April 4, 2020

Well, we were between a rock and hard place, as so many of us are…do we stay or do we go? The RV Park would allow us to stay longer, but other than walking on the beach there was nothing to do. And, we had our new camper ready and waiting up near Abilene, where there is a lot less coronoavirus at the moment. We said good bye to our Winter Texas friends that will stay longer or all year, and to those that are heading home- to family they won’t be able to visit until they self isolate for 14 days, to seasonal businesses that can’t open, to more unknown.
So, we went…

Texas State Parks have stayed open with reduced services and we are ever so grateful! We can preregister on line and deal with fewer people in person. So, we headed north, with reservations to cover us until April 29th.
The Hill Country of Texas is rather nice in the spring time- wild flowers blooming, trees leafing out and warm- so we did a 2 mile hike up a hillside to an overlook.

And then the next day- the temps went from 65 to 39 in about an hour!! Yikes!
The RV dealer that has our camper had decided that all business will be conducted outside- a great idea until we go there as the weather had been warm- sigining paperwork at about 45 degrees with down parkas on…They have kept people out of our rig for the most part, but did get in to clean and make sure everything worked.
We only go near people when we absolutely have to and keep our distance- groceries and the RV dealership. RVing does have it’s benefits as far as isolating, so long as we can find open campgrounds – as of now State Parks in New Mexico and Arizona are closed, however, if we can get to BLM land we will have that to use, unless lots of others have headed out of their homes to camp to break up the boredom…time will tell.

Our thoughts are with all of you and whatever it is that you are facing during the virus crisis. Stay safe, stay strong and hang in there!

March 25, 2020

We are all in a very unique situation- living our lives with the COVID-19 all around us.
Clare and I are following the news, especially news from back home, wherever friends and family are, and here in Texas. Right now, there are a few cases in Corpus Christi, but not here….yet- Port Aransas, a barrier island. Spring break is kind of over, but with colleges and public schools closed there are still plenty of people at the beach, but, there are 10 miles of beaches here and 70-80 more miles along the rest of Padre Island, so people can spread out.
Our RV park has taken precautions, and many people have left either because they normally would and others have left because they want to be home. We feel pretty safe in our RV, however we are scheduled to move April 1 heading north near Abilene to pick up our new 5th wheel RV. We have already had some reservations cancelled, however Texas State Parks are, so far, remaining open to camping. The RV dealer is open at the moment… And hopefully, we will be able to find open campgrounds.
Grocery stores are doing a great job, although the TP hoarders are the real problem. H-E-B grocery chain has made the national news for giving it’s employees a $2/hr raise. Watching them close a section of the store and a dozen workers swoop in and restock the area is very cool. Customers, for the most part, are staying calm and friendly.
Of course, restaurants have gone to take out only.
It is a little dull here, no more card games in the rec hall, etc. However, the weather is in the 70s and we can be outside, until it gets too hot 🙂 Walk the beach, the jetty the seawall, and even go for a swim as the ocean water temp is over 70 degrees! We don’t watch broadcast TV, so we have ordered more DVD series in case we have to isolate even more.
We’ve stopped playing Pickleball, even though the town has allowed us to still play outside- I have a sore knee and Clare has stopped playing to be on the safe side as we get ready to move.
Thinking of all of you, wherever you are. Feel free to email and let us know how you are doing in this difficult time.

Well, it’s the middle of March and I haven’t posted for awhile. I guess that means that things have been pretty quiet- not a bad way to be retired! Port Aransas seems to suit us.
The weather is warming up- highs in the 70s and lows in the high 60s each night, but very humid…very humid.
We were invited to ride in our friends’ beach cart for the Mardi Gras Parade up in town- first a wild ride through this RV Park, then 3 miles up the Beach Rd. then all through Port Aransas and home again…little did we know what we were getting into…

We belong to a rifle range in Aransas Pass- it is still the Wild West down here, just look at what can come between us and the targets!

Spoonbills in the little pond behind our camper:

There was a “Turtle Release” on the beach- turtles that had been rehabbed and were ready to go back to sea. The crowd was huge, the turtles were small; so we climbed up on the sand dune (watching for rattlesnakes) to get at least a distant view of the turtles. They carry the turtles along the crowd for viewing and then release them into the ocean.

