"Today is a Good Day to Drive!" .....Van-Go

February 27, 2007 We got up early with the sky just turning bright and walked along the shore. The waves sort of curl in to the sand as it is shallow here. It was a low low tide and we were able to walk way out the sand looking for shells. We found no snail shells, but some very interesting twists from welk shells. The laughing gulls, plovers, wicket and pelicans are the only others up this early. But soon the vehicles start to arrive, mostly fishermen. Each morning two guys come and use a long pole with a suction and pull up clams. We spent the day reading, kiting, puzzeling, and just sitting. The sun peeked out from time to time; the wind blew briskly. Will made a yummy shrimp stirfry. After dinner, at sunset, we walked along the shore. It was dark when we returned to the roadtrek. We watched RobRoy and Stealing Home with a very young Jodi Foster.

February 26, 2007 We slowly rolled out of bed, made some coffee and drove over to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The greenjays were out at the feeder. They are very colorful birds with lime green bodies and bright blue heads. When they fly the yellow under their tail feathers shows. The grackles and red-winged blackbirds chattered away. At the office we visited briefly with Dina. Her daughter now has two children making Dina a proud Grandma again.Dina is going to college so works a strange schedule. Mardi is looking good; her little one is 13 months now. We didn't get to see the manager, John; he was meeting with law enforcement crews. We were driving down 106 when Rudy came up in his truck; we stopped. Will jumped out and gave Rudy a hand shake and a "brotherly" hug. John, a new volunteer came from the passenger seat and we all chatted a bit. Ron, another volunteer, drove up in a big truck and joined us. A law enforcement car stopped and Rudy went and talked w

After a leasurely morning of laundry we found a high speed wifi and spent the day interneting. Will spent the day painting a galvenized bucket we had gotten from Progreso as a gift for Sylvia and John who are celebrating their third year at the Country Store & Beer Garden. Every Sunday they have a BBQ and John Harley and the Bayview Bushriders play their country music. It was sunset when we arrived in Bayview. We squeezed into our parking spot across the dirt road from Harley's. People were everywhere, inside and out, in the store and in dance hall. The smell of chicken filled the air coming from the grills. We presented Sylvia the 3rd anniversary bucket by handing it to her daughter, Collita to bring her behind the bar. Sylvia immediately came out and gave us hugs and thank yous. It didn't take long before we saw it filled with beers sitting on one of the tables. We enjoyed the music and people watching. Tonight the band had big changes: Andrew, the bass guitar, and Andy,

February 24, 2007 We crossed the Rio Grande Stepped on to a foriegn land In the country of Mexico At Nuevo Progreso City streets were a billowing blanket of cars and of trucks Sidewalks were a crawling carpet of tourists moving like ducks We dined on Corona and sincronizadas in Hay Jalisco Souvineers we picked up all along the way cost us only a few peso Across the International Bridge we walked Looked down to the Rio Grande as we talked Back on US soil we are happy to arrive Oh indeed, "Today is a good day to drive"

February 23, 2007 Boca Chica is south of Browsnville near the confluence of the Rio Grande flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. The parking is along the deadend road or on the beach. We chose the road. The first night we parked back about five or six car lengths. We met Bertrill and Marshall who were parked in the front motor home. They recognized Will's shirt from Puerto Penasco, Mexico. We talked of our trips to Mexico. They offered us to park in front of them. A bulldozer was plowing sand so when he was finshed we moved ahead. Many visitors come with their four wheel drive vehicles and drive down to the confluence or up to the jetty. We walked the beach. We found one unique shell here, a snail with a beautiful brown pattern on the cream colored shell. Shell collectors arrive early and scarf them up quickly, but we managed to find a few over the several days we spent here. We had planned to just spend one night, but the weather was so nice, warm and sunny and only a soft breeze off t

We left th beach and drove over to Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary. Jimmy and one of the local volunteers were out in his pickup collecting dead palm leaves for the Charro Days float. Jimmy waved at us, shook hands and said hello. At the visitor center we chatted with Cici. It was nice to see her and catch up a bit; she has triplet grandchildren that are growing up. " As children grow their problems grow and we have it in triplet" she said. We saw a chachalaca, greenjay and some doves. The big new at Sabal Palm is the start to the old house renavations; someday that will be the new visitor center and probably classrooms, although we think it shoud be a B&B. >From there we went to the Gladys Porter Zoo to visit our girilla friends. They were out in the yard. The two sisters each have a young one to care for and the three year old joined them under one of the rocks. It looked like the moms were trying to put the young ones to sleep holding them still. There were lots of sch

February 20, 2007 The wind was blowing from the south southwest. We put our backs to it andwalked along the shore. The fine graines of white sand tumbled in the windalong the ground like one of those movies of clouds moving across the skytaken over a day and show in just minutes. Then we had to turn around. At thewater's edge the sand blew low and hit against our bare feet and legs. Yep,warm enough for shorts today. Our skin got use to the tiny stings. The windsurfers were out today on the bay side of the island. We could see the large colorful canopies floating on the winds. We made our way back we went through Port Isable and turned south to Brownsville, Texas. The city streets are crowded with locals in a hurry, cars driving every which way and us making our way to the Gladys Porter Zoo. In the parking lot we made some lunch then went in to see our animal friends. The gorillas were out and very active; mom with baby hanging on were making a round of the enclosure; the big silver

