DAY 30 – Mon Jan 31 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We slept in today. That seems to be a daily event. JW missed the first hour of Bill, “In the Heat of the Night.” We had a yummy breakfast – bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, juice and a banana. I asked JW what was on his agenda for the day. He said nothing, so after breakfast we cleaned the carpet. I wanted to shampoo it, but by the time we got through cleaning we were both pretty tired and I realized I did not have any carpet shampoo, so decided to leave that for another day.
JW is outside talking to our neighbor and shaking the rugs, so I guess I’d better sign off for now and get some smothered chicken started for dinner. Time continues to fly. I can’t believe it is actually the last day of January.

DAY 29 – Sun Jan 30 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We were up early this morning, ate breakfast and headed out to “Island Worship Center” (Grace Community Church). We spent the morning praising, worshiping and hearing the Word of God. It was great to be in the presence of God and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit. We are so blessed to find a family of believers that we are able to fellowship with. There was a covered dish lunch following the service. We did not go prepared, but opted to stay and enjoyed the food and fellowship.

After church services we drove down on the beach, which has been almost a daily event, watched the tide for a while, then went back to the coach to watch some football and relax. The tide was really up today and we could see white caps for as far out as we could see. It was really different today, but they were forecasting a storm like we had the first night we were here. Thank God we didn’t get the wind or the rain, but by looking at the Gulf, someone must have.

At 5:00 we decided to go to Virginia’s on the Bay. What an excellent choice. The weather was beautiful so we ate in the open air and watched the ships and dolphins. The food was excellent. I had grilled shrimp and JW had Mahi Mahi. Service, atmosphere and food were all very good. We plan to go back while we are here and have their Cajun Dump. When that day comes we’ll let you know how it is. Following that wonderful meal we went back to the MH, watched some TV and JW spent until 2:30 a.m. on the computer.

DAY 28 – Sat Jan 29 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We slept in this morning; had omelets for breakfast then slept most of the day. We had both been having some allergy problems, so we each took an allergy pill, which apparently knocked us out. I made stuffed peppers for dinner. Following dinner and a bit of TV we went to the IGA to pick up a few groceries and headed back to “On The Beach”. Such an uneventful day. I wanted a relaxing winter. That’s what we are having, and enjoying it.

DAY 27 – Fri Jan 28 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Well, as you know I woke up at 8:15 today. Man I must have been zonked to sleep that long. I have been having such a problem with a lingering cough. Yesterday I decided that my biggest problem was probably allergies, so I took an over the counter allergy pill. I didn’t cough nearly as much yesterday and slept clear through the night. Maybe I have found what it takes to make me feel better. However, if it makes me sleep 14 hours a day, I’m not sure I’ll be able to continue taking them. JW was up at 9:00 and of course had to watch his two episodes of “In the Heat of the Night”. We went for a walk on the beach today and found out that we were still tired and hurting from yesterdays activities aboard the Lexington. Only walked for a mile or so.

DAY 26 – Thur Jan 27 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Today is going to be another beautiful day in South Texas. I will have to send birthday greetings to our daughter-in-law. She is the mother of our grandson who celebrated his birthday yesterday. Guess you know where she was ten years ago today.

Last night we decided that today we would get up early and head out to Corpus Christi to visit the Lexington. JW thought he would try to be up by 8:30 and made it by 9:00 so we will be out of here shortly. We got away from the MH at about 10:00.

Before leaving for Corpus Christi, we went down on the beach. The water was beautiful, there were no white caps, in fact, it looked like a big sheet of glass. It was the prettiest we have seen it since we have been here. When we left the Motor Home it was 55 degrees and the high was supposed to be around 60. It actually got up to about 65. What a beautiful day.

We arrived at the Lexington at 10:55, just in time to make it to the free movie (Fighter Pilot)that is included in the price of your ticket. Following the movie we went to lunch in the “Mess Area”. JW had a Hot Ham and Cheese sandwich and a Chili Dog. I had a Philly Steak sandwich. By the time we finished eating we had about four hours to tour the ship.

