A Final Chapter

Sinton, Texas

The Botanical Gardens in Corpus Christi gets their last entry tonight. It has taken a few blogs to cover it all. It is a nice place to visit and cheap for the entry fee.

The Rose Garden is probably the only garden there right now without construction going on. The gazebo is wonderfully cooler than the rest of the gardens. Lingering there felt very nice.

The plants are all in raised planters. This view covers about 1/3 of the garden. Back in my other life, fragrant roses were my hobby. Here they mix them up between fragrant and show roses. That works out to be an excellent extravaganza of fragrance and beauty.

At various places along the walkways are special items. On interesting item is this resting couch made of masonry. Bring your own pillow if you are going to sit for long.

A bit past the couch, this shore bird is waiting to hand you a fish for your lunch.

Naturally after you take the fish, you need somewhere to sit to eat it. They have provided this nice picnic area for your enjoyment. Now where is the grill for cooking the fish?

Next is a couple of bright flowers to enliven the day and make you appreciate being alive and outdoors.


At the entrance to the humming bird garden is this very cute sculpture. It was about a foot high and two feet long. It was built to sway gently in the breeze.

And finally on the way out was this funny tree with funny flowers. Yellow flowers shaped like trumpets hanging down toward the pot fountain.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this very brief coverage of the gardens. When the renovation and construction is finished, these gardens deserve a very intense viewing. That certainly was a wonderful day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Flower Explosion

Sinton, Texas

Now for an explosion of flowers. These are along the entrance walkway of the Botanical Gardens in Corpus Christi.



Not too far along the walkway this wonderful and VERY large staghorn fern is in front of you. It is about five feet in diameter. The container is mounted so the fern swings and rotates in the winds. Impressive.
The Orchid House is nearby. This is my first time in an orchid house. Another impressive. It is two aisles like this one. Both are full of beautiful flowers.
The trouble was that it was next to impossible to get far enough back for the focus to work well on the camera. This orchid was almost in focus but is still extremely beautiful.
And here is a shady rest area right in amongst all the beautiful flowers.
It was a great place to rest from all the hot work of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Gator Pond

Sinton, Texas

What we have here is a failure to have rain in enough quantity to do any good. As you will see from tonight’s blog, the drought is in full force down here. The “back country” part of the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens is a very graphic example of the drought.

After going through all the pretty flowers and the Arid Garden, this was the trail left to see. The flowers will start with the next blog. The trail sign did not give a clue to the desolation to come.

The trail to the Gator Pond was pretty dry it seemed. The elevated walkway seemed like it was not needed. As you will see from the next picture, the drought has eliminated the current need for the elevated walkway. At full level the walkway would be going over about two feet deep water that is home to toothy critters and is very needed. Now you most likely need to watch for rattlesnakes.

This is the view from the gator viewing platform. There are nice signs around you telling you all about what is not there any more.

This would be a great viewing platform in wet conditions. Gators do not have to be brought in in Texas. They will migrate to a pond like this relatively quickly. It makes me wonder what happened as the pond dried up and the gators left. There is a subdivision just across the pond. HMMMMM.

On down the trail you stroll in the hot sun until this sign shows you the way to the next interesting view point. This side trail is short but a bit sloppy to walk with the loose surface on it.

When you leave the main trail, this is the view in front of you.

The stair leads you to a nice elevated view of Gator non-Pond. That is the gator viewing deck to the left. Corpus is on a major bird migration flyway, so with water here it should be great birding.

At one point on the trail you come to the “ Wetlands” elevated walkway. As you can see in the next picture, there has not been any water in a long time.

At one spot you get to see the tiny remains of the wetlands. It is about a hundred feet long and thirty feet wide. In another month it may be gone also. Lots of the natural trees in the Texas coast are dying out from the drought. That is a real shame.

