The Shirt At Whataburger

Flour Bluff, Texas

This has been a late evening for me. A group of folks have been sitting in the clubhouse talking and joking for a couple of hours. And no attempt was made to solve worldly problems, just fun talking. Before my light bulb clicked on it was late and this blog was still needing to be written.

This was a recovery day from the migraine attack yesterday. So a gentle trip to the local grocery store named High Everyday Beat you down prices. But they are close and had all that was needed for my requirements this time. At least the store is very clean and pleasant to shop in.

Next door to the grocery is Whataburger and my body did not feel like cooking this evening so a “ #1 for here without cheese” was ordered. It was nice to sit and not have to worry about anything for a while. THEN a young man sat near and my mind went to work. He had a special shirt on. On the back was printed a fine statement of opinion. Being that being bashful is a problem, it took a couple of seconds before he was requested to pose for a picture for the blog. He graciously consented. We visited for a minute. Now tonight you, my wonderful readers, get the results of my bashful efforts.
Now after that was the clubhouse session where we all tried to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

PNW Memories

Flour Bluff, Texas

It is time to pass on some pictures from my time in Washington State. Many folks from my travels ask about the rain and gloom of living in Washington. The only part of Washington that most folks have any concept of is the Seattle area and the Olympic peninsula. On the peninsula is the HOH rain forest. When my feet took me into it, my mind did flashbacks to my time in Viet Nam. That part of the state is what most folks down this way think the whole state is like. NOPE not even close. The Pacific Northwest is varied in many ways. Tonight we will look at three spots in Washington that may change your mind about that state.

A little outside of Yakima is the Tieton River valley. In the valley it is trees and grasses and trails that are wonderful to hike. On the plateau above the valley is arid grass lands and rugged territory. Herds of elk and mountain goats (or sheep, I forget which) abound. There were several hikes done in that valley with everyone of them being very pleasant. This is one picture of the valley and a trail along the Tieton River.

On over into the volcanic area near the town of Vantage is a whole different landscape. The volcanic desert is prevalent in this area. There are loads of nooks and crannies to explore. A lifetime could be spent in this area without getting to see all the places to visit. There is lots of public land in Washington to explore. Most of it is interesting or very interesting. Surprisingly a lot of it is very wild and you are on your own when hiking. In the area of this picture there are lots of rock climbers. That is a big sport up there.
Then for another interesting area you go south to the area of Goldendale and find some very nice forests. They are not too dense and wonderful hikes can be had in that area. In the winter the snow is popular for lots of folks to go play in. Snow is not my game, but the scenery was very nice all year long. This was taken on a weekend trip to the area. It is extremely pleasant to wander around in the winter, but camping will be for others.
About ½ of Washington to the south east is very arid. As you get up toward Spokane, the forests slowly take over until they get fairly thick as you approach Canada. During my five and a half years there, lots of trips out and around to enjoy the area were taken. Everyone of them was an adventure. A regret is that OFMAdventures was not yet in existence. Most of my pictures from that time frame were sent to my few relatives and then removed from my computer to make room for more.

The PNW is a wonderful place to get out and try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Light Bulb Excitement

Flour Bluff, Texas

When the big excitement of the day is a light bulb burning out, you know it has been an easy day.

After sleeping late and having my cereal while reading blogs and emails, the rest of the day started with a whimper or less. Finally the laundry was started and very lazily finished, put away. WOW that was exciting.

The next excitement was lunch. Some of my homegrown chili was thawed and warmed up. It was excellent. A large bagel was eaten for dessert with Root Beer for a chaser. Do I live high on the hog or what?????? A bit of cleaning and rearranging was done to help the living conditions inside the Castle.

Finally later this afternoon, a truck ride was taken to view the seawater from several spots and generally enjoy the very hot day from inside of the truck with the a/c going full last. There were a lot of tired looking, sun burned folks out near the water. They will likely really enjoy their shower tonight and the bed. So will this old fat man.