They had five different tours. We completed four of them. By the time we had finished those we were to tired and our bodies were aching so badly from climbing all the ladders that we decided to skip Tour No. 3. When we were up on the Flight Deck we saw a big Freighter Ship going through the Channel into Corpus Christi. There were airplanes on that end of the deck that had been used as Trainer Planes for numerous battles. There was so much to see. We visited the ”Live Aboard” section of the ship, which showed where the Scouts bunk, eat, and shower. There was a lot of renovation going on all over the ship, so much of it was blocked off and unattainable. However, the Tour paths were well marked and easy to follow. It was a great day and well worth our $10.90 tickets to get in. Our parking was free and we rode the tram upon both entering and leaving the ship. All in all, it was a day well spent; very educational.

When we got back to Port A, we went to “Castaways” for their scrumptious Grilled Shrimp and rice. I was so tired when we got back to the MH that I fell asleep about 6:00 p.m. and did not wake up until 8:15 on Friday morning.

DAY 25 – Wed Jan 26 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Today we decided to just stay in the Motor Home and relax, basically do nothing. Wanda has been working on a new Cross Stitch. She had done quite a bit on it before she realized she had “goofed” so has spent the last couple days ripping out most of what she had accomplished. Today she started “stitching” instead of “ripping” and has gone beyond where she was before she found the “goof”.

Today is our grandson’s birthday so had to send him Birthday wishes via FB. It is amazing how quickly these kids grow up. It won’t be long until he is a teenager, and he is Wanda’s youngest son’s child. My how time does get away from us. Speaking of time, I can’t believe that in just a month we will have to be heading back North. This month has flown by. We have accomplished some of the things we wanted to get done this winter, but still have several to go.

The weather was beautiful today. We should have been out walking on the beach, but didn’t get out until 5:00, when we went to “Jay’s Seafood and Spaghetti Works” for dinner. They had great soup and dinner rolls. We could have made a meal out of that, however, we ordered the special fish plate. Buy one at $13.99 and get the second for a penny. The meal was good, and we will return, but will try the Italian Food next time. JW will (as always) have spaghetti and Wanda will try their Lasagna or Manicotti. Following the meal we headed back to the MH to relax (some more) and watch TV.

DAY 24 – Tue Jan 25 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We awoke to 57 degrees and sunny skies this morning. Another fine day in S. Texas. Wanda fixed breakfast (as she usually does, even though it doesn’t actually show that in the blog).

Last night (this morning around 1:30 am) JW actually got enough WIFI signal (now that’s a rarity down here) to update the blog some. Hopefully today we’ll get it completely updated. We plan to go to Aransas Pass (for some more WIFI) do some exploring on the Island and take some pictures of some of the places that JW forgot to take pictures of.

We made it to Aransas Pass and decided to have Pizza at the Pizza Hut for an early dinner. It was the best Pizza we’ve had in a long time. Well, it was the only Pizza we have had in a long time, due to our dieting, but putting that aside it was very, very good Pizza. On the way back to Port A we stopped at H.E.B. and bought some more Honey Crisp Apples. Man, are they ever expensive. We got four Honey Crisp and two Fuji’s for $13.80. But, they ARE good.

DAY 23 – Mon Jan 24 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

48 degrees and cloudy. Drove down the beach for a couple miles and the surf is really rough today. Drove to the mainland (Corpus Christi) to accomplish several things. Ate breakfast at Cracker Barrell, then to a Walmart Super Center for needed supplies. Smokey (the cat) was out of food so we finally found a Petco and bought her some goodies.

McDonalds was the next stop and WIFI was available. JW didn’t have the blog written up so we couldn’t update the blog online (I thought that was one of the reasons we needed WIFI???) Wanda did get our banking updated and her Unemployment filed though.

Back home by 6:00 pm. JW wanted to watch “House”. Wanda fixed her famous “pepper steak” for supper. Awww, very good day.

