Birding

Mustang Island is in the heart of a major birding area. It's right on the Gulf of Mexico. On the Texas mainland side of the island are miles of salt marshes and, as you might expect, the marshes are filled with a huge variety of feathered types.

We have linked up with a birding group that meets once a week close to our RV park. Also, just across the road in easy walking distance is another access point complete with pond, boardwalk, and viewing stations. A place to walk and view, but not damage the environment (or have it damage you) while doing so.

The types of birds here are mostly not very familiar to us, but we will learn them as the winter progresses. There are knowledgable and helpful volunteers leading the birding group so it makes the ID part of birding a lot easier. They already know what birds are present and how to identify them. The list that has been provided has just blown us away at how large it is. LOTS of species here.

A little time on the beach

We've been on Mustang Island for three full days now and have made a couple of trips to the beach. A lot of the winter Texans go to the beach often. It's an interesting place. On the jetty, there is a pair of Brown Pelicans that are always present, and seem to tolerate people quite well. If they already have names we're not aware of it, but we're calling them George and Gracie. LOTS of birds here.

The weather has been wonderful, so I expect we will continue to pursue outdoor things. We've already voted by mail so won't have to stand in line anyplace on Tuesday.

Please leave a comment, if you wish, or email us directly at dwink@supersat2.net.

Mustang Island, Texas

We arrived on Mustang Island on Thursday, Oct. 30. It was a relatively short haul from Houston, where we had spent two days. The traffic through Houston was truly amazing. Way too many vehicles and people, and even with 6 lane roadways the highways are not adequate.

All through the summer we've been taking note of the type of roadkill one might encounter (I'm sure at least some of our readers notice such things). All across the northern states the primary type of rk is deer. Then in southern MN and through WI you see some raccoon added to the mix. Well into IL we started to see opossum. Then as soon as we got into MO the frequency of opossum increased, and we were surprised to see an armadillo. Texas highways are fraught with racoon, opossum, armadillos, and an occasional deer. We've also seen a few coyotes. I've always said that you can kind of tell where you are by the type of roadkill. Oh well, I digress on foolishness.

We're pretty much set up for the winter and spent a good part of today just exploring Port Aransas and some of the island. The photos show the white sand beach and the Gulf of Mexico. I think we might spend a lot of time on the beach this winter. There will be more to come.

See ya.

Dave & Pat

Shortstop in Houston

After leaving Branson, we overnighted in Texarkana in an RV park that was kind of in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it. It was all we needed, and that's good because all it was was a place to park and hook up. The next morning we proceeded on to Houston. Called ahead for a reservation and found that things are still really busy in the RV parks in Houston. We did manage to find a site in a KOA (if you know anything about your average KOA you would know that we didn't find any prize) that would serve our needs for two nights. We wanted a free day in Houston to visit the Johnson Space Center. That was an all day event. The center is huge, and there is a lot to see. The guard had to throw us out at 5 pm, and we for sure had not seen it all. But we did see a lot of impressive space stuff, and even got to touch a moon rock.

Traffic in Houston? You betcha! It's horrendous, and if that isn't enough there is road construction everywhere.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we will almost surely go the rest of the way to Mustang Island. It's only about 200 miles.

Come back often for a look. See ya.

Love, Dave & Pat

Hello from Branson MO

It's Sunday night as I post this and when Monday morning arrives we will be on the road heading away from Branson, Missouri. We've been here 3 nights and 2 days, and came to the conclusion early in our visit that there is WAY too much here to see or do. Branson is a well-developed tourist trap. That's not to say that there isn't quality entertainment and quality attractions here. Quite the opposite - there's a lot of nice stuff to see and do. If you do visit plan on more than 3 days, and bring lots of money. There are very few low-budget bargains here.

For the limited time we had here we saw one major show (Hamner-Barber Variety Show), one museum (Veterans Memorial Museum), and ate out in a number of places. Spent a lot of time just shopping as there are some unusual stores in Branson. Dick's 5 & 10 is so tightly packed with stuff that it's difficult for 2 average size people to pass in the aisles. There is merchandise displayed from floor to ceiling, as you may ascertain from the photo.

A new feature in Branson is Branson Landing. Patterned somewhat along the lines of the San Antonio River Walk, it has shops, boats, restaurants, and street vendors. A major feature is the water fountain beside the river. The fountain spouts play in time with music, and the 15 fire pots flame up with coordinated fire. The fuel used is kerosene, and one report we read is that it takes over 500 gallons of kero a day to fire the pots. The fountain plays 7 days a week from morning until 10 pm, every hour. Neat show. It is, of course, all the more spectacular at night when the lights and the flames are more visible.

So, enough entertainment for a while. Now we get serious about finishing the trip to Mustang Island, Texas.

Our email goes right along with us wherever we go, so don't hesitate to write anytime. dwink@supersat2.net.

Next post will most likely be from Mustang Island. Keep watching.

Scott Lake

Here's the view from our RV site at Scott Air Force Base. The resident egret was AWOL when I took this photo.

Mom's Apple Pie

In looking for some type of family outing that wouldn't take us too far from home or take too much time we decided to visit Eckert's Orchard near Belleville IL. It was a chance to enjoy one of the remaining nice days of autumn and to get some really good apples at a decent price. The pictures tell the story. And yes, the pies were wonderful.