Over View Of Walking Area

 

Walk Over View

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT,TEXAS

December 20, 2024

We decided to show our readers the type of terrain we wander/walk on here in the Beach Park. Sometimes we stay on the pavement of the streets but usually we meander all over the place. But today we start across the street from the wooden pier where lots of fish get caught.

The first stretch is green grass near the saltwater swimming pool. It is nice comfortable walking for a short distance,

Next we come to a sand lot that has lots of interesting character designed to trip and splat you onto the hard sand. When it is wet it is sloppy nasty and not a great place to slip and fall.

If you make it across the sand lot you can try walking on the boat channel concrete wall with slimy surfaces and cracks.

Next in your agility training is the jetty sticking out into the bay. It was rebuilt a couple of years ago and is in great shape now or thats what the parks department says.

We started to cut across and go to the adjacent place to mess around down there but we thought this was interesting. Apparently the City has crews out cleaning the BBQ pits for the big Christmas parties coming up. We did not get close to the workers with some sort of air blasting equipment. So we called it a day and got out of the area to safer places to exercise,

In the mean time every one be safe and have a Merry Christmas.

Measuring Walking

 

MEASURED WALKING

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT,TEXAS

December 19, 2024

Our walking speed, distances, and locations have been a mess for a few days. Today major improvements in that situation were made. The day was around 57F most of the day with gentle breezes.

First this morning we went to the Rockport Municipal Park with the main walking trail in the area. We have mapped this trail system in the past on Google Maps so we know what the walking distances per route are for our chosen trails.

So we started off fairly briskly for the OFM. There was a lot of howdies exchanged on the trail today. As we made it around to the ponds the OFM meandered a few feet onto the platform over the water to grab this nice picture of the trail going by on the right.

We continued to finish the main outer trail back at the main restroom for a distance of 1.5 miles. Then we took one of the cut off trails that gave us an additional .5 miles and brought us back to the parking lot and Sierra were waiting for us. The new Christmas lights are being put up along the mail trail in this area. We bet they will be nice.

Since we were mapping walking routes we headed on over to the Beach Park where we do a lot of walking and fishing also. At this park we used Sierra's odometer to map the trails/roads we walk in this park. As it turned out our normal fishing spot to fishing spot for a morning of fishing gets up to about 1.25 miles of walking. We measured several other routes we can and have frequently used so that the OFM can get in his needed aerobic exercise (he calls it heart medicine) that he needs to stay healthy while going fishing. We think this will work out to be a good thing to know and do.

Then we ran into an old friend and had wonderful visiting while he fished and the OFM rested nearby. That was a wonderful ending to a great day. Good Night folks.

Laid Back Day

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT BEACH PARK, TEXAS

December 18, 2024

An entirely different day greeted us today. It was still nice and warm but a bit more reserved than yesterday. Maybe we could call it a day of chores. The OFM was down at the Rockport Harbor early and grabbed two morning pictures.

The rest of the day was walk a bit then help a visitor to the area with questions. Even in Walmart the OFM helped several folks with finding a campground or what fishing equipment to buy or where to fish from the bank in the area. And it happened everywhere we went today. The OFM likes to talk and visit. Plus those same folks usually can give him some great travel info about where they came from. It never hurts for a full timer to hear local folks talk about great spots back home.

But the OFM did get a chance to land a couple more fish to throw back in.

Mostly it was a visiting and enjoying the area just messing around and considering which of the many opportunities in front of us to enjoy next.

I hope everyone can appreciate a well laid back day now and then, Good Night.

Salt Water Pool

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT BEACH PARK, TEXAS

December 17, 2024

Another action filled day in Fantastic winter weather. How about bright sun and 80F to make you feel good? Well just add a slight cooling breeze to make it better. The OFM finally got to get in a multi mile walk down at the Beach Park and get a few pictures too. Wow he was on a roll all day. The official mileage was just over two miles but we added in a good bit more foot time running around catching fish. Then to top it off four times we had to stop and visit with nice folks for 20-30 minutes. That is always fun.

So we started the walk by parking at the SALTWATER POOL which is nice natural place the city restricts to people using and no fishing type things going on. However it is connected to the open waters of the bay so normal saltwater creatures live and play in it. The big excitement is when the porpoises swim into the area. We guess the pool area is near an acre in size.

