Traveling with the Longdogs

Spring Break at Mustang Island

Final items were loaded into the RV on Monday morning and we headed out for Spring Break with the grandkids. We had two truckloads since there were three adults, two kids, and four dogs. Steve had to run by the Vet's to get Angus an allergy shot so he caught up to us when we stopped for lunch....hey, I didn't say we started at dawn. It was raining all day but when Spring Break rolls around and you have the kids for the week, you have to take what you can get and the weather was forecasted to improve for the rest of the week. We were on the road to Mustang Island just off Corpus Christi. The rain was just letting up when we arrived. I had reservations for two days so I headed in to the office to get our site number and tags. The lady was very nice and quickly got us all set up.

We left Helen at the office using the Internet...she still has to work you know and we pulled on down to our site. What???? There were at least 4 inches of water covering the site. Hmmm.....the front desk never mentioned this situation. A quick look around revealed that the few other empty sites as well as all of the full ones were in a similar situation. We told the kids they had to stay in the truck with the dogs. Steve and I rolled up our pants and put on our flipflops. I wasn't worried about getting stuck because the parking area is all asphalt.

I told Steve that our plan was going to include getting backed in and leaving my truck hooked up to the RV if it was level enough. We would put down the front legs on the RV and not worry about the back stabilizers since we would still be hooked up. Easy enough for a quick getaway and we had his truck to get around in. Once we checked out the electric with the Surge Guard and found that it was fine, we hooked up the power and the water, put out the slides and were all set up. We had the kids take off their shoes and socks and put on their flipflops too. The dogs got a walk on the dry pavement and then we ferried them all inside. Helen finished up with her Internet work and waded in as well. The dogs got ferried out once more before bedtime. It's a lot easier to ferry dachsies than it is a Staffordshire Terrier, it just takes more trips.

Fortunately, when we got up the next morning, the water had receded and the ground was just wet. After breakfast, the dogs settled in for a nap and the rest of us hopped in Steve's truck to head down the road to Port Aransas. As you can see, it was still very overcast but NOT raining. We dropped Helen off at the Coffee Waves shop....she had to work again and the Internet at the state park doesn't work in the campground and is pretty darn slow at the office. Fortunately, the coffee shop has blazing wifi and great coffee so she was very happy. We headed to the water and saw...dark spot in the middle of the water....our first dolphin.

Of course, that led to a ride on the vehicle ferry. Steve and the kids were amazed when they saw trucks pulling big 5th wheels and motorhomes loading onto the ferries too. We were first on so we had a great view although the vehicles were too close together to get out.

We saw several more dolphins as we made the short crossing. The ferries are not large but they have a number of them running, even more when traffic is heavy. And the ride is not long but there is always the possibility of seeing dolphins and the ferry is free. See the two dolphins?

Other wildlife hangs around the ferry docks too.

After crossing on the ferry, we drove the short distance to Aransas for a look around there. The kids and Steve were already hungry so we stopped at a little Mexican bakery for a snack. This is one of the very popular ginger pigs...sorry his front leg didn't make it until photo time.

We rode the ferry back again and checked out the park and marina near the ferry. Then we headed out to the pier and beach area.

This time we saw brown pelicans. As you can tell, it wasn't warm at least by Texas standards.

We saw some ships come through the channel on their way to the Corpus Christ harbor which is the 4th or 5th busiest in the nation.

We also saw several campers on the beach. I think there were about four or five here as it is very popular with fishermen. You can get a reasonably priced pass to boondock on the beach from the city RV park which is right behind the dunes. The RV park has hookups and is a little more protected from the gulf wind. The sand in this area is very firm and there is a sand road running along the beach with entrances through the sand dunes every so often. There are also some port-a-potties at intervals as well as trash cans.

