Travel And Hit Counter

Gladewater, Texas

Comfort Castle was glad to see me return this evening. Left north Alabama at 8:10 am this morning and arrived here at 7:35 pm. No trouble on the trip at all. The truck averaged 19.4 mpg while driving almost all the way back at 70 mph. Other trips at 60 mph, the truck got about 20.5 mpg. There are pictures and a few stories to be told after some rest and processing of the pictures. Most likely a post tomorrow during the day will be in order.

For those not seeing the hit counter, I have no idea why. There are several computers that I have used to check it including the free ones at three State Information centers. In all cases it shows at the very bottom center of the front blog page in black letters.

It has been a great week for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Visiting My Son and DIL

Madison, Al

The next couple of days will be spent visiting my son and his wife and collecting stuff for the blog. The blog will resume in a couple of days at the latest.

This is a great way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Arkansas Rice Fields

Forrest City, Arkansas

One word about the Super 8 where the truck and OFM are spending the night. WRONG.

This morning the truck was pulled into the dealer shop at 7:50 am. Doyle, the service writer, welcomed me and assured me my trip to see my son would be delayed the least amount possible. Next was into the showroom area for some coffee where at least half of the county introduced themselves and made me feel very welcome. Finally a seat was taken near a nice fellow who seemed ready to talk and we did talk. He is growing pine trees for lumber and we discussed it in detail. Suddenly about 8:35 Doyle walked up and my thought was WHAT WENT WRONG NOW?????? He had come in to tell me the 2 to 3 hour job was finished!!!! Every thing went perfect including the reprogramming of the instrument cluster on the first try. So now all that was needed was to turn over half of my life savings and get on the road. Everything about the truck was perfect. Amazing that good work is still done. This was at McKaig Chevy in Gladewater. Very friendly and upfront with out any garbage. I like it.

On down the highway this sign eventually came up in front of the truck.

After checking out the information there and having another cup of free coffee, it was back on the road time. OH the scenery was ?!?!?!?UH????? Here this is what was I looked at from just outside Gladewater to a little east of Little Rock, Ar. You decide.
Inspiring isn’t it. But that all changed a little east of Little Rock. Now you are in rice growing country, so rice paddies are everywhere. This is FLAT country out here. However a light rain was falling so it was two hands on the wheel at all times and no pictures. Especially since there are massive numbers of fast moving eighteen wheelers on this highway.

By four pm it was shut down time, so this “motel” was chosen from the billboards and will be a two time visit. First and last.

Tomorrow will be roll into Madison Alabama for a nice visit with the son and DIL. Most likely tomorrow night will be Mexican food at a favorite restaurant of theirs. That will make it a great chance to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Road Trip Ahead

Gladewater, Texas

The part for the truck repair came in today, so tomorrow at eight am the truck will be at the dealers for repair. Hopefully it will be complete by ten am. The truck is packed for a trip to north Alabama and a visit with my son and DIL. They are normally a great visit. Between this coming visit and the wonderful and very filling visit with my sister last weekend, eating again will not be needed until sometime in July.

Another migraine hit hard this afternoon, so things are moving slowly in the getting packed department. Some things removed from the truck and some things to put into the truck. With luck the trip will start from the dealer.

My expectations for the hit counter was to record at least ten hit’s the first day. My thought was that if this blog is successful it will have at least twenty hit’s the first day. Surprise, in the first 24 hours there were over ONE HUNDRED hits. That is a lot more folks than my imaginations could come up with. WOW. Readers, it is my hope that you are normally enjoying the blog. It is a real uplift to know that that many folks are actually reading what is written. This is extremely amazing to me. Maybe the reporting on the adventures is actually interesting so some folks. Thank you readers. This makes it more fun to write about trying to have tooooo much fun TheOFM.

