
November Days of Thanksgiving
Day #7: We are grateful for the honest
person who turned in my wallet…we are also grateful that we are able to see the
good things in every day!
We followed Route 83, the Texas Tropical Trail. We started to see palm trees along the road. We passed through border towns and bigger cities. Most of the day we were right across the Rio Grande from Mexico.
There were several tethered surveillance blimps, lots of Border Patrol vehicles and lots of police presence. There was also lots of traffic and lots of red lights. Today’s drive was harder for Tim…stop and go all morning. We merged onto Route 100 and over the causeway onto South Padre Island. It was so nice to see Laguna Madre Bay with it’s sparkling green water. The sight of pelicans made me feel giddy! I LOVE the beach and I was excited to be here!
We rested after lunch and then took a drive on the beach!
We walked from our campsite to Pier 19 for dinner. We watched the sunset and the dolphins play.
I had yummy mango coladas.
We shared seafood appetizers. The mussels and clams with chorizo and the coconut shrimp were delicious. The Oyster Rockies were fabulous!
What a nice way to begin our stay here!
November Days of Thanksgiving Day 6: We are grateful for the beach and the warm sunshine!!!
It was already warm this morning. It was cloudier than we are accustomed to and
Tim noticed dew as we packed to leave.
The first part of our journey
today took us through oilfields and all the services necessary for the oil
industry.
As we neared Laredo, we saw
lots of trucks. Laredo is the largest
inland port on the US/Mexico border. This
is a direct route for trucks to bring supplies in from Mexico and to take products
into Mexico. There are 4 international
bridges and one railway bridge across the border. The town is at an altitude of 438 feet. The population of the city of Laredo is about
250,000 people. The entire economy is
based on international trade. It is a
gritty, working city, not a tourist town.
This is “The Gateway City.”
As we left Laredo behind, traveling
on 83, hugging the border, we saw more farmland. We saw deer and javelina.
By noon we had arrived at Falcon State Park. We were exhausted! I worked on the blog until almost midnight last night and we were up and out early today. The view from our campsite.
A cardinal on site…we haven’t see a cardinal for months!
We napped and then took a ride in the area. I put my feet in Falcon Lake.
I took pictures of this osprey. He had a fish in his talons.
This is the Falcon International Reservoir.
The Falcon Dam stores water from the Rio Grande. It is an earth embankment dam that has been here since 1954. Both Mexico and the US have power plants that utilize the energy from this dam. We were hoping to visit the dam but you needed to cross through customs in order to do so…so we elected not to.
We did find an opening to the river.
Another osprey on the prowl.
Javelina in the campground…mom and babies…aren’t they odd looking?
Happy hour with a hefty Gigi pour…thanks Tim!
We made grilled tuna Caesar salad
for dinner and it was pleasant enough to eat outside.
We plan to drive to the gulf coast
tomorrow.
Hasta Manana!
November Days of Thanksgiving Day #5: We are thankful for our family and friends. Old friends and the friends we have made along the way. We appreciate those who support us and encourage us and welcome us! We are also grateful to those you who check on us when we haven’t posted for awhile!
We were sad to leave Big Bend this morning. I really enjoyed our time there. We still have not see all there is to see…so it’s possible that we will return one day! The scenery is breathtaking. The proximity to the border and the opportunity to cross was an amazing experience. We saw lots of wildlife too.
Today we traveled 50 miles just to get through the park. Then we headed east on 90. The ride today was very pretty.
Lunch spot.
Pecos River.
Amistad Reservoir.
We stopped this afternoon in the town of Del Rio to gather supplies.
We decided to drive on…there wasn’t much to see in Del Rio and it was only 4. The next town with campgrounds was a little more than 1 1/2 hours away. As we traveled those last miles, the sun began to set. We saw lots of javelina, some deer, some pronghorns, lots of hawks, and a beautiful owl.
We saw lots and lots of dead skunks…maybe 50! I figure that the coyote and other scavengers probably come to clean up all of the other roadkill…but none of the other animals will eat the skunks…I may have made that up…but it makes sense! Some of our ride today smelled like skunk!
Pepe La Pew
We were stopped at a border control station this afternoon and again this evening. These stations are placed sporadically along the border. There are a lot of sensors and cameras scanning and inspecting vehicles as they pass through. The officers walked around the RV with a dog. They asked if we were US citizens and then allowed us to continue on our way.
We got settled into the campground and ate a quick dinner. The rest of the evening was spent catching up on the blog. We have to have internet to load pictures and we had none all weekend.
November Days of Thanksgiving Day #4: We are so grateful for our current gypsy, wandering, vagabond lifestyle. We feel so lucky to be able to travel and enjoy this time together…we know we won’t always be able to do this…
