No Ice Today

Sinton, Texas
Rob Bessie Welder RV Park

Sleeping late would have been great, but my body was ready to get busy at 6:30 am this morning. WHY was the big question. No answers were forth coming.

Laundry was done this morning. It was a cool bright sunshine morning that warmed to sweating temperature later in the day. My morning walk netted eleven golf balls from the fields next to the golf course. Not a bad haul if someone needed balls.

At twilight time at the golf course, my money was paid and the rearrangement of the course began. A slight “improvement” in my stance proved to be a total disaster. An immediate change back to the old way prevented loss of golf balls. Finished out at even bogey. Not really bad since it has been several months since the last round of golf.

A chore that happened my way is to irrigate the yards and trees in the area around my trailer. That is a nice way to kill half a day pleasantly.

And finally the truck and Comfort Castle were both washed today. Now the truck sits about two feet higher without that dirt load. The neighbors were surprised to see that Comfort Castle is white not gray.

If anyone happens to know what is going to happen tomorrow, will you clue me in on it. The only thing for sure is a lot of trying to have tooooo much fun WILL happen. TheOFM.

Run From The Ice

Sinton, Texas
Rob Bessie Welder RV Park

The omen was strong this morning. There was a coating of ice on everything. That is an absolute type of message from Mother Nature. MISTER, GET THEM WHEELS ROLLING SOUTH. Yes Ma'am said TheOFM.


The thin layer of ice on the truck slowed hitch up for a few minutes. After a few minutes of engine warm up, the YUK, I mean ice, could be carved off the windows into little ugly rows.


Finally everything was coupled, tested and rechecked for travel. The Team rolled at 7:34 am. The traveling went so well it was scary. Absolutely not a bit of trouble from the heavy fast traffic around Waco, Austin and Temple. The traffic in Dallas was extremely light until I-35 toward San Antonio. Then there were a lot of families were headed south and in a hurry about it.

The plan had been to stop after six or seven hours and ease into Sinton tomorrow early. However great time was being made and we just kept on keeping on. About five pm we rolled into the campground site 48 and by 5:30pm the set up was finished. That is a lot more hours than my body normally likes to tow in a day. Maybe it was the getting warmer every few miles that inspired us to keep rolling. It was 62 degrees while the set up was going on.

While at the Whataburger getting supper, there was a conversation among three fellows on the days fishing. Each had taken their family to a different park around the area. Each family had had a ball catching fish and playing in the sunshine. Sounds like they did a great job of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

And Another Feast

Wylie, Texas
Lake Lavon COE Park

A couple of days ago a night was spent at Lake Bardwell in the Highview campground. It was a nice place with a low water level in the lake. The view from my window looked over the area where they are planting new trees in the green area.

The campsite was an open prairie style with a lot of room between sites.

The next morning brought excessively bright sunshine to the area. This is very bright as you can tell.


On a walk around this was the view on the way back to Comfort Castle. It is in the upper left of the picture.


Not to early in the morning the team rolled on up to the Lake Lavon COE Park. From there were the numerous trips to see my sister. She fixed and unbelievably wonderful supper for us all tonight. It is a good thing the team is leaving tomorrow or the truck might not be strong enough to carry me in another meal or two like the last ones, YUM YUM.

Now it is time to return to Sinton and my friend Luella where it is a lot warmer. The warmer weather there makes it easier to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Another Feast

Wylie, Texas
Lake Lavon COE Park

This is a very nice park. There is a good space between each site and the next one. It is an open field with scattered trees. The view from my main window is pleasant for the viewer.

The lake is down a good bit right now. They may be drawing it down for drinking water for the DFW cities. This picture was taken from what was the waters edge the last time we were here to appreciate the park. Now you can see the lake bottom for a long ways out.

As my wandering led me to the other side of the park, this strange boat came into view. The wind was blowing ferociously but this boat was heading out to do something. It was hard to tell exactly what type of boat it is.
Near this last picture was a nice 2 inch wide strap with a plastic buckle similar to the type of straps on my back packs. It was in excellent shape and followed me home. This was a fortunate find.

Up on top of a small hill is some horse folks campsites. There is a long trail from this park along the lake for a great horse ride if a person is so inclined. Heck, they even have horse motels in these campsites.

Not too long after the walk, it was time to head over to my sister’s place for the big after Christmas feed. This time some almost reasonable moderation was maintained---- sort of. Now it is time to work some of it off by being very active while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

The Grand Feast

Wylie, Texas
Lake Lavon COE Park

My goodness what a Christmas celebration was had today!!!!! Lots of nice folks, fantastic food, wonderful presents exchanged and a Christmas call from my son.

WOW am I blessed. My arrival at my sister’s home was greeted with tantalizing aromas of food. OH BOY was the thought. After hugs all around, we did a little talking (little????) and sampling of treasures on display to tempt the soul.


Later in the afternoon, more friends came over for the FEAST. And a GRAND FEAST it was. There was seven of us including two hollow legged teenagers. There was what had to be a thirty pound ham and a twenty four pound turkey that received a lot of attention.

Then there was a corn dish, yam dish, green beans, rolls and MUCH MORE. After the devastation of the food, the couches and lounge chairs called. Called very loudly in fact.
The two college boys had some good times with something electronic that they received for Christmas.

For us adults, there was some more serious visiting going on. The conversation was lively and fun. At other times some gentle naps were being taken in the upright position as the food burden kicked in. Later the naps were not to gentle but downright too heavy to stay upright. These are some extremely nice folks that have been friends for years. It is Elaine and Mike.
Then to add to the merriment was my sister and her husband Carl. We have been being very spirited when these last two pictures were shot. It was fun.
Tomorrow is a early day as my doctor appointment is in town at 8 am. By the time this doctor session is finished, it will definitely be time for trying to have too much fun like today. TheOFM.

Christmas Eve

Wylie, Texas
Lake Lavon COE Park

MERRY CHRISTMAS
These HAPPY HOLIDAYS are brought to you by the Christians of the world.

Too Much Driving For One Day

Ennis, Texas
Lake Bardwell COE Park

Sinton was left behind this morning about 8:30 am. There was a route all mapped out and the place to stay the night already chosen in Waco Texas. WRONG AGAIN!!! As the route led north the rain and fog stayed with us. Finally after lunch down in a roadside rest area, it was chosen to head east to find sun maybe.

As the route went through Bryan Texas, the weather changed from mid forties to mid sixties and sunshine. Now we are doing good. About five miles after the turn north on I-45 we ran into the rain, mist, fog and dreary mess again and it stayed with us the rest of the day.

All right, turn toward a state park for the night as it was getting later than driving was comfortable. OOPS there went the exit. So an hour later in the evening twilight camp was made on Lake Bardwell. The price with my OLD FARTS NATIONAL PASS was seven dollars for the night with electricity for my heater to warm the Castle.