So it is off to rest up from this day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Demo Day

Flour Bluff, Texas

Another day in winter paradise. Too bad it is summer now. A moderately pleasant day with gentle breezes until late in the afternoon. Jerry B’s was able to get the demo day in before the wind kicked up too much. It was held down at Bluff Marina on a spit of land they have for yak launching. Here is the guidance sign to get you to the correct place.

When the road is followed around to the parking, you get a nice view of the launching area. There was a lot of activity early on this morning.
After being put into a yak and launched into the world of sea yakking, the folks were paddling around in the general vicinity of the launch point. From the parking lot it sounded like they were having a great time.
Since my choice was made last night to hold off on purchase of a yak for a bit, there were no yak tryouts taken by this OFM. It was right to leave the yaks open for potential customers to try out.

Later the short trip over to the closest golf course was taken to assess the crowds on Saturday. It was not crowded at all. The work on the front nine holes is progressing well. Here are some of the workers hard at it.
The back nine was done last year I was told. Soon it will have players on it. The practice greens were finished with the rework. However they need about two weeks of growing in to be in first class shape. Maybe Monday golf will get on my agenda.

For supper, the Bluff Landing Restaurant was tried. It is fishing camp style, but the fried shrimp were done perfectly. It has been a long time since fried shrimp has been served to me that were not over cooked. The okra and coleslaw were also very good. It is not cheap though. My drive-out was a touch over $20 for just me. YIKES. Oh well, once a year maybe. To ease the price pain they have some beautiful flowers ot the front of the building.

And now it is cool inside the Castle. This evening is an easy going time remembering my attempts at trying to have tooooo much fun today. TheOFM.

Back To The Channel

Flour Bluff, Texas

A new plan of offense on Packery Channel fish was put into play this morning with total abject failure. The shrimp in the Castle’s freezer was employed to entice a fish onto my hook. Maybe it was not a total failure because what is in the channel is now known to be a bunch of bait stealing pinfish. They make good bait for desirable species, but are not good for eating due to their size and amount of bones in the meat.

While at the channel, a father and son were having a fishing outing. They told me about the bait stealers. However only by my personal failure would the truth be forced into my head. Here they are having pleasant time before the heat got too much for them. They left about noon and me soon after.
Back at the launching ramp were two very nice fellows who had been offshore about ten miles. They picked up these small king mackerel near one of the oil rigs in the gulf.

The afternoon was spent being a model for Jennie’s homework assignment. She needed to have portraits of five different folks for her photo class. Since most folks consider me a different sort of person, it was guarantee my portrait needed to be in the assignment. She seems to have a natural talent for the hobby.

After supper a short trip to under the freeway was taken to check out a yak launch spot that is supposed to be good. It looks ok to me, but not very scenic. If a yak is purchased during the demo day tomorrow, the under the freeway site may get a try from me.

One special thing is that visiting with Jennie usually makes the day a great one for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

The Critter Home

Flour Bluff, Texas

Herds of running amuck mullet were everywhere when the truck got me to Packery Channel this afternoon. There were fish of some sort slashing into the gaggles of bait fish often everywhere you looked. This will be fun was my thought. My thought was smacks gone nuts. It was hurry up time from the excitement of the impending fish catching.
Finally the fumbling arthritic fingers got the line strung into the guides on the rod. Next a jig head was clumsily tied onto the line. Now get casting. Several casts later it was obvious my offering was not right. Ok. Back to the truck and grab an assortment of lures. Stuff them in my pocket, grab drinking water and start working the shoreline. It is a long shoreline to work.
After a couple of hours of thrashing the water to a froth, still no fish and getting very hot. Time for a new endeavor. AH HA. A nice long walk on the shoreline out to the end of the jetty. This would be my second time to go out there. Twas not to be.

By the time my feet got me to the start of the jetty, my water supply was half gone. An Old Fat Man absolute rule is when you take the drink that makes the water half gone you turn around right then. Period end of thoughts. You turn around and start back. That rule has saved me more than once in the past.