We still have a lot of flower pictures to go including a neat structure out at the Rose Garden. Presenting the flower portion of the gardens will be a nice way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Pre-Boiled Fish

Sinton, Texas

Late this morning the truck took me out for adventure. It was eventful, but not my idea of an adventure. On the interstate northward the haze from all the dirt in the air was strong. The haze in this picture is from the crop fields blowing toward Louisiana.

The goal turned out to be a state park from my past. It used to be a really neat place to go play. However it has fallen into non-repair from budget cuts.
It is still open as a day use park of sorts. The boat ramp are is in use but all the rest is either closed off or not repaired. What a waste it is to allow this park to go to worthless!
Soon after entering is the warning sign that is needed at any body of water in south Texas.
A friend of mine has been yaking this lake for years. He tells of many, many gators over ten feet long back in the sloughs where he USED to like to fish.

The lake is like most of them in Texas. It is low due to the continuing drought. This next picture is taken from a spot that the water line when the lake is full. My knees should have had waves hitting them. It is a sad sight.

When the necessity requirement came into being, off to the restroom I went. It was locked with a sign saying that the only restroom open was down at the boat ramp. OK off to the boat ramp the truck takes me. It parked in the shade of a small tree. This is actually a pretty good sized tree for south Texas. The foreground was nice grass in the past.
As the truck was rolling toward the entrance, the temperature was noticed. It is not a great place to be in the summer.
At this temperature, the fishermen must be planning on catching preboiled fish. No Thanks not for me to sit out there in the open boat cooking all day. Even the lizards hold up in the shade on days like this.

Back at the Castle about an hour later, it seemed like a coat was needed since it was only 92. This is not the way recommended to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Arid Garden

Sinton, Texas

Tonight we get to see the Arid Garden as they call it. My sign would say cactus garden ouch! This garden is one of the smaller ones if not the smallest. However it is still got a lot of plants in it. The sad part is that the blooms were at their best about two weeks ago. As you approach the Garden this is the scene that piques your interest.

The path through this garden is very wheel chair accessible. It is not flat but the slope is quite gentle. Just enough to get the rain (if they ever get any again) off the path. Walking was very easy. The reasonable rule is stay on the path. Do not step into the garden to take pictures. So a couple of the pictures are not from the best angle. Maybe that means you will need to go there and see them for yourself!

The first cactus with some blooms is the old reliable prickly pear. From the looks of all the fruit set on the plant, the blooms would have been extremely spectacular two weeks ago.

On another of the cacti was a purple and white bloom in the final stages. Getting this picture was almost a big event. While leaning over the bed of cacti to get the picture, my balance became a bit in question. Let me tell you that those thorns on the cactus below me looked very large and sharp there for a few moments.

On around the corner was a collection of “barrel” cacti. They were in good health and looking for some fool to feel them. The fruit on this one looks interesting. Are the fruit of a barrel cactus good eating like the fruit of the prickly pear cactus??

At one spot just across from the barrel cactus you could see through the Arid Garden to the structure at the Rose Garden. That wrinkled cactus on the right looked even more wrinkled when you get up close.

Grocery shopping and clothing shopping occupied a good bit of today. The grocery shopping was a success. Some shorts like the ones needing replacing were not available at Wal-mart, so keeping an eye out for some elsewhere will be necessary.

A couple of walks around the park helped in trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Oh My Goodness

Sinton, Texas

Ok its nine pm and time to get busy on the blog. First is the download of the pictures taken on today’s adventure. Hook up the camera and sit back while the pictures load. WHAT THE HECK!!!!! FORTY FIVE, AS IN 45 INDIVIDUAL NON-REPEATED PICTURES to process.

After culling out the ones not good, there was ---------45 pictures to use in the blog. Way too many for one entry. WOW Normally pictures are shot whenever the urge hits. There was a lot of urges today apparently. So my good readers look for a few blogs to get this adventure covered.

Back to the morning. An addition to OFMDetails was added for my camera. Then a trip was needed to scratch the travel itch giving my body fits. So off to the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens. Their website says they open at nine am. So we were on the road about ten to nine. The trip went easy. The chosen route went down by the bay so it could be checked out. Then on to the gardens. What to expect was not known, but it was known that an OLD man like me gets in for $4.

