Christmas in Riviera, Texas

Merry Christmas to all!  

I thought I would take a few quiet minutes to post.  After our extended stay in Red Bay and a few stops along the way, we traveled to Sea Wind RV Park in Riviera, TX south of Corpus Christi.  The park is on Baffin Bay and is somewhat isolated.  Before we actually found the park, we were diverted by the GPS to this little road.  I thought the Whale was going cross country.

We could tell right away this park is different from others we have stayed in.  People from all over the county stay here for 2-3 months during winter and are very proud of the welcoming culture of people in the park.  In fact, we met Steve and Fran while still in Elkhart, and they were the ones to recommend we come and stay for while.  We plan to do just that.  We've never gotten too involved in a park's activity schedule because we have not felt this welcomed, and of course, we often do not stay very long.  There's lots to do here.  A person can be as involved or not involved as they want.  No pressure.

The sites are sparse, but wide apart. Mesquite trees are the going fare for foliage and of course cacti some of which are just getting ready to bloom.  Since I took the picture of our site the first day, we have settled in and are quite comfortable.  The biggest battle we have are with the sand spurs.  Maci gets the brunt of those as she gets them stuck in the pads of her feet from time to time.  It doesn't seem to slow her up much.

As you can see, the overall countryside is a bit stark at first glance, but I've come to realize that every place has it's beauty.  I'm in the process of looking for that here...

Jerry has been fishing twice since we arrived.  The bay is too rough most days for our little boat, but a small group of guys with larger boats have invited him to join in.  Black Drum fish is the going fare here, and we have already enjoyed fish for dinner a couple of times.  They also have a skeet shooting range across the pond.  Jerry's in heaven as fishing and shooting are two of this favorite things to do.

My focus while here is healing.  To that end, I'm spending time preparing three different on-line courses for second semester, and I'm walking, walking, walking.  My goal is to walk at least five miles a day.  Lots of room to roam in this location.  

I've also been practicing my flute, playing guitar and plan to pull out my spinning wheel after the holidays.  Being able to go from one thing I love to the next all day long is the best part of retirement.  The flute has been an interesting journey.  At first I had to make sure all the windows were closed as I sounded that bad.  Over time, like anything when you practice, it's better, but Jerry tells me I'm not quite ready for a flute festival just yet.  Maci, the dog, is not fond of the flute.  Must hurt here ears as she shakes her head periodically when I'm playing.

Over the Christmas holiday, we have been blessed with a visit from our dear friends John and Sueann from Elkhart.  They arrived Christmas Eve and will be here until the day after Christmas.  With them are their South Korean daughter, Ji and her sister Julia.  Both are delightful young ladies who are studying here in the States.  Ji is a freshman in college, and her sister is a sophomore in high school.  They are fortunate to travel with John and Sueann, and we are fortunate to be able to spend this time with them.

I will say, the Christmas holidays are still very difficult for me when we are not with one or the other of our kids.  Being with such a welcoming group in the park and having our friends here has certainly helped to fill that void.  

Jerry and I wish anyone and everyone who reads this blog the most blessed holiday and a new year full of all that you wish for!

I still have a lot to learn...

I've long since realized this journey Jerry and I are on is not all about beautiful scenery and great restaurants.  I still have a lot to learn about being a good person.   We pulled our overnight in a Walmart parking lot in Lafayette, Louisiana last night.  Those large parking lots are entertaining sometimes so we left the shades up for a while as it turned dark.  While we were talking, there was a knock on the door.  This is highly unusual in the Walmart  parking lot as visitors don't usually come calling, and we had already checked in with the security guard.  As I was whispering, "Don't open the door," Jerry opened the door.  A lone man was there and he said, "Sir, I just ran out of gas.  Might you be able to help me?  I'm not a bum sir."  Jerry looked back at me, reached in his pocket and handed the man a five dollar bill.  "Here you go sir.  I hope this helps a little."  The man thanked Jerry and walked toward the street.  Jerry's response to me...  "Sometimes you just have to follow your gut level feeling."