On the way out to the jetty was this bit of brush on the left of the path. If you look carefully you can see the critter home under the bush.
For those who are vision challenged as my eyes have become here is the close-up of the critter home.
That little devil has a good spot. The fishermen probably provide plenty to eat for the critter between food dropped and bait left on the surface of the concrete blocks. It is doubtful that the snakes in the grasses about fifty feet away try to bother it either. If a snake showed itself, the hordes of seabirds would converge on the snake and make short work of it. That is something I have seen a couple of times and the birds are just plain mean and competent at snake killing.

On the way back there was some sea turtles feeding along the seashore of the channel. They are very elusive for getting pictures of them. They come up very gently, stick their head up for some air and slide back down hardly making a ripple. By the time they were spotted on the surface you had about three seconds to aim, hit the shutter and wait for the incredibly slow digital camera to take the picture. This following picture was the result of 28 attempts at “getting the shot”. They were about sixteen inches long.
The last drops of water from my bottle were consumed about a hundred yards of hot dry soft sand from the truck. The second bottle in the truck was quickly a large amount less full when my hands got hold of it. After the A/C of the truck had cooled me down, it was realized that it had been a great time of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.
　
　
　
　

Old Corpus

Flour Bluff, Texas

WOW what a glorious day it was again today!!!!!!! Hot but not real hot, windy but not extremely windy and beautiful sunshine but fewer clouds than yesterday. Just for the giggles of it a trip to the old part of Corpus was made. But first a stop at the closest municipal golf course was needed.

The course is the Oso Beach Municipal Golf Course. They are in the midst of a major renovation at the course. The front nine holes are shut down and lots of equipment is running around putting in an irrigation system. It looked as if some other repairs or maintenance items were also being done. The rather pleasant young man at the counter told me the practice facilities are under renovation also and should be ready very soon.

For now the back nine is open and they are giving two dollar discounts on a round of golf to compensate for the closing of the front nine. Maybe soon the course will get some earth moving done by TheOFM.

After leaving the course, the road traffic was a it hectic. My nephew goes to Texas A&M, but up at Bryan/College Station. Here is a shot of the Corpus facility entrance sign. It was taken by the left hand of a right handed person while moving down a congested rough road. It came out amazingly well.

The Ocean Drive trip through old town Corpus was interesting but so traffic laden that very little of it was carefully viewed. Maybe it can be seen at a better time of the day when a person can move slow enough to safely turn into the roadside parks. But today moving at the speed limit posted made the truck an obstruction in the flow of traffic. Therefore we left the area as soon as we could.

After lunch a jaunt down to Padre Island was chosen for fun. The beach had a few folks out enjoying the heat. It was only 89 at the beach vs. the 92 back at the campground. Here are a couple of the local yokels out enjoying the free meals along the beach.

Back over at Bird Island Basin where lots of campers were using the free camping last winter, there was only two yakers with a tent set up in the whole campground. Of course the nice 77 degree 90% humidity at night must be great sleeping.

Back near the wind surfing place was a different couple of yakers on their way in from the heat. The wind was not very bad at all and they were making good time toward the shore. The water where the boat is is only about a foot and a half deep. Laguna Madre is not deep anywhere but in the dredged channels.

Over at the boat ramp fish cleaning tables a few fellows were busy cleaning the days catch, with the usual birds supervising the discard of the leftovers. They must have done fairly well with the catching because they were hard at it during the whole time of my visit to the Bird Island Basin area. Somebody is likely to have fresh fish for supper tonight.

A few other places were carefully visited for the possibility of some bank or wade fishing tomorrow or Friday morning. By noon Friday you will not find me out and about very much during the weekend crazies. Tonight is a kickback night of remembering a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Go For Broke

Flour Bluff, Texas

WOW what a glorious day it was today!!!!!!! Hot but not real hot, windy but not extremely windy and beautiful sunshine and clouds. While down at a local pier checking out things, a couple of interesting clouds formed up for my entertainment. The first one was very wispy and lacy. It was continually changing shape for an entertaining show.

