Rio Grande Valley, TX

Here's a sunset view from Mission, TX, the place we've called home for the last two weeks. We've gone just about as far south in the US as we can go, and it's still chilly for the folks in the RGV. It's just been one of those winters. And, in typical South Texas style, it's been windy. In fact, you can pretty much count on it. This sunset captures one of those rare moments down here when it isn't windy.

The highlight of our stay, without a doubt, has been the chance to catch up with some traveling friends and meet new ones. One late afternoon we gathered for happy hour at the home of Arlene and Kevin who spent the last two months at a park not far from here. This is a representative sample of the group I snapped while we were leaving. (I always remember to bring my camera to gatherings like this, but I frequently forget to use it.) It's been fun spending time with Arlene and Kevin, Mac and Netters, Kathy and Chuck, Dortha and Mark, and Donna and Nolan. (I think that's everybody!) Most of these folks left for Rockport yesterday. So, needless to say, we're a little lonely. But, we'll be fine!

Before the mass exodus of our friends, we had a very fun Girls Day Out. After picking up a couple of essentials I had no idea I needed at a local restaurant supply house, we made our way to The Vintage Tea Room for a very special lunch.

Here are Dortha, Sue, Kathy, Anna and Netters just sitting down and beginning to take the place in. There was a lot to see!

We follow instructions well, too! Everywhere we looked there were hats and dresses and beads and boas. We all went in search of our unique look for lunch.

Don't Kathy and Arlene look fabulous? They are just about ready for tea!

Dortha really got into the spirit of it all in her hat, dress and the perfect accessory - a pink boa. We all had a great time trying everything on.

Once we found our proper couture, we all sat down to tea and sandwiches. The conversation and laughter flowed.

Before we left we just had to take one more look around. Everything in the place is for sale, and you just never know what you might find!

There were collections of things everywhere.

It was a very sweet, and very girlie, place. We left our hats and boas inside, but the big smiles on our faces stayed with us the rest of the day.

After lunch we did some serious shopping and a Spanish lesson near the border. We learned there's a very big difference between "ropa nueva" and "ropa usada". Ropa nueva is worth a stop. As you can see, we did some serious shopping for that. Ropa usada? Not so much.

Thanks, ladies, for a very fun day!

Things are pretty quiet these days in the RGV. With three more weeks to hang out, we're planning to use the time to catch up and rest up. Our cats have the right idea. I caught a glimpse of our boy kitty stretched out on the dash and just had to get a picture of these two wildcats!

More from Port Aransas

We’re wrapping up our time here in Port Aransas. It’s passed quickly. We’ve met a lot of great people in this park, and we’re looking forward to seeing them down the road soon. While we can count on both hands the number of warm, sunny, calm days we’ve had here, it’s been fun to hang by the beach for awhile. We’re not complaining, though. It’s been lots warmer here than in Kansas City every single day. Even during the heaviest rain and wildest winds we’ve experienced here, we were thankful the temperatures weren’t in the single digits and there was no snow on the ground.

The sight of the month was the buzz of the RV park. Like an old-fashioned game of "post office" neighbors told neighbors of an extraordinary event just up the beach. When we heard the word, we joined the steady stream of sightseers to lay our eyes on a 40-foot whale that had washed ashore. Officials from the nearby University of Texas Marine Science Institute worked among the shutter-happy tourists to determine what caused the demise of the rare-in-these-parts Baleen whale. Port Aransas city staffers used heavy equipment to drag the beast to a massive crevice they carved out of the sand dunes. This would be the whale's final resting place. Of all the things we imagined we might see in our travels, attending a whale funeral never made the list!

After seeing officials from the place, we spent one particularly windy and rainy afternoon visiting the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, which is located on a northernmost point of Mustang Island. We watched a movie about the earth’s forests, which wasn’t exactly what we thought we’d see at a marine institute! We expected to see aquariums, and there were a few. This seahorse was the star of one of the tanks.

