A few shots from the bay area where
the surfers learn. Also a wayward
long legged bird that is not afraid
of the beach traffic. Finally, what
do you do while watching the Iowa
Hawkeyes on TV? Well, take pictures.
I will try to download the pics of
the dolphins........
No photos tonight. Even with 4 bars, they won't download. Sorry. I have
some great photos to share.
Sunday was a beautiful day after a week of overcast days, rain, wind and
temps in the 40's at night. I went to the beach, rode the bike, back to
the Breeze in time to watch the Hawkeye Women win a big game over
Michigan, back to the beach, cocktail hour to celebrate a victory......
I felt like I was in Carver Hawkeye Arena, since I have the Big Ten
Network. I took game photos. They came out just beautiful. I wonder if
its the camera or the big screen TV?
Today was a work day, golf day, oil change day. I finally picked up two
pounds of that wonderful garlic shrimp at the HEB Super Store in Pharr.
I mix the shrimp with onion, lemon, lime juice and some spices and hot
sauce, put it all in a plastic bag and let the shrimp soak up the flavors
for a couple days before enjoying....
Mexican security is in an uproar the past month. Today they disarmed all
of the police in the big cities along the border. This was done by the
Mexican military. Not sure about another booze run any time soon. The
police will pick up tons of pot and cocaine daily, but it is only 1/10th
of what gets over the border. I guess the fence that homeland security
wants to build might help with this problem. the local mayors want them
to dig out the Rio Grande River and widen it and make it deeper to
eliminate the walkers and bad swimmers. The Feds want to do something
different and are taking the land owners to court to get access to the
property to make assessments on how to build. We need some cooperation
here in the Valley. Fog advisery tonight and down to 65. Weds it
will be 72......sure beats home, big wind today along with a big temp
drop from 56 yesterday to below zero today along with wind. I don't miss
that weather.Will try again to post some photos tonight, great surf shots!
two little spectators on the causeway walk
some beaching time, waves, the Port Isabel
Lighthouse, Big Red went for a ride.......
this is the life of a retiree..........enjoy
I have just been living like a retiree this month. As I just posted,
the 5 K walk. the rest of the time, three trips to Alamo. We gave
the neighbor a price on the mobile home, no reply yet. I hope they
say YES. I cleaned the entire inside and started to gather all of
the stuff to take home. Jeff arrived on the 4th, cleaned the outside
of the mobile and painted the roof. I cleaned out the shed and
was kept on my toes by a little wiggly animal, small cameleon, I am
sure that isn't spelled right. Mom had four sale signs in the shed,
for garage sales. I was throwing out stuff, into the garbage can
and a scrounger came along. I ended up giving him a load of old
things, including a rusty gas grill and yard shears that we couldn't
open. also a power scrubber that Jeff didn't want, since it doesn't
work! We pack the trailer tomorrow and Jeff heads home on Weds.
greg is coming down the week after the Super Bowl. Has to wait, there
probably aren't any flights available to Dallas or Houston...
As for my beach. The last three days awesome. blue skies and only one
day of high wind. That keeps me off of the beach, the sand in my
toes is OK, but not in my eyes. So you try to find a spot by one of
the buildings to block the wind, but usually, no spots open unless
you get there before noon....
golfed this week finally. Had a nice front nine, even a birdie, along
with three or four pars. Back nine didn't go as well, had a couple
pars, but kept hitting the ball into the water for some reason! Felt
great to get back on the golf course, first time since November.
Take good care and have fun in the snow!
Marian is about 83, Jeff, Michelle and me, the baby, all walked
across the causeway on Saturday. Beautiful weather,
not a cloud in the sky. The event was a 10K run and
5 K walk or 3.5 miles. We continued on after getting
to the walkers finish line and it came to a total of
4.6 miles to Louie's Backyard Restaurant. fun day,
we were pooped afterwards, I usually get in about 2.5
miles a day when i go pick up the mail in the after
noons......don't need to train anymore, back to the
bicycle.......
