Buenos Tardes everyone!

We are safe at home after an interesting vacation to say the least! It started out in Portland, due to a snafu about our reservation. No biggie we thought, but we plan to take it up with the third party that we booked through. This made for a 5 hour gap between leaving the hotel in Portland and when we could check in at our Port Aransas rental. So we bought our necessary supplies, no need for travelers cheques these days, and had to drive around with the groceries in coolers until we could check in.

While we had time to kill, we took Becky, Chris’s girlfriend, to the birding center to see the ecosystem, rife with sea birds and other wildlife. We have been going to Port A for years, but this was the first time we finally got to see the resident alligator!! His head was in the water, but hey! She enjoyed taking pictures and observing all the different flowers that grow there. You may need to enlarge the pictures to find the birds and the gator.

Pics from the birding center, including the flora and fauna
Not sure if the gator was Boots or Bags, he’s very elusive and this was my first sighting of either!

The living/dining room area, Dave trying to figure out the tv, Chris checking out the washer/dryer closet.

Our window to the kitchen/bar area featuring a small but sufficient television

Our room, small but we made it work, the bathroom was so tiny, the shower could hold one at a time. Not much room on the sink for toiletries, so we lived out of the bag

The little kitchen, more than two at a time got dicey-that’s Miss Becky situating things.

I’m standing in front of the washer/dryer closet looking at Chris as he talks to his dad. His and Becky’s room is to the right of where he is standing. I forgot to photograph that

Sitting on the porch looking up at the palm trees. We had several surrounding the rental.

We were not allowed to drive on the beach due to Covid restrictions including a curfew from 8:30pm to 6am, so we drove around to see where our place was, had some lunch at the coffee shop I fell in love with on my earlier trip to Port A, and finally it was time to go get the keys, and that put us too late to bother with going to the beach that evening. The kids walked down and took a peek, I was content to wait until the next day, understanding the hassle it was going to be.

Not being on any particular schedule, for some reason I can’t remember, we finally got to the beach the next afternoon. We loaded the wagon with the tent cover, chairs, the cooler and beach bags, and Dave drove us to the drop off spot. Then we unloaded and had to drag the wagon through the sand and walk far enough down the beach to find an open spot, but not so far Dave wouldn’t be able to find us on his bike. Once we set up, it was time to check out the waves with my boogie board. Rough undertow, and bigger than usual waves made it a hard job! Luckily, my knee was in good shape, not swollen or painful, Yet I quickly realized the bathing suit I was wearing was not conducive to fighting waves. 🤣 I made a mental note to get a better fitting one later in the week. Just a few hours later, it was time to go back so Dave could start on dinner.

The grill was less than cooperative, so the steaks and taters took a while, but all tasted amazing. We relaxed while the master was at work, finding the backyard nice and breezy for chilling. We ate at a makeshift dining table we made with a card table and chairs Becky found in their closet, then retired to the porch to relax and watch the parades of golf carts driving down the street all night. No need for music, as all of them had whatever they were listening to at max volume. What a show! This was more than the usual amount of golf cart traffic, due to the restrictions of no vehicles allowed on the beach.

I think that’s enough for tonight, tune in tomorrow for a day at St Jo, a decent deep-sea fishing trip, and why we had to cut our vacation short. Hint: Hanna’s coming!

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