Trivia Answer

Texas

info from www.GoneToTexas.com

Guadalupe Peak, TX

I posted the trivia
 (see yesterday's blog post)
 because I was surprised by the facts.

Most of the mountains are in the far west area of Texas

and the Big Bend Area.

The website stated 91 mountains over a mile high,

Denver is a mile high and does not have any mountains in town.

So, I think its kind of a trick question.

The King Ranch in South Texas

is larger than the state of Rhode Island

Texas Motto: Friendship

Texas: from the Caddo Indian word

"Tejas" meaning

those who are friends

Official state sport: Rodeo

Largest State Capitol (Austin)

constructed of 15,000 carloads of

Pink Granite

All of today's pictures are from
 various sites on the internet.

Travel Trivia

What one state has.....

91 mountains over a mile high

624 miles of coastline

4,959 square miles of inland lakes

22 million acres of forests and woodlands

75% known American bird species

Over 900 golf courses

It's the land of blue skies

and blue jeans.

Charlie's Pasture Nature Preserve

The history of Charlie's Pasture
The Port Aransas Nature Preserve at Charlie's Pasture encompasses 1,217 acres. Charlie Buhan was born on Mustang Island on Sept. 6, 1906.  His father, Matteo Bujan, settled on this island in 1885.  Charlie had a herd of about 250 cattle that ran on the island for many years until the law required cattle to be fenced in.  The land he leased from the State of Texas extended from the current Charlie's Pasture pier to the end of the island at East Flats.  He moved his cattle onto the lease land and built stock pens across from the pier.  Charlie's Pasture was also the place where, as far back as the 1950's, island youngsters hung out or spent many a night camping out under the stars.  Charlie's Pasture is a major part of the local heritage on Mustang Island. In May 2002, the City began an effort to preserve this section of natural habitat, enlisting the talents and ideas of many local residents and area agencies.  The Port Aransas Nature Preserve at Charlie's Pasture is truly a gift for future generations - a sense of history, a study of habitat and an appreciation of nature at its best.

Saturday was a long walking day for me. I started out in the morning at the Community Center Health Fair, picked up a free pedometer from the Walgreen's table. My blood pressure, sugar and oxygen levels all checked out good. Still not happy with my weight or body mass index, but I'm working on that. I read that walking 5,000 steps a day is considered sedentary, you must walk at least 10,000 steps a day to be considered "active". I walked over 13,000 steps on Saturday.

The Nature Preserve is along the Shipping Channel. After I left the health fair, I walked along Port Street and around the fishing docks to get to the preserve. There are several walking and biking paths through the Nature Preserve, some are dirt paths, but mostly you are on boardwalks built over the wetlands area.  The area was very dry with a few ponds here and there. I'm assuming that since I was walking on boardwalks at least a foot above the ground, that there may be times when this area is flooded.  I thought I would have a chance to see a lot of birds in this area, I only saw a few.  It's either too early in the season or it's because of the drought.  After walking over 4 miles, I took a break at a picnic area near the shore and watched the big cargo ships and sailboats.  I still needed to walk back to an area where I could catch the bus back to the RV park.  I walked at least 2 more miles through the Nature Preserve and back through town to the bus stop.

I figure this is a good way to get in shape for hiking. I want to do some hiking in the National Parks. I've applied for Workamping jobs at Mesa Verde National Park and a RV park near Rocky Mountain National Park. I need to meet up with some workamping hiking partners.

Does anyone know of any hiking groups that travel in RV's?

An afternoon at the seashore........

and more dolphins

Last night, I had Thursdays post all ready to go with pictures and a video clip, and then it all vanished. I was correcting some spelling and the entire post was deleted.

Frustrating, don't feel like putting it back together, so you will just have to imagine this......

Sitting at the seashore, on the rocks. watching a pod of dolphins playing in the waves of passing ships and a sailboat gliding by.

A Salty Duck

Blogging friends over at the  Good Luck Duck asked me if I wanted to meet for coffee. We decided to meet this morning at their RV, they are parked on the beach.


This morning I headed over to the beach near the South Jetty. It was a warm, foggy day. The sun came out for a little while in the afternoon, but it didn't last long before the fog started coming back.

Parking/camping/boondocking on the beach is free with a $12 annual beach permit, but I wonder if being that close to the waves and the salty air is such a good idea. The Duck is covered in salt.


I met Annie and Roxanne and their friend Chris at the RV. We sat around and talked over coffee and then went to lunch at a little cafe  on Beach Street.

Chris - Roxanne - Annie

I enjoyed talking with others that "get it": Kindred Spirits. We have many of the same ideas about downsizing and travel, lifestyle changes, etc. You feel like you already know someone from reading their blog. Chris said she has a blog but hasn't posted anything to it in a long time, she may try to start it up again.

After lunch, I walked along the beach and then to the grocery store and took the Port A bus back to my RV.


Island life is relaxing, but I think that in February I will start heading towards Tucson. I will take my time going through Texas and New Mexico and may not get there until March. I want to go to Lazy Days RV Center in Tucson to have some remodeling work done inside the coach. I had the ideas for the remodeling from the very beginning, when I purchased the coach. I thought I would have to go back to Florida, then I found out that they opened a shop in Tucson.  I was very happy with the service I received from Lazy Days RV in Florida and feel that they will do a good job at the new location.

