Beaches for days....

 Getting away from the hustle and bustle I call life was great for me. To be able to spend time on something as simple as finding shells that made me smile and picking up trash that made me sad about how people treat our world, was really good for me deep in my soul. All along the beach were bins with lids that said bags inside. We checked it out and grabbed the yellow bag in the picture and proceeded to pick up trash on every walk. Large sharp pieces of a broken bottle, small ziplock bags from drug deals, and way too many straws. We felt great to do something good for the world. I wish I could do that on the beach every morning after meditating. I do believe I will continue walking with a bag for trash any time I do walk around town, however. Living in the beach isn’t our future but we will take it as often as we can and continue caring for our world.

Days one and two....overcast along with the cold. Guess that’s our version of a season!  Regardless....excellent beach getaway.

Life's a Beach.....I wish

Our weekend in Corpus at North Beach in December means an entirely different kind of beach wardrobe.  Doesn't matter to me, though.  Just being on the beach and by the ocean is what is important.

I spent part of the morning sitting on the beach meditating.  On looking to my left, I found that I had company.  I haven't identified the type of birds that are here but definitely not the sea gulls with the yellow beak.  I believe these are some type of plover.  I had been all alone but think these guys showed up to hang out with me and see how close they could get.  They were probably five feet away.  They stayed until I decided to get up and then the picture I took of the entire flock flying away was beautiful (well, I thought so).

We spent hours walking the beach and collecting shells, looking at washed up jelly fish, sitting in chairs staring at the ocean, and just plain meditating.

To dream.....

Heaven defined: the roar of the ocean and your toes in the sand.

I tend to work, a lot.  I love what I do and it's hard to turn my mind off.  I'm great at telling my employees to take time off because your mental health days are important to stay fresh, motivated and emotionally healthy.  But me?  I'm the last to let work slip from my mind.  The older I get, the more determined I get to conquer this.  I talk a good talk sometimes, but.....

We discovered North Beach in Corpus Christi a few months back.  We have been to Port Aransas and North Padre for vacation often, along with the rest of the world.  Great locations, sure, but always expensive and lots of people.  I decided to try out Air BnB for our September vacation and it kept taking me to North Beach.  Fine.  We will try  it.  The prices were good and the promises of a nice beach were appealing.  I think we found our secret getaway as it's now December and we are back for our second visit.

North Beach Corpus Christi coastline on a rainy day.

We stay in an older condo complex that no doubt needs a LOT of work  The condos themselves on the inside vary.  We have been very fortunate to stay in two condos that are nice - the first was smack on the beach.  Jump off our balcony onto the sand on the beach.  The second still has a view of the ocean, but is as far as you can get from the beach in the complex, which really isn't bad at all.  It's much nicer than the first on the inside of the unit.  So.....excellent location and a complex that is needing and being worked on (oh....because of Hurricane Harvey a few years ago and some normal age repair).  Not shabby!

The "worst" view we've had in our escape condos.  Not shabby.

The best part?  The beach.  Clean, sand, shells.  People?  Not so much.  I constantly wonder why were are so fortunate to always be here when almost no one is around.  The locals are nuts for not using this beach and why more people haven't been here during our two visits I'll never know, but i will NEVER complain about that.  Even in December, we are completely enjoying our beach walks and sitting on the sand being mesmerized by the ocean.

For much of my life, I've lived near the water.  Elementary years were spent on the east coast near the Chesapeake Bay where we'd go get live crab to cook.  Newport News, Virginia Beach....memories of summer.  From age eleven through eighteen I spent an idyllic life in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. My mom insisted I get my lifesaving certification due to the amount of time I spent in the ocean body surfing, snorkeling and scuba diving (uncertified but shhhh!).  California in later life and now Texas.  Each time I wander away from the ocean I get involved in life and forget its magic.  When I'm back on the shoreline with my toes in the sand, I vow that I will never let that happen again.  We have made a commitment that we will be coming to the beach every three months minimum.  It helps to keep our souls in line, help maintain the connection to the call of the ocean, to find peace.

