It is that time of year. As the weather turns up north, there is a trickle, then a flow as they head south. No, not the pelicans - the Winter Texans have arrived. And with the nasty weather in the frozen northland, we certainly understand.
Joan wanted to have breakfast out this morning; never an argument from me on that. The two top choices for us are Manuel's and Pier 19. Joan has been wanting to try the Wednesday Breakfast Special at Pier 19...
Stuffed French toast.
It is another chilly (49º), blustery (wind out of the north), spitty day. Yeah, it's a wet cold. The fishing boats at the docks outside of Pier 19 were rockin'. The view out the windows of the restaurant is gray and green...
Still, it is a view of the water, and I appreciate it.
"What does this have to do with the Winter Texans arriving?" you ask. Thanks for asking - this is the first time since we've been home (late September) that we have had to wait to get seated at any restaurant. It is not just the holiday visitors - the Winter Texans are definitely here.
This will be different for a while. We went to Wally World after breakfast...
Yep. It's busy. And you can see them greeting each other after a summer apart. No, this is not a "those darn winter people" post - we used to be those winter people for a good decade or so before we made this our permanent home. I get it; even 49º and a cold drizzle is better than 0º and snow up to your hind end. And, in another day or two it will be sunny and nice again.
In years past, winter here has been more balmy days than below normal. That hasn't been the case this year, as it feels that the cold days have outnumbered the warm. I hope this isn't an indication of what the future environmental change has in store for us.
We dodged the diagonally parked shopping carts, moved around the aisle-clogging talkers, and got our shopping done. Then had to wait in line for self check out. That last one is more of an observation of Walmart's choice to have as few full service registers open as possible. Honestly, we aren't on a schedule (other than getting Rufus fed on time), and it is nice to see businesses here having plenty of business... although we do appreciate our "quiet time" in the shoulder seasons.
Today is "put away indoor Christmas decorations" day. On the way home, Joan got a delivery notice: the Christmas tree she ordered (after Christmas) has been delivered. We'll have the opportunity to check it out before we put it away for 11 months. The box opening...
It is the first full-size tree we've had in a long time; pre-lit and the LED lights change colors, if you want. I am like a little kid with Christmas decorations, so I was all in favor of updating the small tree that has traveled with us over the years.
The outdoor decorations get a one day reprieve - don't want to put them away while they're wet, so after this drizzly day, we'll let them dry and they will get an 11 month break, too.
It is time for the next season. Yeah, we already have our heads into rolling west. In a few weeks.
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