egret – Live Laugh RV

Comedy of Errors

February 8, 2017January 17, 2020by Ingrid109 Comments

It was another early morning around the RV. Once again, Al and his buddy were heading to the marina by 6:15 a.m. While I sat in bed enjoying my first cup of coffee, I contemplated how energetic I felt. I determined, not very!

Rockport, Fulton, Texas

While sipping my second cup of coffee, I read emails and glanced out the RV window checking for cloud conditions. It looked like another morning of ho-hum skies, eliminating any urgency to leave the comforts of the RV post-haste for a photo-op.

roseate spoonbill Finally around 8:30, I hopped in the truck and headed on over to one of my favorite areas to walk. I figured I might as well get in some exercise since the day won’t be about photography. But this gal never goes anywhere without her trusty camera slung around her neck. One never knows when a rare photo-op might present itself!

There’s a relatively new housing development being built not too far away from our RV park near Rockport, Texas.

This former home builder still likes being around new construction and enjoys checking out the latest trends in the housing industry. I even enjoy the smell of lumber! I know, weird 😏

new homes — I still like checking out new construction housing developments – walkway lower right. This photo was taken on a beautiful sunny day …. just one of many.

paver boardwalk — this is the walkway aka boardwalk in the new housing development. Houses are on the right – marsh and Gulf on the left. This photo was taken on that foggy morning in my previous post

Anyway, I love getting in daily strolls in this gated community. Most of the homeowners are only here occasionally … maybe on weekends or holidays. The houses are used primarily as second homes. Thus, I usually have the “boardwalk” (their label, not mine) to myself.

Gulf shore birds

I parked the truck in my regular spot and took the path to the walkway. As I started down the boardwalk, I immediately gasped in awe and glee. The little ponds in the marshes were loaded with shorebirds. Thank goodness, I brought my camera. It was a gloomy, overcast morning and my camera seemed to have difficulty focusing. Perhaps, it was camera shake due to my excitement.

Vision versus reality

Texas birding — this may be reality …. but

colorful birds — this is what my mind saw – a vibrant flurry of color – where to look? where to point the camera? To say I was excited would be an understatement!

I was elated to have stumbled upon so many shorebirds. I did my best not to startle them, but the slightest movement on my part seemed to send them flying off to the next pond.

roseate spoonbill

I slowly followed in their direction and my camera continued to work in overdrive.

Well over an hour later, it was time for me to leave. Oh, how I wanted to stay longer, but my teeth were floating from the coffee ingested earlier. As I approached the truck, I dug around in my bag for the keys. I couldn’t seem to find them. I entered the code on the keyless entry pad on the driver’s side door of the truck and began searching the vehicle floor, ignition, passenger seat and still no keys. It is so not like me to misplace my keys.

egret

I began to wonder if the keys had somehow fallen out of my bag while I was retrieving a new camera battery. After all, there was a lot of excitement going on and while I dug in the bag for the battery, I kept my eyes on the birds and not my bag. My keys could have easily fallen out of the bag.

So it was back to the boardwalk to retrace my steps. Still no keys. Eek! I’m frazzled and really need to pee but the last time I used the construction porta-potty, I attracted a lot of attention from the workers … something I was hoping to avoid this go around. Plus, I was in no mood for jovial sparring.

“Check the truck again, Ingrid“, I said to myself. I tried punching in the code on the keypad but had a total space out. “Oh my gosh, I can’t remember the code!” 😱 Just then, one of the landscapers yelled something out to me. In a daze, I asked, “I’m sorry, what?” He repeats,

“Did you get some nice shots?” “Oh, yeah“, I responded, still frazzled. heron

All I could think about was losing all the keys on my key chain. The truck key was one thing, but the other keys, holy sh*t, not easily replaced!!!

As I responded to the landscaper, something to the left of him caught my eye. Ah-hah! There was a lone construction porta-potty in the distance and after a quick visit, I was once again able to think clearly.

I still couldn’t remember the keyless entry code on the truck though. Talk about a total brain space. 🙄

Oh well, I shrugged and thought to myself … guess I’ll just have to walk back to the RV Park and get Al’s keys which he always leaves behind while boating. I thought about calling my friend and neighbor in the RV park, but I forgot to take my cell phone with me … grrr .. talk about a comedy of errors. So calling her wasn’t an option.

Well, I needed the exercise anyway considering I got sidetracked earlier by all those birds.

