Oscar Bingo On The Beach

Here we are on North Beach in Corpus Christi. We are going to try and stay the night in the parking lot, with Corpus Christi Bay outside our front window. We'll be watching the Oscars here, palm trees to the left of us, beach to the right. What could be better than that.

This year, not only did we print voting cards for the top six categories, but we also printed out four bingo cards (2 each). Ward and I will be playing Oscar Bingo this year. We got the idea for the bingo from Kelly and Michael on morning tv. And I found the bingo cards online at Star Ledger. On our last shopping trip we picked up pre-popped popcorn so we can enjoy the proper snacks for the evening entertainment.

Earlier this afternoon Ward and I took a walk down the beach with the video camera, and yes, Ward was filming this time as well. So here are our nominations for best vacation clip.











Oh, speaking of movies, my son has his own listing on IMDB, the movie database online. I am so proud of him!!

Get Out Of My Parking Lot

It had to happen sooner or later. We got kicked out of the Walmart parking lot. Well, actually we had been there for almost two weeks and started to get a bit too comfortable. The fellow pulled up to our RV and told us that we could not camp in the parking lot. He said his boss had seen us the day before and wanted us gone. Maybe we would not have been booted out if we did not set up our camp at the back of the Walmart. We took it as a sign and headed back to the beach for some other adventures that I will get to in a minute.

It happened again this week. Ward and I pulled in to the same Walmart parking lot. We stayed overnight without incident, then the next afternoon we heard a knock on the door. The security guard said it was the policy of Walmart to allow RVs to stay only one night. We asked if we could stay that evening as well and we would be gone the next morning. He was ok with the arrangement. The next day we headed for the old Walmart lot a few streets down. It was the same parking lot as the Chinese Buffet and next to the Post Office where I had to go and cancel our PO Box. This time a police car pulled up and said there had been a complaint about RVs parking in the lot. We had been there just one night, and Ward was changing the oil on the motorcycle in the lot. Ward said we would be on our way once he was finished with the oil change.

Last night we had an uneventful stay at Sams and moved on to the next Walmart down the road. Well, actually across the street. I think we are on our way back home, slowly, oh so slowly. With winter storms running amuk all across America, the trek north is as slow as a snail, one parking lot at a time, it would seem.

So, as promised, we did have some adventures on the beach this last time. I mentioned we met a fellow Canadian. Well, in true Canadian spirit, he got himself placed in the drunk tank at the Corpus Chrisit Police Station. He doesn't have a memory of the incident until waking up in the back of a cruiser, but we saw it all unfold.

It started innocently enough. We were sharing a bit of high quality dark rum, then Ward and I were off to start the BBQ and our Canadian friend was going to clean the fish he caught. Next thing I see was his truck driving down the beach. And wasn't that his bicycle under the truck? Oh yes it was. It wasn't really the Ranger's fault that our Canadian friend was stopped. Somebody had to see why that truck was dragging a bicycle, and make sure everyone involved was unharmed.

We confirmed that the bicycle was actually his own, and said we would pick him up the next morning at 8. After all, don't Canadians take care of each other. Ward went to get him in the morning on the motorcycle, to find he had been released at 3am without a wallet, but with a note stating his beach friends were coming to get him. He was extremely grateful for the ride, but much confused on how he got there.

The next few days were spent socializing on the beach, sharing food and stories, while our friend tried to piece together his missing hours. We were given the injured bicycle, partly as a gift for our kindness, but mostly (I think) to rid him of the memory of that fateful event.

The bicycle is temporarily strapped to the front of the RV, while I design a bicycle rack to hold our newly aquired bicycle and the one we purchased earlier this year. The new bike rack is needed to allow quick access to the bicycles, so we will actually ride them. Currently my bike is strapped down so securely it takes hours to remove it. Not good, if it is meant to be ridden.

With nothing but time on our hands, the bicycle rack is being built with spare parts we have on hand and bits of hardware purchased. Each new parking lot allows the design to get honed and perfected. You'll get a photo once the project is complete.