Another part time restricted area is an area that is closed to folks yearly when the waterbirds are nesting.

The area is a large area of marsh, dry and wild growth that is heavily used by lots of birds when it is time for bird family activities. It gets very crowded during those months.

OK that covers a lot of the walking area. Lets get on to the fish catching. We got our rod fishing gear under control and hit up the beach park to try for some fish catching. We will let you decide if we were successful or not.

First we fished the wooden pier near the Saltwater Pool parking area. We caught a couple of small speckled trout there and visited with a couple of folks sightseeing the area. It was a fun time. And suddenly it was lunch time. A visit to Whataburger and then Walmart to take care of some personal wants went smoothly. The door guard at Walmart was an old friend from fishing days near the Marina pier. After a loooooooooong visit with him we decided to hit up an old favorite pier down by the harbor. It has been very productive in the past.

Here is a picture of one of the good spots to fish.

Well the speckled trout were in the area and HONGRY and all the same size.

Here is one of them snuggled up to the OFM shoe.

We caught eight keepers at this pier and then called it quits for the day. We feel like it was a great day of trying to have tooooooooooooooooooo much FUN.

DECORATING THE GOOSE

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

GOOSE ISLAND STATE PARK, TEXAS

December 16, 2024

Well here we go decorating the Goose.

Goose Island State Park that is. As we cruised the park we finally realized that a lot of Christmas Spirit was showing up in the camping sites all over the park. So here is part of the bunches of decorations we found through out the park.

we are hoping to get another run through the park to see what new has been added for more fun viewing. We hope everyone enjoyed the tour.

New OFM Style Coming

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 15, 2024

Ok the OFM again had to do a total cut off to allow himself to think clearly about his problem. The trouble is I had let writing the blog take over my life. Yesterday was a very busy day of gathering stuff to write about to the point I spent over ten hours working on blog stuff like pictures and checking out things l might want to write about and interviewing folks for their stories. Then I had to edit the data and start to assembling the blog. For me the blog normally takes 2-4 hours to get ready for publication every evening.

Yesterday I just plain overloaded again and it was time for a change. So I shut down to regroup and think.

This morning discussing the situation with a couple of friendly long term Rving bloggers another answer was suggested to the OFM. So here is the new plan I plan to attempt. First take my life back. Second choose a story and do it without worrying about a deadline. Publishing every day is not required. Telling the best story line I can is required. If a story needs three days to get ready then it does.

I really like the OFM character. He tends to do things his way and we hope to begin letting him have a little extra time to enjoy living while having tooooo much fun.

The Final Post

After another effort to continue this blog The OFM is now even more certain it is time to retire from blogging. Once again I thank all the readers for the fun times we have had.  This will be the last post from the OFM Teams.  Thank you for coming along for the ride. Best wishes to everyone.

Dodging Water Falling.

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 13, 2024

Most of today has been dodging water falling from the sky and casting fish lures to uncooperative fish.

Lunch was a Whataburger chicken sandwich that was pretty good. And no pictures were taken anywhere. So we are here tonight with nothing to write about except we are doing well and looking forward to tomorrow and all the excitement we hope comes along. Have fun folks.

Flounder

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 12, 2024

The day was a low tides day and Eric and the OFM fished pretty much all day. It was a bit windy in the afternoon but we kept at it. No fish bites were happening. Finally in early afternoon the OFM caught a small ten inch flounder. After Eric got to see it the OFM chunked it back into the bay waters to get big enough for a return match. This turned out to be the only fish caught all day.

So we went to a Mexican food place and found good food for ourselves. The best part is Eric and the OFM seem to have lots of stories to share so it never gets boring during the day.

Eric has to return to central Texas tomorrow and the OFM will miss his company.

TRAVEL SAFELY ERIC.

Low Tide Bottom Viewing

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 11, 2024

We had a great start of the day with very low tides this morning. It was a great time to study the bottom contours to determine the best areas to fish from the pier.

Along with knowing the location of low and high points in the bottom it is important to also know where there is vegetation. The vegetation can be giving parts of the food chain a place to hide or a reason to gather in a certain area and that is also a good location to be very aware of for finding fish to eat.

It is all part of being a successful fisherman.

As we were coming off the Market Street pier we managed to meet Eric a very personable fellow and we talked fishing until a bit after dark.

