Cool & Unique

As we wait for better weather for fishing on the Gulf we are enjoying some of the simple things in life on South Padre Island.  We came across this particular item on an app called “Field Trip” that gave us the idea for this Blog post titled, Cool & Unique.

It was the World’s Largest Fly Rod & Reel that caught our attention (imagine that!).  The towering yellow rod points skyward, angled to hook an equally large Gulf tarpon.  The 70 foot long fly rod was certified as World’s Largest in 1999 by the Guinness World Records.  It is a functional fly rod made of fiberglass with a working, 4 ft. diameter reel.  In fact there is a tarpon that can be seen leaping out of the water just off Pirate’s Landing Fishing Pier nearby.  A sign in front of the fly rod says that the operation of the fly rod would require the combined strength of two dozen strong men or one large Texan!  But, first they will have to repair the fishing line and the upper portion of the rod which appears to have been neglected along the years.  Still, it was something pretty unusual.

We met our good friends, Chip & Daisy, for lunch in Port Isabel at Joe’s Oyster Bar. They ordered oysters on the half shell to start and then followed that with fried oysters.  We  ordered their 8 pc grilled shrimp which was absolutely delicious.  Other menu items include flounder and fresh crab cakes – fried, grilled or baked per your liking.   What an awesome get-together with friends.
 

On another particular day that was not good for fishing we took a road trip to Port Mansfield.  From the RV park where we are it is pretty much 120 miles round trip.  Not much has changed since we visited this area 3 years ago - but the ride is always fun.  Port Mansfield is famous for the miniature deer that roam the town, but still excels as a major marina for this area on the Gulf.  We met a fellow back at the RV park that charters his 25 ft. fishing boat through this Port and calls it, Reel Therapy.  We hope that he'll be able to take us (plus two other people) fishing for Red Snapper.  How awesome would that be?  Time and weather permitting will definitely dictate that for us before we leave.
 

It’s always fun to visit a Mexican bakery and here in South Texas is no different.  I think the best one we can honestly say that we’ve been to is Ornela’s Bakery in Rio Hondo.  Fresh and delicious pastries of all kinds are attractively displayed that will make your mouth start to drool.  Keep in mind though that most of their baking is probably done with Lard, so it’s not on the top of the “healthy for you” list.  Not extremely sweet for pastries but entirely reasonably and the variety is awesome.  The little market attached features Mexican Coke (in bottles), homemade tortillas and other Mexican snacks.  The ladies were so sweet to let us take some pictures.  We’re still working on the apple fritters here at home . . . they are the size of a saucer and very sinful!

Horses on the Beach and a Wind Farm in the distance.

 

 

 



 

A mini rainbow to end a perfect afternoon . . .

 

 

Live your best life.

Miles to Travel from Minnesota to Texas

Header Photo - Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico at Port Lavaca

We did something that we have never done before and that was to go to an RV rally that shares a commonality with the Newmar brand.    An invite to this rally after we purchased our new home on wheels was the 6^th Annual Quartzsite ~ North Rally at Steinbring Motorcoach in Garfield, Minnesota.   This is definitely a northern twist on the infamous Quartzsite extravaganza held in Arizona in January.   Held the weekend of September 11-13 this event brought together some 40+ rigs – all of whom had purchased their coaches from this particular dealer – most from in and around Minnesota with a couple from Nebraska who made the 10 hour trip.   
 

 

At the Rally, we couldn’t pass up the tour and wine tasting that was set up for the group at Burr Vineyards.   It was a beautiful day and provided some interesting conversation around the table.

 
Our new home does take us to some interesting places where we park to rest, enjoy family and friends and seek out new adventures.

 

Travel stop . . . Baker Park Reserve, Medina MN

We stayed at this campground on two separate occasions this past summer when the camping season was coming to a close.  A very nice park.

 

. . . Karen & Ron’s, Mondovi WI

Our good friends who shared their home for the six days that we were back in Wisconsin to see family and friends.  We had a super time and Karen surprised us with breakfast on the morning that we were going to be leaving.  What an awesome couple.

 

. . . Cabela’s, Owatonna MN

From Wisconsin we headed back to Minnesota for our final goodbye's to more family and then down the road we went.  Because we usually do not travel on the weekends, our first stop-over for an overnight was in the parking lot of Cabela's.  And of course, a walk into the store in to see if there was anything we need in the fishing department. 

