Galveston, Friends & Birds

Mon., Jan. 20th – Fri, Jan. 31st, 2020

We headed back to Galveston Island State Park with Linda & Andy. We learned a valuable lesson on this second outing. Best to visit here when it hasn’t rained a day or two before. Twas beyond muddy! Andy gave up and sat at one of the overlook spots. The rest of us trudged on, and our pants and shoes were the worse for the wear. But we did see Egrets (both Snowy and Great) and an osprey that we initially took for an immature eagle. Afterwards we came back to the campground and we made a “tinfoil supper” for A&L, which is rather ironic since it’s a recipe Linda found and posted on Facebook but she never made it herself. You fill individual tinfoil packets with sliced turkey kielbasa, chopped green and red bell peppers, onions, cajun spices, and instant brown rice. Seal the packets, place on the grill and voila… dinner is ready 25 minutes later. It’s quite tasty!

Gary and I have gotten into the habit after dinner of going for a walk around the campground. We adopted this habit in Brunswick, GA last winter for three months and now we’re doing it again here. It’s quite peaceful. We’re alone except for the occasional dog walker, and enjoy seeing the moon at its various stages.

Tuesday we traveled to League City, about 45 minutes away, to get Gary an iPhone. He hadn’t had one before but with us traveling it seems important that we have a way to communicate with each other if one is off doing something else. Gary ended up with my old iPhone and I got a new one. The cool feature on my new iPhone is that it can handle night time photography better than previously. I’m looking forward to putting it through its paces. We ran other errands and also discovered Jason’s Deli. A chain in these parts with an amazing salad bar and locally sourced foods. Fabulous.  Tonight Linda tried out her new Instant Pot and made a pot roast for the four of us. Delicious. For those unfamiliar, an Instant Pot is considered better than a crockpot because you can brown, slow cook, steam, and do almost anything in the one pot. They have become extremely popular over the last few years. 

Wednesday we spent a good portion of the day organizing our paperwork to travel the next day to Livingston, TX to hopefully get the truck registered and our Texas drivers licenses. As I think I’ve mentioned previously, as full time RVers and trying to be law abiding citizens, it’s necessary for us to be tied to a state. There are three states that cater to full-time RVers: Florida, Texas and South Dakota. All three states are income tax-free, the government entities will accept mail-forwarding addresses as a permanent address and there are headquarters for mail-forwarding services in all three states. It’s necessary to have a “permanent” address and not just a Post Office number in order to be able to vote, be insured, and satisfy credit card companies and financial institutions. We chose Texas since we have family here and it’s located in the middle of the country which is better suited for exploring the U.S. 

Since nowadays all the states are going to the “real” ID’s for added homeland security, we had to pull together passports to show proof of citizenship, social security paperwork to prove who we are, and proof of residence in the state of Texas which is a bit of a challenge since we’ve been “residents” for all of about a month. 

Soooo after spending a good portion of the day organizing all the paperwork, we rewarded ourselves by heading out to dinner with Andy & Linda and Carey & Denis to Nate’s West End. While the atmosphere is nothing special, the food most certainly is special. I ordered a pecan encrusted red snapper with grilled vegetables and fried okra. Delicious! I don’t remember what Gary ordered. It doesn’t matter because he NEVER shares with me. His complaint is that I never order anything he is remotely interested in eating so it’s a one way street. It won’t be pretty if we’re stuck on a desert island together. Somebody will starve to death. As usual with this group, dinner was full of chatter and lots of laughter. 

