Feb 10th to March 3 2014 Winter Has "NOT" Left The Coastal Bend

WINTER HAS LEFT THE COASTAL BEND

I woke up one morning and I wasn't as cold as I had been.. I looked at the thermostat and it was about 40 degrees.  As I was sitting in my chair enjoying my morning coffee and watching the morning show and the local weather, someone has said that winter is over with here where we are.  I was excited to hear that, but still quite leery.

On the 7th of February I had been scheduled to go for a MRI on my cervical spine.  I had been having some serious pain in my neck and shoulders.  The MRI machine was a new state of the art machine and it was awesome to have it done.  I did not get claustrophobic, and it was not one of those tight tubes that you had to hold in your breathe when they put you into the tube...

I had my February schedule set up for the Heartland Owners Club monthly events.  We met at the Butter Churn in Aransas Pass.  It is a buffet with all homemade foods.. I like it there as it has a great salad bar, and their entree section has alot of vegetables and meat selections..

Not everyone cares for it, even though once a season they do seem to come.  

The next day Dan and I took our friends Earl V and Betty to The Valley and to Mexico.  They are from Kentucky and have never been to Mexico. We went down on a Weds and stayed over night in McAllen. We went to our friends in Mission to pick up my cord from my computer that I left behind the week before when we were there. Earl and Sandy and Wes hit it off right away. Earl plays the guitar and Sandy and Wes showed off their guitars and before we knew it, he was sitting down playing one of theirs.  Sandy set up chairs and Wes and Sandy were down pickin' right along.  Wes sang some songs and Betty and I sat and listened and clapped..  We weren't able to stay long as we had to get over to the Flea Market before they closed. We wanted to treat them to a Gonzales Burger, but the time was getting late and we had to go and check into the hotel.. We always stay at The Dury Inn... Great place to stay.. 2 free cocktails for happy hour along with a variety of food for a light dinner..  Their breakfasts are really great and plentiful.. Just can't beat the price.

Thursday morning we had a early breakfast and headed for Progresso Mexico.. It was getting busy early, but we were able to park up front.

We had fun going through stores and having margarita's, and a nice lunch at Arturo's, one of the nicer places to eat in Progresso.

Feb.14th Valentine's Day.. there was a Prime Rib Dinner at a cost for each.  Dan and I decided to go.  It was really great..

2-17 to 2-23 Jim Beletti, HOC Director came to Southern Oaks for a week, to spend some time with Coastal Bend Heartlanders.. He had work to do also, but did find some time for visiting..  
We had a breakfast at Moby Dick's on the Island with the Heartland's.. 

2-20
There was also a scheduled dinner at Beaches Bakery and Cafe. The Heartland group here in the coastal bend just loves to get together.

2-21
We took Jim and Nancy to King Ranch in Kingsville, TX..  The Ranch has an excellent story behind it and it is an amazing place.  I sure would like to go back again.

Well the weather had changed to a bit warmer and that was welcomed. The warm weather doesn't stay long before another cold front comes through. 

I had a visit from a friend of mine. We went and met at Cosmetologist School, 50 years ago.  I stood up for her wedding and then our lives went in different directions and then we would talk on the phone off and on.  Before we left for Texas this October she called and said that she would be coming to Texas for a visit and her brother and wife will also be in Texas and she will be staying with them for a week. They will be in the Corpus Christi area and we both said that we want to connect again. Well, we did and we were so excited. We are going to keep in touch with each other and visit this summer. We took them to KIKO's in Corpus for some great mexican food...

2-26
I had another Pot Luck scheduled here at Southern Oaks. Due to torrential rains, not many showed up.  Those who did sure had a great time. 


3-1
Alot of Winter Texans here at Southern Oaks has left and gone either to the Hill Country and onto Arizona before they head home..
The weather in the Hill Country is colder than it is here in Aransas Pass.

Well it is now official and I can talk about it.  Dan and I have been asked if we would like to be North Central Regional Directors for Heartland Owners Club.  After thinking about it we felt that we could give it a try.  We really believe in Heartland Products.  We will be going to State rallies within our region and put on a Regional Rally once a year. Like the ole saying goes.."WHAT A RIDE"..

3-3
It is cold and windy..A cold front came through late yesterday afternoon and the wind was with it..  Tomorrow is rain.

Well this is what we have been doing.. I know I had missed something.  Hope you enjoyed reading our adventures..

45 days later ---- Dec 26th thru Feb 9th 2014

45 days later and alot of things have happened...  

We had a nice Christmas.  We had Christmas dinner over at the Clubhouse this year and the food was really good.

Our little Christmas Tree that we had on our island counter.

New Years Eve we stayed in our rig and had a nice meal and watched our favorite TV programs.  We normally have had people over and we sat outside with our Fire Dancer campfire going and had a few drinks and snacks and welcomed in the New Year.. This year it was just to to cold.

