GOOSE ISLAND STATE PARK

WE ARRIVED AT GOOSE ISLAND STATE PARK ABOUT 4:00 ON THE AFTERNOON OF JANUARY 31 AFTER SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR FRIENDS KAREN AND MIKE AND SAN ANTONIO. EVEN THOUGH WE HAD MADE  RESERVATIONS, WE WERE ALLOWED TO DRIVE AROUND AND PICK OUR SPOT.

MOST OF THE  CAMP SITES WERE BACK-IN SITES AND AFTER SOME  TRIAL AND ERROR, DARRELL GOT GUSTOW BACKED  IN PERFECTLY!  IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SITE, SO PRIVATE AND QUIET. WE WERE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT WE HAD NO CELL PHONE SERVICE AND COULDN'T PICK UP THE WI-FI.

THIS IS A BIRDING PARADISE, EVERY SITE HAD A POLE THAT YOU COULD HANG A BIRD FEEDER AND THERE WERE DAILY BIRD WALKS AND  PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO LEARN ABOUT THE BIRDS.  TURKS CAP WAS THE TRAIL WE WALKED THE DOGS ON, IT WAS PICTURE POSTCARD BEAUTIFUL AND PEACEFUL.

WE WERE ONLY ABOUT A MILE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO, SO WE WALKED TO THE GULF QUITE OFTEN. WE SAW BROWN & WHILTE PELICANS, WHO ARE  PERMANENT    RESIDENTS OF GOOSE ISLAND. THEY WERE SO COOL!! ALL THE SHORE BIRDS LOOKED LIKE PREHISTORIC BIRDS.

 ONE DAY WE WALKED DOWN AND BROUGHT MAGGIE'S BALL,  SHE KEPT PUSHING THE BALL FURTHER OUT INTO THE WATER  UNTIL I HAD TO GO IN  AFTER IT, WE HAD A GREAT TIME PLAYING IN THE GULF, I WAS SURPRISED THE WATER WAS SO WARM!

ANOTHER DAY WE DECIDED TO DO A "TOURIST" THING AND VISIT THE BUSY TOURIST TOWN OF PORT ARANSAS, YOU HAD TO TAKE THE FERRY OVER, IT WAS A SHORT AND FREE RIDE.

AND WE HAD LUNCH OUTDOORS AT FINN'S, I HAD A FRIED OYSTER PO BOY....IT WAS DELICIOUS!!

THE TOWN OF ROCKPORT AND FULTON WERE ONLY NINE MILES FROM GOOSE ISLAND, ACROSS THE BAY, WHERE, OF COURSE WE FOUND A WALMART.

GOOSE ISLAND HAS SO MANY BEAUTIFUL OAK TREES, THIS GIANT OAK IS THE MOST FAMOUS TREE IN THE WORLD AND IS ESTIMATED TO BE 1,000 YEARS OLD!! 

WE HAD ONLY  PLANNED ON STAYING AT GOOSE ISLAND 7 DAYS BUT, THE DAY AFTER ARRIVING,  DARRELL DEFROSTED THE FREEZER AND THE REFRIGERATOR WOULDN''T TURN BACK ON. JOHN FROM  ACTION RV  HAD TO ORDER A PART AND ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 , JOHN CAME OUT AND PUT THE NEW PART ON AND IT TOOK RIGHT OFF, WE WERE THRILLED, YOU DON'T MISS ANYTHING UNTIL YOU DON'T HAVE IT!!!

SO, ON FRIDAY MORNING WE LEFT FOR THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, WE HAVE RESERVATIONS AT MAGNOLIA RV PARK IN DONNA, TEXAS. IT WAS ABOUT A FOUR HOUR DRIVE AND ON THE WAY WE STOPPED AT A REST STOP, I HAD MAGGIE AND MARLEE OUT UNTIL I SAW THIS SIGN, AND GOT THEM BACK IN THE TRUCK AS FAST AS I COULD!!!  

 

STONE CREEK RV PARK AND R & R

ON THE LAST DAY OF 2011 WE ARRIVED AT STONE CREEK RV PARK, READY FOR A LITTLE R & R. WE WERE TIRED AND SPENT THE FIRST DAYS RESTING AND GETTING THINGS DONE WE HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO WHILE WORKING AT THE CHRISTMAS TREE LOT. LUCKILY, THERE WAS A WALMART CLOSE, WHICH WE QUICKLY  BECAME REGULAR CUSTOMERS.