About this time, we headed back for a late lunch. We walked the dogs and relaxed at the camper for a while before heading back to Port Aransas for more sightseeing and to pick up Helen. It is a nice little town, very popular with birders and fishermen as well as tourists in the summer. Lots of RV parks as well as the beach. The grandkids wanted to stop at one of the tourist beach shops to get a picture in their big shark. They have one taken in a shark from Florida too.

It was still pretty cool but a bit sunnier so we took Helen for a drive along the beach further down from the pier. This RV kind of parked himself in the roadway.

There were also tenters huddled up against the dunes. There were some people wading and even out further in the water but water temps in the 60s are a bit too cold for any but the winter Texans that flock down from the north.

The weather was no optimal but much better than the day before and we had a good time anyway.

A Golden Afternoon

An RVing friend was in town for a Rally and she found time to slip away from the rally and get together with me too. It was a short visit over a very long lunch at Gristmill in Gruene. We had a great visit.

It's always wonderful to see friends and even better when they are other women who love to RV as much as I do.

The visit was too short but I will be seeing her again in about a month. Safe travels my friend.

A Wild Ride

My son surprised me the other morning. He called and asked what I was doing and said we needed to head out together for the day. So off we went. He brought his dog Angus so I took Willy along as well.

We headed out around highway 46 towards Boerne, across I-10, and on to highway 16 north to Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of Texas. We stopped just long enough to get a coffee at the Dogleg Coffee House, appropriate right? It was too chilly to sit at the tables outside and Steve said we had a long way to go so we moved on north on 16 until we got to Medina. I thought the Apple House would be a good stop for lunch but Steve had an agenda.

We turned left on RR 337. Steve wanted to show me the route he and his Dad took on their motorcycles a couple of weeks ago. He kept saying how fantastic the road was and that he didn't know there were places like that so close to San Antonio. I told him that it was indeed a neat road as I had taken that route to get to Lost Maples State Park. He kept saying just wait. I love road trips so I was already enjoying every minute. The road has some great overlooks off into valleys, some really decent hills, and some great scenery. There are also some neat log cabins grouped around some small lakes on private property.

We got to Vanderpool which is where I had turned off in the past to head towards Lost Maples. We continued on RR 337 towards Leakey (pronounced Lake-y). This is where things really begin to get exciting. This is part of the Three Twisted Sisters (RR335, 336, and 337) ride of motorcycling fame. Once you get past Vanderpool, this is absolutely NOT a road for RVs....probably not even for the faint of heart in big cars. It twists and turns with switchback after switchback going uphill and downhill. It is beautiful, scenic, and exciting. Make sure you have great brakes and don't head out without a full tank of gas as stations are few and far between. I am so disappointed that I didn't get some great photos of this part of the road to include here....unfortunately it was very overcast and dark but it was still a great way to spend the day.

Whew! It was getting way past lunchtime once we finished this part of the ride so we stopped at the The Pen in Leakey. It is a motorcyclists favorite but there were no riders due to the time and temperature.

We were going to sit on the patio with the dogs hoping the building would block the icy wind but the manager said to come on in as there was only one other customer and he didn't care.

Angus is keeping a close eye on Steve while he is over at the counter ordering some brisket sandwiches for us.

Willy was equally observant. Of course, both of them know they aren't getting the people food but hope springs eternal. After a delicious lunch, we continued down the road.

We decided to head back towards San Antonio on Highway 83 rather than backtracking as it was already about 3:30PM. Just down the road, we spotted this sign. Garner is one of the most popular state parks in Texas even though it is a bit out of the way. I've never been there soooooo....of course, we had to stop for a tour.

It has on it's winter face but there would be lots of nice shade and it is a large park with several campgrounds. One of them had quite a few RVs while most of the others were empty. I'm sure that won't be the case next week when the first round of Spring Break hits Texas. In the summer, they have dances in a big pavilion that are very popular. These are screened shelters.

There are also quite a few nice looking cabins.

Swimming here is in the river and, even in the middle of the summer, it is quite chilly so a very refreshing dip. We saw a number of flyfishermen out enjoying the day.

