Day 51 - Saturday, January 18 - Church Work

 Today was a beautiful day. Mostly sunny with  a high of 80 degrees.

I spent the morning working on a Letter to the Editor about electric cars and oil drilling, in Norway. Kathy went over to the clubhouse to work on quilts and puzzles. After lunch I met some folks up at the Cowboy Church. We moved 250 chairs out of the way and swept and mopped the floor while others scrubbed the restrooms. 

Back home I joined Kathy who was watching the Kansas City football game. Both of us did spend some time sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful day.

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

Day 50 - Friday, January 17 - Welcome Back Lunch

 The Ford dealer told me we needed new front brake pads very soon. They wanted $315. I checked around yesterday afternoon. I found a local brake and alignment shop that was highly rated on Google. They  told me to bring it over this morning and that it probably didn't need brakes. They pulled off the front wheels, actually took a photo of the remaining pads and told me we probably have another year before we will need new pads. They reinstalled the valance for me. Total charge $70. $40 for checking the brakes and $30 to reinstall the valance.

The campground provided a free lunch for all the people who were also here last year. There were about 125 in attendance. The meal consisted of brisket, a baked potato, broccoli, a roll and a cupcake for dessert. The BBQ sauce on the brisket was a little to sweet for me, but everything was good. They gave away scads of door prizes. We won two Encore Lakewood hats. We missed out on the "good" prizes. A Keurig coffee maker, several gift certificates for a local steakhouse, a 32" TV and lots more.

In the afternoon Kathy worked on quilts for awhile and then spent time sitting outside enjoying the 75 degree temperatures. I went to Planet Fitness and did 40 minutes on the treadmill and 60 minutes on the resistance machines. Back at the campground I rode my bike around for 30 minutes looking for new RV's. And I'm still in pitiful shape. I can't seem to get back to where I was before the radiation and hormone treatment.

We didn't learn that the Starship blew up until late yesterday. The news showed photos of the debris streaming back into the atmosphere but that was a long way from here.

After a light supper we watched a movie. I ready for a shower and bed.

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

Day 49 - Thursday, January 16 - Starship Launch

 At 8AM I was at the local Ford dealer to get the AC mixer box actuator replaced. Since they  would already have the glove box removed I told them to change the cabin air filter. I also had them update the maps in the GPS system. I was out the door on my way  home at 11:30AM. The maps update was $185. The actuator and cabin air filter -:parts $94.40, labor $410.99. The same Tech did all the work. 

Back home we had lunch and then I regened our water softener. About 2PM we headed to Port Isabel to watch the Starship launch. 

We weren't sure where we were going to park while we watched the launch. Last year we drove to Boca Chica Beach, just to see what we could see, not for a launch. There is only one two lane road that goes from Brownsville to the Boca Chica. Right before you get to the beach you drive through the SpaceX facility. That road gets closed on launch days but I'm not sure how much is closed. 

When we left we planned on going to the park at the south end of South Padre Island. As we drove by the South Texas EcoTourism Center we decided that it was probably as good a location as any. It has a long elevated ramp to provide a good place for viewing the wetlands. The lines on the map below show the routes to drive from the Eco center to SpaceX. While there I heard a man say the actual "as the crow flies" distance was 11 miles.

Kathy managed a couple of good photos of the launch. A surprise, something all of us who have been in a thunderstorm know is that there is a huge distance between the speed of light and the speed of sound. Most of us have seen lightening flash and counted the seconds to estimate the distance to the strike. The speed of sound is 1,125 feet per second. It takes over 50 seconds for sound to travel 11 miles. It was loud when it hit us but the "popping" is strange. It sounds like someone lit the end of a long string of firecrackers. You can hear a little of it about 40 seconds after the launch in the video at:

https://apnews.com/article/spacex-elon-musk-starship-e165e81ed2350ce684c7ed8d9357d7ba  

I was using our binoculars. I could see the launch gantry. It was so cool when the booster came back down and was caught by the gantry. If we learn of another launch while we are hear we will sure do our  best to make sure we get to watch it.

I've been doing most of the driving around Harlingen and a couple of times I have scuffed the front valance, running over taller curbs. Kathy drove to Boca Chica today and when she parked at the Ecocenter the valance scrubbed the curb. When we left it seemed like the car was making a new noise, nothing dramatic. We stopped and I did a cursory check of the front bumper. Everything seemed OK. When we pulled in to park behind the coach we heard a thump. When I got out of the car, lying on the ground was the valance. It fell of just as we parked at home. God is so good. It could have fallen part way off while we were on the highway and wedged under the car.