Thursday, the 23rd, we left early for the 2 hour drive to Livingston, TX to first get the truck registered. (We already had the truck inspected a few days ago here in Galveston.) Getting the truck registered is required before we can get our new drivers licenses. Vehicle registration is done at the County Tax Office and that went off without a hitch, and we were rewarded with new TX license plates for the truck. From there we headed to lunch at the Blue Duck, a charming local restaurant housed in what once was a department store. After that we headed to the Department of Public Safety to get our drivers licenses, which coincidentally is across from the county jail. A tidbit that will come into play a little later in this saga. The Dept. of Public Safety office can hold 10 people at a time. Gary manned up and let me take the last inside seat while he stood outside in the cold. He was able to enter about 20 minutes later when a seat opened up. Then we were both busy with filling out the Request for License form and waiting for our respective numbers to be called. I went up first, spread out all my paperwork in front of me, answered the interviewer’s questions, passed the eye chart, got my picture taken and was rewarded with a temporary Texas Driver’s License. The real one should be mailed within a few weeks. As part of the process, my NH driver’s license was confiscated. Because of the 10-person seating rule in the waiting room, I headed out to the truck to free up a space for someone else. 

Gary comes out about 25 minutes later and says “well that didn’t go according to plan.” Apparently one of the questions that the interviewer asked was “Are all your vehicles registered in the state of TX.” He answered truthfully (sigh) that the 5th wheel is not yet registered in Texas. So the interviewer said “then I can’t give you your license.” Gary said “what do you mean, my wife was just in and got her’s!” Sure, throw me under the bus. The interviewer said “Well she shouldn’t have. It could be a problem. All your vehicles have to be registered first before you get your licenses.” Then the two of them entered into a little discussion about what constitutes a “vehicle” … Gary lobbying that the 5th wheel doesn’t have an engine and the interviewer saying that it has wheels so it’s a vehicle. You can guess how this turned out. Gary did not get his license. I’m still walking the streets and haven’t been arrested yet. We’ll see what happens, and if I actually get my new Texas driver’s license… or not.  I don’t remember my interviewer asking me the question about all the vehicles being registered in the state of Texas, but then I don’t think of the 5th wheel as being a vehicle. It’s my tiny home, so I answered truthfully… for me. Not sure this argument will actually fly if push comes to shove. We’re still in a waiting game for my license. It hasn’t shown up yet.  

We finally arrived back to our tiny home around 6 that evening after our interesting day. 

After further discussion, our new plan is to leave Galveston a few days early (before the end of March). We’ll head up to Livingston with the 5th wheel so we can have it inspected, followed by registering it, and hopefully then Gary can get his license. If we get our tiny home inspected and registered, I won’t be illegal anymore. Always an adventure. 

Friday Andy & Linda were planning to golf. Gary & I drove over to the seawall with our bikes. We rode bikes on the seawall for about 6 miles. It was a beautiful day and very fun once I got used to riding on the seawall with a 10 ft. drop off the beach side, and nothing to stop me from going over the edge if my attention wandered. Luckily the seawall is quite wide, about 12 feet, and my attention didn’t wander… or at least not enough where I went off the side. We also walked on the beach and had a lovely time of it. Once we got back, we sat outside and had a “lime” with Andy & Linda and our neighbor Liz. I think I may have mentioned Liz is a retired nurse from Canada. She is a hoot. She worked and lived in Trinidad for 25 years. In Trinidad and in the Caribbean, “lime” is a synonym for “a gathering” or “to hang out.” So she is always looking for a chance to “lime.” We joyfully welcome her since she is the life of the party!  Her husband is also a delight and is a good foil for his more outgoing wife. She always entertains us with her stories…. there’s the one where their dog Monty “accidentally” killed a campground’s pet turkey. Needless to say that didn’t endear them, or Monty, with the other campers. Then there’s Liz’s nursing tales… one of which is quite colorful. Gales of laughter followed. 

After it became too cold to remain outdoors, we ended the lime. Gary made chicken potpie for the four of us to enjoy.  

Saturday was errands including laundry and picking up a few groceries as well as Linda & I biked around the campground for about 4 miles. We sat outside in the afternoon (Happy Hour and all that) and Andy grilled pork chops for dinner. Yum. 