So it was off to the RV Park on foot. Along the way, I discovered the roosting grounds for Great Blue Herons and a delightful pond. Once again, I was sidetracked and found myself meandering through a grove of twisted oak trees all the while my brain kept saying, “Focus Ingrid focus … tend to business“.

I couldn’t help but get sidetracked, but soon logic took over and I was once again on my way to the RV Park.

But then …. the unique sound of the Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks stopped me in my tracks. These squeaky guys always make me smile and I can’t resist looking up to the skies when I hear them to catch a glimpse of their beautiful coloring. Little did I know, I was in for a treat. As I stood still trying to blend into the trunk of an oak tree, I watched them circle. Hundreds of whistling ducks landed not far from me. Then to top it off, a deer emerged from the brush.

whistling ducks

Alas, after being sidetracked a couple of times, I finally made it to the RV to retrieve Al’s keys. I stuck my cell phone in my bag (just in case) and briskly returned to the truck. Well…. maybe briskly is an overstatement since there was a slight detour back through the oak trees and the heron nesting grounds. But I swear, it was brief 😉

great blue heron By the time I returned back to the RV with the truck, Al was home. He and his buddy had a great morning out on the water. He had worked up an appetite and wanted to know, “What’s for lunch?” Twenty minutes later, we were sitting at the local restaurant dive up the road indulging in an awesome shrimp po-boy sandwich arguing over the code to the truck keypad. It seems I confused Al, as well as myself.

To wrap up the day... I had one of the most exciting bird photography mornings ever along with a very cool location discovery. My close proximity to the shorebirds is what lent to the thrill.

I lost my keys and later found my keys on the backseat floor. Don’t ask 😆

I ended up walking about four miles that day. I took hundreds of blurry photos. Therefore, I thought I had broken my camera. Oops! Can we say “user error”? Maybe! Ah-ah, camera fixed.

sunrise — Someone woke up someone early!

I confused my husband regarding the keyless entry code on the truck, but not to worry. The code was recalled in the wee morning hours the next day… I believe someone waking someone exclaiming, “I REMEMBER THE CODE” was involved.

Lost my keys. Found my keys. Walked four miles. Broke my camera. Fixed my camera. Communed with hundreds of birds. Confused my husband. Husband remains confused (living with me thirty plus years, confusion justified lol). What an exciting day. Ah, rarely a dull moment in the life of a full-time RVer. Love it!

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Texas, wildlife

Exquisite and Graceful

January 20, 2017by Ingrid91 Comments

This is our fourth winter RVing along the Texas Gulf Coast, and it has not disappointed. The weather has been enjoyable this year with no mention of a polar vortex, thank goodness. With that said, I’m taking full advantage of getting out of the RV everyday to commune with my feathered friends. Shore birds

I don’t consider myself a birder, but merely, someone who admires birds, especially shore birds. My fascination with these birds was piqued during that very first visit to the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve always enjoyed wildlife photography, but bird photography was a new game. It challenged me then, and continues to challenge me now.

Family of whooping cranes - mom, dad, juvenile — Family of whooping cranes – mom, dad, juvenile

I always look forward to our return trips to Texas to observe and photograph the exquisite and graceful whooping crane, an endangered species who’s numbers were in the teens back in the 1940’s and are now in the 500+ range. Habitat and poaching still threaten these magnificent birds, but efforts are being made by various organizations to help these cranes.

Whooping Cranes - endangered — A family of endangered whooping Cranes

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this beautiful pink beauty … the roseate spoonbill. Her deep pink is truly stunning. Actually, it’s the male of the species that sports the deepest of the hue. This is one dude who knows how to wear pink well! roseata spoonbil

However, I find the egret embodies a certain grace and elegance. Her snowy white plumage, long black legs, and bright yellow feet have me comparing her to a princess. He or she? In the case of the egret, both sexes are bright white and thus difficult to decipher. egret

Tri-colored Herons feel equally as regal and exude a unique level of gracefulness. Their grayish blue coloring with patches of deep purple is truly stunning.

Ah, then there are the pelicans … oh those pelicans. What can I say about these whimsical creatures?

When in-flight they exhibit a grace comparable to the whooping crane, but when they plunge into the water fishing for dinner, well let’s just say, the sight is anything but graceful and is downright comical.

I’m still trying to capture a video of a pelican diving for fish, but am always in the midst of laughing and fail to point the camera in the right direction. I’ll keep working on that!

