I ride my bike nearly every day (I missed 3 days in Feb. because of rain one day and I guess the other two days were because of laziness, time, or wind), so I set a goal of riding 150 miles for the month. Randy said I should have set it higher (he who rides occasionally and not too far, but at least he rides). With 3 days to go, I had 142 miles in. No problem, right? But the wind has been horrific these past 3 days. Yesterday I got off and walked a little because I was concerned the crosswind was going to blow the bike and me over. Because I set a goal (aren't goals great!), I had to do it today. I rode 3.7 Thurs, 3.0 Fri, then another 3 miles today, with much difficulty, for a total of 151.7 miles for the month. As I started riding around the RV Park today, I saw a big ship and several dolphins "frolicking" (Randy says they are going after fish), so I got a bonus for reaching my goal. I took lots of pics of the dolphins, but none good enough to post. I started the day in shorts (normal for here), but the wind switched to the north and got pretty chilly (still in the 60's), so I put on sweats before I rode this afternoon. I guess I should set a higher goal for March, but I'm not sure yet. Depends on when we are going home. I know I won't ride as much at home.

I went to the beach this afternoon, knowing I was probably too late to find many good seashells (I was right), but it was such a beautiful day that I just had to take a walk on the beach (and wade in the water). It was about 75 degrees and windy. I just want to show my grandchildren that I am really enjoying the beach! I wish Sabrina, Braden, Lauren, Logan, Keegan, and Gavin (and your parents) could be here to enjoy it with us. Didn't we have fun last year at Port Aransas!! We tried to talk my Mother into coming down, and she considered it, but decided it was just too far to travel.

When we heard a ship's horn this afternoon, I glanced out the door and could see a ship in the distance. I quickly climbed up on top of the Fifth Wheel to get a better look (even though I don't like heights), and this is what I saw. You can see there are several rows of RVs between us and the water, so we are just lucky when we see one from our RV. They don't always blow their horns. A couple of years we had a site where we could look out our back window and see the water on the other side of the fence and road, so we saw lots of ships those years. We haven't been lucky enough to get one of those better sites for awhile.

Stephanie says she reads my blog to Keegan and Gavin, but they are disappointed to not see any pictures of their "Gigi." Today I was tying a "CARS" quilt, which some young boy should be happy to receive. We make charity quilts Tues and Thurs mornings at "Chapel by the Sea." The Chaplain told us that 2 weeks ago nearly 900 people (total) attended the 3 worship services. In March, they cut back to 2 services because Winter Texans start going home.

We also watched this shrimp boat head out for shrimping, but the
Border Patrol and Customs boat had the shrimp boat turn around and head back to port. It wasn't too long before the shrimp boat headed out again. Apparently, there wasn't too big a problem, or at least the problem was taken care of quickly.

While I was sitting with fisherman Randy, we had quite a dolphin show. By the time you see dolphins surface and click the camera, they are usually back under the water. This was the best I could get that day, although we saw several dolphins chasing around for awhile. This boat (on wheels) is a land/sea "Aqua Dog", just out for a dolphin watch.

Fishing

It was brought to my attention (by Doyle and Flo) that there are no fish pictures on this blog. I guess that is because when Randy caught his largest fish (26" Red), I wasn't home with the camera, so it got cleaned and cut up before I got home. Thus, we have no proof. The next good one was a 23" Red, but it had a chunk out of it's tail and not too pretty. I guess he better get busy and get more more. Mangrove Snappers are pretty fish, so I'll take a pic of the next one of those he brings home. Here we have Randy fishing and Randy extracting ghost shrimp from the beach (using a pump) to use for bait.

Sunset

Chapel By the Sea & my sand dollar

I found most of these seashells one day last week, more than the average day. I really don't need this many more shells (I have lots at home from past years), but sometimes I just can't resist. These little shells seem to say, "Pick me." They are so beautiful, some of God's wonderful masterpieces. I am just in awe of the colors, shapes, etc. of God's designs. Each of these shells has been a home to a living creature. Today I found my first sand dollar; they seem to be a rarity this year. It is just over an inch in diameter, but it's hard to find one without any chips or breaks. A few years ago I took home several sand dollars and let the grandchildren choose one, after I told them the largest one was for Grandma. (How could I pick which child could have it? I had to keep it!). Lauren kept picking the largest one, but didn't fuss about it. She just knew that was her favorite. It was the prettiest!! This morning I went to the beach before 7 a.m., knowing I would have time to get back to get ready for 9:30 church. But when I kept finding so many shells, I decided I could go to the 11 a.m. service instead. There is also an 8 a.m. service. During the summer the congregation is about 70 members, but in January and February, the "Chapel By the Sea" expands to 3 services with about 200 people (or more) attending each service (not quite that many at 8 a.m.) The Chapel By the Sea is located at the north edge of the RV Park, about a 10 minute walk from our RV. It's a good experience to have to go to church early to be sure to get a place to sit!! This morning there were also 60 people in the overflow room to watch on closed circuit. The church has sliding glass doors on 2 walls, so it's a quick exit after the service when those doors are opened. It's almost like being outdoors with all the glass.

Enough rambling for tonight!!

We have had some beautiful sunsets here. After I took this picture last night, I turned around and took a picture of the moon, both beautiful!! I was almost finished riding my bike 8.8 miles around and around the RV park, when I stopped for the photo op. It was about 70 degrees (I know it has been warm in KS also!), and I just love riding with a cool breeze!! It was so invigorating, then when I got home, a neighbor asked me to go for a walk. We walked 2 miles around the park. The night sea air feels so good! Lauren (age 8) asked me a couple of months ago why we like to go so many places. Lauren, these are some of the reasons. I love being close to nature and enjoying it to the fullest. (There is also less work in an RV; housecleaning goes pretty fast, but I do miss my dishwasher!)

Yesterday was also laundry day (Randy's favorite day). I'm just too tired after laundry to cook (ha), so we went to Blackbeard's, where I had some charbroiled mahi-mahi (again). It is sooooo good!!! Last time Randy had a seafood platter, but yesterday he had a wonderful hamburger (just a little better than McDonald's). Then we had enough left for supper.

Since we have been here at S Padre Island, I usually attend Yoga Monday and Wednesday mornings, then line dancing Tues and Thurs mornings. I heard about quilting on Tues and Thurs and finally checked it out on Tues. I didn't bring a project, but thought I would go see what others are doing. The quilters are doing charity quilts for local residents (mainly at Port Isabel and extended area) and can always use 2 more hands. I went back today. Line dancing and quilting both start at 9 (in different places), so I did my hour of dancing, then went to quilting. Last week I wore my new pedometer (Thanks, Marty) to line dancing and logged over 5,000 steps in that hour. Good exercise! After lunch I went to a photography class (first session today). They just have everything here (except my grandkids and other family members; I miss them!)

Randy's activities consist of fishing, fishing, and fishing, a little bike riding, reading, and watching TV. There's also his favorite--Laundry Day!! This RV Park doesn't have a laundromat, so we go over to Port Isabel for that.