10 +10

Sandcastle Village

Anyone else watch  the landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars Weds.?  It was actually a simulation of the landing, but we saw the first picture of Mars it sent back.  It has a drone helicopter, Ingenuity, on board.  Lots of data to be collected on Mars as well as on the equipment just sent up.

Our power was back in the RV park!  Thursday we went to get gas and found a station that actually had it and no line.  Many restaurants were closed but we found a Wendy's that was open. Although they didn't have everything on the menu, they had everything we wanted to order.  We took it to a park and ate in the car.  Not warm enough at noon, especially with the wind, to sit outside.  I was a little edgy having no chocolate for a few days so we stopped at Shipley's Donuts ("Doonuts" according to Google Maps, lol) since they were open.  Pat never wants any, but always enjoys mine anyway (I know that and always get extras)!  Big news? 

We had a grocery pick-up at Walmart Sat. morning.  We could add items up until 1:45 a.m. Sat. morning and we scored big at midnight with some eggs, cheese and meat.  The food trucks must be getting through.

The first picture sent back to earth from Mars by Ingenuity.

Saturday was a beautiful day, mid 60's and sunny.  The final cold night was Fri.  It was up near 60 Fri. during the day and everyone in the park, including Krikkit, was happy to be out and about.  The talk was when gas stations would get gas and grocery stores fresh items. 

No meat (fresh or frozen), eggs, cheese, or milk to be found in Harlingen.  With the snow and ice elsewhere in the state no supply trucks. Many restaurants closed for lack of food.  Our daughter-in-law said it was the same in the Houston area.  It was worse in Houston because most of the town is under a boil order so that also closed restaurants.  

Saturday is the weekly RV chore day for Pat, cleaning out the black tank.  He also turned the water back on and opened the grey tank, shut off and closed because of the previous freezing temperatures.  The water here is extremely hard so he also regenerated the water softener, which he has to do more frequently for that reason (every 2-3 weeks).

Sunday felt like a date.  We took off for South Padre without Krikkit.  Don't do that often.   As old as she is she can't "last" as long as she use to and I worry about it getting too hot in the RV.  Even though we open some windows/vents and turn the air on I worry about the power going off.  RV'S get hot pretty quick.  We even get a phone notification if the RV goes over a certain temperature, but I am a worrier.  I've noticed that even Pat likes to take her with us though.

Our first stop was Isla Blanca, a county park.  Next winter we think we might like spending Oct. and Nov. in Arizona, Jan. in South Padre on the beach, and Feb. in Galveston before heading east in the spring of 2022.  

Statue at Isla Blanca Park

Around the base of the statue are plaques commemorating those that died at sea.  

Foggy when we first arrived.

Lots of Pelicans and Seagulls.

Isla Blanca is right on the beach which puts me in heaven.  It is an older park and many of the sites are pretty close together, and like most beaches in the area, full of burrs which will be tough with a dog.  We dealt with Burrs at a Galveston park last year. We checked out the RV sites and checked out the views for a SpaceX launch.  Beginning March 1st you can reserve RV sites for 2022.

Isla Blanca Park

Close up of the SpaceX rocket on the launch pad.  It's about 5 miles away.  Another one of my blurry pictures?  NO, it was foggy.  I have been working on my new camera but LOTS to learn.

While we were without Krik we stopped at Sea Turtles, Inc.  They rescue, rehabilitate, release sea turtles, and provide education.  Sadly, they were closed today.  Because of the winter storm over 5,000 sea turtles had washed up on South Padre Island this week.  Sea Turtles, Inc. was busy returning sea turtles to the sea yesterday and today.  They had been transported to the South Padre convention center until it warmed up enough to return them.  SpaceX was busy saving the turtles that had washed up on Boca Chica beach.

Wall outside Sea Turtles, Inc.

I had been interested in checking out  the Sandcastle Trail and Sea Turtles Art Trail on the island.  It involved driving from spot to spot and then getting out and trying to find them.  We made it to a few spots but it will take more trips to try and complete both trails.