Today's high was a mostly sunny 66 degrees.

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

Days 47 & 48 - Tuesday & Wednesday, January 14 & 15 - Nasty Weather for South Texas

TUESDAY - There were 4 of us at the 8AM Men's Bible Study this morning. We had a good discussion time.

In the afternoon I spent a little over an hour at the Jam Session. There were about 45 people watching while I was there, watching about 15 singers and/or musicians. INHO one guy did a pretty good job and one lady did an OK job. After a half hour Kathy scooted off to the puzzle room.

The high/low temperatures were a damp, mostly cloudy 55/49. 

WEDNESDAY - It was a nasty (nasty for southern Texas) weather here today. The low this morning was 50 and today's high was 54. It was cloudy and misted rain all day. Local folks are happy to get any rain, even when its cloudy and cool. 

At around 7:30AM I checked and the Starship launch was still on for the day, at least according to the sites I visited. I wanted to go to Planet Fitness, since I had not been there for several days. We decided that after I got home we would go have a late lunch at Dirty Dave's in Port Isabel and then find a place to park on Padre Island where we could watch the launch. The launch was scheduled to occur at 4PM. We figured that we wouldn't see much with all the clouds and the low ceiling but we didn't think we would get many  chances to watch a launch. 

At Planet Fitness I did 30 minutes on a treadmill and 75 minutes on the resistance machines. The best workout I've had in a LONG time.

Port Isabel, Pirates Landing & Dirty Dave's. We had not previously noted the alley to get to Dirty Dave's. This trip we parked right in front of it.

I took the photo below as we were leaving. The causeway on the right goes to South Padre Island. Dirty Dave's is in the building on the right.

Dirty Dave's, the gray building, and Pirates Landing.

Kathy always gets Crab Louie. I used to get Dirty Dave Beef Philly but last time I got it they had changed the bun and it just wasn't as good. I got a blackened fish Po Boy. Both  the sandwich and the waffle fries were excellent. We have been there 4 or 5 times total during the 3 winters we have been here. Port Isabel is 40 miles from us/

While there I checked the launch time and found that the launch had been delayed until tomorrow. I think they revised the launch schedule before we left home, we just didn't check early enough. 

We came back a different way. We drove along the Brownsville shipping canal down to near Brownsville and then came north. I wanted to see how much progress had been made on the HUGE LNG loading facility being built along the canal. We could see that a lot of construction was underway but since last year they had built a miles long 10' high berm along the highway. Last year we took a cruise up the canal. If interested you can read about it at: https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/day-39-thursday-january-11-shrimp-boil.html 

Tomorrow morning I take the Flex to the a Ford dealer to have the AC worked on. I think the mixer box for the passenger side quit working. Sadly I don't know of any reputable local mechanics. The Ford dealer gets $185 to just to tell you what the problem is, that does not go towards the repair. If I'm right it should take him no longer than 10 minutes to pull out the glove compartment to verify that is the problem. I watched a video of a guy changing his, it took him an hour, but getting to the bolts that hold it in place was a real hassle. This may prevent us from going back south tomorrow to watch the launch. I already told Kathy that, if necessary, I could choke down another blackened fish Po Boy tomorrow.

We managed to get back home for nap time, at least I took a nap not sure about Kathy, and so that she could watch Wheel of Fortune before having to turn off the TV before before the lies started.

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

Day 46 - Monday, January 13 - Grocery Shopping

 Kathy started the day by going to a ladies Bible study. She then went to the weekly information meeting. After she got back home we headed to the San Benito Walmart to buy some groceries. It's 9 miles from us. There is a bigger one that is closer but for some reason I like the one in San Benito. It's where I bought the set of tires for the Flex.

We thought about stopping at a Mexican restaurant we passed but decided to just go home for lunch. 

Yesterday Kathy noticed that the passenger side AC vents were blowing hot air. I did some online searching and believe that the problem is a faulty mixer box. It appears to be a somewhat common issue with Ford Flexes. I watched a 20 minute video of a guy changing one and decided I will make an appointment with the Ford dealer and let them deal with it. 

Next on my chore list was doing a good flush of our black tank. Not a difficult chore, just something that needs to be done occasionally. After that I moved a lawn chair around into the sun and read for awhile. Today's high was a breezy, mostly sunny 65. A long sleeve shirt was adequate if you were in the sun most of the time.

