How big was that fish?

There is a never ending quest for those who find joy and excitement in getting an aquatic entity to bite the bait on the end of their line, but the real thrill comes when they successfully bring that creature out of the water.

I believe I've mentioned several times that Rog has been trying his hand at fishing since we've been here in Corpus Christi.  He met Sherman, his fishing buddy, and they've been out several times.  Usually only catching catfish and small bait fish.  Well.....yesterday they tried a new spot.

Rog was thrilled and found joy and excitement.

 

This picture isn't good,,,I didn't take it,,,Sherman did.  This is a Drum fish, it was 41 inches long and weighed about 35 pounds!  Unfortunately, because of it's length Texas says he had to send this big boy back to the bay.  Drum fish have to be under 30 inches to keep them.

 

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This is a clearer picture of the Drum fish.

He did however catch some nice trout and a whiting,

He was able to keep these and we plan to grill them up in a few days!

 

Here is a picture of Sherman with the Drum fish he caught, I think it weighs as much as he does :)

 

I think those 6 hours Rog spent on that pier last night made his whole trip!  Yesterday morning we drove back to the Padre Island National seashore, just walked the beach, got some cool pics of a jellyfish and a puffer fish.

 



 

 

Monday, we were over in Port Aransas and found an interesting looking establishment, called Bernie's Beach House.  Our neighbor's name is Bernie,,,

Here you go Bernie, this one is for you!

 





The inside,,,bars in Texas still allow smoking, we didn't stay.

 

We walked around in Port Aransas and did some souvenir shopping.

Check out this marquis on one of the stores..

 

 

I guess some Texans spell with an accent :)

 

Our appetites grew as we walked and we found a small hole in the wall seafood place with all you can eat shrimp for $11.95!

I think there were 3 employees, cook, waitress and bar keep.

We've seen this particular metal artwork several places...

 

We found the perfect souvenir shop just as you cross the bridge onto the island.

 

Yes, this was built by a professional sandcastle builder.  This is the façade of the store.  That's me standing in front.  It's beautiful and the store was great!

 

Today it's in the 40's, raining and VERY windy.  More of the same for tomorrow.  Friday is supposed to be nice and Monday we head north to Austin!

 

Stay warm my friends!  Miss you all!

 

 

Flora and Fauna

Greetings, we have been exploring some Texas natural habitat. Last Wednesday we headed to the Aransas National Wildlife refuge.  Supposed to be home to thousands of migrating whooping cranes,,,or so the flyer said.  We think maybe we saw one, but aren't real sure.  We did have a bobcat or a lynx run in front of us on the drive back to the park.  Which was cool, never seen one in the wild.  We thought it was a little odd that they advertised the fact you would be able to see an alligator close to the visitors center.  Sure enough, they had a fenced off section of what looked like a creek with several signs that said "beware of the alligator".  He wasn't very big.  However, when we started hiking back on one of the trails we saw probably a dozen of them just lounging on the muddy creek bank.  No more then 6 -8 feet from us.  No signs, no fences.  Go figure.

This was probably one of the largest around 8 foot long.

 

The flyer also mentioned armadillo's and several species of birds.  Don't know if it was so dry or too hot, but we only saw a few egrets and herons.  We had a nice two hour hike though and that's always good.

On the way back we stopped in Rockport a beach town that is heavily into fishing and tourism.  Real cute town, wouldn't mind going back there.  We had lunch at Moondog's.

 

Right on the gulf.  We watched the fishing vessels come in and enjoyed our meal. 

 

The décor was very casual as you can see, but I must admit, I've never seen a barstool like their's...

 

Couldn't resist taking a shot of this fishing vessel.

 



 

 

Yesterday, Friday, we took a short drive to the South Texas Botanical Gardens.  Unfortunately, it was too early for the Hummingbird Garden, Butterfly house and several of the spring flowers weren't in bloom yet.  It was still worth the trip though.  Just take a look at these pictures!

 

Do you believe the size of this aloe plant?!

 

 

the orchids were amazing!

 

Sam the cockatoo

I think this was the macaw.

 

this couch was painted concrete

 

They even had an orange tree,,Rog had to try one.

 

 

Very tiny oranges

 

and VERY sour!

 

We really enjoyed the garden.  There were even some roses in bloom.  I bet it is amazing in another month. 

 

Rog has been fishing, I've been riding my bike and reading.  We have one more week here.  I think we will probably go back over to Padre Island.  Want to check out Port Aransas one more time.

 



Hi Friends, it's been a while!

Sometimes you just get busy,,,,sometimes you just get lazy...sometimes you would just rather stare at the view :)

 

 

This past Thursday we decided to go visit the USS Lexington, CV class US Carrier which is now a museum and anchored in the bay at Corpus Christi.  This ship went into service in 1943 and was decommissioned in 1991.  It had many years of service.

 

These planes were inside the carrier.  Others were on the flight deck.



Roger had to WALK the plank!

That big round disc is the steering wheel!

Memorial to Texas natives who lost their lives in Vietnam inside the ship.

The USS Lexington was very interesting and we enjoyed our day there. 

 

Friday we headed to the Padre Island National Seashore.  It is a 60 mile stretch of natural habitat, mostly sand dunes and beach.

 

 

We walked the beach for hours, picking up sea shells, taking pictures and had our standard, peanut butter crackers and water lunch on the beach! 

 

That is the national park office in the background.

 

It was surprising again to see people just driving on the beach.  We drove for a mile or so just to see what it was like.

 

 

Even saw a sand castle and the only flowers I've seen so far are these little yellow ones.

 

 

Later that night we decided to try a local restaurant located on the bay.  Snoopy's Pier.

 

The food was excellent, the company was the best and the view wasn't bad either!

 

Sometime in the past few days...I can't remember when,, we took a walk along the outer edge of the Naval Air Station.  Which meant more seashells and beautiful views.

 

 

We are very grateful the weather improved.  It's been over 70 for 4 days and sunny.  We've taken a few bike rides, Rog has been fishing with Sherman,,,he is right now as a matter of fact :)

 

Only disappointment is we were planning to head to South Padre Island on Monday to visit our neighbors Deb, Bernie, Rex and Terri, who are vacationing there.  Unfortunately, we had some problems with our truck and we are not going to be able to make that side trip.  Just one of things you learn to deal with, but you do have to watch your budget and plan accordingly.

 

Since we are traveling in our "home" there is always home maintenance issues too.  Like this morning I discovered we have a cracked window.  Now we need to figure out how to get that fixed or at least protected until we can get back to Elkhart to get it replaced.  Even though we are having the time of our lives, exploring and enjoying the sunshine, the reality is life still happens :)

 

Until next time, stay warm and we miss you all!