From Goose to Goliad and Worse than the Alamo

Location: Goliad State Park; Goliad, Texas

(click pictures to enlarge)

I left Goose Island with a chilly mist hanging over the place. At least I know the heater still works in Freedom as I needed it to warm up my hands after hitching up and dumping my tanks. The ducks on the bay seemed to enjoy the weather as they came to tell me goodbye. 

Hitched and ready to go. Goodbye Goose Island State Park

The Ducks came to say goodbye. :)

Even with the bad weather, there were enough good weather days to make my stay here enjoyable. The way I look at it, bad weather is an adventure of its own. When we were at sea in the Navy, a small storm got everyone's adrenaline pumping. We would go outside on the weather decks to fully enjoy the "rocking and rolling". It was the opposite when the big storms hit. When the word was passed that the "weather decks are now closed", that meant if you fell over the side, there was no way we would be able to turn around to try to save you. Everyone started praying and hoping for the storm to pass. It didn't take much of a storm to really get us to bobbing around since we had such a shallow draft even after taking on full ballast. The worst roll we took was a 52 degree roll. With that kind of roll, you just sort of hang there for a while before you go back the other way. That "while" seems like a long time and you're left wondering if she will go back. Of course when we went back the other way, we didn't hit the 52 degree mark but it was very close to it. Exciting and frightening at the same time. 

The trip from Goose to Goliad was a short tow of around 65 miles through some flat coast land. Most of the land seemed to be unused and laying fallow. Some was tilled up as if they either just harvested or were putting in a winter crop. 

Typical land between Goose and Goliad

When I got to the campground, there was only one other RV here and he left yesterday. I'm staying in the electric/water part of the campground. I'll only be here for 3 days so sewer connections are not necessary. It is a very basic, parking lot type of campground, much like Mustang Island. If you want the more conventional type of campground, they have that in the full hook-up section of the park.

Freedom and Liberty all by their lonesome. 

One of the reason I came back here was to visit the "Presidio La Bahia", meaning the "fort by the bay". The fort was built here in 1749 but prior to that, in 1721, the fort was closer to the bay at Port Lavaca. It had originally been built on the remains of an old French fort built by LaSalle (his ill-fated Fort St. Louis). The Spanish built the Presidio to make sure the French knew that this was Spanish territory.

As usual, a town grew up around the Presidio, and its name was La Bahia. In 1829, the name was changed to Goliad. It was done so to honor a priest that was a hero and leader in the Mexican War of Independence. The citizens feared retribution from the Spanish if they used the real name of the priest, so they eliminated one letter and rearranged the remaining letters into a new word, an annagram. The priest was Father Miguel Hidalgo. The remaining letters, after discarding the "H" in Hidalgo became the new town name "Goliad". It was a way for the citizens to stick their finger in the eye of the Spanish without getting in trouble. 

The next piece of history for Goliad occurred during the Texas War of Independence. The Texas Colonel, James Fannin, and nearly 400 men were stationed at the Presidio during the war. When the Alamo was being attacked by the Mexican General, Santa Anna, in 1836, it was Colonel Fannin and the men at Goliad who received the message from Colonel Travis to come to the Alamo to help. Fannin and his men set out for the Alamo, but failed to get very far before having to return to Golidad. After the Alamo fell and its 200 defenders killed, Fannin was ordered to abandon the Presidio and retreat to the north to ultimately join up with General Sam Houston. During the retreat, Fannin and his men were surrounded by the Mexican Army and captured. They were returned to the Presidio and under the order of General Santa Anna, Colonel Fannin and his 341 men were executed on Palm Sunday, March 27th, 1836. This was almost twice as many men as was killed at the Alamo. It was the Alamo and Goliad that showed the world, and especially the United States, what kind of Army the Texans were fighting. It probably also laid the foundation for the Mexican-American War about 10 years later.

This is the monument to Colonel Fannin and his men. It is located just behind the Presidio where they were executed.

This statue honors Francisca Alavez, "The Angel of Goliad". She interceded with the Mexican Army and saved dozens of Texans from abuse and execution. It is symbolic that in the background is the Faninn Memorial and the graveyard.

