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1 to 15 February 2015   16 to 29 February 2015



Sunday February 1st, 2015.


This RV Park is small by the local standard.  The park has only 48 sites.  This means very little activities are taking place here.
The main activity is the morning coffee at eh clubhouse. It is actually fun to go to because of the stories and inter-action between everybody.  The sun is chinning so we sit outside, can you see me?


Michele and I decide to go for a bike ride for some exercise and look for more caches.
Here we are on a "boardwalk" for birding.


A blue heron.


Of course, you have to have a cache at the welcome sign.


The name of this cache is "Pirate Booty" and it is at the "X"!


The cache is right at the "X".


Aransas Bay.


The local population...


What a cache!  This has to be one of the biggest cache we ever found.  The name of the cache?  Cachezilla!


To get to the actual cache, you have to use one of the keys to open the cache inside the cache!


Another simple cache, yet easy to miss.


After we are done with caching and biking, we get home to prepare for the "Superbowl 2015".  Actually, it is Michele who watches the game because I only watch the last 5 minutes.  With football, you have to have chicken wings, chips and beer.  We are the real sports type.



Monday February 2, 2015.


The weather is on the cool side so we go looking for caches in the afternoon.  WE are going caching by car because the caches are a few kilometer apart at times.

When I say it can be dangerous at time, look at the needles on that tree!


A turkey vulture.


A surprising cache!


We are next to Port Bay and we are probably 1 to 2 feet above the water level!


I found this cache by pure luck.  One of the branches is screwed on a real branch!


Clever!


I love looking for caches with Michele!


The next cache was a little more difficult to find.  The name of the cache is "Red Herring, White and Blue"...Here is a cache that is not the cache!!!


Another one!


The left arrow indicates a red herring, the center one too, but the right arrow is the "real" cache! We loved it!


A "Peter cottontail" cache.  The arrow is where the cottontail was hiding.


This cache was a tough one!  "A penny for your thought", we found 9 pennies glued to the fence.  The tenth penny we found was the right one.  This is the cache behind the penny...


Another cache.


This is a nano cache, they can be easy or very hard to find.


Many caches are located on private property with the permission of the owner.
The GPS is totally confused by this cache.  It gives us different location each time we moved!  It turns out to be under the windowsill.


After having found 23 caches today, we head home.  We came across this deer on the way home.


This is the first time we found 23 caches in one day.  We are at 186 caches found.



Tuesday February 3, 2015.


We wake up to rain.  I still went to the morning coffee, but I had to pick my time to come back as to not get wet.

With the rain, we decided to go tot he movie.


We watched "Black or White" with Kevin Costner and Jullian Estell.


It was a good movie, we liked it.

Corned Beef brisket for dinner.  Hummmm!


It turned out to be a good even with the rain.



Wednesday February 4, 2015.


Another cool day, off tot he aquarium in Rockport.  It is free on top of that.  We did not make it in!  It is closed today.  We will have to come back.


The Rockport marina.


The marina/waterfront area of Rockport is the place where most of the local attraction is located.  The center for the arts is also located in this area.  A few pieces of arts, like these dolphins, are also located by the marina.


A walking flower!?!?!?!?  This is the real name of this piece...


In memory of Atmar Atkinson, a local man who did a lot of good things.


Big birds.


The Titanic?  No, just a woman in the wind.


Since we cannot go visit the aquarium, why not do some caches.  The first one is right next to the aquarium.


We head back home and Michele does not want to do more caches.  Off I go by myself.  Another cache I found by luck.


As I mentioned I mentioned before, some caches are located on private property with permission.  It is still a little weird to go on somebody's yard and snooping around for a cache.  The cache is located in that strange piece of equipment.


Others are just funny or scary!


A good day even being on the cool side.



Thursday February 5, 2015.


A day like yesterday weather wise!
At the morning coffee, some people mentioned they were going fishing.  I asked if I could join them just to watch how they fish the salt water.  They said "sure".

Here we are at the bridge where they fish.
One of the fishermen is an 86 years old man called Jackie.  Another one is called Gene and this is Louie.


We are in Port Bay and it is salt water.


After a while, I was about to leave when Louie caught a "black drum".


It is too small to keep.


On my way back home, I stopped to look at a few caches.
 