Weight Of Junk

Gladewater, Texas

There is an interesting discussion going on at the Escapees forum. A new Rver is trying to figure out how much weight to allow for per person for the things they will be taking with them. Several folks feel that at least 2000# per person for additional junk is a good number. WOW that is a lot of junk to spend money carrying around. Comfort Castle carries all my clothes, food and a small amount of “personal items”. My excess junk is a two man tent, a couple of self inflating air mattresses, a bicycle, golf clubs and a roof rack for the truck in case a boat was to re-enter my life. Once last year a summary of the JUNK was added up and then my necessities like the food and clothes added in . The GRAND TOTAL came to around 600#. With the Castle empty weight of about 5000#, and the JUNK at 600#, my rolling weight is under 6000# normally.

With full waste and fresh water tanks you could add another 800#. It would be a first to have full waste tanks for more than a couple of hundred yards to the first dump station. Usually the fresh water tank has no more than twenty gallons in it for on road use. Toilet use, washing lunch dishes and things like that. My normal usage is well under three gallons a day, so the twenty gallons would give me an easy three to four nights plus three travel days before a re-supply is needed. The thought of having to pay for moving an extra 1500# or more of junk down the road is not pleasant.

Part of my planning is providing room for more solar panels and batteries. A solar panel assembly only weighs about thirty pounds. The batteries that are in the plans weigh about 75 pounds each. So now it is up to two hundred pounds additional stuff. But it is only plans for if they style of my life changes. For now, all that weight and expense can wait until the actual NEED happens. The more time this team is on the road, the more the smaller, lighter RV is appreciated.

There is snobbery in the RV world. Some folks with bigger, but not necessarily better, rigs some times seem to wish my little rig was not near them. So obliging them is good. They go around visiting pot lucks and listening to the same stories over and over while the body fat accumulates. Comfort Castle goes to places there rigs cannot consider going. The OFM walks, rides and enjoys little used trails or locations. And that makes all of us happy.

During the mid day rainstorm, a hit counter that does not seem to gather private information was found and installed on this blog. It might be fun to see how often the blog is visited. The installation was very easy and accomplished on the first try. A few iterations were required to get the appearance desired, but it is in business now. Too bad this was not done at the first. Oh well, if you keep your mind open eventually you will learn something. Or as my dad was fond of saying “A blind hog will find an acorn now and then”.

Unfortunately a bad migraine hit about four pm and interrupted my efforts at trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Itchy Finger

Gladewater, Texas

After research last night until after midnight, the conclusion was that the truck had a bad instrument cluster. A fellow here in the campground pointed me toward a GM dealer here nearby. So the truck was taken to the dealer to get the time they open tomorrow. Surprise they were open. The service writer took a look, hooked up his electronic tester and gave the verdict of damaged instrument cluster. He took the information to order the correct part. His quick estimate is about $600 will disappear from my financial ability. That is still a lot cheaper than a different truck. His guess is that the truck will be repaired by Friday at the latest. My adventures are pretty much on hold since gathering speeding tickets is not conducive to good financial ability.

On another front, the wasp sting area on my finger is itching like crazy and about to drive me nuts. Hopefully that is a good sign.

After laundry was done this afternoon, I was internet searching on Gladewater. It looks like there might be a few nice sights to see in town to help in trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.
　

Swell Belly Day

Gladewater, Texas

WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This morning was the 125 mile 2:15 hour drive to my sisters home for the Memorial Day celebration and FEAST. There was lots of laughing and food and FOOD AND FOOD AND FOOD. A major case of swell belly happened to a lot of us. The teenagers kept us entertained with antics in the swimming pool.

About eight pm it was time for me to head back to Gladewater. It got interesting. About twenty minutes east of Dallas while running on the speed control, the speedometer indicated the speed control was miss set at 75 instead of 65. OOOPS was the immediate thought. Click it off and slow down. HUH!! The speedometer stayed right where it was at 75. Several different things were tried but the speedometer stayed at 75 or more. So for the rest of the trip, the tach was used to guess the speed. The speedometer varied between 75 and 105 all the way back to the Castle. It is not fun running without a speedometer working.

It looks like tomorrow will have some internet research on speedometers and maybe some under the truck looking around. That will be an interesting way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Ouch

Gladewater, Texas

A trip to the Wal-Mart in Longview yielded groceries and 6# fishing line. Everything went smooth and easy. The weather had a few sprinkles of rain and in some spots some serious short term rain. As this is being written the raindrops are every now and then plopping on the roof.

