Getting Ready for our Departure

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 74, Low 66)

It has been a gorgeous day, and a wonderful end to a great month.

Harry spent some time outside getting the grill and our other outside articles put away.

 

 

Our site is bare and all ready for us to hook up and pull out in the morning.

 

 

 

 

It really has just been a wonderful month. Without question, this has been our favorite stop of the winter.

 

 

 

We have loved the wide open streets, where we have been able to do our daily runs and walks.

 

 

We really enjoyed the proximity to the beach. We liked that we could walk right over and take a stroll on the wonderful powdery sand.

 

The weather has been very pleasant. For the first time ever in the month of March, we have been able to enjoy a few dips in the hot tub and pool.

 

It’s hard to say anything other than that it has just been a really nice month. We had planned to check out the bird sanctuary and a couple other nature preserves in the area, but in the end, sunshine and relaxation won out over traveling around to see many sights. We did take the ferry over to Aransas Pass several times, which was fun. And we saw dolphins!

I have our route home all planned. I’ve been watching the weather and a couple days ago made a small change in our timing to hopefully avoid the system that will be making it’s way through the center of the country later this week. Tomorrow we are traveling about 200 miles to our first stop in New Braunfels, TX where we will be staying put until Friday.

So long from Port Aransas!

Checking In

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 68, Low 58)

We are down to our last week here at Gulf Waters. Over the past few days I started reviewing the route that we plan to take home. We are planning to head up through Texas past Dallas and then up into Arkansas, which will be our last new state for this trip. We’re not going to be traveling every day, but we’re not spending a lot of time on the trip either. Somewhere in the middle. We plan to take roughly two weeks to travel from here to our home base in Catskill. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will have a nice stretch of clear skies for the trip.

I have been watching the weather in Catskill as well, and it is heading in the right direction. By mid-week, the temps will be climbing into the 50s, and I am rooting for 60s to be in place by the time we get there next month!  Whether or not it is warmer by then though, I am excited to get home and am happy to put up with some cooler weather in the process.

Today we went over to Aransas Pass to do a little grocery shopping and stop out for a bite to eat. There were several dolphins frolicking out in the water when we were sitting on the ferry, and I even managed to get a faraway picture of one (see above picture).

 

 

Unfortunately it was another dreary day, and cool, (only 55 degrees today) so we weren’t able to eat in the outside area next to the water.

 

 

 

There were a number of pelicans on the dock, and I enjoyed watching them diving into the water to catch a fish for their dinner.

 

We are expecting a return of the sunshine later this week, and it will be nice to see some more of that blue sky.

This ‘n’ That

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 70, Low 60)

 

We really have had a low-key, quiet almost three weeks in Port Aransas, and we have been loving it.

 

 

 

Spring break ended up being mostly a non-issue. We went in to town one day during the week and it was a little busy, people all over and police directing traffic at the beach access roads.

 

But the beach itself, especially down toward where we are staying, was pretty quiet all throughout the week. There were stories on the evening news about the effect of the cooler weather on spring break. It sounds like the restaurants and other local businesses were really noticing the lower numbers of people this year.

On Monday morning Harry and I went over on the ferry to Aransas Pass to meet some Heartland owners (AKA Heartland Winter Texans) for breakfast. We both had great meals and enjoyed hanging out chatting for a while.

 

Then we got our grocery shopping done before taking the ferry back to Port Aransas. I saw a dolphin swimming out in the ocean as we were crossing a bridge. That was very cool. Too far away for pictures unfortunately.

 

Even though we really haven’t gone anywhere or done anything, we have so enjoyed our time here so far. Even the days that have been cloudy have been warm, which has been a welcome change from the weather we’ve had for much of the winter. We’ve been just enjoying being able to be outside – going for daily runs and walks, and grilling dinner outside more often than not.

 

We only have 12 days left before we leave here and start the trip back to NY. I am getting excited to head for the mountains of home and to see family and friends, and so I both want the days to go by quickly and don’t want them to – at the same time.

And More of the Same!

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 69, Low 58)

Thought I should do a little update, even though there really hasn’t been any excitement going on around here. We have been spending our time relaxing at home.

 

Every day we’ve been able to go for our daily run, and most days we’ve gone over to take a walk on the beach.

 

 

 

 

We even made it into the hot tub – twice!

 

 

This has easily been the nicest weather that we’ve enjoyed all winter, and we’re loving it!!

 

We have just a little over two weeks left here before we leave to start heading north, so we plan on soaking in as much warmth and sunshine as we can – while we can!!

Hangin’ and Plannin’

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 63, Low 57)

Since my last blog post, it’s been another few days of more of the same, weather wise. Saturday and Sunday especially were pretty cold, windy and rainy. We barely stepped out of the rig. It was just too raw even to get out for a walk.