ERIC

We plan to meet up again tomorrow for more fun fishing and touring the area. That should be lots more fun.

Cold Wind Today

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 10, 2024

The day was brisk from the start and damp windy. But we ventured out to the beach area just to check out what was going on. NOTHING was going on. Not even fresh foot prints near the water were showing up.

The north wind was vicious and very strong most of the day so we went to the only protected place we know for some fishing. The spot is right south behind a two story building. It was doable for about a half hour of casting practice until we had to give up and get warm in Sierra. Here is a picture from the little finger pier we fished from.

Since nothing seemed to be happening we headed home and just before we turned into the campground this sky event happened. It was spectacular.

And that was our exciting day here in Rockport Texas. Good night.

Beautiful Weather Today

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 9, 2024

Today was a very busy day yet a bit special with the great weather that we had starting around noon.

The OFM started the day with Christmas present wrapping for folks back in Alabama. The wrapping went well except for getting a picture of the excellent results. They went into the shipping system and are on the way to the Grand kids and family. We will shorten the misadventures a bit and just say we did get three pair of Wrangler long pants to replace the last two pair of wade fishing pants the OFM has been wearing for a few years.

While we were at Walmart the OFM picked up two new lures guaranteed to catch fish if the fish bite them. Naturally we had to try the lures out and caught nothing.

However we did get to get a few nice pictures since the weather got really beautiful around noon time with warm sunshine and gentle winds.

This next pic was taken of a sailboat approaching the harbor entrance from the open bay. That blue sky and water is great to see finally.

This next scene is inside the harbor where we frequently catch nice spotted weakfish to eat. It struck me as a nice scene so here it is in all its glory.

It stayed a busy day with visiting friends, making new friends while fishing and NOT catching fish, But we enjoyed the great weather.

Tonight we finish the blog entry with a sunset picture we shot over the ski basin and thought it was pretty nice,

Good Night.

Backside Of The Castle

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 8, 2024

Today was the start of Christmas tasks to be done and we went at it with vigor. All of the present wrapping for Christmas has been done and we are excited for that. Tomorrow we plan to get on down to the shipping place and get them all into the pipeline to the recipients of the presents. It is nice to have that finished.

For some reason the OFM snapped a pic of the Castle from the back today and here it is. Just another view of the campsite to ooh and aww over.

The OFM did take a quick trip by the area of the music and crowds last night and all of the stuff is gone today. The wind was a bit strong but nobody was left meandering. So you can see it was not a big day today. Nobody was out fishing or playing on the beach. Whataburger had only a few customers at lunch so we got in and out quickly. We got the last little bit of Christmas mess done about 2000 pm tonight. So now we are relaxing writing a blog entry for fun and loss. Good night.

Cold Day

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 7, 2024

This morning the chilled wet wind made things here not fun, but we took a nice walk at the Rockport Memorial Park but shivered all along the walk. It will be less wind tomorrow supposedly and we hope for better chances for photos.

Over at the beach park the place was crawling with hundreds of folks out to participate in what ever it was about. Once again the wet cold wind made it pretty miserable in the OFM opinion.

Then after dark for an hour or so a live band performed and since we are only a couple of miles away we got to hear the music inside our home here at the campground. It was actually kinda nice in our opinion. And definitely a relaxing day.

Big Party Coming

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 6, 2024

This morning the OFM noticed a storm out out in the far bay so we decided to meander around a bit and see what developed. The dark clouds intensified and the clouds moved from the shore waters back into the dark clouds area. That gave us this nice pretty bright white area near shore.

From that point we waited a few minutes for things to develop into something exciting. Nothing seemed to be happening so we eventually moved on into the Beach Park. The storm clouds were gone when we came back into the area later.

As we moved into the Beach Park we noticed LOTS if new decorations being installed all over the place. We finally stopped and took a picture of a partially finished scene.

There was already a fireworks show being set up for the events whenever they were supposed to happen. Lots of the decorations looked like professional businesses had produced them, not local folks. After meandering where they would let us go we moved on out to leave.

But we got a surprise about a half mile back to the entrance. Two vehicles were un packing kites and balloons to fly today. This one monster was the first one we saw air born and it was a sight to see for sure, especially this close to the roadway.

Now all we need is to find out when the event will be so we can join the fun.

