Road Racing

Sinton, Texas

First event this morning was to return some merchandise to Hobby Lobby. The trip out was pleasant with nice drivers on the road. The return was done by a very nice, competent and efficient lady. The return trip was more interesting since a mob of 18 wheelers in a hurry were on the same road pretending to be in a Monte Carlo road race. When my exit came in sight, it was very welcome.

According to the weather.com site, summer is working very hard at arriving in this area soon. It is getting to be time to follow the cooler weather northward. My plans are to be here until May 11. After that date my wheels can be rolling at any time. Now all that is left to do is figure out where to start toward. All my readers know by now that where the initial target is has nothing to do with where the final target is. That is a really fun part of this lifestyle.

This hot very windy weather has everything drying out very quickly. So most of today was spent moving the sprinkler around in my volunteer area. The Sinton schools had some sort of field day today and the park areas were over run with school kids of all ages. For the most part they were a well behaved group just having a good time trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

The Tree With Stories

Sinton, Texas

Near here is a location known as Five Points. It has the closest major box stores. My trip this morning was to go to Hobby Lobby, Wal-mart and Home Depot for a bit of miscellaneous stuff. The Hobby Lobby part of the trip went well, but the rest of the shopping did not happen because my list was at Comfort Castle on the kitchen counter. So much for good planning and grouping trips to save diesel money.

A few short walks and reading a book took care of most of the afternoon. Finally the blooming cactus was remembered. So a walk to get flower pictures was done late in the evening.

The first picture is of this tree with lots of stories to tell if it could talk. This poor tree has obviously had some rough times in its past. All the knots and scars make it a tree with lots of character.

Next on the agenda was to get over to the cactus area. It turns out that they should have been photographed a few days ago. The blooms have all turned into fruit. However they are some beautiful colors.
This time it was noticed that the cactus are in an area that has traces of what likely was a garden spot on the ranch that was here before.

After that the walk continued randomly wherever it seemed likely to have more flowers blooming. Most of the flowers that were blooming were very small. The high winds made it difficult to get good pictures of the blooms. Here they are in all their glory.




After that walk a large cup of coffee was made and sipped slowly as one of the youngsters baseball games was enjoyed. Man these kids play with great enthusiasm. They are fun to watch. Watching kid baseball games is a great way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

The Invasion

Sinton, Texas

There was an invasion of Comfort Castle by undesirable critters today.

But first the good news. My new to me (used is a lot cheaper) sand wedge arrived before lunch. As soon as my feet could get me to the practice field it got a tryout. It is a lot better for me than the one that came with the set of irons. The old one is a very good club, but it has never performed well for me. Most likely the combination of bounce, flange width and weight does not match my minimal abilities. This new one was a very good fit from the first shot. Again the bounce, flange width and weight feels a lot better than the other one.

That inspired me to get in some serious practice with some other clubs. Four more sessions in the practice field went very well. It must be about time to play some golf. Or at least attempt to play golf.

The other excitement was the invasion of Comfort Castle by dozens of gnats. They have been a real nuisance all day. The death toll is very high but they keep on coming. So far the entry point has not been determined. One thought is that a hatch happened from something brought into the trailer. At any rate it will be nice when they are under control and eliminated.

The rain of last night only put down about a quarter of an inch of water. The sprinklers will need to be out and working tomorrow. When they are planning on mowing again needs to be found out so watering will not cause the mower any trouble.

All the golf practice worked out well for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

edit: A link in a previous blog entry about required reading is not accesable as it works out. My apologies. It was accessed from the blog http://www.fulltime.hitchitch.com/. Go down in the first screen to Handybobs article on solar power. That is where I found the information. Again my apologies for putting in a link that was restricted.

Maintenance Finally

Sinton, Texas

Riding my bike, Trusty Steed, has once again proven to be a lot of fun.

The morning was spent moving a sprinkler around the campground. During that time a lot of thought was put into the moving of the solar controller. As lunch was eaten the decision was made to leave it as is for now. Should solar ever become a major part of my lifestyle then gaining the 15% might be worthwhile. For now it does not look like weeks of boon docking is in the future anyway.

