Old Books Store

Rockport, Texas

That 55 and sunshine failed to show up today. At the Whataburger tonight were several winter Texans from Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota. They were all talking about the snow clothes that they should have brought with them. Most of the inland folks will not believe me when I say that the Third Coast winter temperatures will chill you to the bone. It got up to 48 for the high, but the cold wet wind chills you to the bone immediately.

No way was the OFM going to get on the roof in the wind and try to screw down a solar panel today. Rain is forecast for the next 3 to 4 days. That panel will just have to enjoy resting on the couch until it warms up. My hopes for it being the end of winter a few days ago were too wishful. At least the Castle is snug and warm. Of course cabin fever is running high.

A get out of the house wander around took place this afternoon. There was nearly no humans out and about. The flags were standing straight out to the side and the flag poles were flexed like a bow ready to loose an arrow on a long flight. The local HUGE used book store came into sight and a stop was made. It is a little less than elegant. The weather said "Why don't you just take the picture from in the shelter of the nice warm Truck?" So that is what happened.


Mostly they do not carry books that interest me, but a look inside once in a while is needed to keep them honest.

To macerate a saying by AL of http://thebayfieldbunch.com/, the rest of the day was spent milking the chickens as a way of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Into The Dumpster

Rockport, Texas

Smash it to pieces and THROW it into the dumpster. The Dell computer with Vista has been a piece of garbage from day one about four years ago. Today was its last day to frustrate anyone. Vista was not the trouble. That machine has had lots of trouble and finally enough was enough. The smashing was required since the hard disk would not even clean off properly for non-violent disposal. For the last month the blog and all my personal stuff has been done on an old Dell XP computer that performs flawlessly.

In hopes of an installation of the solar panel, the first chore today was to connect the wire to the panel and shrink wrap it into place. Several folks offered alternate suggestions to purchasing a heat gun. The “stove lighter” did the job very well. To my surprise everything went just like the instructions said it would.

When the sealant for installing the panel on the roof was checked, it had hardened in the tube since the first panel was installed a year ago. There fore a trip to the local camper dealer was needed and accomplished.
It was a very expensive sealant. The cost was a bit over $40 to get out of the store. Now tell the whole story fat man!! OK. While standing in line for my turn at turning over money to the clerk, an item that has been being considered for a few months was noticed. It was priced about $5 lower than the best price on the internet. So it jumped into my loving arms. The gadget is a Wingman for my television antenna.

It gives a small boost to the signal to help when you are at the fringe. Many folks have said they have had great results with it. Maybe it was buyer’s remorse talking that positively. The initial results are not that exciting to me. Of the four channels that were showing random pixilation on my television, three now seem fine. The channel that was really wanted to come in good shows no improvement. RATZZZ.

The installation was very easy with only needing to snap in four buttons. In fact it is easy to install even when you have it upside down. The buttons come out easily and even still work when you turn the device right side up to reinstall it. When it was finished, the roof time had been about five minutes total. Here we have it in all its glory.

The five minutes up on the roof were a serious chilling to my hands. The solar panel needs to be installed when it is warmer so the lap sealant will flow properly into all the crevices to stop moisture from entering the Castle. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and still very sunny.

In preparation for installing the fourteen screws into the roof, some self drilling screws were purchased to make the installation easier. The Castle’s roof is 3/8” plywood under the EPDM membrane. When the installation happens, it will be a lot less work to use the self drilling screws than having to drill holes then put the screws in. The panels are so light that if there is any wind the panel wants go flying with the birds. Working by my self means special techniques usually have to be utilized.

It is bad enough having fresh wet sealant all over the place without fighting with a flying solar panel also. Then the wire will be routed to the first panel and the two daisy chained into the current roof connection. The number of panels that can be daisy chained in this style of panel is two. Part of the moving the controller plans includes a different style of feed from the panels to where the controller will be mounted inside the Castle.

With a little luck, tomorrow night will be a report about installing a solar panel as a way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

The Castle Modifications

Rockport, Texas

10:30 AM
A great way to start the morning is to hear rain on the skylight above the bed. That means it is OK to roll into the blanket tighter and snuggle back down for some more sleeping. It is WINDY and wet cold nasty outside so the morning tea tastes even better. The Castle is a bit cool this morning since the heater was left off last night. The heat leaves the Castle much faster when it is raining outside. Who knows what will happen today, but for certain it will not be done in a skimpy bathing suit outside.

