Sitting on the dock of the bay

Finally got some good weather here in Houston. Our rv park sits across the street from part of the waterway from the ocean to Houston area. About 5 miles from us, we cross a part of the bay on a ferry to a state park that is on the main waterway to Houston. They have benches that are located on the levy and you can sit and watch the ships come and go. We were talking about how you know that this happens but sitting there makes you really realize how much goes on in this country. We sat there for a while and enjoyed the nice day then toured the San Jacinto battlefield. Will be posting on that in a couple days. Our next sightseeing will be the Houston Space Center. We are going to wait until after the 1st and hopefully there will not be as many people there. We have been getting a lot of rain the past week and been cooped up. Had to stop walking, to much standing water. Looks like we are going to have some nice weather for a while. Pepper had a couple bad nights because of the thunder. When had has a bad night so do I. The next thing she won't like is New Years Eve. They sell fireworks here and even on Christmas night folks were shooting off fireworks and I mean big fireworks. Things that you would see at a fairground show. Have a safe and fun New Years.

Merry Christmas from Houston

Merry Christmas, we will be having Christmas in Houston. The weather has been cloudy and rainy. Yesterday we upgraded our aircard for internet access. I hope posting the blog will now be better. Here are a few pictures that I liked but didn't ever post. Driving thru Texas the speed limit was 80 mph and still saw the police with people pulled over. Damn, how fast do you need to drive if 80 mph is to slow? The buildings were taken in San Antonio. The down town area where the Alamo is has many interesting buildings. And the our truck picture was taken near Port Aransas on Mustang Island. We had another blow out with one of the trailer tires on our way to Houston. It didn't do any damage other than pulling some wiring loose. Trailer tires are a pain. We haven't been doing much the past couple weeks. Jackie got sick (flu) for a few days, then I caught it also but it only got my joints and put me down for a few days. Also the weather has been comfortable but rainy, so we have not got out and explored much. Right now we are having a thunder storm with rain, lighting and thunder. Pepper doesn't go crazy but not to happy with the thunder. She keeps walking around looking for a place to lay without the noise. Good luck dog. Hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Jackie and I are celebrating both in our rig.

Moved to Houston

We got to a small area 20 miles east of Houston called Highlands Tx. It is on the bay and the park is nice, big sites and a good dog run for Pepper. We are going to stay here thru the Holidays then on to New Orleans. Just before we left Corpus Christi a 1st cousin of mine Connie Dill (from my dad's side) came to Corpus Christi. She was there on business, she works for FEMA and they had a conference there. Her and Jackie have been in contact for several years working on the family tree. The interesting part is that we had never met. So when we met her at her hotel I said, "Long time no see". She cracked up and that made the visit a little easier to get going. I have 14 1st cousins on my dads side and when I was around 12-13 I met 2 of them. The rest I have never met. She lives north of Dallas, so when we get up to that area she will plan a get together so I can meet her brothers and sisters. After getting here near Houston we took a hour drive around the area of our rv park to get the lay of the land. We rode a ferry across part of the bay and found a battleship that you can tour and a monument for a battle field. It was to cold to tour them so we will visit them later. The weather has been cold in the am and cloudy with wind during the day. But the weather is suppose to get better. Going to go and look around Houston, it is a big city and was hard to pull the 5th wheel thru the other day. We enjoyed Aransas Pass and would go back there. Rv park rates are reasonable there, we paid $250 for the month and $70 for electricity. And we used the ac alot while we were there. At this park we now in it is $350 per month but a location and near a big city. Pepper is doing ok, she didn't like the other park because of the goat heads in the grass and dog run. Here the grass and dog run are dog friendly.

A few pictures

Sorry for the posting that have been posted lately. We are trying different things to correct the problem but not much luck. Anyway, we are still in Aransas Pass until the 11th of Dec. The picture on the right is the sad story of a fairy princess ravaged by age. ( I will get a kick for that). We are parked in an old trailer (mobile home) park. They have removed many and now use as an rv park. The sites are large. Not many rigs here now but it fills but between now and just after Christmas. We are heading to Houston for a while. Going to spend Christmas and New Years there. Then on to New Orleans and up into Mississippi to visit some of Jackies relatives. Weather has been cloudy and some rain. Still in the 70's and 80's but is going to cool down some. Have a cousin, from my dad's side whom I have not ever met coming to Corpus Christi on business. Looking foward to meeting her.