After lunch it was time to finally do the needed maintenance on Trusty Steed. There was some wheel truing to be done. The chain needed cleaning and lubricating. Then there was the shifters crying out for attention. When it was all accomplished, it was time to ride. My slightly oversize spandex riding shorts are no longer oversize at all. Does this stuff shrink when not used????? It seems like it did. Soon everything was ready and off we went. It was wonderful to be rolling again. There were even three golf balls waiting for me to gather them in to a new home.

The back loop around the lake does not get much traffic on the trail. Trusty Steed is very quite when moving along. The wild turkey hen was just minding her own business when she noticed us about ten feet from her. Then she got very excited and seemed not to know what to do. Jump this way, jump that way, run around in a circle and finally explode into flight. All this in about three seconds it seemed. It was hilarious.

By the time Comfort Castle was in sight again, my legs were getting tired. So here is an old fat man writing his blog since he is too pooped to do anything else outside for now.

This evening is some light sprinkles of rain. From the looks of things on the radar screen, a little north of here is getting good rain. Those farmers will be happy about that. If it rains tomorrow, it will likely not be enough to stop me from trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Sandpaper For Your Eyes

Sinton, Texas

It has been an interesting day today. The foggy sort of gray is in reality the gritty sand in the air. My eyes have been making boulders all day. A mistake was leaving the windows on the truck down about an eighth of an inch to allow some air circulation. Now there is a thick layer of dirt all over the interior. What a mess!!!

The dirt parking lots here in the park have been so wind blasted that they have wind rows in them. You can really feel grit blasting you when you walk near the parking lots.

A bad sinus headache seems to be what awakened me this morning. It has not gotten any better all day. At least it got me up early to go grocery shopping ($63) to re-supply a lot of things that were used up from my pantry. Wal-Mart is now carrying a Splenda sweetened diet drink in cans. The cola tastes pretty good for colored water.

While reading the Hitchitch blog a special article about a fellows research into solar power was found and mostly read. He mentions many things in the article that do not agree with the sales folks of solar power components. One really important point is to use the data from the battery folks as to the proper way to recharge batteries. His findings are in 100% agreement with what had been noticed on my solar power system. As a result of this, my solar control panel will be getting relocated and more properly wired for my needs. Check it out at
http://www.fulltime.hitchitch.com/ then go to Handybobs article on solar power. This is required reading for anyone that might even think of putting in a solar power system for RV or home.

And now you have the whole story of my day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Whacked It Again

Sinton, Texas

Mending my pants is a good way to start the morning. A rip happened the other day and needed repair. My repair location had to move out into the sun since my eyes did not have enough light in Comfort Castle, even next to the big window at the dining table.

Next some golf practice with my X wedge was done. It was very successful and fun.
Then it was time to defrost the freezer. That is always a chore of joy and excitement. My large fan was placed into the freezer compartment for a few minutes. Then as the ice begins to melt, the water is sopped up with a sponge.

Then when the ice is all gone a good wash down to make everything very clean. And back into the freezer with all the food and fish bait. Now it should be good for another six months.

Of course during most of this there is a sprinkler going to fight the drought conditions, especially for the trees. Grass is easy to replace. Trees take years.

For the main event today we had a failed attempt to trim the excess from the trailer hitch. As it turns out the shaft is extremely hard steel. My little metal cutoff blade made slow going on the shaft. After wearing down one blade, an estimate of progress led me to think that at least ten blades would maybe finish the job. Maybe a local metal fabricating shop can remove it for me. The bottom of the shaft has the marks from the many times it has hit the pavement on dips and bumps.

The rest of the excitement for the day was more golf practice with my W club. That made it a good day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Just Whack It

Sinton, Texas

Laundry was a wonderful chore to do today because of the wind blowing the sand everywhere. Luella, the park manager, was having trouble breathing today. My eyes kept getting grit in them while moving the sprinkler around. The laundry kept me inside for some time and my eyes approved.