 

. . . Kansas Turnpike, Travel Center at Emporia

On this day of travel, we can say that we pushed ourselves to put on some miles but it really was the wind that did that.  We are so glad that we have Comfort Drive Steering (auto centering) on the coach that compensates for gusty winds as you are driving, easy turning and backing up when needed.

Quite a beautiful sunrise the morning that we left after getting some much needed sleep.
 

 

. . . Lake Murray State Park, Ardmore OK

At the suggestion of our good friend, Richard, we decided to check out this State Park.  Located right off the interstate and close to the Texas border, it proved to be a very nice place to set up our home for what we thought was only going to be a 2 day stay.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Patricia was just then becoming news-worthy so 2 days turned into 6 days.  The the Rio Grand Valley was getting pretty drenched and we just didn't want to be in it at all.   So glad that we waited at this park.

 

 

It was raining pretty good here too!

. . . Magnolia Beach, Port Lavaca TX

Our first time at this beach was 3 years ago when we were headed to South Texas for our first winter as retirees.  We thought it was a unique place so we decided to put in our reservation right down on the beach again.   It is so soothing to hear the waves from our open windows, and the beach which is made of up shells does a perfect job of maintaining our home on solid ground.  When the tide comes up. . .we move out!

 

 

 

. . . Holiday Out RV Park, Los Fresnos TX. . .WE HAVE ARRIVED!

This is our first time at this park and very close to South Padre Island for travel.  By Jeep the Gulf is about 20 miles (one way) with an additional 6 miles to Beach Access #6 where we enter.  With all of the rain that fell in this area it was quite a sight to see all of the flooding in the fields in this area.

 

 

After entering this access through some initial soft sand there is another 25 miles of beach to the north, available to find just that right fishing spot.

 

 

Right now we are having fun fishing and will investigate other fishing opportunities if time permits.  It's great to see some of the people that we met when we were here previously, catching up on each other's lives. 

So you ask, how many miles did we travel from Minnesota to our Texas destination?  It was 1,496.

Live your best life! 

Our Minnesota Connection

It has been quite the summer for us; therefore, a lot of catching up to do since our last Blog update of May 30.

We ask ourselves, where have these three months gone?  We will be kind and not bore you with too many details as these summer months did keep us busy.

First things first . . .  

Good News, Sold House in Wisconsin ~ It’s hard to believe that we finally sold the house after having it on the market for four days.  We were going on the 4^th summer season this time around, so to get an offer in that short of time was a little bit of a shock.   Needless to say we were pretty ecstatic!  There was still a lot to do even though we have had the house pretty much sale-ready.  Still, getting everything finalized for the new buyers from Colorado who wanted a good quality home and some acreage, did keep us hopping.  We are so grateful to St. Joseph for finally getting his feet pointed in the right direction as he was buried in our flower garden – feet up toward Heaven – for all these years.  He will however have to remain in that position for such time that the cone flowers keep multiplying, as we couldn’t find him on our first dig and we really didn’t want to disturb the beautiful flowers too much.  He'll be happy amongst the beautiful flower garden.


Moving day for items to the storage unit

Our dependable "moving team"

Where did all the furniture go?

We didn't know the hearth was dual purpose

Since there is no more stick house for us we are now able to live our dream of being full-time in our RV.  Yeah!  We moved into our motor home on closing day, July 8 and took up a short, temporary residence parked in our driveway down by the pole shed.

The buyers said we could stay the week if we wanted to since they were taking off for Colorado to get their personal belongings.  We do believe they were also bringing back miniature Angus for the pasture.  This worked out just perfectly for everyone and when it was finally time to make our final exit down the driveway it did go well.  Both of us will miss our beautiful home on 40 acres that we put our heart and soul into, but there comes a time in your lives when you move on to other things.  We did have a good life there. 

Minnesota here we come ~ After crossing the border into Wisconsin for the last 17 years it was now time for us to return to our roots in Minnesota.  Jeff’s Mom was now our top priority.  We set up home at Wapiti Park Campground in Elk River, Minnesota.  A very beautiful area that is called home by at least 30+ peacocks that reside here.  Others included in this menagerie were mules, horses and Guinea hens.  What was most fun was when they would flock in front of our camp site because they knew that we would provide the bread for them to eat.    

