Git yer motor runnin'...

Rockport is a great town.  As is Fulton.  Or, down the road to Aransas Pass.  Cross the ship channel to Port Aransas.  Plenty to do in a relatively compact area.

We headed out on the scooters this morning...

From the RV park, we headed north, through Rockport and Fulton, out past the county airport, then turned to ride by the water.  Beautiful homes, motels, and resorts along this stretch of road.  And long docks reaching out into the bay...

Heading back south, we turned left, going onto Allegro Key.  Lots of beautiful homes on the bay or along canals on this island.  We stopped at one point on that road to take in the view of the water, and saw... dolphins!  Makes my day...

It was getting to be lunch time; Joan said, "Did you see that little Italian place we like is still there?"  I took that to mean we should be heading there... ride to eat, eat to ride.  It is a small place, looks like it used to be a house, enough parking for about 7 or 8 cars... and the food was outstanding.  Just after noon, we were the first ones there.  The waitress opened the door and said, "Don't get too prettied up, we aren't that fancy!" when she saw Joan combing her hair after getting off the bike.  I was delighted when she told us the special for the day: chicken gorganzola, served with spaghetti with a gorganzola sauce, fresh baked bread... that's what I'm having!

We geared up and headed back out on the scoots.  No particular destination, just enjoying riding along the water...

We decided to follow the road along the water towards Aransas Pass.  Then, on towards Port Aransas.  Port A is a true beach town, on Mustang Island.  To get there from Aransas Pass, you take a ferry across the ship channel.  There were 4 ferries running, two on each side, loading up and running back and forth.  On the way there, we were able to ride right on - always room to fit a couple small bikes...

Looking back toward the mainland ferry landing...

And one of the other ferries crossing at the same time...

We ran around Port A, down to Island Mooring, out to the jetties, then back to the ferries - this time, there was a line...

The line wound up one block, then back down.  We knew we were in for a wait, when a guy in a truck in the other lane said, "You don't have to wait in line with bikes.  Really, I live here.  Cut in front of me and ride up to the front of the line.  That's how they do it with bikes."  He let us cut in front of his truck and we rode up to the line attendant.  When we told him what the guy said, he shrugged and sent us to the next ferry that was loading.  Yeah, that saved some time.

We rode back through Aransas Pass and up the road to Rockport.  A stop at the very nice HEB grocery store, then back to the RV park.  A fun way to spend the day on the scoots.

Little Izzy was ready for some outside time when we got home...

Settling in for the evening in the Love Shack.  :-)

Rolling...

I was thinking we'd head to Hill Country... the weather looked to be a bit chillier that direction.  No reservations, so we made a right at Corpus Christi and are settling in at Rockport.  It's been a few years since we've been here; I used to have work in a gallery here, so we made regular trips this way.  No work these days, just looking to poke around the area a bit.  There's a nice marine supply store here.  Different restaurants than we have at home.  Different roads for playing with the scooters.

We checked RV reviews, looking for a park that had long paved sites to accommodate our 65' length with the cargo trailer.  We found one that showed photos of long sites, unencumbered with trees (lots of live oak trees in this area) in their "super slab" area.  Yep, they put us in the only super slab site with a big ol' tree.     No matter - they have cable, I won't even mess with the satellite.

We took our time along the way, frequently checking the tires and bearings with an IR thermometer - everything ran fine.  A cool day (in the 60s), a just enough sprinkle of rain to water spot all that polishing I did.   

I thought we were still looking pretty good.  Maybe not, 'cause one of the neighbors came over, gave Joan a business card, and told us he could "do some detail work on that nice HitchHiker to get it looking like new again."   

Remember when you were a kid, and you camped in the back yard?

Ugly wind from the north again today.  We have the 5th wheel loaded, ready to go (somewhere) when Mother Nature cuts us some slack.  Oh, the truck and 5th wheel can handle the wind, but it would knock the fuel mileage down by about 50%.

Even though we're about 100 feet from the house, we decided to spend the night in the 5th wheel... gives us a chance to test all the systems to make sure everything is working.

We took little Izzy into the 5th wheel just before her supper.  It took her about 12 seconds to reacquaint and acclimate - she loves being in here!  There are steps and carpet and a long stretch from the bedroom to the back window where she can get a LOT of speed built up before she makes the leap onto the back of the couch!  She is a happy girl.

Didn't take me long to settle in, either.  Yeah, I like this RV stuff.

Nice while it lasted...

That pretty water in yesterday's post looks like pea soup today: wind out of the NNE, gusting to 35 mph; building through the evening.  A good day to NOT be out on the water.  Or on the scooters.  Or pulling a 5th wheel.  We plan to get away for a few days with the 5th wheel, but I sure don't want to go north into an ugly north wind.  No schedule, no reservations.  I think we'll hang here for a day or three.

This front is one that roared through the northern states; kinda early for a norther to make it this far south.