Later in the day

What do you do on a cold nasty day?? My day so far is reading emails and websites and shivering. The 1000 watt electric heater is striving to catch up with the cold. The list of things to write about in this blog has gotten such that a list of those items has been started on my computer.

A question about what my plans are for the Castle and modifications to the solar came in. During my previous travels, some of the really great places to visit do not have any amenities at all including level spots to stop. Goosenecks State Park in Utah is one very special one that still awaits my visit. Some others are Fruita Campground, Cottonwood Campground and San Pedro campground. Have fun searching for them he he.

Apparently my life style is electrically a major oinker. The two batteries on the Castle are the worst deep cycle batteries made. They are group 24 and the maintenance free type deep cycle. If you purchase batteries for an RV, DO NOT purchase the maintenance free type. Get DEEP CYCLE rated either full standard wet cell or AGM batteries. Marine does not mean deep cycle. Deep Cycle means Deep Cycle.

The Castle’s two batteries are getting where the use of them only gets the Team two nights before the batteries are at the minimum voltage allowed without damaging the batteries. The single 100 watt panel on perfect days of bright sunshine in the middle of the summer brings the rig to a five day limit before the batteries are too low to continue. The five day limit has proven to be too short for my lifestyle preferences.

A preference of mine is to have a balanced rig. Water and electrical abilities should match. The Teams water ability is no less than nine days. Keep in mind there is not even a small amount of skimping going on in my life as to utilities. Comfort Castle is the trailer’s full name with emphasis on the Comfort part. The answer to the original question is that the Castle is being modified to fit the lifestyle that my life is shifting toward. If an opportunity to be in a wonderful place shows up, this Team will be able to enjoy it until the hitch itch hits us again. That is the goal.

Many folks think that the solar panels are worthless since they likely will not ever save you enough money to pay for themselves. They do open up opportunities for comfortable fun you cannot approach without them. That is sort of like fishing. The fish caught never come close to being worth the cost of the fishing, but the fun is worth the cost.

So far finding water to drink and a sewer dump location has been much easier to find than somewhere to plug in. Tioga George is living proof of that statement. He could not have as many great experiences without his solar and generator. A lot of National Parks have water and a dump but no electric available. Nothing in these modifications means that places with hookups will be ignored.

My goal is still to see it all and my travels have started very late in life at age 61. Please visit
http://www.wandrin.us/blog/index.php?/categories/2-RVing-Life for an excellent article by Lloyd in his blog. He has been one of my inspirations for my RV lifestyle for years.

So it is now evident that the modifications are simply more effort to provide for having tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Lucky Fit

Rockport, Texas

The start on the solar panel install was going well. The box fit on my bed just right for opening it. When the box was opened is when things began to change. The connections on this panel are totally different than on the one installed last year. Last year you unscrewed a screw, pushed a wire in the hole and tightened the screw. Not on this one.


According to the instructions, you put a wire in the designated place. Then slide the shrink wrap over the connection and take your heat gun to shrink it. There is not a heat gun in the Castle. The assembly of the wiring harness to the panel is a one time event so you better not have trouble with the panel in the future.

Ok moving on, where are the adjustable feet? Where is the wiring? As the label is carefully searched for a clue the phrase 1 of 2 finally wakes me up. Another box must be waited on. So the panel is packaged back up and taken to the office for storage until the rest of the order shows up.

Now what to do flows through my head. That was easy since there in nothing in there to slow a thought down. Maybe some research on possible fun places for when the wheels roll. There is a wonderful book on hiking trails of Texas.

This book has been part of my Texas life since the first issue. It covers easy to difficult adventures for all folks. It is very high on TheOFM recommended list.

Late this afternoon the UPS truck shows up with the other solar package. Now it is time to get busy. The next couple of days are not supposed to be nice. The roof of the Castle could not be measured with great certainty as to where to place the new panel. The feet were put on the panel, a rope tied to it and then it was hauled to the roof for a fitting.

