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1 to 15 December 2011   16 to 31 December 2011



Thursday, December 1, 2011


Texas, here we come!


In Louisianna, the Acadian (Cajun) culture still endure today with many names still in French, unlike some places in Canada.
  

As we passed by Bâton Rouge and Lafayette, you can see the Acadian roots are still strong.


It always surprises me to see what travels on the roads, like this chopper!


Welcome to Texas, the Lone Star State.
  

Since the discovery of oil in the area in 1901, Texas is an "oil patch" country just like Alberta. Texas refines a quarter of all the oil used in the United States.  As you can see, many industries related to oil.
  

With a little more than 500 km behind us today, here we are at our new home on the east side of Houston.


We will be here for a week. Time to slow down a bit, after all the visiting we have done in the past month.



Friday, December 2, 2011


Guess what? We are on our way to a free cruise in the Houston Port.


But Homeland Security decided we could not take photos because of the possible terrorist threats. Only this one to get to the boat.


As I mentioned, it is free and you get to see the industrial side of the port of Houston and how big the petroleum industry is.



Saturday, December 3, 2011


We have not slowed down our visit so far!

A cold front should be here soon, so we use the time before that front comes to do some visiting. It is now + 16 C or + 60 F for our American friends.

We are visiting the Battleship Texas today. First, we have to take this small ferry, a total of 12 cars can get on it.
The cruise lasted only 5 minutes.
  

The Houston Shipping canal is a very busy place as you can see.
     

Ah! The good life...


Here is the Battleship Texas. It is now a floating museum.


Us from the Air Force to the Navy?
That hat does not look good on us.
  

In the engine room.


One of the many passageways in the lower decks.  You can see one of the seaman's locker.   

One of the many sleeping quarters.


Some had no choice, but to sleep where they worked.


One of the washrooms. Nice seats. One was painted in red to accommodate the seaman with sexually transmittable diseases (STD).
   

All things being equal, here are the officer quarters.


The visit to the lower decks was pretty interesting.
We continue with the upper decks.

Two of the 5 inches, 51 caliber cannons.  You can see the projectiles in the center of the photo.


Opposite view of the forward deck.  The cannons you see here are caliber 45 with a projectile of 14 inches.  Very big bullets.
  

We will be going halfway up the superstructure.


Anti-aircraft guns.


This is where the captain "drove" the ship.


Michele and Denis in "attack" mode.
  

Next was the monument of the San Jancinto battle.

For us Canadians, this does not mean a lot, but for the Americans, this is where Texas fought and won their independence from Mexico. Later on, they joined the United States.


We wanted to visit the site, but after 3 steps and 5 or 6 mosquitoes sucking blood from my legs, we went back in the car and went back home.

We really liked the Battleship Texas. Some hints, wear very good walking shoes and bring a small flashlight with you for the visit as there are lots of dark corners to look into the lower decks.



Sunday and Monday, December 4 and 5, 2011


A very relaxing Sunday, it started with a nice brunch.


And Monday, a look at one of the small shopping center.
  



Tuesday, December 6, 2011


Here is our site at Houston Leisure RV Resort. Fairly decent sites with concrete pad.
  
  

A gentleman offered to wash and wax the motorhome for $160.00 cash.  In Florida, it costs $800.00.
I said OK.  Now notice the safety level of this guy.  The ladder on the picnic table, picnic table not level, but I have to say, he did put some screws in the table to keep the ladder from slipping.  Today, he washes and tomorrow he waxes.  A will let you know the results.


I almost forgot, today is a special day!

It is Michele's birthday!
A very nice meal at the Golden Corral.


And of course, what has become somewhat of a tradition between Michele and our youngest son Benoit, a Tequila shooter for her birthday. Of course, I have to do it with her.
Salt, Tequila and lemon.


A little craziness does not hurt anybody!
  

Happy birthday Michele.  XOXOXO



Wednesday, December 7, 2011


Last day in Houston, we are visiting a few more sites.  First, the tunnels of Houston, then the "Falls" and we finish with the Saint Arnold brewery.

One of many interchanges in the city.
  

The tunnels are not a shopping center, but really a way of going from one office tower to the other. Everything is super clean, even the city center is clean.


One of the reasons we wanted to come to the tunnel, was to get to one of the office towers and go to the top and see the city from above.  For security reasons, only one tower allowed this and we could only get to the 60th floor. It was still a very nice view of the west side of Houston.
  