After more internet searching, another golf course was decided on to look at. The distance is fifteen miles from the Castle. The folks were very friendly and it looked like a reasonable course at a reasonable price. Maybe Playing it next Tuesday will be an option.

The highlight of the day was when a camp host was visiting with me. Some bug was tickling my right arm. A brush away with my left hand netted me a wasp sting on my pointer finger. Those things hurt. At least that is one thing my body is not allergic to. After a couple of hours, the finger is doing very well and should be fine by morning.

Tomorrow morning will be the two hour each way trip into Garland to see my sister and her family. Sis usually puts on a huge delicious feed when folks come over. We will find out tomorrow if the special food from the Washington on the Brazos gift shop is any good at all.
It is not recommended to get stung by bees or wasps while trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Whoa Big Boy

Gladewater, Texas

Watch out if you ever own a tow vehicle. They can be ornery. About mid morning it seemed like a good day for a short ride around to get the lay of the land. Into the truck and away we go. Next thing I know the TRUCK grabbed the fuel pedal in its grill and took off. Before human control was established again, we were way down the road at this sign.

Oh well. Since we are there already we might as well enjoy the scenery. It is hard to tell where you are by the scenery. It looks the same all over the piney woods of the USA. Like a rut through the trees. It is not known just where this was taken, east Texas or Oklahoma.

It all looks alike.

At least there was a nice adventure after returning to Texas. As the route wound south on highway 271, there was a sign for a state park that had never had a visit from me. Now that control of the truck was in my hands again, we turned toward the state park for an exploration. It was a wonderful side trip. The park is in good condition and will be nice for a stay in the future.

The kids playground is fairly extensive down by the picnic/boat ramp/fishing pier area. This is the main piece of playground equipment. Nearby is a basketball goal and an area of mowed field that looks like a great place for kicking a ball around or flying kites.

Since some rain was falling, the team toured the camping sections of the park. It looked like they have some air conditioned cabins that they rent to visitors. The regular campsites are a bit short for big rigs. Comfort Castle is a short rig so it will fit in any of them. HE HE HE

When the rain ceased, it was back to the fishing pier. A rod and my tackle box were waiting to be used.

A fellow came up from the pier while my tackle was being rigged. He had a small stringer of my favorite southern fish, CRAPPIE. In this picture the little ones are ten+ inches long. The Texas minimum legal size is ten inches. The big’un is the largest my eyes have ever seen. Oh boy,it is going to be some first class eating at that fellows house tonight.

Now that pier was really needing my attention. Crappie fishing is my favorite kind of fishing in the world. Fresh sea run salmon is my first choice for eating, but it is a close race with crappie next. Third place is not even in sight. The pier is in a beautiful setting.

The catching was very good for the hour of my effort. However the rod and line in my possession at this time was WAY to heavy for good crappie catching. Three really fat crappie ended up on the pier. All three were ¼ inch too short to keep. About two dozen more hit my lures but the heavy line let them feel the resistance too soon and release the jig before they got hooked. Even with the wrong equipment, it was a great way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Golf Course Surprise

Gladewater, Texas

This morning was spent driving around the area and doing a bit of shopping. Nothing very exciting to report. Longview has most every store you could need available. Gladewater is quite a bit less served by the big box system.

This afternoon the golf course was attempted. The ground under the fairways was so hard with iron ore that my clubs were taking a very bad beating. After hitting the fairway again on hole number six and seeing the ball take weird bounce into a gully to the side of the fairway AGAIN, it was time to pack it in. Balls hit onto the grass in a fairway should bounce right on down the fairway not 90 degrees from the flight path.

By the time the Castle was occupied again, it was supper time. Now it is time to dream of what to do tomorrow to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Nice Golf Course

Gladewater, Texas
Antique Capital RV Park

The Yegua campground was in the rearview mirrors before eight this morning. The decision was to drive no later than three pm, then set up for the night and continue to Gladewater tomorrow. The registration in Gladewater was finished and Comfort Castle set up by three pm. So here we are a day early.