There definitely is something magical about the beach and ocean for me.  I find a true peace I've never felt elsewhere.  Weather doesn't matter.  Sitting with the rain spitting on me yesterday afternoon was breathtaking and emotional.  This morning as I type and listen to the waves, my heart is full and happy.  The music of the waves sings and makes me smile.  I don't want to leave.  Each visit makes me ponder giving up even more of the worldly possessions I have, which are not many, and doing everything I can to live on the beach.  Yes, in one of these tiny and somewhat rundown condos.  I've contemplated purchasing.  But for now, we will continue to visit and adore every moment here.  Will we end up on a beach or very close to some day?  No idea, I'd love to, but the cost isn't in our future I don't believe.  Is the desire enough to try and figure it out?  That is what we are dealing with now.  Until we figure it out - we will make the 2 hour drive often and pay for our weekend getaways.  That's a great compromise to our dreams at this point.

September is for Beaches

Third week in September. Time off. What do we do? Since we don’t have kids in school isn’t an issue, heading to the beach was a no brainer. We found a wonderful deal at a condo that was absolutely smack beach front property. Hop in the car Friday morning and we headed to Corpus Christi, North Beach, for a long weekend.

The weather forecast and said thunderstorms for our entire stay, so we were simply looking forward to some sunny patches in the weekend and would be very happy with that. As we set out on our travels beautiful blue sky with puffy white clouds was in front of us so we were quite excited. Upon arrival the weather was absolutely perfect and beautiful with no rain in sight. The weather forecast at this point had changed drastically, and there was no rain for the weekend.  We lucked out.

Arriving too early to check into the condo, we grabbed a quick lunch and went walking on the beach until it was time to check in.  We then checked in, grabbed our suits and hit the beach for real.

The ocean cleanses me and takes all that everyday stress away.  I relax like I can't anywhere else.  I spent the afternoon swimming in the ocean and laying on the beach....to the cost of a slight sunburn.  We need to do this more often.  The magic of Air B&B makes finding an affordable place to stay simple...here's our view!

The  view from our balcony.

The entire weekend ended up being beautiful.  We couldn't have asked for more.  At only a couple hours away, more weekends are in the future.  In my quest to enjoy life more and leave anxiety and stress behind, the beach always plays a big part.

Humphrey Pete's

Sunday night, not many offerings in the dinner line other than fast food chains. However, in the B&B's information book they recommended Humphrey Pete's and it's open Sunday nights. Guess where we headed?

Question....what the heck does "it's pig lickin' good" mean?  It's on that sign and was on the back of their tshirts. 

I got the 8 oz ribeye with a loaded baked potato and a Caesar salad. Poor Stacy had to listen to me moan in tastebud ecstasy for each bite. Truly one of the best meals I've had out in ages. Stacy had the salmon which he said was great as well. Smelled divine!  High recommendations on this one!

Star of Texas B&B

Love this place. The ambiance is right up my alley and exactly as portrayed by the website. 

Pretty cool welcome!  

Stacy at the door....

My kind of place!

Charming....

Our view from the porch. 

Front porch. Going to enjoy this tomorrow. 

And now, off to dinner...

A new adventure

Two years ago I met Stacy, sure never know what life holds. This morning we are setting out on a new adventure and I'm going to attemp to document along the way. 

We are headed to the little town of Brownwood, Texas. Just about three hours from out San Antonio home. Our first stop was at the Flagstop Cafe, a burger and way too many fries for me, breakfast for Stacy. Decent burger, surprisingly for a gas station restaurant. 

Back on the road to our destination, the Star of Texas B&B. 

Worth noting...when we filled up with gas today it was $1.76/gallon which is amazingly low. 

One last going to share that I don't think I have, my ring finger tattoo that I had done in September. Cute, huh?