Outside it is the low forties and very wet and windy. Ratzzz. At least the truck did not have to unhook from the Castle. All that is needed in the morning is pack away the electric cord and let the tongue jack down. Then roll. Actually the Castle could have done without the electric, but since it is paid for in the price why use my propane.

As you just heard, any planned route is highly suspect. A great campsite on Lake Lavon should welcome this team sometime after lunch tomorrow. Will that be where we end up. Maybe. Then it will be time to visit my sister and get some help trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Which Way?

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

A question was asked “ Why do you sit in one place so often?” The answer is because that is my choice at the time. For what ever reason that happens along, staying in one place or rolling along is up to the Rver. There are not fixed travel rules in my world. No rule of two hours and shut down. My travel might be for eight hours in a day or in the case of a few times under thirty minutes. As the whim suits.

“What is your plan for the next trip?” None normally. “You have to have a trip plan!” Why? My plan is normally to chose a direction at each road crossing unless a destination is in mind. A cute story of my past comes from the time a nine day stay at Oasis State Park near Portales, nm. Since the ranger had visited with me several times, it seemed to be a good idea to stop in on my way out to tell him goodbye. He asked where are you headed. Indicating the two mile long two lane road to the main highway, my response was “out to the highway“. In exasperation he said “where when you get to the highway”. My response was “toward the sunshine“. He says “ What if there is sun both directions?” Then I flip a coin. It was beyond him!!!! The only reason his park got on my visited list is because the road in front of me nine days before had an ugly rainstorm ahead. Looking west it was clear, so we turned west and ended up in his delightful state park.

Tomorrow we roll for Wylie, Texas and East Fork Park on Lake Lavon. Friday is a doctor appointment to see what to do about my eyes causing all these migraines. Please expect the blog to be irregular for the next couple of weeks as things develop.

Therefore my friendly readers, it is time for you to pick up the slack and help in trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Plain Old Cold

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

A funny sight awaited folks on the hwy 77 bypass today. There was a small bulldozer severely stuck in what used to be a very soft muddy spot in the new construction part of the road. The tops of the tracks were well below the mud line. Most likely there will be some fun getting it out tomorrow.

Typical of sunbelt folks, we all hibernated today. At fifty degrees and a thirty mph damp wind, we all stay sheltered in warmth. However one of us old fat men did take a ride this afternoon down to the bay front at Aransas Pass. Mostly everyone was hunkered down to out last today and tomorrow. By Tuesday it will be back to sunshine and seventies.

There was a pair of hardcore (spelled foolish) kayakers out in the cold wind and water fighting the wind and waves. It is definitely a hard way to get a workout. There is not enough clothing available on the earth to get this old fat man out on the water in these conditions.

For now at least, it will be staying indoors to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

A New Era

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

An era ends today. Today was a series of “events” not necessarily tied together, with some good and some not as good. Late this evening while cleaning out some unused things, my several years of art supplies came to the forefront. If it has not been used in a year then out it goes. All the watercolors and pastels and the associated items were gathered together and taken to the “free stuff” table in the clubhouse. It was fun while it lasted. The education that went with it is something that will always be with me and enjoyed often.

My sketch/drawing equipment is still with me. The painting and pastels took up too much room and setup time to fit into my chosen home, Comfort Castle, easily. Mostly my efforts centered around pencil/ charcoal drawings because it fits into the lifestyle very well. There is still a small set of colored pencils that reside in my sketch box. It seems that my most fun times are while learning something new.

When vacuuming the Castle was started, it was obvious that the vacuum cleaner needed emptying. This is a small shop vacuum. To empty it, you simply remove the bottom container and take it to the dumpster and empty it. Do not drop it in the tall dumpster. Next my ladder was brought to the dumpster so a retrieval plan could be made. At first climbing into the dumpster was considered. Second thought was get something to hook the container and lift it out. A GOLF CLUB. The 9 iron looked about right and after a couple of attempts the container was high enough to grab. WOW that was easy or so it seemed.

After the ladder was put away and the golf club store in its bag, this stinging sensation came over me. Glancing down at my legs showed a large attack squadron of fire ants. Immediate defense was started and very successful with minor damage. About two minutes later when back in the Castle, the Ranger group that had made it into my underwear made their attack. Now that would have been a sight to see. However they were also defeated in short order. Now all is moderately well.

Just to add to the excitement today, two migraine blindness attack occurred. One about ten am and another about 4pm as Hilda the pup was getting her doggy treats. These migraines are getting to be way too often.

In between miseries, a couple of walks were taken around the park to help the migraines dissipate. The walks were successful in that an even dozen wayward golf balls from the golf course were found. This is a great place to re-supply yourself with golf balls. However there were some large mosquitoes out trying to feast on me. The fools are never going to bother anybody again, GUARANTEED.

This evening has cooled quite nicely. Tomorrow is supposed to be a cool day and a colder night in the thirties. Tonight will be the third night in a row the windows have been left open to enjoy the breezes while sleeping. Down on the coast you would wake covered in a thin crust of salt. YUK. Visiting the coast is fun, but staying inland is much more comfortable.

This day has been very interesting and hopefully all who read this has a great time while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Hardheaded Truck

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

It has gotten to where that old truck of mine cannot be trusted with a simple task. We set out this morning for a modest trip to Zapata to check out the campgrounds there. But the truck decided to run all over south Texas sniffing bushes and curbs. It was well after dark before it was possible to drag the truck back to Comfort Castle.

The Zapata/Falcon Lake area is a nice area with a lot of campgrounds. Most of them looked like there was room for a few more folks. To me it is a lot more desirable than the traditional Rio Grande Valley chicken coop parks. They typically charge under $200 a month plus electricity. There are at least five nice places to eat out in town and at least two grocery stores. The folks in the town seem to be happy to be there. It is not a place for me to want to spend a lot of time because the lake is more wide open than would be comfortable for my yak. The golf course is a nice looking one. There are many nice things about the area, but it did not appeal to me for some reason.

In this picture of Falcon Lake, that is Mexico in the background.

On the way home the headstrong truck turned toward Falfurrias just because it remembered a campground recommended to us by some folks while we were camped near Portales, New Mexico. Countryside RV Park is something of a secret. There are seldom any reviews of the park. It stays full every winter because it is next door to the golf course. There is even a gate through to the course. If you stay in the RV park you can walk through the gate and start off on hole #4. The monthly fee for all the golf you can play is $70 and anybody with $70 qualifies. You hear that Sinton golf course!!!!! This is a very nice place in a very laid back community.

Ok now the truck is ready to head home. WRONG AGAIN. It heads over to the coast near Loyola Beach to sniff around. In Loyola Beach is a restaurant that is very well known locally. You just about have to have someone tell you about it and how to get there, because it is WAY out of the mainstream of traffic. It is named the Kings Inn. Many folks plan their commute from north to south or south to north to get near here at meal time. It seems like it is always plenty of folks down here. This picture is for you Gene M.

