There's One Born Every Minute

After five years, we finally had to buy a new printer this week.  My old HP went berserk.  The ink cartridges just kept slamming from one side to the other, without stopping to print.  Luckily WalMart had just what we were looking for - cheap printer, with cheap ink cartridges.  Now we're back in business and can mail these posts back home to Mom & Dad.

Thursday was "puzzle day" for us.  Mark and Pam and I started a 1000 piece puzzle early Thursday morning, and continued to work on it all day long.  Dennis joined in during the afternoon while I was busy doing "craft" stuff with the two Lindas. 

We took Pam and Dennis to Incredible Pizza for dinner.  We ate enough to feed four large families, but it sure was good.  We got back to the park in time to get the puzzle finished by 8:00pm.  We were kind of selfish, where other RVers couldn't get around the table to help.  We've let them all work on the new one in progress.

Friday we headed to Corpus Christi for the day.  Pam and Dennis had never been to see the Lexington, the aircraft carrier museum in Corpus. 

It was a beautiful day while we spent 2 hours touring the big boat.  And yes, the guys got us to get in one more crazy picture:

By the time we left the Lexington, we were all starving.  We were going to stop at the first restaurant we came to.  Lucky for us, it was a fabulous place called Blackbeards. 

A sucker once again.

It was right on the beach, and the parking lot was full at 2:30 in the afternoon - always a good sign.  Pam, Mark, and I all ordered the fried clam basket with fries, while Big Dennis ordered the fried fish (tilapia).  The guys also each ordered one fish taco as we were always curious about them.  They were so good, that Mark ordered them both another one.  Needless to say, we were not going to each dinner last night.  After being in the Dennis' truck all day, we lounged in the hot tub and skipped the bingo. 

Today Mark took the 5th wheel hitch out of the back of the truck.  When we arrived here in January, we noticed that one of the hitch release rods was bent.  Since "Jerry the welder" is not here to repair, Mark and Dennis headed to the RV dealer at the other end of town.  They are going to call the manufacturer on Monday to see if we can get just the new piece. 

It's 75 and sunny so we've spent most of the day outside.  Pam is cooking dinner for us tonight so I don't have to think about dinner.  Woohoo!

Say It Aint Snow

After being in the car all day Saturday in Galveston, we just hung out in the park on Sunday.  The weather girl predicted a crappy day, but thankfully she was mistaken.  It was a perfect day.  The sun came out around noon and it got to 75.  We played volleyball in the pool for quite a while before ice cream and Joker.  Men won 2; women won 1.

Monday we golfed with Wray, John, and Maurice.  The guys all wore shorts, while I wore my new nylon pants where the legs can be unzipped to become shorts.  It was way too cold for me to unzip them; I didn't even take off the windshirt.  We didn't even tee off until almost 10:30.  After golf we headed to the Buffalo Wings joint for beer and wings.

We got back in time to join in one last happy hour with the North Dakotans.  Note that Mark is the only one wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt- the rest of us were bundled up.

Monty modeled his "Butt Head" hat that a friend had made him.  I suspect we'll be trying to replicate this for some of our friends back home.

We said goodbye to Monty and Marlene yesterday; the rest of their clan is leaving in the next few days.  They are all headed up to the Hill Country northwest of San Antonio.  The forecast for that area tomorrow is 3" of snow.

What strange weather we are having.  Snow flurries for here, but 70 degrees on Thursday.

Today we took Pam and Dennis to the Mexican Buffet and hit WalMart, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Sam's.  That killed the afternoon.

Joker tonight:  women won 2; men won 1.

Galveston Oh Galveston

When I last blogged, Mark and Dennis were changing out the mount for the TV.  I managed to get a few pics just before Pam and I left for the Buffalo Wings restaurant for ladie's lunch. 

Big Dennis taking apart the fireplace.  He had done the same to his Dad's so he knew what he was doing.

It was at this point that I left. 

After a delicious lunch of wings and fries, Pam and I headed back to see what my trailer now looked like.  The boys had been busy.  Not only did they get the fireplace back, the TV re-mounted, they also rearranged all the furniture as well as the kitchen table!  It all looks fabulous.

