Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl)

Winter Updates

"Grandparent [gran-pair-uh nt] one who breaks most of the rules and loves every second of it." –Unknown

Our winter in Rockport was relaxing and full of warm comfortable days. Besides our trip to Belize at Christmas it was pretty low key. Just the way we like it. We truly like spending time with our Texas family and we love the restaurants in town.

We decided to head home to Lewisburg on March 3rd. A bit earlier than the past few years, but we had grandparent duties and we missed our house. It was still cold in Pennsylvania but our yard was beginning to come alive. Watching spring arrive in the north is a lot of fun and a bit unbelievable. Changes appear over night and you feel like you can see the plants growing.

Our life in Lewisburg isn’t very exciting but it’s full of time spent with family, great shopping opportunities and when the weather warms up there will be a lot of new places to explore.

One of our favorite places to spend time on Texas Pearl is on the top deck. There is nowhere else in Rockport with a better view.

Our last few days in Texas were full sunshine, friends and good food.

Good bye Rockport. We left Texas Pearl on March 3.

On the road again. Beginning our 16th summer on The Pearl.

We spent our first night on the road with friends in College Station. It wasn't actually on our way but it was fun to visit with them and leaving from CS let us skip going through Houston and Louisiana. Which was very nice.

After dinner we spent a little time in their hot tub.

Our first weekend home we spent time with family. Hattie decided she wanted to get her ears pierced. So we went to a little shop in Sunbury called Body Mods. On our way to the shop Brytanie and I decided to get a second piercing. I'd been wanting to do it for years. The shop was like a little museum of oddities.

We were all happy with our earring selection.

Having cute little grandchildren is fun, but once they grow up a little they can fix you breakfast. You can't beat that.

The kids love to come to our house to play in the yard, ride skates, bikes and scooters. They also love to have ice cream at Sweet Frog.

"Blessed with a grandson—God's perfect gift wrapped in giggles"

Easter weekend was beautiful...the perfect time to celebrate with family with a cookout and plenty of time to play in the yard.

We didn't miss all the winter weather. It snowed a few days in March but both times the snow melted by the end of the day.

I took this photo the first Monday we were home. Compare it to the photo below I took four weeks later. Things grow so fast you can almost see differences each day. It really is fun to see how things just return year after year.

A few of our early blooms...our yard is full of daffodils, tulips and hyacinths now.

What It Means to Be a Grandparent

To be a grandparent is to love all over again. But softer this time. Slower. Wiser. With eyes that know how fast it all goes.

It’s holding tiny hands with fingers that once zipped coats and wiped tears from the faces of their parents.

It’s retelling the same story for the fiftieth time because the way their eyes light up is worth every word.

It’s snacks in your purse, just in case.

It’s showing up early to sit in the front row of a game you still don’t understand, but you know how to clap the loudest.

It’s saying yes to one more cookie, one more book, one more minute before bed because now you know how precious one more truly is.

It’s watching your child become a parent and silently praying over them the way you once did at 2 am when their fever wouldn’t break.

It’s a second chance at the slow mornings you once rushed through. At the giggles you were too tired to chase. At the magic you now refuse to miss.

To be a grandparent is to carry history in your hands and plant wonder in theirs. It’s a bridge between where they come from and where they’re going.

It’s not just love, it’s legacy wrapped in lullabies. And it’s the greatest honor of all.

Feb. 11-12 Night on the Hook

“The voice of the sea speaks to the soul” – Kate Chopin

We don’t get too many perfect days to take Texas Pearl out and anchor overnight. The wind in Rockport is constant and intense…making it uncomfortable to spend the night on the hook. But last week we found a wonderful day and we had a great time enjoying the sun, the water and the dolphins. The dolphins followed us from the time we left the harbor until we crossed the ship canal. They returned as soon as we anchored and entertained us all evening.

We anchored close to Mud Island which is between Aransas Bay and the barrier island to the Gulf of Mexico. We took our dinghy down and paddled over to do a little exploring. I found lots of shells I can paint. I’ll save most of them to paint next winter.

Our beautiful, comfortable Texas Pearl is a dock princess and she proved that to us again on this trip. Even with new batteries we had an issue with them giving us enough power to keep things going over night. Although we think we learned what we need to do the next time. Hopefully we have a chance to try again before we forget.

We had planned to spend all morning anchored…enjoying our coffee and the view. But issues with power sent us home early. Those issues meant no coffee and no power to the refrigerator, so we headed back to the dock. The sunrise was as beautiful as the sunset, but soon after the sun rose the fog moved in. Making our return trip a little wet and less enjoyable.

Leaving the marina on Wednesday.