Our time in Port Aransas also provided us with a chance to meet up with virtual friends and make new ones. Fellow travelers Eric and Karla introduced us to their friends Sharon and Sherry and Al and Priscilla. After a fun lunch at San Juan, several of us posed at the restaurant’s cheesy photo-op spot.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a quilt store. (Really!) I discovered a sweet little shop in Port Aransas and found these fabrics to represent Texas in our some-day quilt. With dolphins, stars, cowboy boots and Texas signs, these four choices might not exactly go together. But, that's Texas!

As we wrap up our first month as Winter Texans, we’re looking forward to heading south in search of warmer weather. We’ll find it, eventually.

Rockport, TX

During our stay in Port Aransas we made several ferry trips across the water, through Aransas Pass to Rockport. We say “through” Aransas Pass because, basically, there’s nothing to do there. But, about 10 miles north the town of Rockport has a bit more to offer.

Ask around for recommendations for a place to eat in these parts and chances are you’ll hear about four places: Alice Faye’s On The Bay, The Big Fisherman, China-A or Charlotte Plummers. We didn’t make it to Charlotte’s, but did dine at the other three. That’s Alice’s place above. We dropped in one afternoon after checking out a few of Rockport’s gazillion RV parks. Alice offered up great water views, a tasty po’boy sandwich and sweet potato fries that were sweet, indeed.

Fans of The Big Fisherman fall into two camps: those who think Tuesday is the only day to go there; or those who dine there any day but Tuesday. We got a taste of both camps when we met fellow travelers Doug and JoAnn there for lunch on a Friday. They described how they quite accidently paid their first visit to the place on Tuesday, and discovered how residents and visitors to the Coastal Bend flock for the Tuesday $1.95 all-you-can-eat lunch special. What a mob scene! We were all happy to enjoy our $5.95 single plate special on a very calm Friday. Everything was fried. So, of course, it was tasty.

Typically, we don’t do buffets. But, we made an exception and joined a group of Port Aransas friends for a trip to China-A Buffet. Acres of steam tables were home to everything from kung-po chicken to lasagna to sushi. There are three reasons we don’t do buffets: First, all of that stuff doesn’t hold up long on a steam table. Two, call me a germophobe, but I don’t like the idea of touching the same 20 serving spoons that 200 of my fellow dinners have had their grimy hands on. Finally, when you spread all that food out in front of us we just have to have a taste of everything. As a result, we tend to eat way too much! China-A filled the bill on all points. But, we had a fun night with our friends.

Our best dining experience in Rockport, hands down, was at the home of new friends Steve and Debbie. This evening they hosted a pig roast on a night that was perfect for eating tasty pork and sides under the stars by a campfire. What a treat.

Another visit to Rockport included a stop at the Piecemakers By The Bay quilt show at Rockport-Fulton High School. Among the 50 or so quilts on display, this was one of our favorites. It’s called “Everchanging” and is cut from just one piece of fabric with amazing results. The show was big enough to provide welcome inspiration for more projects to put my growing fabric stash to work, and small enough to do in about an hour. That was perfect for us both.

That, in a nut shell, is Rockport. If you like to hang out in an RV park, eat or catch the occasional quilt show, this place is for you.

Whataburger!

We headed south down the island today and then inland to Corpus Christi, the closest place around here that has everything you need. Known as the Sparkling City By The Sea, it may be. We wouldn’t know. Today Corpus reminded us of the City By The Bay. Like San Francisco, it was socked in with fog.

This was a second trip to Corpus. The first trip entailed errands and a quick lunch. We had hoped to do some sightseeing today, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. So, we decided to have another quick lunch at the same place: Whataburger.

Whataburger is a privately-held regional fast food restaurant that serves up great tasting burgers with a smile. It started nearly 50 years ago with one restaurant here in Corpus Christi. Today there are 700 restaurants in 10 states. Most of these tasty places are right here in Texas.

We’ve seen several of the orange and white striped a-frame restaurants since we entered the Lone Star State, but we hadn’t stopped. Finally, curiosity got the best of us and we decided to make it a stop on our first run to Corpus. As Whataburger virgins, we stepped into the restaurant and ordered two Number Ones. (Number One is usually a safe bet anywhere you go.)