South Padre bills itself as the Sandcastle Capital of the World.  There are sandcastles at various businesses and places throughout the island.  Across from Coconut Jacks (there are a row of restaurants here with several boasting sand sculptures) is the Sandcastle Village which includes 10 massive sculptures and several smaller ones.  The sculptures are preserved, maintained, and updated on a regular basis.  They are mostly made of sand and water along with some white glue, and become stronger as time passes.  Since this is unique they have no idea how long they will last.  The sculptors are from all over the world.  

Sculpture not far from Isla Blanca Park.

Sculpture by Joaquin Cortez and beginning of pictures from the Sandcastle Village.

For a donation you can have a heart erased and put a name you want on the Valentine hearts. 

From the nutcracker.  This one with "Clara" was special to me since I have a granddaughter Clara named after her.

Or maybe you would like your name put here and get your picture taken with your sweetie in the chair?

Or maybe a proposal in  your future?  

Last picture from the Sandcastle Village.

This sculpture was down the street inside a restaurant.

Another sculpture outside a restaurant.

A sculpture (a series of 3) around this restaurant. Local artist Any Hancock created the dolphins using mesquite trees that were donated by a ranch in Mason, TX.

The second piece of the sculpture by Andy.  "Lucy" is the world's largest mesquite sea turtle.  The sculpture is 7'10" tall, 8" longs and 6 1/2 foot wide, weighing 400 pounds.  This is part of the Sea Turtle Trail.

"Rosie" by Cecilia Garza represents relaxation.  Appreciate life's blessings and stop and smell the roses!

"Indigo" by Christina Salazar was inspired by the art form zentangle, which is a new way of drawing patterns that relax and change the eye.  Her colors were inspired by the ocean, and the base incorporates barnacles and jellyfish.  It was located inside the visitor's center.

Interesting finds for things to do next Jan. include paragliding (on my bucket list), sandcastle building lessons, deep sea fishing (the place we ate lunch today will cook your catch, we just need a charter that will clean them--we won't do the latter!), museums, and more.  It appears the beach is good for shelling, which I love to do.  I like to look for them but honestly don't do anything with them!😀  At 3 p.m. we grabbed a smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Café and headed back to a hungry dog.

Lunch at Cap'n Roy's

Pat and I each got the "Fish Platter" which included a huge piece of fish.  The breading on the fish was outstanding.  I almost ate the whole piece which is a rarity.  It came with seasoned fries and Fumi Salad that was made with cabbage, sesame seeds, toasted almonds, ramen noodles and tossed in a sweet and sour vinaigrette.   The entire meal was outstanding but probably high in
calories!

Our park hosted another free 90 min., outdoor concert this afternoon with a couple from Nashville, Dave and Daphne.  We were gone for the first part, and aren't country music fans, but we walked up and listened to their final number.  Despite Covid restrictions the park provides a lot of activities at no charge.

10 + 10?  That's my goal.  This month 10,000 steps + 10 miles on my bike 5 out of 7 days a week.  Walking seems to be hard on my back but I am going to try and build back up to 20,000 steps. Riding is hard on my knees with all of the strong winds here.  Even without strong winds I will be happy to get 10 miles  a day.  Some weeks I've made it, some not, but I'll keep trying.  I need to find some strengthening exercises for my middle and upper back.  Anyone???

Completed!  I won't do another but I found it very relaxing.  I agree with Pat that the picture itself looks better, especially the rock area. He said I should have just printed the picture myself.  I tried to tell him that wasn't the point.

Pat was catching up on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," a TV show tonight and he noticed, in this episode at least, they lived under ground sometime in the future I think, below this lighthouse.  Look at my Diamond Art painting above.

When Pat tried to lift Krikkit off the couch tonight she just kept snuggling up closer to me.

Someone planted a plastic flower in a rather large pot hole at our RV park.  Not sure what their point was!😁