A Tale of Two Kitties

This is Earl Scooter, a cat who came to us from the Humane Society. He moved in at the age of eight weeks and took over the house as his rightful domain. Earl is not a cuddler. He sees signs of affection as beneath his dignity. He is the king and expects to be treated as such.

This is a picture of our living room in the before condition.

We'll be returning later.

Meet Winston Merlot. Winston arrived in our back yard starving, hidden under the grill and trying to catch a bird from the feeder. He was the skinniest cat I've ever seen. We began to put food out and you know the rest. We eventually got to touch him, then coaxed him in the house and grew to love him as he grew to trust us. When we learned that our home would be torn down one of my first concerns was Winston and what would happen to him. He had grown to depend on us for his food, and I was afraid he'd starve if he went back on his own. He'd spent the winters in our house and was no longer used to the sometimes brutal winters in Kansas City.
I tried to find a good home for the little cat who had so much love to give, but no one wanted him. I couldn't put him in the pound with the thought that he might be put down, and even though I begged the Humane Society they would not take him. My daughter and son-in-law, knowing how much I loved Winston, offered to take him in with their pets. They already owned two dogs and two cats, but willingly invited Winston in to their home. I was so relieved to know he'd be safe and well cared for. Winston, however , was not happy.
He was so timid he couldn't blend with the pets already there, and hid in the basement for months. I couldn't let that sweet little heart live in solitude, so I drug him out and brought him home. We have had some rough patches, but here he is.

Earl has no interest in the salt shaker, but some other cat in the house does.

If the shaker is not put away before bed someone bats it all over the floor,

leaving a white trail of salt in abstract patterns across the carpet.

This is our trailer-sized Christmas tree decorated in (what else)

pink flamingos. A white feather boa is wrapped around the base.

I know what you're thinking------an invitation to disaster, right?

It's not like the cats don't play together.
When the lights go out a party starts at full force.

The poet who wrote "The fog comes in on little cat feet" never met our boys.

It's a feline fiesta, a cross between Bristol Motor Speedway and a cat rodeo.

The cats have so much fun it drives Bella nuts. She tears in and breaks things up 'cause if she's not having fun nobody else is allowed to either.

Yeah, you were right about the disaster, but the question is--- Who dun it?
How'd they push the tree off so it fell backward?

Why'd they leave the feather boa alone?

There is a clue to the perpetrator in the photo.

See the brown furry "tail" on a stick in front of the tree?

It's Earl's favorite toy, and neither of the other two are smart enough to plant evidence.

A criminal often returns to the scene of the crime.

Sadly (for some of us) there were flamingo fatalities.

Earl, smug and satisfied with a job well done.

The tree is back up----------------for now.

Port Isabel and South Padre Island

The Port Isabel lighthouse.

I assume the Christmas lights are just up for the season.

The door was open so I guess it would be O K to climb up and look around--

if anybody really, really, really wanted to.

You drive through Port Isabel on the way to South Padre.

It's about a 45 minute drive from Mercedes, and we wanted to check out the R V parks.

Sometime in the future we might want to stay here.

Kite surfers on the Gulf side of South Padre Island. These people amaze me. They go up and down the beach with seemingly no effort at all. The water on the west side of the island is much smoother, and had many more surfers with kites.

What looks like a hill in the background is the Queen Isabella Causeway,
a two and a half mile bridge that connects South Padre to Port Isabel.

Water front businesses and homes on the

Laguna Madre (west) side of the island.

The houses are built on the water here.

Back on the Gulf of Mexico side.

Many of the buildings I thought were condos are hotels.


The following photos show a "unique" business a few miles west of Port Isabel.

BOBZ

I've found many stores whose entry is a shark mouth,

but this is the first shark skull with dinosaurs.

The outside decor continues........

One of a pair, because a single enormous conch shell just wouldn't look right.

An area under construction. King Kong Golf?

Easter Island?

A volcano erupting with a strange creature surfing the lava flow.

How could I not go in this store?

What would a store that looks like this sell?

The weirdness sucked me in to the store.

This place has a huge selection of sea shells,

thousands of t-shirts and a truck load of hermit crabs.

I have to admit I was kind of disappointed in the inventory,

but the music was worth the walk in.

Christmas caroles were booming over the speakers at a deafening level.
I can't really explain why, but hearing "White Christmas" and looking at a fiberglass

Tiki God/ Easter Island figure is wrong, very wrong.

