A few days exploring Mobile Alabama…

Our next travel day would be to our last stop in Alabama. A three hour drive later we pulled into a new park for us, River Delta Marina & Campground. This is a County Park just north of Mobile Alabama in the small town of Creola, AL. The sites aren’t the best laid out but we sure did like the daily rate of $19.80 per night for full hook ups. Then we discovered they offer a senior discount of 10% on top of that, what a deal!

Even better is that the park has a really nice nature trail adjacent to the Tensaw River. This is also a boat marina called River Delta Marina where we saw lots of boaters heading our for a day of fishing. The Mobile River is also reachable by boat from here.

The nature trail is all on boardwalk and isn’t very long but it became a good part of our daily walks as we took in the beautiful swampy scenes, listened to the birds and were always on the look out for American Alligators, of which we saw several. The bald cypress lined river also made for great evening strolls as the sun was about to set.

The park was a great location for us to explore Mobile Alabama and we also wanted to drive over to see Daphne Alabama while here. We have driven through Mobile many times but never ventured to the downtown area. After spending some time downtown we found the city to have a nice vibe and you can tell there is a big push for development . Yet, we noticed a lot of dilapidated structures as reminders of past storms.

We learned that the USA Mardi Gras celebrations supposedly began in Mobile and not New Orleans. However, there is much heated debate about its true beginnings.. Nonetheless Mardi Gras is widely celebrated in Mobile and even in October there were remnants of past celebrations as old beads could be seen hanging in tress everywhere in the downtown area.

The architecture in the older historical parts of town also resemble the architecture seen in much of New Orleans. We really enjoyed our stroll around downtown delighting in the murals and occasional art pieces throughout town. We even found a nice spot to have a cold Alabama crafted beer at the Oyster City Brewery after our long day of exploring Mobile!.

Historical Montgomery Alabama…

Like the last time we visited Montgomery Alabama,  the capital city of the State of Alabama, we took a stroll around the downtown area to once again absorb the history Montgomery is known for.

What began as a settlement of the Alabama and Coushatta Indians who lived on opposite sides of the Alabama River, Montgomery became the second largest city in Alabama as it is today. It has a storied past and in the 1860’s when the Confederate States of America were formed Montgomery was named the first capital of the nation and Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as its President. 

This historical house he and his family lived in is still standing  today. Montgomery went through a lot after the Union finally came through town. Good times were had until the 1950-s and 1960’s when Montgomery became a hotbed of the civil rights movement.

What started as a seemingly innocuous event on December 1, 1955 when a young lady named Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and was immediately arrested, became the catalyst for another well known civil rights event, the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Also in the town of Montgomery a young charismatic man known as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., then pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, helped organize the boycott. Shortly after, in the summer of 1956, the US District Court ruled that Montgomery's bus racial segregation was unconstitutional… and so began a legion of cultural changes to the way of life in Montgomery as well as the entire USA..

Several years later in 1965 Martin Luther King returned to Montgomery  where he and other civil rights leaders helped organize the March to Montgomery Capitol Building to petition then Governor George Wallace to allow free voter registration. This event led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (back when Congress worked!) which enforced the rights of African Americans and other minorities to vote.

On our walk to Montgomery's Capitol Building.we saw historical markers of not only the events of the Confederate inauguration of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate White House he and his family lived in, the church in which they prayed but in addition a flash forward in history to the location where Rosa Parks waited for the bus, the parking lot for the gathering of the bus boycott and past the church where Martin Luther King once preached. We also learned Montgomery became the state’s capitol in 1847. We had an incredible walk through the history of Montgomery.

We ended our day at Mellow Mushroom, a regional pizza chain, where there always is a nice happy hour. After all that walking we needed a little pick me up!

Our Austin House Sitting Gig!

We originally only planned to be in College Station for one month but after my first eye surgery it was obvious we needed to extend another month. As a result we have done all the things we wanted to do and still had a long time to be in College Station. So what did we do?

Well we found another house sit to beak up the monotony.  We had been planning to take a day trip over to Austin Texas (another town we lived in for a while) but after  some searching online I found a great house sit in Austin.

The beauty of housesitting is YOU choose which houses and pets you want to sit for. You apply and hope to be selected. This one was in a high rise condo on Town Lake right in the center of downtown Austin.

We applied for it only to be told that they had already found a sitter for the condo. Sigh, back to the drawing board. We always have believed if it was meant to be it would be… Well, a day later we received an email via Trusted Housesitters from the Austin condo people saying that their sitter had to back out so the couple invited us to take the job!