DAY 22 – Sun Jan 23 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We got up, ate breakfast and went to Church at “Island Worship Center” (Grace Community Church) in Port A. It was a very good service, great time of Praise & Worship followed by a great sermon. After the services many of us went to the beach and witnessed the baptism of two ladies in the Gulf of Mexico (Marker 20), what a magnificent experience!

We ate lunch at Pelican’s Landing Restaurant. Wanda had some very tasty Lobster Bisque while JW settled for a salad.
Wanda needed to file her UI Claim so we went up by the RV Park office, where WIFI was supposed to be good, however, to her dismay we found that WIFI is still basically non-exsistent at “On the Beach”. JW searched out areas that reception should be good, but found that even the so called “WIFI Hot Spots” were not working today, so I guess we will have to go to the mainland (Aransas Pass) at McDonalds to get a decent WIFI speed.
After lunch and trying to find WIFI, we went back to the MH and watched AFC & NFC Championship football games.

DAY 21 – Sat Jan 22 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Drove again to Roberts Point Park and watched lots of Dolphins. The surf at our campground is really quiet and smooth seas. Moonlight on the water looks good. We could see several large ships in the Gulf, all lit up. Ate lunch at Cancun Mexican Restaurant. It was a good day.

DAY 19 – 20, Thur Jan 20 – Fri Jan 21 - Trip to Mustang Island 2011

On Thursday, we awoke to 50 degrees and cloudy. JW had to watch his daily two episodes of “In The Heat of The Night” before we could leave for Corpus Christi and iHop.

First things first, our daily drive/walk down the beach. Sure is interesting how the surf changes each day, seems like it’s never the same. After breakfast, we found the nearest Wallie World (still looking for a wireless backup camera system). JW actually found one at this Wal-Mart, but it’s only good for up to 12 ft. Not even half the distance of our motor home. O’Reillys say they can order one and have it in in a few days or so. JW is looking at one on Amazon.com that is actually for a long truck/ RV.

When we left for Corpus it was almost 60 and at 3:30 it was back down to 50 and the winds are predicted to be 25 to 30 mph. Low supposed to be near 44 tonight. JW checked the weather for Branson and it shows low tonight 9. 9 ? ? ? Brrr, glad we’re in S. Texas and facing a low in the 40s. JW says he doesn’t miss the snow at all, that’s one of the reasons we’re in Texas.

On Friday we drove up the beach about 3 miles to Nueces County Park. We watched sea critters. Back at the MH, we had Mountainman stew for supper.

DAY 18 – Wed Jan 19 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Today was a really nice day, high near 80, lots of sun and just a great day. We spent most of the day waiting for the propane delivery truck to “fill ‘er up”. Once that was done, we went for a drive along the beach where we met a Port Aransas city employee who was from Springfield Colorado and knew some of the same folks that Wanda knew when she lived in that area. Small world.

We headed back up to Roberts point again to watch Porpoises and big ships. A lot of the ships we see are tankers but quite a few of them are local barges, sightseeing cruises and fishing rigs. Once in a while we also happened to see a Coast Guard craft.

We, once again, decided to try the local “fare”. Tonight, it was “Moby Dick’s” turn. Good, fresh, seafood (and lots of it). JW scarfed his right down but it was too much for Wanda, hers made another meal later. Interesting and fun day.

DAY 15 – 17, Sun Jan 16 – Tue Jan 18 - Trip to Mustang Island 2011On

Sunday we stayed home and watched football playoffs. For supper, we ate at Kody’s Restaurant.

On Monday, Wanda finally found a Hair Salon. We did some much needed grocery shopping (I bet you thought we ate out all the time, didn’t you). On the way home we stopped and ate at Taqueria San Juan Mexican Restaurant (Authenic Mexican food, a little bland). We think we like TEX-MEX much better.

On Tuesday, Wanda did a lot of the things she had planned to do and then we took a stroll down the beach for a mile or so. JW went out to the waters edge to retrieve a shell and the surf got him & he said the water was (Brrrr) cold. Took several days for his tennis shoes to dry out. Wanda fixed Wanchi (sweet and sour chicken) for supper.