Elk River runs through the park

Julia found a friend about her size



Feeding time at the Down's

The word, Wapiti, means Elk.  The campground has been very convenient for us to be here in many ways – about 14 miles from where his Mom was going to live.  Going from her condo in a senior building to an assisted living facility near where his brother, Brian and Kay’s sister, Jan live was quite a move for Mom.  Little did we know at that time that things were going to rapidly change.  This day was July 6.
 

And from here we will fast forward our summer that included Mom’s health not doing too well at almost 96.  Add to that ER visits, ambulance rides, finally surgery, rehab center to get strong, back to the hospital because of pain med complications, then back to the rehab center to continue getting stronger and then finally getting discharged back to her apartment.  Hallelujah.  Discharge day was September 2.  A pretty long 2 months for everyone.  Oh, we almost forgot, mix into that getting her condo ready for sale.  The wallpaper removal was the worst and we had the kitchen and bathrooms to attend to.

Good News, A Bigger “Coach” to call Home ~ We have always said that when we sell the house in Wisconsin we would like to upgrade the motor home a wee bit bigger.  How does going from 38 ft. to 43 ft. with a total of four slides sound?  Jeff has always been diligent about keeping up on what’s out there and what we would like to have (and not have) in our next motor home.  He did well and found our new home - not too far from where we currently are - at Steinbring Motorcoach in Garfield, Minnesota (about 110 miles NW from the campground that we are currently at).  They are one of the top Newmar dealers in the nation, actually 2nd and have quite a selection of coaches for you to walk through and drool over.  We pretty much had made our decision on which one was our favorite - a 2008 Dutch Star - so making the purchase wasn't hard at all.  In fact, looking at it online didn't do it justice at all.    

Move in day for our new home was quite an experience for both of us as we kept asking ourselves if everything from the old was going to fit in the new.

Paperwork, packing and unpacking kept us busy

Just need to do a little more downsizing again and work on getting it boondock-ready (solar panels, LED lights throughout and bathroom shower head adjustments) to accommodate our off-the-grid lifestyle.  

Family Fun ~ Kay’s daughter traveled to Iceland for 10 days at the end of June.  Joe (almost 13 yrs) and Julia (almost 3 yrs) came to Wisconsin to help us empty the house and have some fun with Grandpa and Grandma.  What a time we all had living in the motor home down by the barn.  Julia was a little pensive about the available space back in the bedroom – not at all like her bedroom back at her house.  (We had to keep telling her that there were no monsters hiding anywhere.)

On August 19^th, Julia returned to spend four nights with us in the new Coach while her Mom and big brother did a mini trip to Washington DC.  She was definitely more relaxed in the Coach with the added amount of room that we now have.  No mention of any of those “m’s” in the bedroom and that was a good thing.   Little Julia, Grandma and Grandpa had a wonderful time together. 

Classic Cars ~ Jeff and his brother, Brian had their share of cool cars during their early driving years and both continue to have a love and appreciation for the classics.   A trip Back to the 50's  at the classic car show at the Minnesota Fair Grounds was a hoot.  The summer months bring out many smaller displays of classic cars that you can actually begin to recognize cars that you see driving around town.  

Jeff with his brother, Brian and his classic '64 Nova  

More classic cars at a show at Lake Orono

Brian and Jan

New Baby News ~ Congratulations to our Niece, Lindsey and her husband, Kyle on the news that they are going to be 1^st time parents.  Baby shower is October 17^th with baby’s arrival set for January.  First time Grandparent credentials will be bestowed upon Jeff’s brother, Brian and Kay’s sister, Jan at this time.  Fun times are coming for them!

A Friend Comes to Visit ~ We had a great visit from our dear friend, Richard who is originally from Big Falls, Minnesota.  We met Richard and his wife Connie in Texas in 2012.  They are our fishing buddies when we travel to Texas to shore fish in the Gulf of Mexico.  Connie passed last year and we had good intentions of going to her memorial in July up in Big Lake, MN.  Unfortunately, that's pretty much when everything was starting to heat up with Jeff's Mom, so we weren't able to travel at that time.  Richard made it a point to hook up with us at the campground where we were staying so Kay could spoil him with some home cooking.  Good conversation was had by all with some quality guy time while Kay was cooking.  The next morning Richard would be pulling out and continuing his travels toward Texas. 