A cemetery in Rockport Texas is pretty awesome this time of year; wildflowers cover almost the entire cemetery! Blue Bonnets- the Texas state flower which is a lower cousin to our Lupines, coreopsis, phlox, gailliardia, wine cups, and more:

As the coronavirus and the connected panic takes hold of the nation, we are re-assessing our plans, making back-up plans and looking forward to boondocking where there will be very few other people! Some states are closing their state parks to camping (but not to day use…huh?)
We are reading more of the news than ever before and checking the news back home and wherever friends and family are; wishing and hoping that everyone stays healthy and calm.
Essentially, we’re living in a retirement community, however many short term campers come and go. AND it is public school and college spring break here, which means the beach right in front of us has several hundred kids there every day after noon time until into the night. So, no coronavirus reported in this area…yet… Store shelves are empty- we hear cavalier statements of this is nothing to worry about as well as panic comments about stocking up and rushing home (perhaps to a state or city that has coronavirus).
Rhylee turned 15 years old! The dog is one toughie!

He is healthy and a social butterfly here- he has two families that give him treats and he is always a star at the beach…which says what about us?
And so, where are we headed the end of the month? We ordered a new fifth wheel camper- an Artic Fox- more space, bigger kitchen, but it won’t fit in some of the crazy places we took the Outdoors RV trailer. For this 5th wheel, we actually needed a bigger truck and so have traded up- truck looks the same but it’s a F350 now.

January 31, 2020

Living the Winter Texan retired lifestyle- pickleball, cards, beach and seafood- pretty tough to take, but we are managing 🙂

The weather has been better than the past two years- fingers crossed that it will continue- days in the 60s and 70s, a rainy day or two every week, foggy mornings a couple of times a week. Pretty sweet, we know- we follow the weather back home and truly can commiserate, but don’t miss shoveling the snow!

 

Late one afternoon, we were lucky enough to look out our windows and saw:

The colors were, of course, much more vivid in person. And, we could see both ends of the rainbows…but not the pot of gold…

December, 2019

Merry Christmas Beach Style

 

 

A couple of one-night stops through the middle of Georgia to get us to the place we were really headed to- Indian Pass, FL- It is a best kept secret that a local Appalachicolan told us about 2 years ago and then a beachwalker in Alabama told us about it, too. The campground is at the end of a dead end road, sand with trees, lots of beach, an island and a small town nearby- Port St. Joe that has pickleball, a few good restaurants and a grocery store. We had high hopes for this place and they were met- so we will be back for a month next November!

Bouncing along from State Park to State Park, checking out the coast along our way to Port Aransas.
Sea Rim SP- our third stop here as it is quiet and remote- just a simple campground along the beach.
Galveston SP- more beach, and TONS more development and people! In 1900, Galveston was hit with the one of the worst hurricanes ever. It changed the city from a commercial area- it all moved inland to Houston- to a beach/tourist community. There were lots of Christmas activities happening here- Victorian Christmas weekend- which apparently is mobbed so we skipped that, and

Moody Gardens which is a huge hotel/convention center/amusement park/aquarium, etc complex puts on an AMAZING Ice Sculpture – 2 million pounds, 9 degrees-
and a Festival or Lights mile-long walk through the grounds.

Goose Island SP- closed since Hurricane Harvey Sept. 2016, now partially open. There is a Live Oak Tree here that is over 1100 years old!!

 

 

Padre Island National Seashore- one of our favorite, but off grid places, so just a short stay.

And finally, to Pioneer RV Park in Port Aransas, TX, where we will be until the end of March.

November 2019
Stopped at a couple of nice county and state parks on the way down, and then onto the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. There is so much more here than we expected- but mostly there were not very many people- thank goodness- the “on season” must bring thousands here to rent all these beach houses!

Wright Brothers First Flight Memorial and Park- awesome historic site! To hear the detailed story of the brothers – challenges, successes, hardships…truly great story.

 

This photo shows the markers where each of the three flights landed- the third being quite a distance further. The monument on the hill is where the brothers and a few neighbors launched their hand glider over a 1000 times redesigning the wings- dragging it back up by hand each time! The day after the three powered flights, wind- which is why they were there in the first place- damaged the plane and ended the trials which had started several years earlier.

 

 

 

Cape Hatteras Light House- build by a Mainer – Dexter Stetson- in 1870 and then MOVED 2900 feet in 1999! AMAZING!

 

On to Emerald Isle, NC- more lovely beaches and warmish temps.
Then Huntington Beach State Park Murrell’s Inlet, south of Myrtle Beach- same ol, same ol- LOL and did I mention great seafood, too?
We did see an armadillo  in one of the inland state parks- another first!