To go with the roast pork we are having for dinner, I cook small potatoes and I roast them on the BBQ.


A very good meal.  I currently have 200 caches found.



Friday February 6, 2015.


With a cloudy day forecasted, we travel to Corpus Christi.  We take the long way around by going to Aransas Pass and Port Aransas.  It is more scenic of a drive.


Aransas Pass is another small town with fishing and tourism as the main employers.  The oil industry is having more and more of an impact in the local economy.


When you are this close to the shores and the ground is only a few feet above the water lever, even mobile home have to be on stilts!


We have to take the ferry to get to Port Aransas.  What?  15 minutes wait time!


We got on the ferry as soon as we arrived.


The ferry crosses the canal linking the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Corpus Christi.
It is unbelievable to see all the petroleum industries, fishing industries and nature preserve coexist next to each other without any problems.  Why can we do that in Canada?  Some times, I just do not get people!


Port Aransas, we spent a month here in the winter of 2011/2012.


While on the ferry, a man told me my front tire looked very low.  Shoot, it is low.  I fill it up to 32 psi and I will watch it from now on.


Port Aransas is a resort town.


We finally made it to Corpus Christi.
Our first stop is at the Spec's liquor store.  This is the biggest liquor store I have ever seen.


Michele shops in the thrift shops and I go looking for caches.  Once we both got our fill of our activity, we head back home.  We drive by the USS Lexington.  We visited the ship a few years back.


This is water and island country.  Bridges are everywhere.


Just pass the bridge the little town of Portland has a thrift shop and Michele wants to stop.  OK, I will do some more caching I guess!


It is a Goodwill store.


I did not find my first cache here in Portland and did not time to look for a second one...

After dinner, we got to skype with Jeremy and Gabriel.


It is always fun to skype with them...



Saturday February 7, 2015.


I do have a screw in the front right tire.  Can you see the screw head?


Today we are going to the little town of Port Aransas.  We will bike and look for caches.


Our first stop is at the tire repair shop.  It is a good thing we came here first, as they will be closing in less then an hour.


With the tire repaired, we head to the beach to park the car and get on the bikes.


We found quite a few caches, but not this one!!!


We really liked our day in Port Aransas.  We biked a total of 12 km and we found 12 caches.  As a treat, we bought fresh shrimps to go with our supper.


Once our tummy was full, we go to the clubhouse for the Saturday evening karaoke.


One of the ladies sings a funny song to Jackie every Saturday evening.  Jackie is the patriarch of this park at 86 years old.


We had a good day, a good evening, Happiness!



Sunday February 8, 2015.


We are out biking today. This time we are biking in Rockport and we start it off on the short bike trail.


After that bike trail, we bike to Key Allegro.  This neighborhood was probably built some 20 years ago by the look of the houses.  It remains a pretty upscale area.
This is the first time I see a roof covered with oyster shell!


What a house for the weekend!  All the houses in Key Allegro are on a canal for the boats...


This is one of the biggest houses we have seen on Key Allegro.


Here is one of the canals I was talking about...


No caching for us today just a nice 13 km on the bikes.



Monday February 9, 2015.


We will be leaving Monday morning so we are in "geocaching mode".  Geocaching is really addictive once you start.  It also takes us to places we probably would not have gone otherwise.  Sounds like an excuse doesn't it!
Let's get back to this morning.  We are in Aransas Pass.  I "programmed" a route on a sheet of paper, you have to be older to remember how it is done on paper!?!?
I'll be darned!  Our first few caches are not very good.  Like this one, "Lady Monika", and the last time this cache was found was in august 2014.  Since then the concrete was removes as well as the ship Lady Monika!  Where is the cache now?  Things like that happen every now and then...


The following cache is easy!  It sure helps the ego of the cachers.


Our next cache takes us on a private property.  As I mentioned before, we are still uneasy about those.  As we found the cache, the owner of the house and cache came out to talk to us.  He welcomes us to the area.
We are surprised to discover a fellowship in the caching community.  We must have talked with "Daneill" for about 20 minutes about caches.  He has placed over 150 caches in the area.  Talking with him taught us some more things about caches and how they are "hidden".  A really nice man.


