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February 2008
February 1 - 3, 2008
Friday, February 1. Today was the busiest day we have had since we've worked here. This morning, we had 7 people leaving and 7 coming in right behind them to fill their sites plus 2 people changed to different sites. Add all of the people that pay their site rent on the 1st and that kept us going. It sure made the time fly.

Frisco and Sammy have been dealing pretty well with the schedule. We had to laugh tonight while watching America's Favorite Videos, bits about dogs and Sammy sat in front of the TV barking like crazy.

Sunday, February 3. We got together with Mark and Renita this morning for breakfast. Unfortunately, it was 11:15 when we arrived at Alice Faye's and they had already stopped serving breakfast. We went down the road a little bit to Charlotte Plummer's, located in the Fulton Harbor. They weren't serving breakfast either so we all settled for lunch.

I must say that I found the grilled shrimp and broccoli to be overcooked and mediocre on flavor. I didn't hear any complaints from the others. We walked around the harbor a bit before heading back home. Mark and Renita will be leaving the park later this week after spending the last month here, and will then head down the road again. We will continue to keep up with their travels on their blog and hopefully our paths will cross again some day.

Mike, Pat, and Ben had a 3-way conversation while setting up their computers to share information. After a couple of hours, I believe they had it all worked out - what a bunch of geeks!
February 4 - 10
Monday, February 4. It was a work day for us since we switched days with Lucy and Myron again. Lucy likes to play cards at the Women's Center on Mondays, so if we can we usually switch days with them. Our weekend starts again tomorrow and we are looking forward to it once again. The nice thing this week is that neither of is is feeling ill.

This morning was very cloudy but warm, near 70, and as the day went on the wind picked up and the clouds went away, so it was beautiful. I had the windows open to the office and I stepped outdoors whenever I could. The bay is full of whitecaps again today.

Sammy's people picked him up this evening and he was so excited to see them. After he left, Frisco laid next to the door looking outside. We will have to get the two of them together now and then so they can play.

Ben asked me to come up with a song that he and I can dance to at the wedding reception, so that has been my project for the last day or so. I've got a short list, so hopefully it won't be too difficult to decide.

Tuesday, February 5. I just got back from my morning walk with Frisco and boy, is it windy out there. After 15 minutes along the beach road, my glasses were covered with salt spray and had to be cleaned twice. It was definitely a good workout with the wind resistance. Guess it will be a good day to take care of indoor stuff - the house needs a good cleaning again after 2 dogs for a week. The windows definitely need to have the nose prints washed off. That is one of the negatives to dog ownership but certainly one that we can life with.

Thursday, February 7. Yesterday was a nice, but cool day. I'm not sure how it flew by so quickly but this morning I sit here thinking, "what did we do yesterday". We did several walks, pedicures, reading and relaxing, computing, cookie baking, and then it was time to take Frisco to the vet for his pedicure.

Now there's a project we would rather be able to do ourselves but each attempt ends without it getting done. He is a devilish little fighter when it comes to nail trimming. Several approaches have been attempted to no avail. We've tried the single, get him to relax and sneak a clipping in method. Maybe use the Dremel tool (Lucy's preferred method) - nope. How about the 2-person, one calming, one cutting method - nope. How about the 2-person, one wrestling, containing, one cutting method - nope. We tried restraining him on the floor, the couch, the table, the bed - no success. So it's off to the vet.

Even the technician at the vet's office had a challenge. We have to call the guy Willie because he reminds us of a homelier Willie Nelson, wearing his red hair in a very unbecoming mullet style (or is it?). Anyway, we are escorted to our exam room and while waiting for 10 minutes, we hear the constant squawking of a parrot that is getting its nails and wings clipped. Willie arrives in our room and, wiping his brow, he says that he is relieved that task is over and done with. I tried to warn him that he had another challenge waiting here in this room. He and I wrestle this way and that way, apply a muzzle, and wrestle some more. Willie ends up taking Frisco out of the room and getting the assistance of another technician to complete the job. When finished and Frisco and I got to the counter in the reception area, he just collapsed on his belly on the floor - exhausted from the fight.

This evening, we went to the Wednesday potluck. We should go every week just so we can have a piece of Georgia's lemon meringue pie that she brings every week - it is delicious. There is always lots of other great hot dishes, vegetables, and salads too. We sat at a table with couples from Lubbock and Amarillo, and also from Manitoba, Canada.

We had some entertainment this evening provided by Sarah Getto, a very accomplished 24-year old blind girl who was not only born blind, but also born with a cleft palette. Many surgeries repaired the cleft palate and she has a beautiful voice and has overcome any speech problems she might have had. She played piano and fiddle and sang, but also does all of her own background music and performed songs by Patsy Cline, Anne Murray, Floyd Cramer, Reba McIntyre, and others. Check it out on You Tube Click Text Here

Sunday, February 10. It's less than a month until we leave for Mexico and the big wedding/vacation. We're so looking forward to spending time at a beautiful resort and with our family and with Jill's family. I started compiling my packing list so nothing is forgotten, but then we will probably manage to forget something.

