Corpus Christi, Texas

One sign said that we had entered the city limits of Corpus Christi, but we have seen no hint of said metropolis. If it exists it is across the bay, beyond our range of sight. We do have a fair number of TV channels, so they must come from nearby. We seem to be getting some weak analog signals from Mexico on the "-0" channels. One more thing to think about is that, in general, it seems that Public Television stations are better represented and delivered in state parks than any other broadcast network. Cell phone service is also a little better than minimal -- we get to surf the web most of the time we try it.

Mustang island is a barrier island, and although we passed by some developed portions on our way here, everything we can see from the park is prairie-like grass and dunes. The building in the park are poured concrete to be nearly hurricane proof. An interesting arrangement for the restrooms, which are over the showers -- it may take some time for me to figure that one out. The restrooms and showers are far below average -- flaking paint on home-made partitions, ancient plumbing, no privacy area for changing and drying, and open to every mosquito in the county.

The sun is struggling to shine through the high clouds, and raise the temperatures into the 70s. It was enough to burn off this morning's fog, but maybe not for the rest of the job. Recent rains seem to have flooded the beach parking lot causing it to be unusable. Park rangers are running a pump but it is very slow going.



Back story on a couple of pictures: we saw the Roseate Spoonbill flock on Friday morning about three-quarters of the way to Mustang Island. Ms. Garmina knew that we were on the ferry and prepared us for the disembarkation. There seem to be a lot of starfish washed up on the beach. Warnings are still up about red tide striking this area last fall. Morty thought he was pretty big hunk when they assigned him two lanes on the ferry.

We are paying $16 a night to camp here -- a very reasonable rate. Tomorrow we head 36 miles north to Goose Island State Park, were the rate is $20, but they say they have fishing tackle to loan.

And, if you are playing along or just keeping score at home, the drain cap magically reappeared yesterday -- it had just come loose, and temporarily lodged itself on top of the plumbing. And we isolated the clicking sound to the coach door where everything seems firmly enough attached to put the whole issue into the benign category. So all is well again with Morty.

Mustang Island State Park, Texas

Morty’s travel to Mustang Island was a little out of the ordinary. The first part was about 60 miles over Farm Roads at an average speed of about 60 mph. Then we turned onto the series of barrier islands leading to the park and discovered that we were in for a ferry ride. The ferry operation was massive if not long. There were five ferries on the same route, each with their own dock and waiting line. The best part was that they were free – another first for Morty and us all. And short too, the whole ride was over in less than 10 minutes. Today, we have put more miles on Morty, than he had when we acquired him.

It seemed like we were too far from a Wal-Mart to bother looking, so we stocked up at the H E B in Aransas Pass. Quite a good shopping experience – good selection and low prices. The only thing we couldn’t find was the sport drink Power Zero, but we could have looked harder as we really didn’t find any sport drinks.

The beach is huge and deserted by all but a few park RVers. The sand is brown and the shells and starfish are abundant. The number of RV sites are few but close together. The open park grounds are huge. The Sun comes out about 4 in the afternoon. We are looking forward to a day off from driving.

Brazos Bend State Park, Texas

Before we left Louisiana this morning, I gave the park WiFi one more chance. It caused warnings that its security certificates were not acceptable, but I forged ahead determined not to do anything sensitive. This time I got a familiar page that I had seen before in gathering park information so I nearly ignored it as useless, but then I saw that there was a little new area with a blurb and button to accept the parks access conditions which I clicked. The speed and access was amazing -- too bad that their security certificates aren’t current or up to regular Internet standards. So there is another [at least partial] plus to our top ratings for Louisiana State Parks.

Brazos Bend State Park is about 20 miles southwest of Houston and about 185 miles southwest of Lake Charles. So Morty did a great job getting us here through a few showers and lots of road grime – he was covered in it. My first order of business was giving him a thorough scrubbing so he is looking a lot better now. I tried to use a plastic nozzle that I had used a couple of times before, but today, it seemed all stretched out and unable to stay on with moderate water pressure. There’s $2 and change down the drain. I’d return it to Meijer except that I’ll probably have forgotten about it before we get back into their Midwest market.



