Visiting Coastal Mississippi…

We really enjoyed our short stay near Mobile Alabama but were also looking forward to our next stay on the coast of Mississippi. However we weren't even sure we would be ablet to stay at the Davis Bayou Campground because it had closed in September to repave all the loops in the park.

We were finally notified that the park would open October 1st so we were good to go. Our drive to the park was uneventful and as we pulled in we noticed the park was full even on the first day it reopened. We found out later it was because we were in Ocean Spring MS during the Crusin’ the Coast event.

This annual festival celebrates antique, classic and hot rod vehicles, nostalgic music and related events. It is the largest event in Mississippi and will have upwards to 9,000 vintage cars registered and on-site for the event. It was fun because everywhere we went we would see all kinds of older cars dating back to the 30’s.

While it was cool to see all these cars it wasn’t cool dealing with that much traffic clogging the coastal Mississippi roadways. Nonetheless we managed to find some fun. Davis Bayou Campground is located east of downtown Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and is a part of Gulf Islands National Seashore so as such we enjoyed several short hikes while visiting.

Our morning walk would take us to a salt marsh and a freshwater marsh where we would occasionally see an American Alligator. We were a little bummed when we discovered most of the hikes were closed as the boardwalks were partially destroyed due to previous storms. Why they are putting no effort into rebuilding them is anyone’s guess.

We also went over to one of the local casinos to play a little video poker. We aren’t big gamblers as we play mostly for fun on the nickel slots. While playing our nickel poker we were served free Heinekens so even though we lost a few bucks we felt we won after having some free beers!

While in Ocean Springs we also found a used bike to replace Sharon’s old beater bike that we had been using bailing wire and duct tape to keep it rolling. The last straw was when somewhere on the backroads of Alabama we somehow lost the front wheel off the bike. We don’t know if it fell off or was stolen but if it fell off we certainly hope no one was injured by it! Yikes!!!

Lastly we also celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary in Mississippi. We knew just the place to celebrate, Bozos! Bozo makes one of the best po’ boys we have ever had and we simply had to return. Sharon and I shared one of the stuffed shrimp po’ boys and a fried oyster basket. Man were we stuffed after that feast! and we toasted to the hope for many more years of wedded bliss…

Rockport TX, beach, strolls and fun…

Hard to believe we are finally headed north after staying 11 days longer than planned in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas just to get everything back in working order after the big freeze. Alas, that day finally came when we fired up the Cummins and made our way north.

A long 190 mile drive later we pulled into the Angler's RV Retreat in Rockport, TX. We are not sure how long we will stay in Rockport because the main reason we booked it was so Sharon could fly out to North Carolina and help our daughter. What does our daughter need help with? The answer is becoming a mommy for the first time. Yep, our daughter is going to have her first baby.

Sharon plans to stay with Katie and our soon to be third grandchild for as long as Katie needs her which will possibly be two or three months. So we have booked two months here in Rockport for now and will plan accordingly as events unfold.

In the meantime we are enjoying our stay in Rockport Texas for now. We are less than a mile to Rockport Beach for our beach strolls and not far from Corpus Christi, Port Aransas and  Aransas National Wildlife Refuge for places to visit. While Sharon is gone I am sure I can idle away the time fishing the many hotspots nearby.

One of the first places we visited here was the Big Tree located near Goose Island State Park. It is one of the largest live oak specimens in the United States and the second largest live oak in Texas after being replaced as the Texas State Champion Virginia Live Oak by another larger live oak discovered in 2003 in Brazoria County.

The Big Tree has a circumference of over 35 feet and is estimated to be between 1000 and 2000 years old! For sure this old oak has seen a lot of history and endured a lot of Hurricanes with the most recent one being Hurricane Harvey which left this part of the coast in Texas nearly demolished. Harvey, a category 4 hurricane hit the town of Rockport on August 25, 2017. The town even today still shows signs of the devastation left behind.

Happily the Big Tree emerged relatively unscathed by Harvey, a testament to its strength and ability to thrive in this environment. One of the neat things about visiting this historical giant is that it is also a great  place to find the Whooping Crane, an endangered species.  It is the the tallest North American bird named for its whooping sound and lucky for us, migrates to Texas to overwinter.While they will be returning north very soon we have had the pleasure of seeing them every time we have visited the Big Tree so far this spring. We haven’t been able to get any great photos from afar but have certainly enjoyed watching them in our binoculars.

