Nov. 14 - Beautiful Fall Day

Rockport Harbor

"It's amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday." ― John Guare

It was a beautiful day to be on the water, although our purpose for cruising today was to fill our fuel tanks...any excuse to be on the water on a day like today is a good thing.

The best fuel price in the area is in Con Brown Harbor, about ten miles south of Rockport. We had a leisurely cruise south, took on 225 gallons of diesel, had a nice lunch on our cruise back and then anchored by Mud Island to enjoy the rest of the day and watch the Super Moon come up. We gave some thought to spending the night on the hook, but we both have obligations in the morning, so we enjoyed a moonlit cruise back to our dock.

My favorite house on the ICW

Entering Con Brown Harbor

Fuel dock

What a beautiful day

It was fun watching all the dolphins playing today

Sunset and Moonrise

Wordless Wednesday

Nov. 6 – Rockport, TX

Rockport Harbor

“The world above is a wonderful place. But everyone knows the true magic lies...under the sea, where the water is clear and the fish swim free.” ―Sebastian, The Little Mermaid

One of the things I enjoy doing when we stay in Rockport is working at the Aquarium at Rockport Harbor. It's located across the parking lot from the boat, so my commute is very short. Working there gives me a chance to contribute to the community, visit with people from all over the country and get to know other volunteers who live in the area.

I worked this week and was lucky enough to be in town to enjoy a cruise on Archimedes (Texas Floating Classroom). The aquarium sponsored this floating educational classroom so the children in the area could have a chance to learn about the water they live by. On Thursday evening they had a sunset cruise for the volunteers, a way of saying thank you for the work that we do. I enjoyed the chance to spend a few hours on the water on such a beautiful evening.

A few of my favorite residents of the aquarium...this is Marley, a spotted moray eel.

Giant hermit crab

Stonefish 

Lionfish

Seahorses

Archimedes - Texas Floating Classroom

Leaving the harbor, the building to the left is the educational building of the aquarium.

Learning a few things while enjoying a pretty evening on the water

Some of the aquarium volunteers enjoying a sunset cruise

Nov. 2 – Totally Out of Florida

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” – C.S. Lewis

We finally have our car back in Texas. It’s been sitting at Ortega River Marina for almost seven months. I drove Stan to the airport in Houston on Saturday and he caught a late flight to Jacksonville. He arrived about 9:45 eastern time and took Uber to the marina. The car was in great shape and started quickly, so he thought he'd drive west just a little before stopping for the night. Fate had other plans...he couldn't find a hotel room anywhere from Jacksonville to Pensacola. Every room was full, it seems Florida State University played in Tallahassee on Saturday and everywhere was packed.

After dropping Stan off I drove to my brother's house in Sugar Land. I spent the evening and most Sunday catching up with my sister in law and nieces, and had a chance to play with my great nephew…we had a wonderful time. Paula and I didn't go to bed until after three. I kept in touch with Stan during the night and knew he had decided to drive straight through. What else can you do when you can’t find a room?

By the time I got up Sunday morning Stan was in Baton Rouge and I knew he would beat me home. We left our house around 2:00 on Saturday and Stan was home by 2:30 Sunday...875 miles by air and 1135 miles by car. After more than 2 ½ years…we are finally and completely out of Florida.