We haven't done much the last few days, started back to work on Friday and have been fairly busy.
February 11 - 17
Tuesday, February 12. It's day 1 of our weekend again and so nice to wake up and NOT have to get ready for a day of work. I'm feeling much better after getting sick with some kind of intestinal thing on Saturday night. Thanks to Mike relieving me in the office a good part of the day on Sunday, I was back to feeling much better yesterday. There have been a lot of various types of viruses going around this park and we have managed to get some of them in spite of our regular regimen of Esberitox, our favorite immune boosting supplement.

I hope to finish working on our income taxes this week, although I am still missing one of our 1099's. Another task to complete this week is the painting of our steps. Last week, Mike got them sanded down and we put one coat of paint on them. Tomorrow might be a good day, as it is supposed to be sunny all day.

Thursday, February 14. Happy Valentines Day! It's been a nice couple of days around here, as we have just hung around the park and managed to keep busy. The park is a flurry of activity when the weather is nice. While taking a walk through the park, you might have to stop several times to chat. So what is intended to be a 15-minute walk can easily take up to an hour. No wonder the time flies so quickly.

Yesterday we took a trip to the RV parts store and bought wrap around rugs for our steps - they sure help to keep the sand and dirt from entering the motor home. While there, we just had to take a look at the motor homes and found a 2007 Itasca Suncruiser that we like everything about except the price tag. It is always fun to look but then we get to thinking that our Bravo is just fine.

Today I did some housecleaning while Mike and Jerry flew his little RC helicopter in the rec hall. I did the dirty job of cleaning the ceiling vents - it's such a hassle because they have to be taken apart and they are really tough to reach and to clean. Oh well, it's done now for a few months again and in a few days, my neck will be back to feeling normal again.

When Mike got back, he worked on attaching rain gutter extensions to help keep the roof runoff from dripping down the front side windows. He has tried several techniques including clothespins (that worked pretty well) and rubber tubing. We have been unable to find a part made specifically for this type of motor home, so we bought what was available and he rigged it to work. It looks like it will do the trick and might be tested tomorrow afternoon as rain is predicted once again.

Pat sent pictures of the snow in Wisconsin today, check it out in the photo album. Dane County has exceeded the former annual record for snowfall of 79". Mike and I got to remembering our 1st Valentines day together back in 1967. We both skipped work because it was such a beautiful day with temps in the 50s (very unusual for a February in Wisconsin) and we spent the day riding his motorcycle to Stoughton and back.

We invited Jim and Diane over for dinner tonight and fixed pork chops, sweet potato and grilled onion for dinner. Diane brought a delicious salad. We had a great time talking, having *bleep*tails, and dining. The grilled onion was something that I hadn't tried before. I cut the ends off the onion and then sliced 3/4 of the way through it - spread out the sections and drizzled olive oil, then sprinkled it with garlic powder, seasoned pepper, cayenne pepper, and butter - wrapped it in foil and grilled for almost an hour. Was it yummy!

Friday, February 15. It is exactly one month until "W" day for Ben and Jill. We are all looking so forward to hanging out together in Playa del Carmen. Jill called this morning and it was so nice to chat for a while.

We spent the day with Sylvia and Glenn, a great couple that we met from Reno. We've been meaning to get together and it finally worked out that we would drive to Victoria to see the historic district and to have lunch at Maggie's Restaurant and Meat Market.

We arrived at Maggie's and proceeded to select our piece of meat that they would cook as we chose. A waitress took our orders for side dishes and beverages. Glenn's steak arrived and wasn't cooked as specified, but other than that all was delicious. On the way out, Glenn couldn't resist buying a piece of their coconut cake for his evening snack. That cake became a popular topic and we joked about it throughout the day. Glenn is very protective of his cake.

There are some beautiful Victorian houses in Victoria (is that where it gets it's name?), many of them had markers that detailed their significance to the area. Go to the photo album to see a few examples.

Just after leaving Victoria to return to Rockport, we heard a very strange sound and Mike pulled the car over to the side of the road. Sure enough, we had a flat tire on the front passenger side. Mike and Glenn set to the task of changing the tire. It wasn't a problem until they tried to pull the flat off and it wouldn't budge. So I placed a call to our insurance company to take advantage of the roadside assistance coverage that we were so happy that we carry.

