Nov. 29 – Rockport, TX

Rockport Harbor

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun." —Unknown

A little work and a little play...that's what's been keeping us busy these days. We've been getting a few projects done on the boat between playing with our grand wonders and visiting with friends. Besides doing a little decorating and a lot of enjoying of our new home, the following projects have been completed:

Fixed the horns

Teak oiled all interior wood

Fixed the spotlights

Fixed entertainment system and installed new TV

Replaced bulbs in all lights fixtures

Fixed wet bar

Cleaned boat exterior and removed ICW mustache

We've picked out tile for the galley floor and have a sofa we'd like to order for the saloon but those things will have to wait until we have more time next year. We're enjoying our new town and spending time with family, but our time in Texas is flying by fast. Only four more weeks until we'll be heading back to The Pearl.

Stan and I have literally been in hundreds of towns while cruising and we both agree Rockport truly has EVERYTHING we look for in a great stop. In fact neither of us could think of one other place that we’ve been that offers so much so close to our boat. The only thing missing are our cruising friends.

Our son trying to figure out where some wires go...I think he likes the boat.

Stan working on the spot lights

Stan working on the saloon AC unit

We finally have a chair in the saloon...all we need now is a sofa.

We're going to use nice dishes on this boat...Wedgwood dishes that belonged to my great grandma. 

A couple of friends came and spent the weekend with me on the boat...a great place for a girls night out.

Views from our beach...a great place for a morning walk.

Nov. 9 - Our New Neighborhood

Rockport Harbor

"The ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together..." —Nicholas Sparks

We've been in our new home for a week and it feels wonderful. Not only is it close to family but the marina is located in a great area of town, with all kinds of activities and amenities close by. Located around the harbor is the a Texas Maritime Museum, Rockport Art Center and Sculpture Garden, Aquarium at Rockport Harbor, the Bay Education Center, Rockport Beach, four bait stands that sell fresh shrimp, oysters and crab, a fishing pier, and the Festival Grounds where a lot of the festivals and Market Days are held. Just a block away are little boutiques, a winery (Winery on the Bay), restaurants, art galleries and antique shops. I know you can't provision a boat at these types of shops but they're fun to wander through. For real provisioning a large grocery store, liquor store, drug stores, Wal-Mart and several marine supply stores are within a few miles, all very doable on a bike. Rockport offers cruisers just about everything they need and it’s a very cute little town with wonderful views of the water. 

Pictures of the harbor that were taken from the top of the Maritime Museum in 2010. We brought The Pearl here for Seafair and had a wonderful time.

We're enjoying being able to park right in front of the boat.

The Aquarium at Rockport Harbor...just steps from our door.

 The Sculpture Garden at the Rockport Art Center...just in front of our boat.

Flamingos...our favorite bait stand to buy shrimp and crab.

Texas Maritime Museum

Lighted jetties for fishing

Part of Rockport Beach...a great place for a morning walk.

A view of our boat from one of the piers in the harbor

A great early morning view from the aft deck

Nov. 2 - Rockport, TX

Rockport Harbor

“It’s better to sit in a boat thinking about God than to sit in church thinking about fishing” – Kevin McGarr

We made it! 1707 miles from Jacksonville, FL to Rockport, TX in 25 straight travel days. We had fantastic weather...mostly clear blue skies and light winds. The last two days were the windiest, but still very comfortable and we only had rain one evening after we docked. We couldn’t have asked or dreamed for better. Now that it is over it seems like a blur of activity and it's hard to remember where we've been…that's one reason I keep this blog.

We pulled into our new home marina about 1:30 and there was a little confusion where we were going to dock. There is no dock help or dockmaster here on the weekend, but Stan had talked to him on Friday about a slip. The two slips we were told were available were obviously taken. There were several others available but only one had 50-amp power. It wasn't the best choice for docking in strong southeastern winds but with the help of our son we finally had her securely tied into her slip by 2:00. We've been told they'll equip a better slip with power for us, but we don't plan to move for at least a week since the weather and winds are expected to worsen.

It felt wonderful to be "home" and even better to see family. We spent the rest of the day visiting with our son Eric and his wife Courtney and playing with our granddaughter. She loved playing on all the stairs we have...up and down all evening. I'm sure she will sleep great tonight. The only thing that could have made the evening better is if our other son and his family could have been here. But we plan to catch up with them soon and collect more grand wonder hugs.

We'll relax a little tomorrow and then start the projects that will make Texas Pearl feel more like our boat. Stan has a long list of improvements he wants to work on and I have a lot of decorating to do. As the improvements are made I will update the blog, but it may not be daily again until we return to The Pearl after Christmas.

Still a lot of barge traffic on the ICW

Oystering boats heading into San Antonio Bay.

Rockport Harbor 

Our new home

Our view from the aft deck

Family onboard 

Nov. 1 - Port O'Connor, TX

The Sanctuary

Miles to Rockport, TX - 46

We're home! Back to where we began our cruise in 2011...well ok, that's not quite true. We didn't return to the exact spot, but we are in the same county and that feels wonderful. It truly felt like we were home cruising across the bay...we're in familiar waters where we've explored for a lifetime. Our cruise today was short, but included crossing Matagorda Bay in 15 knot winds. Not too bad since the wind mostly was on our stern, but it made steering more difficult and the bay choppy. It looked like chocolate milk until we got to the inlet near POC. I love watching the dolphins in the bay, but with today's conditions it was impossible to see them.

We are docked in a subdivision called The Sanctuary...very pretty faculties, but no help on the docks. The high winds made it difficult to get tied up but we made it. Not the prettiest attempt, but we were securely tied off. After docking we found out our electric pedestal was being used by another slip owner. Most of the boats here are large fishing boats with no one on them and they all use two 50-amp cords. Each slip is only equipped with one...see the problem? So we walked around and found another slip, with power, then untied the lines and started all over. Good practice I guess but not fun with the high wind. What a workout.

My Dad drove down from Port Lavaca to have dinner with us. A nice treat to have him onboard and show him around. Whenever he comes to dinner he brings good wine, so we enjoyed our down time on the aft deck with good company and a nice glass of wine. A great way to reflect on a long cruise.

Looks like Texas to me

There a lot of bait (fishing) camps in POC

Port O'Connor sits on the ICW and close to the gulf, so there are a lot of beautiful vacation homes in the area

The Sanctuary Marina

Relaxing and catching up