CC Trip 2012 - Texas

We made it back to Biloxi, MS, where we spent one night before we headed to Texas.  Of course TZ HAD to make one more visit to the casino, and it was a very good decision.  He's "up" quite a bit for the trip.
Our first stop in Texas is a campground in the Galveston Bay area.  Here's the view from our door:

Here's the view at sunset:

There are about 200 green parakeets that visit the campground twice a day.....We know when they're here by the chirping of hundreds of birds!

We visited the NASA Space Center .....you know, "Houston, we have a problem..."  The displays and exhibits were exceptional.  We took the tram tour and visited Mission Control, a Space Station and Shuttle Mock-Up Facility and a building housing a display of rockets.  Here's some photos from today:

These babies greet you at the entrance

Actual size front of a shuttle

One side of the cockpit

Mission Control ("retired" in 1991)

Mission Control work area - mock up used
in the movie Apollo 13

The following five photos show the actual area the astronauts use to train for the Space Station and former Shuttle program.

The Shuttle is being dismantled and the future training venue will be for the Orion program.

These photos are of the Rocket exhibition.

The rocket is so big, I was unable to get it into one photo.

These are from the inside exhibit.

Moonwalking ....

Actual Moon Rocks

The Space Center was well done and we had a "blast".......sorry, I had to.


Left the Galveston area for Quitman, TX, home of TZ's property.  Here's Tony exercising during the ride:

We reached the famous town of Quitman, which is a small, rural town, between Tyler and Sulfur Springs, about 90 miles east of Dallas.

Those larger towns have everything we could want, so there's always somewhere to go or something to do.

Pop. 1809....soon to be 1810

As you drive around Quitman, you see farms and ranches, and plenty of oil drilling rigs.

Someone we know has one of these on his property, and collects between $1000-$2000 each month.  Not bad!  We've seen the usual horse and cattle farms, but also llamas, goats, and shetland ponies.


For now, we only have a cement pad with hook ups for electricity, water and sewer, so we're able to park here for a while.  

The plans are in the works for a canopy over the entire cement pad, with a studio apartment and loft behind the motorhome, and a garage for the car.


We're traveling to Arizona to see friends.  I-20 has the highest speed limits I've ever seen:

And also, very cool overpasses:

Taking all these photos must have really overwhelmed Tony:

CC Trip 2012 - West Coast of Florida

As we headed south, we were "called" to Crabby Bill's on Clearwater Beach for a very special lunch - Oysters, Stone Crabs and a Lobster Roll.

We landed in Englewood, FL, for a visit with my parents. The weather is breaking and hopefully the cold snap is over.  It has been in the high 20's for a few overnights - Warming up to the 70's in a day or two.

Mom & Dad are doing great - Not bad for 83 & 90 years old!

Dad is busy with fundraising for ads for their Alhambra Club, which supports developmentally and mentally disabled adults. They're having a shindig soon, so Dad gets businesses to cough it up to advertise in the event brochure. 
There is a pond across from their home, and today, a 6 foot alligator climbed out to sun himself - They carted him away a couple of days later - too big to be there!

Enough for handbags, shoes AND boots!!!

Each day, two Sand Cranes visit and wait for my father to feed them cracked corn:

We spent a day with our CT neighbors, Dot & Steve, who are in Fort Myers for a few months - we visited nearby Sanibel and Captiva Islands with them, and the weather was perfect: sunny and in the upper 70's. Great day for beachcombing  :-) 

Dot & Steve

Santa's climbing up a palm tree

Here's Santa flying over The Crow's Nest

This salamander is well camouflaged


Here we are on Sanibel Beach:

On Captiva Island, a little bit of Paradise! Haven't been here in about 15 years.

