Our March, 2006 Travelogue

Our March Pics are Here

March and only two weeks left in the Rio Grande Valley. The temperatures are routinely in the mid-80's now, and the mockingbirds are singing - we hear that is a sign of Spring. The snowbirds are starting to migrate as well.

We got some really great news - we have landed a three-month gig in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina this spring. We'll be leaving the valley mid-month, and winding our way to North Carolina. This time we plan to take our time and see more things along the way. Hopefully we'll get some more local specialty recipes along the way.

This falls under the heading of "there ain 't no justice". Mary Jane could almost care less about shuffleboard - she even resigned as my doubles partner. Anyway, we both entered the park shuffleboard tournament. It's just a friendly event - park people only - 44 entrants. Guess who wins a trophy - yes - Mary Jane. Here is the play-by-play. MJ is behind by six points - her opponent has the hammer (the last shot) - MJ puts up a seven - her opponent has a clear shot at it - her seven is wide open - no blocks in front of it - her opponent sails his last shot clean past hers. Missed it by two inches. She wins by one point and advanced to the trophy round. Dang! Oh, Randy lost his third game by 4 points. It was a close game the entire match.

3/17/2006 - We've decided to leave the park here on Sunday Morning. Our first drive will be short - to Brownsville for a night or two at the park where Randy's uncle LeRoy stays for the winter. He tells us he is planning a Swedish dinner - meatballs, potatoes, lingonberries, etc. He's a great cook, so we're in for a treat. We'd like to visit the zoo in Brownsville since we've heard very good reports about it. We'd also like to visit Laguna Atacosa again. We have not been there this trip, and we understand that it is very dry and there are few birds. Our hope is that the bay has some birds that are migrating.

From Brownsville we'll be traveling up to Corpus Christi, then to Livingston, TX to the Escapees Park for a day or two. From there it's over towards Pensacola Florida. Then across Florida to the East coast - probably Savannah GA, and the North Carolina coast before we head for the mountains of western NC. If you think our trip plan sounds pretty loose, you're right. On our trip down here we were rushed - this time it will be a lot calmer trip, with more time to visit interesting places and learn about them.

3/19-22/2006 - We're on the road again. We've had a great time in the valley, but now it's time for new adventures. We'll be updating as we are able - depends on internet connectivity. We spent two nights in Brownsville. We visited the Gladys Porter Zoo, which we thought was very nice. One can not help feeling sorry for the animals, but if you consider that many of them are endangered and being protected it makes it better.

On Tuesday we made the trip from Brownsville to Victoria, TX, staying in the city park there. It's a great facility - very level, all pull-through sites for $12.00 per night. There were five deer out in the evening, and we had a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes which hung out near our camping spot. They are a very striking bird. We also had a fly-by from a scissor-tailed flycatcher. He landed in a tree about a hundred yards away, but left before we could get the camera out for a picture. An incredible bird!

Wednesday we made a dash for Livingston, TX to the escapees park. This was about a 200 mile drive right through Houston. We have taken the toll road through there before, and it was busy. This time we said 'what the heck - let's just take highway 59 straight through. It went okay except for some construction which closed the two right lanes - it was a mess merging down to two lanes. The traffic was heavy, but we made it through just fine.

The Escapees park still had some room for us, so that was great. It's good to be 'home', since this is where we are registered to vote, etc. They also have WI-FI access to the internet, so we can email and work on the web site while we are here.

3/22 - 3/24 - Stayed in Livingston three nights. There is a cool front and there was frost on the windows all three mornings - quite a difference from 102 in Brownsville a few days ago.

3/25 - 3/26 - On the road with a Walmart stop over night.

3/27 - 3/29 - We stayed in the Escapees Park in Summerdale, AL. This is a nice park with big lots, grass, trees, and nice facilities. We hooked up with our friends Chris and Mare from the Minnesota Airstream Park; they are staying in Magnolia Springs, a few miles south of here. This park is in a super location - equal distances from Mobile and Pensacola, and not very far from the Gulf Beaches to the South. We may stay a few days longer than planned to take in all the sights and relax. We've visited the battleship Alabama (link) in Mobile, watched the Blue Angels (link) practice, toured the free Air Museum (link) in Pensacola, Pensacola Beach (pics), and sampled some great food.