Christmas in Rockport

We've settled in pretty well at Rustic Cove. Our site is OK with a nice concrete pad. There is still some construction going on at the next site and right now there is a large hole waiting to be filled once they complete the electrical work. Then we'll be able to rake it out and hopefully put in some grass. Lots of sand at the moment. And when it rains...mud..It has rained or been foggy most of the time we've been here. I've never seen so much fog. We're very close to the shore and it rolls in almost daily. There have been a few clear and pretty days but many more cloudy and foggy ones. The temperature has varied from low 30's up to the upper 70's.




Last Saturday we went for a ride around the area. It was a very pretty day and fairly warm. We went from home to Aransas Pass thru Ingleside down into Corpus Cristi, out to Padre Island over into Mustang Island and finally into Port Aransas where we caught the ferry and came back. When going thru Aransas Pass we went around Conn Brown Harbor. This area is known for being the home of multitudes of birds. The harbor is home of many. This pelican seemed to be posing for my picture.



When going into Corpus we could see the USS Lexington in the distance. We're planning to do a day trip and visit it later.


The harbor in Corpus is very busy with many types of sailing vessels moored and even a few out and about.





As we came onto Padre Island we passed this giant permanent Sand Castle outside a gift shop.





We drove out onto the beach on Mustang Island. Miss Ellie enjoyed a run.




When we arrived in Rockport last week we learned that the owner's family had all been sick with a flu bug. And unfortunately for me I caught it from them. I got sick on Saturday night before Christmas and was sick for the next 5 days. This is the sickest I've been in some time. All the symptoms of flu..fever, body aches and pains, nausea/vomiting, headache and general around yuckyness!!! Not the way to spend any time. And to make it more difficult I'd volunteered to work Christmas this year so I still had to work 20 hours. So..once the fever was gone on Monday I worked a little bit here and there until I finally finished my promised 20 hours on Saturday just in time for the week to end. Boy was I glad the week was over.

Christmas Day went OK. We went to a pot luck with about 30 other residents here. We had turkey and ham and all the fixings. Way more food than we could all eat. There was even home made ice cream. Pretty good especially since I didn't eat very much at all up until that day. The owners of the park came and shared their plans for the park for the rest of the year. And we planned a New Year's Eve Bash and Bonfire. More fun!!


Gary is settling in pretty well with his duties for the park. He is helping out however they ask. He'll be working 4 days a week for 6 hours. This covers the rent, cable, water and electric. Not too bad a deal all around.

We're planning to take a long weekend in a couple of weeks and go up to San Antonio.

From the North

Today I got an email from Suzanne and Gary our friends who live in Michigan. They shared pictures via their blog of the 13"of snow they just got.
Here is Gary working on their drive. Yipes..I'm glad we're down south. We can't wait for them to get out of Michigan and join us here.

On to Texas

On our way south we stopped in Gulf Shores Alabama to visit with Greg and Judy Bahnmiller. We missed out seeing Judy since she had gone to St Augustine to visit her sister. We spent a very nice afternoon visiting with Greg. He took us to a good restaurant for lunch. DeSotos Seafood. I had some OK crab cakes and Gary had flounder. The fried green tomatoes and corn fritters were pretty good. Gary had sweet potato casserole made similar to the one I make..tasty but not as good as mine.. After lunch Greg took us around town and on a drive along the beach and thru the state park. Gulf Shores appears to be a pleasant town. We'd like to return and spend more time there. Maybe next year. Later that evening we rode around looking at Christmas decorations. We found one home that was really decked out nicely.







Saturday morning found us on I-10 going west toward Texas. We'd been warned that I-10 was a rough road. At first it wasn't too bad. However once we passed New Orleans by using I-12 as a bypass and got back on I-10 it was over 200 more miles to our evening stop and we bounced and bounced and bounced some more. I sure hope we don't have to travel it again anytime soon.
Saturday night we stayed at the Coushatta Casino RV Park in Kindle, LA. This was a very nice park at $21.00 a night with our Escapees discount. Greg and Judy had stayed there and Greg recommended it. We didn't think we'd stop there since it was 385 miles from Gulf Shores. And we don't usually travel that far in 1 day. But..we didn't see another RV park we liked and ended up going for it. We enjoyed the park and even visited the casino for a while. We had a pretty good dinner at their restaurant. On Sunday we continued west and finally crossed the state line into Texas. We'll just say it was interesting to travel through Houston. And be glad we did it on a Sunday. 9 lanes of traffic..9 busy lanes of traffic. I do not ever want to go thru there on a weekday pulling the house. It was white knuckle time!!! But Mr P persevered and we made it thru OK.



