The end of a friend...

The weather weasels were predicting the wind to come up today.  One in a row.

I went out for a paddle this morning, thinking I'd beat the wind.  I was wrong.  By the second lap, it had come up enough that forward progress was more work than fun.  On my way back, a young lady was fishing in the canal; she saw me coming and pulled her line out.  I said, "That's probably a good idea - it might be a lot of work reeling me in."

Her face lit up and she said, "Want me to try?"

"Umm... no."

Back at the house, we had breakfast on the deck.  Joan said, "Maybe you'd like to get the kayaks out today, if it isn't too windy?"

"Sounds like fun."

We haven't had the kayaks out since we've been back this time... I've been giving the paddleboard all the attention.

We hauled the kayaks onto the dock and shoved off...

Forward progress up the canal was a workout.  Joan visited with the neighbors that are moving into their new house (finally - it was supposed to be done in January)...

We went to the opening of our canal and headed east...

Over a couple canals, then turned north, with a nice push from the south wind...

Out into the Intracoastal, then back up another canal... into the wind...

No way around that since we got to enjoy the push earlier.  Finally, back to our canal, and home...

We hauled the kayaks up onto the dock so I could rinse them...

While getting the kayaks out, Joan asked what my intentions were with the old dinghy... "Well, I think there's still some life in it, if someone is willing to reglue the one side of the floor."  I thought maybe our neighbor could see if one of his employees wanted it.

"It is worn out - the glue won't hold."

"I did glue the one side last year - I think that is holding fine."

About 12 seconds later, Joan had the bottom of the dinghy completely separated from the tubes... "Sure glad I wasn't the one trying it out on the water."

I conceded - this was the end of the dinghy... it has lasted a lot longer than a guy trying to sell us a hypalon dinghy said it would.  The final act: painting over her registration numbers...

We salvaged any usable parts off her.  She was a good dinghy... long live the new dinghy!

The rest of the story: the dinghy didn't have a name until we bought Wild Blue (we had the dinghy for a couple years before getting the C-Dory).  My buddy Travis suggested we call the dinghy "Yonder"... get it?  Wild Blue and Yonder.  ;-)

A file photo with the dinghy on top of Wild Blue...

I'm so excited!

I just can't hide it.  I'm about to lose control, and I think I like it...

If you said, "the Pointer Sisters," you get 200 bonus points.

The neighbors across the street are friends of ours.  We have been out with them on their boat, they have been out on ours.  They are a fun couple.

His business has clients all over the country; they are going to take some time to travel around the western US to visit those clients.  One of the places they plan to see: Friday Harbor.  They've heard us talk about it.  They came over to our house this afternoon, and Joan had a bunch of brochures for the area.  We talked about where to stay and what to do.  Telling them about the whale watch boats and Friday Harbor, I could feel the excitement building.

Yep.  I have "my head in it."  I am looking forward to getting back to the Pacific Northwest.  We used to talk about "getting your head into it" when we had to head north after wintering here... once you start thinking about it, you might as well go... everything you are doing at that point is just prep for the trip.

Oh, what a beautiful morning...

Oh, what a beautiful day.  Musical theater, anyone?

Clear blue sky and moderate temps when I paddled a couple laps first thing this morning.  Before cleaning up for the day, I washed the truck and cargo trailer.  We are on water restrictions here, so vehicle washing is only allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays... birds seem to do the most crapping on Thursdays and Sundays.  And we have big birds around here.

It is officially May.  The resort where we live has two distinct seasons: Winter Texan season, which runs December through April, and the summer renter season, which runs May through September.  I'm not anti-social, but October and November are my favorite months here... the weather is still warm, without being stifling hot; and it is quiet.  The Chamber on South Padre Island does a lot of promoting, bringing people to the island... but that is only weekends.  I am a big fan of "the shoulder seasons."

Winter Texan season is just what you'd expect: retired folks who come here to escape the frozen northland.  The resort is a happening place, with activities from golf and tennis to dances and dinners.  Golf carts are a popular form of transportation on our island, even for those who don't golf.  This place isn't a 55+ resort, but you'd think it was.

Summer renter season is just about the opposite... oh, there are golf carts running around, but they are often being driven by a 10 year-old, even though there are signs saying you must have a drivers license to drive a golf cart.  RV sites in the resort are dwindling as houses get built; the RVs coming in for the summer are more small travel trailers, designed for weekending as opposed to motorhomes and 5th wheels made for extended living.  Instead of a couple in a 40 foot RV, it is a family of 8 in a 20 foot TT.  Full size grills and other summer "amenities" are unloaded from pickup trucks.  Instead of old folks doing exercises in the pool, there are hordes of screaming kids.

The winter folks are inside by 8:30 in the evening; the summer folks are just ramping up as it gets dark.