I did a little comfort food cooking…made some macaroni & cheese and a pot of spaghetti sauce. We spent some time watching some of our dvr’d programs, and I managed to find another new one that I like – Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares.

Yesterday I was very excited when my new Garmin GPS watch arrived in the mail! I’ve been going by Harry’s since last summer, and driving him crazy asking him all the time what our distance is on our runs.

Our training is going well. Today we did our first five mile run. I feel like I’m getting pretty close to where I was last August when I did the half marathon. I’ve lost about 8 pounds since the beginning of January, for a total of 31 since October 2012. Nineteen more pounds to go!

This picture cracked me up. Harry was doing some leg stretches and I guess Ariel thought it looked like a good idea, because she got right down on the floor and started stretching away. haha

In terms of planning, believe it or not, we now have most of next winter all planned. Of course, we’re going to be in Campbellsville, KY until around the end of December. For the month of January, we have reserved a spot in Grassy Key RV Park in Marathon, FL. We love the Keys and are really looking forward to this stay next year. We haven’t been there since June 1st, 2009 when we were married in Key West on the first stop of a Caribbean cruise. For February and March, we called this week, and have reserved a spot in Avon Park, FL at Adelaide Shores RV Resort. We’ve read about this rv park many times in Dee and Jim’s blog Tumbleweed, and are really excited about this stay as well. Not only will we be in the same park, but we’re going to be neighbors!

 

And getting back to the present time…we have three weeks left here in Port Aransas, and we are hoping that the weather is finally making a turn toward some nice spring weather. We are very ready.

A Wonderfully Relaxing Day

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 66, Low 58)

Today was pretty much a perfect day. Didn’t do too much, but it was a great day.

We started out by sleeping in until almost 8 o’clock. After breakfast and a look at the morning news, we went out for our run. There was no wind, and the temps were in the low 60s.

We decided to stick with the campground roads for our run today, since we had found the beach picturesque but a bit difficult to run on. Much better. Then we came back to enjoy the sunshine and the view from our site.

 

It was finally warm today, and we loved it! Shorts days have been few and far between this winter.

 

 

 

Harry cooked chicken on the grill, with some veggies that I chopped up and wrapped in foil. Yum.

 

 

 

Later on we went for a walk on the beach. This heron let me get pretty close and posed for some pictures.

 

 

Our part of the beach was still pretty quiet. But as we walked along, we came upon a part of the beach where the beginning of spring break was pretty evident, with lots of cars, trucks, and other types of beachgoers hanging out. There was loud music blaring out of various vehicles as we passed them.

Neither Harry nor I are boondockers and we don’t mind being around people, but still, I couldn’t help reflecting on the difference between the sound of ocean waters and bird calls vs. rock music/country music/revving vehicles and tons of people screaming and yelling. It was pretty striking.

 

We were happy to get back to the peace and quiet of our beautiful spot.

A Nice Day to Get Out and About

Location: Port Aransas, TX (High 61, Low 53)

Finally, after three cold, windy, rainy days, today we had a nice sunny day to emerge from our fiver and take in some fresh air. We started out by going over to the beach for our morning run.

 

I found running on the beach to be a little challenging. Although the sand is pretty well packed down, it’s still very different from running on pavement. I would like to try it again when there isn’t a cold north wind blowing in our faces so we can see what kind of a difference that makes.

After coming back from our run and showering, we headed out to take a drive to Aransas Pass. This was our first time taking the ferry between Port Aransas and Aransas Pass. The ferries are relatively small, but there are so many of them there is very little wait.

 

Both going and coming we were right in the front of our row, which was very cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ferry ride was maybe ten minutes, tops. I kept my eyes peeled for dolphins, but didn’t see any.

 

Then it was just a short drive of about seven miles to Aransas Pass.

 

 

 

Our first destination was a restaurant called the Butter Churn. Yum. They had a great (and reasonably priced) lunch buffet that we really enjoyed. Fried chicken, all kinds of salad fixings, mashed potatoes with gravy, mac n cheese, and a huge variety of veggies, just to mention some of the items we enjoyed. And cherry cobbler for dessert.

 

Once sufficiently fortified, we headed to the Walmart to do some grocery shopping. We didn’t realize when we made plans to come here for the month of March that this area is a big destination spot for spring break. It’s even on the town calendar, and it’s next week.

 

We’ve been told that the week will be crazy, with traffic galore and everything packed. So we stocked up on enough food today so that we can pretty much stay put next week.

 

The really great thing about this place is the convenient access to the beach and our wonderful outside living area, which we are able to enjoy without having to even drive anywhere. So we are just hoping for a week of great weather where we will be able to relax outside and enjoy.