Toad hunt'n

Boy howdy, it's gonna be another beautiful day.

Yesterday, me and Sadie Mae took off for Corpus Christi look'n at "toads" (a towed vehicle behind your motorhome). We started hit'n used car dealerships. I was surprised to find that most lots had nothing under the year of 2008 and what few they did have, were either way overpriced for the year model, or would not serve as a "toad". I have but three choices, a standard shift 2 wheel drive, a standard shift 4 wheel drive or automatic 4 wheel drive. That's it. Surprisingly, there are not many choices online either. But I did find 2 Ford Ranger pick ups in San Antonio that may be worth the travel distance to look at.

Photo removed 'cause it was an automatic 2WD

Chunked a few lures down at the "secret hole" and not a bite. There just ain't nobody catch'n fish out of the secret holes. Ya got to have a boat to get to where the fish live....and I ain't talk'n no little "bubba boat". Although, there are many places the "bubba boat" would be perfect.  Remember when I was tell'n ya bout them ships blow'n their horn at me to get out the way when I was out there in my little 22 foots sailboat? I was younger back then and I weren't skeered of nuttin, but let me tell ya, that day I was skeered. Well, I ain't gonna be out there in the "bubba boat" when a ship comes by.....that's for sure.

12 noon....
Well here I am back later. Got the dishes done, trash out and took me a shower. Now what I gonna do.

Did some research on "that jeep". Fount out that the "Billy Bob" don't know what the hell he's talk'n bout. The "that jeep" don't weigh almost 6000 pound like I said it do. It's right at 4000 pound curb weight and 5500 GVWD....duh. Then I check the curb weight of a 2002 Frord Ranger 4x4 pick'em up truck. Weight almost the same as do the "that jeep". So what do I do in a case like this??? I guess I could spend another $3000 on the Jeep, but what would I have if'n I took that route? That's an easy question. I would have a $8000 piece of junk Jeep. Man.....decisions never cease.

The OFM Barney is on his way over to visit and go eat 'em up some Mexican food. Maybe we'll get a chance to toss some lures in the water.

Ok....got things to do

A visit to Rockport

New glasses and a well deserved fish'n reel is a good decision. But.....did you know you can put the fish'n line on the reel backwards. Well, that what I did. On the first cast, I got me one them "birdsnests" like ya ain't never see in your life. A great big ol' wad of fish'n line all tangle up on my brand spank'n new reel. I says...."My God, would you take a look at that".

Me and Sadie Mae loaded up "that jeep" and went off to take a look at the water. We was go'n fish'n ya know. Well the tidal current was go'n out through the ship channel bout a hunnert mile a hour. So we ain't gonna be fish'n there. Then we discussed go'n to to the Packery Channel, an outlet from the bays to the Gulf of Mexico. It gonna be boil'n out there too. So we jump on the ferry boat an' head 'em off to Rockport. We gonna go visit with the OFM Barney. On the way we stopped a few places and chunked a few lures in the water. That where I got that birdsnest. We had a nice visit cruis'n round Rockport look'n at stuff. Holy cows, the changes in the last 10 to 15 years amazed me. Nuttin is the same as I remember it.

Don't know what to do today. It's a beautiful sunshiny day bout 70 degs...so far. This is outside weather. I rekon I aught to charge up the battery for the "bubba boat" just in case I get up enough nerve to launch that thing. I sure don't like the idea of get'n wet, but with a "bubba boat" there ain't much choice. Why the hell didn't I but me some waders???

Well "that jeep" done popped up with another problem. I was go'n down the road, hit a bump an' the freak'n motor quit. Not once, bout three times. Then I see the little "check engine" light is on. What the hell is the deal now? I'm at the point that I don't trust this thing to drive to the grocery store 2 mile away. If'n I had a big enough gun I would blow that thing to smitherines...or whatever. Then probably go to jail. Gonna reset the computer and see what happens. I may even yank the performance chip out of it and throw it in the dumpster. But that's like work, so maybe I should leave it for another day.

Oh yeah....Barney was tell'n me yesterday the finer points of my little camera. Well, it's worse than that now. Ya see, I were gonna take a pic of Sadie Mae on the ferry boat an' I drop my camera. It hit the asphalt deck of the ferry boat and broke something.....the lens protector thingy. It don't open no more when ya turn it on. So old Billy Bob fix it right up. I yank them lens protector thingys right slap out of the lens with my trusty switch blade knife. Springs go fly'n. But, the camera still works. I can fix anything.

Ok....got things to do.

Christmas shopp'n....

There ain't nuttin better than to wake up to a beautiful day. Well there might be, but this is best I can do this morn'n.

Yesterday I jump in that old "that jeep" an' head 'em up to Corpus Christi with two things on my mind. Get new glasses and go Christmas shopp'n. Got 'em both done as you can see. Ok, where the hell did the big Walmart on SPID go? It's gone.....either that or I needed glasses worse than I thought.