November 8,  2019
We are back on the road! We had a great time back home in Maine for Sept. and Oct.— saw lots of friends, played lots of pickleball, enjoyed the fall foliage which we have missed the past two falls, and had lots and lots of healthcare appointments (ugh! but we are done for a year!)

We have been remiss in posting anything to this here blog- in fact, I didn’t even post the last place in New Brunswick in August or Harrington, Maine- so I will briefly try to catch those places up (the blog is a historical journal for us. As our memories age (oh yeah, that really does happen:-), we can look back at old posts and see where we were when we did what.
St. Martins, New Brunswick- quiet little town on the coast with pretty cool sea caves, some of which you can only walk to during low tide, or go by boat. And a road and park is being built over many years which will connect to Fundy National Park eventually.

Sunset Point Campground- one of our favorite Maine stays- our friends Ed and Judy met us there for a few days of rest and relaxation.
Rhylee update- he is sleeping through the night! Can you believe it? Long, long story short- he has hypothyroidism and the meds for that have truly helped many little things we attributed to his old age. And trial and error with different combinations of medications and supplements all have seemed to do the trick. He still does not like riding in the truck (say what? we are on the road, dog!) and we are working on that. The world looks different through eyes that aren’t always sleep deprived!
Heading out of the north- Cracker Barrels seem to be the best bet these days, until we get to Maryland where campgrounds will be open. Stopped in to see my brother Phil and his wife Priscilla in Manchester, NH on our way out.
Maryland and points south- campgrounds are open and the weather is warmer! YAY

late July- mid-August 2019
A long post due to poor internet in NS as well as casual attitudes on behalf of the posters 🙂

We picked a rather remote coastal area in Nova Scotia as our first stop. We did know that there was a music festival happening here this weekend, but how big could it be, way up here? Pretty big- supposedly 10,000 people attend the three day StanFest. And this town has one way in (and out), one small grocery store, one gas station, 2 restaurants, 2 campgrounds and 2 small hotels. They have a temporary campground on site to contain most of the concert goers.
We did not attend even though it looked interesting- big crowds, expensive tickets, and warm weather encouraged us to do other things like- visit Grassy Island – an early New England fishing settlement of the 1730s.

The Park Service provides a boat tour around and through the Canso Islands and then drops you off on the island to do the self-guided tour of cellar holes and old garrison- no buildings are left, but the story is enough to let you “see” the what life was like here.
Port Bickerton lighthouse is about 2 hours south of here and a small ferry- everything is far apart here, as there is very little here- tiny villages, extreme poverty, and tourist attractions that are few and far between.

The Lighthouse was a true hidden gem- we spoke to the teenage male guide and adult volunteer for quite a long time about the history and the local community. The rocks and surf here were beautiful; we hiked along the shore. We were the only visitors there…
Down to the Halifax area- campground on the ocean with lovely views, however not well managed and poor facilities- may be time to get back out in the boonies for us 🙂 We spent a day in Lunenburg- home of the famous Bluenose fishing schooner- that challenged my hometown of Gloucester to races back in the 1920s and 30s, and now continues dory races each summer in both cities. My grandfather long-line dory fished from schooners on the Georges and Grand Banks during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The Citadel is an awesome fort in Halifax- well preserved and historically significant as it protected the Brits and then Canadians from attack, as well as taking the French Fortress Louisburg in Cape Breton, and securing shipping sea lanes.

Peggys Cove, supposedly the most photographed lighthouse in the world, so we just had to play tourist and visit as it was just 5 km down the road. It is such a busy place that we took the tour guide recommendation to visit before 9am before the tour buses start pulling in!

Church Point- a community in Clare, NS- Clare, of course, loved seeing his name everywhere on signs for everything here! Belle Baie Campground- on the ocean, quiet, not much to do here. Found a Farmers’ Market and a sawmill museum. The Sawmill is the only one still standing from a dozen that were on this little river a hundred years ago. Local folks restored and re-opened the mill as a working mill and on first try the water turbine cranked right up. We chatted with the teenage grandson of a man that worked in this mill many years ago. This is a big scallop area, so Clare got his fill. Fresh fish was abundant and very, very cheap. A visit to Digby was quiet with a walk around a lighthouse- so many of these in NS!

And then a day in Annapolis Royal- the botanical gardens and an Acadian house- more exotic trees that we have ever seen, found a German Bakery, and a visit to a tide power generating plant where we learned how these don’t really work very well.