The entrance to the Presidio on the right. Towering above the walls on the left is the Chapel.

I'm standing on a canon rampart looking back at the "Our Lady of Loreto" chapel. It was built in 1779 and is one of the oldest surviving churches in America.

It was very nice inside the chapel. I was the only one there and they had choir music playing. Mass is still celebrated here every Sunday. I'm not catholic but a catholic friend of mine gave me a St. Christoper's medal before I hit the road. It is still on the dashboard of Freedom and keeping watch over me. Thanks again, Jim Hollier.

These benches are in the courtyard of the Presidio. You can see the wall in the background.

I guess this counts as a "thinking bench" picture. It is located inside the Presidio and is next to the window looking out towards the front of the chapel. 

Tomorrow is moving day. I'll be heading a little bit south of here to Choke Canyon State Park. I haven't researched to see what there is to explore in that area, but I have been told it is a pretty area and a place to just kick back and relax for a while. We will see.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Bad Weather and Planning Day

Location: Goose Island State Park; Rockport, Texas

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High wind and rain was going on all last night and most of today. Liberty was rocking and rolling with rain pelting her. I woke up, looked out the window, saw this,,,,,,,

and went back to bed!!!!!!!!!

It stayed wet and cold all day so any exploration was out of the question. I used the day to plan out my moves through the end of the month. 

The weather calms down tomorrow so I will head back to Goliad State Park. That is the park I was at when I got sick and couldn't explore. I'll stay there for a couple days before moving on. The next campgrounds, in order, after Goliad will be:

Choke Canyon State Park
Lake Corpus Christi State Park
Falcon State Park
Lake Casa Blanco State Park
Seminole Canyon State Park
Davis Mountain State Park
Balmorhea State Park

Falcon State Park is on the Mexican border. From there I'll follow the border north to New Mexico. I have reservations through Lake Casa Blanco. I'll leave there on January 31st, which should put me into New Mexico by the second week of February and hopefully the weather will be nicer. If not, I'll scoot across the state and get into warmer Arizona.


Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

An Old Tree, High Winds and Random Pictures

Location: Goose Island State Park; Rockport, Texas

(click pictures to enlarge)

One of the attractions of the Goose Island area is an old Coastal Live Oak tree that is over 1,000 years old. It's true age is unknown. It is surrounded by several of its offspring (children?). The state park takes care of the tree and waters it during drought and provides support for some of its limbs. It was an interesting visit and as usual, there were no other people around. She is a survivor. 

1,000+ year old Coastal Live Oak tree. 

Nice "thinking benches" surround the tree.

Liberty has been buffeted with strong, 30+ mph, north winds for the last two days. We are parked so that the winds are hitting us straight on instead of broadside. Although I was a little concerned about how the slide "toppers" were handling the wind, they are doing fine. The wind is suppose to calm down a little bit by this Sunday which is moving day. Although I'm not 100% sure yet, I'm leaning towards returning to Goliad State Park. I wasn't able to see the things I planned when I was there a few weeks ago due to getting sick. A few days there may be a good stop and hopefully all those cold germs are gone.

There is a long fishing pier in the park and people seem to congregate around a channel that goes under the highest part. I haven't fished since I was a child and have been thinking about maybe getting back into it. I'm just not sure if I need another addiction, yet. I think the gentlemen said they were catching sheepshead fish. They caught two while I was talking with them but I didn't think to take a picture until I left. They seemed to be enjoying themselves even with a cool wind blowing. The walk out on the fishing pier was nice and provided a couple good pictures.

Freedom parked at the fishing pier parking lot

The dry part in the water is an oyster shell walkway. I assume it is man-made but haven't confirmed it yet. There are stairs leading from the pier to the oyster shells.

The end

I liked this one because of the patch of blue sky

Looking back along the pier. I bet there have been many hours of fishing along this place.

From the fishing pier looking back towards the campground.

As I was walking around Liberty checking for any wind damage I was reminded about how close I parked to the picnic shelter. I would like to say it was intentional but it was accidental. I measured the distance for the slide to clear the water spigot and only briefly looked up to the overhang. I got lucky by about 3 inches. Maybe I should print this picture and put it on my sun-visor as a reminder. 