February 19, 2007 We woke to another beautiful day of sunshine and warm breeze. After a relaxing wake-up we drove over to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge where we had volunteered several seasons in the past. It is still a favorite spot in the valley of ours. The grackles were screaming and making all kinds of noise, a welcome call. We paused outside the VC to admire the greenjay with its bright blue head.At the visitor center we said hello to Kathy, a fellow volunteer, and Ranger Kevin. It was good catching up with Kevin. He shared about his daugher going to A&M and being reading to move into an apartment with some friends. Kathy shared about Justin's graduation from HPU. The butterfly gardens are mostly in seed, but we did see a few flitting about. We walked the little trail around the VC and were disappointed that there was no water in the little alligator pond near the office area. We checked out the plaque that friends, Sally and Merrill, had put up at the fountain

February 19, 2007 We woke to another beautiful day of sunshine and warm breeze. After arelaxing wake-up we drove over to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge where we had volunteered several seasons in the past. It is still a favoritespot in the valley of ours. The grackles were screaming and making all kindsof noise, a welcome call. We paused outside the VC to admire the greenjaywith its bright blue head.At the visitor center we said hello to Kathy, afellow volunteer, and Ranger Kevin. It was good catching up with Kevin. Heshared about his daugher going to A&M and being reading to move into anapartment with some friends. Kathy shared about Justin's graduation fromHPU.The butterfly gardens are mostly in seed, but we did see a few flittingabout. We walked the little trail around the VC and were disappointed thatthere was no water in the little alligator pond near the office area. Wechecked out the plaque that friends, Sally and Merrill, had put up at thefountain they built a

February 18, 2007 We woke up to sunshine, the sound of ocean waves and a beautiful day. First we stood outside enjoying the view of sand dunes with fine grains blowingvswiftly when we kicked up the sand. Then we left the roadtrek and headedover the dunes for the Gulf of Mexico. We walked along the shore looking atthe array of seashells. Will found a few shards of glass that we tossed backout to sea for a little more grinding. We kept the few that were faded withwear; one neat piece was the base of a Walker Wiskey bottle. Kathy found afew Angel Wing shells, delicate and white. These are the single wingsdropped by angels when they do a miracle for someone on Earth. Wonder if they grow back? From our spot on the beach road we drove over to the Convention Center wherewe had hoped to see construction started for the new World Birding Center,but we found only the Laguna Madre boardwalk trail we were farmiliar with.We walked out on the trail and spotted a few turtles, some white butterflieswo

February 17, 2007 Victor Park is a popular spot in Harlingen for weekenders. We did ourmorning constitutional up toward the golfcourse then up on the irragationcanal. All warmed up we played a little tennis; for us that is hitting theball back and forth trying to keep a volley going. At the Harlingen Field we made some dinner then went inside the stadium where the Harlingen White Wings were playing the Brownsville team in thebaseball playoffs. These are D level farm teams, guys hoping to make the teams that the majors might then look at. We met up woth Mary and Bob lastnight. This afternoon Connie and Charlie joined in too. It was a good close game. Bub, a pitcher, got on to first. He loves to steal and made his run. Six guys were surrounding him, but he made it back to first. Last night's thrill was the first base coach and the umpire having a heated discussion.The crowd is not a packed house, but the few fans yip and holler, give support and advice making for a good time for all.

The Gladys Porter Zoo is one of the best zoos in the country. We got our membership the last two years and have enjoyed our visits. Our Zoo has some of the rarest animals in the world and our favorites are the gorillas. Mary and Penny are sister gorillas that take care of the young. Bango, the little one from last season is now growing up and watching the younger ones. A new born of just three months still hangs on to Mom as she travels around the enclosure. In a mere ¾ mile trek, we encounter a diverse ensemble of 377 species of animals and 225 species of plants. The park is divided into four zoogeographic areas: Africa, Asia, Tropical America and Indo-Australia. There is also a Herpetarium and Aquatic Wing, a Free-flight Aviary, Macaw Canyon, Bear Grottos, and a California Sea Lion exhibit. Small World features a nursery and an animal contact yard where Will likes to pet the domesticated animals. Large numbers of wild birds find sanctuary on the Zoo grounds, drawn to the plants and w

We just sort of hung out. We went over to the Harlingen Park, walked over to the train yard and watched them make up a string of cars, then watched some kids skateboarding. Buffalo Wild Wings is where we stopped for dinner and a few rounds of trivia; Will got his name, Van G2, up on the local board twice! Before we knew it, it was time for West Wing. We got season seven and are going through a few each night. Last night was the staff anxiously preparing Leo for the vice-presidential debate, word got out to the press and Internet bloggers that his debating skills were weak and that he was unfocused. Meanwhile, Santos and Helen learned to cope with new security barriers around their house.