MOST OF THE TREES IN THE PARK HAVE MISTLETOE GROWING IN THEM, I NEVER KNEW MISTLETOE GREW IN TREES LIKE THIS. 

WE COULDN'T WAIT TO GET IN THE BEAUTIFUL JACUZZI,  IT WAS A LITTLE COOL FOR AN UNHEATED SWIMMING POOL THOUGH.  TURNS OUT WE HAD THE WHOLE POOL AREA TO OUR OURSELVES FOR THE WHOLE MONTH OF JANUARY, GUESS THE FOLKS HERE THINK IT'S A LITTLE COOL FOR AN OUTDOOR JACUZZI, WE THOUGHT IT WAS PERFECT WEATHER.

 OUR FRIENDS FROM THE CHRISTMAS TREES ARE HERE ALSO, AND  WE SHARED SOME AWESOME MEALS AND GOOD TIMES!

THEY INVITED US TO HAVE BREAKFAST ONE SUNDAY MORNING SO WE COULD MEET THEIR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS, WHO LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO. WE ATE AT A MEXICAN RESTAURANT AND HAD OUR FIRST MEXICAN BREAKFAST AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!

DARRELL ENJOYED HIS POTATO WITH BACON BREAKFAST TORTILLAS!! AND I HAD SOMETHING I COULDN'T BEGIN TO SPELL, BUT IT WAS DELCIOUS!

WE ENJOYED  ALOT OF THE PLANNED ACTIVITIES HERE IN THE PARK, BINGO, POT LUCKS,  ICE CREAM SOCIALS. MAGGIE &; MARLEE  ENJOYED THE AGILITY EQUIPMENT AND PLAYING BALL IN THE FENCED IN AREAS.

SAN ANTONIO HAS ALOT OF DOG PARKS AND WE TOOK THE GIRLS EVERY CHANCE WE GOT!

ONE DAY MIKE AND KAREN TOOK US BACK DOWN TO THE ALAMO. WE ENJOYED IT ALOT MORE  THIS TIME, WE WENT ON A THURSDAY AND THERE WEREN'T TOO MANY PEOPLE.

WE HAD LUNCH RIGHT ON THE RIVERWALK, THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT!

WE DID GO BACK TO CAMPING WORLD AND I FINALLY  FOUND SOMETHING TO BUY!! I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED A MAP TO PUT ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE RV AND ADD THE STATES AS WE VISIT. WE WILL ONLY ADD A STATE IF WE SPEND A NIGHT IN IT. WE ONLY HAVE 3 STATES SO FAR......SOUTH DAKOTA, COLORADO AND TEXAS.

WE HAVE  ENJOYED OUR MONTH AT THE RV PARK AND  ON THE 31ST WE WILL HEAD FURTHER  SOUTH TO THE GULF OF MEXICO , WE WANT TO STAY AT SOME TEXAS STATE PARKS  STARTING  WITH  GOOSE ISLAND STATE PARK IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

AHH.............WE LOVE RETIREMENT!!

FINISHING UP

ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, DARRELL HIRED DAVID TO HELP LOAD THE TRAILER, IT TOOK ABOUT FOUR HOURS TO GET EVERYTHING LOADED.

WE HAD PLANNED ON RETURNING IT SATURDAY TO THE WAREHOUSE, BUT THERE WERE TOO MANY TRAILERS THAT HAD TO BE GONE THROUGH, SO DARRELL PUT THE TRAILER IN THE TENT, AS WE WERE EXPECTING RAIN. DARYL AND ELAINE HOSTED A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER FOR ALL 14 CHRISTMAS TREE LOT COUPLES.

IT WAS THE FIRST WE HAD SEEN OF THE ORIGINAL COUPLES SINCE THANKSGIVING, THERE WERE ALSO THE "OLDIES", THE COUPLES THAT HAVE BEEN COMING BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR. DARRELL WASN'T THE ONLY GUY THAT LOST WEIGHT, IT LOOKED LIKE THEY ALL WERE LEANER. WE ALL AGREED IT WAS HARD, HARDER THAN WE ALL IMAGINED, BUT MOST OF THE NEW COUPLES COMMITTED TO COMING BACK NEXT YEAR.