A great development was getting my golf swing back in fair shape. As good as it gets for me anyway. Every club in my set fits me well and hits well except the sand wedge and lofted wedge. This afternoon and evening was spent researching wedges to see what to try next. Perhaps a trip to Corpus is in order for tomorrow to feel some of the wedges. Standard set up wedges seldom fit my goofy body. My professional club fitting days are over, but my adjustments days for my needs are still going full force.

Practicing golf is a great way for me to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Skunk Detours

Sinton, Texas

As you are sitting at your open window enjoying the cool dry breeze, a local skunk comes along. When it gets a few feet from your truck, it stops and sniffs the air carefully. Then turns right and gives the truck a wide clearance. HMMMMMM maybe it is time to clean the truck interior of all the left over fragrance from the coastal marsh and salt air.

The truck was backed carefully into the ditch next to Comfort Castle to make it easier to unload and wash the bed. It took a few trips to the dumpster and a few trips to the picnic table to get the bed empty.

Then the filling up the ditch with all the sand and dirt in the back of the truck began. After a few minutes of steady hosing, the bed finally showed through the debris. The good part is that we are having severe winds today. The bed dried out rather quickly so all the stuff could be loaded back in the new “no kayak” arrangement.

This cute little critter tried to be invisible as my walking path approached it today. It held totally still as a couple of pictures were taken.

It was about eight inches stem to stern and rather pretty with the sun reflecting off it.

More watering was done on the grass and supposed to be grass areas. Maybe in a week or so we will have greenery.

The winds are very strong tonight. The trees are getting wind pruned. I bet the new crops that were showing last week are catching a rough time of it. Some gentle rain of about three inches would be nice.

Over at the baseball fields tonight are lots of families trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

No Flow

Sinton, Texas

First the problem. The lavatory drain quit working. Oh boy something to do!!!! Yeah right. Another day of contortions to get into the cabinets of Comfort Castle. First check the P-trap for blockage. The first nut came loose easily. The second took some persuasion with a wrench. The working space is limited to say the least

The p-trap is not clogged!? It has a layer of hard substance in the pipe, but the opening is quite large enough for the water to drain through it.
Next was to try to access the drain line as it runs behind a half wall next to the tub. Having a digital camera is very important to see into places your head will not fit. By holding the camera behind some piping around a cabinet corner, this picture was taken of the drain line.
That is the tub on the right. The tub drain comes in from the right. Then the lavatory and tub drain into the gray water tank. The kitchen sink has its own drain line into the gray water tank.
Eventually the stoppage was cleared out. Then everything was assembled and to my surprise nothing leaked.

One of the tasks that is used to fill my lazy days is watering the grass in part of the campground. It is a worthwhile effort since green grass is nicer than brown grass. This is a good job because there are no hours to clock in or bosses to direct my efforts. Luella is appreciative of the assistance.

Hitting golf balls at our free practice area seemed to be a good thing to do after lunch. A LOT of dirt was moved. To my surprise the golf ball actually made it to the face of the club a couple of times. However it was 97 degrees and my body was not sweating. This is not good, so back to the Castle to be safe. Why does my body refuse to sweat sometimes? Maybe it needs to be super hydrated? Not sweating is serious and is a caution always in my life. The three heat strokes I have had make me take not sweating very seriously.

Later in the evening a walk around the park was taken. Then a nice visit with Luella in the evening breeze put a great finishing touch to a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

The Problem

Sinton, Texas

First the problem. The door side of Comfort Castle had to be elevated by 1.5 inches to achieve level left to right. The ground slopes away from the parking pad noticeably. The result is a lllllllloooooong step up to enter Comfort Castle.

The solution is to put in a landing. So off to Home Depot at Calallen. Anything built must be removed when you leave. The first thought was a small wood deck. As the lumber was being loaded on the cart, it became obvious that the small deck would weigh more than an old fat man can move around.

The next solution was to use concrete blocks and pavers. At least these will always stay as individual items that can easily be moved at any time. The materials were purchased along with the fire ant control insecticide.