DAY 14 – Sat Jan 15 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

55 degrees and light rain. Boy the surf is really loud this morning. First things first, have to go down to the beach, that’s a daily thing. Wow, we actually left the MH at 10:30 this morning. We went to eat breakfast at our favorite place “Cracker Barrel” in Corpus Christi. Following breakfast, we drove down Padre Island to Malaquite Beach and checked out not only the beach but the Malaquite Beach RV Campground as well.

While in the Malaquite area, we went on down the road to the Padre Island National Seashore

JW took a couple of videos while at the National Seashore and will try to get them on the blog.

When we left the Malaquite area we journeyed back to Port A and took in some more Porpoise watching. We kinda like that. Another trip down the beach drive and we were back at the MH. High today was 60 but rained almost all day. But, it was an excellent day at the Gulf.

DAY 13 – Fri Jan 14 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

55, cloudy and raining. Boy, the surf is really crashing onto the beach today, 5 – 7 ft surf. Up and at ‘em, well, kinda. Remember I said in the last post that JW had found that TV station showing “In the Heat of the Night”, Well, it wasn’t just a one day thing, it’s on every day! Finally got him away from the TV at 11:30 am.

We drove down to the beach and watched the surf for a while (doesn’t take a lot to make JW happy) then on to the other end of the island (Roberts Point) where we watched the porpoises for quite a while. That, was very interesting. There sure were a lot of them.

We decided to drive (and take the ferry) over to Rockport. One of JW’s friends from SDC (Jim Elkins) had told him to make sure to eat at “China A Buffet” in Rockport. JW thought It was pretty good and Wanda must have thought it was great from the way she tried to clean out the crab legs from the buffet. Not too bad vittles.

Now we are at a McDonalds in Aransas Pass, updating the blog (since we still don’t have WIFI). It was an excellent day and we are both feeling much better. Maybe we can now start doing
some exploring’. Stay tuned, JW says “it’s gonna get betterer”.

DAY 12 – Thur Jan 13 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

49 degrees and cloudy. The sounds of the crashing surf can be heard throughout the RV Park. 3 – 4 ft surf this morning.

Stayed at the MH (inside) all day. Wanda got several things done that she had been wanting to accomplish and JW, well, he basically sat on his duff the entire day and watched TV. (He’s found a station that is showing old reruns of “In the Heat of the Night”). We still do not have WIFI so (other than using the iPhone) we have to go to a WIFI hotspot at a McDonalds or a few other places (none within walking distance). Stay tuned for more later . . .

DAY 11 – Wed Jan 12 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Again, left the MH at noon. (seems to be becoming a habit). JW looked for an iHop on his iPhone and found a couple of them in Corpus Christi. We drove to the nearest one (21 miles) and had a great breakfast. The waitress was very friendly and the food was very good.

As we drove back to the RV park we took a detour down to the beach (short detour, about 100 ft or so). Still lots of whitecaps and 2-3 ft surf, but it’s great to be on the gulf of Mexico and not slip sliding away on the snow in Missouri. JW keeps reading (on FaceBook and emails) about all the cold weather and snow up north. We are sure glad we are here and not there.

Wanda seems to be getting better (still has a nagging cough) and JW seems to be doing much better also. Maybe soon we can both get out and do some exploring.

DAY 10 – Tue Jan 11 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Cooler today, high near 45. Still beats the single digits back in Missouri. Once again, we didn’t even get out of the MH until after Noon. Took a trip back across the bay (via the ferry) to Aransas Pass. Did some shopping at Wal-Mart, drove around the city for a while then, back on the ferry to Port A. We had supper at the “Castaway Seafood Bar and Grille”. Seems like almost all the eating places are some type of “bar and grille”. Anyhow, good food. Wanda had jumbo shrimp that was flayed open (like lobster tail), She said it was some of the best shrimp she’d ever had. JW just stuck with the ribeye steak (and he said it was too much). Home around 7:30 pm.

DAY 9 – Mon Jan 10 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Another beautiful dawn on the Gulf. (44, cloudy) What a day! LOL.

