March 28 – April 9, 2003
Well we had a fine two weeks with cool but pleasant weather. Started by revisiting the RiverWalk in San Antonio and were impressed by the new convention center down beyond the Marriot Hotel. Drove leisurely to Lawn with a lunch stop and walk in Fredericksburg.
One of the first things we did was take a long walk on the Mayfield ranch out to the J Tank and back. Tanks are filled to overflowing and wheat and grass are thriving. Saturday night we met sisterinlaw Phyllis and two granddaughters and her sister for supper and then went to the Abilene roping arena to watch brotherinlaw Jim and son Billy practice roping. Pretty dusty work.
Sunday we took a picnic and a long walk on the Concho River in San Angelo where we fed what looked like muskrats but turned out to be baby nutria. (Over in Corpus we saw the mother nutria and she is gigantic, bigger than a beaver).
Monday we took Joseph to Paintrock to see the Indian pictographs there. We got a lesson in archeology and pictograph techniques and interpretations from the ranch owner. Then a fine dinner at a mesquite grill restaurant with Jim and Phyllis.
Tuesday Jim took us to see a drilling rig his company had recently set up in the town of Novicio. Quite an exciting affair and dangerous for the workers – easy to get injured in the fast moving machinery and ropes. Also saw an interesting museum of old oil field and farm equipment.
Mike got back late Tuesday night and Wednesday we went with him to collect two of their four horses from a far pasture. That evening he fired up the big mesquite cooker and there was a big friends and family barbecue and potluck. As we were leaving Thursday morning Mike showed us the little herd of Long Horns Jim has bought for raising roping calves.
On to Corpus Christi arriving just before Amy at about 5 o’clock. Sure enjoyed the wild flowers along the way – orange-red paintbrush, bluebonnets, pink poppies, yellow daisies, etc. Amy cooked us some good meals, as did Ginny. We went to see Swan Lake at the Corpus Christi Ballet, a lovely performance with different dancers as Odile and Odette. Had clams (in the shell with linguine and eggless caramel custard at the Macaroni Grill.
Of course one of our first outings was to the Hans Suter Birding Center where the spoonbills and white pelicans were napping in large flocks quite close to shore. Sunday we all went to the Texas Heritage Days fair at Refugio for a barbecue lunch and a talk by the western writer Elmer Kelton followed by a demonstration of horse taming by a horse whisperer. After an hour of hustling the young horse around the ring and introducing the gear to it he was able to mount and sit in the saddle. The miniature donkeys were cute too.
Spent Monday on Mustang Island, admiring the heavy surf on a shore walk at the State Park, then to the Port Aransas birding center, the ferry docks (took a ride, Alan saw a dolphin), picnicked in the park and walked the canal shore, then another long walk on the jetty to see big ships come into the outer harbor entrance. Plenty of pelicans and palmated plovers.
Monday evening a went to a church coffeehouse to hear Cindy Mangsen and Steve Gillette, VT folk singers some of you may know. Have been playing their CDs.
Took in a Tuesday matinee big screen showing of Chicago and then to Snoopy’s for a waterfront sunset and their Cajun shrimp on rice. Headed for San Anton Wednesday with a picnic stop and long walk at Choke Canyon State Park. We have never seen the water so high, flooding out many acacia trees, almost to the top of the dam. Birds galore – mockingbirds, killdeer. swallows, a roadrunner, a brown cardinal, egrets, coots, small blue herons and more. Sorry to have to leave.