Author: Graham Reddoch

A funny thing happened on the way to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Texas yesterday. We plugged the co-ordinates into our gps and set off, without first questioning the route she(?) was taking us. As it turned out, it was the most convoluted, twisty, turny, narrow country road through rural Texas, past Austin’s dump and a wide range of house styles. (We’re convinced that Texas has no building codes or required building permits. You do what you want with your land, however lavish or humble!) Within a mile of the park we crossed over a major street that we had taken many times in the past, as it is a prominent Interstate exit. If we had taken that exit, we would have arrived at the park in half the time!

We laughed at this small (mis)adventure, realizing at the same time that speed, and the most direct routes, are not necessarily our goals on this journey. There is a lot of country to see, and you don’t catch it all from the Interstate.

Not that we are totally devoid of planning — leaving our adventure in the hands of a gps who routinely tells us to turn left when we can see our destination on the right… We planned and succeeded in visiting Central Market in Austin
yesterday, picking up some fabulous fresh fruit, vegetables, breads, cheeses, wines (buy 6, get 10% off – how can you go wrong with their huge international selection!), steak, lamb, and other unique food items. It’s always a treat, but we have to limit ourselves by the size of the Smart car “trunk”.

We also picked up a new Weber bbq (grill in America) that I had ordered on-line last week and had delivered to an Austin Walmart. After some assembly required, I seared those aforementioned Missouri-raised steak, and we enjoyed a candlelight dinner with a fresh salad, baguette, and a nice bottle of Valpolicella.

In the end, our dinner and night’s stay were at Austin’s Lone Star RV Park, as McKinney Falls State Park was fully booked in advance – no room for those who didn’t plan ahead… Before we pulled out of the park, the friendly ranger wanted to direct us to alternate state parks. “Are you headed east or west?” To which I answered: “Yes”!

No, not the Kurt Cobain band, but the state of perfect quietude, freedom, and highest happiness. That is where Betty & I found ourselves yesterday.

We began our less than grueling day, breaking camp in Austin, Texas, and driving for an hour to Bastrop State Park. Being a weekend and without a reservation, we had no idea whether they would have a campsite for us. As it turns out, we had our choice of sites, and selected one at the end of a loop, with a scenic lookout over valleys in 2 directions. The park had suffered from a major forest fire in 2011, but new growth and fresh plantings were evident, and the campground is well cared for. To our surprise, we have a large, full service
site at half the price we had paid in Austin. With a paved parking area, the automatic levelers did quick work of stabilizing us, and a push of another button had our slideouts expanding our living space in no time at all.

For lunch Betty presented sushi with an assortment of cheeses and crackers, all paired with a nice Beaujolais. For dinner I prepared my famous prosciutto wrapped asparagus and lamb chops on the grill, and served with mint sauce and a bottle of Cambridge & Sunset Pinot Noir. We sat outside and enjoyed the warmth of a Texas evening, the perfect quietude of our camp spot, the freedom that retirement brings, and the highest happiness of each other’s company. Nirvana!

Expecting to see an island reduced in size by recent hurricanes, Betty & I were surprised to find Galveston Island apparently twice the size of our memory. I say apparently, since I am sure the island is the same size as before – just a significantly different recollection…

We began our exploration by visiting the State Park beach side campground where we had previously stayed. More than twice as many sites were developed since our last visit. The drive to the south west end of the island took twice as long, with many more colourful, stilted cottages added to the landscape. Episodes of Beachfront Bargain Hunt flashed through our minds the whole way.

Toward the end of the island we turned our Smart car onto the beach. Charlie enjoyed the chase of the car along the hard-packed sand, taking a mad dash into the waves along the way. He has always loved water, and returned to our campsite a happy and tired puppy.

We then headed down the waterfront drive to the opposite end of the island – a trip that took twice as long as we expected. From there it was our intent to visit the fresh fish outlet that we had stopped at on a previous trip. My recollection was that it was just below the bridge to the mainland, but the drive to the far side of the island was – you guessed it – more than twice as long as before.

Many parts of the island appeared rebuilt after previous hurricanes, and memory didn’t serve to get us to our destination. Enter Google and we were taken past a Disney cruise ship in port, finally arriving at the unique open outlet on the side of the harbor where today’s catch was laid out on beds of ice. The pelicans we remembered seeking scraps at the front of the store were now fenced off on the harbor side, but they were still there. We picked out some large, fresh shrimp, red snapper and a couple of flounder, and the fish were filleted for us on the spot to our specifications.