The second formed over the land and was dramatically different. It also made a lot of changes during the show. Sometimes the wind currents here on the coast cause the clouds to put on an excellent show.
Groceries and a couple of small hardware items were needed. After getting the location of the Wal-Mart super center for groceries and a Home Depot for the hardware, the truck and I set off in the traffic to take care of the chores. While standing in the parking lot of one or the other stores, it finally (light bulb over the head) dawned on me that all the store normally needed are lined up one after the other along SPID nearly next door to each other. Man o man that is very convenient. This town of Corpus Christi could turn into a pretty good place for me.

It is about the coolest location in Texas in the summer and is normally not into freezing in the winter. Last winter was gentle down here while the Castle was camped in Port Aransas. PA is about thirty miles north of here and right on the barrier island. Corpus is on the mainland which makes it about twenty miles inland from the barrier island. Hmmm.

Located very near this campground is a branch of the Corpus library system.
To easily qualify for a card you have to have a Texas address. The winter Texans use the campground address to get a card. It was my excellent fortune that the library had a copy of a book that had evaded me for years. Now my relaxing time before going to sleep is enhanced by Go For Broke by Arnold Palmer. He is a class act in real life. The book has been much better than I hoped.

Can it get much better than easing off to sleep with a great book after a hard day to trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

The VA

Flour Bluff, Texas

The owner of this campground has an excellent eye for nature photography. Check her new blog out at www.jenniephotoprincess.blogspot.com . You might even be inspired to start your own blog to show your photos.

The VA was the target for today. After gathering all the things that their website seemed to want me to have along, it was off to the closest office. You readers know my luck WRONG AGAIN. The nice lady at the first office gave me very clear and concise directions to the proper location.

The VA Clinic was the proper location. The front desk folks were very nice and helpful. First the form to fill out. Hmmmm they wanted last years data instead of this years data. The lady who interviewed me was extremely nice and helpful. We filled out all the form that was possible. A list was made of the information that she needed and was my duty to deliver as soon as I could. It was delivered about three hours later.

It seems that the small amount of income from SSA puts me under the limit for their services. They have to verify some information before I can actually use their services. It may be a couple of weeks since my body is not in dire need at this moment. My treatments will likely involve some co-pay, but at least it is better than my current uninsured basis. We shall see what happens.

A few stores were visited on the way back to the Castle. An amazing event occurred in that no money was spent at the stores. Many, many temptations were presented, but all were resisted (for now). Something about being a good bit over budget this from the truck repair has me keeping the credit card put away. Groceries will have to be purchased again tomorrow but other things can wait.

The light pole that is somewhat in the way when backing into the site throws a wonderful light on the area at night.

Now it is possible to open the door and check for critters of the undesirable type before stepping out of the Castle. Even though bear and mountain lions are not around here, the swamps can harbor rattlesnakes. So care is always needed.

When in most parks, my chosen campsite is near the bath house if possible. The bath houses always have lighted entrances. This gives me some area lighting at night. It is important to me to see where my feet are trodding.

Late this evening the natural lighting was such that a few landscape shots were tried right across the street. In the first one you can see the bridge from Corpus to Padre Island. Notice how nice the water looks this evening. Even the birds seemed to be enjoying the evening.

The last picture is looking more to the south toward some of the sand dunes on Padre Island. The poles in the water are marking the channel for the power boats. The nominal depth out there is only two feet in a lot of places. That is why yaks work out so well around here.

After the mornings VA events, my mind made up it’s mind and a full month here was paid. So now there will be lots of time in area to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Lots Of Flowers

Flour Bluff, Texas

Awakening early by accident got me off to an early start this morning. The whole team piddled around but still pulled out at 8 am. The pace was an easy on the fuel 55 mph since the traffic was very light. As we passed through the center of Corpus Christi, the time was noted as being way ahead of the anticipated schedule.

After a rough on the trailer contents roly poly road named Flour Bluff Road finished tossing Custom Castle around, it was expected to find things in a disarray in the cabinets. My expectations were fulfilled. Nothing came out of the cabinets, but re-ordering the contents was in order. When you come here take it slow on that road.