We somehow lost our drainpipe cap. So that will have to go on our list for the next Wal-Mart stop. On yesterday’s stop we picked up a 9 x 12 foot patio carpet for those sandy sites to help keep the interior a little cleaner. It is supposed to be available in a variety of colors besides only the tan and white that we have been able to find. We finally discovered how much we do like the tan and white combination. We also have an annoying rattle in the roof area that is coincident with speed. Looked at the TV antenna wiring and the surrounding area on top of Morty, but could not find any likely suspects.

In looking at the web site to plan this stop, we noticed that Brazos Bend is on Texas route FM something or other. When we got here we finally figured out from the road signs the FM stands for FarM Road. That may be a little misleading to those of us from smaller states because here it means a wide smooth concrete paved highway that just happens to be in farm country. In taking Route 8 around Houston, we encountered 3 tollbooths needing a total of $5 -- just sayin’. Texas parks have a $3 daily charge per person [over 65] or a $65 annual pass on top of the $20 camping fee. That makes the break-even point 11 nights of camping. That seems like a lot for our current schedule, so we will defer getting the pass for now. Other Brazos/Texas details: only about 5% full, excellent back-in sites – many triple-wide, 30 amp power, water, very friendly rangers, large rambling park grounds, camping sites are relatively few for such a large park, no-license required for park fishing more than 25 TV channels in English and probably more than 15 in Spanish.

We are getting warm scattered rain showers here at Brazos, so we left the bikes in the garage and walked to the park’s Nature Center -- very nice display of the park’s wild life. Afternoon temperature today was 69. We learned that alligators don’t hibernate in the winter. They just move to the bottom of the lake and surface for a breath only once in as much as 10 or 12 hours. Their summer breathing when submerged is more like once every 5 or 6 minutes. If I had web access right now, I would verify those numbers for you.

Small observation: in Ohio big car dealers and such who want to stand out fly huge American Flags. They do in Texas too, just that it’s the Lone Star flag. It seems like we have seen about 20 times more Texas flags today than American – just sayin’.

Anastasia State Park, Florida

Just a little further south along the turtle path A1A, Morty found another delightful Florida State Park -- this one fetchingly named Anastasia. A little more expensive but also a little more expansive -- nearly triple the number of sites. There are more than five miles of unspoiled ocean beach with requisite nature paths and even a lighthouse nearby. Morty got another ferry ride in the deal, this one a $5 trip across the St Johns River in Jacksonville. Riding down A1A for the duration of today's trip, there was going to be little chance of finding a Walmart, so we opted to try a Publix. We went in to replenish our supply of milk and cookies and the prices made sure that no impulse buys were even contemplated. Banannas were $.69 per pound, nearly double the going rate.




Camped at Anastasia, we are at the end furthest from the beach, so there is hardly anyone around. Biking through the beach end gives the state park version of high-density living. Unlike Little Talbot the roads are paved but the sites are mostly just as separated in the dense mangrove forest. Our site was a little bumpy and rocky at the entrance, but was so deep that we just backed into til nearly level and then finished the job with blocks under the rear wheels. I went off to bike the beach while Lynne nursed a nasty tummy. In the interim the parksies came by and dumped a couple of loads of sand on top of the bumps and rocks making it slightly less bumpy but now unstable as well. Lynne said after the first half load they left, apparently looking for other worthy recipients but soon returned with the balance and returned yet again with a third dump. I guess we'll be able to rock & roll on out on Friday, but I have to wonder about the planning here.

Sadly, this will be the southern extent of this trip. So on Friday, Morty turns it back North. There's a turkey date, and maybe even a flu shot opportunity awaiting us back in Buckeye Country. There's some thought of making another stop at Huntington Beach unless a better opportunity arises. In any event, the Adventures will continue...

Shopping Trip

The need for groceries that sparked yesterday's trip was another challenge for Miss Garmina. Her maps are now over two years old, somewhat questionable as to current attraction locations. With only 17 miles to cover, we were not too likely to encounter a Wal-Mart, the Campers Choice for all things that go into Morty and this was borne out by Miss G. She did report that a Kroger was on the way and that might suffice since only groceries were on the list. There might also be some limited sales which my 25 year-old key tag might snag for us.