It was the Castle’s lucky day. The best location and the panel fit together like a custom design had been done. The panel will cover the connection for the TV antenna and clear it by 3/8”. Just perfect in other words.

By now the wind was making itself known, so the campground owner, Brian, helped me let the panel to the ground. Now the panel is inside the castle resting on my bed while my mind wonders where the panel can live for a few days until the weather clears. Drilling screw holes through the roof in the rain seems foolish to me.
It looks like shopping time tomorrow for a heat gun to shrink the shrink wrap insulation. Then it will be time to look into moving the controller to a much better spot electrically speaking. With the new panel spot now known, it will be easier to choose a spot to drill through the roof to run the wire up to the panels. #6 stranded wire will be run from the junction box of the panel leads down to the controller and then to a terminal from the batteries. The factory leads from the battery to the breaker/fuse panel are #6 stranded wire also. When this is finished, every thing should make this a very balanced system.

As this blog is being typed, it is raining outside briskly. Indications are that until Sunday the weather will be rain and bitter cold in the upper thirties. But guess what, even that cannot prevent me from trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Grass Bass

Rockport, Texas

It has been five days since the flight in the canned virus airplanes to Alabama. The incubation period for the virus is today and this evening the drainage and hacking cough has started. One of the benefits of my lifestyle is the lack of contact with folks in confined quarters like offices and meeting rooms. Therefore cold viruses do not get much chance at me. However the airplanes are just a container for viruses, usually the common cold type. The next few days may be a little rough. We will see.

My plans for the next solar panel had been worked out in a workaround style. The wire needed for a first class up front job of it had not been found in six months of searching. Today a trip to Wal-Mart for supplies for the workaround was starting when Brian, the campground owner, waved me down. He was repairing a sewer and asked me to run down to the local building supply store for a few fittings for him. The local supply store had been forgotten about in my search. After collecting the fittings Brian needed, it was time to check without hope the electrical section. OH MY GOSH, they have the exact wire needed for the upgrade to the Castle!!!!!!!!!

AND even cheaper than my plans had provided for!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now it was time to rethink and change the plans about installing the new panel when it comes in. So now it was over to Wal-Mart for a couple of things in the grocery department that were forgotten during the recent shopping trip. It is nearly impossible to go to Wal-Mart without a casual meander through the fishing gear section. OH MY something has changed my luck today. For over a year a small cheap spin cast reel has been on my want list. My other two spinning reels are for 10 pound line and up. For crappie fishing a reel sized for 6 pound line was wanted. What should appear in front of me but what was desired and on sale? A good cheap spin cast reel from a reputable company was hanging there waiting for me.

After getting back to the Castle and working out the details of routing the electrical for the revised charging system, it was time for a wander around. Goose Island State Park seemed to be calling. After flashing my annual pass, the Truck wound its way around to the pier. The temperature was 68, but the moderately strong wind had a wet chill to it, so folks were bundled up to some degree.

My wandering out on the pier included saying HOWDY to everyone until somebody seemed to want to visit. Four folks onto the pier was as far as my path could make it before a friendly fellow from Maryland and I got into a great visit. He and his wife are traveling in a large truck camper to get away from the ice and snow back in Maryland.

There were only a few fish caught by folks on the pier while my visit was going on. My visit friend caught a nice slightly under size red fish and threw it back in. Just before we walked off the pier together he caught this large grass bass.

It was difficult to remove from the line and hook but he was able to git’er done.

Out to the east of the original pier picture is some oyster reefs. Keep in mind that most of the waters here are less than three feet deep. There were some fellows wade fishing out there with less success than the pier folks. Click on the picture to see the three fellows better.

The fun visiting came to an end it was a little after five pm. On the way back to the Castle a stop was made at the Copano Bay fishing pier that has been written about before on this blog. There were two fellows cleaning fish and feeding the left overs to the pelican parade. They had gotten there limit of maximum size red fish and black drum. That will be a few meals of wonderful eating.