The campsite for us is number 27. It is easy to spot. It is the one you have to miss a light pole closely was you back into the site. Of course it is on the blind side of your backing. But taking my time and being careful put me into the site at 9:10. A slow, because of the high heat and humidity, set up and it was all over at 9:45. With lemonade in hand, a kick back and relax happened for a few minutes.

Now for a walk around to see what is what here. The club house is small but nice and clean. This is a smaller park so it will be plenty for the gatherings.
The slightly colorful building in the next pictures is the laundry/ bath house. Out front of it is a patio in the shade of some of the trees here. It seems like a pleasant spot for relaxing.
On the side is another patio that will be very nice in cooler weather. The flowers all around help the friendly feeling of this campground.
The oleanders out front of the campground are blooming profusely. Naturally they had to be in tonight’s blog. They handle the salt air very well. Galveston used to have them along a main drive in town and they were over twelve feet tall.
Next to the walk up to the laundry house is a bright yellow flower that was sticking it’s tongue out at me while getting its picture taken.
All these flowers really fit in well with the extremely friendly reception that has greeted me here.

A short trip out to look around the area was attempted. Being Sunday afternoon on a bright day, the traffic was “interesting”. It did not take long for all the “intense” drivers to make me decide to head back to the Castle. Tomorrow will be soon enough to get back on the road to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Trashy Situation

Sinton, Texas

Major news first. Bob Skelding is back on the road with a horse drawn rv again. Read about his second try at http://www.wagonteamster.com/html/the_teamster.html. His journey is interesting to say the least.

Sometimes the smallest things can make a lot of bother when you live in very small housing like Comfort Castle. When the household trash can failed a couple of weeks ago another was needed. Wal-Mart to the rescue as usual. The old can was round and never fit in just right. Lo and behold Wal-Mart had a rectangular one that would fit into the foot area between the couch and the kitchen counter. Perfect. OOOPs it was not designed to use the plastic grocery bags for liners like the previous one was. The liner kept slipping down into the trash. This was not good.

Today was chosen as the day to try for a solution to that dilemma. Once again Wal-Mart to the rescue. Many times these little troubles are solved by walking around the proper store waiting for the solution to run you down in the aisle. A solution finally kicked me in the shins and got my attention. Put clips to hold the plastic bag handles in place to make the bag stay in place and open. The clips turned out to be the little hangers that mount to the walls with a double sided tape.

First the sides of the trash can were cleaned as required. Next the first hanger was put on upside down so the upward pull of the trash bag would be in the correct direction.
After installation of the first one it was tugged on to make certain it would hold well enough to do the job. It was. The one for the other side was very carefully positioned to tension the bag just right, like good porridge from the children‘s story. After all the set time was finished, the ultimate test of a garbage bag was attempted. It held like a champ. YEA. Success.
Now the trash can sits in it’s little spot where it belongs and keeps everything trashy under control.
For exercise today, there were three sessions of walking and hitting a golf ball all over the practice field in the park. Then later a long walk around most of the park was taken to finish out a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM
　
　
　
　
　
　

Hanging On

Sinton, Texas

Learning to hold a walking stick properly was a major improvement in my hiking ability. For those who disagree with what is about to be explained, please feel free to use whatever style you like. During my working time in Washington state a lot of hiking was done. My arthritic fingers always gave me trouble during a hike. Gripping the walking stick tight enough to keep my hand from sliding caused a lot of pain as the day wore on.

On night at the local REI store they were having a beginning hiking class. Of course my brain already knew everything, but it looked like it might be fun to just sit in. Much of the class was repetition of things already known. Carry extra water etc etc.

The instructor was as big a fan of using a hiking staff (walking stick to me) as I was. He started this session with the question “Does everyone know how to hold a walking stick?” Naturally a lot of snickers from the audience including me. WOW was I about to get a lesson. We will omit the embarrassing portion that happened next. When his point was proven that yes there is technique to holding a walking stick, my attention was riveted to his lesson.