We shopped and did find a couple of pretty good buys. Gatorade usually about $1 was half-off and our RV Dinners from Stouffer were only $1.49. The store-brand cherrios were also quite a bit below the branded variety. Since we were stocking up, we probably did beat the Wal-Mart total.

We did have to add an item to our hardware shopping list, though. The dump station at Myrtle Beach was over six feet from the curb, and you can probably guess how long our dump hose is. The facilities here at Hungington Beach look quite a bit easier to use, so we can probably wait for the next WM.

Benjamin Franklin

I had to get my iPod Touch replaced last week because of a broken home key. In getting the replacement set up, I rediscovered the free Kindle app, and that led to finding some free books on Amazon. One of the first alphabetically was the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Here is the link, but the price is up to $0.99: Amazon So, I selected that while on the elliptical machine at the Y, and "boom" there it was. I started reading it and was "hooked" immediately.

From what I've read so far, his main focus is on his early years from about age 16 to 23 and how he purposefully developed his skills and character through some enormous hardships. Every time it seemed like he was about to get a break, the rug was yanked out from under him. Life lessons galore -- should be required reading for every teenager who wants to amount to anything. There are some gaps like during the course of the Revolution. The examples he set, both then and for now are remarkable. Life experiences in the early cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia is vividly portrayed, including the scheming and politicking of the more prominent.

There are huge advantages to reading on the Kindle on the Touch: large easy to see type, quick turning pages, one-hand manipulation, and background music. The feature that I don't much care for though  is that you never know where you are in the book physically -- there are no page numbers, or whether it is about to end. When electronic books add such a feature -- "here's how much you've read and how much is left" -- they will become much more popular.

The autobiography is something I highly recommend. So much, that I've added a Benjamin Franklin quote gizmo to this blog's right column.

Sandals -- not just for summer anymore

The sandals that served me for the summer have come apart with the coming of the autumnal equinox. This was my first experience with sandals since toddler days. I was surprised at how healthy and fit they made my feet, and was a little distressed to see them fail so soon. Actually, the fact that they cost less than $10 should have been warning enough  -- or maybe I should not have assumed that they would be fine for hiking through the surf.

So I was interested to get an email announcing lifetime free shipping from Zappos.com , the internet shoe retailer. I took a look at their offerings, and found a good looking replacement in the $45 price range. In a color combination that defies description, "Mud/Squash" Columbia Sandals. Certainly a lot more expensive, but still reasonable if they are a relatively more durable.

They arrived in two days, and I am amazed at how supportive and comfortable they are compared to my old ones. The fit is noticeably improved, and I am more confident that I won't trip because they might get snagged on some protrusion.  Even though the temperature and weather here has plunged into the 40s and rainies, I haven't worn anything else, except for my work-outs. And I think the health benefits are actually superior to  the cheapies. Now I begin to wonder about how cold will it get before I give in and give them a rest.

Orchard Beach State Park, Michigan

Relentless in his determination to make it to the UP, Morty went further north on Thursday, September 3, 2009 to Orchard Beach. We could have stayed longer in Muskegon, but now have an impromptu mini-class reunion date in Painesville OH on the 24th, so excessive dallying is now not on the program.

Lynne made breakfast, and generally got us ready to clean up and hit the road. This process exposed some peaches with bad spots that were just purchased yesterday.

And that was all it took to put out a general quarters alert to all the fruit flies in two and half counties. We promptly disposed of all suspect fruit at the sanitation station on the way out of the park, but that still left about three dozen or so fruit flies who now thought of the bathroom as their weekend get-away. We tried opening the bedroom window as we drove to encourage them to look elsewhere.

As the anxiety over the propane indicators grew, we finally passed a dealer who was open and pulled in. A couple of ladies in the office, said that there was no one there to work the equipment - all the men were out training - but another dealer was just a couple of miles up the road. So we found the second dealer, with even more office personnel holding down the fort. Here there was also an operator, but he was occupied in selling a furnace to an extended family that all seemed to be present and mightily involved in the buying decision. So it was nearly a half hour wait for that sale to be completed. I busied my self with a damp dishrag mass extermination of fruit flies that had set up housekeeping in our little bathroom. The little buggers were inordinately drawn to the plastic mirrors, and that made the process pretty easy. In any event, the flies were mostly dispatched by the time the propane pumper was ready to pump. Our six-gallon tank, that was indicating both 3/8 and 2/3 full on the exterior and interior meters respectively, took 3.9 gallons. That leaves 2.1 gallons left in the tank. This means that the accuracy award goes to the exterior indicator since 2.1/.375=5.6 while 2.1/.66=3.2!