After helping us through the many options that would make our cheeseburgers just the way we like them, the cheerful man behind the counter looked at Paul’s Kansas Jayhawks t-shirt.

“Bet you don’t get Whataburger at home,” he smiled.

We nodded and explained that this was actually our first time at Whataburger. He seemed genuinely excited about making our experience a good one.

“Will you let us know how you like it?” he asked. We assured him we would.

With that we filled our drinks, took a seat and checked out the place. It was sparkling clean and had a good “vibe”. Minutes later another cheerful soul brought our food out on one tray and a selection of condiments and other necessities on another. It all smelled so good we couldn’t wait to dig in. Actually, we didn’t.

For the next several minutes we ate silently. It was that good!

While we chomped away on our tasty lunch, our happy order taker strolled our way.

“We’ll, how do you like it?” he asked.

We couldn’t speak. Our mouths were full. We gave him a couple of big thumbs up.

On our way out he thanked us for coming. We assured him we’d be back.

Back on the island, Whataburger came up as a topic of conversation over breakfast. We learned a bit about the company’s history and that the flagship restaurant - a salute to the first “shack” - is located on Shoreline Avenue in downtown Corpus Christi.

We just had to go back. Today was the day. These enthusiastic Whataburger converts were on a mission to burger Mecca.

As we drove along the shore of Corpus Christi’s supposedly scenic harbor, we were disappointed that the fog and wind obscured the view. Corpus looks like it’s probably a very pretty, albeit windy, city. As we came closer to downtown we spotted the day glo orange on the roof of Whataburger By The Bay, the crown jewel of our latest obsession.

Once again we stepped inside and were greeted by cheerful and helpful folks. After placing our order, we were encouraged to go upstairs. Little did we know this is the only Whataburger with a second story. It was designed to showcase the scenic views of the Corpus harbor. Though we couldn’t appreciate the views today, we definitely appreciated our second Whataburger experience.

This place is doing something right. Great people providing great service and great food at a great price. We don’t know how they do it, but we’re glad they do.

Some call Whataburger “A Texas Treasure”. We call it one great find.

Port Aransas, TX

We've been hanging here at the beach for almost two weeks. With temperatures hovering around 70 most days, we're finally thawing out. If this is what it means to be a Winter Texan, we're definitely ready to sign up!

Our park is located in Port Aransas, a tiny town on Mustang Island, which sits just off the Texas Coastal Bend. Being an island, the routes from the "mainland" are limited. Our GPS wanted us to take this route, which included a three-minute ride on a ferry between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. Because we were driving our still new 40-foot motorhome to this place, we opted to take the long way around. Driving down to Corpus Christi, across a nice wide bridge and up Padre Island to another rock solid bridge that delivered us on Mustang Island took us at least an extra 30 minutes. But, can you blame us?

On our first afternoon on the island, we wandered down to the ferry landing to see some souls braver than us make the crossing. That's a 40-foot Winnebago that's a lot like ours on that ferry!

We walked closer to watch the Winnie drive off the boat. Just like us, they were pulling a Jeep. They sure made it look easy! Since our arrival we've made the crossing several times in our Jeep. It's a piece of cake in that, of course. Now that we've seen it, we're thinking we could muster the courage to take the moose on this shortcut next time. Maybe.

Our home away from home here is just a short walk to the beach. One of the fun things to do on the island is to drive along the sandy shore. Rocky looks like he's ready to hit the beach, doesn't he? We were just making a quick stop to pick up a geocache here. We're saving our drive down the beach for another sunny day.

One of the highlights of our stay so far was meeting Gale and Anna. They have been traveling fulltime for more than a year, and they love it. They were staying across the bridge in Corpus Christi and came over to join us for lunch. It was great to share stories over some tasty grub at Moby Dick's in Port Aransas.

Another highlight was our afternoon on the water. Our neighbors Maxine and Jerry invited us to join them for a sailboat trip on Redfish Bay. Of course we said yes! Our captain called himself "The Handsome Sailor."