I hope ya'll rang in the new year in a
great way. I did, as usual, hooked up
two TVs so I could watch lots of football.
I love the Rose Bowl Parade and completely
forgot to attend the Polar Bear Dip on the
Island, at noon. Didn't know if I would go
all the way into the water, or just a short,
or just take pictures..........anyway,
i forgot! the wind was blowing seriously.
Maybe 30 MPH. I went for a walk before the
Rose Bowl Game and found a lot of people
down by the jetties. Lots of body surfers
and people fishing. Watching the waves
crash on the rocks was wonderful. I
continued on down to the beach, where I
ran head on into the wind and sand in my
face. Only a few vehicles of gawkers, so I
headed back to the Breeze for my cameras.
Of course, this time I was smarter, I drove
Big Red. shot some video and took some still
shots, but forgot to check the camera settings
and only found a couple shots good to print.
didn't make it through the Hawaii game, neither
did the newspaper, who won?
That's right, I am sorry about laying it out
on the line about my truck problems. It is only
money, compared to what I found out today....
It all started in High School. Bryce and Dale
were 2 and 3 years ahead of me, but Ankeny was
a small town then and we all knew everyone.
In 1989 my mom had her stroke, Oct 20. At
Thanksgiving time, I moved her from Mercy to
Younkers rehab Center. At the same time, Bryce
had his son Matt in the same facility. He had
suffered a neck injury in AHS football.
Mom came home for four years, Matt went on to
live in a care facility in Waterlo. Due to the
stress, Bryce died of a heart attack about 5
years ago. At the first of December, Matt died, he
was 33. That left his mom and two brothers.
Yesterday, about 24 hours ago.......brother Al
died. He ran out of gas while driving on the
interstate around Hickman Road. A busy stretch
of road. He called his mom for help and she
came with Dale, probably with some gas to get
him home.
Why these things happen, we will never know or
understand.
Al ran across the interstate to his mom's vehicle.
9 PM....its dark....lots of traffic as is usual.....he
misjudged the truck's speed. No reaction time
available for the pick up truck driver, he
clipped Al with his right side mirror, then a
vehicle following the pick up also hit Al, he
died at the scene, even though a car load of
nurses were on the scene and tried to save him.
Mom and uncle saw the whole accident...........
What a horrible end of the year.......
Screw my truck problems and financial set backs....
The Hanke family needs my prayers.........
Carry on my friends and say a little prayer for
long time friends..........
Hauoli Maki Hiki Hou..............
I don't have a photo to post....today is the anniversary of
my Mom's death. I didn't think about it until I signed a form
and dated it. Then I was watching Private Practice and they
dealt with the death of the wife of one of the Doctors...........
We made sure we took mom to Texas, after she
had her stroke, for about 6 weeks,Dec thru
Jan. Jeff had vacation and work shut down, then Greg would go
for two weeks and I would go for two weeks and bring her home.
1994 was not the year to go south. It still breaks me up. The
worst day of my life. Two funerals, one in Texas, fly back home
and have another service and burial the day after Christmas.
This is the reason I don't get too excited about Christmas.
We have to keep up the spirit for Greg, he is still a youngster.
He still needs the surprises even though he has to work all
day long, race home, clean up, open presents about 4 PM and
then have a great dinner.
I have shed a few tears today. Tomorrow I will make a trip to the
Port Isabel grave yard and find someone who does not have any
flowers.......since I can't be home to do this. Put up the wreath
adorned with poinsettia flowers..........
Moving right along...........take good care and smile......
Remember in high school when you didn't follow
the rules and were grounded? Only happened once
to me, I was with my boyfriend at a track meet,
I didn't want to leave to meet my mom for the
ride home. Two weeks grounded! Here in Texas,
it better not be that long or I will have
serious issues with my former employer. They
used to be so serious about customer service,
what about me, don't I count? My license plates
for BIG RED were sent out on Monday, the 11th.
they were a NO SHOW on the 15th, which means,
no tags, no drive BIG RED. Why should I get a
ticket? Can I play dumb? I don't think so.