Summer can be hot in the Rio Grande Valley, but it is always cooler on the coast.  There are a lot of people from the Valley who come here during the summer to get away from the heat (it was 15º cooler here, compared to the Valley, inland 20 miles, last week when new high temperature records were set), and play on the beach.

This is the first weekend in May... lots of "moving in" today.  It's about this time most years that we are gearing up for moving out.  ;-)

------------------------

A sure sign: I put away the dinghy yesterday.  The motor has been flushed, the carb drained, and it is in its "travel mount."  We carried the dinghy to the truck today, and put it in its travel spot.  That dinghy is the replacement for the one we had that came apart... it's supposed to be the same size and weight.  Not even close.  With the carrying cases side by side, the new one takes up about 25% more space.  And my aching back tells me it is heavier, too.  I suppose some might say the same thing about me.  ;-)

And now you know the rest of the story...

A lovely day for scootin'... we took the scooters for lunch, then went for a short cruise of the island.  Traffic isn't heavy, yet, buy I am expecting it to build.  The barometer for crowds expected: the price signs on some of the hotels... Motel 6 is advertising $69.99.  It was $49 two days ago.

The weather is supposed to be good - a few degrees cooler than normal.  In the low 70s when we went for lunch today, it was comfortable in jeans, a light jacket, and helmet.  Nice to be able to ride "properly" dressed and not bake.

A couple events for people to celebrate: the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo.  The "fastest two minutes in sports" is a good reason for people to gather and party... not just around a horse track.  And, as you might imagine, Cinco de Mayo is a big deal around here.  When it falls on a Monday, you know some people are going to start partying a couple days early.

A lot of people think that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican equivalence of our 4th of July.  Here's the real story...

Most people don't know that back in 1912 Hellman's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the "Titanic" was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after New York City.

Mexicans were crazy about the stuff.

The Mexican people were eagerly awaiting delivery and were disconsolate("desperados") at the loss. So much so that they declared a national day of mourning which they still observe today.

It is known, of course, as ...sinko de Mayo.

(rimshot)

Will that fit in your boat??

Cool, calm morning - just right for a paddle.  I had made a couple laps of the canal and was heading back for our dock... a guy in a truck on the nearby bridge called out, "Will that paddleboard fit in your boat?"

"It doesn't have to - it will strap up on top just fine.  Or, it's inflatable; I could let the air out, roll it up, and strap it on the back of the scooter!"

Ohhh... that gives me an idea...

;-)

Checkin' 'em off...

Happy May Day!  Nobody left a May basket at my front door.

Remember that old "one task per day" thing I said a while back?  Well, apparently, going for a cruise on the paddleboard this morning doesn't count as a task.

Before lunch, I got the outboard flushed, carb drained, and put in place on its new "mount" - she is ready to go.  I made a platform for the new satellite dish that we'll use up in Friday Harbor.

That's two tasks, if you're keeping score.

We had a late lunch at our local Italian restaurant; that's how I managed to get two tasks done before lunch.

Lunch was great... and relaxing.  I was ready for a nap afterwards.  But, no.  We took the scoots for lunch.  Since they were all warmed up when we got home, I decided to change the oil in them.  That has to be a "stealth operation," since we aren't supposed to do any "vehicle maintenance" here in the resort.  It was cool today, so comfortable to work in the cargo trailer.  All went smooth, except for a quick side trip to NAPA to pick up a long skinny funnel... we didn't have a funnel that would fit the reach to the oil fill on the scoots.  Pretty sure that arrangement was designed by someone who never had to work on it.

I don't know if the oil changes count as one or two tasks - at any rate, I should have earned a day or two off somewhere along the way.

We'll see how that works out.

Inadvertent sail...

It was blowing pretty good this morning when I got up - east northeast at 20.  I was thinking about going for a paddle, but thought that the wind might be a bit much.  An hour later, it looked like the wind had let up a bit (I didn't check it), judging by the movement in the palm trees.

Well, I might as well give it a shot.  I put on some swim trunks and went down to the dock to get my gear ready.  Joan asked, "Breakfast when you get back?"

"Sounds good."

There were some pretty good wind ripples in the canal.  Our canal is oriented pretty close to 120º/300º.  East northeast, huh?  I thought the houses on either side might give me some decent protection.

As I paddled down the canal, I could see the gust lines on the water... I used to play those lines when we sailed... this morning, I did my best to lean into the gusts, to stay on the board.  Yep, there was plenty of wind; more than I had tried to paddle in so far.  Further down the canal, the wind ripples in the water were constant and quartering the nose of the board... three strokes on one side, one on the other.  My forward progress got slower and slower as the wind built.  Then I was paddling to stay in place.  Then, moving sideways and backwards while paddling forward.

On the bright side, the trip back to our dock was a breeze... literally.

A bit more protection at our end of the canal, so I paddled around a bit until my arms and legs agreed: that's enough.

I'm ready to take on the day.