"Daneill" gave us a clue on one of the cache we did not find.  He also told us some time you really have to touch, twist or pull to get the cache out of its hiding place.  Like this instance, to get at the cache you have to pull on the reflective lens!!


On our way to the ferry between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, Michele found a cache that I am sure I would not have found by myself.


With what Daneill talk about cache, the next cache was a little easier to find.  We had to use a pair of pliers to get to it...


We must have spent 20 minutes looking for this cache.


It's right there!


Some time you have surprises!


Good ribs for supper!




Tuesday February 10, 2014.


No caching today...  Oupsss!  That is not true.  I out for a bike ride and looked for a few caches here in Rockport.

After lunch, Michele and I are at the clubhouse to learn how to make carpets out of Walmart plastic bags.  We do not have a crochet to make them, so we just learned how to cut the bags the right way to crochet them together.


Another beautiful day.




Wednesday February 11, 2015.


One more day geocaching with Michele.  The description for this cache told us not to get distracted by the pipe.  We got distracted...


The cache was in the tree.


This one is ingenious.  You have to remove a screw for the post to screw it to the plastic cache so you can pull it out of the post!  No need for a screwdriver.


Aransas Pass has a very good oil and gas industry.  Here is maintenance port for some drilling platform.


For this cache, we had to put our arm into the hole up to our elbow to get at the cache.  I really don't like that.  Even if you look down the hole, there might be critters ready to eat you up!!!


If there is a cemetery, 90% chance you have a cache.  This cache is inside the small BBQ.


A nano cache right in front of a restaurant.


Sometime you find a cache that has been destroyed!  Why do people do that?


Michele on her way to a cache...


A day at geocaching, 19 found for a total of 254 caches found.



Thursday February 12, 2015.


Out to town we go!  Rockport that is!  We are going to visit the Aquarium.  This is our second try and it is the good one!


And it is free!  It is small, but pretty good.


A blue crab.


I forgot he name of this one crab, but it uses algae and sand to camouflage.


This is a ""lionfish".


The lionfish is an invasive species in North America.


With the visit of the Aquarium completed, we move to the next place we want to visit.  The  Texas Maritime Museum.


This is a reproduction of the ship "La Belle" that Rene Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle used to come in the gulf and look for the mouth of the Mississippi river.  He was not a good person, he crew killed him!


The museum has many artefacts from different era.


On the third floor, you have a 360-degree view of Rockport.  This is the marina of Rockport.


And "Small Bay".


Sport fishing is very big in the area.  Here is some information on the outboard motor.
1 - Evinrude "Elto", 3 hp, 1922.
2 - Evinrude, 1.5 hp, 1922.
3 - Champion "Blue Ribbon", 4.2 hp, 1946.
4 - Elgin, 1.5 hp, 1946.
5 - Johnson "Seahorse", 22 hp, 1937.
6 - Criscarft "Challenger", 5.5 hp, 1950.


This outboard even has its shipping crate!


This configuration allows you to go is very shallow water.


Seamen really know a lot of knots as shown by this display.
 

On the ground outside the museum, you have two lifeboats from old oil rig platforms.


The museum is nice and it tells the story of the maritime life of Texas.  We liked this museum.



Friday February 13, 2015.


This morning is "Biscuits & Gravy" breakfast at the park.


All we need to bring is our appetite.


Here is what it looks like, "Biscuits and Gravy".


It is a very filling breakfast.

After this big breakfast, Michel and I walk to the store not to far from the Park.  It is a nice store with all kinds of stuff inside and outside.
 

After coming back from the store, I start the repair on my wiring between the motorhome and the car when in tow.




Saturday February 14, 2015


Happy Valentine Day to all!  The RV Park has organized a potluck diner followed by the Saturday evening karaoke.


As usual with potluck way too much food.


Decision, decision!


After diner, we stayed for the karaoke.  Like the last time, we did not know many of the songs so after about one hour we left the karaoke.



Sunday February 15, 2015


Ouppssss! No photos for today!  After the morning coffee with the "boys", I start to pack up some of the stuff to get ready for our departure tomorrow morning.  In the afternoon, we went by the Walmart to get some Valentine candies.  We treat ourselves to a Little Ceasar pizza for supper.

Until next time.

Life is good...



    
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