The trip home went smoothly. A choice was made to back the truck close to the location for the landing. Problem is the yard had been watered well. The truck rolled easily over the soft ground to my amazement. The load was off loaded and not all that is left to get to work.
Of course nothing is level or the right height. My little emergency shovel did a very good job of prepping the dirt. After several attempts at getting the levels correct success was at hand. Now there is an adequate landing for easier entrance into Comfort Castle.
Now when it is time to leave, the disassembly will be easy and non destructive.

Doesn’t man handling concrete blocks and pavers sound like a wonderful way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Caring Folks

Sinton, Texas

CLEANING DAY was the real name for today. The vacuum cleaner came out with it’s special tools. The rugs were taken outside, applied to a picnic table and weighted with my exercise weights. Next the water hose with a narrow stream nozzle had its way with them. They were stinking from all the salty mold and mildew. But after three good washings and a few hours of strong Texas sun, they were noticeably better in the fragrance department.

The interior of Comfort Castle had EVERY part of it vacuumed at least twice. Then the Castle was opened up to air out for a couple of hours.
The truck was then moved onto a parking pad and washed with vigor. Then Comfort Castle was closed up and the AC turned on. The outside of the Castle was carefully scoured of all remnants of the salty environment of the last month. The truck interior still needs to be cleaned. Cleaning the interior was interrupted with getting to move to my favorite spot in this campground.

The discussion between Luella and me ended up with me deciding to sign up for a month instead of a week. Then the move to the new site. My readers may see a difference in my adventures shortly. But who really knows????

This new site is one that the Castle really likes. It gets shade in the morning for about the first three hours from the RV next door.
Then there is a few hours of overhead sun. In early afternoon around two pm, the shade from my front yard tree starts to cover the Castle. It makes it nice to sit outside in the evening under the cooling of the tree.

The rent is $340 a month for site, water, sewer and electricity. Frequently you get entertainment in the way of local kids playing soccer or baseball. Of course the adjacent golf course for $12 a round is available if you want to try your hand and rearranging the landscape like my play does.

One of the things that makes this place special is the way Luella runs it. A good example is this story. Some folks leave their Rvs here for the summer instead of taking them home to the north country. One family did not get to make it back this winter for medical reasons. Luella noticed that a part of their Rv was needing some repair. She talked to the folks and they are letting her get a repair done and send the money to pay for it. It was a small amount of help for my pictures of the problem to be sent to the folks. We just take care of each other here and it is wonderful.

Of course 62 degrees in the morning and 80 degrees during the day is not to bad either. Notice the sunshine in the pictures. What a day for trying to have tooooo much fun! TheOFM.

Mis-Adventures

Sinton, Texas

Have you ever started reading a blog and they write like you know where they are but never tell you??? That is aggravating to me. My location is always at the top of the blog entry so you can tell where I am talking about.

This was things breakdown day. My B key has mostly failed as of this morning. So if a word looks funny, try adding a b in it some where.

A picture of the campsite here is in order. This is a nicely spread out campground with room to play.

The cycle group was leaving out today. Several of them tow trailers around. They were for the most part tent camping. This couple have a nice rig.
The next thing to fail was the switch on the solar system that was installed to isolate the system from the rest of the trailer. First was a quick fix to get it working again. The batteries were very down from all the overcast weather. They needed some help from the shoreline it seemed. Right after this quick fix was done the sun came out and the solar panel kicked the batteries right back up to full charge.
On Sunday the hardware store is closed here in town. A twenty mile each way trip to Home Depot in Calallen was made for items.
After returning it took only a few minutes to add on the new plug and get things back on line.
The switch to isolate the systems proved to be not worth while. Now the main shore line system is back to like the manufacturer installed it. The solar control panel is programmed to handle leaving the shore power hooked up and still control the panel in the proper manner.

Another item purchased is a grinding assembly for my drill motor. The hitch head that attaches to the truck has a large chunk of metal that is not needed. Hopefully it can be cut off to reduce the weight of the hitch head that has to be handled. Tomorrow will be the day to find out about that.