Before the propane anxiety could recede adequately, reservation anxiety was taking center stage. The new campground had space available for only one night. So we picked a spot, and settled in, then promptly got online to find a site for the beginning of the holiday weekend. Must avoid the disgrace of camping in the Wal-Mart for the holiday. Our first choice, Traverse City, was full, so we tried Interlochen.  Success, we had to book two nights, and pay a slightly exorbitant reservation fee of $8, but that job also got done. So now it's fairly certain that we will be at that park on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Cell phone service here comes and goes, so there is some question about when we can post this update. At least we are not stranded here, not that there's any thing wrong with that. Today's beach walk was awesome; it was down about four stories of extremely steep stairs from our campsite.  The sand was brown and rough, with extremely many pebbles to keep your feet on their feet. The pictures are fairly accurate. The water was mostly very clear, certainly not what you expect of a lake in which the water comes, and doesn't leave for over 100 years.

Turns out the fruit fly campaign was less successful that initially thought. Lynne, though came up with the ingenious solution of using the handi-vac to suck them up to release on the outside. Now we are making real progress...

Ionia State Recreation Area, MI

Last night we tried out the furnace for the first time as the temperature plunged to 40 degrees - in August! If global warming is real, then what about this part of the globe? At least the magical propane tank continues to  fuel the three appliance that we need it for - refrigerator, hot water heater and furnace. Still have yet to turn on either the range or oven, since the microwave does such a good job at minimizing the hassle of food prep. The tank gauge is showing  more than 3/8 full, while the coach lights indicate 2/3 full.

Today, we found the Ionia - the Holy Grail of camping. A perfect campground, sparsely occupied, in an absolutely beautiful setting, with perfect weather, state of the art plumbing, and we are situated just off the end of a country landing strip with sail planes. We almost ditched this destination when we found another casino was just about as far for today's jaunt. But Lynne pointed out that I was probably more interested in the buffet than the gambling, and she was right. So we continued on our original plan to Ionia.

Along the way, we detoured through Grand Ledge to pick up supplies at a Meijer. Wow, event that was an experience. Much bigger store that what we are used to in Ohio, with larger selections, and very noticeably fresher, cleaner, and better organized. But then we are getting close to home base for the Meijers's. Here is obviously where the brightest and fastest rising stars in store management come home to roost.

We bought a 3 liter box of Chardonnay wine for cocktails and dining. This replaced a somewhat strange chillable red that, at 5 liters, seemed to be lasting a really long time. We also took advantage of a half-price sale on Lean Cuisine - a welcome change from the steamer meals that had been a regular. Then just had to stock up on the orange pumice hand cleaner. The $3 bottle was on sale, but so was the $5 dollar jug, then we found the keg for $6. Lynne dutifully un-shopped the smaller bottle so I could have a 15 year supply right at hand in our traveling garage.

To set up camp here, we pulled just about everything out from Morty's garage: the recliners, camp chairs, bikes and helmets. Then we rode down to the lake and looked around a the fishing and picnic area - deserted. Then we pedaled on over to the beach and found some other users. The 800 foot sandy beach, had one couple and a single taking a little sun in basically street clothes. The college intern who checked us in to the campground was on his last day of vacation before returning to school to study natural resource management - he might have just been filling in while the regular was out to lunch. We saw him again mowing the grass around the bathhouse at the beach.

I am anxious for darkness, so that I can work on some more dark sky photos. The sky has been perfectly clear today, and I am hoping that it will hold into the night, even though we are supposed to plunge back into the forties again. It's starting to look like we will want to spend another day here before moving on to the western shore of Lake Michigan. At least here, we have a local propane dealer right in town if we suddenly find out that we have to be a lot more pessimistic in interpreting our propane gauges! He might even make house calls.