DECEMBER 2007 PICTURES

Hey, here we are in Texas and guess what ... Oil Refineries ... all over the place

The USS Lexington ... now a Museum in Corpus Christi

Lots of water and inlets around here so lots of bridges. They actually have a warning on some of them if there are too many Pelicans on the bridge.

This is on the way to Rockport out of Corpus Christi over Nueces Bay

Bird Watching time ... this is a Belted Kingfisher

Great Blue Heron ... very plentiful around here

And a Brown Pelican

(same rhyme applies)

More White Pelicans

And more Brown Pelicans ...

A Statue in Rockport for fishermen safety

Now, guess which way the wind usually blows ... and how hard

Fulton and Rockport are situated on little canals so the summer people have a place to moor their boats along side their magnificent "cottages".

Ran into a Kite Festival with Christmas as a sub theme

These guys provided the Christmas side of things

The Kite flyers had little to do with anything except to fly their kites.

They were impressive along with the huge speakers they had blaring out "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Yeah right ... some chance

There usually is a wind in these parts, but today it was only a mild breeze

On our hunt for FRESH Prawns ... none here sigh ...

But here ... WOW ... did we have a feast. Caught that morning!!

Proof that the Welsh get everywhere. We had some GREAT Fish and Chips here

Lyndon B Johnson Causeway. Notice the old bridge on the left side of the picture. No cars now, but absolutely crowded with guys fishing. Great Sport here!!!

Ahhh we are doing it!!!! Bird Watching ... Birds on a wire ... can't remember what kind they were.

Just a shot to show the speed limits in Texas ... pretty narrow road for 70 mph (112km) wouldn't you say?

Back to the car ... the hunt's afoot

Our destination

Lots of these guys around .... Black Vultures. I did notice there was no one lying sunbathing ... I wonder why ....Hmmmm

A great blue again

Hard to see but the pet (I hope) alligator is sunning himself

We were there in December so few bugs around, but other months were not so fortunate

This is the roof of the Pavilion I was sitting in in the last picture

These are Live Oaks they call them. Very plentiful in this area

Ken sees something

Ahhh... it was a Kestrel

"I want to go Home with the Armadillo" and Country music ... etc (with apologies to Jerry Jeff Walker -- London Home Sick Blues)

This guy totally ignored us ... He's like me, food is more important

Cute little guy eh?

He was about the size of a very large cat

At the Wildlife Refuge, there is a tower about 80 feet above the ground from which you can see over the shoreline and even spot a pair of Trumpeter Swans complete with a youngster

The ramp up was steep ... remember the humidity

Ahhh ...what a dedicated guy will go through just to see his feathered friends

Lots of different kinds of birds. To see the Trumpeter Swans, you would have to have a camera attached to a spotting scope

Pied Billed Grebes ... Pay Attention!!! There will be a test after this...

A Mockingbird ...

This is the road through the Wilderness Refuge. All along the side of the road you can see the spots where the Havelenas (little wild pigs) forage for food during the night

Home Base in Rockport. Ken and Betty's rig is on the right

This is a free ferry that covers between Port Aransas and Aransas Pass. Why they didn't build a bridge as they have done over most other places I don't know. Maybe someone's brother in law owns the ferry company?

Neat little trip though

Kinda packed on for the 3 minute cruise

This was the Renaissance Faire

These guys were serious

I would sure call this guy Sir!!!

The Joust is on. The ends of the lances did break away easily so no one would be hurt too badly

BANG!!!!

This is at full canter

The guy on the right won easily. Here he is explaining how it all works and asking for people who might be interested to join his sport.

Lots of onlookers dressed up to play a part. This guy had just completed the sword fight demonstration. Why Superman is there, I'm not sure!!!!!

Ahhh .. people with whom I feel a certain affinity

They even had the acrobats. Just like a real 1300's Fair. But fortunately, there was no bear baiting and dog fighting ... at least not where we could see. This is the South you know and given the hobby of a certain ex NFL quarterback, who knows what goes on around here.

Looks like a bird in a cage eh? They were a little hokey but quite good.

We even had our "Sunday Joint" with Ken and Betty. Roast Beef on the Barbie ... How does life get better??

Mustang Island beach. Beautiful to drive on. Lots of people surf fishing.

Great place for boogie boarding

Now pay attention here. This is a Gull. We have been told that there is no such thing as a Sea Gull.

This is North Padre Island. Not a lot here but just the beautiful beaches

Hey, this is December ... I can get to like this!!!!

Surfs Up ....

Padre Island is separated from the mainland by Madre Lagoon. This is one of the many bridges in the area

That says it all!!! Lamar is the next little town north of Rockport

It is hard to read, but this Live Oak is over 1000 years old and is over 60 feet in circumference

Goose Island 1000 year old Oak tree

Smaller Live Oaks line all the roads

Houses here are often built on stilts ... I wonder why?

Found a really neat little graveyard beside a very old Catholic Church that is still in use.

Lots of the stones date back to the Texas Revolution from Mexico in the 1840's

Really interesting place to visit

The one picture from the Cowboy Christmas ... enough

The hall in which the entertainment took place

Fulton Mansion ... restored as a period piece. Tours are available, I guess ....

Christmas Dinner at the Park. It is hard to see me as the table was really crowded with friendly folks ...

Trip to South Padre Island. Again the Pelican warning sign

The Causeway that links the mainland to the Island across Madre Lagoon.

In case you are confused just where you are ... this water tower can be seen for miles

South Padre is much more tourist oriented not like North Padre. In fact just after you get off the causeway, it reminded us of Hawaii. Lots of hotels restaurants, and tourist specific stores.

This is the beach at the end of the road on North Padre. Ahead is the Gulf of Mexico and on the other side of the road is Madre Lagoon

Yes I did splash in the Gulf. The water is surprisingly warm

I don't know if Elsie is expecting a huge wave or is simply showing off her beautiful legs ...

Nice beach eh?

Even on the sand, flowers will bloom

Bales of hay to slow down the wind erosion. Can you picture a hurricane coming through here?

Literally the end of the road. This is the spot just behind us on the right, the Class C had chosen to park for 4 months. No one said a word to him

A slight wind break and then on to the beach

This little beauty was parked in one of the shore side Campgrounds. We thought that this could be our next RV???

Sea Turtles are an endangered species, so we had to stop by and see why.

If you can read this ...

One of the rescued turtles

I kept thinking about soup for some reason ... maybe it was lunch time??

Well, it was lunch ... we found this restaurant and WOW!!! I had a salad for under $10.00 that had 1/2 doz scallops and the same number of prawns. It was ALL I could do to finish it!!! Elsie had Shrimp with all the trimmings ... GREAT

Ahhh ... rest time at night. Do the dogs look as comfortable as Elsie?

This is Llano Park in Mercedes. Well, we were warned about the wind ... and does it blow!!!

December 15th and hardly anyone here....

A little town between Mercedes and Mission ... Hidalgo ... lights up almost the entire town each Christmas

They were beautiful displays

This is the largest killer bee in the world

More lights

Still more ...

You actually drove around a laid out route through the town and got out to see the more elaborate displays

Hundreds of people with lots of kids followed the laid out tour...

Pretty elaborate eh??

Will we come back to this area again??? ... We don't know, but for sure this guy will be waiting ...