After the hitch is modified the rest of the day should be clear to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM
　

Sinton Again

Sinton, Texas

A good start today. While eating breakfast the weather radar was checked. OH MY a big storm headed for Sinton and Rockport this morning. Hurry up and get going. Coupled up and good byes said quickly. Then on the road by 8:40am. The speed was slow this morning. 55 mph all the way to the Sinton campground. Set up went well and everything was good by ten am. Not much later the slow drizzle hit and lasted for a few hours. The earth here needs it very badly.

My poor body is acting up. Rotten feeling and sinus headache all day. However there was a little walking about and picture taking. This park is great because they have places for lots of different activities.

This was the weekend of the motorcycle club event here in the park. Lots of loud motorcycles and music. WOW I am lucky. Actually it is a very well behaved bunch. Here is the sign for the event.

Looking in the main gate gives you a small idea of the number of motorcycles here.

The fenced area is all theirs. It looks like about an acre of vendors and bikers. At the back fence was a line of shiny motorcycles also.

The speakers in the pavilion are faced away from the campground so the volume is more tolerable this year. It still is loud and the folks are having a great time. There is even a little adult beverage drinking going on. Scattered in the area are different kid games and events. Lots of family fun going on.

Now if that is not enough, you can wander over to the many ball fields and watch baseball games to your hearts delight. At the time this picture was taken there were three games in progress. This is small town America and kid sports are BIG.

After leaving the ball game area it was a nice surprise to see Luella sitting out side waiting for a visitor to stop by and chat.

For a fellow not feeling very good, it was a full day. Checking out the motorcycle gathering, watching baseball then chatting with Luella. But the two naps must not be forgotten in the name of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

End Of Estes

Last Blog Entry from Estes, Texas

The day was a nasty, damp, heavily overcast day. The solar panel worked very had for a little electrical charge for the batteries. Some getting ready to move out tomorrow morning occupied the day. It will be nice to get out of the salty sticky air here. It is likely that Comfort Castle will not be back down here again. The next stop is Sinton and a heavy duty cleaning for the truck and Comfort Castle. A little golf will likely happen also.

There are a few pictures of this area left to clean up tonight. They are from Conn Brown Harbor. When these boats sank is not known by me. They have been there for some time. They are along side the Intracoastal Waterway.

At the parking area to the piers is a memorial to the sailors of the boats. It is nice and very simple. The sign tells the story.
The memorial is well done and nice to visit.
The anchor is impressive in real life. It carries the scars of years of use on its exterior.

This completes the coverage of this area for this trip. The weather this Jan to April has been very bad according to the folks that are here every winter. The wind is the main trouble this year.

At this time my plans are to meander over to the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico during the next few weeks to find cooler temperatures and sunshine. AHHHH Cooler temps and sunshine should help in the quest of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.
　

Gone, Gone

Estes, Texas

One of the best boats that has been part of my life now belongs to redfish mama. She sweet talked me right out of it with money. The yellow yak will now get a LOT more use than it would have sticking with me. She was a fantastic student and mastered yakking in very short order. Hopefully she will wear the hull thin from all the water she paddles through in the future. That good a boat deserves to be used often. Diana, remember as you pile the redfish into the boat that the weight limit is only 325 pounds.

The weather has been horrible. A light rain started a little before lunch and is still going on. Of course the wind has been blowing everything all over the place. Having cool very wet air blowing strongly makes a walk outside miserable.

Now a new lifestyle is evolving. Most of my life has involved at least one boat. Now there is no boat and that means a new set of considerations for my future travels. With out a boat, paddling considerations are taken out of the equation. For the moment that is being difficult to put into action. My plan now is to leave Saturday. The weather is supposed to be less ugly Saturday than tomorrow. We will see.

Some of tomorrow will be spent modifying my travel options in my quest of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Early To Rise Lady

Estes, Texas

Redfishmama was already out on the water by the time my body got to moving around. The community walking path in Rockport was calling me right after breakfast. When the truck was energized to head out, my yak was already gone with Redfishmama to chase the fishes. WOW that nice lady likes to fish.

At the wonderful community walking trails three laps were done. The first two were at a brisk pace. About one third of the third lap was at a brisk pace. The rest of the lap was slower and slower as my right calf started cramping. By the time the truck came into sight at the end, my calf was getting serious. Back at the Castle an extra banana was eaten in case my minerals were out of whack.