After enjoying the wonderful aromas at the Kings Inn, the truck took me over to the nearby municipal RV park. SeaWind RV Park is it’s name. It is a nice park but very much out of the way from the mainstream of traffic. It is about 25 miles to the nearest grocery store according to the campers there.

Next door to the RV Park is a public park with a fishing pier. On the fishing pier in this picture is a native American fisherman with good stories to tell.

About an hour was spent visiting with this gentleman. Earlier he had hooked and fought a large black drum on his small rod until the drum ran under the pier and cut him off. However the fish scales in this picture of the cleaning table near the shore indicates that a lot of fresh fish will be served for supper tonight.


By now the sun was setting and it was definitely time to head home. The truck must have been ready also, since it obediently turned it’s grill toward home when we started rolling. Nice trucky.

And now it is after ten pm and the blog is not published yet! Perhaps something interesting will happen tomorrow as we try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Trembling Trees

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

A wet foggy muggy warm morning greeted me today. It stayed that way until after lunch. The natural thing to do was laundry. Now laundry is done and the clothes all put away. The bed has fresh linens on it.

The fresh linens pointed out that they are too big for the bed. The linens are full size on a single bed. Sometimes all the extra material gets in a wad in the night and has to be straightened out. Research time.

As it turns out thread count is mainly an advertising gimmick. Thread thickness and surface treatment means everything. So my new fitted single sheet will be whatever Wal-Mart has cheapest. The cotton manufacturers recommend that you just feel the sheet and see if you like the feel. Check for good stitching, straight seams and stuff like that. Then just buy the cheapest that you like for feel. That was easy. Where’s my button????

As mentioned in an earlier blog, one of my dinette bases is getting dinged up. You can see the start of the damages in this photograph.

Since the clear vinyl type of corner protector was not available, this aluminum angle was purchased to do the job. Brass was also not available. At least the aluminum will do the job until something nicer looking can be found.


Luella, the campground manager, was needing a latch on the outdoor bulletin board to hold the door shut in the wind. A piece of the aluminum angle was cut off and drilled for a screw. As luck would have it a deck screw just the right size was rolling around in my tool box. So now the door to the bulletin board has a latch. Aren’t I just a sweetie????

By now it had warmed up into the lower 80’s. So a sand wedge golf club was grabbed and off to the practice field we went. The field now looks like a herd of feral hogs went through it. Divots are everywhere and every which way. The practice session was really good. Now my abilities include many ways to move dirt, grass and rocks. Heck even the trees were beginning to get worried.

All in all it was a pleasant day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Time To Get A Grip

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

8am

My blog header has been changed a little this morning. Hike became walk. That better reflects my knee’s abilities now. Even if quit is not in my vocabulary, accommodate is. It is a bad scene to see folks just quit when all they have to do is change the way they do something. Winners keep on keeping on. A winner is the person who needs a walker to get around and now walks with a walker in a local mall instead of the mountain trail (seen and talked to in Kerrville). The bicycle rider who has to go to a tricycle to keep going (seen and talked to in Port Aransas). The kayaker (like me) who has to quit using a sit in kayak and start using a sit on top kayak, just to keep on moving. The golfer who has to use a pull cart instead of carrying the bag (seen and played with all over the west). So for me it is now walk instead of hike. However upon getting out of bed this morning, TheOFM was looking back at me in the mirror and the top of the grass was in view out the window while eating breakfast. Life is great if you live it.

Evening Edition

Since it was a bit cool this morning, a shopping trip to Calellen where there is a Home Depot and Wal-Mart for some needed items. By the time lunch came around it was getting nice outside. Right after lunch it was downright really nice temperature wise. By two pm it was 73 inside the trailer with all the windows open. WOW.

Some folks have asked to see the skylights from inside Comfort Castle. They are wondering what the appearance is since the skylights are now foam filled. Here is the main room skylight with the factory sliding closure open.

The closure is always closed so this is the normal appearance of the main skylight.
The other skylight is over the bath tub. In this picture of it you can see the extra 12 volt
lights that were added because TheOFM needed more light in the shower to see what he was doing. The 12 volt lights in my trailers always get the center cut out of the diffuser so that the fixture runs cooler, the bulbs last noticeably longer and a lot less light is lost in passing through the diffuser.
Since the outdoor temperature was warm enough to work outside, it was time to get a grip. Actually several grips. The tools and new grips were staged on the dining room table in preparation for the work planned
A perfect spot was at one of the community grills in this campground. Notice that some seasoned oak is even furnished for the grill. My vise was installed on the picnic table and it was time to “Git er done”. Here you can see a few clubs on the bench seat already re-gripped and one in the vise in preparation for it’s grip.
This is an easy chore that requires some paying attention to do it correctly. Part of this effort involves making the grip diameter the proper size for my hands. Grip size accounts for a good 10% of the important part of a golf club fitting correctly. It is also the only part of club fitting that can be exactly right without a lot of testing and trouble. After about forty five minutes of fun we have a set of clubs with grips to fit my hands exactly. After a couple of hours for the solvent to dry out, they will be ready for a good golf swing (or even my swing) to hit the ball. They sure do look good don’t they.

Late this evening was try out time. The good and bad news report is that TheOFM now cannot blame any bad shots on the clubs. They feel really good and hit even better. Properly fitted clubs are a great feel and very rewarding to hit. Seems like it always takes me a couple of years to get a set of clubs fitted just right for me. Now if putting was within my abilities.

It was a lot of fun hitting the golf ball with these clubs. Maybe tomorrow these clubs will be involved in trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

A Gentle Day

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park


10 AM
Taking a walk this morning was WRONG. The temperature was 38, the wind light and humidity high. By ten minutes into the walk my eyes were tearing more than could be kept clear to see. My nose was running a marathon. Even with thermal underwear on, the ice knife wind hurt. Back to Comfort Castle for the nice warm inside. A check of my old location in Washington yielded a negative temperature up there. It is nice to be down here in the “warm” country.


6PM
By mid afternoon the temps had moved up to the low 40’s and the humidity and wind had nearly disappeared. Now it was ok for taking a walk. When my meandering took me into the wild side on a path to a gazebo, a wild animal gave me a loud “SNORT” . It was likely one of the wild pigs that live here. So there was no worry about an aggressive alligator.


Later, all my golf clubs that were to get new grips had the old grips stripped from them. It is too cold still to be working outside without gloves. The WD-40 used for the lubricant to get the new grips on the shafts causes your hands to get colder due to the evaporation of the WD-40. Putting on the grips will have to wait until it is warmer. Maybe tomorrow will be ok if the sun shines.


All in all it has been a gentle day of not anything really special happening. Maybe tomorrow will be a great day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Another Non-Adventure Day

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

You know we kind of slow down when in Q like the locals. If you don't get it done today there's always next year.
From Hitchitch.com.