When will USPS help me out? that brings us to
the age old question.........
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?????
It was a windy night for a parade,
but I heard that Ankeny had to have
their tree lighting and parade
INDOORS. The parade down Padre Bl
began about 530 PM as we stood for
the Coast Guard ROTC that presented
our national colors. There were 60
entries and the funniest was "who
had the number for the Humane Society
Group?" Yes, it was a Great Dane who
was as big a some of the floats. I was
on the way back to the campground by
620PM and a taco dinner.
Sometimes the mail isn't in the mail box
when I get to the Park Office. Does that
sound familiar? so, I have to make a
detour fo check out the sights. First you
get to see my petunias, potted and
catching rays on my picnic table. The
other shots are from the parking lot of
the KOA campground, looking south
towards Port Isabel. Moving right along,
time to go pay the rent......
While you are working, this is where
I have my lunch. The first photo might
be where I start or finish, at the
jetties, look on down the beach from
one of my usual beachin' spots and
then you can see the fishermen. I
have lunch, read a little, take this
walk, on Friday it was over an hour,
about one mile each way. Finally, I
people and pelican watch for late
afternoon entertainment. I think
I hae a shot of a pelican hitting the
water.........carry on......
Last week my bougainvillea's were not
very colorful. This week, a growth
spurt. I named them and you can see
that (first on right) Mark is making
a challenge to Granny (first on left).
In between is little Bucky and in the
back is Louie, both are just starting to
bloom.
In the Christmas tree photo, these items
were in a box under the bed in the
mobile home. My mom made them, I love
the candle. There was also at least a
dozen bells made of beads and hand
knitted small wreaths and a Santa.
Last photo is a gift name tag. You can
see the name "John" on it, my dad. On
the back is written by Aunt Jean, Found
these tags in Hawaii, arent' they cute?
The tree has a little piece of foam
behind it to make it 3 dimensional.
I threw out a lot of Christmas boxes,
wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, garland.
I have all of that stuff at home and
if I am going to keep living in the RV,
I don't have room for all of the extra
stuff. I did keep some lights and found
one pair of scissors, some sewing needles,
those are keepers. I don't think there
are any more surprises to find. I
opened the dresser drawers and looked
underneath the drawers to see if mom had
hidden anything.......money? No luck so
far. I threw out curtains also. Found
out that we have a lot of towels and
bed sheets......for the next owner.....
It's hard to pick out a good picture
of my friends the pelicans. I hope
they are good and you enjoy. Will try
to get a shot of one crashing into the
water for food.
The BREEZE was supposed to arrive around
Oct 1, 2007. She arrived on Halloween with
some problems of course. No wiring for cable
in the living room/kitchen area, one chair
was shipped without any wrapping and came
in with black marks on the arm rests, dealer
found a staple in one tire, that's about all.
I took her home on Nov 7 with plans already
made, to hit the road on Nov 14. I have been
sleeping in the BREEZE since Saturday the 10th.
Tried to get her broken in...little did I
know what awaited me on the road. Getting in
and out of gas stations went OK, but I thought
gas bought in Missouri was bad, as the Black
Hearse started to clank. At 60-65 mph, no noise,
but at the lower speeds, big bad noise. First
day on the road no less......Parked at a Wal Mart
in Vinita, OK. The clerk in the store gave me
the address to the Dodge dealer. The guys were
great, they told me I had a blown engine and I
was not going anyplace soon. By one PM that day,
I had a new ride. Things went fine to the next
stop at a KOA in Mt Pleasant, TX, My head was
so messed up, I forgot to turn on the gas and
had no heat for the night. I awoke at 4 AM freezing.
Next stop was Victoria TX., at another Wal Mart
and finally into the Island by 130 PM the next day.
Naturally, I wasn't done with all of the
problems....one by one, can't unhook, can't level,
fridge isn't level, big colony of ants by back
door, shower won't do it's thing in a steady stream,
satellite won't work.....
