Rockport, A Birthday, USS Lexington

Wednesday, Nov 7 was a travel day and also my birthday.  First off, a special thanks to all those that took a few minutes to pass on their best wishes.  The years have flown by, especially since I retired way back in 2009.   Hopefully many more years of travel adventures ahead of us.   After getting settled in our new RV Park we managed to find a humble little restaurant that did Texas BBQ.  Lori and I shared a large plate of Beef ribs, sausage, potatoes and beans.  Very Texas and very good.  Afterwards Mark & Jan invited us to their rig for chocolate B'day cake with Chocolate Ice Cream.  Delicious.

Our drive to Rockport was a little frustrating.  We tried to avoid the Toll roads around Houston and ended up on a local highway which was more like a city street with traffic lights every quarter mile.  Seemed like every second one was a red.  Finally we made it to the Interstate only to be greeted with about 30 miles of construction.  Still a 4 lane divided highway but the lanes are narrower with cement dividers right next to the lane.  Mark was following and afterwards he mentioned to me that I was only about 1 foot from rubbing the trailer along the cement abutment.  I knew I was close but I also knew I couldn't move over as the semi's that were passing me were only about 1 foot from the other side of the trailer.  I quit looking after awhile and just focused on staying in my narrow little lane.  Finally we got past the construction and the rest of the drive was much more relaxing.

Rockport, Tx was where Hurricane Harvey made landfall last year.  I was expecting to see a lot more damage however you really had to look for it.  They have done a great job of cleaning up, and while some attractions are still impacted, for the most part its business as usual.  We are staying at the Circle W RV Park which is affiliated with Passport America so our 6 night stay is costing us only $22.50 per night.  Texas is certainly a less expensive place to spend the winter with monthly costs often running in the $400-450. range.  This is less than half of what we pay in Gold Canyon but to be fair the parks we have seen do not have near the amenities that GC has.  You get what you pay for.  On the other hand, Florida is by all accounts more than double what we pay in GC for the same level of amenities.  The Texas parks we have stayed at so far have been functional and amenities haven't been an issue as our stay is only for a few days to a week and we are for the most part off exploring.  

Our setup in Rockport.  Nice long level cement pullthroughs.

Very scenic.  The ponds are much bigger than
usual due to all the rain east Texas has had this fall. 

Flowers on the shrub above just starting to unfurl.

So far on our trip the weather has not been our friend.  Driving rain storms, tornado watches, hot and humid days.  Thursday was again one of those 90 degree days with humidity that you can almost reach out and touch.  While uncomfortable this could be our last day without rain in the forecast so we decided to take a tour of the USS Lexington, a WW2 era Aircraft Carrier.  We toured the Midway when we were in San Diego 2 years ago so there were a lot of similarities although the Lexington is a bit smaller and was a lot less crowded.

USS Lexington.
We asked how it handled Harvey.  We found out it is cemented in place.
Some of the planes were even left on deck, just tied down really well. 

See that mesh walk way off the front of the ship.
Thats 54 feet above the water line.
I took a walk out to the end with my heart pounding harder with every step. 

The row of windows just above the guns is the bridge for the Admiral.
He's in charge of the whole battle group.
The row of windows above that is the bridge for the Captain of the Aircraft Carrier. 

A couple of Anti-aircraft guns on a platform on the side of the ship.

The caption on the side of the nose reads.
"Don't bother Running
You'll only die tired"
Great sense of humour.   

The Captains Bridge.
Very utilitarian.

Very steep stairs to get below deck.
Carefully watch your feet so you don't miss a step.
But don't forget about the head room.
No padding on the steel overhead. 

Even a big ship like this is dwarfed by what the ocean can serve up. 

Pier 99 where we had lunch.
Nothing fancy.
In fact wouldn't qualify for a liquor license back home.
But the food was great.  Best shrimp I've had so far. 

Seats were made with PVC pipe with 1x6 boards screwed on for seats and backs.
Very durable and easily replaceable if washed away in a storm. 

I took a walk out on the seawall.
These two brown Pelicans were keeping their eyes out for lunch. 

Lots of shells sitting on moss covered rocks.
Brought one for Lori to add to her sea shell collection
She declined when she noticed that the shell was still occupied. 

Friday is an R&R day as the forecast is taking a dramatic turn.  Thursday we had both a/c's running full blast and today, Friday, we have the fireplace turned on high.  Rain all day and cool weather with more of both in the forecast for the next 4 days.  While we can dress for temps in the 50's instead of the 90's the rain may dictate our activities for the duration of our stay in Rockport.  Too bad cause there are lots of great birding sites here.  Would be great to take some long walks on the Gulf shoreline through many of the parks located here.

Thats it for now.