Bridgette Arrives in Corpus

Friday, May 13 - We had a busy day today.  John invited us to join him and Emily for a  private tour of the Texas Agrilife Research Mariculture Laboratory at Port Aransas, part of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, a lab which seems to specialize in trying to get several different species of fish to reproduce in the lab.  They had several tanks with good-size fish in them, and other tanks with tiny babies.  He showed us what they feed the babies as well -- we got to look through a microscope at that.  It was a very interesting tour, and John and Emily asked good questions so we learned a lot.

He created a feeding frenzy in a couple of the tanks when he started throwing food to them, and some of these fish probably weighed 20 lbs.  You can't really see the fish, but you can see the effect of the frenzy.

 
We had to cross the ferry to get over to the lab at Port Aransas, so we came back the same way.

We saw a couple of dolphins each way.  We stopped for gas for the Explorer on our way to the airport to pick up Bridgette, and our car started acting up.  We can't remember for sure if that had started before we fueled, but we are wondering, among other things, if we might have gotten some bad fuel.  We are going to try to wait it out until we get to Tampa to have it looked at, but we'll see if that is an option.  We will probably cut way back on our sightseeing along the way, especially since New Orleans is going to now get all the flood water, and try to get to John and Bridgette's sooner, so we can take the car in there.

Anyhow, we met John at the airport where he had dropped off Emily and turned in the rental car, then we picked up Bridgette and her mother.  Bridgette carried her cap and gown in a bag on the plane, not trusting Southwest to get it here if she checked it.  Bridgette needed to go to school to clear out her desk, so that was our first stop.  We now have a box and suitcase full of papers and books to haul to Tampa.  John had promised to meet Megan there to help load tables for the graduation party she was hosting tomorrow for Bridgette and 2 others who were graduating with masters degrees, and one post-doc who is leaving next week for a job in Mississippi.  So they loaded up tables, then we drove over to Megan's house and unloaded.

We then dropped them off at their hotel, the fancy Omni in Corpus, and Joe and I went back to the RV for an hour or so, then picked them up for dinner at one of their favorites, Franks.  We all came back to the campground for a while, then we dropped them back at the hotel.  We are across the bridge from the hotel, so we have gone back and forth several times today.  Bridgette gave Joe strict orders about picking them up on time in the morning, because she doesn't expect to sleep too much tonight and knows she will be nervous tomorrow.   She is pretty excited about tomorrow's graduation, although she's not sure even a Ph.D. degree will prove adequate training to get her cap and hood on right.  Fortunately, her advisor, Dr. Greg Stunz, will be putting the hood on her so she just has to figure out how to carry it on her arm to the podium so he can get it on her.

Corpus Christi

Wednesday-Thursday, May 11-12.  Blogger has been down since Wednesday, so I've gotten behind on my travel log.  We left Galveston Island Wednesday morning, driving right along the coast for miles, then we crossed a toll bridge over one of the bays, then the big bridge to get off the island.  Our windows were scummed up with ocean mist, but Joe didn't think there was any point in washing them until we got away from the water, so we are looking out through a layer of haze as we drive along.  At our morning stop for his soda, he did wash the side windows so he could see his mirrors.  For miles, we drove past huge, colorful houses perched on stilts.  We did see one house that might have been damaged by Hurricane Ike 3 years ago and never repaired, and a pier that went nowhere, but everything else looked fine so I don't know if this is all new or what.  We got started about 9:30, and drove along FM 3005 right along the water (FM stands for Farm to Market, we learned).  It was a beautiful coastal drive, but the wind was pounding us pretty good.  At one point, Joe said he felt like he was driving a race car and started giving out info like the drivers do -- loose coming out of the corners, won't turn, etc.  He thought he needed to find a pit crew.  We finally left the coast and hooked up with Highway 35, then 181 into Portland, which is right across the bridge from Corpus.

We got into the campground about 4:00 and called John to let him know we had arrived.  He was at school, which is where his meeting is tonight, so we did not hook up with him.  One of those meetings was enough for us.  The campground here is really nice, has a pool and game room, and is right on Nueces Bay and has fishing in a canal as well as in the bay.