The park is very new and not really finished yet. The parking pads are perfect. Dead level front to back with a slight slope toward the sewer side. No level board needed. WOW. The pad is wide enough that you step out onto the pad when you enter or leave the RV. A nice table sits on its own pad with a concrete walk to it from the parking pad. Very good spacing between the campers. Rates are decent. Check it out at http://www.antiquecapitalrvpark.com/.

The trip here today went very well. The wind was reasonable and the traffic mostly light except in Tyler where a wreck at a major intersection had tied things up somewhat. A little north of Jacksonville was a nice rest area that served well for a lazy lunch. The overlook sign had this information for the tourist.

The view was pretty good as you can see.
As luck would have it the owners of the rv park also have a Mexican food restaurant just around the corner. It was just shy of excellent and not high price either.

Since there was a golf course listed on the internet for this area, it had to be found. It is short at 6000 yards, but nice in appearance. The green fee walking for me is $8 per round or a membership is $75 plus tax a month for all the golf you can play. WOW. The course is about three miles from the RV park. http://www.gladewatercc.com/ Here is the entrance sign.

And to finish off everyone’s day with a pretty picture of the hole 9.
Tonight the blog for last night was published about an hour ago. Tomorrow should be a good day for trying to have tooooo much fun on the golf course. TheOFM.

Washington on the Brazos

Yegua Creek COE Park
Near Somerville, Texas

A FULL day today. Today was a revisit of the birthplace of Texas at Washington on the Brazos State Park. Since my last visit many years ago they have added an entire very nice visitor center.

Upon entry there is a person to answer all your questions. We visited and swapped stories for about a half hour. That was a lot of fun.

The visitor center has lots and lots and even more exhibits that one should take the time to view. The gift shop is mostly the usual stuff with a couple of unusual items. Two each of one item was acquired for the next two family visits coming up. We will see how well they are liked or hated.

On down the lane a small ways is the museum run by the local college. This is an outstanding collection of Texas history. It is highly recommended by TheOFM.
For $5 you get more information than your head can hold. Here is the first “hall” and you can only see a very small portion of the exhibits in that hall alone. Notice the deck cannon on the left.
Naturally you wanted to know what the inside of the cannon looks like didn’t you??
Well here it is.

And here is some more of the exhibits. A person’s first time here could take two days to really absorb everything. One caution, there is no food available on the grounds or any place close by. Bring it with you

When the ground floor is finished wearing you out, the ramp up to the second floor beckons. The false front like an old west town is on one side and very well done murals on the other. Along the wall of the ramp is bits of history to read.

Once you are up the ramp, the displays overwhelm you. There are exhibits on just about everything that happened in day to day life back in the mid 1800’s.

Then to make certain my body was worn out, an hour or so of fishing near the boat ramp finished out the day. Only small fishes were biting but it was active. This was a very full day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Edit: This is posted 5-20-09 from Gladewater Texas

At The Lake

Yegua Creek COE Park
Near Somerville, Texas

The day was magnificent for traveling. After goodbyes, the Castle was rolling at 8:10 am. The pace was gentle. Lunch was fixed and eaten early at a roadside park near La Grange Texas. An RV park was checked out in La Grange. Many folks have given it rave reviews on rvparkreviews.com. For me it was not all that fantastic, very acceptable, but not top of the pile.
One cute incident in La Grange happened. After the turn off the main street toward the RV park, something odd was seen in the distance. There were trees in the road, growing in the road. Reflector signs were placed in front of them. In the next picture, all the trees that look like they might be in the street ARE in the street.