In the meantime we plan on trying to have tooooo much fun. Good night.

 

Christmas Shopping

 ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 5, 2024

Home Work Today

Today was a shopping and fixing day. Our first chore was to find printer ink for our printer. So at Walmart we found the model printer ink module we needed but Walmart did not carry it. So we went on to other items to find. Lo and behold it was another item Walmart did not carry. Well that settles that for here so it was grocery buying day and Walmart actually had all the items we needed for filling our kitchen cabinets and refrigerator with food. After unloading the food and putting it away it was lunch time and the chicken sandwich from Whataburger was pretty good.

Next we stopped at a friends location and spent over two hours visiting with them. It was a very nice time.

Back at the Castle we gave part of the Castle a light washing using a soft brush and the light rain. A lot of dirt came away from the rig but there is a lot of grime still there. If we washed the Castle with a good bath, the campground would have to rent a bulldozer to get the lot level again from all the new dirt piles.

My OFM's new friend Joe with the van we toured yesterday, headed on to Houston today to visit in that area for a few days before heading out to new adventures boondocking eastward.

And that is about all the excitement we have for now. Right now the travel plan is to roll out a couple of days after Christmas heading west to the Rio Grande River for a month or so. We have not been there in about three years we think and it is time to roam some more. Good night.

Dreaming

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 4, 2024

The OFM declared himself well this morning before even getting going very well. Mostly we paid bills and just goofed around the rig being careful. The OFM got the last repairs to Sierra paid in full today so the new tranny is finished and clears the checkbook. That was really expensive. But it is behind us now. Just so you will know the tranny repair with motor mounts and new bushings hit us for $6000. Still a lot less than a new truck. The three year or 100000 mile full warranty should get us to the next vehicle We hope.

Speaking of new vehicles, today we finally saw a small 24 foot motor home that seemed to fit our thoughts. The owner and the OFM hit it off really well and we got all the good info on it.

The unit is exactly like the OFM would have lay-ed out the interior. Joe, the owner, has put 80000 miles on it now and runs the country just like the OFM does. What a find to see this is. And the itch to own is even worse than I already had. And to make it worse Joe is a big time boondocker.

So there we have it, bills paid, new dream home in our head and the kpen road calling again. We wonder what will be next hee hee. 

Rockport City Park Improvements

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 3, 2024

The OFM is about 90% well today and hopeful tomorrow will be full recovery day. This morning we got in a full 1.5 mile fast walk and the OFM could tell he had been missing important walks for a couple of weeks. We have GOT to get back on the walking schedule or it is going to be miserable really soon.

On the walk at the city park today we found a new sign explaining things that are being done at the City Park with the natural area and ponds to attempt to have better results with the natural areas.

They are trying different things to help the area do better. The goal is to get good things doing better for the more natural plants and critters. So far it seems they are doing a decent job of the effort.

They are doing a good job of getting folks to come to the park for outdoor fun with their families of all ages. The off leash fenced dog parks are definitely a big hit with the dogs nad dog owners. The OFM is glad this park is being developed in the style it is being developed.

Pelicans Lead The Way

 

ADVENTURE LOCATION:

ROCKPORT, TEXAS

December 2, 2024

The OFM is back but still recovering. The bitter cold this morning took some dressing for it. It was 63F when the OFM stepped out into the 20 mph wet winds and he went back inside for more clothing. Once he was properly attired for the conditions we got busy doing things.

Our first picture was of some of the white pelicans waiting for their food fish to come up into the shallows to be breakfast. White pelicans do a good job of showing us where the bait fish are so we can fish the correct area. We saw a few fish caught today but it was a slow chilly day.

The OFM is still in recovery mode but is a lot better than last night and the very high fever.

So we estimate we should be about well by tomorrow night.

In the afternoon with the right clothing on, we dropped by the Rockport Harbor pier to check out that area. We had one nice hit and run bite that dropped the lure before the hook could be set. The way it acted we figure it was a small speckled trout.

Then to close out the miserable cold damp day the sky got screaming beautiful.

We can really enjoy getting these great skies for awhile.

A small slip on some wet jetty rocks left the OFM with a slightly painful left shoulder joint. He plans to be a lot more careful until he gets his billy goat abilities back again.

That's about it for tonight. Please sleep well and have fun tomorrow.