Max (a very colorful, tattooed guy)from Mickey's Auto Service showed up within about 20 minutes and said his approach is just to kick the sh*t out of the tire to get it off and it worked. The cause of the flat was that it was thin, dry rotted, and punctured. When he went to replace it with the spare "donut" tire, the spare wasn't the right size and wouldn't fit. A flatbed truck was dispatched and we rode with Max in his pickup truck in the pouring rain (so nice that it didn't do that while we stood along the roadside), back to Victoria to Discount tire. We decided that it would be best to just get all new tires. Discount Tire's operation was very efficient and thirty minutes and $600 later, we were back on the road again.

In spite of our 2-hour detour back into Victoria and the cost of the new tires, we all agreed that it could have been much worse. We were all safe, there was no damage to the car, and we still enjoyed the afternoon and each other's company. All in all it was a very enjoyable day. We will have to try to get together with them at least one more time before they leave next week. Hopefully, we can arrange to have our paths cross again one day.

Saturday, February 16. Happy Birthday, Ben!! Today was all about the weather. I think I saw the largest waves splashing up on the shore that I have seen since we got here. Predictions were for heavy thunderstorms, high wind gusts, and possible even tornadoes. It was warm and the wind felt good. Because of the weather, the activity in the office was pretty slow.

We watched the movie Apocalypto that was produced by Mel Gibson. It was a story about the decline of the Mayan civilization, very well done but extremely violent and bloody.

We had some heavy rains during the evening but they tapered off and by early morning it was clear again.

Sunday, February 17. It was an uneventful day today, but I have to write a bit about the weather. When Frisco and I got to the road this morning, the water was smooth as ice, the sky was clear blue, and the air had a wonderful, fresh feeling about it. Our walk was very enjoyable.

As the hours passed, the weather continued to improve, reaching temps near 75 degrees with a comfortable breeze blowing. That brought people to the shore and pier in small groups throughout the day. Fortunately, we were able to visit with many of them.

Mike chose to watch the Daytona 500 race when we got off work, but I went to visit with some of the ladies at happy hour. All in all, it was a very pleasant Sunday in mid-February here at Rockport.
February 18 - 24
Monday, February 18. Today was a good day and the workday went by quickly. A highlight of the day was receiving an e-mail from Mike's cousin, Louie, whom we haven't heard from in a few years. It's always nice to hear from people and to start up a dialog again.

After work, we went to the Lighthouse Inn for a drink with Sylvia and Glenn. It's too bad that just as you start to develop a good friendship with someone, it's time for them or us to leave. I think we will be making a point of looking them up in Reno in the future. Perhaps we will meet again next year at Watersedge.

After drinks, Mike and I went to Alice Faye's, a restaurant just down the street from the RV park, and had a hamburger (on the recommendation of Sylvia and Glenn). We must agree that they were very good.

Saturday, February 23. I've got some catching up to do, since it's been several days without writing. On Wednesday morning we dropped Frisco off at Jeri and Bob's RV where he spent the next 3 days with Sammy. We were on the road by about 10:30, headed for South Padre Island to meet up with Bob and Penny and Penny's parents, Phil and Norma. The drive was uneventful although it rained a good part of the way and it took about 3.5 hours to get there.

Our reservations were at the Day's Inn, but when we got there, we discovered the place was under construction and even though we got one of the recently renovated rooms, it was not nice at all. The area right in front of the room was littered with trash and the bathtub was just gross looking. We headed down the road to see if we could get something else last minute without reservations. We ended up getting a nice room due to a recent cancellation at the Palms Resort, a very small beach front hotel. It had a pool and hot tub, restaurant and bar and was only a short walk to Phil and Norma's condo. What a relief!

Dinner for the evening was at Dirty Al's on the south end of the island. A singer from Lee's Summit, MO (near Bob & Penny's home) entertained us and we had a nice dinner. After dinner, Phil took us for a drive around that part of the island where we saw some of the RV parks. Phil whipped us all in a game of Farkel when we got back to their condo.

Thursday was spent just hanging out, walking the beach, having *bleep*tails at the Palms Resort, and gabbing at the hot tub. The weather was warm but real foggy. Dinner was at Blackbeard's - a good choice because Mike really likes pirates.

When we returned to the condo, we played a game of Wahoo, a board game that is a Silvain family tradition. After two hours and we were all getting tired, the men beat the women and ended the game.

Friday was another foggy day and it didn't lift all day long either. We walked to some shops along Padre Blvd and stopped to buy lottery tickets - all hoping we might just get lucky. Mike and Bob felt like taking naps in the afternoon, so Phil took us girls to the Sea Turtle, Inc., an organization that was founded in 1977 by Ila Loetscher, better known as "The Turtle Lady of South Padre Island." STI was formed to aid and assist in the protection of Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle - and to ultimately restore the ridley population to a level that will ensure its survival. They have succeeded at restoring the ridley's back to close it it's numbers before they were poached to near extinction. It was an interesting visit and we learned about the sea turtles and got to see several species up close and personal in huge tanks at the center.

