Fishing on Goose Island

We mostly enjoyed South Padre Island (other than the sand burrs & Hispanic trash throwing habits). We left yesterday, driving north to Corpus Christi, then going back out to Padre Island and then north along Mustang Island to Aransas Pass where we took the ferry back to the mainland.

We settled at Goose Island State Park on a spit of sand right next to the water. How lucky we were to have a beautiful day with sunshine and temps in the 60's. That's not bad considering how the winter storms have nailed most of our country. I caught a nice redfish that we grilled for dinner and watched a great sunset. Life is Good!

Our neighbors for this night, Bernd and Margitta from Germany are traveling the world in their 1964 Mercedes Truck (same year as my Amphicar!) that Bernd outfitted as a traveling home. They have been traveling now for 3 years and have been everywhere! They had great stories to tell! They call their truck Jumbo, that's why it has the elephant on the top! Hope all is well with you!!!!

Merry Christmas from South Padre Island

Wow, it has been forever since i posted to this blog! I have spent a month rebuilding Amphicar parts and now it is ready for re-assembly! I needed a break and that was provided by my great friend Gayla who came to travel with me for two weeks.

There was weather brewing so we just immediately drove south 600 miles to South Padre Island. That turned out to be a great move as it is snowing in Dallas and just cold and windy thru out much of Texas.

Here the wind is blowing real heavy, but is was sunny and 71 today so all is well. We plan to spend a few days here then head back towards Austin and the hill country.

I hope all reading this have a most Merry Christmas! Spanky and I miss ya all and want to leave you with Christmas from the puppies! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo&feature=player_embedded

353 FAVORITE PICTURES OF YEAR ONE!

Wow did it rain here in Dallas! So, I stayed in the Starship and devoted myself to a project that was long overdue. I sorted through the thousands of pictures that I took on my first year on the road, and reduced them to 353 favorite pictures!

I have put them on this slideshow at the top of this blog. You can click on it once and it will go to a larger size and allow you to flip through them. I also picked my five favorite nature picture which I show above.

For a guy who is definitely not a techie, I am real proud of this effort!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON THE ROAD

65 and sunny today in Dallas as I contemplate one full year living on the road in the Starship!!!

What a year this has been, lots of traveled miles, new places, people and experiences, and the joy of following good weather! I like it well enough that I think I shall try another year! To keep me sane, I am lucky enough to have a small group of family and friends that keep in touch. Your calls, texts, and emails mean more to me than you know! I miss you!

I see I have posted 53 times to this journal so far this year. I use this as a personal place to organize my thoughts and experiences as well as to post pictures of people I meet and places I go. It is a good trip down memory lane for me to look over older posts. If you look back, remember that you can double click on any picture to make it larger.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my Amphicar! After all the driving (and swimming) I have done over the years, the car has need of some serious maintainance and refurbishing. Fortunately here in Texas, my great buddy CJ offered his shop for the project.

This is serious work of suspension parts like axles, bushings, bearings, king pins, ball joints, etc.

The bad news is the price of parts is astronomical! The good news is they are still available! So, I think one must bite the bullet, and go for it. The plus of having this facility to work in and the ability to do the work myself is a great thing!

So the plan is a month here to get this all done, then off for new adventure! Today I saw this redtail hawk in the wide blue sky while Spanky and I were taking a long walk! I hope all is well with you!

AHHH, BACK IN TEXAS

After seeing some new country going through Oklahoma, the Statship crossed the border into Texas! It continues to amaze me the difference in econonic activity here in the lone star state. There are major building projects happening and projects that were just being started last year, are almost wrapped up.

Arriving in Lucas at the Roy's was sweet, the hospitality mat was out! The Starship has a great spot by the barn under a fine tree, with a private lawn, and a 50 amp plug! Doesn't get much better than that! My hosts CJ, and Denise have been jet setters since I arrived, they were in San Francisco for the weekend, came back, and left for Pittsburg this morning. I have seen them just about long enough for them to give me keys and tell me to make myself at home!