On arrival back at the Castle, the campground office was checked. Inside waiting for me was the new solar panel!
Now there is more to do. Install a solar panel, move the controller and make the wiring system a much improved system. Then there is the new yak to break in, and very likely a cold virus to fight off. The new bicycle is due to arrive late next week. The next couple of weeks are going to be very busy to get all this done. My departure date has been moved to early March since the winter is lingering in north and west Texas.

Don’t cry for me too much. It can be very wonderful following spring northward in the task of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Ahoy Mate

Rockport, Texas

Finally time to put the new boat together and check it out. Some immediately noticeable items really caught my attention. This is likely the boat that should have been purchased years ago. It goes together easily and is light enough for me to manhandle. The Folbot, www.folbot.com , quality is untouchable. Absolutely no weird contortions are required to assemble the boat. No serious straining required at any point.

Here we go with the first assembly. From the Folbot forum the warning is that the first time may be difficult. The aluminum struts and pieces are bent to fit almost. After the parts get the right “set” it will go together easier.
The smaller bag was unpacked. This boat has many optional configurations so today there are “parts leftover”. Here we have the skin laying out to relax for fitting the frame into it.
Next the long bag was opened. It contains most of the frame and the paddle. It looks like a big mess in this picture, but is really easy to sort and prepare.
After getting the main pieces sorted and placed for assembly, the task looks less daunting than in the above picture doesn’t it?

After a little rest break to compensate for the stretching around a fat tummy, the frame was put into the skin. The latches were started to being closed.

The gunnels were assembled and installed. The fasteners that were loose fit were now tightened. The seat was placed in the boat in position. The seat fasteners were not fastened since the seat will be stored inside the Truck camper.

Here you can see how roomy the boat is behind the seat for items. Not yet installed is the blow up float bags that will be used to reduce the volume of water inside the boat in case of swamping. The boat has inflatable sponsons built in that provide the safety flotation required by law and common sense.

From the front you see that there is lots of room for stuff up there. All kinds of toys will fit up front in easy reach. Any room not used for toys will be filled with float bags.



One of the many additional configurations of the boat is what Folbot calls mini decks. Fundamentally they are spray decks for the front and back of the boat. There is a strut added to dome the spray deck so water that comes over the bow or sides will be encouraged to run back outside the hull. In this next picture the deck is not “installed” so it is not tight as it will be when installed.
My boat was ordered with both the mini decks so the front and rear can be covered for foul weather. It is my plan that the spray decks will be used for sun shade on my legs not for any “exciting” paddling. Remember the mantra of the old paddler---calm and smooth.

Now the weather needs to let me have a shot at getting out and baptizing the hull in the local salt water. It will certainly be a great time for trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

A Normal Day Again

Rockport, Texas

WOW it feels good to sleep in my normal bed. The airline travel always tires me out from stress of worrying about the flights happening on time. For that reason my choices in flights will normally leave over an hour between connections. However it was also very nice to spend only two and half hours in the air instead of seventeen hours driving.

The pictures that were taken were all shaky and worthless except for one of the wonder pup Fezzik.



Pictures in low light require longer exposures than my hands can hold still now days. My son and DIL will have to reside in my memory for now. Next trip the pictures will be taken in brighter light than the inside of the house.

Today started with a great wake up in my own bed. Then a trip to the grocery to restock the pantries of the Castle put me in good shape for food.

A call to the credit card company was needed to clarify what was my obligation to provide them for the pirated card number. They have already given me a new number. They send out the paper work for me to use for the reports they need. That is nice. The Visa card folks are really doing well.

Even a fat old body needs to eat and the bright sunshine seemed to call for a stew of some sort. Vegetables of the fresh sort were purchased at the grocery and the preparation began with excitement. It is never known what the stew will turn out like for certain. It is cooking and the fragrances are driving me nuts. Maybe four quarts will not be enough for one meal!



Even though the hitchitch is hurting, it is not time to go north. North Alabama was still very winter weather last weekend. The weather sites show that leaving on Feb.14 to head north and west is normally too early, so the choice has been made to stay here in the 70 degree and sunshine to at least the end of Feb. Of course all my new toys will keep me occupied. The spring fishing run will be on by then to help me pass the time.

In case you have not heard about it, GrannJ of Walking Prescott is very ill and may not be able to continue her blogging. She has been an inspiration to many of us bloggers. I personally am sending prayers her way.