The end result - the wires are all hidden.

Yesterday the four of us got into Dennis' truck and we headed to Galveston for the day.  Once we got to the island, the sun came out (for a very short time) and the fog lifted so we were able to see the Gulf. 

Pam and Dennis enjoying the sunshine.

While driving along the coast, we kept seeing Christmas trees staked to the sand.  I finally researched this morning to see what it was.  We all assumed it was to build sand dunes, since Hurricane Ike took most of the sand away.  We were all correct.  My reseach says, "For more than two decades, volunteers have staked down Christmas trees in a long horizontal line, trunk to trunk and crown to crown. After a few weeks, blown sand collects around the trees, anchoring them to the area and beginning the sand dune process. It's a fairly common practice along American coastlines." 

After driving around a while, we finally parked near The Strand (like Soulard in St. Louis, Beale Street in Memphis) in search of food.  We settled on Yaga's.  We all ordered the coconut shrimp that came with stir fried veggies and rice.  It was fabulous.  Afterwards we wandered to the Nestle store for a few cookies.

Our next stop was the Offshore Energy Oil Rig Museum.  The guys hooked us in for this:

It just doesn't look like we are ready for the oil rig life!

The day trip ended with a long drive back to the RV park and a late dinner followed by an evening of Winter Olympics.

Modifications Etc.

Tuesday my sister and her husband (Pam & Dennis) showed up for a two-week visit so we've been kinda busy, and forgot to update.  They are parked on the spot right next to us.  Even though the park is not that big, and we could all use the exercise, it's still handy just walking 15 feet to visit.

Dennis & Pam's trailer

The four of us got in the pool and hot tub.  It's a lot more fun playing volleyball with four instead of just me and Mark.  That evening I had dinner for them while we caught up on what's been going on.  They had just come from Mardi Gras in New Orleans and we were anxious to hear about that.  I'm pretty sure I never want to go back to New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

Yesterday Mark and I were going to golf but when he came back from the clubhouse for his coffee, he let me know that I had been cut out of the golf for the day.  That was fine with me.  It was a gorgeous day and I stayed outside and read my book for at least 3 hours. 

Two of the guys Mark golfed with are here in the park with several of their friends.  They gather nightly (weather permitting) at 4:30p for Happy Hour.  We have participated numerous times, and brought Pam and Dennis with us yesterday.  Someone brought shrimp scampi and a cheese ball.  A good time was had by all, even if we had to listen to Olie and Sven jokes from the North Dakotans. 

After teaching Pam and Dennis how to play Joker last night, we headed back to the trailers.  It was a good night to watch the Olympics.  Those snowboarders and downhill skiers are a breed of their own.  Go U.S.A.!

Today Pam and I will go to the Ladies lunch (Buffalo Hot Wings and a visit to the cupcake joint) while Mark and Dennis putz around the RVs.  We are going to once again, put a different TV mount in the trailer. 

Mark and Dennis taking down the TV.

We got in one lap this morning, but it took 1/2 hour.  Too many people out wanting to talk.  Once back around to our trailer, the favorite dog in the park, Bart, a 150 lb. Great Dane, came by with his owners, Mike and Ann from St. Clair, MO.  Turns out they and Dennis know lots of the same people.

Bart always rides in the truck with his big head sticking out the moon roof.  His owners tell us that once they get to 70mph, he moves back inside.

There's Nothing Like A First Kiss

Warm weather at last.  Saturday it finally started to warm up so we didn't have to wear heavy jackets.  We didn't really do much - Mark waxed the front of the trailer after we stuffed ourselves at the Incredible Pizza joint.  Since we ate so much for lunch, I made a small batch of chicken noodle soup.  We had been trying to dry out the inside of the trailer - it's so humid here.  With the furnace running, and we're in such close quarters, just making a pot of coffee steams up the windows.  We had all the windows open so I opted to make the soup outside in the electric skillet.  (Still using the one Mom gave me last year.)  I had lots of curious RVers stopping by to see what I was cooking outside.