An inch is as good as a mile????

The next picture is for those that think I eat out too much. It is from last nights supper of fried shrimp. They were very good. The dipping sauce was Whataburger spicy ketchup straight from the bottle. I don't have to mix ketchup and hot sauce anymore. The only place I have found it was from H.E.B. grocery stores (thanks for the heads-up Robin). I'll need to stock up with a few bottles before leaving Texas. 

The fixings for fried shrimp

Well, I'm heading to the post office to mail some post cards to my daughter Brittanie's 3rd grade class. I guess Taco Bell will be a good place to eat since I slaved over the hot stove last night.  

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Pictures, Pictures; Goose Island State Park

Location: Goose Island State Park; Rockport, Texas

(click pictures to enlarge)

I left Mustang Island a little before noon. I topped off the air in Liberty's tires even though they were only a few pounds low. That's very good since I haven't had to add any in a little over a month. I still like the Tire Pressure/Temperature monitoring system I bought for Liberty. It monitors all four of her tires and displays the results on a small portable monitor. She will sound alarms for high/low pressure and high/low temperature plus a rapid loss in pressure. It is a comforting feeling knowing it is being monitored. 

The trip was uneventful and traffic was light. The weather was nice and I drove most of the time with a window down. I snapped a quick picture of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington that is permanently docked at Corpus Christi. My hat is in the picture since it was sitting on the dash. I started to crop it out, but I think it adds something to the picture.

The U.S.S. Lexington. I dipped my colors as we passed.

While checking into Goose Island State Park, the lady saw my hometown and said her father was raised in Pelican, Louisiana. Her family used to go back on vacation sometimes. Small world. It was time to renew my Texas State Park Pass. It is good for one year and costs $70.00. With it, you don't pass the daily entrance fees to the state parks plus you get 1/2 price on 4 camping visits. For the 5 days I plan to be here, it has already saved me $36.00. I will recoup my cost at least 3 or 4 times over before I leave the state.

An interesting road leading to the state park

My campsite is on the shore of Aransas Bay. About half of the campsites are empty, probably due to the predicted bad weather later in the week. I set up in time for an unusual event. It was time for Slack Tide and there was no wind or boats cruising in the bay. The water was so calm, you couldn't tell the difference between the sky and water; the horizon had disappeared. I saw this event a couple of times while on cruises in the Navy. It is especially breathtaking at night because all of the stars are reflecting off of the water. You appear to be in a fish bowl with stars surrounding the ship. It is one of those many "natural highs" that are waiting for everyone to find. It reminds me of an old saying,,,,"In this life, it's not about how many breaths you take, it's about how many moments take your breath away." I'm in search of as many as I can find. 

Not much more to say, so I'll just post some of the pictures from the campground and tonight's sunset. It was a good one. :)

Looking down the side of Liberty and out to the bay

The horizon is beginning to disappear

There is a large body of water out there

Sunset

The pelicans were putting on a show

They were diving into the water for their supper.

Nice one

The ducks were jealous of the pelicans so they showed up

It was a good day.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Moving Day Tomorrow, Goodbye Mustang Island

Location: Mustang Island State Park; Port Aransas, Texas

(click pictures to enlarge)

I say goodbye to Mustang Island tomorrow. I decided to move on down the road. I checked the weather and high winds are due to hit this area at the end of this week with gusts up to 30 mph. Liberty can handle those wind speeds when she is parked but it can be a little tricky if she gets hit with them on the road. Tomorrow is the last day of decent, wind-less weather so I decided to take advantage of the lull and hit the road. The next stop is only about 60 miles from here. It will be Goose Island State Park. It's technically not an island but I will have a campsite on the banks of Aransas Bay and Copano Bay. 

I have really enjoyed this park. I like the freedom to go to the beach on short notice and it is close enough to a big city for any needs. The weather was crappy for half the time here but that just made it better when the good weather came along. The yin and yang of life. It was like everyone came out of their shells on that first day of good weather. It was an experience. I will miss this place.