There are many different criteria for choosing a stick that will fit your needs and wants. This blog entry is only about holding it properly.

Your stick needs a lanyard of some type attached at the top of the stick. A thick line will do, but you will soon see that a flat wide strap is a lot better. The one on my choice of sticks is shown in the next picture.

Your grip is only to control where the ground contact point of the walking stick goes. You never support your weight with your hand.

To hold the stick properly, insert your hand through the loop like you are going to shake hands with the stick. Your grip on the stick will always be very light to relieve your fingers and palm of strain.

The strap will lay under your palm toward your wrist as shown in the above picture. The exact position will vary slightly from person to person and during the day. All the weight of lifting your body goes into the strap. NONE of the weight goes into your grip. The strap is adjusted to give you some slack to wiggle the stick for choosing the placement of the point and position your grip at the chosen spot on the stick.

The reason many sticks are adjustable in height is so your forearm will be parallel to the ground when on flat ground. On mine the height is adjusted by sliding a portion of the stick in and out and locking it. When you head uphill, it is shortened some. When you are going down hill it is lengthened some.

Once you learn this technique, it will make walking or hiking a lot better for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Hot Lunch

Sinton, Texas

Oh Boy. When my eyes opened this morning, my knee was aching. When you get my age and you wake and nothing hurts, you know you are finished.

After breakfast it was time to add phone numbers to the preferred campgrounds in OFM Details so readers can call the campground. This will let my readers get current information on rates and availability. http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ was used to find out the phone numbers of the parks.

Next it was time for some exercise. A walk around Lake Corpus Christi State Park sounded attractive. Lunch makings were thrown into the cooler and the truck loaded. Off to the Park. The park had a lot of folks camping in tents. Most did not look like they were having very much fun. There were clusters of folks in the shade of the trees fanning themselves.

This fellow was fishing and catching when my walk got near him. He was catching undersize white bass. However by 10:30 he packed his gear and climbed into this truck and put the a/c to work. Last year the water was about twelve feet deep where he is standing in this picture.

A very good sign nearby was a park representative and a contractor out on the floating pier that has been closed a couple of years now. It looked as if they were discussing the repairs needed on the pier. However with the lake so low the pier may be getting even more damage. It apparently was not designed to allow for the lake to go this low.
After a couple of miles of walking it was time for lunch. My body was too hot for a large lunch so only one mini-bagel ham sandwich was eaten. Then it was head for the Castle in the air conditioned truck. This heat seems a lot worse than when my body was only ten years old.

In order to try to put some order to the information of temperatures in areas of the USA, a spreadsheet was started with a graphic to help me plan travels. The blue is for when the area is too cold (below 45) for me. The pink is for when the heat is getting marginally too hot (over 85 but under 90) for me. The red is for when the heat is too much for me (over 90). The temperatures are from weather.com from the average daily temperatures chart. These will be close enough for my needs. The area is on the left. Months are across the top. The white areas are when it is great to be there. Terlingua, TX was put in more as a joke than anything.

The spreadsheet is a pure manual effort with no smarts embedded. It gives me a great for me visual image of where to be gone from and when.

Inspired by an off the cuff remark by a wonderful friend, Bob of the Mobile Studio blog, some more topics for OFM Details have come to mind. That blog will be a good place to put my experiences on several subjects. A couple of subjects that have come to mind recently are walking sticks, bicycles, trails and paddling boats with us less dynamic individuals in mind.
It might be of some value to us less physically dynamic folks while we are out trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Dim Thoughts

Sinton, Texas

As expected between the heat and the blood letting yesterday, my body is running a little slowed down. Grocery shopping was achieved today without much hassle from anything. The A/C in Comfort Castle is doing a great job.

The grass was mown early this morning by the city. So now it is getting watered by OFM. It will be nice tomorrow and for the weekend. You can really tell the difference when the water from the sprinkler started falling on the Castle. It helped the A/C noticeably.