Thursday morning, I got my laundry caught up first thing, then we decided to tour the USS Lexington, a WW II ship known as the Blue Ghost.  This is our sixth trip to Corpus, and probably our last, so we thought we should see this ship before we left.  We had intended to tour it last year with Collins and Marilyn, but it rained that day so we left the area.  At the ship, there was an emergency just as we were parking, and fire trucks pulled in and moved some school buses out of the way.  It turned out that an employee had fell and broken his ankle.  At the same time, we could see smoke just up the beach a ways, and that was a shrimp boat that was on fire.  We had seen the smoke when we were driving in, and it took firemen a long time to put that one out.  Actually, it had caught fire out in the water and they had to tow it in so the firemen could go to work.  No one was hurt, but the boat eventually sank in the bay.

The USS LEXINGTON, CV-16, is a World War II-vintage aircraft carrier. Commissioned in 1943, she served the United States longer and set more records than any other carrier in the history of naval aviation. The ship was the oldest working carrier in the United States Navy when decommissioned in 1991. Lexington, an Essex-class carrier, was originally named the USS CABOT. During World War II, the final work on it was being completed at Massachusetts' Fore River Shipyard when word was received that the original carrier named USS LEXINGTON, CV-2, had been sunk in the Coral Sea. A campaign was launched to change the new carrier's name to Lexington, and the rest is history. The USS LEXINGTON, CV-16, was commissioned on February 17, 1943. The tour was a lot of walking and a lot of steps.  We got there just as a movie was starting so we watched it; it was about the Red Flag training of fighter pilots in Nevada, which Joe had heard of (I hadn't).  Then we went up on deck.  One of the Blue Angel's planes was on exhibit there.

We saw the bridge, officers quarters, the ready rooms, the engine room (Joe thought we should have been able to go deeper into the engine room, but he did abide by the signs and stayed on the tour path), and the mess deck.  As we stood on deck, a huge ship went under the bay bridge.  It looked amazingly like the ship we saw leaving Galveston a couple days ago, but I don't know if it was or not.

This picture on the right side here is the one from Galveston.  It sure looks like the same ship to me.


We had driven through a car wash this morning, because the car was in the same shape as the RV, so we at least got the top layer of ocean mist off it.  But while we were in the Lexington, Corpus got its first rain in weeks -- thanks to us, I guess.  It absolutely poured, but they were giving shuttle rides to the visitors to get them back to their cars so we didn't get too wet.  But there went the car wash job!  We drove back to the RV in torrential rain; fortunately, it was only a couple of miles, but visibility was pretty poor and we sat in the car a few minutes before dashing into the RV.  It rained for a couple hours, so we read, then Joe took a nap (I couldn't get to sleep for his snoring). After the rain quit, it was really clear outside, the humidity was low (which was a surprise), and it was probably in the 70s.  We walked over and talked to a couple who were fishing in the canal behind our RV.  They were fishing for stone crabs (I didn't know anyone purposely caught crabs!).  They explained that you can only take off one of their claws, then you have to throw them back.  They re-grow the claw.

We went for a drive then, out through the country, and stopped for dinner on our way back.  Seeing the water standing in the fields was a familiar sight to us, but the farmers are very happy to have gotten some rain.  When we got back, we walked over to the water because you could see the lights of Corpus clearly (usually, there is such a haze that you can barely see them).   There was a wooden swinging bridge, well lit, so we walked over to that.

There was something in the water that Joe just knew was an alligator, and something sitting on a stick, which he first thought was a turtle, then he decided it was a stone crab.  I didn't know what a stone crab looked like, so I asked him if he was sure, and of course, Joe is always sure (even if he's wrong).  So he picked up some rocks and threw it at the crab -- which took off flying!  Scared us both to death, and when I stopped laughing, I questioned him again about that being a crab.  He said it was a flying crab.  He threw several rocks at the alligator, which turned out to be a stick.  But it was exciting for a while!
I went over this morning to take a picture of the flying crab and alligator, but the tide was in and the sticks were not sticking up.

We walked back to the RV and he immediately got on the computer to look up "flying crabs."  He found some!  The first site was an animated game, then he found one in some country I'd never heard of.  It said they move through the water so fast it looks like they are flying.  He never really did give up on his theory, so I doubt I've heard the end of flying crabs.

Galveston Day 2

Tuesday, May 10 - We woke up our ocean view this morning, then drove around Galveston to see what there was to see.  We found the harbor and saw some ships, and saw a couple of dolphins.

There is the remains of an old 90 mm gun battery from WWII here, on the northern tip of the island, at Ft. San Jacinto.