With both of us still under the weather somewhat, we spent most of the day confined to the MH. We did manage to get out for a while and went to Turtle Cove park (on the NE end of the island, to watch porpoises and big ships come into Corpus Christi Bay. Pretty interesting.

We decided to eat at Whataburger (big mistake) because JW had been saying ever since we hit Texas, “There’s a Whataburger”. After one double Whataburger, JW said, “I don’t think that was too good an idea”. There are only two “franchise” places on the Island, a Whataburger and a Dairy Queen. We should have went to the DQ. Seems like they (the islanders) have an aversion to Big name companys. They want to keep everything “local;”. JW kinda agrees with them. Lots and lots of local gulf businesses with islander names. Returned to the MH and called it a day. All in all, another nice day on the Gulf.

DAY 8 – Sun Jan 9 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Saturday night / Sunday morning (actually around 3:30 in the morning) we had wind. Now I’m not talking a little gulf breeze, but WIND and a lot of it. It lasted for about 30 minutes and then it started raining (reminded JW of the monsoons in SE Asia). The park manager said, “I’ve been here for 23 years and that is the worst wind we’ve ever had, outside of a hurricane”. JW said he was really glad when it was over, “strongest wind I’ve ever experienced since we’ve been in the MH”. Sunday morning dawned clear, sunny and 45.

On the Beach RV Resort is really “On the Beach” right outside our front window. The Gulf waters are really rolling in and lots of whitecaps.

We have an excellent site facing the Gulf with a lot of room on both sides of our rig. WIFI is not working right so talked to the manager and he said “We’re working on it”. JW thinks he has heard that tune before. Blog updates may be sporadic BUT It’s gonna be a great two months, we're on the Gulf of Mexico, sun, sand, surf and it's warm. Now, if only we can get to feeling better, we’ll enjoy it a lot more. Stay tuned . . . it may be a day or so . . .

DAY 7 – Sat Jan 8 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

The Austin Lone Star RV Resort was a really nice place to camp It is a gated RV park with lots of trees and plenty of room for the slides. Roads appeared to be a little narrow but two RV’s were able to pass each other. JW seems to be getting a little tired and Wanda is still not feeling well.

Up at 8:00 am. Broke camp and headed for Mustang Island (Port Aransas). GPS said it is 4 hrs 13 min. We thought it was 7 hrs and something so glad to hear that it will be a good easy day. Believe it or not, JW made all the right turns at San Antonio, he was running co-pilotless as Wanda is still under the weather and keeping the couch company. Just south of San Antonio, we started running into a lot of wind which made for difficult driving. (What was that about an easy day?).

JW handled the coach just fine, even in all the Corpus Christi traffic. Made one wrong turn at Aransas Pass (actually, missed our turn because the sign was missing). A mile down the road we got it straightened out though. We did get to put the rig & the toad on the Port Aransas ferry. That was pretty cool, took 2 ½ minutes to cross the bay and we were in Port Aransas, on Mustang Island.

Now, all JW had to do was follow SH 361 down the Island for about 3 miles and we would be at the RV Park. Would you believe that he missed the only Hwy on the Island ! Somehow he went right past Hwy 361 and wound up on the Beach Road.

I bet we looked pretty strange driving a 34ft Class A Motor home pulling a PT Cruiser down the beach. Guess he was anxious to get to the Gulf waters. Sooo, we drove down the beach for 2 miles and found a road back to the Hwy and there we were, at “On the Beach RV Resort”. 68 degrees and windy. Journey completed, motorhome is setup and watchin’ the Saints and Sea Hawks. JW is really tired and needs a day or so to rest before we start exploring. Stay tuned .

DAY 6 – Fri Jan 7 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Up at 8:00 am. Plans are to visit the Texas State Capitol in Austin. We’ll see how the day progresses. It’s 41 right now with a projected high in Austin of 71. Gotta love it. First stop this morning was for propane, $2.08 gal. pretty cheap compared to what we have been paying. Arrived in Austin at 1:30 pm. High today was 76.