Soon we hope to be sharing pictures of the newest member of our family!

NOTE:  We are currently at Angler’s Retreat in Rockport Texas until at least mid May… 

Beaches and Birds in South Padre Island TX…

As we close in on the end of our three month stay here in South Padre Island we are really enjoying the fact that we can walk the beach everyday without having to drive anywhere. We can also see birds not seen anywhere else in the USA except right here where we are.

With Covid-19 still rearing its ugly head we have found beach combing and bird watching to be excellent diversions while the world is combating this nasty disease. Each morning we walk from our RV site to the beach to look at all the beautiful shells that wash up. While South Padre Island is known for its winds, the windier it is the better the shelling is.

In these tumultuous times walking along the beach is one of the most relaxing things we do. We so look forward to these walks that when it is a bit too chilly in the morning we take our walk in the afternoon. We have seen yellow sea whips, various jellyfish including Portuguese Man of Wars, starfish, dead puffers, various dead fish and even (sadly) a dead Green Sea Turtle. We have also been blessed to find several beautiful sundial shells which we have never seen anywhere but here on this beach.

Often after our beach walks we have a leisurely lunch then often we decide to venture out to birding areas nearby. Our favorite spot is the Laguna Nature Trail behind the town’s Convention Center. This short walk covers a lot of different vegetative types yielding a bounty of different bird species.

Our favorites we usually see are the Roseate Spoonbills, the Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, the Sora Rail and the Least Bittern. What we love most is that we never know what we will see and we do often see something new each time we go.

Birding in the Rio Grande Valley yields rarities and birds only seen in this part of the USA. Birds like the Kiskadee Flycatcher, Grey Hawk, Harris Hawk, Green Jay and the Olive Sparrow aren’t seen anywhere else in the USA except is deep south Texas making each outing a new adventure.

We can’t believe it is already February as we will be leaving on March first. We are certainly enjoying our winter stay here in the Rio Grande Valley a lot more than we expected… who knows…. we may return sooner than later!

NOTE:  We are currently in South Padre Island in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas until March 1st…    

South Padre Island is just Beachy!

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We find ourselves relaxing here at Isla Blanca Park (South Padre Island, Texas) by taking daily walks to the beach and we thought we would leave a post here with photos we have taken.  We hope to spread a little peace out into the world with calming photos to look at during these tumultuous times in America…

NOTE:  We are currently in South Padre Island in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for the winter… 

A Boardwalk Hike, Beach Time and a Visitor!

We continue to enjoy our stay in Flagler Beach, Florida. Every morning we take a long walk from our campsite across the road over to the beach and check out the shells. This is a great beach for shells and even thought the surf was calm when we first arrived it has been a bit rougher each day.

During our long walks we sometimes spot some dolphins which is always a treat. One thing we like to do when walking the beach is to pick up trash, especially plastics. We have noticed this year that there is a lot less beach trash which makes us happy but nonetheless we can still usually gather a handful during our walks. At least it is one less handful of plastics on the beach…

Near our park is a nice boardwalk wandering through the mangrove swamps on the bay side We spotted lots of waterfowl on the boardwalk and I was even able to see a Clapper Rail (sorry, no picture) swimming with his/her feet across a small canal. It was a rare sighting indeed. These walks have sure been a nice distraction from all the Covid news and politics in our world right now.

Each morning I ride my bike over to the beach side of the park to watch the morning sunrise. Soaking it all in I head back to Sharon waking up so we can enjoy breakfast together. It has been so rejuvenating being here relaxing and savoring beach life.

One evening during happy hour at the park Sharon spotted a Gopher Tortoise munching on the grass behind our RV. It wasn’t until I watched it for a while and realized the turtle was a frequent visitor since the grass had been “mowed” shorter as compared to the grass closer to us. It must be a favorite location for happy hour food for the Tortoise.  Next I happened to glance over at one of the campground power pedestals and felt as if we might be being watched! See what I mean by looking at the picture below…

On weekdays we end each day with a happy hour at one of our favorite beach bars sitting in outdoor seating on the second deck looking out over the surf. All too soon, one happy hour at Oceanside Beach Bar would hail the end to our stay at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area. Flagler Beach will always be one of our very favorite places to visit……

NOTE:  We are currently in Key Largo, Florida. 