We drove past Texas A&M -Galveston, and the cruise ship terminal, but no cruise ships were in at the time.

John came here from time to time during his doctorate work to do research.

We drove back to the RV for a while, then John called so we came back into town and met him at his hotel.  He and co-worker Emily, along with the Texas Gulf Council member Joe, were holding a public hearing tonight on a couple of amendments, so Joe and I sat in on that.  It was very interesting to see John at work, and we could really see what his education had done for him.  It was a very proud moment for us when he was introduced as Dr. John Froeschke!

Joe and I sat quietly throughout the meeting, which only had 3 attendees, but it was interesting to hear the discussions, which mostly were about setting annual catch limits for different species along the Gulf Coast (the handout is entitled "Generic Annual Catch Limit/Accountability Measures Amendment" and John gave a short powerpoint presentation).  After the meeting concluded, we went to dinner with John and Emily and had a very enjoyable evening.  He has two more meetings this week (Corpus Christi and Port Aransas), and we will be right there, but I don't know if we will attend.  They usually involve a lot of griping and yelling, and I can probably do without that -- last night's was pretty mild, probably because there were so few in attendance.

We learned a little more about the seaweed. It's called Sargassum, and is a floating ecosystem to provide home to sea creatures, including mahi mahi, juvenile sea turtles and seabirds.  It breaks off while traveling the Gulf Stream, a natural phenomenon necessary to the life of a Gulf Coast Island.  Cleaning crews maintain sections of the beach by removing trash and debris from this seaweek during the night, then they rake an area behind or in front of the seawall for sunbathing and beach access.  We saw them working when we came back from dinner last night, but they don't seem to clean any of the area down by the state campground where we are camped.
 
Anyhow, today we move on down to Corpus.  We are planning on staying right across Nueces Bay at Portland, which is close to the Omni Hotel where graduation will be held.   

Galveston Island

Monday, May 9 - Before we settled in for the night Sunday, Joe added some frion to the RV since we are now in warmer climates.  We got all hooked up and plugged in, but for some reason the electricity went off about 9:00 p.m., we think in the entire campground.  It was off about an hour, then came back on so we were able to run the air conditioner.

This morning we called in to learn the impact of Joe's speeding ticket, which he is still griping about.  I think he is humiliated that it was for a speed of 49 mph -- he said he never in his life got a ticket for 49 mph (historically, his tickets were more in the 80-90 mph range).  Anyhow, the bad news was $175 plus $19 transaction fee to pay it by phone.   Marilyn had a category in her Alaska budget last year for "exceptions," which she explained was for unexpected costs, like unplanned ferry rides, etc.  I don't have that category in my budget for this trip, but I guess I should have -- it doesn't fit anyplace else in the budget!  I told him it comes out of his beer budget.

We finally got on the road about 10:15, eager to leave Louisiana behind.  We just saw a finger of Toledo Bend lake yesterday, so what we saw today was more impressive.  But it would be hard to fish even the main part of the lake since it is so low, and there are lots of stick-ups.

  They have marked channels for boating so I'm thinking it is pretty treacherous running out there right now.

One of the highlights of today was the fish sculptures along the highway.  The first one we saw at a gas station.  Notice the fish actually has a scene painted on both sides.

I missed the next two, (I didn't realize there was a series) but caught one more right before we crossed the bridge over Toledo Bend into Texas.  This one has an alligator at the bottom.



Finally, we got out of Louisiana to Joe's relief -- he is no longer a Louisiana fan.  We crossed into Texas about 11:00, and followed 87 through the Sabine National Forest, a very pretty drive with tall trees on both sides of the road.  It was pretty windy, so the trees helped block the wind.  We crossed inlets of the lake again -- and saw the turnoff for the dam, but we didn't drive back that road.

We finally crossed under I-10 and continued toward Port Arthur.  Paul sent us a website that maps gas prices, and so we held out off on fueling until we got close to Beaumont and probably saved 20 cents/gallon (approx. $9.00).  Joe continues to be impressed by how much mowing these people have to do, especially since all the lawns are freshly cut right now.  He thinks they try to outdo each other with the size of their yard, regardless of how humble their abode is.  For those who think I should share the driving, let me explain the situation.  Joe just sits over there and drives.  I have to take photos, read maps (not always too well), clean eye glasses, get drinks, fix snacks, pick up anything that falls, investigate all strange noises, find campgrounds, and keep Joe awake.  I am a busy co-pilot, while he just has to drive and identify roadkill.