The parking facilities were pretty good. Even the Truck fit in easily. The gardens looked nice from the road but a little ragged on the edges. It turns out they are in the middle of a large amount of construction and reconstruction. Adding greenhouses, moving gardens and pathways and all kinds of other things happening. This is a fairly good size operation. This is the view from the road. The entrance is very easy to find

After parking and stretching my legs for a bit, the above picture was taken and the quest was started. The whole gardens has signs all over the place to help you find your way.
Let me mention an important point. It was HOT today and there are not drinking fountains in the gardens. However you can carry your own water with you. A lot of the trails are wheel chair accessible but a little rough. They have one wheelchair there to lend to visitors.

The visitor center has lots of neat trinkets in it that would tempt me if there was a house in my life. The entry fee was paid and the official greeter, Heidi, was given a good scratch behind her ears. She is an 8 month super friendly wiener dog. The only necessity rooms are at the visitor center. One neat item from the center followed me home as a Christmas present for my Daughter in Law.

Now we have the map of the place. Inside the map is descriptions of lots of things. Also many, many plants have labels with them out in the gardens. There are over a mile of trails in the gardens without any retracing of steps.

When you leave the visitor center, you take a right on this walk. The fun begins right there.
Reasonably frequently through out the gardens are benches for resting. On a hot day like today they are very welcome. Here is one of them out by Gator Pond set back in the trees for shade.
It was a welcome respite in my effort to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Change Of Plans

Sinton, Texas

What a surprise!!! Yesterday some things were ordered after the cut off time for same day shipping. Great a road trip tomorrow. Receive the items on Wednesday. Wrong again as usual. The company got the items shipped yesterday and when The tracking was checked late last night, it was scheduled for delivery today. And they arrived right on time this morning. So it was a day of staying in town.

There was a new hose and sprinkler on the picnic table at one time today. When Luella put it there is unknown. However it gave me two assemblies to use in putting down the water the grass and trees need. A full watering of my area of responsibility was completed this afternoon. Now it will Thursday or Friday before more water needs to be applied.

A LOT of time has been spent looking for where to roll the wheels toward. Since my travels have covered most of the south and west and most of the middle states, there is “no got to go before I die” places left. Travel back to the east is very expensive and the heavy dense forest is not really my style. The lakes in the forests are very nice though. It will be interesting where the Castle heads when it is time to roll.

For a night cap an hour long moderate paced walk was taken inside the park. It was pleasant but no folks out enjoying the end of the day. There was a couple of exciting baseball games in progress at the baseball fields.

One thing for certain, Comfort Castle will be somewhere to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Great Wedges

Sinton, Texas

It was a cooler morning with a starting temp of 70. During the day it did get up to the low 90s but stayed reasonable enough for me to play at golf. My new wedges are very good. More careful practice is needed with them. The balls that were pitched flew too far to my surprise. A more gentle swing is needed to be learned. But off the baked clay they call fairway around here, they performed better than any other that I have used. So that is good news for me.

Some of the green tea that Luella gave me was my breakfast drink. It is very good. Tetley Green Tea is what it is. A little dry spot watering is all that was done today. The truck may not have even left the driveway today for all my memory can remember.

The day finished with some fun golf. It is nice to finish the day trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Wimpy Tree

Sinton, Texas

Seventy two degrees at six am this morning and ninety three at noon all in the shade of the old oak tree as seen on my outdoor thermometer. Summer is not here yet. Seems like a certain old fat man needs to get more northerly and higher in altitude. This is very normal for the Texas coast unless hotter. We have five seasons here fall for a couple of weeks, winter for a month and a half, spring for about three weeks, summer for a couple of weeks and the rest of the year is HOTTER THAN HELL and that’s at night when it cools off.

One time in my previous life, the weekend was spent in Laredo during a July if my memory is correct. The most memorable part was checking the temperature at midnight and finding it had cooled down to 97. It seemed like a jacket was in order. Folks your stomach cannot put back into your body the water you need fast enough to stay out in the sun like that.