Back On the Beach in Florida…

We made the short 30 minute drive south and pulled into Walkabout RV Park for the weekend. It was nice to be able to stay at a Passport America park that allows half-priced weekend camping. With weekends becoming not only more expensive to camp they are also becoming quite scarce as more and more campers seem to be on the road.

The park is owned by a Kiwi couple (New Zealanders) and their children. We have stayed at their park several times over the years and it has been fun to watch how it has evolved into a really nice little park. We also love the chickens and ducks released most afternoons to roam the park and I even had one stay with me during happy hour outside the RV.

During our stay we decided to take a drive down to Fernandina Beach in Florida about an hour or so away. We haven't explored this area so with the weather a bit rainy we figured it would be a nice drive. We found that Fernandina Beach has some nice beaches and has a quaint little town for exploring. Luckily near the end of the day the sun came out so we stopped at the Sand Bar for happy hour on the beach.

Upon leaving Walkabout, our next stop on our road south was at one of our favorite state parks near Flagler Beach Florida, Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area. We will stay for five nights as we were lucky to pounce on someone's cancellation.As we were pulling into Flagler Beach there were some heavy rains off the coast so we hurried to set up.

After setting up we strolled through the park’s really nice and short nature trail on our way over to the beach. Usually the surf at Flagler Beach is  pretty strong but our first few days there was not much wave activity to speak of making the beach strolls quite pleasant.

As always we enjoyed looking though the tons of shells on this stretch of beach. We often walk the beach to the south from the park but occasionalyl will also head north. Few people are ever on this beautiful beach making the strolls quite peaceful. It sure was good to be back on the beach to hear the surf, the seagulls, smell the sea and watch the Ospreys and Brown Pelicans diving for food.

We even spotted numerous dolphins just offshore. I am not sure we have ever seen so many dolphins as we did one afternoon on the beach as there were hundreds of them. There must have been a plentiful supply of fish to feed on as there were many groups of them hunting the waters offshore. So happy are we that we decided to embrace this lifestyle where we can find a measure of peace in these tumultuous times.

NOTE:  We are currently in St Lucie South COE Park in Florida. 

San Diego CA… It’s a Wrap!

We managed to squeeze in a few more fun things in San Diego before our departure. We keep discussing the possibility that this might be our last time to stay at Mission Bay RV Park but if things improve over time, who knows, we might return…

One thing we had never done during all our stays in San Diego was to walk out to the end of Ocean Beach Pier. It was originally named the San Diego Fishing Pier and at at 1971 feet It is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast.

Another interesting tidbit about the pier is that currently a fishing license is not required for fishing there. Fish such as calico bass, yellowtail, barred sand bass, halibut, surf perch, croakers, jacksmelt, mackerel, sharks, halibut, rays, barracuda, and white seabass can be caught.. Maybe next time I will fish there especially since a license isn’t required making it free to go and the views are amazing!

We also enjoyed several walks in OB (Ocean Beach) and of course couldn’t resist  visiting a couple of the well known establishments there. We mentioned Hodads for burgers and fabulous onion rings already but OB Noodle House is also a great place for a bite combined with a wonderful happy hour of half price craft beer!

Another hike we did that we had never done before was to hike to Black’s Beach. Black’s Beach is most well known for its nude sunbathing which is why many don’t go there. However, the day we went was cloudy and very cool so we figured that we wouldn’t have to see anything our eyes wouldn’t be able to un-see!

We began the hike at the Torrey Pines Glider Port where parking is free. The hike is only a short distance to the beach however, it is pretty much straight down about 400 feet on a not so easy trail down. They have done a good job of placing boards as steps to go down but with all the foot traffic and normal erosion it is a bit hazardous and required careful attention from us as we were descending.

Black’s beach itself is a great beach especially during low tide where we found many interesting shells.  The beach has a large expanse with cliffs rising above it. We walked several miles down the beach and back then eventually decided to just climb back up the trail we came down. We were surprised that we didn’t take more “breathing breaks” while ascending the trail and actually found it much easier to go up than down.

Before leaving San Diego we had one last Happy Hour with Jeff and Fran at their house. They treated us to some of the best shrimp from Mexico as well as an array of treats to snack on while we had some great conversation.  Thank you for your wonderful hospitality, Jeff and Fran!

Of course we also had to visit our favorite Happy Hour at the Draft House in Mission Beach to savor one more beautiful San Diego sunset…

NOTE: We are currently in El Centro CA until Jan. 8th before moving over to Arizona.