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.

Jack

In Loving Memory

of

Jack

22 Oct, 1954

6 Oct, 2010

Here we are at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I've always wanted to see the Brickyard 400, the NASCAR race held here, but it happens in the hottest part of summer. We decided to check out the museum at a milder time of year. The museum is open every day but Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Gate Two takes you inside the infield.

Driving in the tunnel underneath the track, and yes, there's gouges in the ceiling at the end.

This is the museum in the infield of Indy. The bus shown shown in front takes you on a tour of the track.

Gasoline Alley

The brick finish line
The entire track was paved in brick at one time.

I'd never heard about the golf course at Indy. There are four holes in the infield and fourteen outside the back straightaway.

This is the pagoda, a five story tower in the infield, with a banner showing the original structure built 100 years ago.

Indy claims to have 257,000 permanent seats, but it doesn't look that big. With the infield they can hold 400,000 people at an event. I still say Talledega looks bigger.

Earl Scooter and Bella are like two kids. They both want the middle seat.