A Week With Family

"The bird sounds like its laughing", Pam said, and she described it exactly as the laughing gulls song is so distinctive. It was the first day of a week long visit with Pam and Roy, Renita's sister and her husband, and we were showing them the sights of Rockport and Little Bay.
Temporary escapees from the Iowa winter they had fianlly come down to visit us and we were glad to see them. We were playing tour guides and it was really easy as they are two of our most frequent blog readers and so had a menu of things to do along the coastal bend.
The weeks plans were to go birding at the Aransas National WIldlife Refuge, try fishing at the jetty, do the beach of course, and just see what was happening. So our first day was just going to be a quick jaunt around the area. Of course things happen and so after leaving the Rockport City Beach we drove to Lamar and saw the whoopers.
Two were feeding along the bank and as we watched them six more flew and landed near the pair. It didn't take long before the male charged towards the interlopers and raised its wings in a threat display. The six teenagers, two year olds, quickly flew away and so we got to see whoopers flying.
Anothe day and we went to the beach at Padre Island National Seashore. There we were a little surprised by the crowds of people, it is spring break after all, but we were able to find our own piece of beach.
Roy and I cast out poles which were quickly hit by whititng. We reeled them in and rebaited as Pam and Renita headed down the beach looking for shells and seadollars. Pam found quite a few including a really large one and so we had a good day of fishing and catching and shelling.
Another day the girls went shopping so Roy and I headed out to the jetty. We took along fresh and live shrimp and frozen mullet so I really had high hopes but the fish weren't biting. Dolphin's entertained us along with a loggerhead turtle who was feeding on the jellyfish. The jetty was crowded with fisherman and boats and no one was catching any fish so we didn't feel bad. It was a nice quiet day and a day of fishing isn't counted as a day of your life, its just a bonus day as my Grandpa Huber used to say.
We spent a day inside as it rained. Another day we traveled to Corpus Christi where Renita and I worked in the rockshop while Pam and Roy toured through the USS Lexington. Roy told us he had actually fueled it while he was in the navy and aboard a fleet tanker.
We also went rock hounding as we bought more rocks from a minister and his wife who are selling their business and moving into a retirement center. Looking at all their stuff it made us glad that we had sold our house and went full time,(and no our house doesn't look like Lucy and Desi's trailer in the movie the Long Long Trailer, at least not yet).
A good week with family, another blessing and we have been so luckily so far. Kind of a simply blog entry, but a really nice one of good times and good food and time with family. Clear skies.