We are camping at the Austin Lone Star RV Resort 6 miles south of Austin on I-35. We setup the motorhome and hot footed it to the capitol just in time to catch the last tour of the day.

Pretty impressive capital bldg. Lots of history, ie; the many battles fought in Texas, Sam Houston, Austin, Travis, Bowie and Crockett, just to name a few.

Looked for and found pictures and a bronze bust of James E. “Pete” Laney (speaker of the House 1993 – 2003). We believe he is some relation of Wandas. Gotta look into that. Lotsa pictures.

Supper was next on the agenda (seems like that’s about all we do). We drove waaaaay south of Austin (actually about 6 miles or so) and found a “Texas Roadhouse”. Too noisey for me but the food was good.

That’s about it for this day. Relaxin’ and watchin’ the Cotton Bowl. (Gotta say this quietly cuz we’re in Texas, but, “GO LSU”. Have a good night y’all.

DAY 5 – Thur Jan 6 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Up a little earlier today. Wanda still not feeling any better. I have a headache and body aches also. Lounged around a bit then headed to iHop for breakfast. No WIFI at McClains RV Center so took the laptop with us in hopes of finding a McD’s As luck would have it, right next door to the iHop was a McD’s and they had really good WIFI. Took care of some internet business, downloaded about 300 emails (295 of them junk) and updated the travel Blog http://we3brvn.blogspot.com/ JW received a call from a friend of his, Jim Elkins, (the lead for the Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train at SDC), he was in Rockport, Tx and wanted to have supper with us. JW told him that would be a little impossible as we were still 400 miles from Corpus Christi. He was leaving Rockport for Florida early on Friday morning. “See ya later Jim.” Returned to the Motorhome and awaited a call from the service dept. At 2:00 pm, the service man called and said to bring the coach over cuz the part was in. An hour and a half later after spending $825 to get a new motor installed so the jacks and slides will work, we were on the road once again at 3:50 pm. It seems to be becoming a habit of having the privilege to pay double the price quoted on RV repairs. Whatever?! We were just glad to be on the road again. We were headed to Austin and if we are feeling better tomorrow, we will visit the Texas State Capitol. Oh yeah, I think I mentioned earlier in the blog, that we were in need of fuel. No Wal-Marts were to be found (even using JW’s handy dandy Murphy app for the iPhone). Sooo, a few miles down the road, JW pulls into an Exxon station, $2.95 gal. WOW ! ! ! Gotta have fuel, so fill ‘er up. $150.00 later and we’re on the road again only to find a Wal-Mart Murphy down the road about 3 miles and $2.80 gal. JW just shook his head in disgust. Speaking of Murphy, all this must have something to do with Murphy’s Law, that’s all I can figure. 5:00 pm came and we found the first RV park available, Waco North KOA, a welcome sight indeed. Setup for the night (with jacks down and slides out), boy we got a lotta room. As sick as Wanda is, she still managed to fix our first meal on this trip. We’ll get an early ???? start in the morning. G’night all.

DAY 4 – Wed Jan 5 – Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Both of us slept in. No reason to get up early as the parts for the slide system won’t be in until sometime on Thursday. Wanda is really under the weather (seems she got some bug along the way). Finally got around and went to breakfast (lunch?) at 11:30 at Cracker Barrel (Our favorite place to eat).

We’ll be needing to get fuel for the Motorhome when we leave so scouted out the nearest Wal-Mart (Murphys Gas). We found it fairly close to McClains RV Center, but is not negotiable for the Motorhome. Sooo, the next closest Wal-Mart is about 50 miles down the road and way off the Interstate. Guess we’ll use a regular gas station then.

Needed to do some shopping for a few things then Wanda decided to cut JW’s long “grandpa” hair.

Decided to meet with Dustyn for the 5:30 showing of “True Grit”. It was a really good movie (more like the book). Afterwards, we all went to Logans Roadhouse. Very good food and the conversation was great. (For those of you who don’t know Dustyn, he is married to Wanda’s Grand-daughter, Kara, and is a super nice young guy). 9:00 pm, Time to head for the Motorhome and see what tomorrow brings.