Tomorrow is another catch up on chores day and check on getting the Castle’s wheel bearings repacked. None of that will keep me from trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Home Again

Rockport Texas

The Old Fat Man has made it back home to the Castle tonight. After three hours of air time Friday and three hours of air time today, a good nights rest in the Castle's bed is sounding very wonderful. Pictures and stories tomorrow but tonight is rest time.

And yes we had a great time trying to have tooooo much fun in Alabama. TheOFM

Flitting Around

Out traveling. Searching for adventure. Reports to follow when the opportunity arises. Until then get out and use up some fun. TheOFM

Is Winter Gone

Rockport, Texas

Nearly every morning while eating breakfast several web cams are viewed to see what the weather is looking like in chosen locations, usually west. That helps keep the hitchitch raring to go. This morning Lake Amistad was very inviting. But the Team must wait on deliveries of new Team members before rolling on. This is a webcam capture picture this morning from the Diablo East boat ramp on Lake Amistad. It certainly got my blood flowing to get a boat out on the lake to mess around.

The main chore for today was to take the right rear wheel and hub off the axle to check for trouble. While at it the bearing could get a repack. This is the wheel that had a bad tire down in Big Bend. It all came apart just fine and easy.

Everything looked great in the brake area and the bearings were in good shape, but it is time for a repack. My body rejected the concept of sitting flat on the ground to do the repack on all the wheels. In fact the awning support near by to grab is the only reason my body made it up from the ground to take the picture above.

When the assembly was all measured to help identify which stuff Dexter supplied with the axle, it was reassembled ready to roll. My body no longer will tackle the repack job except under emergency. At least the knowledge still resides in my brain for emergency repairs if need be. A few ibuprofens and some time and all will be well again, sort of.

It was nice outside and when the thermometer was checked it said go to the beach.

A walk on the beach seemed like a great idea. So the Truck hauled me down to the beach and a beautiful evening of walking the sand. The entrance chosen to get to the beach was especially lovely today.

There were a few folks out enjoying our winter weather. Some were walking, some were lazing a round and some had kids along that were playing in the water.

Even a sand castle or two was in progress.

By the time my lap of the beach was finished my body was sweating up a storm. The bright warm sunshine really hit the spot. But my bald noggin was protected by my wide brim hat.

A side story was that there was fish in the water for the first time in a long time. Here and there along the beach fish were hitting the surface. At the far north end where there is some deeper water, a pod of porpoise were tearing up the water in a frantic eating session. My mind kept wishing for the new yak to hurry up and get here.

When the team returned to the Castle, there was the new yak waiting for me. It takes a lot of space inside the Castle.

Now it will have to wait until my return from Alabama to be fondled. Likely it will be Monday before the new yak gets unpacked and set up the first time. After that LOOK OUT FISH.

It will be pretty easy with a new yak to get out and try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Surly For The West

Rockport, Texas

The fog mess of yesterday gave me an opportunity to re-evaluate Sturdy Steed. This bike has been some really awesome places and carried me through some wild areas in many states of the USA. However aging and wear of me and Sturdy has taken its toll. Sturdy has always had a top tube length that stretched me out too much for comfortable longer distance riding. It was purchased from my old friend Charlie Jackson for slow on and off road riding. It has served admirably.

Sturdy’s components are getting worn. Some parts that could be done without due to my lack of current ability have been eliminated. One example is the front derailleur. Other parts are getting worn to the point of needing replacement. The chain, cogs, chain ring, shifter cables, brake levers and cables are all ready for replacement. It is with pride that it can be truthfully said that the OFM has worn them out trying to have tooooo much fun, instead of just time rotting them away. While pricing the cost of parts yesterday, a lot of pieces of paper were marked up with possibilities. The sum of it was that the parts cost more than buying a new bike like Sturdy. However the style is still mountain bike geometry which stretches me out to much for comfort on distance riding.

About 3 pm that led me to consider what my body can handle and what my future uses would be. With one shoulder rebuild done about five years ago, being more cautious is a mainstay of my riding now. Since I am a very lucky fellow, a wonderful lady happened into my life. Tamia, of Outdoors with Tamia from the left sidebar, and TheOFM have been writing each other for a long time now. She is a major proponent of the Surly LHT bicycle for general on trail use and excellent road characteristics.