FINALLY, ON TUESDAY MORNING, WE RETURNED THE TRAILER TO THE WAREHOUSE, FINALLY, OUR JOB WAS COMPLETE, EXCEPT FOR GETTING PAID.

ON WEDNESDAY, OUR FIRST FREE DAY WE WENT TO CAMPING WORLD, WE HAD BEEN TRYING TO GET HERE SINCE WE ARRIVED IN SAN ANTONIO!

I WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE ALOT LARGER, AND I DIDN'T FIND ONE THING TO BUY! ON THURSDAY, WE WENT TO THE WAREHOUSE AND  PICKED UP OUR CHECK FOR ALL OUR HARD WORK. IT WAS WAY MORE THAN WE EXPECTED, AND WE WERE VERY PLEASED. WE COULD STAY ON THE LOT UNTIL SATURDAY, AND HAD RESERVATIONS FOR STONE CREEK RV PARK FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY. SO, SATURDAY MORNING, WE HITCHED UP THE RV AND WERE OFF ON ANOTHER ADVENTURE!!!  LOOKING FORWARD TO A LITTLE R & R.

OUR FIRST WORKAMPING JOB COMPLETED!!

THE LAST WEEKEND BEFORE CHRISTMAS, WE WERE A LITTLE BUSY, WE HAD CUT DOWN OUR LARGE TREES TO 7 AND 8 FOOTERS AND SOLD  THEM IN A HURRY, OTHER LOTS WERE CALLING ASKING IF WE HAD ANY 7 FOOT TREES.

BY MONDAY WHEN WE OPENED, FOLKS WERE JUST DRIVING  BY AND LOOKING IN TO SEE IF WE HAD TREES, AND THEN DRIVING OFF, THINKING WE DIDN'T HAVE TREES, SO DARRELL LINED WHAT WE HAD LEFT IN THE FRONT FLAP, SO FOLKS COULD DRIVE BY AND SEE WE DID HAVE TREES.

BY TUESDAY MORNING WHEN WE OPENED WE HAD 18 TREES LEFT, SO DARRELL LINED THEM UP OUT FRONT.

WITH MOSTLY FOUR FOOT TREES LEFT, WE HAD A COUPLE FIVE FOOT TREES, EVERYONE WAS LOOKING FOR TALLER TREES. THROUGHOUT THE DAY WE SOLD A FEW, MOST FOLKS WERE HAVING TO SETTLE FOR THE SHORTER TREES, BECAUSE WE FOUND OUT EVERYONE WAS SOLD OUT OF TREES, WHICH WAS GOOD FOR US!! IT HAD REALLY CUT DOWN ON THE WATERING!! BY THURSDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 23, WE HAD SEVEN TREES LEFT, DARYL SMITH CALLED AND TOLD US WE COULD MARK DOWN THE FOUR FOOTERS TO $10 AND THE TABLETOPS TO $5. SO, WE TOOK THOSE TO THE CURB, MADE A BIG SIGN, AND FIGURED WE WOULD SELL THOSE OUT PRETTY QUICK.

WE FOUND OUT THROUGHOUT THE DAY, OTHER LOTS WERE SOLD OUT AND CLOSED, SO WE WERE GETTING ANXIOUS!

BY AFTERNOON WE WERE DOWN TO 3 TABLETOPS, SURELY WE COULD SELL OUT TODAY!!!

BY 5:30, WE HAD TWO TABLETOP TREES LEFT, SO DARRELL CALLED DARYL SMITH AND TOLD HIM WHAT WE HAD LEFT, AND HE SAID WE COULD CLOSE DOWN. DARRELL TOOK THE STANDS OFF THE TREES AND WERE WALKING THEM OUT TO THE CURB AND A MAN STOPPED WANTING A TREE, DARRELL GAVE HIM BOTH, HE WAS VERY HAPPY, BUT NOT NEARLY AS  HAPPY AS WE WERE!! 

OH CHRISTMAS TREE......OH CHRISTMAS TREE......HOW LOVELY ARE YOUR BRANCHES!!

WE OPENED THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING WITH  ANTICIPATION,  WERE READY TO SELL CHRISTMAS TREES FOR HOLIDAY HILLS, OUR FIRST WORKAMPING JOB. THE OWNER, DARYL PREDICTED WE WOULD SELL 60 TREES ON FRIDAY, WE SOLD HALF OF THAT.  WE WERE KIND OF BUSY, NEVER A RUSH OF FOLKS LIKE WE THOUGHT.