Tony flew up north early Sunday am, to participate in the annual Scotty's Hunt in Chincoteague, VA til next Thursday, when I'll pick him up from Fort Myers airport on his return trip.  I'll just have to lay by the pool and get some sun :-)
Meanwhile, I visited my sister Nina and my niece, Christina, (and Xena) in Cape Coral:

Nina and I had a great seafood lunch on the waterfront at Rumrunner's in Cape Harbor. Afterwards, I picked up TZ from the airport, and we headed back to my parent's home to spend one more night, before we leave in the a.m.  Tony and the Campfire guys had a great time in Chincoteague, as they always do......the ducks they hunted did not...
Our last stop on the west coast brought us to the Sarasota area, specifically Siesta Key and St. Armand's Circle on Longboat Key. 
Just before we crossed the causeway, there was a fantastic, larger-than-life sculpture of....well, you can figure this one out:

Siesta Key is world renowned for it's talc-like white sand.....let me confirm, it is true.  It is the softest sand that ever met my toes!  It's said that the sand there is 99% quartz, which makes is soooooo soft.  

So many people walk the beach!

Can you just hear the surf?

Before we left the area, we stopped in Crab n Fin restaurant in St Armand's Circle. The food was a "10".....Fish Chowder, with chunks of fish in every spoonful, the BEST Caesar Salad, and a super dish of chilled Calamari Salad with lemon and capers.   Life is good.....

On the way north, we passed a Classic Car dealership, and had to make a u-turn to go back and see these babies....Chevelles, GTO, 442 and Vettes  All in mint condition, and they REALLY "brought us back" to the 70's.  

We're headed west......next stops: Biloxi again, Houston (to see the NASA Space Center), then on to check the property in Quitman, Texas.

CC Trip 2012 - Florida Panhandle

Ventured down to the Florida Panhandle, which is called the Emerald Coast, for the teal colored waters of the Pensacola, Fort Walton and Destin beaches.  

The palm trees we drove past encourage me that we are headed in the right direction!

Along our drive, we noticed a number of eclectic homes:

At the end of the Destin causeway was a colorful waterfront hotel and a nearby sandbar:

Destin has some very upscale homes on the beach - and of course, lots of beachfront resorts.  Took a walk on the beach and the sand was white and powdery.  

Too bad it was chilly and windy, or we could have gotten some sun time in.

We visited the Destin Air Force Armament Museum and took in a variety of planes and armament on display.

A Huey - the type of helicopter TZ flew in Viet Nam

This could hurt!!!!

Purple Heart Dedication

Now, REALLY....can you just imagine???

So many gauges is such a tight space !!!!

Tomorrow, we head for the west coast of Florida.

Cross Country Trip 2012

We're starting our trip this year by driving the Jeep down to Red Bay, Alabama, to pick up the motorhome which was having warranty work done at the manufacturer.  Tomorrow, we drive south to spend New Year's Eve in Biloxi, MS, then on to the west coast of Florida, before heading west to Texas and Arizona.
Let the fun.......and sun.....begin!  


Here's a familiar photo op........Tony takes his first nap of this roadtrip!!!

He has to rest up to prepare for Texas Hold 'Em in Biloxi.


Had a "little problem" today......We made a fuel stop, and entered the wrong driveway, which was adjacent to the gas station.  Instead of ending up in the gas station, we were on the "road to nowhere", which dead ended in the woods!  No where to turn this big monster around, so we had to un-hitch the Jeep, and back the motorhome all the way back on a very narrow road!


Woke up this morning and ...........no TZ !! Where, oh where, could he be, in this casino town???  Oh, of course!......he went out in the early hours of the morning, before sunrise, to play poker at the Beau Rivage.   Silly me!  Hope he brings home the bacon.  :-)


Update........he's up $55....To be continued........


We went out to eat on New Year's Eve, then a little Black Jack, and a new BJ game called 21+3, where you play regular BJ, but put up a side bet using your 2 face up cards, and the face up card of the dealer.  If those 3 cards show a poker hand, like a 3 card flush, or 8,9 and 10, or 3 fives, you win 9 times your side bet.  A dealer told us about it and there was only one table for 21 + 3 in the casino. We watched as one player won over $2500 from the side poker bets alone!   In less than an hour! TZ has found a new game.  
As for me, well, I made my usual $ 50 donation, and walked.  They don't call me "Squeaky" for nothing......


On our last day in Biloxi, Tony won almost $1000 playing Texas Hold 'Em   :-))  ......OK - let's go shopping!


Tomorrow, we head east to see the Florida Panhandle, en route to see Mom & Dad in Englewood.