After a couple of games of Joker (men once again beat us twice), it was back to the trailer to watch some of the Olympics.  We were just in time to see Apollo Ono win the silver.  I can't believe how fast they skate in that little circle.  I'd never make it around once.

Happy Valentines to all.  The park owners hosted a Valentine's Day breakfast this morning but we opted to go out.  I really wanted I-Hop.  After much abuse from all of our friends, we headed out this morning.  Unfortunately we talked too long with the guy across the street, and by the time we arrived, there was a bus full of University of TX - San Antonio soccer team girls going inside.  We went next door to the Denny's.  I really had my heart set on stuffed french toast.  After waiting about 15 minutes, we finally got seated and ordered.  I ordered the French Toast Slam.  15 minutes later I saw our waitress going around to all the tables in our area of the dining room telling everyone that the waffle irons weren't working (?) and neither were the griddles, so no waffles or pancakes were being served.  This is insane.  How can a breakfast establishment not have waffles or pancakes.  20 minutes later we got our breakfast, along with a coupon from our waitress for one free entree.  That made it better, but I still didn't get my waffle. 

The weather was fabulous so we decided to golf since the weather is supposed to cool down for the next several days.  Wray picked us up and the three of us headed to Colony Creek Country Club.  A good time was had by all, even though we were less than pleased with the cost of a Sunday round.

After the ice cream social tonight, the park hosted a "Newlywed Game" for the residents of the park.  Mark volunteered us to be a team.  You think you know all about your life partner until someone asks you specific questions! I'm happy to report that we came in 2nd place so we must have been paying a little attention to each other over the years.(Mark remembered that first kiss even if I couldn't quite remember if it was our second or third date!)  For this we won a box of chocolate and a candle.  Woohoo! 

Shopping For Nothing

It's Thursday at 5:55pm.  I wish I could say that we were getting ready to sit down for dinner.  I lit the pilot light on the oven an hour ago, mixed together my meatloaf, and shoved it in the oven.  After 30 minutes, I got up to start cooking the mashed potatoes.  This is when I discovered that I failed to turn on the darn oven!  I've now turned it on, split the meatloaf into two smaller ones, and have started all over again.  Fortunately we're not meeting to play Joker or Canasta until 7:00 tonight.

Yesterday we headed up to Houston to the RV show.  The show was held at the Reliant Center where the Houston Texans play football.  This is right next to the infamous Houston Superdome.  

The old Superdome just doesn't look very super next to the newer Reliant Center.

After spending 3 1/2 hours at the show, we decided there was no trailer there that we would ever consider trading ours in for.  (Except for that $540,000 Essex!)

We did find one really cool contraption - it was part tent, part kitchen fly, and part awning.  It had an air-conditioner as well as a port-a-potty.  This would have been perfect 35 years ago when we used to go on float trips and camp.

After we just couldn't walk or climb up stairs any longer, we headed back to Victoria.  We had sleet along the way, but fortunately it only last a couple of minutes.  We were so tired, we were sleeping by 9:00pm.

It was raining this morning when I woke up at 6:30a, and it hasn't stopped all day. We had to go out to get propane, groceries, and a stop at the post office.  Fortunately PGA golf was on all day. 

Decorating The Dip

The internet was down yesterday for most of the day (plus we were golfing) so we didn't get to post last night.

Saturday night was "Movie" night in the clubhouse.  The owner, who lives upstairs with his family, brought down his big screen TV and showed The Proposal with Sandra Bullock.  Popcorn and soda were provided, and a good time was had by all.

Sunday morning I headed out to find the Houston Chronicle, so we could catch up on worldly news.  The local paper never covers national or world news, only Texas.  While I was doing this, Mark was making his infamous braunschweiger ball for the Super Bowl party later that evening. 