I had gotten a plant for my birthday from a friend and then I bought a Rosemary plant so I decided to do some planting in pots..

The weather at home in Michigan has been terrible cold with lots and lots of snow.  More snow than they had seen in a number of years.

I scheduled Heartland Events, breakfasts and dinners and as always it is fun to be with them. 

Dan and I went to Progresso, Mexico for our 1st visit.  We had our teeth cleaned and Dan had a pedicure.  We walked around the stores and looked and seen what the street merchants had.

January 12th we went on another cruise.  We sailed from Galveston Texas to Key West Florida and then on to Freeport Bahama and then on to Nassau Bahama.  We love to go cruising, but this year it was not a fun trip.. 

 Port of Key West

 Port of Key West

 Port of Key West

 Key West- Historical Museum

 Looking down the hall from our room

  Gene and Linda and Dan and Karen - Fine Dining

 Prime Rib

 Looking From Lido floor down 9 floors

 Margartaville cocktails

 Dan and Karen in Nassau

Vernon our tour guide in Nassau

We had sun maybe about accumulative 2 days.  It was windy, cold and rainy..I started getting a sore throat and coughs, so I was laying low..By the time we got off the ship, Dan was starting to cough and not feeling to good. Thank goodness we did not acquire the flu virus.
We enjoyed going to Key West as we had never been there, and did a Hop On, Hop Off Tour. We hopped off for a frozen key Lime Pie on a stick dipped in chocolate, then hopped on again and hopped off for drinks at Margaritaville, then again hopped on and then a few stops later hopped off for lunch at Hard Rock Cafe.  It was OK, but I most likely would not go to another one.
We did not get off ship in Freeport Bahama's.. There was nothing there for us to see, at least what we were interested in. The Port didn't even have anything attractive looking...Dah!!  The there was Nassau, Bahama's.  We got off the ship, the sun was shining for once, but it was still very cool out.  We walked out of the port area and then we were deciding what we were going to do, and a cabbie came and talked us into going with him for a tour... The price was reasonable, and yes we had a great time with him..He told us about the culture and we even stopped at a liquor store and we bought a bottle of beer to drink in the cab, oh yes, you can drink in a vehicle.. and we bought a bottle of rum called "Hot In The Hole"  LOL  we have not opened it yet.
When we were arriving into the port of Galveston, we had to anchor out in the gulf due to fog... That was the 2nd time that we had to wait before we could dock.

So when we got home, we both stayed indoors, other than taking turns walking Mr. Herbie, for a week.. Stayed warm and had soup and tea..  It is amazing what soup, tea and rest does.

I hosted a Heartland Pot Luck here at Southern Oaks Community Room..  We had a great group about 26 people. Great food, and alot of laughs.  I had a game that involved a roll of toilet paper... No one had an idea on what I was going to do with it..  

On February 2nd we  went to The Valley,(Mission) for  a few days. We stayed with our friends  Wes and Sandy, well they are more than friends, they are like family.  I called and ask if the B&B has an opening for the day(s) we would like to come, and 99.9% of the time it is available.. They welcome Mr. Herbie, also.  Sunday night we went to a show at one of the RV parks and seen the Gold Wing Express.  What an awesome show.. The weather was still cold, and and overcast down there..   On Monday Dan and I went to Mexico and had fun walking around.  Even though the weather was cold, there was a good amount of people in Progresso. Crowded stores and restaurants.

Weds. (2-5) we went to an Heartland Open House at Ron Hoover RV..  We made arrangements to meet friends that we have not seen over 10-11 years.  We had a great visit and invited them to come to our home in Michigan this summer for a visit.  It was nice to catch up with them about other friends that were Good Sam members.  Seeing them warmed my heart quite a bit.  We reminisced about the good ole days and how appreciative every one was for all the efforts that Dan and I made as Good Sam Assistant State Directors.. We talked about the Regional Samboree's that we put on and also The State Samboree that Dan and I were in charge of hospitality...Those were great fun times.. Unfortunately, alot of the members of the Chapter that I formed, has passed on, their are still alot of fond memories of all the fun and friendships that were made. 

When we got home we unloaded the truck and we both crashed on our chairs and took a nap..  We met our friends at Pizza Hut for dinner. 

We were up early in the morning and heading for Corpus, as I had an appointment for a MRI, on my cervical spine.. Lets hope it shows why my neck and shoulders hurt so much.

Sun (2-9) It was a nice day, sun popped out for about 10 minutes.  Gene and Linda stopped over and we visited for a couple of hours and then we went out for dinner.  Came out of the restaurant and the fog was rolling in very think..
When we got back home it was 48 degrees...

Well, that is all that has been happening..  Hope the weather makes a nice warm change soon so we can get out and do something fun..