Jan 27, 28, 29

Tuesday was once again the Big Fisherman. We all went this time, so there were 8 of us enjoyed country fried steak, fried fish, chicken gizzards and livers…all you can eat of any of them for $2.25! It was yummy as usual!


After lunch we went by Pawelek’s Meat Market, where they were having the special of $1 a lb burger – limit of 5 lbs. It is good burger (NOT lean) and a great price, but you only get it for that if you have cash. What a deal!

Tuesday night we had a big scare, our dear friend Janet had a TIA (mini stroke) and it gave everyone pause as to how quickly life can change for us. Thankfully, she was treated quickly and there are no lingering effects. Yaaay Janet! Kudo’s to Dave for keeping his cool and insisting on what needed to be done. You two have become very special friends, and we want you around for many, many years :)

Wednesday we got together here at the clubhouse for Mexican themed pot luck. What a spread we had. Janet made a fabulous Taco Cheesecake (I STILL want the recipe please), there was a burrito lasagna, poppers with fantastic sauce, taco salad, and some fresh pineapple and chocolate for dessert….yum yum! The potluck started at 2 and we sat around and talked until 5! That is what this is all about!

Taco Cheesecake...yum yum

Thursday was a very special day – our friends Ron and Kathy stopped by to visit us for a couple hours – they are members of the Red Dale National Wagon Train, and of the Longmont Drifters. They’ve known Jim/Joan and Joe/Sandy longer than we have!!! They arrived at our place about 10, and we all met for lunch at the Paradise Grill – what a great time we had. We were able to sit out on the patio even though it was a little chilly – the nice folks lit two of those big patio torch heaters, so that kept us cozy. We all had a great lunch and talked until after 2! Once again, a successful event! Ron and Kathy headed west to Harlingen where they are parked for the winter (see you soon you two!)

Later we attended the business showcase at the Paws and Taws Convention Center. WOW, what a crowd!!! It was kind of like the ‘Progress and Prosperity’ luncheon put on for Frontier Days, except there was no sit down meal or buffet, but way more people than at any Business After Hours that we’ve ever attended in Cheyenne.

We topped off the day at Dairy Queen – with Janet and Dave, for a light dinner and a blizzard!

Today we're staying in, weather is rainy and chilly.  I've making sweet potato salad and sloppy joes :)  I did 2 loads of laundry this morning, and I have a couple voice mails, so I need to run to town and get them (maybe I won something from last night!). 

Jan 20 through 25 Fishing, fun, beautiful weather

It's been a while since I updated, mostly because we have been SO busy!  We've made a trip to Corpus Christie, finding Sunharvest store where we were able to purchase steel cut oats and some wonderful produce - that will not be the last time we're there!  We topped off a wonderful day with an early dinner at Johnny Carino's.

Biggest news is we went fishing...twice!  First last Thursday, we all packed a picnic lunch and off to Goose Island State Park, where we fished and fished, it was 83 degrees, and I got fried!!!  There was an assortment of fish caught, (none by me), Janet and Dave each got a very nice black drum, Jim caught a couple trout, and put them both back ***we now are pretty sure that 1 was a keeper*** and I caught a sunburn!!!  We went at 9 am and came home after 4 pm - a great day was had by all!

Saturday David and I took Cinder for a ride, and we went to the farmer's market in Aransas Pass, then drove over to Sinton, where we found some good produce buys, we got 33 oranges for $6, a huge pineapple for $3, and some nice tomatoes too! 

Sunday was yet another cook out - we went to Joe/Sandy's and cooked out - we had brats, hot dogs, burgers, baked beans, macaroni salad and tossed salad.  We all had a lovely time, even though the wind was incredible...

Today we awoke to beautiful sunny skies, with nary a cloud...we had made arrangements to meet together at Capt'n Benny's II across the bay.  However, they were closed, so we had lunch at 'Pops'.  It was fun and the burgers were amazing! 

Then some of us piled into cars and off we went back to Goose Island for more great fishing.  Several fish were caught, (Jim caught 4 catfish!) but we kept none of them...I think everyone caught except me!

At any rate, another perfect day - thanks friends, for some great memories!

Jan 17 through 19th cookout, nice weather

Sunday was a fabulous day - we awoke to beautiful sunny skies and temps in the high sixties - a great day for a cook out!!!