Tycoon Flats

Tycoon Flats has turned into a staple for me.  At this writing (9.17.14) it has the best burger in San Antonio, in my opinion.  I'm on an informal quest to find the best burger in town and so far, they are leading the pack. 

First, let's talk atmosphere.  The first time we went to Tycoon Flats, I wasn't sure we were entering correctly and felt like we were sneaking in the back door.  Nope, we did it perfect.  As we entered the property, there was some type of art class going on at the tables outside that lined the parking lot. I liked this and what it said about the place.  Entering what I still thought was the back way, encased by fencing, to my left was a long bar while above, a mist system kept the outdoor patrons cool.  At the far corner was a stage, unoccupied at this time.  Beyond the building and a shade to the right was a kids play area.  Nifty....kids play while adults can sit and imbibe and listen to tunes.  I like it already.  Wait....the wait staff has to come outside to get drinks for the restaurant we haven't even entered?  You betcha!  The swinging door left no guess where we entered the restaurant, although I STILL felt I was entering the back door....

Okay, have to admit this post is done in two sittings.  I started blogging and got so hungry for the amazing burgers at Tycoon Flats that we had to go again last night.  The weather was beautiful and we sat in the outdoor area, listening to wonderful music from three men that were just plain smooth and played great music, making me move in my seat. 

And we're off!

Vacation. Mini-vacation. I'm off Friday and Saturday as well as my normal Sunday and Monday.  First days off from work in the nine months I've been there.  Stacy is from a small town called Petersburg, Texas.  This weekend is their "homecoming" or Petersburg Days.  Stacy's going to be able to show me where he grew up and I'll meet more of his friends.

The PLAN.  Travel Friday, find a hotel to stay overnight, check out area some.  Saturday is the "event" then we will cruise Petersburg.  Evening at his brothers.  Sunday travel home.  Monday is groceries, laundry, relax from trip. Oh and lots of swimming.

Amazingly, we were on the road by 9 am.  We stopped lots on the way.  Best stop was the 10:30 am stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream.  What better way to start vacation!

During one pitstop we found the cokes with names and this one came with me and will go to Becca.

Paint Rock is home to Native American pictographs.  We drove the drive in but it honestly leads to somoene's home and the access to the pictographs is down and around.  So we chose to turn around.  As we were, here's what we found in front of us.  Buffalo.  Stacy moved closer and closer to get pictures and pretty soon the buffalo is getting up.  Soundtrack at this point includes Sandy screaming hysterically at Stacy to stop and get in the car right now, all the while clapping my hands like that would make him move faster...

Dinner at Gardski's in Lubbock.  

To sleep by a decent hour so we are at the "event" by 10 am tomorrow.  

Back to his stomping grounds....

Stacy is from a small Texas town, Petersburg, in the panhandle somewhat near Lubbock.  Annually, they hold Petersburg Days which is a homecoming of sorts. This year, 2014, it was a great opportunity to show me where he grew up, his old haunts, and to meet people.  Tonight we are packing and did our car prep of gassing up and washing.  Our plan is to hit the road around 9 am and head toward Lubbock.  Tomorrow we will find somewhere to stay and enjoy, hopefully explore some of Texas.  Saturday is the "event" then look around town and on to Lubbock to his brothers.  Sunday will be leisurely rolling home and possibly stopping for some more sights.  Stay tuned!

Nights in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) FIESTA!

This was my first year to be in San Antonio over Fiesta.  My boss purchases annual tickets to NIOSA and gives them away, this year to me to take the family.  So.....Stacy, John, Kira and I head toward the chaos of downtown San Antonio to experience what I hear is wall-to-wall people.  Although....going on a Tuesday night versus a weekend, we are assured it won't be so busy.

HA!!!  It was wall to wall people.  Kira is 3.5 and a small little thing.  I'm sure all she saw of people was their butts when she wasn't being carried.  We got to the kids area eventually and found a curb to sit on and people watch.