Speilberg Step Aside

Ward found the video camcorder in the RV the other day and we have been busy video taping on the beach.

Here are the videos we have made so far. They should give you an idea of life on the beach here at the Padre Island National Seashore. Enjoy!






















The videos are being sent from a German Bakery on Padre Island where we are enjoying Valentines Day pastries and buying more rye bread. This stuff is huge. We got a loaf of whole wheat rye and another that has sunflower seeds in the rye bread. There are two loaves because we are bringing one back for a new friend on the beach. He is from Quebec and is craving real bread as well. Too much wonder bread in America for us Canadians.

Oh, and my art projects are coming along. The first watercolor I did was definitely a learning experience.

I also make an Anniversary Card for Ward, with a lovely watercolor on the front. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

My next project is with the correct type of paper (140 lb watercolor paper) and has much promise already.
Just another day on the beach. Gotta go and get back to my life 'on the beach'.

My Own Private Art Classes

I am teaching myself how to paint. I'm artsy, but have not really done anything for a long time. I've done crafty things for years, but artistic stuff, not so much. And painting is something I have never learned how to do. So, with all this time on my hands, and such great views every day, I decided to teach myself how to paint.
My first project was a paint by numbers. It was a silly mindless project that allowed me to hold a paint brush, mix colors, and work with acrylic paints. Well, that project is now complete. How do you like it! Pretty cheesy huh! (I am turning into an American with my huh instead of eh).

Now I am on to my next project. It is a study in watercolor. I picked up a book that had some transfer landscapes in it, and instruction on how to use the watercolors.

I must say, watercolor is so totally foreign to me. And it is very unforgiving. With acrylics you can just paint over your mistake, and the paint dries so quickly that it can be done within minutes. But with watercolor, the damage is done if you make a mistake. And I think I have very cheap watercolors. I am used an old art set that my daughter Jessica got years ago and never used.

It has a variety of mediums in it including both cake and wet watercolors. I am using the wet ones. I am  also using a product called 'masking fluid'. It is a latex product that is painted onto areas of the project that you do not wish to get painted.

So far, when I use it, the masking fluid is ripping the top layer of my paper off when removed. Not good. And the watercolors take some major getting used to. Did I say I liked the acrylic paints better?
Well, I am going to keep working on this project and get some practice with the watercolors. I think I will use the cake paints as well, not just the liquid watercolors. I may prefer the cake style more, who knows. The book has taught me a few things already, so I don't want you to think this project is all bad. The tracing paper thing is really cool.

I can see how it could be adapted to work with photos I take. I could use photoshop to change them into line drawings, print them out, and transfer them to my canvas / paper. And I am learning how watercolors work.
Ward has contributed to the exercise as well. He constructed an easel for me out of some angle iron we had in stock. It folds when not in use, with the loosening of a bolt, and works wonderfully when painting on the beach. I just need to pick up a flat board to rest on it, that will hold my future painting projects.

I have to get a bit more practice in today because I want to make Ward an anniversary card. It's our 4th anniversary today. Usually I create a card on the computer and print it out, put I don't want to pull the printer down and set it up. It would be much easier to whip up a quick card with the watercolors and hand write the sentiment inside.
I better get busy with my project.
Later dudes and dudettes!