Richard's new home on wheels.

Our Travel Plans ~ Once we turn the calendar over to October, it’s time to make decisions on when we will leave and where are we going to go.   We do believe that we have a starting point which would be Texas!  We have decided to travel south to Los Fresnos (near South Padre) to spend maybe a good month where we will cast out the big fishing poles into the Gulf of Mexico for some awesome shore fishing.  Richard will be included!!!  We did this back in 2012 when we spent our first year of retirement in the Rio Grande Valley.  We are looking forward to renewing friendships with people who still winter in south Texas.  From there we head west to SE California and Arizona to spend the remaining winter months of 2015/16 camping off-the-grid.  We haven’t decided exact destinations and times as of yet but you can be sure the Coach is pointed toward new adventures this winter.

Be grateful for each day.
Hugs

Jeff & Kay

What Have We Been Up To?

Note:  Please excuse the awkward photo placement as the application called, Live Writer, which we use to create and post our blog updates is currently down.  Therefore, we are using Blogger which is not user friendly for photos at all.

My, my, my . . . it has been a busy 6 weeks for us since we arrived home.   So, what have we been up to?

It is baseball season, isn’t it? 

 And, the first baseball experience for our grandson, Joe, who is 12 years old.  Not doing too bad as a “first timer” who wasn’t too keen on it, but we do believe that has all changed and that he’s learning and having fun.  We are trying to coordinate getting to Joe’s baseball games with visiting Jeff’s mother and/or any doctor appointments needed.  We know that we can’t make each of his games but we try to make as many as possible.  The 90 mile drive – one way – can get a little much depending on how games he has in one week.  We have so much fun rooting for his team! 

Generally, once we return home we take inventory of our flower gardens and start thinking about what purchases we need to make to spruce our place up with a little color.  The way we look at it we want our home to look so inviting that a buyer will want to buy it immediately!    Aside from that, we love flowers and our home shows it. 

There are quite a few greenhouses that are very popular that are located in the Amish countryside, about 60 miles from here that stock everything from perennials, annuals, vegetable plants, hanging baskets – overall it’s  a blast of color.  Our good friends, Diane and Donna (yes, twin sisters), took Kay on a marathon shopping day of greenhouses, garage sales and just shopping in general.  Everyone was pretty tired 12 hours later as they returned home with a car full of treasures.

Walla!  With all of the rain that we've had just recently, they are looking so much more healthier these days.

 

Dance recitals really rock!  Our 13 year old granddaughter, Ariana, did a good job at making sure that she kept her beautiful smile shining during their group’s performance.  Since the older girls danced last in rotation, it was priceless watching the little ones who really stole the show.  They were so cute no matter who missed a step and they all did such a good job at not wanting their mom’s while they were keeping the crowds smiling.

 

Of course, it’s time to share a toast to our wonderful neighbors, John & Avery, who watched our house for us this past winter.  We took them to the Ole Triangle Pub in Wabasha, Minnesota for some Irish brews and food. 

 Our longtime friend, Judy, who reads our Blog faithfully, met us at Olive Garden where we could catch up on each other over some delicious Italian cuisine.  Good news for Judy is that she sees retirement for herself within the next year.  She currently is an emergency room RN at one of the major hospitals in St. Paul. She’s ready!

 Kay met her good friend, Suzie, for lunch.  They go back to Kay’s pre-retirement days at the Bremer Service Center in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.    Just like sisters.  They can talk about anything.  She has been missed.

 We haven’t been to a family wedding for some time since missing our niece’s wedding last November.   This was our nephew Nate, who recited his vows to his fiancée Brittany on a sunny May 9 in Minneapolis.  It was a good day all around as we were able to visit with relatives that we haven’t seen in years.  Time does fly by, doesn’t it?  It was indeed a very elegant wedding.

 Mother’s Day celebration was just the two of us.  We started out the day with a drive to Alma, Wisconsin to have breakfast at one of our favorite places.  Pier 4 Cafe is located along the train tracks that run parallel with the Mississippi River.  The café makes their own bread and serve you three samples of homemade jams on the side.

