Who breathed on me??

Woke up yesterday feeling lousy.

I thought it might be from all the crap in the air with the north wind that we've had over the past week.  Nope.  A visit from the lousy cold fairy.  As near as I can tell, she whacked me a bunch of times with her germy ol' wand.  Bitch.

Flocks...

They are called different things depending on what part of the country you are in.

In Florida, they are called "snowbirds"... having been there in the winter a time or six, it doesn't seem like the local population has much love for 'em.  Better in Arizona, but still the same name.  Around here, they are called Winter Texans.  While there are some who grumble about them clogging up the roads, they are essential for many local businesses.

Those white-haired warmth-seekers come by the thousands, migrating south like the birds... in search of warmth, friendship, and escape from the frozen northland.  I know them well, because I used to be one.  I think "Winter Texan" sounds way more welcoming than "snowbird."

No question that this is the Winter Texan season around here.  The parking lots at Wal-Mart and HEB are reasonably full.  The stores are busy.  Busier here than we saw the week before Christmas.  That is significant.

We time things different according to the season.  When we get back here in the early fall, everything is packed on weekends, with Valley People still coming to the beach.  We stay off the roads and out of the stores from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening.  This time of year, the stores are busy on Wednesday mornings - when the sale ads come out.  The restaurants are busy right at noon and from 4:30 to 6:30 (early bird supper).  The good breakfast places are busy all morning long.

There are other seasons... like Spring Break.  Many people think that is one particular week in March.  On the contrary, it runs from late February all through March.  There is "Texas Week," when most of the Texas colleges and universities are out for break.  For the last 6 or 7 years, that has really run into a two week period (plus the weekends on either side) since they aren't all out the same week.  The roads are clogged bumper to bumper on those weekends (depending on who is playing for the many concerts).  They are relatively easy to live around though: go to the beach in the mornings, when they are all still 12-to-a-room hungover.  They start wandering out shortly after noon, head to the beach, and the music starts pounding.  Really; in the past, we have been able to hear the music when we are 7 or 8 miles off shore.  Then, about 5:00 in the afternoon, they head back to their rooms to start primping for the evening parties.  We old folks are settled in for the evening before 9:00 pm, then they start coming out again.

After Spring Break, depending on the timing for Easter, comes Holy Week.  A lot of Mexican nationals come to the beach here.  It is generally busy all the time, and not much holy about it.

Then, the blissful shoulder seasons: late spring (before the Summer People arrive) and fall (between the Summer People and the Winter Texans) when, except for weekend events that the local Visitors Bureau puts on to bring people in, it is generally pretty quiet.  The weather is generally lovely.  And, it is kinda quiet.

I understand why the Winter Texans come here, but Mother Nature isn't being very nice.  For the next 10 days are so, the weather weasels are predicting daytime highs in upper 40s and 50s... way below our typical highs.  Hopefully, it doesn't chase off or disperse the winter visitors.

In the words of the philosopher Jimmy Buffett: the weather is here, wish you were beautiful.  ;-)

Scootin' and taggin' while we can...

Last night on the 10:00 local news, one of the weather weasels said, "This is shaping up to be one of the coldest winters in south Texas."  I think they enjoy saying that kind of crap.

Today was forecast to be a high of 64º.  Yeah, that's below our normal high this time of year.  BUT, it is warmer than it has been in more than a few days.  AND, they're saying it will be our warmest day this week.

Better get out there and get the latest scooter tag.  We took the scoots to go out for lunch.  Leaving our island...

Heading across the causeway...

Up the island to Black Beard's...

Good lunch.  Time for some riding... and looking for images for the scooter tag.  The last one was: your scooter in front of a white house (preferably a Presidential home).  Hard to find that here, but I did find a white house...

Then, picked up a few more potentials... in case I got back first with the white house tag.

(I did get the "white house" tag, and went with the Wyland Whaling Wall... OK, not that specific, 'cause it could be tough to keep the game going.  So, anything sea mammal or fish related.  I figure that shouldn't be tough: a fish market, a bait shop, a pet store that sells fish, etc.)

We rode around the island, just enjoying the day.  Then, back across the causeway...

Looking west, down the ICW, on the swing bridge on the way back to our island...

If the weasels are right, it is going to be while before we ride again.

Change gears, and some sunshine...

It has been a gray ol' week in the Tropical Tip.  Chilly, too.  And more is coming in a couple days.  But, today, there was some sunshine.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

This morning, we shifted gears: looking ahead to RV mode once again; took some stuff to the Love Shack, and just wanted to look her over to see how she was doing in her storage bay...

Inside, we opened up the slides - all good...

We had a nice, leisurely lunch out in Harlingen.  The gray sky started clearing.  On the way home: sunshine.  Glorious.  Oh, it didn't get above 58º, but we enjoy the sunshine... on my shoulders... makes me happy.

A quick stop at Wally World shows that the winter Texans have arrived: the parking lot was as full as I've seen in a long while; the aisles in the stores were jammed with unattended shopping carts.  ;-)

At home, there was "sparkly water" as we came over the bridge (no photo - trust me).  In the house, little Izzy was taking in the sunshine coming in from the west...