My guess of my future use would be more like a day hiker than a back packer. In the west Texas and New Mexico, covering more distance will be needed. However on trail use is still important. Technical riding will not be needed. My body does not heal fast enough anymore for technical riding errors. Tamia’s guidance and help along with many references she provided has been a tremendous help as to the best bike to accomplish my goal of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Tamia’s experience with the LHT on and off road is very well documented in her articles. They are well worth reading if you have any thought about bicycles. A touring configuration seemed like what is needed. Several bikes were considered like the Surly LHT, Trek 520 and a Cannondale. When the choices were reviewed and the decision made, a new Surly LHT in blue was ordered.

The last couple of times the Team was out west, Sturdy was not up to the distances involved. So deciding if to replace it with another type of bike was important. The LHT is double the price of another Sturdy. It does not come with little skinny fall in every crack tires, but rather with the same size as Sturdy has found proper for my travels. Tamia has proven and documented that the LHT will handle the road well and the non-paved trails also. My guess is that any trail the LHT will not handle is one my body does not belong on riding a bicycle. In a balance of design style, the new bike will likely have to be walked over some of the difficult spots that Sturdy could handle. That will be expected.

Speaking of that, an old friend in Houston rode with me for several years. We had a saying that we will drive the vehicle until we have to stop. Then we will ride the bikes until we have to stop. Then we will travel on foot.

To add to the fun late this afternoon, my only credit card was cancelled. Someone started charging things from foreign countries and the protection program shut it down immediately. Now that big mess needs to get straightened out. The new bicycle charge was denied when JensenUSA tried to transact on the credit card this morning. Jensen was mailed a check today to cover the bike. There is always something happening of one type or another. At least the SSA payment was credited to my checking account right on time.

This will be a great new adventure in the life of a lucky fellow trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

What A Day

Rockport, Texas

The fog has nearly shut this town down. It is so thick that it blows like smoke in the wind.




It put a major dent in trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Air Boat Follies

Rockport, Texas

A wonderful spring day on The Texas Riviera means the body was required to get out and about. So out to get in a good walk at the Municipal Park trail, except the Team got waylaid by the Rockport Beach Park. Walking on the pebbles and sand is a lot more strenuous than on the paved path at the other park. The Truck parked at the restroom building at the middle of the beach. There are also rest rooms at both ends of the park, thank goodness. It is set up just right for an old fat man.

The day was just a hint cool, but a very gentle breeze felt good as the walk progressed. There were a few folks out enjoying the day. By the time the north half of the beach had been walked, it was time to slow the pace a little. The pea gravel and sand was doing its job on my legs. If a lot of walks here get done in the next three weeks, BIBE will be easy for hiking. My dynamic personality heavily impressed these sea gulls as my path got about five feet from them.

They were equally impressed on my return trip. At least the flowers were happy for me to be there. Check out this show of spring blossoms they put out just for celebrating my return to exercise.


Now we will get a couple of pictures of having tooooo much fun. This nice fellow was playing with his RC airboat at the harbor pier. There was a nice crowd on the bulkhead watching the excitement as he ran the boat hither and yon on the water.

After he got the feel of the small waves and the boat, he started getting more adventurous with his “flying”. Some neat stunts were part of the show. Unfortunately my finger and camera are not quick enough to catch some of the stunts. This is a power turn he was making and throwing up a nice splash during the turn.

It was a very well balanced RC boat and he knew how to make it perform well.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the Truck and the Castle until it was goofing off time. It was lazy bum time to top off the day of trying to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM.

Sleepy Fishing

Rockport, Texas

While this morning was cool and damp a few minor nuisance chores inside the Castle were done. There has been a large piece of foam board laying around for several months waiting for a brilliant idea for its use. This is the thin stuff with foam in the middle and a layer of white cardboard on each side. It is not a brilliant idea but at last the foam board was used for some good. The medicine cabinet became the recipient of the properly trimmed foam board.