Overall, I find pelicans to be rather entertaining and full of character and when they aren’t flying, they exhibit absolutely no grace what so ever.

I’ve got another month hanging along the Texas Gulf Coast with my feathered friends. I hope to capture more photographs of these amazing shore birds, and in the process, work on getting in my exercise steps 😎

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Texas

The art of compromise

February 2, 2015January 31, 2015by Ingrid79 Comments

Living a mobile lifestyle with a partner in 250 square feet, requires the ability to communicate and compromise. Compromise becomes even more important when the individuals don’t always share common interests.

Compromise has never been a problem for hubby and me. I tell him where we’re going, what we’re doing, and he says, “Yes, Dear”. And that my friends is how to survive 30 plus years of marriage …. 😆

But in all seriousness, Al and I have always supported and encouraged each others interests and passions. We enjoy doing things together as well as separately. It works for us and has for over thirty years.

Al and I are fortunate in that we’ve both had the opportunity to travel extensively over the years internationally and domestically, but that travel was predominantly to metropolitan areas. Thus, we now enjoy focusing our travels on small towns, back country roads, and all things nature which makes this RV lifestyle a perfect fit. Neither one of us has a so called bucket list, but we do have a mental list of “wouldn’t mind visiting there”. It’s sort of a …… if it works fine, if it doesn’t work that’s fine too kind of list.

Al’s pretty laid back and easy going about our travels and for the most part leaves the planning up to me.

After I brief him on tentative plans, we’ll bounce ideas back and forth. He’ll occasionally add his two cents or express any concerns, and then the trip planning commences followed by a few necessary reservations. For the most part, he rolls with my whims.

On that note, last summer during our winter planning phase, Al mentioned how he really wanted to do a repeat of the previous January and meet up with his buddy again in Rockport, Texas, to engage in sportsman stuff. Initially, I wanted to stay in the desert southwest, but since this was something he really wanted to do, I felt it was my turn to roll with his whim and compromise.

Plus, I didn’t think returning to the area would be so bad. It would allow me the opportunity to commune with whooping cranes and all my other feathered friends while hubby was occupied elsewhere.

And then I got to thinking since we were coming to Texas anyway, this would be the perfect opportunity to explore some other areas along the Texas Gulf Coast, which is how we ended up spending time in Galveston and Port Aransas.

Although I have had a relatively nice time along the Texas Gulf Coast, all things considered, the lure of an Arizona sunset is hard to resist. The abundant sunshine and dry heat of the desert beckons.

As our scheduled stay in Texas was nearing an end, Al started dropping hints about extending our stay. He said something along the lines of, “We have no commitments in February. Why don’t we just stay here a little longer”?

He asks this question as the winds are howling, the rain is pouring, and I’m bundled up in layers of clothing trying to keep warm.

I ponder….. Keep that thought in mind while I digress for a moment….
From the moment we purchased the RV, Al made every effort to train me on all her workings and we split the driving so I’m comfortable towing her. When I became so ill last winter, it made an indelible impression upon us just how important it is that he and I are both able to handle all aspects of this lifestyle. With the exception of backing her up, I’m quite capable in the handling of all duties.

As for Al’s cross training, he has improved in doing laundry, vacuuming, and cooking (well, his culinary skills are still lacking, but edible. That’s a work in progress – hehe). Both of us can handle the demands of this lifestyle together and independently.

So back to me contemplating Al’s thoughts on extending our Texas stay. Remember the weather is nasty as we have this discussion. I wait for the loud furnace to shut off so I’m sure he can hear my response.

“You’d like to stay in Texas longer?” I confirm. He nods. “No problem honey, but please check with Denny to make sure his couch is a sleeper, because come Monday the jacks are coming up and the wheels will be rolling. Whether you’ll be sitting next to me is your choice. I’m flexible”.

Al burst out into laughter and said, “Ah, you are a wise one. Perhaps it was foolish of me to see to it that you can handle all aspects of this RV because I have no doubt to your capabilities. I assure you, when you have this puppy ready to roll, I’ll be sitting next to you”.

It was the best of times; exploring fun new places and getting together with fellow bloggers. It was the worst of times; nasty weather and illness. It was the age of wisdom; as we age, we hopefully become wiser. Al is second guessing the wisdom of his actions in making sure I can handle the RV by myself. It was the age of foolish; We’re never too old to act a little foolishly. It’s all about the laughter. In the end, I am no fool and would never dream of leaving my partner in crime beyond.

Arizona here WE come!