We joined Evelyn and Bud for dinner at their place. Thanks for making us feel like family! Mary and Bob were also there and Connie and Charlie stopped by after their dinner out where Connie had a huge baked potatoe. They missed out on a really great Valentine meal: porkchops smuthered with stuffing, waldorf salad, veggies, fresh picked tomato and peas from Evelyn's plants. Evelyn showed us her hardcopy of our journal entries; we were envious as we always talk about putting all the journals together in a book. The pictures turn out really good on hardcopy! Happy Valentine's Day! Will was surprized to get a diamond ear ring from Maui Diver's Jewlery Factory. Kathy loved her longstem red rose. We spent the afternoon at the movies watching Night at the Museum. http://www.nightatthemuseum.com/

Met with our Buzz Time partners to get on the trivia board. Around the table are Kathy, Evelyn, Will, Connie, Mary and Bob.

Met with our Buzz Time partners to get on the trivia board.

We spent the morning organizing, journaling, washing the MR to get all the salt off her, and enjoying the rest area here on TX 1. What a great campsite with restroom and free WiFi too! The rest area is right along the Pedernales River. A gaggle of turkey walked along the opposite shore grazing on the winter grasses. We spent the afternoon at Luckenbach talking with, and listening to, Danny Terry. He got a shipment of new guitars in and was trying one out. Jay Sims was behind the bar and a few people wondered in and about. The sun shone and it was a beautiful afternoon. We spent the evening with great friends, Sally and Merrill. They had invited us over for dinner, which was marvelous. We think their rig is so cool because it has a fireplace. We talked sharing travel adventures, catching up on each others lives and our friendship grew deeper. We spent the night back at our rest area snuggled warm in our home, the Roadtrek.

We drove the roadtrek looking for water on a stick to fill our water tank. Will remembered one at the picnic area near the farm so we drove there. The water was turned off; we stayed for lunch. As we were driving back to the rest area we remembered water outside the scout hut and pulled in there to fill our water tank. We got out two pans and Will would fetch the water and Kathy would pour it through the spout into the tank. We did this over and over and over. We didn't fall down or break our crowns, but we did get tired. We kept checking the sensor to see if we were getting anywhere, but figured the sensor was broken. We gave up and as we were driving away we noticed the puddle of water on the ground. As we were putting the water it one way it was running out the other! Will had forgotten he had taken out the plug when we left in December. We tried again with the plug in. This time we used the hose! We walked down to the farm, about two miles or so. Down at the farm the three litt

We arrived in Stonewall hungry so stopped at the Ludwig Cafe for some lunch, BLT and chicken noodle soup. Then we drove over to LBJ State Park and talked with everyone. It felt good to see our friends. We had a big twinge of regret that we were not going to be volunteering; they filled our position as we requested because of our personal situation right now. Time was slipping away and we drove over to Beverly's where our Roadtrek has spent the last 8-9 weeks. It was good to be home! We unloaded the MR and arranged the Roadtrek for travel. It was late afternoon when we drove over to the rest area. Hungry again we decided to go to Luckenbach. We had called friends Sally and Merril to join us and we met up with Dolly and Bob. The food court was closed for the day so we drove over to Alamosa Springs. The little restaurant near the bat tunnel has great food, good live entertainment on the weekend and great service. We had our muuuugs of buuuuud, homemade chips and juicy burgers. The bes

Ran out of gas in Waco, not the car us. Couldn't drive the car another mile with out playing some serious Buzztime Trivia. If all goes well, the picture at the left will soon be our top score at the BWW in Waco. It didn't go well. We passed a Little Caeser Pizza Pizza so we picked up a yummy $5 pizza. We got a room at the Best Inn and watched Star Wars episodes on TV and fell asleep.

It doesn't seem that long ago when we took the MR2 out of storage in Texas where it was warm. Now here in Pittsburgh where the snow still covers the ground, we are packing her up and heading for Texas where we are hoping it is warm! We miss our Roadtrek will be so happy to be home in a few days.

Jayne is feeling great. The doctor said her "cancer is in the garbage" so she is cancer free. We plan to head south in a day or two. Kathy is catching up on emails and blogs; Will is moveing through the levels on Fate. He finally got the last, (Well almost the last; there is one more he will get on Valentine's Day.) gifts from Hawaii.

We sat at Maria and Cliff's watching the game on their projection televisions and surround tvs. Indianapolis Colts beat Chicago Bears! The halftime show was Prince singing and bouncing around the rain drenched stage. It poured for the entire game. We had some yummy snacks: Subway hoggie of half Italian and half turkey, hot wings: garlic, bbq, plain, chips with dips: hot cheese and salsa, bananna nut, and ranch, and little things to nibble on. We ended our munching with classy cookies covered with chocolate. Thanks for a great time Cliff and Maria.

Saturn will be at its closest point to Earth this year during the beginning of February. As a result, it looks bigger and brighter both visually and with the aid of a telescope than it will for all the rest of 2007. Because Saturn is slowly moving away from the Sun, it will not be this close to Earth again until 2029. Saturn Opposition is coming up Feb. 10. This means that Saturn will be 180 degrees opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. for more information go to: http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/saturn-peeks-out-behind-the-moon/20070203180709990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Snowing in Pittsburgh. The snow is sitting on everything; it looks like a winter wonderland.