The weather this morning caught a bunch of golfers by surprise. They started out early in 68 degree weather and partly cloudy expecting a bit of a warm up before the front this afternoon. Mother Nature got to them. About 9:30, when they were at the far side away from the clubhouse, the front arrived and dropped the temperature to 48 degrees in about ten minutes. All those shorts and short sleeve shirts were not nearly enough. The course was pretty well empty by a hour later.

My plan for a serious careful walk on the wild side of the lake here was cancelled. There was a misty, at times, twenty mile per hour wind blowing. Eyeglasses and misty wind are not a good combination. Throw in the wind chill factor and experienced old fools stay inside. So that became a non-adventure.

With the inside of the already small trailer closing in on me, a grocery shopping trip was in order. There is not a lot of room to run around in a trailer of 162 square feet. So now Comfort Castle is well supplied for the serious winter days ahead until Thursday. For the first time in many months, some puppy treats were remembered and purchased. Now all that is needed is a puppy or two to pet and give treats to.

Now it is mid afternoon and what to do next. A HA! Clean the bath tub to get the water residue out of it. The hard water in many of the places that have been visited have left their mark. About an hour of scrubbing with the non-scratch Scotchbrite pad and some sulfamic acid and the residue was all flushed down the drain. It looks fairly nice now.

Tomorrow is not supposed to be any better than today so who knows what will be done in the effort to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Lazy Bum Day

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

The wind pretty well blew us to pieces today. The same starting line as yesterday. Not much happened. Two screws were reinstalled in the dinette seat. Wow three minutes to complete. Around eleven a drive to Rockport to get out of the house was done. The China A Buffet was utilized for lunch. Very adequate is you like salty food.

Later a long walk around this park was taken that lasted a little over an hour. A search for the alligators in the lake was made. There was not any evidence of the alligators that lived in the lake the last time Comfort Castle was here.

During the walk on the wild part of the trail, something big was moving through the brush. Careful attention was paid to the noise. A couple of minutes later a LARGE feral hog bounded out of the trees and down along the fence line headed for the golf course.

Probably the biggest highlight of the day was an hour nap that left me the most rested of the last few days. Night time sleeping has not been restful for several days. WHY? I have no idea. The park is very quiet at night, usually dead by nine. And no noise before eight am.

Maybe tomorrow will have some good adventure while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

The Jetty And The Bayside

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park
Prelude
As tonight blog was being written, lots of other things during that day came to mind that needed to have been photographed and talked about. It is amazing how much there is in the world around us to experience and report.

The wind pretty well blew us to pieces today. There were two things on the agenda for today but both turned out to not work out so we will hear about the rest of yesterdays adventure.

While near the jetty, it seemed a good idea to check out the jetty to see what had washed up. About the only thing different was a large door less refrigerator sitting on the rocks. However since the tides were out so far, many rocks were available to examine that are normally covered with water. This part of the jetty would be hard to slip on but if you did it would hurt really bad. These rocks are covered with what looks like little barnacles. The shells are sharp as scalpels and break off in a wound. That makes for very painful cleaning of the wound.

At the end of the jetty was this cute little bird. It was feeding on something in the splash zone on the rocks. Every now and them a good wave would splash it with a large chunk of water. The bird would just shake himself like a dog and keep on feeding. Finally a wave hit him a bit too hard and he flew away.


Additionally down in the rocks was a crab of a type new to me. It was very quick and took me about a dozen tries to get this one picture and this was with the zoom zoomed to the max. The crab was about three to four inches across and very skittish.

As my walk headed back to the truck, this picture of the jetty, some fishermen and a seagull tells the story of a peaceful day.

This next part of the adventure is where it started getting dark and leaving was a good idea.

First we have instruction on 4x4 vehicle operation. When this truck was purchased in Washington, a mention was make to a good friend that this was my first 4x4 vehicle. He has lots of experience in snow, ice, mud and other undesirable locations to be stuck in a vehicle. The lesson is “four wheel drive is to help you get out when you get stuck in two wheel drive. Never drive into trouble in four wheel drive.” This has proven to be very wise counsel.

After leaving the jetty area, a stop was planned on the bay side of the island. Usually a small slough stops me from going far down the road to the bay side. Soft mud with a foot of salt water on top is an absolute STOP for me. Others have been going through it but not this fool.
Yesterday with the tide out, the slough was passable it seemed like. There were several tire tracks through the wet sand to the other side. Ok here goes and we crossed with very little slippage. However the road past this point was very rutted deeply. Going very slow was the proper thing to do. That way if the front wheels sunk in, stopping in time to leave the rear wheels on good ground was possible. Here is a picture of the road through the marsh grass after things got solid enough to stop for a picture. This is the super highway section.

What was ahead was not known, but onward we went. After a few minutes this scene could be made out.

Some more soft spots and a few large ruts and we arrived at the end of the road. As the truck was pulled off the road at the mud flats, the front wheels were felt to sink a bit. EERRKKK. Stop right there. After getting out, you could tell the wheels only sank about two inches. As my feet carried my fat body around, every now and then the ground would start to sink under foot. Back track and try elsewhere. Meanwhile the fisherman was catching a fish nearly every cast. In the fifteen minutes of watching him, he caught three nice large fish for the stringer and five that he threw back.

These muck flats in the foreground usually have about eighteen inches of water over them. Over by the fisherman’s truck where he mucked across the muck flats were foot prints about three inches deep. The muck does not smell pretty either.

By now the sun was getting pretty low. Driving out of here in the dark did not seem like a great idea. On top of that the current showed that the tide was starting to come back in. It was time to GET OUT and we did. As the truck started to back up with the front tires on soft ground, the rear tires slipped a bit and as the four wheel drive button was being reached for, the front wheels released and out we came. Good luck is always nice.

The trip back to Comfort Castle went without any trouble. Now that we are all caught up on adventures, does anyone want to suggest a new adventure to go on while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

The Fishing Truck

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

What a magnificent day!!! So much adventure time that the sun setting caught me in mid adventure. That means that more adventure needs to be had at that location. And tonight will only cover part of the adventures of today.

A mid morning start toward the beach was all the planning done. Load the truck with some snacks, water and fruit and head out-----almost. As the truck was slowly getting rolling, the Fedx delivery truck stopped at the trailer. So back we went. It was the box of Christmas presents from my sister. Receiving presents in the morning always starts the day out well.

Now we can actually get rolling. First stop was at Academy to pick up some WD-40 and a new hat for me. A nice wide brimmed one was chosen. The color?? Since TheOFM is one of the good guys, it has to be white or at least off white. Now folks cannot tell if it is the hat or my bald head reflecting all that sunshine. OK shopping is over with, head south to the beach. Which beach?????? When the intersection requiring a choice came into view, it was noticed most vehicles were going straight, so naturally a left turn was made. It was toward Mustang Island State Park.