Sunday, the 26th we had a treat as our dear friends, Meigs & Paul who were our neighbors for over 35 years in Nottingham, came to visit! They moved from Nottingham about 19 months ago to San Marcos, Texas (outside San Antonio). Meigs & Paul arrived in the afternoon and thankfully it was sunny and warm. We sat outside and all visited and caught up with each other. Meigs & Paul also know Andy & Linda from their frequent opportunities to see each other both in NH and TX. 

Once it got too cool to remain outdoors, we moved inside to our tiny home. Meigs has recently undergone ankle replacement surgery and is in the midst of Physical Therapy. Our stairs into the RV can be a challenge for able bodied individuals, never mind someone who is recovering from surgery. Meigs is a trooper! With Gary on one side and Paul on the other, she made it in without missing a beat! Nothing phases this amazing woman! 

Gary had made lasagna for dinner so we all enjoyed that and more chatting and laughter. Then all too soon it was time to call it a night. M&P are spending the next couple of nights in Galveston though so we will all have a chance to hang together tomorrow. 

Monday, the 27th, we had all made plans to head to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Paul is a birder and quite knowledgeable. We met up at the Bolivar Peninsula Ferry, then switched vehicles with the 3 girls in one car and the guys in Gary’s truck. I drove Meigsy’s car. She can’t drive just yet on her bum ankle. We saw dolphins on the way across the ferry. Then we drove out to the Refuge. It’s a longish drive but the road is easy with few cars and straight as an arrow. It gave us more time to chat. We got to the Refuge and Paul headed inside to the visitor’s center first, and quickly came out with two people in tow. Turns out the husband and wife working at the visitor’s center are friends of M&P who they met when they were all park hosting at Guadalupe River State Park. What are the odds! We chatted with Bill and Susan for awhile, hearing about what they had been doing and learning about the Refuge. Then we headed into the visitor’s center to load up on snacks to bring with us, since restaurants are non-existent in the Refuge. We also picked up maps and free binoculars that were available to use so everyone could have a pair. 

Off we went. We very quickly put Paul on speaker phone since then both vehicles would know what we were looking at. Meigs is knowledgeable, too, but hubby is more so. The Refuge is totally free and there are walking and car trails throughout. We did the Shoveler Pond Auto Loop which is about a 2.5 mile loop surrounding a 220 acre freshwater area. I was (almost) speechless when we rounded a bend in the road and came upon hundreds of birds and ducks that were feeding at the pond. What a site! And I positively squealed when I saw tens of Roseate Spoonbills. I’ve fallen in love with that pink bird on this trip! There is a boardwalk that allows you to walk out into the middle of the pond. We quickly parked and jumped out and snapped pictures and Paul educated us on what we were seeing. There were the usual Egrets, Herons and Cormorants which we’re familiar with but there were also loads of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, a Cinnamon Teal, Glossy Ibis, Blue-Winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, and Common Goldoneye among others which we’re not familiar with. By the time we had done the auto loop, walked out on the boardwalk and driven some other interior roads, Paul had counted 24 different species that we had seen. And another 16 that he had seen, but just couldn’t flag quickly enough for the rest of us to see. 

Gary and I had gotten into birding last winter in Georgia when we were parked with a fabulous view of a pond for three months and were able to watch various ducks and birds. We had purchased a good pair of binoculars and I was keeping track of what we had seen in our birding book. This outing cemented our interest in birding! 

After the afternoon of birding and final goodbyes to Bill and Susan, it was time for the all- important decision of where to eat! The restaurant we had heard about on Crystal Beach that was quite good was closed on Mondays. Figures. So we ended up heading back over on the Ferry and ate at Mario’s on the Seawall, an excellent Italian restaurant where we chatted and recapped the day’s activities. Afterwards M&P headed back to their hotel and Andy & Linda and Gary & I headed back to the campground. 