About 1:30 check in was complete. As the team started down the road to the campground, there was a greeting committee to welcome us.
In around thirty minutes everything was set up and settled in. My settling in takes a lot less time than most folks because I do not scatter enough stuff around to look like I will be living there the rest of my life. Since packing and unpacking is not my idea of fun, very little gets scattered around my campsites.
From my main window, the view shows some of the campers already here for the upcoming big weekend. The office folks said the campground is totally booked for the weekend. This will be a zoo.
Somerville Lake is my old weekend stomping grounds. It is an irrigation lake so the level varies +/- 20 feet or so. It is down about six feet from the looks of things. This view is from the campground boat ramp area looking to the east at a finger of the lake.
Apparently the rains have been hitting this area a lot better than south Texas. The grass and trees are looking good. From the evidence seen on one of my walks, it will be a bumper crop of native grapes this year. They are not very good to eat from the vine, but WOW they make great jams, jellies and wines. The vines are thick like in this picture all over the place.
Some of the wildflowers are still blooming although in the late stages. These were still very pretty. The special part of the first picture has been enlarged so you can see some of the butterflies swarming the area.
On my second walk this evening it was noticed how much more up and down this place has than the coastal areas of the last two months. My legs need more of this kind of exercise. On the trail from the boat ramp late this evening, this next picture seemed extra nice. Certainly makes me want a boat again,
Now that is a great way to end a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

EDIT: Finally published 5-19-09 from a parking lot in Washington Texas at 10:30am. Inet at the campsite does not exist. As usual when travelling the posts will be rather random. TheOFM
　

Last Visit For Awhile

Sinton, Texas

A lot of time today was spent trying to make up my mind about if another paddling boat is in my future. A trip to Corpus to view some more touring yaks gave me more information to consider. Then some emails were sent out for more information from some folks. Now it is all in and the decision will be made someday.

A little walk or two in the park was exciting. Then the final preparations for leaving in the morning were done. The weather at my planned destination was still showing rain or thunderstorms this morning. Therefore departure was delayed until tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be wonderful. So mid morning should be departure time. With a little luck tomorrow night will be spent lakeside.

The wonderful evening weather was enjoyed sitting out visiting with Luella and her kitties. Too bad that is likely to be the last visit for a long while. Visiting and swapping stories with Luella is a good way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Cool Evening

Sinton, Texas

Nothing super special again until evening. We have been having a nice light rain for a couple of hours. Not a drop is running off either. The ground and plants are seeing to it that all the water stays here. It is not enough rain to really fix the drought, but it is nice to cool off a bit this evening.

The temperature dropped down to 70 this evening. WOW that was nice. Luella and I sat on her front porch enjoying the evening while the cool air swirled around us. We both had on light windbreakers. Even her nice kitty cat curled up tight while she dozed next to Luella.

If the weather permits without any storms, Comfort Castle will roll tomorrow sometime. On the way north, it is planned to stop at the Washington on the Brazos State Historical Park to see it again. They have done a major rework since my last trip there many years ago. It was great years ago and likely a lot better now.

During the cooler part of the day a few golf balls were hit in the practice field. My swing was a bit off, but it was a good feeling to hit some balls again. Not a lot of excitement, but it was a nice day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Three Night Countdown

Sinton, Texas

The big event for today was nothing. Nothing bad and nothing especially good. Is there such a thing as a “medium” day???? A trip to purchase groceries went very smoothly and now there is more than enough food on board to last a couple of weeks.

Later the laundry was washed. That was very exciting. The clothes came out clean and were put away. Now washing is over for eight or nine days. How much more excitement can a person stand?????

There is a notebook in my magazine rack titled “Wise Sayings” where wise statements that are heard or read are recorded. There are several pages of them. Occasionally they are perused and some effort is made to learn from them.

Maybe starting at the back, there could be a list of wise experiences from RV life recorded. Goodness knows there is a lot of “experiences” that happen around Comfort Castle. With such a list, it may be possible to limit the amount of re-education that has to get hammered into my skull to bounce around in the empty space there.

This evening the found golf ball count from the walk was three. It is fun finding a ball now and then. It is sort of like a golfers Easter egg hunt. The pool is open and was being heavily enjoyed by about six or seven million kids all squealing at the top of their lungs. It is nice that there is a
place for them to do that.