Port Aransas Texas

We are staying in Aransas Pass and 8 miles from where we are is Port Aransas. It is located on an island. From our end of the island you have to ride a free ferry to the island. It only takes 3 minutes to cross. On the other end of the island there is a bridge that connects Port Aransas to Corpus Christi. Port Aransas is mostly a

A few watering holes we visited

We have stumbled across several bars that have some sort of claim to fame. I know what you are thinking about all of these bars. Jackie is dragging poor Cliff into these places. Your right, I go just to keep peace in the family. Ferndale Palace Saloon is near Eureka Ca. It is in downtown Ferndale. The picture of Jackie and I was taken in the Buckhorn Bar in San Antonio (google it, lots of history) it was opened in the late 1880

The USS Lexington

Yesterday we toured the Lexington. It is docked in Corpus Christi and can be toured daily. It is a self guided tour but there are volunteers through out the ship to answer questions. It could be an all day tour it you read every thing they have for viewing. There are 5 different areas that you can go to. When we went to the bridge (the picture with the man sitting) we were surprised how small it was. When you watch movies they always seem big. Found out one thing, you can't be fat and hate stairs. Up and down, up and down and the stairs are almost straight up. And if you are overweight some of the areas are a little tight. All in all it was a very interesting day. We have been having mixed weather. Sunny and humid one day then cloudy and humid the next. Have to admit I don't like that humidity. Today the breeze is keeping it comfortable. But it has been between 70 and 80 during the day and maybe 60 at night. Not to bad. The snowbirds are starting to come in so the weather must be ready to change. Went to the store today and we were laughing at some of the things they have that you won't find back on the west coast. Frozen dept. had turkey necks, turkey drumsticks, turkey gizzards and a area with pig heads. The whole damn head, skinned and frozen. Not sure what they do with them but they had a dozen or so of them.

Aransas Pass Texas

We are in Aransas Pass Tx. It is about 18 miles east of Corpus Christi. It is a small town with several ocean accesses and fishing piers. 8 miles west of us is Rockport and they have a frontage rd that passes along between town and the ocean. There are lots of restaurants and shops. We stopped by a boat ramp and boat storage area and watched the shrimp boat come in. Drinking a beer and some chips was a bonus.

The smaller shrimp were used for bait while the larger he sold for eating. $6.00 per pound but you clean. You can get cleaned for $8.00. We are going to a place Tuesday called the Big Fisherman for dinner. On Tues. they have all you can eat chicken fried steak, gizzards and fried livers with mashed potaotes and cole slaw. You won't believe the cost. $2.25 per person. We went into the place and it is a real nice restaurant

Visit to the Alamo

Went to the Alamo and Riverwalk in San Antonio. Both are located down town and just a few blocks from each other. Enjoyed the tour. There is an outdoor area with gardens and paths around the Alamo. We then went to the riverwalk. It is below street level, you go down stairs and walk along sidewalks that border both sides of the "river". Part of the river has dirt bottom but for flood control reason some had been concreted and flood gate installed. We took the boat tour which lasted about a half an hour. The tour explained the development of the riverwalk and the history of some of the buildings along it. The walk is mostly restaurants and hotels not much else. But is was very nice. We are leaving tomorrow for Corpus Christi area. Plan on spending some time there. Just kick back on enjoy the coast.

Arizona to San Antonio

Sorry that we haven't been able to post on the blog. Where we were located it would drop the signal or whatever and I would not be able to finish. From now on if we are in such a spot I will just write something if I can but if you don't find a post don't give up on us. If I ever decide to stop posting I will put something on here. Now to bring us up to date. We spent 9 days in Yuma and while we were there Jackie's cousin and her husband came for a visit. (Brenda and Randy). We had a great time with them. We then moved to Benson Az and spent 2 nites there. Then began the long haul to San Antonio. Holy crap! There is a bunch on Texas to drive thru to get here. Trip went well, just tired of driving. We spent a night in Las Cruces NM and a nite in Fort Stockton Tx. The picture of the arrow in the ground is at the rv park in Fort Stockton. The picture of the houses is the mexico side of El Paso. El Paso is huge, there are 800.000 people living there. I found a strange interest in the landscape and hills of Texas. Don't know why! We will be in San Antonio for a week. Going to the Alamo and Riverwalk for sure. Not much else planned yet. Learning the local Texas lingo. How are you in Texan is apparently " Como esta ya'll"