Last Padre Visit for this season

We and the Gordon's  went to Padre Island for our last trip to Dirty Al's until next fall. And it was scrumptious as always. The walk on the beach was fun once you got there but the walk out on that hot, hot sand kept us hopping and the walk back was even more so!! I had never walked on sand that hot before and I am not ready to again. I took several pictures. There were many high end Mexican families on holiday. We did not see many "Winter Texans" as most have gone North.
Here are the pictures...

Hot foot it to the beach

This little girl was attempting to bury her father in sand. It was sort of a losing battle.

Donn and Peggy walk the beach

Butch is right behind

Those cycle guys on the beach bear watching.

This was a very excited boy having caught a fish.

Feeding the gulls. Notice the boy I caught in mid flight on the left.

More feeding

Sand removal...

Getting Ready to Roll

We are getting ready to roll on down the road. And we will be pulling out the gate first thing Sunday morning headed for Llano Tx where we will meet up with our Canyon Lake area friends for 3 days. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday we will be back on the road heading north with plans to stop in Norman OK to see friends Sam and Marilynn Wilson whom we met at Snow Mountain Ranch. Thursday will find us making a beeline for Jefferson but if we poop out before we get there we may stop one more night. The next post will be about Padre Island and our last fun trip down for this season.

From Grandpa Gary

Bunny Presents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvVJqIQjb5w

Doctor's Kit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkhYwUGOwHQ

Candy distraction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0r2U4Q8Jo

Porch Egg Hunt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUFEJHhhUco

Cousins!!

Elise and her cousin Khloe! BFF's

Our cute little bunny

GPS Pros and Cons

We have done the gps thing with more than one device and never to our satisfaction. The constant updating of software was a big drawback to the pricey $300 plus GPS devices. The last time we had to do a tricky turn around with the motorhome was the last time we used it. I have been thinking the new droid phones with gps might be the way to go. Today I read the article below about it and now I am even more convinced it will be the right thing to do for us.

Barb

Droid Smartphone for Navigation

It’s a rare RVer that doesn’t use some type of GPS device to assist in navigation.  When we sold our house and hit the road in 2003, we used the Streets and Trips software on our laptop with a little USB GPS receiver.  A few years later we bought a Garmin dashboard GPS, then a Rand McNally RVND, and now a Magellan.  Those are all great devices and we use them all, but I like using my Droid smartphone with Google Navigation the best!  Why do I love it?  Let me count the ways:

1. It’s in my hand.  I am in the passenger seat – this is not a good thing for a solo driver – but for a navigator, it is so comfortable to hold the device in your hand to be able to adjust your view, search for locations, or change settings.  When I have to manipulate the screen on a device that is mounted to the dash, I have to sit up in my seat and contort my body in order to see the screen and be able to properly use the controls.  If we’re using Streets and Trips on the laptop, that’s easier than the dashboard units, but it’s big and awkward.
2. It’s fast.  My navigation advice is usually needed when Jim is driving according to the dashboard unit and he says something like, “this next turn doesn’t seem right, what should I do?”  I need to quickly get a birds-eye view of where we are vs. where we’re going, and evaluate the choices of how to get there.  With a simple pinch gesture, the Droid responds with what I need – instantly.
3. It’s clear.  Even though it is a tiny screen, the resolution is so good that I can read every description and see every feature.  I can even turn on satellite view and see the trees, rivers, bridges, and buildings.  Any of the other devices seem almost childish in their graphics by comparison.
4. It’s Google.  I can search … and find … anything.  Any campground, park, store, address, restaurant, or service – this is Google, it’s on the Internet and up to date.  Traffic information is quite reliable within about 15 minutes.
5. It’s my smartphone.  My email is on there, so I can look up the email for the campground reservation and touch the address to navigate there, or call the phone number.  Or I can use my Passport America App to find a campground, then just touch ‘directions’ and my Google Navigation takes over with turn-by-turn voice directions to the exact address.  Or I can browse to the website for the Presidential Museum we want to visit – see an address on the web page, touch it, and choose Navigate to there. 

Jason's 3.2 lb Walleye

The Great Grands

Ethan goes fishing

Elise in her Easter Dress

The egg thing and other stuff

The hard BAKED egg idea does work but I will do things a bit different next time. I baked them in the oven at 325 for 30 minutes and they were overdone. Next time we will try 300 degrees for 30 minutes. I plunged them into ice water after baking. The ones that were not overdone peeled okay. I think it is a great idea for cooking a bunch of eggs at a time. In case you do not know what I am talking about-you can hard cook eggs in the oven instead of in boiling water. Place raw eggs in muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes in a 300 degree oven.

I tried a new recipe last night. I liked it and Butch was okay with it. It is so quick and easy I would like to keep it in my group of things I can make in a hurry.

I have been doing things around the house I haven't had time to do all winter. Sorting out paperwork and throwing things away. Cleaning out cupboards and taking inventory of canned goods and other things so I do not duplicate as I return to at least a little bit of cooking.

The Easter Bunny stopped by this morning with a treat for us. The Easter Bunny's name is Darlene!