Thanksgiving in the RGV

The RGV is the Rio Grande Valley, and the initials are used a lot. There's RGV Plumbing, RGV Tow, RVG Auto repair etc-etc-etc. This refers to the area starting at the coastline/South Padre Island/Brownsville and going inland fifty or sixty miles. The most important word in the phrase is Valley, because that is definitely where we are, in a valley. The land is flat as far as the eye can see. The highest elevation would be one of the overpasses on Highway 83.

There is nothing to slow down the wind, and we have had some wind since we've been here. The other residents tell me it's not wind 'til it gets above 35 MPH, below that it's called breezy.

Thanksgiving Day was breezy, good thing since it was also 94 degrees. A cold front came through last night and today's high was 54. I have to admit I felt pretty chilly.

The weather is a big part of the newscasts here, probably because so many people come here to escape the cold. There was a long segment tonight about the white Christmas they had in 2004, and how beautiful it was. We plan to be in Kansas City for Christmas, and it doesn't need to snow here OR there.

Sunset at our winter home

We are still exploring the area. Today we took the motorcycle to old downtown Mercedes, and a little farther east to what looks like a great outlet mall. John and I agree that I should return............alone.

It got very cold last night for this part of the world, 48 degrees, and the local news couldn't stop talking about it. It warmed up to 78 this afternoon. It will be in the low 80's tomorrow. That's why we're not in Kansas anymore Toto!
These views are from the back of our R V.
See all the empty pads? The park is fully booked for January, February and March according to the aquarobics instructor.
There are many "Park Model" trailers here. These are trailers that aren't really meant to move around. Many people use them as a vacation cabin, but these are used as full-time homes. I talked to a woman yesterday who has lived here 20 years. Some residents have been here since the opening 37 years ago.

Mercedes TX

"We must not cease from exploration" --T. S. Eliot


Yesterday we arrived in Mercedes, TX; our home for the next four months. It will be the longest stay we've had anywhere since we began to live in an R V full-time.
Our campground, Llano Grande, is huge. We had to get I D tags today so we can access some of the buildings. The campground offers lots of diversions; dance lessons, exercise classes etc. We learned today that there's a group of motorcyclists that ride together twice a week, and hope to ride with them next week. We are very close to one of the pools, but best of all in Bella's opinion --they have a fabulous dog walk area.
It will take us a couple of weeks just to get to know the park.
We drove around the area today, going to the Mexican border 7 miles away. We drove west to McAllen and had lunch there. McAllen seems to have a lot going on, and I definitely need to go back and shop.
Going east we'll see South Padre Island and the city of Harlingen.
We've done enough driving to learn one thing-- South Texans are not the best of drivers. Lanes in parking lots are just suggestions to a lot of these people. Parking between the lines is an abstract concept to many of them.

Gone Coastal

We are on a ferry going to Port Aransas,and meeting one coming our way.

Sunset from our R V park.

This entire Airstream trailer has been wrapped in a beach scene. The owner is the camp host at the resort we're staying in at Aransas Pass.

(A camp host is someone; not the owner; who manages the R V park, takes reservations, organizes activities etc. They usually get compensated with free rent and/or a small salary.)

This is the first trailer I've seen done this way. I once saw a motor home wrapped with a Jaggemeister label theme, but I figured it was a promotional vehicle owned by the company.

Turns out our host grew up in Thayer MO, close to my hometown. She swears she's been to Hartville many times -- and no one would make that claim to impress people. She then moved to K C and graduated from Grandview High School in 1966.

At a pot-luck dinner Thursday evening I sat next to a man from Harrisonville, MO and met a couple whose daughter just moved to Overland Park.

The beach scene trailer is surrounded by what the locals call "live oak". It passes as a tree here, it wouldn't at home.

On another topic, a cold front came through last night. Yesterday the temperatures were in the 80's and this morning it was 57 degrees. The natives are wearing parkas and knit caps, seriously.

King Ranch

This is the old carriage house at the King Ranch, built when it was still known as the

Santa Gertrudis Ranch. The ranch was once 1.2 million acres, but is now 825,000 acres spread over several states and countries. It is still a family owned business.

These are some of the 450 horses on the ranch. The horses weren't originally raised to sell, but to work the cattle. They are also trained and compete as cutting horses. The farm also raised thoroughbreds and one of their horses, Assault, won the Triple Crown in the late 40's . Assault and five other favorite horses are buried at the ranch.