In the evening, we crossed over the bridge to Port Isabel and had dinner at the Pirate's Landing, another place well liked by Mike - check out the photos. We called it a night fairly early and headed back to the Palms.

This morning, before heading back to Rockport, Phil and Norma fixed us a delicious breakfast of fresh squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs, and biscuits and gravy. Yum! Yum!

The sky was a beautiful blue and the drive back was uneventful. We encountered some clouds when we got near Rockport, but it was sunny and nice along the bay. Frisco was happy to see us and we felt the same way. It was nice to be away for a few days and not have the responsibility, but it sure felt good to get back home to the little squirt too.

Sunday, February 24. Vacation is over and it's back to work again. It was another slow Sunday, but the weather was gorgeous. Lots of activity in the bay today. Several people stopped by the office just to visit, including Jerry and Edna from Mercedes, Texas (the Valley). We had a nice little chat and made plans to go to Corpus Christi for sushi tomorrow after work. I sure hope it's good!

After work this evening, we went to Fulton Oaks RV Park to look at a permanent trailer setup that was advertised in a flyer dropped off at the park. It was kind of a cute setup, clean and had many updates. As we drove through the park, we noticed several others. The lots are nice and big, the park is clean. That might be something to consider in the future for a place to land for a few months. We are growing to like the area more and more as we stay here.
February 25 - 29
Wednesday, February 27. Well, it's day 4 and the time has sure flown by this week. The next 4 days will be our last days off before we leave for Mexico, so we will have to be getting organized and taking care of all last minute arrangments. Everyone is getting excited and we have been hearing from Pat and Ben frequently.

Yesterday, we got an e-mail from Rudy telling us that Sonja has had a heart attack. It sounds like they gave her an angioplasty to clear some of her arteries and that she will be fine. We're so glad that we are kept informed. We are looking forward to seeing them both in Florida in May.

Last night we went to the Ichiban Japanese Buffet in Corpus Christi with Edna and Jerry, a couple from Mercedes, TX that we met in the park. The dinner was excellent, the first sushi that we have had since leaving California. It was so nice to enjoy fresh vegetables, fish, and other goodies. It seems like everyone wants fried this and that around here.

Thursday, February 28. What a nice day we had today! The morning started out slow and relaxing, just as it should be. Morning coffee was enjoyed and Frisco and I had a nice walk. We decided to take a drive to Corpus Christi to return some jewelry, get the new wheels on the Honda checked, and to buy a new shower head to replace the one in the motor home that is squirting water in all directions.

The errands only took a short while and we were on our back at Rockport within a couple of hours. Mike took a nap and I headed for the pool, where I sat and gabbed with a couple of ladies for a while. It wasn't real warm but we were sheltered from the wind, so it was bearable.

Dinner was a bit of a challenge although it turned out great. I planned to do a steak and sweet potato on the grill, but when I went to get the potato, I found that there was none. So I grilled an onion surrounded with some carrots - a great compliment to the steak.

Jerry came over tonight to share some of his pictures of his road trips into Mexico. His slides and stories were enjoyable, as he usually drives straight south from Matamoros, about 200 miles from the border and he visits small villages that don't see too many Americans. During his visits he has made many friends.

He and Edna have invited us to Mercedes to visit them when we leave Rockport. They have offered to take us on a drive through some of the places in Mexico where they have met and befriended many of the locals. They will also show us around parts of the Rio Grande Valley that we did not see when we were there. Our opinion of that area was not the greatest, but according to them, it is one of the most affordable places in the country to live. Something to consider for future winters.

Friday, February 29. By 8:30 this morning, we were on the road, headed to Corpus Christi to spend the day with Hair and Judy. The plan was to head down the national seashore, do some shelling and kite flying, have some lunch, drink some beers, and just hang out and have a nice day. Just as soon as we left the pavement and got on the beach, we found it was a good thing they have 4-wheel drive, as the wind was blowing and the surf was up to about 4 feet. It was real rough going, there were no shells, and the beach was covered with seaweed.

We turned around and headed to one of Judy's favorite shelling spots in Corpus Christi. We parked the car, set up an umbrella and some chairs and also parked our butts for the next 3-4 hours. It was a good mini-shelling day, as the sand was covered with little assorted types of shells. I got a lot of spirals and others - the nice thing is that they don't take up much space. It was kind of a different experience. Frisco seemed to enjoy the beach and got a good workout.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable day spent with good friends.

Created on 01/31/2008 06:20 PM by bridge
Updated on 02/29/2008 07:25 PM by bridge
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