It will help with insulating the Castle a little. The cabinet back wall was measured and the foam board cut to fit tightly. Installation was ornery but finally achieved. The top two shelves got the foam board before the piece was used up. The top piece was real ornery and had to be cut into two pieces to get it onto the back wall. The middle shelf was more cooperative and allowed its foam board to crinkle a little and fit right in.

A check of the outside temperature in the bright sunshine showed that it was time to go wandering around.


Down at Conn Brown Harbor was a bunch of sunken boats shown in this blog a long time ago. Some authority over there has been cleaning out the boats slowly as money was made available. They are doing a good job, slowly. They do have to be careful to not rupture a tank with hydrocarbons in it and pollute the area. This is what it looked like before the work started.

This taken today shows the progress being made on cleaning up the leftover mess.

Back along hwy 361 the rain and high tides had left a muddy mess so a lot of walking around was not easy to do. However some cute little flowers were already blooming on some sedums growing in the area. Maybe winter is over finally.


And the final check out place is a public fishing area to the east of the Copano Bay Bridge. You can pull your vehicle out on the shell/sand areas and just get busy fishing. There is even a reasonable chance you will catch some decent fish there.

There were several folks in lawn chairs sitting in the sunshine reading while waiting for a great fish to strike the bait. Kicking back in the sunshine with a cool breeze drinking a beverage of choice seems like a pretty good way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Brilliant Purple

Rockport, Texas

The mystery writer turned out to be a nice lady. We visited for a long while this morning as she made notes of things to do in this area. Her blog is coolclearwater.blogspot.com.

Later today a visit to the grounded sailboat proved that the boat was still able to float. We had a big incoming tide coupled with the large rainwater runoff, so the tides are a little high. Here is the boat floating peacefully at its mooring.

At the airport park on Copano Bay was this shell that caught my attention. The outside is what caught my attention.


But the inside was beautiful. It almost glowed in the late sunlight. The purple was so deep and brilliant that it was hard to believe. There were a few scattered around at the waters edge.

Then to finish the day it was chicken fried steak and trimmings for supper. Man o man that is a good way to try to have tooooo much fun. TheOFM

Mystery Writer

Rockport, Texas

A mystery writer sent me a comment to communicate with me on an item. Reply by email was requested. Mystery writer please leave me an email address to respond to. Most bloggers get emails and comments from folks. However many of the comments are signed by a single name like Bill. That leaves the blogger without a clue who it is. My mystery writer is someone who uses a name that is the same as four regular comment folks. OFM Adventures comments will not publish until TheOFM releases them to publish. Feel free to identify yourself well and leave me an email address. None of that information will ever be published on this blog. My email address is no longer on the blog because of spammers and bots causing me more misery than is reasonable. So if you would like to communicate with me please leave a unique name, like Bill Davis, not just Bill and include your email address. Meeting readers is fun.

As much as I hate it there are troublemakers out there that have caused misery for me and the blogs. That is why there is no direct way to contact most bloggers.

During the low tides the last few days, boats have had to be much more careful in this area. Most of the area is very shallow already and the low tides have been showing land out in the bay in places it is normally a couple of feet of water. Even the hardcore yakkers have had a harder time launching due to the long mud flats.

At the Allegro channel is a sail boat (on the right) that is moored at the dock. Check it carefully and you will see it is moored by the keel in this picture. Does that strain on the hull normally do damage?

The mail came to me today and the joy of our lives was in the package, the IRS tax forms. Nothing arouses feelings like that gift does it?? But this year it will be different. There was no earned income in my world so the tax forms will be simple-----I hope. The Obamaeconomics may have a different idea.

What kind of knives do you use in the kitchen was the question. Excellent knives was my reply. Actually there are two excellent Henckels knives and one thrift shop serrated knife. The two regular knives seem to handle everything easily. A short flexible blade boning knife and a paring knife takes care of all the duties in the Castle’s kitchen, except for cutting the garlic bread for pot lucks. They are kept extremely sharp so they can do the job without any forcing of the knife. A good edge is maintained by use of the broken and worn two sided stone picked up from who knows where.

A good sharp knife can make fixing a meal in the evening a fun event to finish a day of trying to have tooooo much fun. The OFM.