Then it was lunch time and a visit with Murphy down at the bulkhead. He caught a very nice large gaff-topsail fish while we were visiting. That fish will make a nice dinner for him and his wife. To me they are a very pretty fish. Of course my camera was back at the Castle resting.

By mid afternoon the wind was getting very bad. Even Redfishmama came off the water early today. She had had no decent luck catching any fish to bring home. Maybe the yak ought to be hers the way she handles it now.

While the yak was being washed, another lady and her husband were talking about getting her a yak for fishing. She was a little nervous about trying one out, but likely with good teaching she would do well. Cautious folks make good yakkers.

One way or another there will be some pictures from tomorrow’s effort at trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Scorched Earth

Estes, Texas

Diana, AKA Redfishmama, was out in the yak early this morning until late this evening. Murphy was chatting with me down at the bulkhead when Redfishmama decided to come in. She exhibited good skill with the paddle in making her landing. It is wonderful to see someone having fun on the water. BUT she did not catch any fish!!!! Since my mail did not come in today, she has another day tomorrow to use the yak all day.

As for me, a trip out around Victoria, Texas to see the wildflowers was taken. There were wildflowers alright. However it was again two or three here or a couple over there. Thinly scattered over large areas was the best to be found today. This drought has killed us this year.

On the way back to Comfort Castle, a stop was made at a roadside rest area. A prairie fire had devastated a large part of the refuge adjacent to the highway. Here is the sign talking about the refuge.


The land was scorched as far as you can see. Without decent rain it may be a long time coming back. This certainly is a lot of important wildlife homes and food that has been destroyed.

Murphy has fished most of the day and only caught some small fish to fillet. They are supposed to grace the skillet tonight. During one of the times I was down there, he caught a large hardhead catfish. It was thrown back to grow larger for the frying pan on a later date.

All that remains now is to choose what to do to try to have tooooo much fun tomorrow. TheOFM.

Happy Yakker Smile

Estes, Texas

She wanted to learn so it was time for lessons. My neighbor Diana had requested yakking lessons from me. She was warned that my lessons are very hands on. You start out doing everything and keep on doing it all without anything but verbal instruction from me. It produces quick learning.

She was a natural in the yak but needed practice to handle the paddle. Here she is practicing spins. Spins are needed in high winds or rough water to get you going the right direction with the least of danger. It took her a while, but she stuck with it until she was safely doing them on command without hesitation.

Within an hour the familiar happy yakker smile was showing up.

After about two hours of close order drills, she was good enough to head out on her own.
My teaching was finished by noon. She got all her needed fishing gear into the yak and set out to conquer the redfish. She did not come back in until after seven pm. Diana is one tough lady to stay out in that wind for that long.

The rest of the day was piddle around on my part. Looked around some to choose where the next stop will be. Who knows where???? Most likely it will involve a golf course for a bit.
That was about the summation of my day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM
　

The Cruise

Estes, Texas

An ugly morning started out the day. Light drizzle and overcast, YUK. So short trip to the north to get out of the hyper humidity was taken. Before you know it the clouds had moved on and it was bright sunshine. When the lunch dishes were being washed, my neighbor Dick knocked on the door and mentioned that the weather was just right to try out my new cart. He is right as usual.

The yak and cart were removed from under Comfort Castle. A bit of trying out was required before things fit properly. The straps were attached and the rest of the equipment was fitted for use. A tryout cruise was in order.

First was the walk down to the launch point. The cart did very well. Since TheOFM might not do so well, the camera was left at home. As it turned out, the camera could have come along. The wind was pretty miserable but the wave action turned out to be well within the ability of the yak. According to Google maps, the cruise was about three and a half miles. The time was a little over three and a half hours. Coming back across the bay against the strong wind was not any fun. The wave action was a nasty every which way chop. Again the yak amazed me with its ability to ignore the wave action and just go merrily along. This is many times better than the SINKs in my past.

