For our last night in San Antonio we decided to go back down to the Riverwalk to check out the Christmas lights, since we were with 300,000 of our closest friends during the parade we didn't see a lot of things. We took the same exit into downtown as the parade night, traffic was all tied up again. There was a Spurs game, we just thought the congestion was due to that. Wrong, there were crowds of people doing the same thing we were. Kids had congregated in Alamo Square, so many of them in fact we had to "squeeeeze' through them. When we finally made it down to the Riverwalk the crowds weren't quite as bad. Fighting the traffic and crowds were worth it, it was really beautiful. Of course we needed a beverage, we'd decided to go back to County Line BBQ and got a primo spot right on the river. The river boats were speeding through, I suppose because of the number of people taking rides. The ducks really had to scatter. We were seated across the river from Dick's Last Resort, the place that made you wear rude hats. The captains of the boats have running commentary all along the ride, they kept making remarks about the hospital located there was the first air conditioned hospital in the US, we thought that the hospital was no longer there. It is still an operating hospital and the only one in the world with a bar in the basement. Now that makes sense, you can go downstairs and relax while your loved one is having surgery.
Sunday, Dec. 1st We left Braunig Lake RV park for Rockport about 10:00, we took secondary roads all the way, giving us a feel for the rural life in southern Texas. As we were leaving the small town of Goliad we spotted a mission, at the last minute we decided to stop. The coach corners real well on two wheels! Mission Espiritu Santo was established in1754 to civilize Indians and Christianize them to change them from cannibalism. I'd never heard some of our Native
Americans were cannibals. They stayed a while, then mission them turned to farming. At one time they had over 3000 head of cattle. We pulled into Bayview RV park in the afternoon, there's no view but it does have a couple of lakes that used to have alligators. The park it quite large, over 250 large spaces with mature live oak trees everywhere. The park itself is a little "long in the tooth", needs a bit of work but is nice and quiet, no trains, no traffic and very few airplanes as opposed to Fort Sam, we were on the flight path to the international airport. We got to drive around to pick our space, Gary asked around about satellite reception, before picking our new home.
Monday, Dec. 2nd A stop at the visitor center is always the first thing we like to do when we arrive in a new town. The gal there was very helpful, we left with a lot of brochures about the area. Also finding a doggie day care is a must. After a delish lunch at Apple Dumpling Deli we checked out local parks for fenced dog areas. Memorial Park is a lovely park, we did some walking and picked up some geo caches. We came home and watched the Seahawks kick the Saints fanny. Go Seahawks!
Tuesday Dec. 3rd. Today is the third month anniversary of full-time RVing. Neither one of us are ready to go back home. The park has a nice activity hall, I visited the "Stitch and Bitch" knitting and crocheting group in the morning. I'm working on a scarf that is way above my skill level. While I was there Gary rode 16 miles. Later in the afternoon we went to the Maritime Museum. The gal I was sitting next to at the Riverwalk parade recommended we visit the Moon Dog restaurant, so of course we had to go. There were two barstools that had tractor seats and the back had curvaceous hips and legs. We had to have our picture taken, I asked "does this stool make my butt look big", no one answered "its not the stool" .The picture was taken with the camera phone so I can't put it on my blog but Gary posted it on Facebook. Anyway the restaurant was a fun place, we had a snack and adult beverage. The community was holding a free fish fry for winter Texans, so we decided "why not", let me tell you why. The hall seats 400, all seats were full with a line about 100 feet long. We went back to Moon Dog for dinner, met some fellow Oregonians also staying at Bayview.
Wed. Dec. 4th Took Luci to the dog park to let her run, unfortunately there weren't any other dogs to play with. Later we walked around the park, I have never seen to many turtles in one spot, probably over 100 in one pond. At 4:00 we went to the activity hall for happy hour, met a lot of nice people, the majority of them were from Wisconsin and Michigan, afterward dinner was served. The weather has really been nice, soon to change the weatherman says.
Thursday, Dec. 5th I woke up with a pesky cold. Dang! I'd noticed a Snap Fitness in town earlier in the week, so I went to work out in spite of feeling crummy. This is the first one I've been to since Spokane in September. The weather has started to change, it dropped 10 degrees in an hour by evening it had gone from the 70's to under 40 with wind. Canada can keep their Artic fronts up there.
Friday, Dec. 6th Still cold, woke up to low 30's with wind. Poor Gary has to walk Luci several times a day while I stay huddled inside. We had several errands to run so we took Luci to day care to ease her cabin fever and spare is from her hyperactivity. She always comes home very tired. Aransas Pass is another small town about 15 miles from here. After taking care of our business we had lunch at Redfish Willies, a cute establishment on the bay. Food and service were good, we want to go back in warm weather, they have large garage type doors that open. There is a small aquarium in Rockport that has free admission so we went there when we got back, the fish are all indigenous to the bay and Gulf of Mexico except for "Marley" the moray eel from the Pacific. Picked up a tired Luci and made it home in time for happy hour at the club house.
Sat. Dec. 7th It is still cold, 34 degrees with wind. We laid low in the morning, we had bought tickets to the Historic Homes Tour so we braved the weather. Glad we did, the five houses and two historic venues were worth it. One of the houses was a Louisiana style cottage. restored but kept original including much of the furniture. It is supposed to "float" but I never figured out what that meant, the pool in back wasn't original. Another was a B & B, would be fun to stay there. The houses were built in 1870 to the newest in 1949. The docents in each house were dressed in period clothing. The last one we saw was right on the bay, just " weekender." The drive is oyster shells, some were new but not so fresh. I would never have thought this but I just love Texas, especially south Texas. Who Knew?
TTFN Gary and Pam
PS If you'd like to send us mail the old fashioned by our forwarding address is 1115 Madison St. NE PMB 829 Salem, 97301
Photos top to bottom: The mission; sanctuary; trying to keep warm (just a one dog night) the B & B on the tour; Louisiana style cottage; their pool and the view from the week-end cottage.
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