We agreed, packed our bags and drove the 100 miles west over to Austin. Finding the high rise condo in downtown Austin through some construction was a bit confusing but soon we were winding our way up through the parking garage. We were met by one of the condo owners who gave us a tour of the condo and the building’s facilities.

She introduced us to Mooch the cat and Ginger the sweetest most laid back dog we have ever been around. Once the owners left we went back to our car for our bags  and settled in for our 5 night stay in downtown Austin.

The view from the condo’s patio was no doubt one of the best views one could have in the entire city of Austin. Looking down to our right we could see the pool on the tenth floor, Front and center was a panorama of Town Lake looking into Congress Avenue’s famous “bat” bridge sweeping over to a great view of the downtown skyline.

Well the five days went by fast and we never ever once drove the car because everything we wanted to see and do was within walking distance from the condo. We toured the Texas state capitol building, toured the University of Texas campus and walked all around downtown Austin.

We had a blast visiting Austin once again and really enjoyed the furbabies we house sat for. With us not having pets anymore it is always a treat to have the opportunity to love on these pets.. Mooch and Ginger were a delight to take care of and to provide belly rubs or ear scratches whenever needed. Another successful house sit is now under our belt and we both really look forward to the next one…

NOTE: We are now eastbound and will stay in Vidor TX for one night…

Gilbert AZ Riparian Preserve…

What a neat spot we found nearby in Gilbert Arizona. The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch was once just a slice of the Sonoran Desert until the town of Gilbert converted it into a wonderful preserve. The preserve is a great places for visitors and residents alike to go walking, fishing, birding or picnicking. They have created a perfect slice of wildlife habitat within the city!.

In 1986, the Town of Gilbert made a commitment to reuse 100% of its effluent water which led to the development of the Riparian Preserve in 1999. There are 110 acres in this preserve and of the 100 acres 70 acres are part of  the 7 water recharge basins which are filled on a rotating basis with treated effluent in order to allow these waters to percolate back into the aquifer for future use.

While hiking on the over 4.5 miles of trails in the preserve visitors will be hiking through various vegetative zones ranging from marshlands to native riparian and upland vegetation areas. Here you may encounter some of the 298 species of birds which have been identified on the site. The hiking and the birding is what attracted us to this site.

The preserve is also used for community development and for educational purposes for the children attending schools in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. We have seen many people fishing, children learning, people walking their dogs and nature enthusiasts in the park on our many jaunts to the preserve.

On any given afternoon we will drive the 8-10 minutes to enjoy a nice walk. We have hiked all of the trails within the park and have seen many different species of birds. With fall migration in full bloom we have seen some birds one wouldn’t expect to see in the desert such as Whirl Pelicans and even a Roseate Spoonbill!

Another neat aspect of this preserve is the abundance of rabbits. While walking on trails throughout the preserve you will see 100’s of rabbits and even more Gamble's  Quail and Abert’s Towhees. These species have obviously benefited from this wetland oasis in the desert.

What makes this preserve even better for us is the proximity to the old downtown area of Gilbert AZ which has become quite the entertainment district. After hiking/birding in the preserve we can be found at one of three downtown establishments who offer up some of the best food and happy hours we have encountered during our travels.

O.H.S.O. in Gilbert is a brewery currently offering $7 32oz. pitchers of any of their Arizona craft brews until 5pm. Along with a nice selection of food on happy hour and some great burgers this is a must stop in town.

Another favorite is a wine bar called Postinos who offers $5 32 oz pitchers and $5 glasses of wine from 3-5pm. Wine lovers can also opt to have the whole bottle for only $20. On Monday and Tuesday evening they offer a deal of $25 for a bottle of wine and a bruschetta board with ample portions of various bruschetta choices.

Our favorite has to be the Joyride Taco House where we have become somewhat regulars during our stay here in Mesa. Their 3-5 happy hour offers $5 32oz beers as well as $5 margaritas (until 6pm). Even better a basket of hot chips and salsa is served to everyone for free. Finishing the evening with 2 or 3 of the street tacos at $2.50 apiece makes for not only an inexpensive dinner but a great night out on the town. Joyride is always an energetic, happy place to be.