First thing I did was go on a diet. Unload Amphicar, Hobbit moped, spare transmission, floor jack and jack stands, tools, etc., and unhook trailer. Wow, much lighter now!

Spanky got to see all his old friends, Buddy, Tink, Raz, 3 leg, and pictured above, Lilly!

Everything is bigger here in Texas, so had to give you a shot of this spider! They have nests around the yard between the trees, don't think I really want to walk through one! Take care!

EXPLOSION, KUM & GO, OKIE NOODLING

Imagine 20,000 pounds of Starship steel hurtling down a steep Missouri hillside, when all of a sudden, a huge explosion comes from the back of the Starship! What the %#&^ happened you ask? Well, thats the sound of picking up a piece of space junk and puncturing a rear tire!

To the rescue comes Donnie from Smitty's who for a mere 100 bucks removes the limp donut and puts on the spare. Damn lucky actually, the same event on a front steer tire would prolly have had a much different ending!

Fuel continues to drop, here is 2.39 at the Kum & Go (picture included to show you I did not make that up!) Later I saw a lower price of 2.30. Please explain how it can be .49 a gallon difference between Michigan and Oklahoma? Thats way more than transport cost and is $34 bucks difference on a fillup in the Starship.

Speaking of strange names and customs, here in Oklahoma they fish differently, specifically it is called hand fishing and involves sticking your hand in a hole in the riverbank and having a huge catfish bite you at which time you drag him to the surface.

Here is a You tube video showing chicks do it with gloves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UIpOUgQt-g&feature=PlayList&p=EDED0A089AB7819D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=18

Thats hollywood, in reality for generations, Okie Noodling has been done by crazed Okies without gloves using hands and feet to catch them!!!! This is what it looks like when the locals do it! Amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LksuKTD8y0o&feature=related

I took a different path this time and am at Arrowhead state park in Oklahoma. It is on a huge lake named Eufaula and a nice spot indeed. Tomorrow I go to Texas to the Roy Ranch to visit my Texas buddies! Take care!

TEMPS UP - GAS DOWN - LIFE IS GOOD!

Welcome to my blog Char! I am west of St. Louis in a RV park enjoying some down time! That wetness I reported continued to be evident from Chicago to here, causing serious troubles. They had 12" of rain here in October , even two state parks I stopped at were closed - you could not get to the campgrounds!

Glad to report liquid gold (fuel) prices coming down! Last fillup in Livingston County was 2.79 a gallon, yesterday paid 2.63 and saw 2.51 when I stopped here. Lets keep this trend going, Starship is really heavily loaded and best is 7.3 miles to the gallon and that is on flat land!

Temps are in the 60's and sunny and due to hit 70 here by Saturday. I hope this also moves North for all you Michiganders and through out the midwest for all you farmers!

Yesterday's interesting character award is split between Mary and Pam. Spanky introduced me to Mary at a travel break. She is from Iowa on a 5 week vacation headed to Ida, Arkansas. Her quest is to find a phanton crystal which is white quartz with a dark inclusion said to have very special powers! She was an interesting lady before she told me her ride at home is a 1969 sassy green Plymouth road runner! Not only interesting, but a Mopar gal as well! Best luck to you Mary on your quest.

Pam, another free spirit was my neighbor last night at this RV park. Pam is traveling with her cat, Killer in a 5th wheeler pulled by a hot lookin black Ford diesel pickup. She has been on the road for 24 months, crisscrossing the country, and had many intereresting stories to tell! Pam is off to Florida and more adventure.

I have enjoyed staying here, and took a huge hike yesterday. I can't believe how good life is for me right now. Here I am after a great shower and breakfast, doing laundry, watching TV, and being online, all in the comfort of the Starship in a nice setting ! Stay tuned...........

THE GREAT MIDWEST, CORN, WINDMILLS, & MENDOTA

Wow, what a wonderful start to this new adventure! I drove straight west until I was close to my first stop - about 100 miles west of Chicago in Mendota, Illinios. Right in the heart of the midwest, corn and soybeans as far as you can see! Unfortunately they have had so much rain, most of the crop has yet to be taken off the wet fields.