While I'm happy I experienced it, I have to admit I have no desire to do it again.  WAY too many drunk people to enjoy anything.  Way too many people period!  But here's our take on it....

Tickets to NIOSA

Cotton candy!

 How Kira eats cotton candy....

 3 generations...daughter, dad, grandpa

 Say CHEESE!

Martin Luther King March San Antonio 2014

Stacy and I have made a sort of bucket list.  Suppose we actually should put the list on paper, but essentially what we have is a commitment to do "something" every weekend.  That something can be as simple as going to a new coffee shop and taking a break during a busy working-on-the-house weekend.  Or it could be going to another town, participating in an event, or going to the one place in SA he hasn't gone (and he's lived here over 30 years).....the Alamo.....gasp!!!

So, this weekend, our venture was the Martin Luther King March that is held in San Antonio Annually.  To me this walk was very important because of diversity.  In MLK's famous speech he says "Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."  That speech was made 51 years ago and it is still relevant today.  I want justice for not only all races, but all sexual orientations, women (STILL) ..... EVERYONE as the "all of" in THE speech indicates.  That is what today was about for me.  I happen to not see skin color.  Is a person with brown hair smarter than one with a different shade of brown or blonde?  Why is skin color different? It's not.  I want to research about prejudice and bigotry and see where the world is at today.  I know that sexual orientation is a hot topic for some people and there is a lot of inequality in that realm.  Health care, ability to marry and have a family, benefits, simply being treated fairly.  Sad.  People, all of us.  None of us deserve to be treated unjustly, period. I know, one voice, but it's mine and all I can do is make some noise in my little world. Hopefully someone will hear/be influenced/THINK.

Today was a march for diversity, tolerance, peace, ONE WORLD.  So what do we hit as we round one corner?  Signs reading "One Man + One Woman = Marriage".  Luckily this was a peaceful, love filled march.  People just went on by the signs, but I can tell you that within the ranks there were comments of surprise that they'd choose this venue, this time of love, to be so ugly.  I guess that's what demonstrating is all about but c'mon, we were marching for tolerance and ONE WORLD.  LOVE.  Be a hater....geez, sad world.  But you know what?  They won't tolerate love, but we have to tolerate their in-your-face signs at a peaceful, love filled march?  Guess that says something.....hmmmm, bet my kids will remember me saying "kill them with kindness" on a number of occasions.  Case in point.

There were MANY mixed race couples/families at the march.  Has it taken the beauty of love and creation of a family to make some people get past the ugly segregational thinking?  Possibly.  Think about your family.  Mine is all over the board. Once upon a time I suppose it was what is called "white bread".  But I have great nieces and nephews that have multiple races in their background.  Stacy's grand daughter has mixed heritage.  Mixed what?  Doesn't matter does it?  Yea, we have Caucasian, African American, Hispanic....and more in there, and you know what?  Doesn't matter.  We are all people and everyone is loved just as deeply in the family.  Is this what it takes for some people to get it?  Really?  Very possibly and if so, I'm glad it's happening.

Random thought....people always comment on our "first black President".  WHY???   He's just as white as he is African American.  Why don't we say Obama is our 44th white President???  And what the heck does it matter what his race is anyway?  Why is that cause for celebration?  Perhaps he was elected because at the time he was the most qualified?  Like him or not (I kind of have a thing for him as I used to watch him play basketball when we were in high school) he's our freaking President.  He's pretty brilliant.  Criticize all you want, but you aren't in line for the job.  The most thankless job in the world.  OK....off that soapbox.

So anyway.....pictures from our first MLK March in San Antonio....

Busses as far as you can see....they did a great job of planning and being prepared for this event.

Stacy under the bus stop sign where we hopped the bus to/from the event site.

Notice the cops in yellow vests on top of the bridge.  In center is a photographer.