It still remains to be seen how an inflatable would handle the wind like today. Bob of mobilestudiotravels.blogspot.com/ has an inflatable that seems to be pretty good from his descriptions of it on the water.

During the cruise many likely looking fishing spots were found. The good news is they were relatively close to the campground. There was lots of mullet running around in the shallows. Maybe tomorrow will be a fishing day.

A nice lady that lives across the street from me at this campground is interested in yaks for fishing. If she decides to give it a try, lessons were offered using my yak. If not, that is ok too. It is always fun to see the grin on new paddlers faces when they see how much fun it is to play in a yak. It is a great way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

A Slimey Job

Estes, Texas

The little sparrow was sitting in the grass watching me as my path neared him. Finally he decided to fly away. A mighty leap into the air and a flap of his wings coupled with the gust of wind and he was flat on his back. A very nice back flip if I do say so my self. He flopped a couple of times and hopped up. Another mighty leap into the air and a flap of his wings and he was off flying DOWNWIND this time. Sometimes it pays to pay close attention to the little things around you. My laughter lasted for several minutes since he was not injured.

Mostly the wind had everyone hunkered down in buildings like the Wal-Mart in Rockport where almost all the people in Texas were at. My mistake was going over there to purchase some Slime for my kayak cart tires. The checkout was only about fifteen minutes at the register for ten items or less. Even the street that yesterday had a very few cars was an ant hill of vehicles going every which way. It was nice to get back to Comfort Castle and out of the weekend mess.

The Slime should help prevent flats from small thorns that attack the cart tires.

The small wheels were easy to inject with the Slime. However putting air back in them was a major chore. The tires need valve stem extenders so the air pump connection can connect properly. After a serious session of discussion with the tires, they decided to accept some air into them. In this picture you can see the green remnants on the valve of the Slime being put into the tube.

The rest of the excitement is that the wind is so bad that the mosquitoes had stayed home all day. Not even one came to visit during the sliming of the tires. Tomorrow’s wind is supposed to continue to be bad and interfere with trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Getting A Grip

Estes, Texas

Just sittin chere eating popcorn and drinking dirty brown water. The dirty brown water is normally called Sam’s Diet Caffeine Free Cola. The mosquitoes are out in force here in the coastal marsh. They are downright miserable to us humans.

Some area of Texas a little to my north has been hard to get details about on the Internet. Today was the go see for myself day. The loop went up through several towns including Yorktown, Cuero and Victoria. Except for Victoria, none of the towns had much that was interesting. However the entire area looked wonderful for having a home and some land to maintain. The land is still having drought trouble. Here are a couple of pictures of the area taken while going down the highway.

In Yorktown at the DQ, the conversation at the next table was talk of the low yields expected from the dry land farming. They are expecting to have yields of no more than 1/3 of last year. This will be a difficult year if the rain continues to stay away.

In Victoria was an Academy store where some golf club grips were purchased so the final club could be properly fitted to my hands. The grips are not as good as the ones normally used. However those were not going to be available for nearly three weeks and who knows where the Castle will be by then.

Arrival at the Castle was in over cast warm sticky weather. It will be nice to get out of here next week. The one club was re-gripped and is now awaiting a few hours to pass before trying it out. That completes the re-gripping effort. That excuse of grip size is not available any more.

Another thing was the unpacking of a canoe/kayak cart that is now mine. Toting the yak a significant distance to the water is now an adventure of the past. It is a nice cart that the dealer had for sale at nearly $25 less than any price found on the internet. It should make things easier for my old body when launching from someplace other than a boat ramp.

Now what will be the opportunity for trying to have tooooo much fun tomorrow? The OFM

Hit Counters

Estes, Texas

Why doesn’t OFMAdventures have a hit counter?? Thank you for the question. After looking into them for some time, it seems they all are orientated toward collecting information for use in marketing. This site collects NO information on any person that visits. Those type of collections are opposite of my intentions on this site. Yes it would be fun to know how many hit’s the site gets, but it is not desirable to me to have a service collect any information from a hit on my blogs. So OFMAdventures will continue to be information collection free. Thank you for asking.