The Santa Gertrudis cattle at the ranch are micro-chipped, keeping their breeding records precise. The cattle are tagged and ear-notched as well as branded with the

Running W.

No one seems to know how the brand came about, but many different brands have been used on the ranch.
The Santa Gertrudis were developed on King Ranch by crossing Short Horns and Brahmas

(Pronounced Bray-ma)

This is a "bump gate", developed by the oil company who held leases on parts of the ranch for drilling. The oil workers didn't watch the gates well, so a self-closing gate was invented. You drive up and bump the gate open, drive through, and the gate swings shut. If you don't hit it hard enough the gate closes too quickly and scrapes the side of your vehicle. If you hit it too hard the gate swings too far and breaks out your tail lights.

This is one of the entrances to the family home. See the peacock at the top of the stairs? The birds were a favorite of Henrietta King, because they keep snakes away. Henrietta once started a program where she paid five cents for every rattle snake "rattle". She got such a big response that she dropped the price to three cents, and eventually bought 250,000 rattles before the program had to be dropped.

The window over the door was made by Tiffany.

A grander entry to the ranch home with more Tiffany stained glass. Tiffany also did the interior decorating for the home, but we weren't invited in. The house is no longer used as a home but more like a luxury hotel when family members visit the ranch.

And now for one last creature found on the ranch.........

Yessiree, that's a alligator.

He's a dandy one too. Our guide thinks he's 10 to 12 feet long, and he looked every bit of it!

There is a large pond on the property stocked with bass and cat fish, and the employees are allowed to fish there. They are extremely careful when the eggs hatch. Momma alligators are very protective.

Port Aransas

The guard at the entrance to the pier.

He was quite tame and bold.

Today we took the ferry over to Port Aransas. It's a short cruise, just a few minutes, but the atmosphere changes dramatically. Aransas Pass is a quiet little town, and Port Aransas is a tourist destination. The docks are filled with fishing charters and jet ski rentals. This is the slow season here, with many shops and restaurants displaying signs like "See you in April". Many snowbirds have already settled in for the winter, and the R V parks are filling. We've discussed spending the winter here next year if we're disappointed with the area in the Rio Grande Valley. It snowed here last Christmas, dimming the chances of a long term stay.

The fishing boats at Port Aransas


This is the entrance to a gift shop.
John took a better photo of the shark, but my butt looked bigger.
Speaking of such, the largest grocery chain in the area;
maybe the state; is H E B.
Their slogan is Here Everything's Better.
John couldn't stand not knowing what the letters really stood for and I couldn't find anything on the web. Today we asked the girl at the Board of Tourism.
The founder was a man named Henry E. Butts. (Butz?)


O K brace yourselves!


ANOTHER trailer one floor up!
This one's a classic 50's model with an enclosed garage!
Have I been missing a whole school of architecture?

Corpus Christi

This is the U S S Lexington, a retired aircraft carrier on display in Corpus Christi, Texas. It's on a public beach at the north edge of the city.

The ship houses a museum and offers over-night stays for scout groups .

This yacht basin is down town in Corpus Christi.

Along with all the gorgeous boats they also have...................

A life-size replica of the Nina, one of the three ships Columbus sailed to the new world.

I don't know how many men lived on this boat,

but it looks like it would have filled up fast.

We are camped at Aransas Pass, a tourist area about 15 miles north.

We plan to stay here a week then move on to our winter destination.
The weather is beautiful, but I understand it's unseasonably warm in K C too.

We have seen a lot of "firsts" since leaving home last June, but I have to say the home in the next photo really grabbed our attention.

A house trailer on stilts!

With a handy car/boat port downstairs!

And banana trees!

Since most of the houses are on stilts, I'm not sure why I find this so............different?

It's a reasonable thing to do here, but I'm trying to imagine what it was like to see a crane picking up the trailer and setting it down one story up.

...........And I will go to Texas

In the Mercado in San Antonio

Breakfast at Mi Tierra

Yes, Mariachi singers at breakfast.