Crowds up ahead....

And crowds behind.

This one was the start....as we went across the Freedom Bridge.

With a cutie holding a "free hugs" sign.  AWESOME!

At the finish was a huge festival and what do you know!  Yes, a squeal of delight and I probably WAS one of few adults having a pic taken with Mickey and Minnie.

Stacy with his hugger....good stuff.

Fredericksburg, Texas Auslander Restaurant and Biergarten

Friday August 30, Stacy needs to drop off his grand daughter in Fredericksburg, Texas, so we decided to meet up there for a dinner date!  Fredericksburg is a German settlement and the main street tends to roll up pretty early, most shops closed by 5 pm and many restaurants as well.  Luckily, it was recommended we go to the Auslander Restaurant and Biergarten, which was open.  AND YUMMMM!   I wasn't anticipating much and let me tell you.....I was wonderfully pleased!

I'm not into sausage and was worried initially because the menu was full of sausage.  But then my eye hit upon.....sauerbraten!!!   Sauerbraten with gingersnap gravy no less.....and in choosing sides I went with the red cabbage and the spatzle of course, being a noodle fiend.

The food came out but no picture cause we had retired our phones for the meal time.  No disappointment, that's for sure!  The Sauerbraten was rolled with pickles and onion and tasted PERFECT!   Just the way I remember mom making it.  Red cabbage with a hint of cinnamon and sweetness was excellent and the spatzle was the perfect compliment to the very tangy, flavorful plateful.  I was in heaven and had way too much food.  Stacy helped a bit but I still had plenty to take home for another meal.

Stacy had sausage and sauerkraut and green beans.  He loved it, said was the best restaurant he'd been to...and he decided red cabbage (which he hesitantly took a bite of) was better than sauerkraut.

So, two thumbs WAY up if you are looking for authentic German food in Fredericksburg, Texas....this was the best I've had here by far and this was the third German restaurant I've eaten at here.

DAY TEN: Cruising around

Our final full day on the island.....I had peaked with exposure to people and at Stacy's insistence I drove in to Port Aransas and did some shopping on my own, searching for souvenirs or some goodies to take home.  I went to about every store in Port Aransas, tourist store that is.  Then I drove to the south end of the island to North Padre and looked at the stores there.  After about 3.5 hours I headed back to the condo.

Loved all the little housing communities that were painted pretty colors.  Took this while driving into Port A.

Our final meal was at SHRIMPS where I had a crab cake burger.....good...and with the most yummy coleslaw.  Cabbage, dried cranberries, pineapple and some nuts.  REALLY good and unusual.

DAY NINE: Walking in the rain....

Hit the beach just after 8 for our hour walk....only to have little soft raindrops hit us occasionally.  Looking back over our shoulders, we saw a black cloud on the horizon extending over us.  At about the halfway point, the sky decided to open and we were showered with fresh water, which was actually kind of refreshing....when it wasn't hurting, those little pelting drops!  The sun hovered at the edge of the cloud and though we got soaked, by the end of our walk, the rain had stopped and the sun was bathing us again!  Was nice, actually!  We had left our towels and my little bag with books against our "camp" so when we got back, I set to task assessing the damage and drying books in the sun.  They'll survive but they are definitely sporting  signs of water damage.  Naughty librarian!

After grabbing a quick bowl of yogurt, fruit and cereal, we camped ourselves on the beach for quite a while.....SUNSHINE!  Beautiful weather, not too hot, a gorgeous breeze and sun!  The ocean was good for a workout and relaxation as usual.  We probably headed back to the room around 1:30, grabbed a snack, napped/read/relaxed then hit the pool following.

I tend to prefer the beach/ocean to a pool, especially a public pool, however it was nice to get wet and not have sand/salt in crevices.  The hot tub was pretty luxurious too, great, hard jets and this waterfall coming out of the wall.  Didn't look like anything special but if you got under it, it hit your shoulders and neck.  Leaning my head over....pure luxury.