DAY 3 – Tue Jan 4 -- Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We left Hidden Lakes at 10:45 a.m., crossed the Texas border at 11:10 and arrived in Fort Worth at 12:45. We are currently at McClain’s at Camping World and have gotten an estimate of a little over $600 for a new motor to fix the slides and jacks. They are not sure if the solenoids are good or not. If the whole system has to be replaced we are looking at approximately $2000. We told them to replace the motor, because it will be here Thursday and we can get back on the road. The only good thing we are getting out of this ordeal is free camping. However, in the long run I think it would have been cheaper to pay for camping spaces. We do have electric and water hook ups here; no cable, WIFI, or sewer. We are able to get 13 digital “air” channels without cable, so we are not totally without entertainment.

Wanda woke up with a sore throat, stuffed up nose, and cough this morning. She has been fairly puny today but is looking forward to a better tomorrow. We did enjoy an all you can eat soup, salad and bread meal at Applebee’s this afternoon. We just found out that our grandson, from Lubbock, is here in Fort Worth, so we are planning to have dinner with him tomorrow night and then will all go see “True Grit.”

DAY 2 – Mon. Jan 3 -- Trip to Mustang Island 2011

We left Down Stream at 10:15 a.m., skipped breakfast, but ate lunch at McDonald’s in the Walmart store at Sapulpa. We went there because we had to get gas at Walmart, (they had a very good price, $2.72.9 with $.03 discount). We also needed to look for a wireless backup camera (the $55.00 repair job on our monitor only lasted about a week, so we are once again without a backup camera). They had just sold their last discounted camera and were not going to stock them any longer.

We had planned another free night of camping at the Casino at Norman, OK, but when we got there we found they did not have any hookups, and because we have not been able to get our generator to work, decided to go on to the Hidden Lakes RV Park in Ardmore. We stayed there twice last year. Once on our way to California and again on our way back. We stopped in Pauls Valley and ate at Braums on our way to Ardmore. We arrived at Hidden Lakes RV Park at 6:40 p.m.

The trip was pretty much uneventful, except for JW’s two wrong turns, which added only a few minutes to the time of our trip. Also, we will not be visiting the Capitol at Oklahoma City because it is too far back. I told JW it is going to be interesting to find at the end of our Quest, that Oklahoma’s will be the only Capitol we never did visit. I pray we are more successful with the Capitol in Austin. Tomorrow we will head to Fort Worth. We are planning on some more free camping. We will be visiting Camping World in an effort to get the jacks, slides and backup camera fixed. Good night all, we’ll keep you posted.

DAY 1 – Sunday Jan 2 -- Trip to Mustang Island 2011

Well Howdy Folks.

Our "New" adventure has begun. This year (2011) we're heading to Mustang Island (N. Padre) down by Corpus Christi, Tx. It's gonna be a fun time. Come ride along with us as we venture along the way. We'll be passing through Joplin, Mo; Tulsa, Ok; OKC, Ok; Ft. Worth, Tx; Austin, Tx; San Antonio, Tx; Corpus Christi, Tx; and our final destination of Port Aransas, Tx.

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We wanted to leave, for Mustang Island, at noon today. We left Branson View at 1:12 p.m. We stopped in Branson West to fill up with gas, then headed out to Joplin. We arrived at the Down Stream Casino (where we decided to take advantage of a free night’s camping) at 4:15 p.m. We had made arrangements to meet our friends (John & Peggy Danner) at the Casino for supper. We had about an hour before John got off work so we spent some time in the Hotel Lobby, enjoying the lovely Fireplace. John and Peggy used to work at Silver Dollar City (John, in the parking lot with JW, & Peggy, in Finance with Wanda.) We enjoyed good food and fellowship with them. Peggy was very gracious and brought us some drinking water because we found that the water in our “fresh water tank” was rusty, so could not be used for drinking. Peggy took us back to our Motor Home about 9:30 and we turned in early for a good night’s sleep before continuing our journey to Oklahoma City for a visit to the Capitol.