We are certainly going to miss these locations when we leave this area on November 1st…

Last Days in College Station, Texas…

The day arrived marking our departure from North Carolina to Texas after Sharon’s extended stay to help Katie and Brooks after Allie’s birth..We leave fully assured Allie is in good hands and are happy Sharon had the opportunity to help give Allie a great start in life. We know Allie’s mom and dad are now fully prepared to be a great parents to our newest sweet grandbaby.

We went to the Raleigh airport and bid our farewells. We noticed airport security was full of people and when we boarded our flight every seat in our plane was full. We also were glad to see that for the most part people were wearing their masks as required. The second leg of our flight out of Charlotte NC was the same. We arrived in Austin TX without any issue and were back in College Station TX a few hours later.

We only had a few days left in College Station after returning from NC so Sharon wanted to see everything she could see in our old hometown before it was time to go. Our two favorite places for a walk were the Texas A&M University campus and the George Bush Presidential library.

Texas A&M is one of the largest universities in America with nearly 70,000 students attending it annually. It is a sprawling campus with plenty of space to choose several different lengthy walks. We always enjoy the historic buildings and reminiscing about about the excitement surrounding game days of football, basketball, soccer and softball. Football tailgating with friends was just fantastic.

We actually learned something new about Texas A&M this time around. There is a statue of James Earl Rudder we have seen a zillion times but the history of it Earl’s namesake building, Rudder Tower, has a story behind it. Rudder Tower is 110 ft. tall and was designed as such to be the exact height of the cliffs at Point Du Hoc where Rudder and his rangers scaled the cliffs clearing WWII German gun batteries thereby making it safe for the D-Day invasion to begin. This story added to the treasure trove of history and tradition that abound at our beloved Texas A&M University.

George Bush library has a wonderful little walk behind the library circling a pond with lots of flowers and a little bridge walk over to the family cemetery. It was really a treat to walk because the recent rain made the grass especially green and the flowers resplendent.

Another great place we like to walk is Lick Creek Park in College Station. It is a large city park of 523 acres with walking & jogging trails along with a wildlife and nature center. There are some nice long trails there but at this time of year it was really beginning to get hot. Worse than the heat is the humidity as it always measures around 80 to 90 percent this time of year. High humidity always makes higher temperatures nearly unbearable.

Lastly we had time enough to revisit some of our former haunts for happy hour at the Northgate District as well as some of our more recently discovered venues around town. All too quickly our time was up in College Station and it was time again for us to get our wheels rolling On the Road of Retirement…

NOTE:  We are currently in San Angelo, Texas until June 28th…

Back in College Station, Texas for a while…

After my two night stay in Shiner Texas I was ready for my second RV travel day without Sharon, and hopefully my last time without her. In the morning I readied the RV for travel and then pulled the RV up in my huge site to attach the CRV to the back. Once attached, I checked all the lights and since all was well, off I went.

The drive was about 120 miles and took a bit over 2.5 hours. I opted for a slightly longer route through Giddings Texas rather than through Brenham Texas since the roads are better and easier for one to handle. Shortly before noon I was pulling into my next RV park, a place we have stayed many times before, in College Station, Texas.

My being back in our old home town had me reminiscing that this is where we began our journey on the Road of Retirement. I also realized that we are now in our eleventh year and I never did a 10 year review or summary of any kind. Therefore I resolved to work on a future blog with a review of our costs hoping the budget info may be useful to some readers.

In the meantime I have been taking in some walks at some of our favorite spots in the Brazos Valley. I hiked at Lick Creek Park, the Brazos Arboretum and all around the sprawling Texas A&M University campus.Spring is still in force here as it has been raining frequently but all too soon summer will arrive with temperature reaching into the 90’s and 100’s. I hope we are out of here before we see 100+.

Next week I will fly out to North Carolina to finally see my new granddaughter whom Sharon has been helping to care for. I will fly out on the 2nd of June and stay about a week, then Sharon and I will fly back together to Texas. I am really looking forward to getting to know our little Allie Rose in North Carolina.

Finally I wanted to add a note to my email subscribers. Google is discontinuing service to feedburner which is what my blog was using for mail subscriptions. I have now deleted that service and begun using a newer service called follow.it which was really easy to switch over to. Hopefully this will be a seamless process for those of you receiving this blog by mail. Feel free to comment if you are a mail subscriber and receive this blog so I will know it is actually working! I appreciate you and hope to see you on down the road!

NOTE:  While Sharon is in North Carolina I am now currently at in College Station, Texas until  June 15th…