Back to the room, clean up a bit, guys head down to the beach to take the canopy down and as I peek off the balcony I see them sitting there doing the guy bonding thing, so here I am blogging, trying to get caught up a bit.  We are going to head out to dinner with Joe and Susie tonight, but not sure where yet.  Will update that and review the restaurant soon.

Update and review....dinner was at Port A Pizzeria, one the "usuals" the guys go to each visit.  They do a buffet and honestly is pretty darn good and you absolutely get your money's worth.  It's something like $8.99 per person, add a drink and then everything is unlimited.  There is a salad bar as well as a pasta/pizza bar which included dessert pizzas.  Oh!  And a soft serve ice cream dispenser, which I totally missed because I was just way too full.  The pizzas I tried were all good and fresh (due to the huge family that came through right before us and wiped all the pizza out!).  I had to try the desserts and just the cinnamon and the cherry were available at the time and were excellent, think the cinnamon won out.  The apple wasn't filled when I was trying but looked like apple pie somewhat and probably was great.  The chocolate didn't hold any interest for me....looked like pudding on a sweet crust but I didn't try it so can't honestly say.

DAY EIGHT: Corpus Christi, Texas

Woke this morning to peek at the beach and our cabana (becomes a habit) and only the cabana was left.  We had taken to locking up all our nice chairs, chaining them together with a bike chain and lock, THREE decent sized chairs and a couple others.  Nothing under the cabana but there were tire tracks.  Someone went to a lot of trouble to get those things.....had to be awkward but apparently they needed them more than we did.

Lazy day, we had slept in a bit and used the morning to do a load of laundry and veg out basically.

So.....that played a bit into our plans for the day.....a trip into Corpus Christi was in order.  I've never been on the ferry that takes the cars across and was absolutely stunned that there is no cost for this.  No wait, we simply drove to the ferry crossing and onto the ferry and moments later were deposited into Corpus.

Was afternoon by this point and we were hungry so we had an early dinner/late lunch at Joe's Crab Shack.....yummy mahi and salmon!  Then on to Academy to grab a couple sling chairs to get us through the rest of the trip.

DAY SEVEN: DOLPHINS!!!!

The morning started with a trip to Cancun Mexican Restaurant for their breakfast tacos....good and very inexpensive.  Then, on to the feature....

The big event of the day was the dolphin watching.  We went to Deep Sea Headquarters for their dolphin watch tour.  While we were waiting to load, we had some incredible photo ops.

This is my favorite picture.  This guy flew a seagull off to pose for me.  I think it looks like a painting.

Great photo ops....even got the reflection.

Stacy is enthralled with the flip video and is trying it out today.  Here he is taking a video of me taking a picture of him.  Joe and Susie in the background.

As we board Captain Kelly sees us on.  He and his wife were our crew and very nice.

Polly Anna. A 96-foot steel catamaran-style shrimp boat, it’s among the most imposing vessels in the harbor. And it’s actually the third in a line of Polly Annas, all owned by John Nixon of Port Aransas.

 One of our first dolphin sightings....most were like this, so the Captain told us that dolphins like to surf and we were going to ride along side a large boat they were surfing in front of.  Sure enough.....looked like a school of five dolphins.

 This is the boat that was "pushing" the waves for the dolphins.

 Lydia Ann Lighthouse

Susie and Joe

 Stacy enjoying the ride and knowing his pics being taken....

 Coming back in to the wharf.

Amazing day and traipsing through the shops in Port A as well a bit.  Then back to the condo.  We sat out on the beach from 5 pm - 11 pm enjoying the beauty.  During the evening, more of Stacy and Joe's old friends came.  Robbie from Petersburg, who was a bit ahead of Stacy in school, and his wife Linda.  Also showing up at the same time was Dee, a friend that lives blocks from the house in San Antonio.