We got up early on November 1st and headed south for Texas. We'd made the drive many times in the past, but we must have been younger then.
After a ten hour drive we got to the R V park in Denton, Texas; wiped out.
The next day we visited one of John's favorite restaurants - The Trail Dust. This is one of those places with ties cut in half and nailed to the wall. We ate there, then left the next morning for San Antonio.
We both really like San Antonio. The weather is usually sunny and warm, but it was raining and windy when we drove down and stayed that way for the night. We were both still worn out from the first day's drive.
Thursday morning was sunny and beautiful, so we set out for the Mexican Market and a restaurant called Mi Tierra. Mi Tierra has been featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel. It's open 24 hrs, and famous for it's bakery. As you saw in the above photo, it's a festive place. We've been here at several different times of the year, and it seems to always look like this. When I asked our waitress how often they changed the decorations, she said 3-4 times a year and the last change was a week ago.
Mi Tierra is the home of

(drum roll please)

BREAKFAST # 6

This is a meal John raves about. All other Mexican breakfasts are compared to #6 and pale by comparison. This is the ideal egg and frijole fantasy. The family made chorizo sausage is heaven on a fork. The warm flour tortillas melt in your mouth. The salsa is a touch on the warm side, but so delicious!!!!!!!!
When our friends and family flew to San Antonio with us a few years ago John took them straight to Mi Tierra for this perfect experience.

Many things in life just don't live up to expectations, but Thursday morning John's Breakfast #6 was every bit as fabulous as he remembered. It took a while to get there but when it arrived it was exactly as perfect as recalled.

That was about 9am. At noon he didn't feel all that great anymore. By 3pm he wasn't up to doing too much. He skipped dinner all together.

For lunch today I had chili rellenos, while John had a hamburger patty.

Tomorrow we leave for Corpus Christi,
after our standard breakfast cooked at home.

Viva Zapata!

Smooth Criminal

Trick or Treat

Halloween is a really big deal in Jeff and Amber's neighborhood, so we stayed in town to see our Grandson, Coen, tog up. We picked up the outfit (I think it's pajamas) in San Francisco this summer, Mom got the ball-and-chain, and Coen was ready to go. When he discovered he could get treats just for showing up he turned in to a real "con" artist.

A day for Jack

The auctioneer at Jack's benefit
The shelter house used for the fish fry

One of the many teams in the kick ball tournament. This was Team Kick Ass, and each team member had their nickname on the back-- Dumb Ass, Smart Ass, Silly Ass, Wise Ass etc.

Other teams included The O-zone Is All Jack'd Up, Screwballs and my personal favorite -a co-ed team called The Balled and The Beautiful! There were 16 teams or more in a double elimination tournament that took all day 'til 11:15 PM.
Jack's benefit had been planned for two months. He had to be talked into it, because he felt it wasn't "necessary". He really didn't want to be the center of attention, but everyone pressured him until he agreed to it. He'd told my husband John he wanted a flag on his electric wheel chair when he rode it down to the festivities.

Sadly, Jack died 10 days before the benefit; changed now to a tribute; could happen. The t-shirts that were to have said "It's all about you Jack" were changed to "In loving memory of Jack".

Jack lived in Otterville, Mo his entire life, and he truly loved his home town. He'd been a Deputy Sheriff, a City Councilman and a member of the Board of Directors for the town swimming pool. He wanted a town that was safe, with good streets and a clean pool for kids to play in. His town was important to him, and he never thought of moving away. Once a man asked him why he stayed in such a small town with bitterly cold winters and miserably hot summers. "Because it's my HOME!" he'd replied; and he was still insulted when he told me the story days later.

Jack lived in a house that has been in the family for over 100 years. My father-in-law was born in that house and my husband's Great-grandfather built it.

Small towns are hard for outsiders to understand. I grew up in one about the same size, and I can assure you that everything you've heard is true. Everyone knows your business, good and bad. There are no secrets and news travels fast, especially bad news. There are minor tiffs and major feuds, and grudges are held for generations.

That's just the way it is in a small town, but when something tragic happens wonderful things occur. People show up at your home with food, tons of food. Somebody else mows your lawn, and another person shows up with paper plates and napkins. Jack's benefit was manned by volunteers, from the auctioneer to the men who brought their cooking equipment and fish (they ran out of fish and had to raid their home freezers) to the women who baked and sold their homemade cinnamon rolls for the early morning games. People and businesses donated items for the auction and a raffle. The only expenses were for an inflatable castle (greatly reduced) and portable lights for the Ball field.

The population of Otterville is 512. About 800 people showed up. They raised just under $23,000. I guess the town that Jack loved, loved Jack.