Back at our campsite, I fired up the barby & we cooked red snapper with fresh lemon slices, some baked potatoes and a Missouri rib eye steak. The surf ‘n turf was paired with a Pinot Grigio and a Valpolicella. I know, twice the food and twice the wine, but the tasty meal fit well on an island that appeared to be twice the size of our memory!

Signs at Galveston State Park:

 

 

 

 

The end that’s left when the alligator

has finished:

It was forecast to turn chilly as we approached our first Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) rally at Lake Conroe, north of Houston, Texas. Betty & I had no idea what to expect from the South Texas Renegades, who were our hosts this past weekend. As it turned out, we were overwhelmed by the warmth of southern hospitality that we experienced from beginning to end!

Before we left Canada, I had spoken with Bob about the rally registration process. Rather than putting U.S. cash in the mail, or sending a Canadian cheque, Bob fronted us the registration fee until we could get to the campground. He was the first to welcome us, and provided a schedule of weekend events.

For each of the meals, we and 8 other guest couples were honoured to be served first with wonderful southern cooking, including pizza, chicken & sausage gumbo, and catfish, red beans & rice, with hearty portions of food for all meals.

This blog post would run too long if I named all the wonderful folk with whom we shared a meal and a laugh, but I have to give shout outs to a few:

A couple in their mid-eighties, John and Bettie have aged well (not to be confused with well-aged!). They are a true inspiration to us, describing their plan to full-time for 2 years, but continuing for 17! As we regularly evaluate our 5-year plan, we will keep in mind the possibilities presented by Bettie & John.

Lane & Brenda were our next-door neighbours at the campground, and we
also had an opportunity to share lunch with them at a waterfront restaurant called Papa’s On The Lake. Great neigbours!

We were lucky to meet John & Erin, not only because Erin was the lucky winner of one of our evening games, but also because John was able to describe what I should look for in a Prevost, if I ever win the lottery. Of course, because my luck doesn’t tend to be the same as Erin’s, I don’t buy tickets, so that Prevost may be a long way off!

Betty & I not only shared our love for food and wine with Rick & Denise, we shared a few bottles of the good stuff with them as well! At the end of the night, Rick was still reaching into his extensive stock when we made our way back to our motorhome, sufficiently warmed by the experience that I left my jacket behind on what was apparently a cool night. Rick took the time to drive me to his favorite butcher shop and introduce me to his butcher. In the next
few weeks we are looking forward to cranking up the barby for some tasty Texas ribs, steak, and armadillo balls (bacon-wrapped sausage). Going above and beyond, Rick, who is a commercial pilot and certified aircraft mechanic, took the time to diagnose and repair some wiring issues we were having with our motorhome. What an outstandingly generous man!

While most rally participants were Texans, we also enjoyed the company of a sweet couple from Arkansas. L.B. and Carol were people we would love to have spent more time with, if only to listen to the amazingly distinctive southern accent!

Well, there are many others that we enjoyed meeting at this first FMCA rally. If this group is any indication of what to expect from others in FMCA, we look forward to warming our hearts with hospitality again, regardless of the temperature outside!

One might get the inaccurate impression from reading this blog that Betty & I are heavy drinkers. Nay, nay! (I doth protest too much. LOL) But we do like to pair a fine wine with a fine meal, and my understanding is that doctors claim it is good for our digestion. Well I’m going with that, whether they claim it or not…

When Betty retired for the first time, she informed me that making her own wine was on her bucket list. I inwardly cringed, as I’ve tasted a lot of homemade plonk over the years. But she prevailed and I believe her years of experience as a nurse lead to her overwhelming success: She thoroughly sterilized all components, and she followed the instructions to a T. She hasn’t produced a bad batch yet!

As most people realize, downsizing to a motorhome has its limitations. The custom wine rack I installed only has the capacity for 12 bottles. Another 15 can live under one of the seats, and of course there should always be a few chilling in the fridge. But when you’re used to bottling 60 every couple of months, one can see where our style is somewhat cramped!

While Betty developed expertise in the brewing, my skill in labeling was continuously honed. Thanks to a recommendation from our son, Andrew, I invested in a Dymo label maker, and enjoyed customizing the labels for each batch brewed. They involve pictures I took around our home in Winnipeg, or on previous motorhome trips. I’ve attached some of the recent efforts to this post, but the reader must recognize that the Dymo is a thermal printer that doesn’t use ink, so only produces a black & white image. That limits the subject matter, but I think my technique is still improving, if I ever have the chance for more practice.