Gary & I watched “the Marriage Story” (my pick) on Netflix that night which is up for Academy Awards. At the end Gary said “well that’s 2 hours I won’t get back.” He wasn’t a fan. I thought it was moving an excellently acted. He gets to pick the next film. I think he mentioned something about Black Panther. 🙂

Tuesday was supposed to be a rainy day so we had made plans to link up over here with everyone in the late morning. We had a delightfully quiet day of chatting and playing cards. Afterwards we headed out to Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant for an early dinner before M&P hit the road to spend the night outside of Houston for Meigs’ doctor appointment the following day. 

It was wonderful to see them and catch up! And, we’ll look forward to seeing them again in a few weeks!

Wednesday was a chore day. We had discovered that we seem to have a leak at a back window on the RV so Gary did some online research and thinks the culprit is a bad seal around a window. We visited a few different places to get the necessary materials to repair it. Then Gary worked on the repair. Linda & I did a walk in the campground. That night we joined Carey & Denis for dinner at Nick’s Kitchen & Beach Bar. It’s restaurant week in Galveston and many of the restaurants are offering reduced prices for a three course dinner. A fun night with everyone. 

Thursday the weather wasn’t ideal so we worked on some inside things in the morning. Also Linda had called to give me the heads up that the Sandhill Cranes were in the front grassy area at the campground. We’ve seen them frequently in a field but they’ve been at a distance. We walked over to get a few photos and had the pleasure of seeing them take flight and uttering their loud rattling kar-r-r-o-o-o. In the afternoon we enjoyed several hours of playing Mexican Train with Andy & Linda. For those unfamiliar, Mexican Train is a domino game. Dinner for Gary & I was leftovers from one of our recent restaurant outings. 

Friday, the 31st was a prep day for the four of us. Andy & Linda leave in the morning. Their month in Galveston is coming to an end. They are headed to Corpus Christi for a few days to see our Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Nick and cousins Dale and Delilah. Then they are headed back to their home base in Belton, TX for awhile. We fly out tomorrow for a week in NH visiting my Mom and some friends. We all took care of our respective preparations then we sat outside for one last get together before it got too cool. Liz, our Canadian neighbor, had come over earlier in the day to say goodbye. She and her husband were headed further south to Mission, Texas where it’s warmer. But Gary & I will have a chance to see them again in mid March when they are back in this campground for a month. We’ll look forward to an opportunity to lime with them again!

6 Comments

  1. Great read, becoming addicted to your blog! Love the birding! Im so into it too! I got great pics of Snowy Owls at Plum Island!
    Are you taking all the great bird pics? What type of camera?

    • Hi Diane, How wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for the kind words about the blog. I typically take all the pics with my iPhone BUT Gary took the vast majority of all the birding photos… including at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, the sandhill cranes and the ones in the pond behind our campsite.The birding thing is relatively new for us! We’re very much enjoying it! To answer your question Gary has a Canon SX70 HS. It’s a zoom 21-1365 focal length. I think it’s similar to yours. Seeing your camera, is what got Gary looking at new easier-to-use cameras!

  2. Fabulous pictures. I think my favorite was the turtle – it was posing for the pic. I’m 100% with Gary about Marriage Story!

    • Great to hear from you, Charlene! Too funny about Marriage Story! Gary appreciated the support. Hope you and Cheryl are well! Yes, the turtle was cool. Love his colors! xoxo Teresa

  3. Just read your blog….I love that y’all are so enjoying your time there. Can’t wait to see y’all in April. Johnny and I were just talking and maybe if you’re going back next year we’re thinking about joining you for a month if that’s OK. Not for sure yet. But that’s your thoughts right now. Y’all take care. And we will see you soon. Love y’all

    • Same here Stacie! We can’t wait to see you guys! Gary and I would LOVE if you decide to join us for a month! We are planning on coming back next winter for about a month’s stay. We can discuss when we see you in April! In the meantime, be well! xoxo Teresa

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