Atlanta to Port Isabel via Houston

Tuesday November 3, 2009 to Saturday November 7, 2009
We leave Atlanta and motor to Houston.  We decided to try the Lakeview RV Park about 2 miles further South on Main Street from the South Main RV Park we have stayed at in the past.  The Lakeview RV Park is new with concrete streets and pads.  It has a large recreation room with computer area and WiFi throughout the park.  Free popcorn, excercise area, hot tub and swimming pool.  All for about the same price.  The shuttle to the Medical Center is also available here.  A loop around the perimeter of the park is about one mile, so two loops is just about right for us and Jake in the  mornings.

Our first appointment at MD Anderson was Wednesday morning, so we took the shuttle over and back, really convenient.

Wednesday evening we joined friends Joe and Pearl at the Rotary House for happy hour and dinner.

We had one last Appointment Thursday afternoon.  We drove over and used the valet parking, because the shuttle timing was not good for us.  We find that all is normal thanks for all your prayers.  Coming back, we got to enjoy 5 PM Houston traffic.  Luckily we only had a short distance to travel back to the RV park.

We stayed over another day so we could have dinner with our daughter and her family Friday night.  On the way to Pearland for dinner, we stopped at the Verizon store to check out the new Droid.  It appears to be a neat phone.  I start to buy one, but find I can save another $100 if I wait until my "New every Two" is effective in January.  The way things go, there should be another bigger and better model available by then.

Saturday, we drive about 100 miles further than we like to drive in a day to make it on in to Port Isabel.  This trip was just over 1400 miles and we were gone 15 days.  Good to go, but good to be back.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Amazing Grace

We needed to check on some of our business in Atlanta, Texas.  So we decided to try out the Amazing Grace Acres RV Park.  This park is located right in Atlanta, so it was convenient for us this trip.  A very nice couple, Larry and Charlotte Patterson operate this small park of about 30 sites that surround their home on a hilltop off South Boggie Street.  Even though the rain over the past several days was excessive, the hilltop drained well and we did not have any problems with the gravel sites.  Charlotte brought us pears from a tree in the park the first evening we were there and the day we left, she brought us bran muffins.

All Saints Day, we got to attend All Saints Episcopal Church here in Atlanta.  We were members of this church many years ago when we first came to East Texas from Louisiana.  It was nice to renew old friendships here.  In Port Isabel, where we now live, this holiday is known as the "Day of the Dead".  Where the departed family is honored.  It brings to memory my South Louisiana heritage and the All Saints and All Souls Day celebrated in the Roman Catholic traditions.  All of this has little to do with Halloween, which has fallen out of favor with many of my Christian friends.  These holidays are quickly followed by the US Marine Corps birthday on the 10th and Veteran's Day on the 11th.

Cool nights and pleasant days and lots of sunshine.  We leave Atlanta for now and head South expecting to return and visit our new friends at Amazing Grace Acres soon.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Lewisville, Texas

We spent three nights in the "Campground" at Buddy Gregg's RV in Lewisville.  The part we ordered did not fix our smart wheel, which controls the horn, cruise control, and wipers.  The service manager determined that we needed a "clock spring".  That is a cassette that contains about 10 feet of wound up flexible printed circuit that allows connections from the switches on the smart wheel to the steering column and on to the computer.  A broken plastic piece had creased the flexible circuit board and broke the copper strips inside.  A new one made everything work as designed.  The campground at the dealership is a circle that holds about a dozen motorhomes.  A small rec room with tv, kitchen, and free washer and dryers makes for a nice stay if you need service or are just passing through.  With the economy, the complexion of the dealership has changed from just a high end Class A facility to a sales outlet for fewer of those to many pull behind units.  The sales staff has dwindled from 8 or 10 to 2.  Our service was excellent, and the technicians were competent.  This seems to have fixed the intermittent problem we had with our horn blowing during the night.  We left Lewisville on Friday for Atlanta, Texas.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

On The Road Again

We spent the last two nights in Austin.  Nice dinners with our friends Joe and Pearl.  Great happy hours with views of downtown Austin.  We had only planned for one night, but our windshield wipers quit on the coach.  It poured down rain yesterday  so we stayed put and ordered a part hoping it would be a fix.  The part arrived today but did not work.  So we traveled in the sunshine to Lewisville and the dealer who may be able to fix it for us.  They need a part that will not be here until Thursday, sure hope they are right.  It might rain again before we get back home.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Sand Castle Days 2009

Wind out of the North.  Red Tide causing respiratory problems on the beach.  But the Sand Castle Artists are hard at work.  Willie, Jake and I went to Isla Blanca Park for a brief visit to check the progress of the artists.

More Pictures are here

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Mercado at the Lighthouse Square

Down to Port Isabel's Lighthouse Square today for the Mexican Market and Art Walk.  A few vendors out and a visit to the open air farmers market.

Charles, Diane, and Quin

Then over to the Island to Gabriella's Italian Grill and Pizzeria for lunch and a glass of chianti.

We are worthless for the rest of the day.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

The Blessing of Pets

Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and at many churches over the world a ceremony is held for the blessing of our pets.

“Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.”

At St. Andrews by the Sea here is Port Isabel, we took Jake and met with about 40 other pets to be blessed.  After the service several of pets came into the church for the main service.  We took Jake home since we now live so close, but in the past he also attended the main service.  

All the pets had a great time.

An Early Trike Ride

Willie and I and our friends Sam and Inez loaded our trikes and their recumbent tandem bike on our cars and went to Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge for an early morning ride on the 15 mile loop. Jake stayed home, too long and too hot for him. We got started about 7:45 AM and finished about two hours later. By then it was plenty hot. We saw lots of birds, rabbits and a few deer. We also saw three or four Ocelots (on the yellow signs). We look forward to returning to this loop more this winter. It follows the bay for several miles. When we have more rain filling the shallow areas, migratory birds are abundant here. Usually we also see Osprey eating a fish caught in the bay.

Walldog, Willie and Jake (stayed home).