A brilliant (or maybe just dim) idea came to me earlier today. Now in OFM Details is a listing for my preferred campgrounds. It will be updated as memory happens to work again. The campgrounds are strictly my opinion based on how much my stay at them was enjoyed. It has very little to do with how pretty, full featured or anything logical. It is simply my feelings for the campground. It would surprise me if your opinion of the park came anywhere close to agreeing with mine. My opinion is usually a stand alone and by myself opinion. Searching OFM Adventures and some blind luck will find pictures of them from when the team stayed there.

It was fun hitting golf balls for about fifteen minutes today. Then the heat was so much that it was smarter to go into the a/c to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Blood Letting Day

Sinton, Texas

The one thing that went as planned was giving blood. Giving blood is likely the most important thing I do now days. The truck rolled out about 8:20 this morning in 83 degree morning temperature. Coastal Bend Blood Center had a lady just waiting for me to come in at 9:07. They are super nice there. My donation was number two of the day. By the time my donation was finished at 9:35 one more person had come in. Too bad the other couches were not full.

This free tee shirt has a military theme to it. The green of this shirt will be good for blending into the forest in east Texas when hiking. Not so good for being found if a search party is looking for you.
　

Next good stop was at JerryB’s Kayak shop in Flour Bluff. Flour Bluff is the community on the south edge of Corpus Christi. Their motto is that it is a drinking community with a fishing problem. DebiB was minding the shop as usual. They are having a demo day on June 21 Fathers Day at Bluff Landing. If you ever want the best service and price on a yak, they are the ones to go to. No other shop that has been checked out even comes close to them. After a couple of hours there at the shop picking Debi’s brain, my questions had run out sort of. My question about an RV park in Flour Bluff was quickly answered with directions and information about a good park.

Now off to lunch and then to the camping park. It turns out to be really nice folks owning and running it. It is not fancy, but it is a park with a great feeling from how you are received and how the park is maintained. It is a couple of hundred yards from Laguna Madre, so the salt air does show itself heavily. Here is their brochure.

The lady owner was so nice it was incredible. On top of that she has a very pretty smile doesn’t she. The pictures on the wall are shots she has taken of the critters in the area. Great shots aren't they. There were lots more in the rest of the building.
Jennie and I visited for over an hour. A few folks came in and we met. Nice folks all around. Before it was over, site 27 became my next home starting Sunday. In this next picture my site is the one just right of the light pole and behind the RV with the brown stripe. Notice Laguna Madre in the back ground.
They have an unusual requirement there. You cannot have a trailer there unless you have a proper tow vehicle for it. The park is at an elevation of around 4-6 feet is all. You have to be able to evacuate if a hurricane starts that direction. Thus you cannot do as my situation was in Washington. My home weighed over 10,000 pounds but all I had for a vehicle was a Toyota Camry. It seems like a very wise rule to me for this area.

Their monthly rate includes water, sewer and cable TV. Electric is metered. My normal electric bill runs under $40 a month in the summer or winter. My monthly cost should be about $325 a month total to live near the waterfront. In fact the demo day for the yaks will be short walk down the street.

On top of that, the Corpus golf courses are within twenty minutes or less. Jennie even told me of the long nice bicycle path over in Corpus along the bayfront about ten minutes away. To top it off Corpus is one of the cheapest places in the USA to live. WOW this sounds like a great location for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Pre-cooked Harvest

Sinton, Texas

All the fresh crops in the fields around here are being naturally pre-cooked by the solar input prior to harvest.


A nice ride to down along the coastal zone today found the temperatures to be down into the low 90’s. Of course there was the prevailing paint peeling wind to help saturate everything with the salty air. It looked inviting from inside the air conditioned truck, so a stop or two was made. Double YUCK Hot, Sticky, Sweating and Wind burned in three seconds or less. My idea of being on the coast for the less HOT temperatures is a bust.