The next stop is at the "Falls" of Houston.

I will let you read the plaque, it says it all.


As weird as it sounds, it is very nice and when you are close and listen to the water falling over the concrete is really does sound like a fall.  Very soothing.
  
  

Our next visit give gave us some trouble.  The Saint Arnold brewery. The direction we got was from a "review" web site and not from the official brewery web site were wrong.  We ended up at the first address with 15 minutes to spare only to find out the brewery had moved.  The business owner gave us the new address and we made it to the brewery with 0 minutes to spare.  We did not miss the guided tour.

So who was Saint Arnold?  He was a bishop back in the 600.  We are told he is the Saint Patron of brewers.


The fonder of the brewery, Brock Wagner, was giving the tour!


A very nice tour and for only $7 you get the tour, glass and 4 beer of your choice.
  

We really enjoyed our day.

I almost forgot the wax job.  Well, he did a good job for $160.00.  It is a good starting point for me to continue waxing it often.

The weather is supposed to get warmer in the next few days.

Tomorrow, Magnolia Beach.



Thursday, December 8, 2011


Miguel and Diane told us about a place south of Houston called Magnolia Beach where you can camp right on the beach for free.
So we decided to stop there for 4 days before moving to Corpus Christi.

On our way to Magnolia Beach!

Many time, the highway have the number painted on the lanes you need to take at big interchanges, really helpful.


Usually crossing a city like Houston is pretty boring, but sometimes you get a few surprises...
  

As we got close to Magnolia Beach, we chose to let the motorhome at the Walmart and go by car to check out the beach before we drive on it.

The closer we get to the beach area, the higher the houses are from the ground.


What a surprise to see this horse right by the road.  He is tied to the telephone pole by a rope. He cannot make it to the road.


After we have checked the beach area, we decided it was safe to go to the beach with the motorhome for the next 4 nights.


Only a few campers on the beach. Nice and quiet watching the ships go by.
  

Very nice place for camping on the beach.

Later on in the afternoon, a 5th wheel came and parked close to us.
Once set up, they start this huge screaming generator and they let it run all night!!!



Friday, December 9, 2011


A little noisy last night but...
A nice +18C and ship that goes by, wow!


The beach is sand mixed with lots of broken up shells.  It is still a nice place.


+15C today.  Brrrr!

Our neighbour.


I took a short bike ride this morning. I took some photos of the motorhome and the area.
The trailer on the left also has a big generator going 24/7. He is far away from us so it is not too bad.  Our neighbor generator's noise covers the other one.


In the early afternoon, Michele and I took a bike ride towards Indianola.

Now, I have seen houses with grass and trees in the rain gutters, but never a cactus.  I have to make sure it is sharp, and it is!
  

The beaches are not on the Gulf of Mexico, but the bay of Matagorda.
A few places along the way have those shelters with a table under it.


A nice little bike ride of 15 km, both, Magnolia Beach and Indianola Beach are summer cottage villages.  Pretty empty at this time of year.


Many cottages are painted in bright colors like these two.
  

Back at the motorhome, the neighbor's generator is not running, wow!


Relaxing and watching the ships go by, reading a good book and a glass of wine.  As you can see, this is not shorts and t-shirt weather yet.


Our neighbor changed the way he parked his 5tn wheel, make senses.  He starts to install spotlights, all 7 of them!
I wonder over and have a conversation with the man.  I asked him if the lights are for fishing at night?  He says no!  I just like to light up the place, he sais. On top of that, they are inside watching TV and only come out a few times to check their lines.  Unbelievable.


Lucky for us, the wind is blowing away some of the noise.



Saturday, December 10, 2011


Our bike ride takes us to the small village of Magnolia Beach.  Pretty deserted this time a year.
I really like this cross...


Once back, we notice the generators are still going strong. His parents just arrived and they also have on big generator going. S&%#! That's enough, we are moving!


But before the move, I have to have another look at one of the ships going by.
Notice my hat and gloves?  It is cold for Texas at +13C.  Especially when some friends are telling us it is +30 around Tampa!


We are not moving very far, only a few hundred meters.  You can see the other motorhome with the generator in front of us.


Our new real estate, but what is this noise?
The sound of waves breaking on the beach!


So much quieter here and only 300 meters away from our first place.