We stopped for the night at another Thousand Trails park in Columbus. This is a small park that is very quiet. There are a large number of deer that live within the park. They know they are protected in the preserve and seem to enjoy just walking and laying around. Miss Ellie did not care for them. She has really developed a fear of animals other than dogs or cats. She just sits down...won't move..and quivers if they get close to her. She is really our wuss dog. But we love her anyway.

On Monday we rolled south toward Rockport. After stopping at our favorite store for groceries we arrived at Rustic Cove about 3 o'clock. Dave and George were there and helped us move into our new home site.
The park is a small but nice. Being a new park, it is a work in progress and will be for some time. They have 40 sites available now and more will come as work and money are spent. Gary is going to help them out in their appliance store that is located at the front entrance of the park. We spent today getting things situated around and in the rig. We also went into town (about 7 miles away) to get propane and a few more groceries. I decorated the house with my Christmas decorations and lit up my tree.

We're on the road once again.

We left Durham on Tuesday morning. I can hardly believe our 2 months at home have passed so quickly. We loved spending time with our family and friends.

The weather is not cooperating. Going south is supposed to be going toward a warmer climate...well...I think someone is laughing at us. Yesterday it rained so hard we didn't see any of Atlanta as we passed by. The entire city was lost in the fog, water vapor and gray clouds. The temperature wasn't too bad, in the 60s. Last night in Montgomery we had more rain and some wind. By this morning the temperature dropped like a rock and never got higher than 45 degrees. And the wind got stronger. We were rained on some more as we traveled south toward to gulf coast. A couple of times we saw some blue sky and even caught a sun beam for a very short time. But the clouds prevailed and were still present when the sun went down. The wind is fierce and with it I think the wind chill is likely in the low 30s. Burrrrr
This morning my son-in-law called and laughed..Houston and New Orleans are getting SNOW..Again..we're going south..this weather is NOT SUPPOSED to be here. OK...I'm whining a little bit..just a little bit...I promise that's enough.. We're doing what we love to do..even if the weather isn't exactly what we'd like. According to the weather channel all of the snow should be gone by the time we move onto New Orleans and Houston this weekend. The plan is to be in Rockport Texas by Monday.

We hope you are all doing well. Keep in touch. Love, Deb

Decorating for Christmas

Recently we spent the day with my sister Teresa, her husband David, niece Amy and nephew Joey decorating their yard for Christmas. Mom, Dad,Jenn and Mark came too.
The Sheuring family gets into Christmas decorations in a BIG way. If you don't move fast you might have lights hung on you.
For the past few years they've created Christmas trees from PVC pipe, tobacco sticks or tomato cages and lights. I don't know how many trees they'll eventually have this year but it is at least 3-4 dozen I'm sure. All sizes from about 2' to over 12' tall. They also cover their home with lights. (note Joey on the roof)

Check out their website and if you're in Lillington from Thanksgiving until the New Year drive on by their home on Manor Hills Dr. They'd love for you to visit.

http://www.christmassheuring.com/Home_Page.php

The Birds..Oh the Birds

We have been invaded. There is an extremely large swarm of birds in the neighborhood. They roast in the trees...poop on the deck and throw their peanut shells everywhere. And..they are quite vocal too. Anyone know how to encourage them to relocate?

Fun with Mom and Dad

This week has been busy for us. Gary has worked on Mom and Dad's "Gary Do" list and has also emptied all of our storage compartments. I've worked on removing and redistributing some of our indoor stuff. So far, we've removed over 75 pounds of "stuff" we aren't/don't use. Since we're close on our weight limits we need to streamline the house and truck so we can take all my stained glass supplies with us to Texas.
Our basement compartments are clean and empty now. Over the next week or so Gary will start putting back the things we're taking with us.
I've still got quite a few things to sort and re-pack inside. Right now the kitchen/living area is a mess.






We've spent time with Mom and Dad...1 doctor visit..1 hair appointment..several meals at our favorite local restaurants..2 trips to the Dunn Recreation Center to walk for exercise. Today Tim is down working on rebuilding their deck. This has been an ongoing project for several weeks. Gary and Dad are monitoring the work. :o)

North Carolina is still HOME!!!