A small tree that was planted is needing some help

Luella and I have to choose what to support it with from her resources here in the park.

While on my walks, the low growing cactus has to be avoided. During last nights visit with Luella, it was decided to acquire one of the smaller cacti. A small pot was made available and this morning a small cactus jumped into the pot to be given loving care by someone special. The pig and froggy were very interested in what was done with the cactus.

From the scrap pile a metal fence post was retrieved. It was a fortunate happening that my three pound sledge hammer was just enough to drive the post into the ground. The tree was loosely fastened to the fence post. That leaves the tree free to move in the wind and build a strong root system.
The next effort was to get all the grass in my area a good drink of water. That took until after six pm this evening. This is some thirsty ground. Hopefully someone will take on the task when the Castle rolls out. Thirsty grass and trees do not do very well.

The temperature got up to some where between 95 and 102 depending on which thermometer you believed. Any way you read it this was a very hot day. If you are not careful those kind of temperatures can get in the way of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.
　

Flowers And Windmills

Sinton, Texas

The loop roads around Lake Corpus Christi have many dead end side roads that go to what are fundamentally failed subdivisions on the side of the lake. The lady at the Dinero, Texas convenience store was a hoot to talk with. All around the lake area are some really nice acreage places for folks with a yen to work them selves hard. The nice ones look really good. The others pretty bad.

Along one stretch of highway were lots of prickly pear cactus blooming in brilliant yellow blossoms. Naturally there has to be at least one picture of them in tonight’s blog entry.




This next picture is a standard view found all over south Texas. Essentially this same scene is available from San Antonio to Brownsville and Corpus Christi to Laredo. Lots of artists are not fulfilled until they paint a scene like this one.

For a grand finale to the loop, a trip through the state park was needed. My annual pass long ago paid for itself on the entry fees. So today was basically free entry for me. On the walk up to the necessities building were some very pretty flowers. The color of the centers is especially attractive to me. The picture is not nearly as brilliant as the flowers were in real life.


The lake is way down. The pier seen in my previous posts is dry footed now. In the next picture of the lake, the trees on the right shore nearest the water are normally very close to the water line. Now you can see at least one tent pitched on ground that would usually be a few feet under water. This drought is getting close to wiping out this area of the country.

Finishing April a few dollars under budget was celebrated with a chicken fried steak with trimmings at the Chisholm Trail Restaurant in Skidmore, Texas. It was done very well. The vegetables were first class and the tea just right. Then on the way home, Luella was sitting out and we visited for a bit. About nightfall we said our goodnights. It was a great day for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Smart????

Sinton, Texas

OK enough piddling around. The time has come to take care of IT. So into the truck and off to Wal-mart we go. It is a nice day for cruising to Calallen. It is a thirty minute drive through the farm lands. The wind did keep the driving interesting.
When we pulled into the Wal-mart parking lot, there was one of THEM. It is not the first my eyes have beheld. They sure are small and they do not seem all that SMART to me, especially at the price of THEM.

Thirty dollars later it was back to the truck with the STUFF for IT to be finished. A couple of days ago about an hour was wasted trying to take care of it. Today with the right tools, IT was finished and cleaned up in about thirty minutes. Finally that trouble making chunk of steel hanging down from the hitch is gone. Using the correct tools does make a big difference.
The part removed weighed nearly five pounds. The hitch now weighs only 44 pounds. That is a lot better for me to handle. The best part is that there in no knob hanging down to catch on things like the road when crossing a dip. The bottom of the knob had some serious scars on it from encounters of the undesirable kind. The removed piece made a rather huge bang in the empty dumpster as it hit bottom. It will be wonderful having it gone. To my surprise the hitch head is much more balance when carried now.

Practicing with my S wedge and X wedge was the important part of this evening. The practice went excellent. This is a wonderful way to try to have tooooo much fun. The OMF.

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