I don't know where everybody else gets their glasses but I get mine from LenCrafters. Been do'n it for 15 years now without a hitch. Total cost was just $35 to the examination place right next door to the glasses place. Ain't insurance great?  Ain't being able to see great?

Now I got to figger out what I gonna do today with all this beautiful sunshine. It's free so I rekon I better take advantage of it. Now if'n I could figger out where the fishes are hiding at, maybe I could eat fish for supper tonight. If I catch any, they will probably be too big to keep, but shoot, fish'n is fun anyhows....even if ya don't catch none. All excitis bout try'n out that brand spank'n new fish'n reel.

10:30am.....
Guess I'll load up this damn dog an' go somewheres. I know there's a fish out there just wait'n for me to show up. So' I'm off to adventure on the gulf coast. Ain't ya excitis for me? I am.

Check back laters and see all the pics of oversize fish I catched.

Chang'n mind

Ok....mak'n a major decision here this morning...

I used to tell the kids "no" a lot. Then they would run off to their mama whinn'n that I always said "no". She would tell them, "just wait a few minutes, he'll change his mind". What I usually did. Well, that's what happened last night. Ya see, it's like this, I was look'n at the extended weather forecast. We gonna have some nice weather for the next week or so. Sunshine and upper 60's every day. Now that's fish'n weather. Do'n stuff outside weather. Tak'n care of business weather. And that what I gonna do. I'll be extending my stay in Port Aransas for another week.

Had I went along with my original plan to move "da house" to Sinton, Texas......bout 30 mile from everything, I would be stuck with long drives to the exciting and adventurous locations. Ya see, what I'm do'n here is justify'n my decision to "change my mind". I need new glasses and it's much closer to Corpus Christi from Port A than it is from Sinton. And Walmart is just across the ferry and down the road a piece bout 10 mile. All my secret fish'n holes are right here....or close by. Yup, I make good decisions.

I'm get'n to worry bout the "OFM" Barney with them silly hats he got for Christmas. He surely wouldn't wear one out in public would he? Now there have been times I wished I had one just like that when I was freez'n to death in some God awful cold environment when I should have been inside snuggled up to a cherry red wood burn'n stove. Men do strange things when they get it in their mind they gonna go fish'n, hunt'n or work'n on an old junk car. Been many time I was at the golf ball swak'n place in 35 deg weather.

Remember the beef stew soup I made a few days ago. Well, I ate me up a big ol' bowl yesterday and it was burnt. Make me sick. Now how the hell can ya burn beef stew soup?  Two gallons to the dumpster.

After I make this morning grand decision to stay in Port Aransas for another week, I made another very important decision. Remind me in the morn'n to tell ya bout it.

Misery of Christmas

Well wouldn't ya know it, the weather is terrible for a holiday. I waked up this morn'n and said...."what the hell". The wind was blow'n a gale, foggy, rain and it's cold outside (51 degs). Even Sadie Mae had doubts as to if she was gonna go out to pee or not. Simple....kick her out the door. Now she's back in bed at 9:45am.

Old Barney come by to see me last night. I rekon he was as bored as I was. Nephew Joseph and his girlfriend/fiance Rena also come by and we all went out to eat up some Mexican food. Was a very pleasant visit all around.

Arrangements were made with Joseph to move "Sally da house" over to "el Rancho Abraham" in Sinton, Tx come monday. While there, we gonna go car shopp'n in Corpus Christi and see if'n I can find a replacement for "that jeep". Something a little lighter and more trustworthy. Also need to go get me some new eye peepers from the eye glasses place. Been see'n double images for the last year, so I rekon it's bout time. It's hell driv'n down the road and see two great big ol' trucks com'n at ya. One passes and you have no idea where the other one went.

Now what does a retired, travel'n, homeless person do for the holidays? Being alone with only an old dog for company and companionship, I ain't gonna be a do'n nuttin. Made up that big pot of beef stew soup yesterday for the occasion, so that's it. Eat soup and lay on my butt over there on the couch an' watch'n what ever on TV. Excit'n huh???

Walk'n on rocks

Don't be let'n that title fool ya, I gonna get to it in a minute.

Bout 11am yesterday, I decided to take advantage of a purty nice day...I went off fish'n. My first stop was an old "secret hole", where in the past, I have caught some nice eat'n fish. But yesterday at the "secret hole" proved unfavorable. In fact, all my old secret holes proved the same. Out of all the different places I throwed the pole in the water, I never seen one fish caught by nobody.

Then.....I went to the jettys at The University of Texas marina. Just 10 years ago I could scramble all over them rocks get'n to a good fish'n spot. Well, old Billy Bob won't be scrambl'n round on them rocks no more. When I got half ways to the end, that's when I knowed I done made a big mistake. It wasn't that I couldn't find a place to put my feet, but the fact I've lost a good deal of my sense of balance. Feet just refused to go where I intended. Walk'n out on them rocks was harder than walk'n on water.....what I gave up on years ago.