Five Islands on Minas Basin, which is on Fundy Bay- extreme high tides- the norm is about 35 ft. We are oceanside on a cove that totally drains out almost to the five islands. Another Tide Energy Power Plant- that didn’t work, current was much stronger than they predicted and tore the turbine out…Parrsboro is a nifty small town- a small theater where we saw- Odd Ducks, several restaurants and shops, and a couple of geology, fossil and tide museums.

Note the “foamy” water at the edge of the beach- this is water bubbling up through the pebbly shore as the tide races in. Apparently, because of the extreme tides and the pebbly beach the air that settles between the stones is quickly forced up and out. Quite the phenomenon.

Mid July, 2019
Staying on Malpaque Bay at a large, but very quiet RV park. Just 10 minutes to Summerside, so we have been to town quiet a bit- groceries, bakery, fish market, farmers’ market, AND Pickleball! There is lots of PB on the island, but mostly during the school year.

 

We went to the College of Piping to a performance of “Highland Storm”- the story of PEI through song, piping, drums, highland dance and step dance. An awesome show!

Finding Pickleball here on PEI! Played outside in Summerside two mornings- 4 courts playing for 3 hours straight. Very welcoming, as all PBers seem to be. And on the East Shore, we played inside at Mt. Stewart and Souris, again both friendly groups and good play.
Most play seems to be inside here and we figured out why- the mosquitos are plentiful and vicious; they can even fly against the wind!

Apparently, the past two summers have seem more mosquitoes than in the past, and ones with hearty bites!
Launching was our next stop- a piece of land that Clare’s cousin owns and she graciously allowed us to set up on it for a week. On a bluff overlooking a long sand spit connecting the mainland with Boughton Island.

A public beach that hardly anyone visits!! Sand bars help make the ocean water very warm- I went swimming almost every day, and Rhylee perfected his dog paddle!

Of course, the “very warm water” also brought in lots of Arctic Red Jellyfish, one of which I put my wrist right through the tentacles one day. That was a surprise! All my years of swimming in the ocean and I had never run into a jellyfish. It left red stings and stripes around my wrist for about 2 hours and then slowly receded- phew! I had to be very brave to go back into the ocean the next day…

Tried to get to a ceilidh- island music, however, the one we chose posted a “no show tonight” sign on the door…but we did hear some music at a brewery. Farmers’ markets, good restaurants, friendly people, good weather, very laid back island!

July 2019
We did enjoy our time in Gaspe, however we were a bit relieved to cross the bridge into New Brunswick! Traffic signs in English and French, visitor center staff who spoke English first, Sobey’s supermarkets which are really good. The people in Gaspe did make an effort to understand us, but it was a bit tiring 🙂
We forget that our license plates are South Dakota, even though we tell people we are from Maine- it can be a bit confusing!
Campbellton area- We attended a couple of events of the Salmon Festival- really lowkey! A truck pull was listed so we stopped to watch- poor Clare was expecting to see pick-up trucks pulling each other or something heavy…this is what we saw:

 

And then some fiddle music and clogging- part country, part acadian.

We needed haircuts in a bad way- so found a barbershop in a strip mall- 5 barbers, two were women, only one would cut women’s heads! We have noticed that Canadian towns have lots and lots of hair salons and barbershops- we guessed why, but have now confirmed it- Men get their hair cut every 2-3 weeks! And women might go every week! That means you need a lot of people cutting hair!

 

 

And Rhylee- we have started grooming him ourselves- less stress for him. He does come out a little funny looking, but he doesn’t know 🙂 AND, he is sleeping 6-7 hours most nights. We have quite the routine- one pill in the morning, one pill at 5pm, a good walk after dinner, two more pills and a hemp treat at 9, then quiet time, and if we are lucky he sleeps…

 

Escuminac Beach, not far from Miramichi- a private beach with a campground- lovely! Mosquito season is here and they are plentiful and hungry!

A memorial to fisherman lost at sea during a Nor’easter in 1959-

 

 

 

 

 

This whole peninsula is a giant peat bog, which is being harvested in places- you may have some in your gardens- and on the shore it is a Peat Cliff.

Warm enough to go swimming- both air and sea temps! We taught Rhylee how to swim one day- not sure he was impressed though 🙂 But he did find lots of wild strawberries!

We spent a day in Kouchibouguac National Park- peat bogs, forests, rivers, barrier beach islands- And we are learning how to pronounce all these native peoples’ names- well, we’re trying.