Three more nights here at the most and new locations will be happening. New locations are a good place to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Salt Away

Sinton, Texas

The big event for today was finding four golf balls on my evening walk. Three were good balls and one was a beginner ball. It would be very unusual for me to not find at least one golf ball on the evening walk, except on Tuesday when the course is closed.

The morning search for a place to camp for Memorial weekend was successful. It will be in NE Texas. This puts me into the piney woods portion of Texas. Maybe the shade and less wind will be good. Or maybe stifling because of the humidity and stillness. It has been a long several years since any significant time has been spent in the forest of East Texas. You can be sure whatever it feels like to me will be reported with my always correct opinions. Since there is no wife to verify that statement you will have to take my work for it. Hee hee.

The salt water residue from yesterday’s trip to Padre Island was washed from the truck today. The truck actually looks flat white instead of crystalline white now. That warm coastal salt will corrode everything in short order. Most likely Comfort Castle has seen its last night on the coast when we left Rockport last month. When a salt water fix is needed, it will be driven to in the truck and back to where the truck can be cleaned.

Now it is time to regroup for some travel. The reservation at the new place starts on the 21st so there will be a few days of slow travel. The plan is to be at the new location two weeks. Then for a while, until the money slows me down, it will be a couple of days or a week at each spot and move on. My budget says that plan will be valid until into August. We will find out as it happens. One thing for certain, it IS fun trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Ninja Ground Squirrel

Sinton, Texas

It was a nice but very windy day down at Padre Island National Seashore. The temperature was a relatively nice 86 to 90 degrees with a bit of a mist blowing. The park was in good shape and being well attended by many folks. The several school busses that were seen at my arrival were gone by the time of my visit to the visitor center.

Over in the day use area, the parking lot had some nice dunes being formed on the pavement. The row of short pilings behind the front edge of the dunes is where the cars usually park. There was a fine gritty sand blowing across the parking lot to try to get into everything.
A visit to the beach side camping area yielded some nice pictures. Here is a trail through the dunes leading to the beach from the camping area.
When you walk the trail today, you get to see some folks beach camping. It seemed like they were enjoying themselves greatly.
Along the sand dunes at the back of the camping area were a nice collection of flowers. The wind had them a bit ragged, but still pretty.

A ground squirrel came running out of the weeds toward a seagull. Before my brain caught on, the squirrel had jumped at the seagull and attempted to bite the gull. The gull quickly ran away as the squirrel continued the chase. After several attempts at the gull, the squirrel ran toward the dunes and paused. Finally the camera was ready and this picture was taken. All the mist in the air makes it hard to see the squirrel right of the green bush. The squirrel's back is toward us.
To close out a nice evening, a couple of laps around the park were taken for exercise. It was another fine day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Small Houses

Sinton, Texas

It was interesting reading about folks that were living in small houses of under 1000 square feet. Some liked their very small houses of 300 square feet and another used a tiny house of 200 square feet but it did not have a bathroom. The prices were being quoted from $50k to $90k. These folks need to look at the trailers in the rv world. My $19k trailer has 155 square feet which includes a full size bed, sofa, 4 person dinette, double kitchen sink, three burner stove top, micro wave oven, standard oven, refrigerator, freezer, bath tub, lavatory, toilet, and a hanging closet four and a half feet long. There is storage all over the place in greater quantity than I need. The central air conditioning and central heating is ducted to the rooms. There is solar power to run everything but the microwave and A/C. The articles kept making me wonder what is so great about living in a tiny house without all the normal things that makes living good. Obviously the marketing liars are doing a good sales job.

Best of all if the scenery or neighbors gets tiresome, just hitch up and move. Speaking of moving, it is getting close. Anytime after about 10 am Friday morning, the Castle can roll. The mail usually gets here a bit before 10am, then wheels could roll. Hitchitch is a wonderful feeling.

There was one good chore done this morning. My sand wedge had been shortened and today received a new grip. This was done between moving sprinklers. Here it is ready for gripping.
　
And here it is after gripping while the solvent is evaporating. It will be ready for play in the morning.
Later in the evening a few walking laps around the park was taken to enjoy the nice weather of the evening. A worthy finish to a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

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