A Day at The Golf Coast Area of Texas
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 butterflieswondering where the flowers went, a few colorful fish darting for the shade,flocks of laughing gulls, three pecking coots, an occational passing heronready to stike a passing fish, and three bright pink Rosey Spoonbills sailing by. We finished off our experience by going around the building;they have a great deck out back and bright yellow columns to hide behind.
We could see people out flying kites over in the packed sand beach.We looked for the University Kite Shop, but it moved so we stopped at theB&S Kite shop. After about an hour with the sales man, Will chose a kite that would fly in light wind. It is his early birthday present.
Soon we wereout with the other kiters and the flying began. Well, first there was a lotof set-up, then there it went up up into the baby blue sky soaring with thedogs wind socks and colorful kites. Will had it just at the edge of the windand it sailed across the sky. Then with a flick of his wrist he watched thekite slam into the ground shattering the center stick. We drove back to thekite shop where it was repaired and we purchased a spare spar. Will packedthe kite away for another day of flying.
It was early afternoon when we got to Harley's on the backside of Bayview.The place was already crawling with people. The deck outside held two tablescircled with filled chairs of happy customers. The side picnic tables werealso filled with people or were being saved for friends on the way. Smokerose from the BBQ grill. Parking was impossible; they had new crushedasphalt being spread to expand the parking lot; the backhoe was sitting inthe back. On our way inside Kathy gave John a big hug; Will had notrecognized him. John has lost almost 60 pounds! He looks and feels great. Welaughed as he told us that he lifts his weights to build back muscle whilebeing a couch potato watching TV. John's wife, Sylvia, was behind the barplaying at the cash registar. She came around and gave us each a hug. Theyare both wonderful people and we are so happy for them with their businessdoing so well. Inside was standing room only. We walked back outside and awoman asked if we wanted to joing them at their picnic table; they had beensaving it for friends, but got a call that only two were coming and now theyhad this entire table open. 
Thus we met Connie and Bob, a really personablecouple from Oswego, IL, west of Chicago. Their friends, Judy and Chet,arrived and we munched chips and salsa while sharing travel stories.The opening act tonight was a group we might expect to hear at The Bar inJohnson City. John Harley and the Bayview Bushriders came on about 4pm. AndyChapa, now with long hair and beard, played the drums as lively as ever andsang with gusto. Andrew, looking ...nine feet tall and six feet wide andvoice as deep as a bull. Chet is the bands nod toward proprity; he wasjoined on stage by his wife, Sandy, for a few songs. If the rest of themhave a wild unkept look, Chet isthe balance: neat, organized and softspoken. A new addition to the bad is the harmonica player. This guy canplay! He is sort of like a taller version of Andy with a clean cut look. Hisson joined him on stage shaking chimmy chungas to the music. And there is John. John is tall, weathered and sings with a sexy raspy voice. We enjoyedthe music, danced to a few, and watched all the people enjoying the music.Thank you John, for mentioning us between songs; we love you guys.The dinner was a benefit tonight for a two year old going tomorrow for abone transplant; their insurance has run out. We wish them well. The food was scrumptous: brisquet, misquite wood grilled chicken, shrimp,and lots ofside dishes. After dinner the crowd broke and we moved inside. We stayed til the last pluck of the guitar faded away then went out to the roadtrek andwatched a little West Wing. Santos won the election; Leo died leavingPresident Santos with no vice president.
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 butterflieswondering where the flowers went, a few colorful fish darting for the shade,flocks of laughing gulls, three pecking coots, an occational passing heronready to stike a passing fish, and three bright pink Rosey Spoonbills sailing by. We finished off our experience by going around the building;they have a great deck out back and bright yellow columns to hide behind.We could see people out flying kites over in the packed sand beach.We looked for the University Kite Shop, but it moved so we stopped at theB&S Kite shop. After about an hour with the sales man, Will chose a kite that would fly in light wind. It is his early birthday present.
Soon we wereout with the other kiters and the flying began. Well, first there was a lotof set-up, then there it went up up into the baby blue sky soaring with thedogs wind socks and colorful kites. Will had it just at the edge of the windand it sailed across the sky. Then with a flick of his wrist he watched thekite slam into the ground shattering the center stick. We drove back to thekite shop where it was repaired and we purchased a spare spar. Will packedthe kite away for another day of flying.
It was early afternoon when we got to Harley's on the backside of Bayview.The place was already crawling with people. The deck outside held two tablescircled with filled chairs of happy customers. The side picnic tables werealso filled with people or were being saved for friends on the way. Smokerose from the BBQ grill. Parking was impossible; they had new crushedasphalt being spread to expand the parking lot; the backhoe was sitting inthe back. On our way inside Kathy gave John a big hug; Will had notrecognized him. John has lost almost 60 pounds! He looks and feels great. Welaughed as he told us that he lifts his weights to build back muscle whilebeing a couch potato watching TV. John's wife, Sylvia, was behind the barplaying at the cash registar. She came around and gave us each a hug. Theyare both wonderful people and we are so happy for them with their businessdoing so well. Inside was standing room only. We walked back outside and awoman asked if we wanted to joing them at their picnic table; they had beensaving it for friends, but got a call that only two were coming and now theyhad this entire table open. 
Thus we met Connie and Bob, a really personablecouple from Oswego, IL, west of Chicago. Their friends, Judy and Chet,arrived and we munched chips and salsa while sharing travel stories.The opening act tonight was a group we might expect to hear at The Bar inJohnson City. John Harley and the Bayview Bushriders came on about 4pm. AndyChapa, now with long hair and beard, played the drums as lively as ever andsang with gusto. Andrew, looking ...nine feet tall and six feet wide andvoice as deep as a bull. Chet is the bands nod toward proprity; he wasjoined on stage by his wife, Sandy, for a few songs. If the rest of themhave a wild unkept look, Chet isthe balance: neat, organized and softspoken. A new addition to the bad is the harmonica player. This guy canplay! He is sort of like a taller version of Andy with a clean cut look. Hisson joined him on stage shaking chimmy chungas to the music. And there is John. John is tall, weathered and sings with a sexy raspy voice. We enjoyedthe music, danced to a few, and watched all the people enjoying the music.Thank you John, for mentioning us between songs; we love you guys.The dinner was a benefit tonight for a two year old going tomorrow for abone transplant; their insurance has run out. We wish them well. The food was scrumptous: brisquet, misquite wood grilled chicken, shrimp,and lots ofside dishes. After dinner the crowd broke and we moved inside. We stayed til the last pluck of the guitar faded away then went out to the roadtrek andwatched a little West Wing. Santos won the election; Leo died leavingPresident Santos with no vice president.
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