Natures Art

Port Aransas, Texas
2012

City Marina & City Park in Port Aransas

I took advantage of the bus/trolley here in Port Aransas and went to the City Marina and City Park this afternoon.. I was looking for dolphins.  I could see them jumping out of the water (not very high) and moving around.  I was too far away to get good photos. In these first two photos (click to enlarge) you may see a fin or two. It's at times like this that I think I want a better camera, but I really don't like to carry a lot of things when I am walking around. It is tempting to order a camera with a zoom lens.

The park is nicely landscaped with a lot of benches and a few small shade pavilions.  I walked along the concrete bulkhead and through the park and near the ferry crossing.

I stopped at the Visitor Center and then walked over to an RV park to check it out (I did not like it and was glad that I did not make a reservation). The pictures on the website are of many trees and grassy areas.  It was very clean, and the people seemed friendly, but it was basically a parking lot and they raised their prices for January through March and their website does not show these higher prices. The only positive thing about this park is that it is very close to the boat docks, and I would like to go on one of the "Sunset Cruises" and be able to walk back to my RV afterward. I will probably just go on a morning or afternoon "dolphin" viewing boat ride, instead. 

I walked around for awhile, did not go into any of the gift shops, stopped at the grocery store and then back on the bus to go back home.

Janome Sewing Machines

If you like to sew or quilt, check this out.

Janome Facebook Challenge

I am looking to purchase a new Janome sewing machine

 and came across this article.

 Janome is giving away 2 sewing machines and 

lots of other fun stuff.

Sign up today.......and Good Luck!

Pretty in Pink

picture from Texas State Parks website

When I made a reservation at this RV park, I asked for a corner site.  With my rig being at least 10' shorter than most of the rigs in this park, I didn't want to be sandwiched between two of them.

Woo-hoo!  They gave me a corner site. 

I keep the blinds closed on the side facing my neighbor

 and don't even notice they are there.

Odd, they have no windows on the side that faces my RV.

From my windshield I can see the duck pond and "nature area" described in the parks brochure.  I can also sit at the dinette or outside at the picnic table and look out over the pond.


Up until today, the only birds I saw were ducks and coots and on the grass there are starling's, grackles and pigeons. Pigeons?? I thought that was a bit strange, there is a whole flock of them that mingle with the ducks on the grass. 


Anyway, today around 4pm, I glanced outside and saw something pink.  A pair of Roseate Spoonbills were enjoying the water and flapping their wings to dry their feathers.

I went outside to take pictures and scared them away.  I did manage a short video clip, you can only see the pink color at the very beginning.  I hope they return to the pond.

My windshield also faces the west, for a fantastic view of the sunset.

Looking back at My First Blog Post

On Saturday, January 8, 2011, I was sitting around the house, tired of the snowy, cold & dark winter days of Chicago.  I had been reading blogs for awhile and dreaming and scheming about being a gypsy. I had been alone in my house for about 15 months at that point and needed to do something.


I started my blog - just typing what I was thinking about.


I called it "TODAY" and named 6 things that I wanted to accomplish. They were: Simplify and organize my life, Make healthy choices, Sell my house, Buy a small motorhome, Spend a few months at the beach, and Produce a steady stream of income.


I worked on all of those things all year long and can say I did it all. Some are a work in progress and will never have an end date.


I bought a small motorhome in April.


The house in sold.


My life has been simplified, I own only what is in the motorhome and a few boxes of things at my daughters house, nothing is in storage.  I want to simplify even more, there are boxes of stuff in the motorhome that need to be sorted and donated, and I have too many clothes with me. 


Simplifying my life doesn't mean doing without - I have computers, a wi-fi hotpsot and an iPhone and whatever else I need to be comfortable. These things are actually making it easier to have less clutter.


I am constantly working on healthy choices and I am happy with the progress I am making.


I am currently living at the beach, on an Island.


For income, I will be workamping in 2012 and I am working on some art projects and websites. 


I want to make another list, but nothing is coming to mind at this time. I am still thinking about "What do I want to do with the rest of my life" and I am enjoying this opportunity to travel.

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` 

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in Everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. -Marianne Williamson

As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

On the left side of the blog is a link to the posts I have written.

Thanks to all of my followers and others that read the blog.

I appreciate all of the comments and enjoy corresponding with other bloggers.

I had a good year (challenging, busy and crazy, but good) and I look forward to many new opportunities.

Happy Birthday, Dad

January 2nd

80th Birthday!

On Sunday my sisters and brothers hosted a birthday party, in Chicago, for my Dad. 

I went through my computer and found some pictures to share with you.

Diane - DAD - Teri

Colorado October 2010

Stump and my Dad
deep frying Turkey at one of
our famous Backyard parties

My Dad was a Cook in the Navy on the aircraft carrier "USS Valley Forge".

Cooking at home, also

Apartment in Maryland, (1955?)

My Mom was lucky, Dad did most of the cooking.

Early 80's

Diane , Stump, DAD and me

probably at a lake in Indiana

Dad would cook breakfast, lunch and dinner on a charcoal grill

We didn't camp overnite, just got there real early and came home late.

Mom and Dad  May 28, 2005
at Diane and Karl's wedding

Seems like life revolves around Food,

we always seem to be blogging about it.

Happy Birthday DAD