Probably the high spot of this rather benign day was putting a new grip on my one wood golf club. Since it was shortened to my size, the grip had not been changed. It was important to play it once in this size in order to size the grip properly for my future golf. Being a club fitter for many years has spoiled me into wanting my clubs to fit perfectly. The main reason is that all the help available is really not quite enough. It was sized one layer of tape larger to facilitate the arthritis that is starting to be a problem.

Now a word of experience for those who change their own grips. Do not use the normal lubricating fluid sold by the golf shops or the lighter fluid many folks use. These lubricants work well as long as you can get everything perfect in the first try and under thirty seconds. For folks like me a little more working time is needed. My experience is that WD-40 is the best lubricant. It give about five minutes working time. That is enough time to correct alignment trouble or even get the grip back off without damaging it. The down side is it needs about twelve hours in the sun or twenty four hours otherwise before using the club to hit balls.

Now the one wood is “curing” in my bag after about three hours in the sun this afternoon. It should be ready for hitting balls by the time my body gets over being sore. Yesterday there was trouble with the club since the grips were too thin for my painful hands. Now it is the size that fits well and should be a much more controlled lousy hit for me. Club fitting cannot cure bad fundamentals.

The wind is still ferocious here on the coast. Very few boats are putting up with it and going out to catch fish. Likely tomorrow some place else but on the water will be where trying to have tooooo much fun will happen. TheOFM

Windy Golf

Estes, Texas

Neighbor Dick and I went to Refugio, Texas to play golf. It was a nice easy social golf course. We had a blast even though the wind was furious. It has been long enough since the last time a golf club was swung strongly that every muscle in my body is sore.

The course would not challenge a great player but for us it was more than enough challenge. It was a nice day for trying to have tooooo much fun. Good night. TheOFM

Van And Joyce

Estes, Texas

A very nice but windy day today. This morning my task was to check out a golf course on the Lamar Peninsula. It is in what used to be a very nice neighborhood that has gone downhill. The golf course was in terrible shape and not really ready for any play at all.

Later in the afternoon a walk down to the bulkhead got me a nice visit with Murphy. Nothing was biting and the wind was getting pretty strong. We had a good conversation. Suddenly a familiar face drove up in a golf cart. It was Van from my first winter in Rockport. He and Joyce are hosting here until October. My visit with them lasted until nearly five pm. Then it was time for me to move on and Van to go fishing. They are especially nice folks to know.

That pretty well sums up the day of trying to have tooooo much fun. The OFM.

Migraine Recovery Day

Estes, Texas

The migraine headache has been running the usual course today. This morning not much happened but laying around. Then after lunch my body started calling for some light exercise. The community walking trail seemed inviting. Off we go to give it a try.

The trail was even nicer than it was remembered to be. The weather was nearly perfect if you can stand bright sun and seventy degrees with twenty mph wind. At first it was a slow unsteady pace. My balance is always messed up by the migraine attacks. However by the second mile, most of my body parts were working well but slowly. Here is a picture of the start of the second mile. It kind of makes you want to sit on the bench a spell doesn’t it.

But onward the body must go. By the time the ponds came into view, my body was doing very well and the pace had increased to a reasonable exercise pace. Things are going good. The view is not too bad either.

By the time my second lap was done, my body was feeling almost human again. There was still a headache but the body was working ok now.

When we returned to the Castle, it seemed like changing out the fishing rod protectors would be within my ability now. So that was the chore accomplished for today.

The rod protectors that had been in use for a few years were not big enough to handle the new fishing rod. So it was time for a change out. The old protectors were 2” pipe long enough to allow my two piece rods to fit into the pipe when disassembled. However the eyelets on the new rod are to large to fit into the old tubes. They are the black ones in the picture.

The white ones are the new three inch pipe tubes for the new rod. Now the rods fit easily into the tubes to protect them from harm during transit. They are always taken down and the reels stored separately.

This gives me a rod and reel balanced for twelve pound test line and another balanced for eight pound test line. With these two rigs there should be some fish that one or the other rig can handle no matter where the Castle takes us for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.