In any event, now that we are without our home brew supply we must rely on others. Thankfully, we have found wine retailing to be far less regulated in some states south of the 49^th. Right now Texas is particularly interesting as Walmart carries a larger selection than most government liquor stores in Manitoba, and with prices under $3 who can go wrong? We call it “Wally Wine”, and much of it isn’t that bad! Really! Costco here also has a generous selection, and so do some of the Dollar Stores, but we haven’t been reduced to Dollar Store wine just yet…

OK, so we’re having another great meal with fresh local ingredients tonight. I think its time we follow
the doctor’s orders and liquid(ate) our digestive systems! Cheers!

“Say what??”

It’s fun to hear all the variations on the English language in south Texas. On South Padre Island we see license plates, and meet people, from all over North America. It’s fascinating to listen to the colloquial phrases that are common expressions for one area of the continent, but not familiar in other areas. Of course, English isn’t the only language spoken – most of the over-the-air television stations in our campground are in Spanish, and bilingualism is common in stores and on the streets – just not the French/English bilingualism we are used to…

Not to say there isn’t a significant Quebec contingent here. Our good neigbours from our last site were French Canadians. Johnny (Jeanny) loves to fish and brought us a great supply of fresh wild shrimp which we are still enjoying. We hope to get a further supply before we leave next month.

But back to the English language issue at Isla Blanca County Park (pronounced issla — the ‘s’ isn’t silent – which makes me wonder about John Donne’s “No Man Is An Issland…” or “Treasure Issland”. We stopped at the local Walmart to pick up a cable to connect my MacBook to our TV, and I asked the Electronics Department staff what they had. He asked me if our computer and TV had ashdemmy connections, and I said no, not as far as I know. After walking away, I noticed a rack of HDMI cables, which work just great!

Of course struggling with effective communication isn’t always with someone from a different part of the continent. This morning Betty & Charlie came home from a long walk on the beach. I was just getting up, so asked her what I should wear. “Is it a shorts day?” She looked at me quizzically and said “No, it’s not a short stay. You know we’re here for another month!” LOL

Real news, as opposed to the fake stuff, appears hard to come by here. But the other day we heard there was going to be a feature story coming up about homeless vets in South Texas, and Betty wondered why veterinarians aren’t paid enough in this state in order to afford a home. Everybody here seems to have pets! “Oh, you mean those vets…!”
Anyway, every day is a treat, and our new well-treed campsite is surrounded by friendly neigbours from all over. There is a real sense of community in this part of the park, with many seasonal campers, and we are looking forward to hearing the dialects and learning the unique phrases that help us all communicate more effectively with each other!

Cheers!

All the “S”s have come together this weekend to create a great experience in paradise!  While the sun has been rather elusive in south Texas for the past 3 weeks, today is a beautiful sunny beach day, with the current temp of 80f (27c) and a light breeze blowing down the shoreline. (Reported high of 90f (32c) while we were at the beach!) Apparently we can expect more of the same in our final three weeks here, although the forecast continues to be unpredictable.

Betty, Charlie & I have just made the 2 minute walk from South Padre Island’s fabulous sandy beach, back to our motorhome. Charlie has had an outdoor shower to rinse off some of the excess sand, and I have cracked open a chilled bottle of Walmart’s finest Pinot Grigio as we relax on our little patio.

There’s a lot to see and do in south Texas. This week we drove to the end of the road looking for Boca Chica State Park and found ourselves on a totally undeveloped sand beach. Apparently the area was declared a State Park in order to protect it from development, with the closest sign of civilization being a curious Elon Musk SpaceX installation near the end of the road…

As we drove also to the north end of the road on SPI we were reminded of driving in Canadian winters, where the wind swirls and sweeps snow drifts across the highway. Except for us this week it was warm, fine-grained sand being swirled and swept across the road: Much more enjoyable!

Yesterday we drove to the large sand flats just north of SPI’s convention centre and met up with a large flock of seagulls that seemed as interested in us as we were in them. Here is a picture of them standing quietly on the sand, just before Betty dropped a handful of trailmix outside our Smart car window. If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Birds” you will get the sense of our experience next, as we attempted to outrun the seagulls before they picked up our little car and carried us away! Total mayhem!! LOL

Our main reason for going to the sand
flats was to see a free exhibit of the most amazing sky craft ever! Kites of all colours, shapes and sizes hovered over us, and we witnessed a fascinating ballet in the sky, as individual and group kite flyers danced their kites in front and above us to music. We have no idea how 8 – 12 flyers could choreograph such tight, exacting moves in the air without getting their kite lines all tangled. The attached pictures do not do justice to the deft skill of the experienced flyers. Simply amazing!

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I must end another post with the final “S” of our title. For my birthday this week Betty took me to a Fleetwood Mac tribute concert where some great surf ‘n turf was served: lobster tails and bacon-wrapped filet minion – very tasty. However, last night’s bbq offering was also a mouth-watering delight. Attached is a pic of our steak, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and baked potatoes on the barbie, paired nicely with a Valpolicella.