That is what we did - each couple brought their own meat to grill, and Dave & Janet have a grill big enough for most (we did our pork chops on our little Safari Chef grill).  Everyone brought something to share, so the menu was fantastic - new little red potatoes with sea salt & butter, cole slaw, cowboy baked beans, deviled eggs, a spinach salad with bacon dressing (to die for), caramel apple salad and a sock it to me cake!!!  We had plenty to eat, that's for sure!  We spent several hours just talking, laughing, and reminiscing, since Joe and Sandy were scheduled to leave Monday morning for Austin - we were so sad to see them go!

After the clean up, we ran into town so I could call my mom - for some reason Skype does not work for her - she says there is an echo and she simply can't hear me...so we went in to call her.  We were privileged to watch the most beautiful sunset, and of course neither of us brought our camera's! 
Monday morning once again the weather was gorgeous.  We burned a rom of pictures to take over to give to Joe and Sandy...and when we got there, they decided that they were staying for another month....Yippee, Yahoo, YaaaaY!  That's wonderful news, now lets make some more plans :)  Monday afternoon we all gathered together for 'happy hour', and that was fun!  We of course had munchies, and everyone brings their own 'libation', whether it is scotch or ice tea or anything in between!  We sat around and chatted until the mosquitos and the chill drove us in.  What a nice evening!

Tuesday of course was The Big Fisherman - another wonderful lunch of fabulous fried fish, all you can eat for $2.25 per person.  Amazing!  I did get a couple loads of laundry done in the morning, and then we went to the movies last night - we saw Book of Eli...good movie if you are a Denzel Washington fan...and a plot that was excellent! 

Stay tuned for some different adventures - I think we're going fishing!!!

Jan 12 through 16th

Wed the 12th was another do nothing day - the weather was cold and nasty, so we stayed home, read a good book. 

Thursday we had planned to go to Kings Ranch, in Kingsville TX, and athough the weather was once again nasty, we took our bumbershoots, lunches and jackets and headed out on the approx 150 mile trip.  Dave and Janet begged off (more of this illness stuff that keeps going around!), so we were solo in our car, while Jim/Joan, Joe/Sandy rode together.  The plan originally was to find a nice picnic area and have lunch, prior to taking the noon tour.  Well, with the weather being what it was, we threw ourselves on the mercy of the folks at the visitor center.  Since there was no one else there, they allowed us to have our 'picnic' in their media room, and they supplied the coffee!  How cool was that!

We watched a 31 minute video prior to boarding our bus - and it's good we did, because the rain just poured down, making seeing a lot of things and/or taking any really good pics practically impossible.  However, we soldiered on, and did the tour - we also bought tickets to the musuem.  The ranch is an amazing place, and I highly recommend the tour - however I don't recommend the museum - not a lot there to see for the price.

Of course following our normal inclination,we asked where there was a good place to eat, and followed directions to the best mexican food we've had since we were down here.

Friday was once again a rainy, cold, miserable day - we got 5 inches of rain in 30 hours, so no one was happy, even Cinder.  She's not real fond of getting wet, kind of like us!  We spent the day snuggled in, reading and playing on our Wii - we're both trying to get at least 20 minutes a day on exercise, mostly balance and yoga.  We're hoping that if we must be fat, we should be fit - and most of all we want David's blood work to improve!

Today we awoke to more drizzle, and chilly temps.  We went with our 'crew' to the Masonic lodge where they serve an all you can eat breakfast for $4 - we got our money's worth, then stopped by the Fulton Farmer's Market where it was simply too cold to even get out of the car - and the vendors were all in their vehicles trying to stay warm! 

We then visited the local H.E.B. store where we got some groceries for tomorrow. 

That brings us up to date - this evening we are having leftovers for dinner, I made taco soup yesterday that is calling our name!

Jan 3 through 11th Sick and cold...brrr

It has been a week since I updated, and so I apoligize to anyone that is checking daily :(  I know how disappointing it is when you check and check for a blog and there is nothing new.

On Sunday Jan 3rd we went to the American Legion for oysters.  Now, I've never been a fan of oysters, however, David and I each had oyster stew and it was delicious - Joan was looking for her oysters (she only got a couple), but they also had fried oysters, but the big winner of the lunch was Joe who got the baked oysters...yum yum!  It was $2.50 per bowl of stew, $5.00 for the other items.  We had our usual good time, always finding something to laugh about!

