One More Rockport TX post, then the fun begins..

April 17 - May 11, 2016

During our time in Rockport we did a lot of sightseeing. 

Early on, Patricia, Peggy and I visited a local quilting shop,

Golden Needles and Quilts (www.SewByTheBay.com).  

I just bought a sewing machine that also quilts 

so it was like Christmas time to me!

We visited Port Aransis, went to the beach..

               Saw this on the way back...

But this - why?

Went to see the Big Tree (and flowers too).

random flowers

 

And random boats and other photos about town...

Ate here one day. I never would have found it.

I loved the view...

What an entertaining night. 

           













              and a magical one.....

 We left Rockport on May 11 heading toward Florida.

 We had an appointment May 16 to get some work done on our coach.

 Unfortunately we didn't arrive until June 3, several weeks later.

 I'll tell you all about it next time so stay tuned!

In the meantime, we loved Rockport and all the friends we made 

and look forward to coming back next year! 

The Aquarium at Rockport Harbor

Today's post will be mainly pictures of aquatic life I took when 

we visited the Rockport aquarium.  

Although small, it was filled with common sea life of the area and included a few non-native species.  

It was very educational and a lot of fun.  

Did I also tell you it was free?  

*******************

Lionfish

Beautiful isn't it? 

But they're poisonous, invasive, and not native to our waters. 

They are highly detrimental because they compete for food 

and have no natural enemies. 

 If you see them, remove them to help limit negative impacts 

to native marine life and ecosystems.

Can you see it?

Now you can!

Marley the Moray Eel

I am not an Ichthyologist (a zoologist who studies fish), so if you can identify any of the fish, 

feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.

Happy days til next time!

Rockport Texas

We arrived in Rockport Texas on April 17, 2016. 

We had planned to stay for a week with Peggy and Patricia and their families, but we decided to stay for the month instead.

Best decision ever! 

We were parked in a primo spot, overlooking the bay. 

Went to the dog park the first day.

We walked on the pier and saw lots of jellyfish. So glad we weren't in the water with them.

Angry water.

 We toured the area while everyone reminisced, 

pointing out where they had been, what they had done, 

childhood memories of being in Rockport as children. 

  

I just love the color of this house, so tropical and serene.

The giant blue crab lives!

Over and out for now, 

stay tuned for more about our stay in Rockport!

Harlingen TX Onions

Onion Fields, Harlingen TX

We stayed 6 weeks until mid-April 2016 at the Encore Tropic Winds RV Resort 

in Harlingen TX. 

 We were surrounded by onion fields and were able to take advantage of the harvest.  Our neighbors asked if we got our onions so one day we went out and gleaned the fields and filled our bags.  There were so many onions left on the ground and everyone in the park got their share of onions after the harvest.  A few days later the onions were plowed under, ready for the next crop.

  

Onions ready to be picked up by trucks to be repackaged and sold to local stores.

Not yet harvested but they are huge! (We stole one.)

These are some of the onions we gleaned.

 

This field was harvested at the back of the park but we were prohibited from gleaning. They blocked off the road and once they picked up the bags of onion the fields were plowed.

Lost opportunity.

We hope to return to the area next year. 
We love the park, the people, the location.
  

We left Harlingen on April 17, 2016 and 
arrived in Rockport the same day.  

Til next year!

Harlingen TX

Harlingen TX, Tropic Winds RV Resort.  March 4 - April 17, 2016.

We were thrilled to pull out of Port Mansfield and head toward Harlingen TX.  We picked Tropic Winds RV Resort (Encore) for our next stop. It was the nicest and friendliest of all the Encore resorts.

LazyDays gave us 2 free camping weeks at any Encore park.  We then discovered that Encore was also running a special so we ended up staying for 6 weeks for $199/month with full hook-ups, cable, WiFi, the works!  A great deal that we took advantage of since we probably won't see anything like it again.   

The dog park was a hit and the Beagles made lots of friends!

Our spot on Sunshine St.  We were at the very end across from the dog park and bird sanctuary.  They had a rule not to put out bird or hummingbird feeders.  

Out and about, we kept passing a train with turbine propellers.  

  

So we stopped to take some pictures.  The propellers were loaded from the train cars onto trucks to be taken to their destination.  There were other components but the propellers were the most impressive. Certainly it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because a week later they were gone.

Most of the Winter Texans were pulling out in March and April, so by the time we left, there were lots of empty spaces.  Activities stop the end of March as do the first-responders. There are a few folks who stay year-round, mostly in the Park models.  

The same holds true of the other parks we stayed in around the Rio Grande Valley.

  

Stay tuned for Part II at Tropic Winds for more of our adventures!