Giddyup

Music

Dan was entertaining me while I fixed dinner.

Lifting

This was a demonstration of how to lift heavy objects by using block and tackle in various ratios from 1 to 1 up to 6 to 1.

King and Queen

Santa Maria

The Santa Maria was the largest of the three ships.

Water and Wine

Large quantities of water were carried in barrels for sailors to drink on voyages. The water quickly went foul and was mixed with wine to taste better. The alcohol in the wine helped kill the bacteria in the water and kept the sailors from becoming ill. Ships generally carried half as much wine as water on voyages.

Stateroom

Here you see "Columbus" working on a chart in his chambers on the Santa Maria.

C C Museum of Science and History & Columbus Ships

We toured the “”Santa Maria and “Pinta.” They were not meant for tall sailors. Since the fire stove wasn’t used much due to the action of the ship, the sailors ate mostly dried fish and hard biscuits. These replicas were built and sailed to the new world by Spaniards to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ trip.

Nina

This replica of Columbus’ ship is in the Corpus Christi Harbor.

Whataburger

Here is a local Texas institution – the orange and white rooftop. It is a Whataburger fast food place. Dan is waiting patiently for his order. Next you see him chomping down. YUM

Drilling

Because the taxpayers couldn’t afford to buy the mineral rights, there is well drilling on the National Seashore. However, there are restrictions to protect the environmental aspects.

Bird watching at the Seashore

Don’t touch

While we were on the beach walk with this informative Park Ranger, he told us “Don’t touch” the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war. Notice the beautiful color of the man-of-war.

Padre Island National Seashore

The park protects the longest section of undeveloped barrier island in the world. This 80-mile preserved stretch of beach located on the south Texas coast is beautiful. The very busy birds dotted the seashore and made for fun bird watching. Notice the one legged birdies. We saw some people fishing and others windsurfing. The 58 degree water temp was too cold for swimming.

Trees from The Garden of Roots

Garden of Roots

Jardin de Racines or Garden of Roots is located in the Castroville Regional Park where we camped for a week. It is a living gift from the citizens of Alsace to the city of Castroville. In 1997 a team of students and faculty from Alsace(located between France and Germany) began work on their gift. They planted trees for each village in their country. I counted over 50 trees in this area.

Guess Who?

This was taken on The River Walk near where the band was performing.

More of The Alamo

The Alamo

We couldn't go to San Antonio without seeing The Alamo, the most famous spot in Texas. It was established in 1718 as the city's first mission.

The River Walk

While riding on the Rio Taxi, or River Shuttle, we saw the River Walk. There are hotels, art and gift shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafes, boutiques, and live music along with beautiful vegetation and interesting buildings.

Castroville

Castroville, also known as "Little Alsace," is located west of San Antonio. Many emigrants from Alsace, a province of France, came to this area in the 1800's.

On January 15, 2004 Castroville, Texas was designated as a Preserve America Community. This program was designed to support and encourage communities to protect their cultural historic heritage. 44 homes that were built in the 1800's have been restored and have the "Alsace look." Here you see the roof line that depicts the history of this town. Metal was used on these roofs.

Cross Hill

Mt. Gentilz, known as Cross Hill, offers a panoramic view of the Medina Valley. It was an old European custom for a village to proclaim its faith by erecting a cross in a prominent place. The Alsatians brought this tradition when they came to Castroville.

Castroville Regional Park

The campground is right near a park that is used by many of the locals. The park has picnicking, swimming pool, fishing, bird and butterfly watching, athletic courts, playground, walking trail, scout trail, and a root garden, a little bit of everything. On one of our bike rides around the park, we were surprised to see all of the moss hanging from the trees near the trail.

Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center

This Visitor Center, operated by the Texas Department of Transportation, features a rustic saloon, courtroom and billiard hall, and opera house of Judge Roy Bean. He was know as the "Law West of the Pecos" in the 1880's. His six-shooter justice makes for some interesting stories.

The Maker of Peace

"The Maker of Peace," a unique statue, stands outside the Seminole Canyon State Park Headquarters in Texas. It is a memorial to honor all of the ancestors whose art adorns the canyons (of this area) and whose prayers still echo in the wind.

Javelina

Our campground had a resident javelina, which we saw several times.

Big Bend National Park

Big truly describes this area. Here you see a view of Santa Elena Canyon and the beautiful cliff by our campground at sunset.

Flood Gauge

While we took a walk around the Davis Mountains State Park, where we were camped, we noticed several of these flood gauge signs in dry stream beds.

McDonald Observatory

While staying at Davis Mountains State Park, we took a drive up to the McDonald Observatory, which is one of the major astronomical research facilities in the world.

Balmorhea State Park

Balmorhea State Park

At this state park, which is located in the foothills of the Davis Mountains, there is a huge walled swimming pool with a 62,000 square foot surface (one of the largest man-made pools in the U.S.) that is fed by the San Solomon Springs, at a rate of 22-26 million gallons daily. Since the temp was 73 degrees, we decided to skip going for a dip.

Permian Basin Petroleum Museum

Here you see Dan looking at one of the many antique oil drilling rigs located in the “Oil Patch,” which is outside the Petroleum Museum near Midland, Texas. Inside, we saw the realistic artwork of Tom Lovell, which depicted scenes of the early oil industry. This museum has a variety of collections, exhibits and interpretation of the oil industry.

Getting Ready for the Trip to Texas

Before we could leave for warmer climates, the snow on top of the RV had to be removed. Guess who is getting his exercise?

Midland, Texas

Today, Karen and I are in Midland, Texas, so that I can visit the home of the Commemorative Air Force. This organization has the largest collection of flyable World War II aircraft in the world and I have wanted to see them for many years. Another item checked off on the 'things I want to see before I get too old' list. The picture is of a B29 bomber which is the type that dropped the atomic bombs to end the Pacific War.

Lemon Meringue Pie

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  Jennie and Zac surprised us one evening and brought over dessert. This delicious lemon meringue pie didn't last very long. It was yummy.