Against the Wind

"Wow," you say. "Are you guys out there wind surfin' with the sea life?"

Hell no. We're sitting up on the balcony, listening to Bob Seger.

http://www.bobseger.com/sampler/player.html

We're "older now........but still runnin'...............against the wind."

Figuratively.

The Food Chain

Yep...........we're doing all the touristy things - visiting The Texas State Aquarium, getting new social security cards (you need them for everything now - memorizing your number is just not enough anymore), acquiring Texas driver's licenses...... I know! I know! All these activities require standing in line. No wonder we just sit and stare at the waves in our spare moments.

Really enjoyed the aquarium because it contained only sea life found in Texas waters so we could see what was swimming around out there beneath the sea before it ended up on our plates. No, no, I haven't eaten any sharks, but then, none of them have nibbled at me either. And listen guys.............let's just keep it that way.

Remembering the Alamo

Can you believe it?!? Those long horns followed us from Austin. You're never far from cattle in Texas. However, along the Gulf where we've been residing, shrimp seem to be both more popular and more populous.

At any rate, if you're ever in San Antonio, you've got to visit the Alamo - and you must spend more than five minutes there. You can't take pictures inside, and you can't touch the walls, but (corny as it sounds) it is a place filled with awe and reverence. Well, it was a mission, after all. The gift shop is rather overdone, but it is fun to look at all the Bowie knives on display. The blades are huge. I'm surprised more people didn't accidentally stab themselves carrying those weapons around - although supposedly they were mostly used for chopping trees and such.

The Alamo.........you can almost feel the spirits inside the walls.

Down by the Riverside

The much-hyped river walk in San Antonio definitely lives up to its press. It is really beautiful and incredibly alive........even though it is the off season. There are all kinds of restaurants along the river's endless winding banks ..... and shops ....... and boats ....... However, we didn't get to go for a ride on the gondolas because the weather turned very cold and windy on our second day. Never put off until tomorrow. Despite the Disneyesque (and I mean that in a good way) appearance and blatant pandering to hedonism, I didn't really feel that the place was a tourist trap. OK. OK. I admit it. It's my kind of place .......... picturesque with open-air dining and people having a good time.

The last photo is the scene from the balcony of our hotel room early A.M. Hmmm.....I'm wondering whether the view from our balcony in AA is covered with snow. Maybe being a Winter Texan isn't so bad after all - especially after watching that game in Green Bay. Brrr.......y'all. Whatever happened to global warming?

Git Along, Little Dogies

You guessed it. The couch is not in our condo at the beach. This very handsome steer (God, I hope he wasn't in the hamburger I ate for lunch, and I ordered seafood for dinner, I swear.) is in a very impressive hotel in downtown Austin.

http://www.whatwasthen.com/driskill.html

Quite comfy too. I mean, if you're going to have a leather couch, why not go all the way?

A lot of testosterone in this hotel and its decor. (The steer is above the mantle.) The Driskill was a favorite of LBJ, Clinton was a guest, and W partied here too. Whoopie-ti-yi-yo!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driskill_Hotel

Well, hand me my boots, and oh, yeah, "hook 'em, 'horns." That is Austin, right?

Sea Star

How great to find a starfish on the beach although it seems this one is missing one of his feet.....I guess life is tough in the ocean too. I thought to myself......what a fabulous addition to my rather meager Texas sea shell collection. Alright....it's really not a shell, but let's not get picky.

Alas! Those little pieces that look like millipede legs were moving around and tickling my palms. The creature was still alive. I put him in the water but the surf kept washing him back. I tried to convince myself that he would never survive and I could take him home with me. Then I remembered one time, a long time ago (back when we thought that there would be enough sea shells to last forever although evidently it is still lawful to collect live shells in Texas), I had gathered a dozen sea stars on a beach in South Carolina and put them in the glove compartment of my car. They remained there on the trip home when we stopped at a motel overnight. And by the next morning, their slow decaying had filled the car with a most unpleasant scent, which lingered long after the the rest of the vacation had been forgotten.

So I splashed out into deeper water and flung my treasure out to sea. How marvelous to see him in his natural habitat under the water and seemingly content on the ocean floor. Maybe he would have eventually perished up on the beach, but I wasn't going to be a party to his demise. For my concern, I was rewarded with a rare glimpse into his world...........which I enjoyed much more than he must have enjoyed his glimpse into mine.

That Lucky Old Sun

Fooledja.......it's a sunrise - not a sunset. I will admit that I don't see the sun get up every morning in the middle of winter when the days are the shortest of the year. Of course, the sun sets much too early also. However, it is quite impressive to see that big fiery ball rise up out of the water. In fact, while the sun was ascending on this particular day, a coyote came out of the sand dunes at the edge of the beach to take a gander at old sol.

That lucky ole sun just rolls around heaven all day, but we watched a group of dolphins at the marina, working hard - fishing for their dinner instead of ordering from the menu like we did.

And these pelicans are also fishing outside our condo window. Speaking of island creatures, the beach continues to be literally littered with those Portuguese man-of-war things. I suppose they are fishing too, but unfortunately the wind blew them too far ashore.

How much better to be a seabird.....diving for fish rather than a landlubber..... digging for worms.

Walk on the Wild Side

Ah, what fools laugh in the face of danger? At my feet, my friends, is the deadly Portuguese Man-of-War. What a beautiful creature, or creatures, in this case. So lovely, but so venomous.

http://www.portuguesemanofwar.com/

(look at PROFILE: what is the portuguese man of war)

Even the seagulls know to avoid these guys. Another reminder (in neon-blue, no less) that we are always just one step from danger - even at the beach. Watch where you put your feet.

Sorry, Charlie

Where else can you have dinner and watch the charter fishing boats dock? This vessel had been out for two days and brought in all this sushi grade yellow fin tuna - which I'm hoping to have for dinner this week. Are these fish the most beautiful you have ever seen??! One of the fishermen told me that they had to return early because they had caught all the fish allowed. He also said that some of the fish had put up a fight that lasted a couple hours. Hey, we're in Texas where men are men, and fish are fish. Port Aransas is a real hardworking port, and the seafood here is as fresh as you coud ever hope to taste.........right off the boat. How would you like to have one of these guys in your freezer? The fish, I mean. Unfortunately, it was too dark to get a picture of the pelicans landing behind the ship, hoping for a taste of some of that raw tuna.........just like all of us other bystanders.

On the Road in Texas

Here is the latest beach house. Notice the tire tracks in the sand........if you're not careful, a mongo pickup truck will come racing down the beach and run you down. Life is very macho in Texas with guys in spurs and cowboy boots driving big $50,000 trucks - wherever they please....including the beach and the Bay.........and slower traffic is forced over onto the berm. Navy pilots overhead, cactus underfoot, oil wells out in the Gulf - testosterone everywhere.

Same beach. Yep. Yep, that's right. It's an actual highway with a speed limit and everything. Ride 'em, cowboy.
Check him out - no boots, no spurs, no truck, but he just had to get his vehicle out on that sand. Gotta get him a cowboy hat, at least.