Gary loves his new look. I love that it's removable!!!

After visiting with Mike and Cherie, we met up with Van, Rita and Daniel. On Saturday and Sunday we spent time shopping (mostly looking) at the Flea Market and outlet stores in the Pigeon Forge area. We also ate some good food at Duff's Famous Smorgasbord. We had dinner there one night and then breakfast the next day. Excellent service and very tasty food at a pretty reasonable price for this tourist area. http://www.duffssmorgasbord.com/

On Monday we moved back into North Carolina. We've been out of the state 148 days. Traveling and seeing new places and meeting new people is great, but it sure is good to be back in the Tarheel state.

After a stop at the Western Caroina Farmers Market near Asheville we moved on into Lenoir. Van and Rita had dropped their pop-up camper off at Green Mountain RV Resort on their way up to Pigeon Forge. Laverne and Ken had moved into the Resort on Sunday and were waiting for us when we pulled in. We all stayed there together for the next week. We spent time just talking, eating some good food, riding, looking at the beautiful scenery, and shopping. Nothing too exciting but it was good to just be back with long time friends. We had a couple of rainy and foggy days but it didn't really stop us from enjoying our time together. Ellie and Koji made friends with the campground kitty cats.













On Sunday the 12th we moved on into Durham. We're here at Rita's Mom and Dad's home until this coming Sunday. For the past 2 1/2 weeks, we've gone to several doctor appointments, a vet appointment for Miss Ellie and on Monday went to the Dentist for the first time in almost 18 months. My teeth are so clean and shiny!!!

We had dinner the 17th with Doug, Sherry and all of the family. The Village Diner in Hillsborough is still going strong serving our favorite food just full of salt, sugar and grease. I can hear my arteries hardening now. But is sure tasted good.






On Saturday the 18th we went up to Mebane and had a birthday dinner at my brother Chuck and his wife Kyra's home. Most of my family was there to celebrate Chuck and my birthday. It was good to hug all of my family. I've sure missed them. We had a very tasty dinner of spaghetti,chicken parmesan, salad and garlic bread. The dessert table was groaning. I can't believe I eat the whole thing!!! OK..maybe not..just my share :o)








We went to Oxford to see Al and Betsy. They are doing fine. Busy with work and school. Al is enjoying his new buggy. It allows him to get around town during the day while he works at the Oxford Ledger newspaper. Betsy is teaching school and taking classes at UNC Central. They have a lively puppy named Emma. She is full of life and is a great additional to their home. Ellie and her had a great time playing together. Emma ran rings around her and the house.




On Sunday we had lunch with Mike, Candace, Pete and his girlfriend Kelly. Candace baked an excellent lasagna and Kelly prepared a tasty salad. We visited with them all afternoon and sure did enjoy it.

Afterward, we went to Raleigh and had a pizza dinner with Robin, Steve,Crystal, Justin and their new baby Lilah Mae. It was wonderful to see how happy and proud the new parents and grandparents are. Lilah Mae is beautiful. She is healthy, eating well and sleeping through the night. How delightful it was to visit with them.

Yesterday we went to Dunn and had lunch with Jennifer and my Mom and Dad. Afterward we went over to Newton Grove and voted. Now..no more political ads on our TV please. We're done!!

Today Rita and I spent the day at our favorite shopping center Briar Creek just looking around. I found a pair of carpi pants for $5.00. Don't you just love a bargain?? We had lunch at Panera's so I could enjoy some of their broccoli/cheese soup.

While we've been here, Gary has made some needed repairs to a few things. Van and his brother Leroy provided equipment and assistance so Gary could weld our broken step back together. It's been broken for a couple of months but we didn't have a welder handy. He found the last tire we needed to finish updating our house tires and has put it on. He also worked on the Odom's ice machine and repaired Van's riding lawn mower. He's been busy. Today he took a break and had lunch with a friend Quan. They went to Randy's pizza out in RTP.

Gary and I recently decided the name for our RV'ing Adventure should be changed. From now on..it will be called...Deb and Gary Eating Their Way Across the USA.
Neither one of us had lost a bit of weight, as we'd like to. We just enjoy trying out new foods so much it is hard to stick with a weight lose diet.

I hope you are all doing well. If you don't hear from us during our visit..please give us a call. We're trying to catch up with everyone...

Love to you all. Deb