After 33 years of marriage, my husband never ceases to amaze me.  So cautious and inclined to survivalist tendencies, somehow he knew that was the right thing to do.  No matter what the gentleman actually did with the money, Jerry held up his end of the "deal" to be a good human being and do the right thing.

I wonder if one can grow that kind of instinct? No pictures are available of this interaction as I think I was hiding behind the front seat...

Headed South...

After leaving Elkhart on November 11, we stayed in Indy to get our (hopefully) last dose of blowing snow.  Traveling south, we spent two days in Mammouth Cave National Park.   We stayed there last year and could not go on any of the tours due to my bad knee.  This year, I was determined to see the cave.  We chose the shortest, least strenuous tour.  I thought we would walk out of the Visitor Center and into the cave entrance, but getting to the cave entrance involved a bus ride a few miles from the Visitor Center.

Caves are incredible!  I was surprised that the air in the cave was not damp or stagnate smelling.  Our guide explained the cave "breathes" every 18-24 hours.  Stale air out, fresh air in.  Of all things, we met a new bug - a cave cricket.  The cave cricket, according to our guide, is the only cricket in the world that does not make a sound.  No chirping.

After touring the Wind Cave last summer, I expected this guide to do the lights out demonstration.  I was not disappointed.  When many of these caves were discovered initially, candles were the only form of lighting the way.  Blow out the candle, and you have deep darkness.  You can't even see your hand in front of your face.  Even more disturbing is the silence.  Our guide was able to get the group to be totally silent for a few minutes, and after awhile I had to really work at not making noise.  My ears rang in the silence.  People who have been lost in caves and found tell stories about talking, shouting and singing to themselves because the silence even more than the darkness was so disturbing.

Our tour lasted a little over an hour, but there are other more strenuous tours available including one of six hours where you are a spelunker crawling between very tight places in the formations.

 Unlike the Wind Cave in South Dakota, Mammouth Cave has constant water dripping.  The stalactites and stalagmites take hundreds of years to form as in the pictures below.

Early explorers and visitors to the cave were not as conservation-minded as we try to be now.  Visitors would just break off pieces of the formations for souvenirs.  Fortunately, that was stopped early on, or there would be no formations to look at.

Reluctantly, we left Mammouth Cave and headed for our annual trek to Red Bay, Alabama.  The Whale engine and generator were in need of maintenance, and we initially had a short list of up-dates and repairs.  Our stay in Red Bay lasted three weeks and a day.  Tiffin has stopped taking any appointments for service.  First come, first served.  We started in an express bay after waiting a week to get in.  In express, we get three hours of service to complete as much as possible.  We actually would have been done after that if someone hadn't spotted our sagging ceiling.  I hadn't noticed it, but Jerry had.  The technician checked it out, and told us it would just get worse.  We needed to be scheduled into a regular bay to get this fixed - a two day job and most have to stay in a hotel while the glue dries.  When we finally were able to get into a regular work bay, our technician worked the job so we didn't have to be in a hotel.  It's worth going to Red Bay for maintenance as the techs know our Whale, and they are so great at working with you to minimize the hassle.

The best part of Red Bay this trip was meeting Cathy and RJ.  They were parked across from us, and right away we started talking back and forth.  What a great couple!  We compared stories of traveling and things we have had done to our motor homes in addition to like hobbies and interests.  We hope to see them again when we pass through Arizona this spring.

We also met Theresa and Dwayne.  They have full-timed for 11 years, and their MH is also that old.  Dwayne is a distributer for a company that makes Native American flutes.  He always has a pocket flute hanging around his neck.  I love the soulful sound of the flutes, and started thinking how playing one could help build lung capacity.  I'm now the proud owner of two flutes. Something new to learn...

Finally, our maintenance was completed yesterday, December 11, and one month after leaving Elkhart, we are on the road headed south.  Currently, we are driving the Natchez Trace headed to Jackson, MS.  The Trace is beautiful even this time of year.  We stayed last night in Jeff Bigsby Campground at mile marker 193.1 - one of three free campgrounds on the Trace.  The sites are primitive in that there are no hook-ups, but most of the spots are pull-throughs with enough room for a big rig.  At below freezing temperatures, we had our pick of spots.

This morning was clear with a promise of a great day's drive.   Soon....