Cruzin Texas Sand Fest 2012

Hooked the golf cart up to my car and I was off to Port Aransas and our condo for Sand Fest, Karen was driving down later after work.  Staying upstairs I made a bunch of trips up and down the stairs vowing next year to get a room downstairs.  Unpacked, we settled into our condo, enjoyed a seafood dinner at Beach Station Street Grill and relaxed.  Thursday morning we checked out the pool boy....nice eye candy,  hit the grocery store, tried to buy fresh shrimp and cruised the beach in our buggy.  Dinner that night was grilled red fish, Spanish rice and black beans with a garden salad.....YUM!  Friday morning we decorated our cart, "Miss Flower Power" and Sand Fest started........we checked out all the vendors as the sand sculptors began to create their works of art.  Karen and I both got toe rings.....a first for me, but really cute!  I talked Karen into trying a frozen pickle.....she made a terrible face and said it was sour, but I thought it was good.  Saturday we got up early and lined up at the shrimp boat to get some fresh Gulf shrimp...and Karen got some to take home.  We checked out the sand sculptures, checked the vendors, took photos and enjoyed a good old fashion corn dog with lots of mustard.  Dinner that night was grilled steak, and shrimp kabobs, with corn on the cob, and a baked potato....YUM!   Oh, I think the start of this feast was a Pina Colada made with fresh pineapple.  Sunday we slept in and were lazy....had a salad with boiled shrimp before we went to Sand Fest to see the completed works of art.

We had to try the frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate....good but so rich!  After the winners announced we headed back to the condo after a cruise down the beach.  Pina Coladas on the balcony were a perfect end to the day with a yummy meal of fried shrimp whipped up by Karen.  Monday we went back to the beach to enjoy the sand sculptures up close, the fences had been removed and we got some great photos.  We had planned to spend the day at the beach but the wind prevented us from doing that.....so we laid around the pool.  Later that day we went in to town to do some shopping and looking around...and Karen was on a mission to buy some birthday gifts for the grandsons.  Our week drawing to an end, we loaded up the golf cart for the trip home the next morning.  That night we decided to eat leftovers out of the frig...especially since we had to pack it back downstairs if we didn't eat it!
It was a great week, the golf cart was lots of fun and our cute little cart "Miss Flower Power" got lots of looks and waves.

Vancouver Buddies

Our Vancouver friends, Barb and Ivan decided to visit Texas and we flew down to Rockport to greet them. We met them in December 2010 on a Costa Rica Tour and have kept in touch....so it was great to see them again.
We enjoyed a wonderful seafood lunch, driving around Port A in Ivan's Mustang red convertible and later Dale took Ivan up for a flight. We enjoyed the visit and are expecting them in Victoria next week.

Spring Time in Round Top/Warrenton

Karen and I met at our usual spot and drove up to Warrenton/Round Top for our semi-annual pilgrimage. We arrived just as the vendors were opening their booths around the square in Round Top. We had fun rummaging through treasures....trying on things and having lots of laughs!

It is always fun to see the latest, greatest craze! After a few purchases it was soon time for lunch in Carmine at J&W's Steakhouse, of course we left stuffed. We made one more stop in Round Top before heading to Warrenton to look around and find a couple more things we couldn't live without!

On our way home we made a pit stop for some margaritas and a chance to unwind from our shopping extravaganza. It was a good day with a good friend!!!

Vegas Bound!

Up early, Lanell and I were off to Vegas with a group of gals. We landed, checked into our room at Harrah's and headed to the Mirage for the Terry Fator show.....a great show! The next morning we were up early again to catch the Dam Bus for the Ultimate VIP Dam Tour of Hoover Dam. Our tour guide, Joni was a stand up comic and also a wealth of knowledge about the dam. She was very entertaining and informative.......lots of laughs! After lunch in Boulder City we drove back to Vegas arriving just in time to change to see Garth at the Wynn. The show was AWESOME, but not what I expected! It was just Garth and his guitar, with Trisha joining in for a few songs. Garth traced the music that influenced him growing up and of course played some of his greatest hits. The next day, we shopped, had a late lunch, went to the Minus 5 bar...yes that is the temperature inside the bar....burrr! Lanell and I had dinner before going to Mandalay Bay for the Cirque du Soleil Elvis show. Up early we caught our flight home....it was a jammed packed long weekend in Vegas!

Ross....My Eagle Scout

4th Wedding Anniversay

On a chilly, rainy morning we left home for a few days in Fredericksburg to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. We had rented My Little House at a Bed & Breakfast called 2 Wee Cottages. Our first stop was in Lockhart for some good ole Texas style barbeque, then we were off to Wimberley to visit an old friend of Dale's that owns a B & B. We arrived at our B&B late in the afternoon.....it was perfect and had everything we needed for our stay. Cute as a button, decorated with antiques, and it had a wonderful hot tub on the enclosed patio. Unpacked, we took off again to Alamo Springs Cafe, which is way out in the sticks for one of the best hamburgers in Texas. Dale was sure I had lost it and could not believe how far it was....but after a couple of bites he was glad we had driven out.

The next morning we enjoyed the breakfast goodies they had left for us, sipped our coffee out on the porch swing before heading out to the museums. After several hours of looking at all the exhibits we drove over to Charlie's Grill and Golf for a light lunch...it was yummy! Back at our Little House we visited with the owner that happened to be a retired policeman...so Dale and Skip compared police careers. Skip also delivered Valentine cupcakes for our afternoon snacks.
Dressed in our finest we had dinner reservations at the Cabernet Grill for a romantic dinner to celebrate our anniversary and Valentine's Day. I ordered the Rosemary & Garlic Beef Tenderloin Kabobs with Porcini Mushroom Cream and Dale got the Fried Sesame Crusted Jumbo Shrimp. The place was packed, but the food was awesome, and we enjoyed our dinner.
The next morning we finished touring the Nimitz museum before heading home. We stopped for lunch outside of Austin at Flores Mexican Restaurant...which was very good!
Our trip to celebrate our anniversary was great, the weather was beautiful, our B&B was very relaxing, and we enjoyed Fredericksburg!

Foggy Fishing

A foggy fishing trip this morning...left home much later than usual because of the dense fog. It had burned off at the dock and we unloaded the boat, set out across the inter coastal canal. The dense fog was still hanging over the bay.......we were forced to stop and anchor along the shoreline for safety reasons and wait it out. Kinda creepy sitting in the fog! Then the wind started blowing like crazy, the tides were very low.....stopping us from fishing our favorite spots. The trip back across the bay was rough and we could see the sea fog starting to roll in. Glad to get the boat loaded and headed home!