I know it is just a parking lot with water/electric hook-ups, but I really liked this place. It was comfortable. Even when the wind blew, it hit Liberty just right and would only gently rock her. I feel asleep a couple times to the rocking motion and the wind singing a song on Liberty's roof.

I went to Port Aransas to pick up my mail at the post office. Thank you Kathy for forwarding it. Out of a package of mail, there was only about 2 pieces that were good, the rest was junk. While there I found a laundromat to do laudry. It was full of people but I decided to stay anyhow. They had 50 dryers and I was lucky to get the last 2 for my clothes. The people doing their laundry were mostly older couples that were staying in one of the many private RV parks in town. Many are snowbirds from Canada, commonly called "winter texans". While using the rest room, I had to take a picture of something. The toilet paper was locked down with not one, but two padlocks. I asked the very good looking woman that worked there why they felt the need to lock up the toilet paper. She said they had to lock up everything, even the dryer vents. She wasn't sure if it was the "winter texans" or the many fishermen that come to the area to fish. Either way, it made for an interesting conversation and picture.

Padlocks on both ends and it isn't even the real soft stuff. Geez, what is this world coming to.

While in Port Aransas, I went by the ferry to see if there would be a problem with Freedom and Liberty using it tomorrow. The ferries at this location are very small with about 15 cars per ferry. The distance is only about 1/2 mile across a channel. I was glad I stop to check it out because they told me I could NOT take Liberty on-board except during high tide. Tomorrow's high tide is not until almost 6:00 in the evening which is much too late for me. I will have to go the long way around by going through Corpus Christi. I hope the traffic is light in town. I stopped at Sonic on the way back to the campground and enjoyed my lunch sitting on the beach inside Freedom. As usual, the beach was deserted except for me and my thoughts. Very nice.

There wasn't anything healthy in that bag, but the environment probably knocked several points off of my blood pressure.

I also experimented with using the Panorama part of my cell phone camera. As you know, 99% of all the pictures in this blog are taken by my Nokia Lumia Icon cell phone. One of the features that I haven't used before is the Panorama option. I figure it will come in handy when I get out west. Some of the landscape out there is too large for an ordinary picture. I guess I should try it out before I have to rely on it. One of the pictures in this post is Panorama. I'm still learning about it, so don't expect too much yet. Along with the panorama, I'm posting some more beach pictures. Some may be repeats, but they were my favorites. 

Panorama of the beach area. I think it may work out pretty good after I get more of handle on how it all works.

One of my favorites

Another of my favorites. Freedom being free. :)

It's almost 10:00 so I'll be turning in so I can get up early tomorrow. If the sky is right for a good sunrise, I'll take advantage of the last day on the Gulf. Sleep well and peaceful dreams to you. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road. 

Mustang Island, Beach and Decisions

Location: Mustang Island State Park; Port Aransas, Texas

(click pictures to enlarge)

I have a couple more days here at Mustang Island and the weather has changed for the better. The sun came out yesterday afternoon and everyone in the park was outside enjoying it. The weather forecast is for sunny weather and temperatures in the mid to upper 50's until the end of the week when rain is due back in the area. I don't have any firm plans for the next campground and am thinking about staying here for another week. I like the campground and the beach is very close. It is a little chilly to be walking on the beach for long, but I can drive on the beach and stop anywhere. Being inside Freedom blocks the wind but am still close enough to feel and hear the surf. My time here is up Tuesday so I need to decide to extend or go by Monday.

A lot of the campers here are full-timers like me. A few have just started on their adventure and at least one has been doing it for 6 years. Several campers here and others over the months have asked for my blog address. I usually write the address down on scrap paper. I bought some business card paper and new ink for my printer. In the past, my Admin would do my business cards, but since she up and retired on me leaving me in bind, I had to do it myself. I think they turned out OK, but am sure she would have done a better job.

I was able to drive onto the beach this morning to see the sun come up. It was nice. The gentle breeze had a little cold edge to it but my windbreaker did a good job. The tide was low and I could not see anyone for miles in each direction. I stayed for about an hour and it was very peaceful. During the summer months the beach would probably be packed with people. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.