As the marsh near the intersection was passed, it was apparent we were having extremely low tides today. That should open up some new area to explore and did it ever, but that is another story for later. Hint: 4 wheel drive can be nice to have.

My state parks pass was flashed at the attendant and in we went to nose around and see what the hurricanes had done to the park. Not much thank goodness. Dolly hit here but Ike mostly missed. The main beach picnic area was looking good. The first picture is from the closed pavilion to the south and the second is from the first picture on south to the first dunes.

One of the dunes beckoned to me more than could be resisted. My feet took me slipping and sliding up to the top for a grand view of more dunes. Then a quick turn around and without thinking started back down. Immediately it became a quick panic and scramble to make it down still in an upright position. Some of the sand was so soft my feet went into it over the top of my shoes. The return was safely made in spite of myself. Notice the distance between the deep prints and the not as deep prints. Most likely you can guess correctly which prints were made on the way down.

A little farther along was a much large dune trying to get me to try it. FORGET IT. Learning from the first experience was sufficient. The big dune.
A trip to the camping allowed beach was in order. There had been a lot of cleanup since the last time here. There was one vehicle besides my truck on the beach. The topless sunbather there was from Illinois. To bad it was a guy. Anyway he agreed that this is the way to enjoy winter. Laid out on a lounge chair gathering rays.

Back over by the jetty was this truck set up for beach running and fishing. This guy was serious. They can have a person in the tower spotting bird activity. When the birds are spotted working the surf, the truck heads over for them to fish that section of the surf. This is the way a lot of beach fishermen do it.

A nice fellow from Missouri was fishing in the surf. Yesterday he caught some red drum including one too big to keep. He said he had caught many of the smaller pan fish type of fish also. They are leaving tomorrow to head back into Kansas for the Christmas season. Seventy degrees and sunshine to be traded for cold weather and frozen precipitation. Good luck folks and Merry Christmas. This warm sun suits me much better that cold weather and clouds. Does Santa wear a speedo when on vacation in the tropics??????

More of the adventure soon. But for now it is after ten pm and The OFM is headed for bed
to recuperate for another day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

New Curtains

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

Most likely everyone is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to see how the new curtains look in the bath room of Comfort Castle. Well here they are.

It certainly dressed the bathroom up a lot. A nice shower curtain might even happen after the next SSA check comes in.

Boredom assaulted me heavily this afternoon. A relief trip was made to Lake Corpus Christi State Park with the intent of fish catching. The day was nice and bright and in the 60’s. The fish thumbed their noses at me-----again. After a couple of hours of casting arm exercise, a walk seemed like a better thing to do.

There were critters out and about, but way too quick for the camera to catch them. So tonight you will get the five cent tour of the old pavilion. This sign tells when it was built.

On the north end is a breezeway with a portal leading out to what is now a viewpoint over an inlet into the park from the lake. There is a deteriorated staircase down the cliff from the viewpoint. The staircase is blocked and definitely not safe to tread on.

Out back of the pavilion is another staircase down the cliff. My memory says that years ago the staircase went down to the water. Apparently the weather has washed away a bunch of the cliff and stair. Here is the view when you get to the bottom of the masonry stairs.

Looking back up the cliff along the stairs is this view. Notice the well done stone work and that the cement is holding up better than the stones.
When you reach the top of the stairs and peep over the wall at the top of the landing, this is your reward.

The walk lasted about an hour and a half. The park is a very pleasant place to ride bikes or walk. It is steep rolling hills so you get a variety of terrain to entertain you.

The drive from the park to the Interstate was uneventful as usual. However this large cloud of smoke from a prairie fire greeted me as the hill to get onto the Interstate was topped.

It appeared to be near Sinton, but as the distance closed, it proved to be closer to Corpus than Sinton. Prairie fires have had too many close associations with me. Prairie fires are bad news.

The day was made even better when my daily walk around the RV Park took me through the clubhouse. On a table by the from door was a tin of THREE KINDS OF POPCORN waiting to be eaten. Walt and Luella had donated it to the park residents for Christmas. A proper portion did come home with me and no it is not waiting for me to eat it. THANK YOU WALT AND LUELLA.
Carmel popcorn is a great way to finish a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

PINS Visitor Center

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

After a cold, wet, windy night last night, the ugly weather cleared out by noon. The clouds are gone, so it will be very cold tonight. However the sun is supposed to be in full power tomorrow to warm things up again.

A trip to the Portland Wal-Mart was successful today. A nice curtain was found for the bathroom and $66 of groceries were purchased. Comfort Castle had some barren pantry space. The curtain will be hung tomorrow for all the world to see.

The PINS Visitor Center at Malaquite Beach is very small but has some nice interesting things in it. The building itself is somewhat dramatic. Sitting well above the surrounding area gives it a commanding appearance.

The wonderful sand dunes partially obscure the beach from view on the stairs leading to the beach. As the stairs descend to the beach you pass a set of rinse off showers. Near the showers is a sign telling an unfortunate person how to treat a Portuguese Man O War sting. A sting from one will not be ignored. This next picture was taken at the showers spot looking out toward the Gulf of Mexico.
The display area inside the Visitor Center is small. The front half has signs and information, but was situated in such a way that a picture was impossible. The back half had room to back up some to get this picture. Notice the anchor and the turtle. There will be a test later.
In a spot with limited access was this model of a ship. The story on the ship is in a sign to be seen in a minute.

The anchor in the Visitor Center fooled me into thinking it was real. Touching things uninvited in a museum is not something to be done. The anchor and the turtle were both fiberglass. The signs have a plastic covering that fooled my camera autofocus, but they are still legible if you click on the picture to enlarge it.

Sea turtle protection is a VERY BIG THING in this area. They give all sorts of instructions about reporting nesting turtles. Each year they hatch all the eggs they recover, raise the turtles to the proper size then release them into the wild at the correct location. By doing this they save a bunch of the turtles from the natural predators that would normally eat them.
The whole tour of the Visitor Center will only take you twenty minutes. After that you would need a couple of lifetimes to explore all the beach area available. And every morning it is a new experience due to all the debris that washes onto the beach every night. Bring anything you might need with you, because the services consist of a rest room and drinking water. It is a great place for a fool like me.

With the sun predicted tomorrow, it should be a great day for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Cancelled Shopping

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

It is a nasty ill wind blowing things around outside. Comfort Castle is rocking and bouncing. Stirring my tea with a spoon is not required tonight. Eighty four today at four pm but headed down to mid thirties tonight. A/C was on until about five and tonight the heaters will be running. Don’t you love these fifty degree temperature shifts in less than twelve hours.

Planning for the improvements to Comfort Castle gave me things to think about this morning. A little hand sewing fabricated a test item that proved one idea to be worthless. Careful testing before committing to an idea is usually worth while.