Once we were a bit further down the road, the road was quite flat and the hills we just twisted our way through shrunk in the distance. There were fields with irrigation equipment ready to roll.

I had a wonderful day. The scenery was fantastic and, of course, so was the company. Thanks so much Steve for sharing the ride you loved. Angus and Willy both got in a lot of snooze time sharing the backseat but I know they really enjoyed the outing too.

The Big One....65

It seems like just moments ago that I had the "Magic" birthday, you know....the one where you can get your National Park Senior Pass that opens the door to the wonders of our national parks and....let the magic begin.

This year's birthday was the one that requires all the advance research and work. Your mailbox begins to overflow months and months in advance with all the advertisements for supplements for "Medicare". As the spouse of a retired member of the Air Force, any snafu's in applying and obtaining Medicare approval will result in the loss of one's Tricare benefits so that is a huge anchor hanging over your head until that card is obtained. On the other hand, getting Medicare also means that you go on Tricare for Life which sounds good but actually means that you probably won't get to continue seeing your regular military doctor who has been your primary care doctor for quite a while. Oh, and the really exciting part is that they disenroll you with your doctor at the beginning of the month rather than on your birthday so......those tests your doctor ordered the end of January....she won't be able to see you to interpret the results. And, last but not least, your cost for health insurance increases significantly. Intelligent arrangement right???

Then, you need to make sure you get the new driver's license. And, even though you just had to get a new military I.D. card three months ago, you have to make an appointment and get another one so that they can change something on the back of the card. Intelligent arrangement right???

So what is the upside here? Well, I am still alive and in pretty good health. I worked hard and made intelligent decisions while we were both working so we have decent retirement income. I already have a great RV and it is getting easier to let my DH know I am going RVing even if he doesn't want to go (he doesn't....and to ignore smart comments about sitting in a box while he sits in his comfy recliner.) LOL

Something also happens with the Texas Park pass too but it isn't anything like the magic that comes with the National Park Senior Pass. I'm going to have to check into that. I am so ready to go RVing.

In some ways, all the required preliminary events can make the actual birthday seem a little anticlimactic...unless, of course, you have a great son and daughter-in-law that throw you a birthday party with family and friends in attendance. Then it is great!

Nice birthday cake....very unique!

What? A second birthday cake! This is really a celebration.

Of course, there were the usual comments about candles standing for decades so that there won't be a house fire. LOL

And there were some other surprises as well.

The big surprise was a Microsoft Surface which is a tablet with unique computer features.

Some entertainment from the granddaughter.

All in all, it was a great birthday celebration......thanks again Steve, Helen, and Dave!

Enchanted In Wimberley

It was a beautiful day just begging for a road trip so Willie and I set off for Wimberley. I used the GPS and found a route that I hadn't taken before. always a plus. It routed me all the way through New Braunfels which could be taken as a minus but I wasn't in a hurry so enjoyed the sites there too. The other dachsies probably weren't thrilled that they were staying home but three dachsies out for lunch was a bit much. So Willie got to go, he's the oldest. Then there's the fact that he can get in more trouble than the other two but, no, can't consider that as it might be construed as rewarding bad behavior. lol

It was an enjoyable drive through country roads. Willie enjoyed it until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer....about 15 minutes. Once we arrived in Wimberley, we had an enjoyable walk around town. Willie keeps his eyes open for a petting opportunity. He's always up to meet new people.

Wimberley has lots of trees both natural and manmade. See the Texas bottle trees?

We decided on Ino'z for lunch.

They have a nice patio overlooking the creek where well behaved dogs are welcomed.

Lunch was great and very relaxing. Willie did a lot of people and bird watching.

Just up the street, there's a nature trail and preserve....nice to keep in mind for a people walk.

We enjoyed some art on our walk around town.

Hmmmm.....these are new. They weren't here the last time I came but that was a while ago. Wow, there are 30 of these huge painted cowboy boots around town with another 15 or 20 scheduled to be displayed this spring.