ALL WEEKEND THAT WAS THE WAY IT WAS, WE DID HALF OF WHAT DARYL THOUGHT WE WOULD DO, WHICH WAS DISAPPOINTING. WE DECIDED WE NEEDED MORE SIGNS, SO WE GOT SOME EXTRAS AND PUT THEM UP, IT HELPED A LITTLE,  BUT, OUR SALES WERE DISAPPOINTING. DARYL TOLD US THAT BECAUSE THIS WAS A NEW LOCATION, IT WAS PROBABLY TO BE EXPECTED.  THE LONG HOURS AND HARD WORK KICKED OUR BUTTS EVERY DAY. WHEN WE SAID WE COULD DO ANYTHING FOR A MONTH, OBVIOUSLY, WE HAD NEVER DONE THIS. WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THE TREES BEING HEAVY AND DIRTY. DARRELL LOST WEIGHT AND I NIKNAMED HIM "PIGPEN", BECAUSE HE WAS ALWAYS DIRTY. WE LAY IN BED EXHAUSTED, LAUGHING ABOUT WHAT WE HAD GOTTEN OURSELVES INTO. WE HAD BARELY ENOUGH TIME TO WASH OUR CLOTHES, SHOP FOR GROCERIES, AND GET CHANGE FOR THE BUSINESS.

WE HIRED THREE YOUNG MEN TO HELP US, SAL, JASON, AND DAVID. THEY WERE VERY GOOD HELP, ALWAYS CAME TO WORK, AND ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP. THE PICTURE BELOW IS OF SAL.  

AND THIS IS JASON.

AND DAVID, WHO TURNED OUT TO BE SO TALENTED!

HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THE "LITTLE TREES" FOR THE KIDS, AND THEY LOVED THEM!

MADE OUT OF SCRAPS, THEY KIDS TOOK THEM HOME TO DECORATE FOR THEIR ROOMS, WE CREATED ALOT OF GOOD WILL WITH THOSE LITTLE TREES!

THIS YOUNG LADY HAD NEVER HAD A REAL TREE AND SHE WAS SO EXCITED!!

WE TOOK ORDERS FOR A DOZEN TREES TO FLOCK, AND THEN IT STARTED RAINING, JUST BY LUCK AND BY GOLLY, THEY ALL DRIED, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DISAPPOINT OUR CUSTOMERS. DARRELL WAS BUSY FOR 5 DAYS FLOCKING TREES, AND THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL!! 

WE SOLD THIS TREE FOR $149.99. WE LAUGHED, HOLIDAY HILLS CALLED IT A "NATURAL", IT LOOKED LIKE WHAT WE'VE BEEN CUTTING IN THE BLACK HILLS, ALL OUR LIVES. THE COUPLE WERE TICKLED FOR IT, AS THEY HAD LARGE ORNAMENTS, AND NEEDED  A SPARSE TREE TO ACCOMODATE THEIR ORNAMENTS.

THIS IS WHERE I SPENT ALL MY TIME, I WAS THE CASHIER.

ONCE IN A WHILE, I WAS ABLE TO COME OUT OF "THE BOX" AND DO SOME FUN THINGS, LIKE, NETTING A TREE.

MAGGIE AND MARLEE SPENT MANY AN EVENING WITH US OUT IN THE CASHIER'S BOX.

DARRELL SPENT ALOT OF TIME WATERING THE TREES, THEY HAD TO BE WATERED TWICE A DAY AND MISTED AT NIGHT.

 ALL THE GUYS MADE TREES, IT WAS SUCH A TREAT TO SEE HOW EXCITED THE KIDS GOT OVER THEM.HERE THEY ARE ALL LINED UP WAITING FOR THE LITTLE KIDS TO CLAIM THEM AS THEIR OWN.

SAL MADE A CUTE  REINDEER, DAVID COULD NOT LET HIM GET ONE  OVER ON HIM, SO 

HE HAD TO MAKE A FULL BODY REINDEER.....THE COMPETITION WAS ON!!

AND THEN DAVID CAME UP WITH SOMETHING QUITE SPECTACULAR! THIS IS AS CUTE AS IT CAN BE......MADE OUT OF SCRAPS!!

DAVID MADE ONE FOR ME, IT'S THE ONLY CHRISTMAS DECORATION WE HAVE IN THE RV.