When we got home we took to our woods in search of Morrell mushrooms.  Jeff found only one which was pretty small.  It just wasn’t a good year for them due to the lack of rain and weather conditions that weren’t just right for the edible fungus spores. 

 

The long awaited eye surgery to remove Jeff’s cataract from his left eye (the worse one and first eye to be done) had finally arrived.  He has been waiting for this since Kay had Lasik 7 years ago...  Because of his astigmatism he had been declined as a likely candidate and therefore we needed to wait a little bit longer.  The 10 minute procedure to place a new corrective lens in his eye was a success.  Yay!!!!  His follow-up doctor appointment just this week tells us just how innovative these surgeries are for he can now see 20/20 from his left eye – without any corrections needed.  Yahoo!!!!!

Surgery for his right eye is scheduled for June 3.  We have no doubt that it will be a repeat performance.

A new world has opened up for Jeff.  Can you tell how happy is in so far?

 Sometimes you have to get dates on your calendar scheduled way ahead as it seems that everyone leads very busy lives.  Our daughter, Jill made sure to check with us way in advance, working around baseball games for the grandson or activities for the foreign exchange student that she has staying with her.  But the weekend finally arrived as she pulled up in our driveway on a Friday evening with the two grandkids (Joe-12, Julia-2), foreign exchange student (Ampere-17) who is from Shanghai, China and Wyatt (the dog).  We kept them busy.  They kept us busy.   We think you get the hint.

Julia, who can maneuver around an iPad like the big girls enjoying her favorite Elmo was so full of energy as can be expected from those "terrible 2's".

Ampere, who is on the left had his first taste of Jeff’s Breakfast Burritos – with plenty of his favorite condiment . . . ketchup!  We don’t know why the funny face on Joe, but can honestly say that we believe that he does glow in the dark with that shirt!!!

Jeff took the boys to the Recycle Center on Saturday.  Ampere was impressed with how our community handles the recycling of items.   Back home they are not as organized and co-mingle everything together like the larger cities do.

Saturday was picnic day at our North Ranch (a place that we created up from the house) that is a beautiful secluded spot where you can enjoy the quiet of nature.  Jeff had to get the lawn mower out and had the boys help with the mowing.  Ampere’s first time cutting grass.  He was so excited and I’m sure will share with his family his stories about cutting grass, roasting hot dogs over the campfire, making S'mores and just having fun getting dirty and being a kid.  We did!

Got to have a foot race, don't you?

This was her "sexy" look!!!

Joe being a kid.  What a selfie!

A perfect day for all.

We took a road trip on Sunday just to get out of the house and headed to the town of Colfax, Wisconsin where they were having a classic car show, swap meet and silent auction.  The day had already started out with some light showers but we didn’t let that deter us.  We love the classics and wish Live Writer was working so that we could share with you more of the cars in one of our albums. 

 

 

Fun car made with a wheelbarrow for the kids!

On our way home we decided to take the long way home to show Ampere the countryside around our home.  He was pretty amazed by all of the open land that was so green. 

We made a pit stop at the trestle bridge near the Chippewa River.  It's too bad the weather wasn't cooperating much on the sunny side.

Jeff cooked an awesome Italian dinner for a family visit with our granddaughter, Ariana and her mom, Jena (Jeff’s daughter).  The foods must have to been their liking – look at the big smiles on their faces!!!

 

Getting together with friends is a big part of our being home.  Meeting up with our good friends, Ron and Karen, for an evening road trip to the Bucknuckles Bar & Grill was the highlight of our Memorial Day weekend festivities.

 

 

A funny plaque on the wall in the bar.
 

Once again we have more eating, more friends to hook up and more pictures to share those moments.   This picture is Kay with her BFF, Janny.  They go way back to when we first moved to Wisconsin.  Janny was our insurance agent for all of our homeowner/auto needs.  We're all retired now.  Amen to that!







The girls especially appreciate the time they can spend together for, what they term as “therapy time”.   Notice their little friend sitting next to Janny carved into the bench.  Nice bear! 

It's time to take a breath for this first 6 weeks before we dive into the activities and appointments that are being added to our planner.   Be good to yourself and keep it real!  We will report back on Chapter 2 of what we've been up to.

Can you spot, what we call, the Johnny Jump-Up in this picture?

Hugs to all!

"Good friends are like stars: you don't always see them, but you know they are always there." —Unknown