I saw a huge farm and stopped and asked the owner if I might spend the night. He directed me to a spot of gravel drive and told me to make myself at home! Just how folks are here, everybody waves, and you get the feel you are in the real America. Not a lot of honda's and toyota's about, mainly pickup trucks - Fords, Chevvies, & Dodges.

These guys farm about 6,000 acres, everything is John Deere, except the stuff they fab on site them selves which is bigger than Deere will make for them! They were still workin at midnight and started again about 6 this morning. They are racing now, the soybeans will rot and even though it will cost a lot to run the corn through dryers, they want to get it picked before the snow hits. I sure hope these guys get lucky and make a buck this year.

At 8 this morning i pulled in to Midwest Amphicar to see Dave Derrer, better known in the hobby as " Dave the Wave". I brought my original spare Amphicar transmission and in a short time it was reduced to a pile of gears, shafts, springs, and many small parts. Dave worked all day and I left tonight with my trans all assembled with the new parts that it needed. I would highly recommend Dave to you. Not only is he a hellofa nice guy, he is honest and extremely knowledgable and talented with Amphicars!

Dave has a nice shop at his home surrounded by miles of corn. There are 100's of windmills to generate power placed in the corn through out the area. They have a real strange feel to me and when you are near them you notice the sound of the blades moving thru the air. They are so huge, that white dot at the bottom of the picture above is a pickup truck!

Looks like between using the wind for power and making soy bio-diesel, the midwest is doing its part for our future! Well, its been a great time here, but time to head south. Stay tuned!

NOVEMBER 1ST - TIME TO HIT THE ROAD AGAIN!

Tonight is Halloween and at first light tomorrow, the Starship will blast off on a new adventure! It has been a great summer here, but now it is time to leave. We have had the most beautiful colors, but the wind last night turned many of them into a colorful carpet which will soon be buried in snow.

My sons and I went to Kensington Park for a color hike last week. We took Spanky even though the Keep Out sign curiously resembles him. We assumed they couldn't mean the Spankster so he joined us for a 3 mile hike. This was his first big outing since his surgery and proof he is quite recovered!

My summer spot at the wetlands is closed up for the winter. It was a great place to be at this summer and I sure look forward to being back here May 1st.

I have been visiting many friends and saying goodbyes including a visit to the cemetary where my parents are. I sure do miss them, but are glad they have a nice spot in a small cemetery filled with maple trees.

First stop tomorrow is Mendota, Illinois. Mendota is the birth place of the famous Mandy Fox and also the current home of Dave the Wave and Midwest Amphicar. Dave is the Amphi trans guru and will help me make a parts list for my back up transmission.

Then - South to warm weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST FREEZE & POOR SPANKY OCTOBER 2009

Poor Spanky! He just got back from Michigan State University Veterinary Hospital where he underwent surgery again to remove bladder stones! He is a little stone factory and here he is 15 months after his last surgery doing it again! He makes calcium stones and even though he is on a prescription diet, there seems to be no known way to prevent them forming again.

He absolutely hates the whole deal and when picked up after two days at MSU was just shakin and moanin like it was the end of the world! The best cure and way to put the whole deal behind him is loving and he has sure been getting a bunch of it. Here is a few pics of him getting some attention from son John and friend Gayla.

Also in that picture you can see our new maple tree out the RV window. I wanted a shade tree here in the wetlands and the tree has to grow at the waters edge in this mucky soil. My son Mark helped me plant this Autumn Blaze maple and we hope it will be happy here! It is a hybrid, a cross between a silver and a red maple that seems to be the best choice for these conditions.

Woke up this morning to a chilly 29 degrees, the first freeze of the year. Could be worse as there is a raging snow storm a few hundred miles west of here! Blast off from Michigan for the winter is down to about 3 weeks and the optimist that i am is still hoping to see some indian summer before i go! You would not believe the beautiful tangerine color that is starting to show on the sugar maples. Take good care of yourself !!!!