Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Days 140, 141 & 142 - Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, March 30 & 31 and April 1 - Not Much Activity

 Not to much happening. We did get a very light rain one day, but not even enough to wet the asphalt street in front of the coach. 

I spend several hours a day working on Spanish. I am embarrassed at incredibly slow pace of my learning.

We took Cindy to the airport this morning. She is safely back in Ohio.

Kelsey got some good news on here van. It appears that Chrysler is to repair it (replace the camshaft) and ship it to her in Missouri. They might even pay for her rental car. Her van only has 36k miles on it.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

PS. If interested you can read my views on birthright citizenship at

 https://bertspoliticalviews.blogspot.com/2026/04/birthright-citizenship.html

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Days 138 & 139 - Saturday & Sunday, March 28 & 29 - Slow Days

 Kathy and Cindy went to the Don Wes Flea Market on Saturday. On Sunday the three of us went to the Cowboy Church. Not much exciting happening with us.

Kelsey and the kids has a little more excitement. Saturday morning the mechanic told them that they wouldn't get the parts they thing they need until Tuesday. Kelsey rented a car and they  headed for Centertown, They arrived at 1:55AM Sunday.

Below are some photos Kelsey took during the week.

Nolan's work with the beach sand.

Kathy and Cindy.
Group photo
Lydia, Nolan & Kelsey
The sand dunes on South Padre Island

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.


Friday, March 27, 2026

Days 136 & 137 - Thursday & Friday, March 26 & 27 - Final Days on Padre Island

 Getting arranged for group photo, to be taken by Nolans camera. I missed getting Cindy & Nolan in the photo.

Eating dockside. Immediately on the far side of this building are the docks, and lots of fishing boats.
Condo street side. The french doors opened into our bedroom. The glass blocks were part of the wall of our walk in shower.

Cindy, Kelsey & kids did more exploring, some sea turtle place. Kathy & I  stayed at the condo.

This morning we packed up and headed home. Cindy, Kathy & I arrived back at the RV and got unpacked with  no issues. Kelsey sent us a text about a half hour after she and the kids left. Lydia forgot her backpack. They were turning around and going back to get it.

Around 4 PM Kelsey sent us another text saying that the check engine light came on in her Chrysler van. Fortunately they were close to a Chrysler dealer. The "engine code' said a cylinder was not firing correctly. They are spending the night at a Hampton Inn in La Grange, TX, about 12 hours from home, Centertown, MO. Hopefully it is just a bad coil, which the dealership can fix in the morning.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.


Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Days 134 & 135 - Tuesday & Wednesday, March 24 & 25 - At the Beach

 Weather is great. Enjoying relaxing at the beach.

From our balcony.


Lydia, Nolan & Kathy enjoying the beach.

South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center


From tower, looking east at oceanside.

From tower, looking west toward mainland. The walkways are part of the nature center.

Feeding tortoises lettuce



Looking back at nature center tower.


Multiple schools of fish like this. Don't know why birds aren't after them. The fish are 12-15" long.

Along edge of parking lot the waste water treatment facility is being enlarged. You have to walk around it to get back to the parking lot.

We stopped at a group of food trucks for lunch. I had a chili cheese dog, Kelsey & Lydia shared tacos. We stopped at a McDonalds on the way back to the condo so that Nolan could get a Big Mac. He was even less adventuresome than me.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.



Condo Photos

This is the South Padre Island condo where we are spending the week with Kelsey (granddaughter), Lydia & Nolan (great-grandchildren) & Cindy (Kathy's youngest sister).

Kitchen - 2nd floor


Dining Room and Living Room - 2nd floor

View from 2nd floor balcony

Sunrise our first morning

The person on the beach appeared to be filming the sunrise.

We are in the structure in the center, in the condo on the right end.

Zoomed in. In addition to the kitchen, DR & LR the master bedroom, a full bath and a half bath is on the 2nd floor. A two car garage, two bedrooms, a bath with a shower and a bath with a tub/shower are on the first floor. The first floor "porch" has what is called a "pool". Its big enough to get in and get wet, about the size of a hot tub, but not heated.

Looking south down the beach.

Looking north up the beach.

We are enjoying our stay.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Monday, March 23, 2026

Days 127-133 - Tue-Mon, March 17-23 - We Are Well

WOW, a week between posts. I think thats the longest. No excuse, just lazy I guess.

Highlights:

Tuesday - corned beef and cabbage at the clubhouse.

Friday - picnic/potluck at the campground gazebo.

Saturday - in the morning I helped Merrill move several wheelbarrow loads of dirt from a pile on one side of the campground to the edge of his driveway slab. In the evening Kelsey, Lydia & Nolan (our granddaughter & great-grandchildren) arrived from MO. Andy/Dad chose to stay in MO so that he could hunt mushrooms when he wasn't working.

Sunday - another good service at the Cowboy Church. Back home after church we loaded the vehicles,  locked up the coach & headed to the condo on South Padre Island. It's a 45 mile, 60 min drive from the CA ground to the rented condo.

Monday - Kathy & I were on the balcony and watched the sunrise. Everyone, except stick in the mud grandpa, spent most of the morning on the beach, no serious sunburns yet. In the peace and quiet I caught up reading my daily devotionals, worked a half hour on Spanish & did so e reading. After lunch Kathy, Lydia & Nolan are back on the beach. 

I didn't bring my laptop. I'm using  my old tablet to post to post this. I will post some photos after we get back to the campground at the end of the week.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Monday, March 16, 2026

Day 125 & 126 - Sunday & Monday, March 15 & 16 - Cowboy Church and Grocery Shopping

 Sunday Kathy went to the campground church service and then we drove up for the Cowboy Church service. Chris had another good message. It is so much fun worshiping with a bunch of believer who truly enjoy the time they are in the service. Lots of boisterous singing, two way communication with the crowd, etc. The service was about 1 hour and 20 minutes long. Chris's message was probably at least 30 minutes of that time. 

People are slowly leaving our campground and heading back north. I'm sure the same is true for all the other campgrounds in the RGV. I thought there would be more empty seats at church. There were more than we have had but I still think attendance was around 200.

On the way home we stopped at a Wendy's for lunch. Mediocre at best.

Today we went grocery shopping at Sam's and Walmart. Both stores were busy but the checkout lines moved right along. 

Yesterday the high was a sunny, WINDY, 94 degrees. The winds were 20-25 mph with 40-45 mph gusts, all day and last night. Today the high was a sunny, just breezy, 75 degrees. It is amazing how cool 75 degrees can feel.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

PS. Why are we propping up Asia and Europe by selling off the oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve? https://bertspoliticalviews.blogspot.com/2026/03/who-are-we-propping-up-with-our-oil.html