After lunch, a grocery list was made. The bathroom window area was measured for a curtain to make the bath more attractive. Then off to Wal-Mart. About two minutes before getting to the parking lot at Wal-Mart, the blindness associated with another migraine started bothering my vision. At least there was a friendly Wal-Mart parking lot to pull into instead of stopping on the side of the interstate highway.. After about forty five minutes of laying back in the truck seat, my vision had returned. Shopping was canceled and back to Comfort Castle for some horizontal time.

Since waking from the nap, it has been take it very easy time. Supper was the last of my wheat spaghetti and sauce, so it was added to the grocery list for tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow will work out better for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

A Feral Couch????

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park
Granny J (http://walkingprescott.blogspot.com/) has done it to me again. Her territory is very limited in size, but she manages to find something new nearly every day. She is a living example how it pays to pay attention to what is around you. Check out the picture of a feral couch in her blog today. Go Granny Go.

The last of the Christmas presents were mailed today from Rockport. Some fishing was also planned, but the wind was way to strong. At least some good entertainment was provided by this gentleman and his pup. That little short legged pup could really get after that ball when thrown. He did not have good brakes when he got to the ball. Each time he over ran the ball and several times did some very impressive acrobatics. He was way to quick to get a picture of him on the chase.

It seems that the modification to my golf irons did the trick. When tried out on the practice field here in the park, they worked much more accurately than before. The one inch cut from the butt end did cause a couple of yards lose in distance. The four iron was only around 183 yards now. It used to be a little over 185, but not nearly so accurate. That pattern held up all the way down through my ten iron. The wedges have not been tried yet. My “golf game” needs all the help it can get.

The unofficial trail that has been getting my footprints on it in the park lately got a closer look today thanks to Granny J’s blog reminding me to pay attention. This part of the trail is where something was laid underground parallel to the highway.
As one walks along the trail, there are different and ordinary things to see. When one pays closer attention there is more rewards than just good exercise. Every now and thing something would run through the grass to keep my attention sharp. There is a ditch between the road and the trail. Who looks at dry ditches??? Any person who wants to see more of what is happening in the area. Check out all the different footprints captured in the dry mud of the ditch bottom. There were at least deer, skunk, mouse, birds and more that had visited the mud at one time or another.

The trail winds back into the park and comes out a little past the alligator pond. It is a nice pond with two known alligators in it. The fishing pier gets some use from the looks of the fishing lines left there.
The water near the shore has a covering of duck weed and reeds. What else hides in that dark stained water?????
Comfort Castle was moved to another campsite. It is a good bit more private than the first one. Here is a picture looking out toward the road and golf course from the new site.
Maybe paying close attention will yield some more excitement while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Ranching In PINS

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park


The truck has not moved today. A few chores have been handled. Laundry turned out to be a chore. On the third try, it was finally my turn at the two washing machines in the club house. To use the dryers, some other persons clothes had to be moved out to the table in the main room. Mine were put into the dryers and things were going fine. About thirty minutes later a nice fellow came in and opened the dryers with my clothes in them. He finally figured out that his clothes were the ones he walked past a minute ago. No problem so far. Later it was time to check my clothes for getting too hot. RATZZZZ he had only restarted one of the dryers with my clothes. OH Well maybe that will be the worst thing that happens the rest of my life.


Next was the chore of cutting my golf irons down to one inch shorter so the lie would be correct for my stance. That chore was easy and quickly accomplished. Now remembering to grip down an inch will not be necessary.


Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) used to be a ranching area. Inside the NP is a historical structure of the cowboying time there.

This is not an area of great comfort with the insects and reptiles that live out here in great abundance. This sign gives some idea of life in those times. Those were tough folks. Click on the picture and read the story.
Every thing rusts or rots in a hurry out here in the area. This is the gate latch to the ranch. Notice the stainless steel brackets are showing corrosion. The chain was a galvanized one only a few years ago. This is a very harsh climate.
It was not known to me that critters other than insects and reptiles lived out here. To my surprise there are deer inhabiting this area. They are not large animals, but white tail deer never are large. Here is one of the girls.

Naturally there is some guy deer looking out for his women.
For the fun of it a picture was taken that could be in many parts of the west. A few yards behind the “hills” in the picture is the Gulf of Mexico.

There is laundry still left to put away and it is getting late. It must be time to get cleaned up and rested to the trip to Corpus in the morning. That town is full of great places to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Blood Running Freely

Sinton, Texas
Welder RV Park

Most important thing first. BLOOD DONATIONS SAVE LIVES. My blood was donated today in Portland, Texas. Here is my tee shirt reward for the minor effort on my part.

It was a good multiple purpose trip today. First was to a store in Corpus Christi to purchase the last Christmas presents. It was a 100% successful effort and they will be on their way to the lucky recipients on Monday.

Then over to give blood. The nicest thing was that waiting was required to give blood today. Usually there is not wait, but today there was THREE people in front of me and by the time my donation was finished there were five folks waiting. That is great.

The weather was near perfect. Bright sunshine, low seventies, gentle breeze. WOW time to look around. Several campgrounds were checked out for new locations to stay. One has to be careful with days like today because things can be more pleasant than normal.

Here are two different campgrounds right on the bay. It would be easy to launch the yak right from the campground and be fishing in two or three minutes.

With an abnormal low humidity day and no mosquitoes out, it is easy to be misled into thinking how nice it would be to be right at the water like that. But reality worked itself back into my head on arrival back at Welder RV Park in Sinton. One can forget about the special requirements down on the coast. Like having to wash your windshield every morning to get the overnight crust of salt off so you can see to drive. Like having your vehicle start showing rust streaks in a month or two of living there. Like your rv steps being rusted rigid in three weeks. Like walking to the trash dumpster and being sticky when you get back from that three minute walk. So folks be careful in picking your campgrounds for longer stays.

A walk around this park was done this evening and nowhere on my body did any stickiness reside. And the air was pleasant and dry. No wonder about the only way to get into a site here for the winter is to have someone have a traumatic event and have to vacate or cancel. Saltwater fishing is a half hour to an hour away depending on where you choose to go. Freshwater fishing is about an hour away in three different directions. Bicycle riding in the area is less than the best but adequate. Of course we have a decent golf course right in the park. Also a few miles of trails to walk. And the prices are a lot less than Fredericksburg in the stores.

The blood donation left me feeling not just right. An early bedtime is needed for rest before tomorrows attempt at trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

PINS Beaches

Sinton, Texas

Sunny beaches are nice to mess around on. It would be better if they were warm sunny beaches, but even a cold sunny beach is fun.

As was mentioned yesterday, the Padre Island beach runs for many miles. The folks in Washington used to give me static about how “everything is bigger in Texas”. They had trouble understanding that it is the distances between things that is bigger here. The whole state of Washington fits into PART of the forest area of east Texas. The distances here amaze many folks and the beach at Padre is so long that visitors run themselves out of gas just trying to see the whole beach. A one hundred fifty mile round trip on just the south beach part of North Padre (PINS) is very likely.