This weekend’s experience of sun, sand, seagulls, sky craft, and steak again  reminds us of why we came to paradise!

Cheers!

This week Betty & I continued our adventures in wonderland by exploring Adolfe Thomae Jr County Park, about an hour’s drive north of South Padre Island. Part of the Cameron County Parks group, this beautiful but rather isolated spot is on the banks of the Arroyo Colorado in Laguna Atascoso
National Wildlife Refuge. On the way, we passed through a few small communities, but mainly farmland, including a number of large wind farms. There were very few other vehicles on the well-maintained road, and we had little or no expectation of what we would find when we reached the end of the road. Fortunately, our park pass for Isla Blanca Park also activated the gate at Adolfe Thomae, and we were able to go exploring.

The park was alive with unique (to us) flora, fauna, and wildlife, and I had to smile as I thought of camping trips as a kid where my mom never left home without her little books describing the plants and animals we would be seeing. My apologies to the readers of this post who see some of the pics taken along the way that don’t adequately identify the bird beside the pelican, for instance, or the type of cactus, or the flower on top of the palm… Well, with the mix of sun and shadow, they all made good shots anyway!

The few RV sites located in the park are large attractive full-service spaces, nearly all backing onto the river. While there is a small children’s playground, the main activity of campers was fishing, with both a large boat ramp and adjacent parking area, and a number of wharfs jutting into the river. While we don’t fish, Betty & I agreed that this isolated spot would be ideal for anyone seeking a break from the hustle and bustle of city life.

On the way back home to SPI, we passed groves of orange and grapefruit
trees, with some heavily laden fruit trees adjacent to the highway right-of-way. We were tempted to reach out and pick them, as we had done on a trip to Florida when we were young and foolish, when we saw a hand-written sign “Grapefruit for sale”. We turned down a farmer’s lane and arrived at a stand in the orchard, with grapefruit in various sizes of bags. On the stand was a jar full of cash, and the sign invited us to put in our money and take our fruit. We chose a bag of about 30 grapefruit for $8., left our payment and drove off, never seeing the vendor. While we’re still not sure what we’ll do with 30 grapefruit — it seems all our neighbouring campers have their own — these grapefruit are sweet and juicy, and we are enjoying them with almost every meal.

For those who are familiar with my famous margarita: Yes, fresh grapefruit is a key ingredient. Unfortunately, this happy drink only comes out when the temperature is stinkin’ hot for a number of days running. We have been experiencing one or two days a week with the temp. over 80f (26c), but not enough sustained heat to put together the necessary fresh ingredients for the perfect drink. So we have to settle for wine instead. Does it sound like I am whining? Life is so tough here on the island! LOL.

If you’re looking for a unique campground, far from the madding crowd, consider Adolfe Thomae Jr County Park. It makes for another great adventure in wonderland. Cheers!

Who says Shakespeare is dead? Last night Betty & I attended the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged)” at the South Padre Island Convention Centre. What a hoot!

In about 2 hours of high intensity acting, three performers played 46 roles from The Bard’s 37 plays, combining them into a hilarious presentation which came with the following “Warning: This show is a high-speed, roller-coaster type condensation of William Shakespeare’s massive first play and is not recommended for people with heart ailments, back problems, English degrees, inner ear disorders, people inclined to motion sickness, and/or the humor-impaired. The Reduced Shakespeare Company cannot be held responsible for expectant mothers.”

In addition to all the outlandish impersonations of such characters as Hamlet, King Lear, Lady MacBeth, Ariel and Puck, the show was full of familiar quotes that were twisted into punny expressions that those with a twisted mind like mine could truly appreciate. In re-telling, I cannot do justice to the “Friends, Romans, countrymen…” speech that ends with the death of a Caesar salad; or the comic portrayal of Macbeth’s 3 witches as they stir the pot with “double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble…”. “To be, or not to be…” is compared with Frank Sanatra’s “do be do be do”, and one of the characters pulls out a joint for “doobie, or not doobie…”

At one point one of the actors challenges the statement that all Disney movies are based on themes established by Shakespeare in his plays. In answer, the actors quickly describe elements of Disney movies, with another giving Shakespeare’s earlier take on the theme. Hilarious and amazing that Teddy Spencer, Austin Tichenor, and Marco Antonio Vega are able to remember so many parts from so many plays, and present them so flawlessly!

No pictures were allowed in the theatre, so I must end this post with a pic of the flowers I picked up today for my sweetie, in celebration of Valentine’s Day next week. Cheers!