Superbowl Sunday Tailgate Party

Ok, it wasn't a real tail gate party, but we did have people over.  Rick and Amanda were good enough to drop by and share some food and stories before the game started.
We have been in the same Walmart parking lot for about a week now. Originally Ward and I came in off the beach on Monday because the wind was picking up. Our propane supply was diminishing, we needed milk, and quite honestly the sand was starting to get to us. It was everywhere, and with the high humidity in the air, it was sticking everywhere. Oh, and the motorcycle was in need of some attention. So, we headed into town.
It was nice to come into town to restock our supplies, and Ward had a chance to take a better look at the motorcycle. It wasn't getting gas enough to run smoothly. He pulled off the tank and had a look at the fuel filter. Not good. Then he checked the air filter. Not good. A trip to the Harley shop was definitely in his future.
While in the Walmart lot we met several RV enthusiasts. Some have been on the road for over ten years, others just a few years. We met a couple who sell kites out of the trailer they pull. As they drive through America they stop, open the trailer, and set up shop. They sell for a day or a week, then pack up and head somewhere else.
Another full timer has been on the road for 11 years now. He is currently in a smaller Class C motorhome, but has had fifth wheels, large diesel pushers, pop-up tents, you name it. He prefers the small Class C because he is not restricted in places he can go. We hear that a lot. He also has solar panels on the roof of his RV. Hes got 2 100 watt ones, and 2 75 watt panels, producing as much as 350 watts per hour. He also has a 400 watt wind generator, but has not had it installed on this RV as of yet. The wind generator, he said, is a lot more trouble to set up on a mobile unit, and for that reason he prefers the ease of use of the solar panels. They are permanently installed, and collect energy whenever the sun is out. I told him I was looking into getting a wind generator because you get a lot more wattage for the cost of the thing. But after hearing what he had to say about set-up, I will need to think on that a bit more.
Bill came in from the beach as well a few times this past week, and spent a night each time. He has been on North Beach a mile down from us  off and on over the past month. And we finally met Beau a few days ago. Bill had said he was camped on North Beach a while ago when Bill first arrived.
It turns out most of the people we met for the first time, or as known aquaintences have been spending a lot of time over at Bird Island on the Laguna Madre side of Padre Island (between the mainland and the island). Some of them have been to Mustang Island. And sometimes we share the same experiences, only days apart. Curt and Kinder ate at the same restaurant at Port A, and walked around the pier behind the restaurant to see the same pelicans perched on the dock poles. We have been meeting a lot of the same people as they come and go from location to location. It's a strange fluid community of people moving in and out of our lives.
The motorcycle finally got back to its old self. Ward picked up some new filters and installed them. Then we headed out for a trip around town. We stopped in at the local Trade Fair, a kind of flea market filled with clothing, purses, toys, tattoo artists, food vendors, and so much more. It was interesting to walk through and check out the wares, but we didn't buy anything, not even a new tattoo for Ward, much to his chagrin.
Next we headed for the Pier in Corpus Christi. There are actually three separate piers downtown along the bay with sail boats galore docked in their slips.

We went down the central pier and found a small outdoor market set up with people selling trinkets and a  musician singing and playing guitar. We stopped at a food vendor, selling Cajun food from his old school bus for some red beans and rice.

While enjoying our snack we were joined by a local couple. We exchanged stories, and were told that the valley down south around McAllen was a 'must go' destination. A lot of times these tips from folks we talk to end up guiding us through the country. Some of the best places we have gone to came from suggestions like this one, such as Palo Duro Canyon and Fort Davis.
Ward and I were only going to stay at the Walmart for a few days this last time, just until the bike was running properly and the cold front and high winds left. Well, Superbowl Sunday was quickly approaching and we don't get CBS on the beach. So we decided to stay a few more days so we could see the game. Then Ward decided to have a tailgate party. He invited the folks still remaining in the parking lot that we have been talking with these past few days. That left Rick, with his dog Sam, and Amanda from Alberta. Rick is one of the full time RVers and comes from Minnesota. He retired from conventional employment and enjoys being a camping host up in Wisconsin during the summers, coming down to Corpus Christi most winters. Amanda comes from Alberta, and is on a three month vacation from Canada before going to University. She is only 22 and has already been to Australia and New Zealand, and is now travelling on her own in a mini-van adventure through America. More power to her.
We shared food and spent the afternoon telling stories of places we have been and lives we have lived. As the sun was starting to set, we went our separate ways. Amanda was off to another town down the road. Rick took his dog back to his RV, and we headed in to watch the game. This time we got to see the Superbowl commercials on the TV instead of running to the computer to get them on youtube. Wasn't that baby Clydesdale commercial great!
Well, it's Monday. Let's see what life has in store for today.