At PINS the first beach opportunity comes at the entrance to the North beach. When you turn onto the North Beach, it is possible to drive the beach for more than ten miles up to the area where Packery Channel comes out to the Gulf and Mustang Island starts. It is a very heavily used beach on the weekends. This is a view of it looking south from where PINS starts. Behind me for a looooong way is more beach.

Malaquite Beach is the section blocked off from vehicles near the visitor center. It is very short and likely only three miles or so long. It is accessed from the huge visitor center parking lot. They even have fresh water rinse off showers there for your use. Here we have a picture taken at the visitor center entrance to Malaquite Beach with a powered glider in the sky.
From Malaquite beach going south is the Primitive Gulf Beach that runs for a little over sixty miles. Camping is allowed most of the time on this beach.
Moderately often the tides come in so high that the water gets all the way to the sand dunes. The rangers try to get folks out before the tides happen, but it is very possible to be “tide-ed in” and have to spend a day or so extra. Also the last fifty five miles of beach has a 4 wheel drive requirement to enter it. A few times a year some one foolish gets stuck in the sand and the tide comes in and floods the vehicle before they can get away. That pretty well ruins a vehicle.

A known fact is that if you come to the beach and do not do any beach walking, then you will evaporate within ten minutes of leaving the beach. There is no way to know how many folks disappear like that. Naturally my feet had to hit the beach for a walk. Naturally something interesting happened. The ghost shrimp were in the beach in great numbers. See my blog of 1-2-08 to see pictures of them and how they are captured with slurp guns to use for fish bait. This is a whole town of ghost shrimp homes in the water wash area.

The little holes in the sand are their homes. The holes are about 2/3 the diameter of a common pencil. Check out this close-up of the holes.

There is another great section of the park called Bird Island Basin. This is located on the bay side of the island. This is a premier windsurfing area. It even rivals the Hood River area of the Columbia Gorge. On top of that it is just about the best shallow water salt water fishing in the world.

However camping here is very primitive and tough. There is a designated area for rv camping and another area just for tents. This next picture is the tenting area. On the islands in the background are houses used for weekend homes. YES the mosquitoes are horrible most of the year.
So far this post and yesterdays has covered about 3% of the PINS. So there is plenty more left to visit and try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Too Many Adventures Today

Sinton, Texas

Started this morning in a jacket for warmth and needed it all day. This wet cold wind cuts you like an razor made of dry ice. It will chap any exposed skin in just a few minutes. Coupled with the bright sunshine, skin burn is easily very severe and painful. Normally a good coat of sunscreen works wonders. However some old fat fools forget the sunscreen until it is toooooooooooo late. OUCH, PAIN AND AGONY ON ME.

Since more Christmas presents are needed, a shopping trip to Corpus Christi was taken. After a couple of hours of shopping, my stomach was making a lot of misery about being empty. OK I thought, let us finish the day with some touring the area. Off we went in the direction of Padre Island. Along the way a stop was made at another Whataburger store for lunch. This has been a food stop several times in my life, but this time attention was paid to the back area of the store.

Out back is a patio area on one of the canals for the townhouse folks who have boats. When the weather is good, it is nice to sit outside and have your meal while watching the activities. There were several folks fishing down below the handrail. They were out of the wind and in the sun. Very nice in my opinion.

Onward to Padre Island we went. A quick tour of an rv park at the foot of a fishing pier side tracked me for a few minutes. It is a parking lot with water and electricity just a few feet from the beach and pier. It might be good for a couple of nights of adventure.

Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) was still about fifteen miles away. At the entrance is this nice view.

Then it is still about four miles to the main visitor center. However a lot of touring was done before going to the visitor center. First was a stop at the North beach. It can be a bit of special fun going from the pavement, through the loose sand to get to the wet sand that will hold your vehicle easily.

One of the first pieces of washed up trash that came into view is the remnants of a fish net. Since there are about seventy miles of beach on this end of Padre Island, it is an immense chore to keep the trash cleaned up. If you stroll the beach early in the morning, many things both normal and odd will likely be seen like this destroyed net.

My beach nut sister was promised a picture of me with my toes in the sand. NOT when it is 52 degrees! So she will have to make do with this shot of my shoes making ripples in the sand.


Many adventures were had today. There were way too many things to talk about to get it all done tonight and it is late already. These tales will therefore continue in the future, but the day was not finished with me yet.

We arrived back at Comfort Castle and my legs explained in no uncertain terms that they needed to walk for a bit. We took off along the golf course fence. Suddenly a noise was heard and lo and behold it was Luella, the wonderful park manager, chasing after me.

Now we digress a little to explain something. This park is normally sold out from about Thanksgiving until into late March for the next year. In fact some spots are fundamentally sold out until death do us part. The way Comfort Castle was able to get the spot we did is a person sold their trailer and moved elsewhere which left a very temporary opening. Long term openings for Thanksgiving through March are seldom available without traumatic circumstances causing an opening. So it was very fortunate that we got in for the winter stay.

Back to Luella chasing me. It seems that a long time resident finished a project he was on and the company he works for is moving him away to a new project. Luella offered me first refusal on the soon to be available spot. One look at it and it was mine. It will be a lot less public and will be considerably quieter than the one near the clubhouse, not that that one is actually bad. Comfort Castle must be a good luck charm.

So moving Comfort Castle first thing in the morning will be the way trying to have tooooo much fun will get started tomorrow. TheOFM

Tough Brush

Sinton, Texas
Welder Park

Started this morning in a jacket for warmth. By ten am, Comfort Castle was far enough south that the temperature was in the upper 60s. After getting set up in Sinton, the temperature was noted at 88. Start with heaters going and finish the trip south with the AC going. Total distance of trip was right at two hundred miles is all. The folks here were thinking of running me back north since the cold weather is following me south. It is supposed to be 47 tomorrow night. That is blizzard conditions to these folks.

Along the way a couple of pictures were taken to show folks what this section of Texas looks like between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. SA is definitely Hill Country and similar to the pictures of earlier posts around Fredericksburg. Corpus Christi is near sub tropical coastal. In between them is the north eastern edge of the Texas brush country.

Where it has not been cleared, the land is very thick brush and has lots of wildlife of all sorts in the brush. From this picture you can see it can be nearly impossible to penetrate for humans. The stings, stick or bites saying applies in the brush country.

The land has gentle rolling to it. Water can be sparse and infrequent, then come in torrents like from hurricanes. It takes tough wildlife to live in this area. Rattlesnakes over two inches in diameter and over five feet in length are not uncommon. From personal experience it is known that the natural “grass” will dull a common lawnmower blade to worthless in less than a quarter acre of mowing.
Sinton is in the agricultural belt that runs along the coast for many miles. Cotton is a mainstay of the area farmers.