The ball was a huge hit. Who would think that so many people would like braunschweiger. Everyone brought a snack and an adult beverage to enjoy the big game.  I, personally, only watch for the commercials.  My favorites were the Betty White one, the human bridge to get the Budweiser truck across, and of course, the Clydesdales.  After the game, several of us stayed to play some kind of trivia game show on the owner's PlayStation 3.  I didn't do too well in these games, but Mark won one of them.  Speaking of winning, we also won $25 on the third quarter score of the Super Bowl. 

Mark and Mike had planned on golfing Monday morning while I was holding out to see what the weather was like.  It had rained through the night, and even early in the morning, but the three of us decided to go at it anyway.  It turned out to be a perfect day.  The ground had hardened up from last week's rains so we didn't get too muddy. 

BUNCO!

Bunco!!  That's what we learned to play on Thursday afternoon.  The park held it's first Bunco game and got quite a turnout.  I think there were 28 of us; most had never played before, but were game since it meant not having to spend another day inside in the bad weather.  Mark had the first Bunco and got his picture posted on the bulletin board.  I did not have a Bunco all day (3 of a kind rolling 3 dice). 

All of our canasta/Joker fellow players had purchased tickets to a show that evening, so we stayed in.  I got to work on the "sock" (Angela's Christmas stocking); Mark got to read up on why the stock market took a huge plunge! 

Since the weather was supposed to be sunny and warm (70), Mark, Mike, and I set off to golf Friday morning.  I questioned the wisdom of this since it had been raining for 4 days.  Mark said that since it was originally my idea to golf on Friday, I had to go.  What a mess!  I wore nylon pants while Mark and Mike wore shorts with their new golf shoes, which no longer look new.  We were all covered in muck.  To make it worse, these obnoxious bugs were out and swarming us on at least eight of the holes on the back nine.  At one point, I had my windshirt pulled up over my head, covering all but my face.  The guys would swat at them and have bite marks all over their legs. Mark missed a hole-in-one by a foot.  His ball hit the stick and rolled away.  That was his highlight. 

Once we got back to the park, we loaded up the 10 loads of laundry and headed to one of Victoria's finest (ha ha) laundramats.  All was well until one of my machines quit working in the middle and I had to restart at a different one.  No attendant was on-site, so I couldn't get my $1.75 back.  An hour and a half later we were back to the park, planning the evening's activities. 

The women slaughtered the men in canasta.  We didn't even play the last round because we were over 5000 points ahead of them.  This made up for the Joker loss they handed us Wednesday night.

Today while Mark went to town to find shelving, I cleaned the golf clubs and shoes.  What a mess.

We got the new shelving put up and spent the rest of the afternoon gabbing. 

It Just Keeps Raining

I just hate having to spend money on something you can't see.  Monday we had to take the truck into the shop for an oil change and fuel filter replacements.  We knew we had a problem because when we had on the defroster or vent, we were overcome with diesel fumes.

In reading the maintenace manual for the big diesel, we discovered that we actually saved over $700 in the past six years because we failed to replace the fuel filters at 30,000, 60,000, and 75,000 miles.  We have 105,000 miles.  Needless to say, we were lucky the darn thing even ran.  This plus the oil change was $271.  That money would have been better spent on golf!

Yesterday I had lunch with the ladies at a new Mexican restaurant that has a lunch buffet.  While I pigged out, Mark sat back at the clubhouse eating bread that our friend Linda had just finished baking.  She makes buns and bread for her husband - yeast, kneading, etc.  It's hard to find someone that does that any longer.  They live out in the middle of nowhere in Saskatchewan, Canada, so they make their own bread.  Linda always offers up samples to those lucky enough to be around when she's baking; in fact, she brings butter along with her. 

Today we woke up to yet another day of rain - day 3 of at least 4.  Instead of sitting indoors watching TV, we headed to the local theatre to see Avatar.  It was a very good movie.  We did not go to the 3D viewing.  After the movie, it was a trip to Walmart to stock up, and then a trip to Golden Corral where we missed the early senior rate by 10 minutes.  (Are we old, or what?)

Tomorrow should be the last day of rain until Sunday.  Hopefully we can golf on Friday, but I'm not holding my breath.