On the way inland on the interstate coming into Corpus Christi, the outside temperature gage was being monitored closely. In a stretch of about five miles it went from 89 to 97. By the time the turn was made to Sinton, it was reading 99. WOW

In order acclimate my body to the heat a little, several short walks have been taken today. When it is available, the shade from the trees chooses my path. It is almost bearable in the shade with the wind blowing so hard. But not quite. A new plan must be formulated before next Sunday when the rent runs out. At least the research can be done in the A/C of Comfort Castle.

At one point of my walk there is a tall power pole. It was casting a nice long shadow. In that shadow lined up in a neat row was five doves. Sadly no camera was available to record the event.
Tomorrow is blood donor day for me. Helping someone have a better life is the best way to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

New Puppy

Sinton, Texas

It was a travel day and VERY HOT. This time of the year the Devil leaves Texas for Hell to stay cooler. For the next week the coast will be examined for cooler weather. Most likely in vain.

Walt and Luella's new pug puppy is wonderful. He is a frisky fellow and extremely friendly. Some idiot had left him and another puppy in a cardboard box in the public restroom a couple of weeks ago. When W and L met this fellow it had to stay with them. His name is Sam. Their old pup Hilda, has accepted Sam very well. It will be a great home for Sam.

It got up to 99 on the truck thermometer today during the trip here from Fredericksburg. Departure was at 8:20 am with 82 degrees escorting me out of town. On arrival here at 1:30 pm the temp was 96 or so. At least there was a good breeze. During an abbreviated walk this afternoon, it was noticed that in the shade of the trees the temps were less miserable.

Petting pups made for a good time today. Tomorrow will be a HOT day for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Rough Road Devastation

Fredericksburg, Texas

OH RATZZZZ. That was the first thought as the closet hanger bar was noticed ripped from the wall. The load of clothes coupled with the bouncy roads must have over loaded the rod to wall connection on the last trip. The only thing holding it up was the foam insulation that had been added some time ago.

Of course it should have been noticed before this, but senile old fat men miss lots of things. Well that sets the chore for today. Here is the holes left from the brute force trauma to the rod and wall. The insulation foam had been holding up the rod.

Being that TheOFM is a mechanical genius in his mind, a brace repair was quickly figured out. For those who have never worked in a small RV, let me explain that there is no room to work and frequently even less than that. You set your tools out somewhere away from the work spot and make millions of trips back and forth for every step of the project. There fore the smallest project time frame is measured in hours not minutes.

A 1x2 was purchased and carefully cut to fit in the proper spot. Now it was realized that it needed to be glued to the wall as well as a couple of screws to hold it while the adhesive cures. Back to the store for the screws and adhesive. Finally we have the adhesive on the brace and ready to put into the closet.

The brace was pressed to the wall to transfer adhesive. Then the brace was removed and leaned against the wall to allow the drying time the instruction for the adhesive recommended.
Next the brace was placed in the correct position and screwed with three screws to the wall to hold it in place as the adhesive cures.
While the curing was happening, the other end of the clothes rod got a brace also. It was done differently since there are obstructions along the wall on that end of the closet.
Now that the braces are all in place, it is time to replace the insulating foam around the rear wall of the closet. The previous piece has to be cut to fit around the brace. Careful measurements were taken and the foam marked for cutting.
My boning knife made short work of the foam cutting. It took longer to re-sharpen the knife than to cut the foam. The foam was press fit into place and the end brace modifications were complete.
While checking out the new work, it was decided to add a mid point support also. An angle bracket was screwed to the shelf above. Next wire tie was threaded through the hole in the angle bracket and around the clothes rod. Everything was snugged up and the tag end clipped off.
It looks pretty good to me. We will see what the road humps do to it tomorrow.

Speaking off tomorrow, reservations have been made at Sinton. A couple of things are going on down there that need my attention. Luella and Walt have a new puppy. It is a PUG and needs to have me play with him.

Another important thing is Jerrybs Kayaks is having a demo day on June 27 and it needs my attendance to try out different kayaks. Demo days are usually lots of fun. This may help me choose my next boat for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.