The campsite that was assigned to me is the only pull through in the park. It leaves me enough room to park the truck at either end. Directly across the street is the clubhouse and laundry. It is already proven evident that at least one lady considers it ok to walk right through my campsite next to Comfort Castle on her way to and from the clubhouse. That is very bad manners in a campground.

This picture of the campsite is not in perfect focus since it was basically taken with the light from the streetlight just about dark. The golf course is in the background. This spot will be very handy to the laundry right across the street and the golf course.

The trip was easy but longer than is preferred to tow in a day. 225 miles door to door but on very good roads for towing. Now it is 9:30 pm and the inside temperature with the windows open is 75. YEP not in the cold anymore! Now for a good nights rest so that some of the many options can used for trying to have tooooo much fun tomorrow. TheOFM

Last Night In Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg, Texas

Thirty one degrees this morning. Why aren’t my wheels rolling south??? Because some mail is running late. It should have been here last Saturday. Tomorrow looks like a nice day to roll if the mail gets here today or not.

This morning is wrap the last of the presents and get them sent off day. The shipping store is well located and the presents are on their way.

By next Saturday, the rig should be down in the Corpus Christi playground area. The surf is likely warm enough for some folks to go swimming in it. More importantly it will be in the saltwater fish catching area. Now that will be some great fun. Due to the cooler water, below seventy degrees, some waders will be purchased for the fishing and yaking. The agenda for the next couple of months is golf, fish catching, bike riding and coastal hiking. There are no hills or mountains within a four hour drive of Sinton for that type of hiking.

However there are MANY excellent restaurants down in the area to keep you well fed on seafood, Texmex, oriental buffets and TEXAS BBQ. This is exciting. The best part is winter usually happens one week and is over.

Watersports paddling is year round down here. Did you hear that Tamia?? Enjoy her excellent outdoor writing and adventures at http://www.tamiasoutside.com/. She is frozen in in upstate New York. Her latest writing on cold weather water adventures is important reading for everyone’s safety. Even on the Texas coast the water gets chilly enough to hurt you if you fall in unprepared.

The Lakehouse Restaurant got my business for lunch and my last catfish lunch there for a while. It is nice to sit in the dining room and watch the Guadalupe River meander on toward the Gulf of Mexico.

On the way back home, a few pictures of some Hill Country streams were taken. This should be the last of these for a while also. The coast is sand dunes and saltwater. Here are the three stream pictures from a little south of Fredericksburg.

My intentions is to start rolling right after the mail comes in tomorrow. Hopefully my missing mail will find its way home tomorrow. No matter what happens with the mail, Comfort Castle will be rolling in the morning.

Soon there will be the possibility of new styles of adventures for the blog. New styles also means new ways to try to have tooooo much fun. Look out Texas coast, Comfort Castle, the truck and TheOFM are headed your way with toys for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Wed 12-3-08 2 pm

At a roadside rest area midway between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. 82 degrees and great sunshine. This is the way to live.

Christmas Lights

Fredericksburg, Texas

The cold blustery wind is battering things so much even the word processor is having trouble getting the words lined up properly. It is a bright clear sky outside. The wind has cleared a lot of the tree leaves off the trees. It looks a lot like winter.

From the looks of the folks out trying to do their morning walks, it is not pleasant out there. It is a good morning for inside things. My electric heaters are working frequently, so the wind chill must be ferocious.

The trailer next to me has a large window on the slide out. You can see the window glass flexing in the wind. That seems to be a bit excessive for window glass flex to me. As more and more RV trailers are carefully examined, the more this old fat man is convinced that the Arctic Fox brand is built as well as the best of the others, but for a lot less money. Maybe this little rig will be Comfort Castle for a lot more years.

For the last few months, several modifications to Comfort Castle have been considered that would make it a lot more comfortable for my lifestyle. However it would make Comfort Castle less easy to sell to folks with more than two people. Right now CC sleeps six folks and the modifications would cut that down to two folks and maybe two small kids. You have to leave room for a grandkid or two when they come into my life, RIGHT!

A bunch of the day was spent wrapping Christmas gifts. It is a lot more comfortable in the trailer than outside the trailer. Finally enough were wrapped that a trip to get them on the way to the recipients was made. The temp was about 54 on my return.

About dusk the decision was made to eat at El Maguey Mexican food restaurant for the last time. The food was scrumptious. As my fat body exited the restaurant, it seemed that the Christmas lights were calling me.

So the truck made a couple of turns and parked behind the library so pictures for my readers could be made. After sixteen pictures, it seemed that at least a few would be ok. The two published here are the only two not totally worthless. It is evident that hand holding longer exposures is not part of my ability any more. The tripod will be used next time.
Here is a abbreviated view of the Marketplatz from in front of the library.

The court house was putting its best foot forward also and looking pretty good.


By the time all the pictures were shot, my body was shivering noticeably. My nose and fingers were trying to be numb. It was time to head for Comfort Castle. When a thermometer was seen, it showed 43 degrees with a strong chilling wind. Come on, get moving South was what went through my head. Less than four hours south, they are enjoying temperatures in the sixties and playing in the Gulf waters. Wake boarding in bathing suits is going on. Eat your heart out Kevin L in Washington.

Tomorrow is the day to wrap the rest of the packages and get them into the delivery mode. Then it will be time to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Christmas Shopping, Part 2

Fredericksburg, Texas

This was a very successful day of Christmas shopping. The stores in Kerrville opened at noon instead of the assumed ten. There was a lot of time to window shop in the little mall in town. At least it was a good time to plan on the gifts and consider ideas. Naturally no pictures since that could give away the identity of some of the gifts.

By the time the shopping was finished it was later in the afternoon. The number of shoppers was very low. The traffic on the streets was nearly non-existent. Consequently the drive back to Comfort Castle was nicely relaxed. There was even time to see the last couple of holes of the golf skins game. It even had a good finish.

This evening has seen a lot of tallying of what has been purchased, what has been shipped and what is left to purchase. Tomorrow will be wrapping day and maybe even shipping day. My Christmas stuff needs to get done by Thursday since there is no telling where Comfort Castle will be going or what my adventures will have me doing.

The wind was extremely strong today. Most of the fall leaves have now been stripped off the trees. “The Winter Look” is heavy on the area. Moving to warmer weather is getting very appealing. There is mail due here about Thursday, so heading out will happen after the mail comes. The chill in the wind today was quite noticeable and undesirable.

Tomorrow should be a busy day. Perhaps it will be a good time to try to get some good pictures of the Marketplatz decorations. At any rate it will be a good time to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

An important update has just happened. I now have a spot back down in the great park in Sinton where Comfort Castle has resided twice before. That is a great area for fishing and the excitement is even greater because Luella is there to visit with. It will be a good spot to be for Christmas. TheOFM