Speak'n of walk'n on water......there was a fish'n pier what went out in Galveston Bay just outside Texas City what I fish'ed off of on occasion. I pulls up where it supposed to be and what the hell, it's under water, by bout a foots. High tide ya know right after a storm in the gulf. There were a bunch of wade fishermen close by....waded out bout up to their belly buttons. Well, I didn't come to wade fish, I gonna fish off the pier. So's I start walk'n out on the apparently missing pier....to the amazement of the wade fishermen. From a distance, you could a swore I was "walk'n on water". Not being able to see the submerged pier ya know. That was cool.

Another time I attempted to walk on water was in an old swim hole when I was just a kid. I see them big ol' snakes headed my way an' I was out of there right now. Bout a hunnert mile a hour. But that's another story for another time.

What the deal with all the insurance advertisements in the mail? I went and picked up bout 3 months of mail from my mail people, Port Aransas Business Center, yesterday and more than half of it was offers from insurance companies. The insurance I have now could be considered the best in the world (Medicare and BCBS (Blue Cross Blue Shield)) and probably the cheapest. I think Medicare is $99 a month and my secondary insurance, BCBS, is $124 a quarter. Any medical needs that may arise costs me nuttin. My perscriptions are super cheap, I have dental and vision coverage.....what more could I want? I'm covered 100%.  Remember my open heart surgery bills for close to $250,000......paid 100%.

Today is windy. Nuttin like Deming New Mexico, but still to windy and chilly to lay'n out on the beach in a speedo.

3:30pm....
Got a big pot of beef stew soup brew'n on the stove for the next few days of cold weather and go'n out for sizzl'n fajitas with nephew Joseph tonight at Old San Juan's Mexican Restaurant. Will be mov'n "da house to "el Rancho Abraham" in Sinton, Texas come bout monday afternoon.

Being that........I have lived in and retired in Port Aransas, Texas, I know what to expect. It ain't like I'm gonna be surprised by either the weather or the conditions.

My first encounter with Poat A was way back in '64 while I was stationed in Charleston, SC. aboard one of our great warships, a guided missile destroyer escort....or something like that. USS Charles F. Adams DDG 2.

I had an old '56 Ford an' took off for south Texas on a 30 day vacation. Holy crap, what a trip. I pull over in "someplace", Mississippi for gas and here come Barney Fife, the local law enforcement officer. "Whare yer shoes boy"? (I was barefoot) I says..."right there on the front seat". He read me the riot act bout in Mississippi ya gotta have shoes on your feet while driv'n....thought for sure I was gonna go to jail. Finally make it to Texas an' make a mistake of ask'n directions. Nobody ain't never hear of Port Aransas....I were lost....stuck in Beaumont, Texas. Well I knowed it was on the coast by the name.....Port. So's I head on south down the coast highway, State Highway 35...for what seemed days. Texas is big ya know.

When I finally arrived my destination, there was a ferry boat wait for me. Paid my $1 for the short ride across the Corpus Christi ship channel and start hit'n bars. That's where my daddy spent most his time. I finally found him, not by sight, but by sound. He was sing'n "My Philippino Baby" at the top his lungs accompanied by the pounding of a out of tune piano played by "Bob", a screech'n fiddle and a wash tub base strum'ed by "Buttercup". 

Now back in them days, Port A was a wide open town....a little fishing village with a population right bout 500 people. There was a bar on almost every street corner and most had a poker game go'n on in the back rooms. High dollar poker games. I fished. I drank. I cruised the beach. We partied. Holy crap, I done found paradise on the Texas gulf coast. Then my 30 day vacation was up. Back to Charleston, SC.

A year later, I was stationed on an old WWII destroyer (USS Haynesworth DD700) out of Galveston, Texas....only 200 hunnert mile from Port A. Many weekends were spent in Port A till I was know by everybody in town. Then I moved there in 1970.....to stay. Was gone a few years....Atlanta and West by God Virginia. Then back to the Island in 1986....to stay. Went to work for the University of Texas for the next 15 years, bought 5 years of military time and retired in Jan, 2002. Been "on the road again" for the last 10 years in "Alice" an' "Sally da house".

Now here I am, back in Port A. But things have changed. Big changes. It's no longer a little fishing village. They turned it into a tourist trap. Big souvenir shops poped up where once stood adult drink establishments. Condos line the once desolate highway leading into town. Gambling is no longer allowed. Public intoxication is no longer allowed....although it happen occasionally. Bon fires on the beach are no longer allowed and most of the best fish'n holes are closed to fish'n. It's a freak'n City now.

Ok...got things to do.....
Laters