OK!  It was not as bad as I wrote it, but still, very annoying. After two days, it gets on your nerves. When you notice 6, 5 gallons containers waiting to get in the generator, you say to yourself, they will be here for a while!  The move only took us 10 to 15 minutes.  The rain came in the afternoon and did not stop all night long.



Sunday, December 11, 2011


Last day at Magnolia Beach.  Look like rain again and only +11C
Why not a car ride to Port O'Connor to have a look/see.
We are only 2 meters above the water of the Gulf of Mexico.  Very flat land here.


A turkey vulture or buzzard.  They are big and ugly!
  

Port O'Conner is on the same bay as Magnolia Beach, but closer to the Gulf


Another summer village, very few people in town right now.  Lots of houses have a "widow's walk" on the top of the house.  This goes back to when wives would go up on the widow's walk to see if their husbands were coming back from the sea.  Even the motel is built on pillars.
  

One of the upscale areas, cars on one side of the house and boats on the other. Across the street, just an ordinary house!
  

A barge carrying gravel!
  

We were lucky to see this deer, he is not very big.


Back at the motorhome, we take it easy when our friends we met in New Orleans came by.  What a surprise to see Miguel, Diane, Serge and Nicole.  Miguel and Diane are the ones who told us about this place.
  

Tomorrow, we are leaving for Corpus Christi, actually close to Corpus Christi, on Mustang Island.  We have a reservation a Pioneer Beach Resort for a month.



Monday, December 12, 2011


Under a steel-gray sky, we leave the beach for Corpus Christi.
  

WOW!  We came close to those birds.
  

Pretty flat land around here, we hit some rain for almost an hour.
  

We could have taken the ferry to get to Mustang Island, but we read somewhere that the water was low and motorhomes were having a hard time getting on and off the ferry. We detoured by Corpus Christi, an extra 45 minutes drive. We even got to see the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. It is a museum now and we will come back for a visit.


We will be on the Gulf of Mexico.


Pretty nasty looking clouds.


Finally at our new home for a month.


After pulling the car behind the motorhome, it is usually dirty, but with the rain, it is very dirty.

After the car wash, we had to check out the beach.  A cute brown pelican.
  

An aircraft with its nose in the sand an advertisement for a restaurant?


Very nice roads and hardly any traffic.  Happy to be here for a month.



Wednesday, December 13, 2011


The weather is finally warm enough so we can clean our window tracks.  With all the moisture we had because of the cold weather in Canada and here, mildew was starting to grow, not very pretty and not good for breathing.  The mildew did not come from a leak, but just from the cold weather, showers and cooking inside the motorhome.  We have to do this about once a year.


That evening, they had a country-western band at the clubhouse and we went to check it out. Pretty good!



Thursday, December 14, 2011


Surprise surprise, our friends from North Carolinas are here a lot earlier than expected, like 8 am.

While they set up, Michele  and I went for a bike ride on the beach.  The beach is about 2 minutes away with the bike.
  

There were quite a few blue jellyfish on the beach.  We were told it was from the red tide that took place a few weeks before.


Here I am dry washing the motorhome.  I will explain how I do this in a few days.


Our friends Pete and June are all set up and we just chatted up a storm.  We still found time for a bike ride to the beach with June.
  

A really nice sandy beach.  Even better, you can bike on the beach, even drive your car on the beach.
The water is on the cold side.
  

The weather is warming up, but a cold front is coming our way and the temperature will drop again.  Forecast, rain and cool.



Thursday, December 15, 2011


When you travel and you talk to a friend, maps come out and roads a shown.


Pete decided to make a big fish fry for dinner.  So off we go, myself, Michele and June, to get some fish to fry.
The only place we can get fish here in Port Aransas is very expensive.  We take the ferry and go to Aransas Pass the get fish.
I still cannot believe how fast the ferry works here.  A total of 7 ferries can be used at the same time.  You never have to wait more than 5 minutes.


A brown pelican.


In Aransas Pass, we stopped at this small fish market.  Lots of fish and half the price.  We bought a flounder, it is some kind of flatfish and another that I do not remember the name with some shrimps.


On our way back, we HAD to stop and take this photo of the shark.  Almost every souvenir stores have some kind of water theme as the front door.


Chef Pete at work.


Good food, good beverages and we forgot to take a photo.
Thanks for the great food!

Until next time.

Life is good...




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