HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!!

Yesterday was a rest day after scampering all over the Lexington on Wednesday. Today is Judy's birthday!! Steve and I made breakfast outside, scrambled eggs and bacon. Steve started it and I just assisted. As we were making breakfast Judy spotted a large flock of Whooping Cranes circling overhead. It was pretty, black and white flashing above us, we were told they were due back. After breakfast we said so long to Steve & Susy as they are departing for Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley. They wanted to check the area out before Steve returns to work in 2 weeks.

Judy and I went to the Texas Maritime Museum here in Rockport. It had displays on the fishing and oil industry plus a French explorer, LaSalle, who tried to establish a colony here on the Texas coast. He lost all four of his ships and then his luck really turned bad when his remaining crewmen killed him. One of his ships was sunk here and it's artifacts were recovered.

I rested this afternoon when Judy went to the pool for her water aerobics. When she returned we went to Charlotte Plumbers for her birthday supper. Shrimp of course. When we returned home it was time for cake & ice cream. Sorry Jody, doubt there will be any left after tomorrow. It's a big birthday as she now is collecting after decades of investing in social security. Mom appreciated your calls, Randy, Jody & Devyn!!

USS Lexington in Corpus Cristi, TX

We left this morning about 10am and drove to Corpus Cristi to spend the day on the USS Lexington. It had rained much of the night and the rain continued in the morning. It was quite hot and humid but the day on the WWII aircraft carrier was great. If the US sailors killed on the Lexington could return to see the tram taking visitors between the ship and parking being pulled by a Kawasaki, WWII wouldn't be over. With my truck getting 10.5 MPG towing, the Lexington made me feel better, it carried 1.5 million gallons of fuel and travelled 1 mile on 400 gallons. On the way back we drove through the downtown Corpus Cristi and along the waterfront. The return trip took us on Mustang Island (past Pioneer RV Park where Don & Zola have stayed) and across a narrow channel on the free ferry back to Aransas Pass and the mainland. We stopped in Rockport and had a good Mexican supper. Well the debate is wrapping up. Obama is a very good speaker & debater. McCain is not as polished and doesn't present himself as well BUT I agree with McCain's plans more than Obamas. The lesser of two political evils. Let's not get me started on Congress.

Exploring Rockport

This am Judy and Susy did the Curves thing then a little grocery shopping. This afternoon we went out to explore the area along the coast. Stopped for a good pizza for supper. Another HOT & MUGGY day. Rain this evening.

Rockport, TX

CRS......what did we do this weekend? Guess I'll take a stab at it. Relax. We decided we'd fore go the crowds and big city so we didn't go to San Antonio River Walk or the Alamo. We did drive to New Braunfels so Steve could get a Verizon air card for their laptops. Ate at the DQ, not bad, GREAT blizzard. Sunday Judy & Susy went to church. Susy made a real good bean, rice & ham supper! Monday we moved to Rockport, 190 miles. We were both looking forward to this as we really enjoy being near the water. We arrived about 2pm and set up home. I though MI had mosquitoes, HA HA, TX has as many and we fed them very well. We fixed some breaded stuffed chicken, mashed taters and corn for all of us for supper. Man, it's hot & humid down here, high 70s all night, I hope it cools off soon and rains. Yea, I know, I'd complain if I was hung with a new rope. The stock market had an interesting ride last week huh? I liked Mondays trip UP much better.

Meet new friends

Today Stan & Connie Browning (old mustang 66) who are staying at a CG 4 miles down the road came over. Steve & Susy joined us are we started talking about RVing and HitchHikers. After a beer we went to Gruene and had a nice lunch at The Gristmill. We returned on River Road which follows the Guadalupe River. The restaurant was next to Gruene's Hall, the oldest dance hall left in Texas. I sure hope they don't smoke in there, one match and poof. We couldn't go inside as it was closed in preparation for a wine festival. This is a touristy type place and the festival starts tonight and continues this week end. We returned to our campsite and sat in the shade the rest of the day until well after dark resolving the current US and world financial crisis, our incompetent Congress, and many other difficult matters. The beeritas helped us clearly see the way to resolve these issues.

Canyon Lake, TX

Yesterday Judy & Susy went to Curves, did the laundry & visited a wildflower farm. Steve and I stayed home. In the afternoon we all went to a nice Mexican resturant for a nice meal, and some Tacate. Unfortunatly either Judy's meal or her margaurita didn't agree with her.

Today we made the 79 mile trip to Canyon Lake arriving about noon. It was an exhausting day!! We stayed put this afternoon and took a couple pictures of our units and the Guadalupe River. It was a sunny and low 80s day. You can work up a sweat setting up camp but the A/C is nice when we come inside. This time of the year is great, only 11 RVs in the park so it's nice & quiet.

LBJ Ranch

Today we visited the LBJ Ranch which was just opened to the public in August. We saw the one room school house where LBJ went to school, starting at age 4. Then we checked out the reconstructed home he was born and lived in as a child. The replica is where the original sat. We also saw his grandparents home and then the ranch he purchased from an aunt in 1951 that became the Western White House. The small Johnson cemetery is also on the same road; all the sites are within 2 or 3 miles. The ranch house is not "elegant", just a nice large home with several additions. We also watched a video, the only room you are allowed into is his west wing office. They threw some BIG parties there, the coolers were as bigger as the grocery store coolers I used when I worked at Gruber's Food Store. We saw the front yard where he threw all his parties and held many many meetings under a 400 year old oak tree as he liked to work outside. The pecans are falling from the trees so we all ate several that fell from the trees by the cemetery. After the tour we had a real good BBQ lunch & tonight we watched the presidential debate. LBJ was a politician, in the video he said he walked 4 miles to school, the school is MAYBE one mile from his childhood home. He stated more than once how important his home in TX was to him growing up. We were told his two daughters didn't know he gave THEIR childhood home to the public until after he died; and they were upset. Mom would have liked this, huh Bev?