All is settled, except after the Directv man was
here, I don't have any lights in the bedroom.....
Not a fuse problem, so I picked up a small lamp
that my mom had on her sewing table. another phone
call to the dealer........
In the morning, I ride the bike to pick up my
newspaper, almost a 2 mile ride. The morning goes
by fast and by lunchtime, it is time for the beach.
I take my lunch, a couple bottles of water, a camera,
a chair and off to the beach for the afternoon. After
lunch I take about a two mile walk down to the
Sheraton and back to my chair.
Another bike ride to pick up the mail, giving me
about five miles a day.
Life is a beach...........I am loving it and am
getting my tan in shape. Now I have to get work
done on the mobile home and get in some golf and
go to Mexico for a booze run or twelve......
Retire as soon as you can, get out of the rat race
and come on down to the beach.......
Mele Kalikimaka and Feliz Navidad mis amigos
the sunsets are gorgeous and the light house
is all decorated up for the holidays.
This is a view of my new home away from home,
on So Padre Island, TX. 600 units will be in
the park, about 100 of us now. They will start
arriving between Dec 26 and by the first of the
year, we will be full. So, don't laugh too hard,
you have to learn how to use your new equipment,
so I decided to make some cookies. after just
8 minutes, at 350.....burned. 2nd batch I lowered
the temp and watched carefully, same thing, burned
cookies. last on the show today, the thing I want
to come back as.........a pelican. They are so
graceful, flying low across the water, or
circling around looking for dinner and crashing
into the water. This pelican was looking for
fish being caught by the fishermen. They are so
much fun to watch and they keep me entertained
every day on the beach.
BUTT, what happened? Our new coach
is a great teacher of defense. I think
he might be too rigid on offense. Or
the guys have not yet jelled....It was
great to see the Hawkeyes play and the
crowd was 95% Hawkeye fans. 850 were at
the first game, not as many for game 2
on Saturday. I was standing next to Gorney,
I didn't make it to his arm pits. A
shorty am I, he is SEVEN feet tall.........
Just hanging around on the
beach. I hope this is a good
picture chosen of the pelicans
I shot today. I think I was
able to catch a couple shots of
the pelicans making the dive
to get some vittles........a
little windy agian today and
lots of junk washed up on the
beach.......
NO...............NOT THAT BUSH..........DC
This is the summer winner in Alamo.
i planted six bougainvillea last
April before I came home to Iowa.
Mark, Bucky, Granny, Lammy, Louie
and Zach.....Granny is the leader
of the pack. Congratulations Granny.....
This is why I am PWT....If you saw the
last post with photos of the Breeze on
the driveway in IOWA......this Big Red
Machine carried me to Texas from Vinita,
Oklahoma. The Black Hearse died there,
a blown engine. I was very upset,needless
to say, but now that I am on the island,
I almost have things in order. I had
a sandwich and cold beer on the beach
today. 87 and windy, but it isn't Iowa.
We are going to be in the 60's for Turkey
day, I hear Iowa might have snow....all
the better reason to be in Texas......
More photos to follow of the Breeze and
her new location about a quarter mile
from the Gulf of Mexico.......Gobble Gobble
Today is a RED letter day. I finally brought home my new home on wheels.
I am pooped tonight after a four hour orientation. I took a lot of notes and
forgot to take movies of Galen when he did the hitch hook up. Galen is a
great salesman, even though the manufacturer was far from satisfactory.
He even said he would come over on the day i leave to check my hook up.
Don't think I will need to turn on the furnace tonight, will have to watch
the 6 PM news report to find out how cold it will be, last night about 27!
That means its time to get "ON THE ROAD AGAIN".....just can't wait to get
on the road again........
Anyone in Ankeny can come around to see my GOLF Breeze before I
leave, probably Monday, since there is big time volleyball all week end
long. State HS tournament and NEbraska women will be in town!
Time to relax, have a martini, kick back and maybe read some of the
books I paid for.......HA!
Texas get ready...........