We were starting to get close to the gulf, and crossed a couple of bridges that Eric would not have liked.

I took some pictures from the bridge of the houses that were practically under this bridge.

We didn't see any damage from Hurricane Ike of a few years ago, but there was a lot of new houses, up on high stilts, and some under construction.  They were painted lots of different colors, and there was even a school that was entirely on stilts.

As we got nearer the ferry which would take us to Galveston Island, our GPS Lucille showed that we were just about surrounded by water.  That car on there is us.

We got on the ferry about 4:30.  We did not have to unhook the car, and it was a nice crossing.  Joe started to take a picture of me just as the foghorn blew, and I about jumped over the edge.  It only took about 20 minutes, and the wind was blowing the mist all over the windshield, but we enjoyed the ride.

In this picture, you can see Galveston Island in the distance (and seagulls in the foreground).

We got to Galveston just about 5:00, and drove down Seawall Blvd., stopping every block at a stoplight, so it took us a while to get to our campground, which was about 6 miles out of town -- Galveston Island State Park.  We have a great view from the RV.  The third picture is through the windshield while I was fixing dinner, so that view from inside the RV was a nice bonus, and as we sat at the table eating, we could see waves breaking against the beach.  

After dinner, we walked over the little sand berm and walked the beach a little, but there is so much seaweed that it was not very pleasant.  Our camping neighbor said the seaweed does not even grow here, but drifts in from Florida and other places.  In some places, it was almost knee-high, and probably 4 feet across, so we couldn't even walk at the edge of the tide -- a disappointment.

It was another long day; 250 miles, and we didn't get set up at the campsite until about 6:00 p.m.  But we are going to stay here two nights -- we learned today that son John is coming here tomorrow for a meeting (public hearing) on Galveston Island, so we will try to meet up with him and see if he wants to ride to Corpus with us on Wednesday.  I might even get to go into a beach shop tomorrow (of course, I can't buy anything since Joe spent all our money on the speeding ticket).

Mother's Day

Sunday, May 8 - Happy Mother's Day to all mothers reading my blog.  I miss my mother every day. 

After our day off yesterday, we got on the road at 9:00 this morning.  We got to see our 6 baby geese as we drove out of the park.  As we drove through Arkansas, we drove through the town of Johnny Cash's birthplace, Kingsland -- there was a small sign, and an even smaller town.  We crossed into Louisiana about 2:00 p.m., 86 degrees and probably humidity about equal to that.  We saw some beautiful flowering trees that we assumed to be magnolias, which is the Louisiana state flower.

We drove through a town named "Dixie Inn," so we are still keeping our travels in the family.  Then we crossed the Red River, another flooded river. 

We chose our route today to avoid Shreveport, but it turned out that we just made it a longer drive.  Then, coming through Mansfield, we got caught in a speed trap, right where the speed limit changed from 45 to 35 (Joe was going 49, and he said he never in his life got a speeding ticket for going 49 mph!!).  Anyhow, we'll find out tomorrow what the cost of that will be, or maybe he has to hang around Louisiana and go to driving school. 

This just made our long day longer, and we finally worked our way over to 191, the "scenic byway" along the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend.  This also was a waste of time, with only a couple glimpses of the lake, and the drive wasn't even particularly pretty.  We chose the Louisiana side because there seemed to be more camping on this side, but it turned out to be a little more ambitious travel day than we expected -- 303 miles; we got to our campsite about 6:00 p.m., and it was 91 degrees.  The campground is very nice, but they are amazingly dry here.  There is a "burn ban" in effect, they haven't had any rain here for a long time, and the lake is 8 feet below normal.  Which is really too bad, since there is so much flooding not very far from here. 

Joe had put in a long day, so he relaxed for a little bit and sulked about his ticket.  He's accepting donations, so anyone wanting to contribute, just call and we'll give you an address where we can get mail.

After a quick dinner, we drove down to the lake, but it was not very impressive.  We will head south along it tomorrow, and hopefully it will be a little grander.  We have always heard about bass fishing tournaments on Toledo Bend, so it was some place we thought we should see. 

The boat docks here are out of the water just like we are used to in Arizona.

Today wasn't a great day, so hopefully tomorrow will be a better one.