Love the color of the water...

Today isn't just a 3 day weekend.  A bumper sticker I saw a few years ago summed it up...

"If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If it is in English, thank a Veteran."

Thanks to all who served.

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

While having lunch out today, we discussed plans...

"What do you have left to do?"

"Moving some stuff in.  How about you?"

"Sanitizing the fresh water tank and the water lines."

"We need to do a test pull with the cargo trailer - it's been a while since it's been moved."

"Planning that for tomorrow."

"Have you checked weather?"

"Looks like less than ideal for the next couple days - north wind."

"You have a schedule?"

"Nope.  Wanna run around on the scoots before we go back home?"

"Absolutely."

We seem to be thinking along the same lines.  Neither of us is looking for a long road trip this time out, just some new places to poke around with the scooters.

The weather was beautiful.  We ran across the causeway - the Laguna and the Gulf were gorgeous: blue/green and not much wind.  Looking to the west across the Laguna Madre...

Another quiet day in the area, surprisingly so for a holiday.  We drove around South Padre Island, then back across the causeway and a look back to the east in the Laguna...

The above from the Pirates' Landing area.  And this one from Pelican Station...

Not much wave action behind me.  Would have been a beautiful day on the water, and we saw very few boats out there.  There were a couple boats at the ramp on our island.  Joan asked, "Are you missing the boat?"

"Yep."

"Me, too."

"You know what would be an adequate boat for down here?  A small pontoon.  Something with a bimini to keep us out of the sun.  Just something to putt around with, and go watch the dolphins."

"Really?  I was thinking more like a 16' C-Dory."

:-)

Chance of precip?

After all the coach clean-up and waxing, it has taken a couple days for my aching muscles to relax again.  Joan spruced up the interior.  The Love Shack is ready to go for a little getaway before we put her back in storage again.  Neither of us are looking for a long road trip for a while.

Today, we got some scooter time in, and lunch out on South Padre Island.  I expected big crowds with this being a holiday weekend... not the case.  Saturday's weather was perfect, today is more overcast.  Riding through town, we saw several hotels advertising rooms for $29.99, a sure sign that they have vacancies.

After lunch, the sky grew darker.  "Do you think it will rain?" Joan asked.

"Nah, the weather weasels aren't calling for any precip until this evening."

We rode north and took a stroll on the wildlife loop by the Convention Center again...

By the time we got back to the scooters, it was starting to sprinkle.  Someone on one of the scooter forums has asked a while back if those after-market windshields help keep you dry in the rain.  Fortunately, the ride home stayed "sprinkly", but, no... from the shoulders up, you still get wet.  Coming across the causeway, cars had their windshield wipers on... intermittent, but on.  Pulling into our driveway, the rain pretty much quit.

A few moments with a miracle cloth, and both bikes are spot free and shiny.  The 5th wheel is on its own today. ;-)

Done...

On the morning of the 3rd day, the HitchHiker is sparkly clean...

Yeah, that is clean!  The front cap looks like a mirror... well, a white mirror, with the word "HitchHiker" on it.  Joan said, "It hasn't looked that shiny since it was new!"

And, well it should; I spent enough time and effort on it.  This morning, while working on the second coat of wax, my 10" buffer died.  Just couldn't make one more revolution.  I know how it feels.  But, I had incentive this morning: we were going out for breakfast after I finished two more coats of wax (before the sun got to the front cap).  Fortunately, I just bought a 7" right angle buffer/sander.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a polishing pad for it.  I made one work from the 10" buffer.  I put the last coat of wax on by hand, then lifted that much heavier (could be I am getting weaker) buffer up and polished that gelcoat to a high gloss.  Glad to be done with that project!

Joan said, "Now we can start on the interior!"

I felt my back muscles go on strike.  ;-)

We cleaned up and took the scooters over the causeway for a Denny's breakfast.  Nice treat.  I had some kind of "Hobbit" thing that had the eggs cooked into a cheesy grilled bun.  Before anyone says anything about the calories, I am pretty sure I was in calorie deficit after the past three days. ;-)

It was nice to get out on the scooters.  The wind has been blowing like stink the past couple days, and I had my "project" keeping me occupied.  We did drive by the beach after lunch yesterday...

The water was ugly - close, steep waves, and our typical turquoise/green water was brown.  Coming across the causeway today, the water is still pretty churned up, but MUCH better than that scene above.

Coming back home, Joan said, "I do have one project for you this afternoon..."

I didn't want to hear about it.

"Would you reset the clocks on the scooters?"

"That's it?  Well, it might take a couple hours, and I may need a nap afterwards."

:-)

 There was one difference in our scootering today: jackets.  It was 59º when I went out to work on the coach this morning.  We knew we'd need jackets while riding the scooters.  It was a nice, refreshing change of pace.  I actually prefer to ride in a jacket, but it has been too warm since we got back to Texas.