I was sitting outside again after doing a 5 mile bike ride around the campground when a couple from down the street stopped to visit as they walked by. They are from Wyoming. They sold their main home but still have a cabin in the mountains. It's rural enough that the last several miles to get to the cabin are not plowed during the winter. Most of the year they live in their 5th wheel camper. During the summer they spend time at the cabin and occasionally visit it for a few days in the winter. They told about only being able to drive to within a quarter mile of the cabin. They couldn't get the rest of the way in their dually pickup, even with chains. He walked up to the cabin and brought a sled down to the truck. They loaded their groceries onto the sled and pulled it back up to the cabin. They plan on being here for another couple of weeks and then heading north. They aren't sure where, just north.

The couple from New Mexico, who live across from us in a travel trailer, ran out of propane last night. The overnight low was 46. A propane truck drives through the campground almost every day, occasionally honking the horn. If you put an orange placard in your window the guy stops and fills your propane tank/s. I was walking by, taking our trash to the dumpster, when he stopped at their camper. I asked about the cost of delivered propane. For RV size tanks the cost is $4.30/gallon. I checked at the local Tractor Supply. If we packed up and drove there the cost was still $3.89/gallon. We have an onboard 35 gallon tank. We would burn 2 gallons of diesel fuel making the round trip to Tractor Supply. Paying the $4.30/gallon seems to be the way to go.

We had intended to go to Boca Chica today, 50 miles, to watch the SpaceX launch, but it got delayed until maybe Wednesday.

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

Day 43, 44 & 45 - Friday, Saturday & Sunday, January 10, 11 & 12 -

 Not much to report on Friday or Saturday. It has been cold for here and we haven't done much. Kathy spends a couple of hours at the clubhouse most days, either working on a puzzle or in the quilt room On Friday I went to Sam's and picked up some prescriptions and then on to Planed Fitness for a 1 hour 40 minute workout. 

On Saturday I got in a 35 minute bike ride around the campground. At 7 PM there was a "Sock Hop" at the clubhouse. A trio performed live music from the 50's & 60"s. Kathy helped at the concession stand. I listened to them for a half hour and went home. They were OK. One of the reasons for attending such an event is to watch usually there are several old couples who can still really dance. I only  saw one such couple while I was there.

Sunday Kathy played the piano for church at the campground. When she got home we headed up to the Cowboy Church. Another good message and good size crowd. I took this photo from where we were sitting, about the 3rd row from the front.

From a plaque on the wall of the church: BIBLE- Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth

After lunch we went to Stefano's for lunch. Some ladies recommended it to Kathy. The food was good. My hearing aid is acting up again. Between that and voice of our waitress I couldn't here anything she said. She was new and has some problems taking my order. The head waiter had to come back to our  table twice to straighten out my order. Kathy had veal parmesan. I don't remember what mine was, only that it was good.

The portions were large enough that we have plenty of left overs for supper.

Today was much warmer than it had been. Today's high was a mostly sunny 73.

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

Day 42 - Thursday, January 9 - Propane Furnace Thermostat Fixed

 Jesus Sanchez, who owns Jesse's RV Service, came this morning to find out what repairs we needed. I told him that at this time we aren't sure if the washer is leaking. Kathy is leaving the cabinet under the washer empty for awhile, except for a pan, to see it any water accumulates. He can't help with dealing with our Service Contract folks, I wonder if he lacks some type of business license. So he couldn't help us deal with our leaking Sleep Number bed. He did help with the thermostat that wouldn't turn our front furnace on.

The thermostat. Note the green wiring that isn't connected. Initially this wire did not pull through the hole in the wall.

The cabinet

The wiring in the wall.

A white wire on the back of the thermostat had a connector on it that had been crimped on both ends, but no wire on one end. I would have been very hesitant to do it but he just jammed the green wire in the connector and the propane furnace started. He put a new connector on it and we closed the cabinet back up. He thought the wires had been connected but had probably come loose from the vibrations while traveling.

At 1PM we went over to the clubhouse and had our picture taken for the Lakewood Directory. 

Kathy worked on quilts in the sewing room and also spent time in the puzzle room. In addition to making some snacks for the 4PM Meet and Greet meeting.

We spent 90 minutes at the Meet and Greet, mostly visiting with a Canadian couple who live near the east end of Lake Ontario. They have an old Beaver motorhome that he has done a LOT of work on. I had noticed it while riding my bike. It looks great. They have a home in Canada but travel about 6 months of the year.

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