The handsome sailor put everybody to work. The guys worked together to pull up the anchor.

Vicki and I pulled up the sail and we were off! With sunny skies, pleasant temperatures and just enough breeze, it was a perfect day for sailing.

Our captain encouraged everyone to take a turn at the helm. Paul seemed quite comfortable. But, I don't think he's ready to trade in our moose, just yet.

Jerry and Maxine look like a couple of happy Winter Texans, don't they? There aren't too many January afternoons like this back home in Indiana!

Daughter Vicki and son-in-law Dale were the organizers of this wonderful afternoon. They gave Jerry and Maxine the sailing trip as a Christmas gift. What a great idea! (And, thanks again for letting us tag along!) We really enjoyed spending time with them.

Our handsome sailor told us to be on the lookout for birds and dolphins. We didn't see too many birds, but we spotted several dolphins nearby.

Dolphins aren't the easiest things to photograph. With the murky water, it was easy for them to sneak up to the surface and be gone before anybody could click a shutter. This is one of our better images, selected from dozens of really crummy ones.

At last! This is definitely the best shot of the day.

We'll be here in Port Aransas for two more weeks. There's much to see in and around the area. With plans to check out an interesting site or two while we're here, we'll keep ya'll posted. That is, if we can pry ourselves away from the beach. Life for these two newbie Winter Texans is good!

Livingston, TX

The last 10 days have been quiet and uneventful, which pretty much sums up Livingston. This is our first visit to an Escapees campground, and this one is located at the organization's headquarters. It's a no frills kind of place where everyone smiles and waves.

One of our tasks during our stay was to get the squirrel inspected and registered in Texas. Rocky's old California tags are history, and now he's sporting brand spankin' new plates from the Lone Star State.

Our most pleasant find here in this very sleepy town is Florida's Kitchen, recommended to us by Godfadda Gordon. Located on the outskirts of Livingston, Florida's is obviously the place to have lunch. When you pull up and see three County Sheriff cars you know you've come to the right place, or you're walking into some serious trouble. Thankfully, it was the former and not the latter. The friendly folks at Florida's serve up some mighty fine Southern cookin' with some friendly Texas hospitality. This place doesn't look like much, but it's definitely worth a stop.

We're pleased to report that we're warming up and feeling better. We've recovered from our post-holiday cold bugs, and while it's not what most around here would exactly call warm, we've enjoyed a few afternoons where we've been able to air out the moose a bit. The cats have a new favorite place on days like that. The steps are a perfect spot to soak up some afternoon sun and sniff some fresh air...and each other.

We delayed our departure for the Gulf Coast one day, as that area has been hit with some very heavy rains and strong winds today. By leaving tomorrow, we should miss the worst of the weather and sail through Houston on a, hopefully, quiet Saturday morning.

Stay tuned!

Weatherford, TX

Greetings from sunny and, relatively speaking, warm Weatherford! We've talked to a few folks around here who think our 50-degree days and 20-something degree nights are cold. Compared to where we've been the last five weeks, we tell them, this place is a tropical paradise! It's all relative, I guess.

We left Wellington around 9:30 yesterday morning and within minutes were in Oklahoma. With no precipitation in the forecast along our route, we weren't too concerned about the heavy overcast. But, as we approached the Arbuckle Mountains (and it's a real stretch to call them mountains) a steady drizzle turned to snow. The storm was of the "big flake" variety that reduced visability and piled up quickly. Thankfully, the road remained clear and everyone took their time making their way.

By the time we crossed the border into Texas, the snow had changed back to rain. We were so glad to have that mess behind us. We made our wet way into and around Fort Worth, then headed west to Weatherford.

We've made our temporary home here at the Oak Creek RV Park, just west of Weatherford. This three-year-old park has everything we need to relax and thaw out for a few days. (Notice the bright blue sky and the absence of white stuff on the ground.)

We look forward to exploring the area a bit and visiting with family. We'll head south from here on Monday.