Oh, you're home...

Is it time for supper?

I saw you carrying stuff out - I was afraid you were leaving!

Not without you, Iz.

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Oh, and what looks like fenders on a dually pickup on Izzy's photo above is the haunches on those long legs.  She didn't get that from me.  ;-)

A compact RV...

We had a fun lunch out with Mike and MJ - the food was good, the conversation even better.  After lunch, we went our separate ways; shopping on both agendas.  Before heading to the store, I suggested we take a drive through the county RV park on the south end of South Padre Island - it is a good indicator of how busy the area is... a week ago, there were a lot of empty RV spaces in that park.  Today was a different story.  About 80 to 90% occupied.  That's good for the local economy.

It wasn't particularly busy at the restaurant where we ate, but there was traffic around town, and other places seemed to have cars in the parking lots.

I have mentioned that we are looking for a smaller RV.  We saw this while driving through Isla Blanca (the country park)...

At first glance, it looks like a small 5th wheel being pulled by a SmartCar.  No, it is a pickup camper, off the truck, and the SmartCar is just parked under the cab-over portion of the camper.  That would be compact, though.  ;-)

Wild Night...

No, not a big party.

The weather has been crap.  Not much fun being outside, and going on day 3 of this gray stuff.  So, to stave off cabin fever, I recorded a couple more songs.

Here's a cover of You've Got a Friend...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/youvegotafriend

Van Morrison's Wild Night...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/wild-night

My next job...

Really?  No, not really.

I got into a discussion on-line this morning.  In an open forum where the topic turned to photography.  I read with interest while some people wrote about how "film is better than digital."

I haven't had that discussion in a few years.  It made me think back... I loved the photography business; lived and breathed it.  I enjoyed working with our clients, both portrait and commercial.  We saw the emergence of the digital industry, and how it changed photography.  We were early adopters, at a time when some professionals couldn't see that digital was the future.  It would certainly change that entire industry.  After 32 years, we were ready for giving that "retired thing" a try.

That made me think about something I used to say when I was an active professional photographer: In my next career, I'm going to be a brain surgeon.  No one does it for a hobby.  Nobody says, "You need some surgery?  My uncle has a nice scalpel - he does surgery for a hobby.  Want me to call him for you?"  ;-)  No one opens a surgery center because they "made a good cut for the county fair."

My first "career" was being a rock 'n roll musician.  I quit college first time around to go on the road.  A relentless succession of one-nighters, living in a bus with 8 other guys.  If we weren't playing a gig, we were rehearsing.  There are a lot of weekend musicians out there who will play for next to nothing.  The live music scene was changing.  "Disco" didn't help the situation.  ;-)

When I got off the road, I continued to play... first in a duo, then in another rock band.  Even as I transitioned into the photography business, I played music.  Made more money doing that than my first studio job (where I did both concurrently).

That was my first shot at doing something for a living that many people do as a hobby.  I didn't think about it that way at the time... I just saw photography as another creative endeavor.  Turns out that photography was my "grown-up career."  I earned degrees and received awards.  Then, digital came on the scene.

There were always photography hobbyists who would take photos for free... didn't matter if they were great images (for some people), it is hard to beat free.  These hobbyists would often come into our studio to "just look around."  Often, they would ask if they could "intern or job shadow"... willing to work "for free!"  For the same training that I paid for... or techniques that I developed over time.

I finally said to one guy, "The wage and hour people won't let me have you work for free.  How does $5,000 a month sound to you?"

"Really?  Five thousand dollars?  You have a deal!"

"Great.  Bring in the first $5,000 and we'll start your training."

"Huh?"

"You want to learn from my experience.  That is called 'tuition.'  Your first month's tuition is $5,000."

That usually drove home the point.  Hobbyists really weren't a problem for us, but when consumer digital cameras became more affordable, we could see where the industry was heading.  When everybody does for a hobby what you do for a living, there will eventually be less demand... or the public perception of what is professional will ultimately change.  What I never saw coming, even after we retired was the fact that everyone would be carrying a camera in their phone.  Even worse: no matter how crappy those phone images might be, showing images on your phone became more acceptable than holding (purchasing) an actual photograph.

Years before we retired from photography, I earned my first captain's license...an OUPV: Operator of an Uninspected Passenger Vessel.  Otherwise known as a "6 pac license," because it allows you to operate a boat with up to 6 paying passengers.  As I gained more sea time, I got my first Master License.  That first Master License allowed me to operate a passenger vessel up to 50 tons.

Then came my first captain job.  Seemed logical to make some money based on something I enjoyed doing... sound familiar?  My various captain jobs have been interesting and challenging.  My "post retirement" career.

Yeah, hardly anyone boats for a hobby.  ;-)  I guess I didn't follow my own advice.  Now, it is time to make some decisions: another season driving someone else's boat?  Or maybe I'll go back on the road, singing and playing?  I do have a pretty good camera in my phone.

Where did I see that ad for "Learn Brain Surgery Via The Internet - Work From Home!"??

;-)