Monday, Jan 4th, we convoyed down to visit the USS Lexington - Joe and Sandy opted out as she was ill.  I had already been, so decided that I would chauffer, but would take a book and wait in the car.  Thanks to Bill Miller, a wonderful man that works aboard the Lex, Jim/Joan/Dave/Janet and David had a wonderful tour (including ghost stories!).  They started it at 10:45 and finally arrived back at the car 3:45 pm.  Needless to say, everyone was starving, so we (oh I'm sorry) went to Pier 99 right next door that had been written up in some magazines and drive ins and dives.  Well, this was much more on the 'dive' side - maybe because it was not very clean, and even though we asked our waitress to please wipe down our table, she never did.  I thought our food was good, Janet liked her cheesesteak plate - but when they brought our bill they dropped a 20% gratuity on each check...believe me, we were not planning on tipping that waitress anymore than 10% at the max.  She never came back with the requested mayo, nor did she check if we wanted more water, or anything else for that matter.  I must say it left a bad taste in our mouth - we would not recommend it!

Late Monday night, I had serious stomach issues going on - projectile vomiting and terrible pain...that lasted until Wed afternoon.  No matter what I did I was in pain from what I suspect was a tummy bug with a high influence of some type of food poisoning...I know I only want to look at a shrimp if I cook it :(

We spent Thursday and Friday just trying to get better, there were several of us under the weather and there was soup and toast on the menu.  We did go to the VA on Thurs for David to visit withthe nutritionist.  His blood work was terrible, so he is on a pretty strict food regimen right now, and less than impressed with it.
Saturday we went to the little town of Goliad, about an hours drive from Rockport.  It was too cold to really enjoy walking around, but we all took our furkids with us and they had a ball!  There is a lot of history there, including an old mission that is now part of a Texas State Park.  We will definitely be doing it again.

Today on the agenda was a pot of ham and bean soup - with sides of tortillas, coleslaw, and still warm pineapple upside down cake with cool whip....yum yum!  Thanks everyone for some great memories!

Jan 2 - Port Aransas

We started out this morning at the Fulton Farmers Market, then breakfast with Janet & Dave at Alice Faye's, nice! 

Then we came home and I did some laundry, and at 11 am we met up with Jim/Joan, Joe/Sandy and took off for Port Aransas.  Dave and Janet went separately since they were taking 'tater' so she could run on the beach.  We went across the ferry and stopped at a coffee shop (bathroom break) !  Then headed to the beach, where even though it was very windy and chilly, everyone walked on the beach and collected some shells...and Joe/Sandy walked down the jetty and watched some fisherman and boats.  David was not having a good day healthwise, so we took a short walk and then sat in the car, happily watching the boats and people.

We took a quick drive to Mustang Island State Park to see if they would let us have a 'free' 20 minute pass to see how we liked the area - when they said no, we had to pay $4 per person, we politely declined!  That means they won't be getting our business in the future either!

Then we went to Port A Pizzeria for a very good pizza buffet, complete with soup and salad bar, calzones, and ice cream...

We then headed back to the ferry - where Dave and Janet were across from us, and she took this picture!!!

Wonderful day, and we're snug in our home, relaxing and getting ready for a long winter's nap...oh wait, that was a couple weeks ago!

Jan 1 - New Year's Day

We listened to fireworks and firecrackers going off last night - as we lay in bed slipping off to sleep - at the ripe old hour of 10 pm.  We must be getting OLD! 

This morning dawned bright and sunny, but very chilly!  It didn't warm up much today either - there is a reason people go to FL in the winter..it was 76 there today.

The folks here in the campground put together a wonderful feast, featuring saurkraut, pork, mashed potatoes, dumplings, black eyed peas, corn bread, ham, cheesey potatoes,from scratch biscuits, brownies, haystacks and divine turtle cheesecake!  As usual we ate far too much and we have leftovers!  There were 18 of us there - quite a crowd! 

No pictures, I was too concerned making sure my dumplings came out OK, because it had been years since Joe had dumplings, and I wanted them to be perfect...they weren't, but they were good!

Once again, to all my friends, thanks for the memories!