Thursday, April 20, 2017

2017 CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIP - FRIDAY, APRIL 14TH, 2017

Friday, April 14th, 2017



9. 29 a.m. and the odometer reads 49924.  We are leaving our hotel in Wharton, TX at 9.29 a.m., heading to the Gulf just East of Corpus Christi.  Getting back on 59 south now.

As you leave the road our hotel is on, right across the road is a plastics factory.  We saw thousands of pipes in the back.  

4.47 a.m. we passed a farm with a huge building and a very large silo.  The sign said it was for rice.  There are fields of what we think are rice, as far as the eyes can see, on both side of the freeway.

The speed limit has been 75 mph for most of our journey.

10.14 a.m. and we are now 1800 miles away from home.

10.53 a.m. and we have just passed the small town of Tivoli, now on Texas 35 South.  


11.36 a.m. stopping at Whataburger.  This is a new one to me but our son remembers it from his trip a few years ago. The fries were excellent.  My burger was a bit too vinegary for my taste but Gregg enjoyed his.

1.01 p.m. we are on a ferry. We joined the line of cars waiting to get on, and for a while we were next to three giant oil rigs.  


We studied them. and the wait to get down to the ferry seemed not so long.  It was a short trip across to the other side, a five minute ride.


1.40 p.m.  We have walked on the beach overlooking Corpus Christi Bay.  To get to our parking spot we drove over a wide expanse of sand.  It was firm enough.  We saw RV's on here and watched as other cars made their way without sinking into the sand.  We figured it was safe!



There were several beachgoers and I talked with one lady who was strolling with her dog.  She said she lived in Texas, about a four hour drive.  


She apologized if her dog had scared the birds, but I assured her she had given me a few good shots of them in flight.  







Gregg walked along the breakwater....


as I took photos of Black-headed Gulls....


(This beach had a lot of scrubby looking brush.  Not sure what kind of plant it was but no one seemed to mind, including the birds.)


Common Terns.....




and Sanderlings.









The beach is part of Port Oasis Park.  

I had a nap in the car for about half an hour.  All that walking on the beach I guess.  Gregg said we will stop early and true to his word, it was about five when we pulled into the hotel's parking lot.  But first we found a Walmart close by.  There are days when we don't feel like finding another restaurant, especially when we feel tired.  Walmart has pretty good pick-up foods.  


Gregg chose a roast beef sub and I a protein pack with a hard boiled egg, cubes of cheese, miniature sized Dorito-type chips, apple slices and grapes.  We also picked up a small veggie snack tray for that evening if we needed it, or snacking tomorrow.  For dessert, an individual cherry pie which we shared.  These relaxed dinners in a hotel room are very nice.   

45 comments:

  1. Another lovely day for you. Always good to see the areas you pass through and how you spend each day. Great shots on the beach too. I really like those takeaway food packs.

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    1. Thank you Sue, and those food packs were very tasty :)

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  2. You guys sure don't waste any time!! You are going so fast that you make my head spin! What an adventure! It is like watching a T.V. show! Your bird photos are wonderful! It is not easy to capture a bird in flight this clearly. You are truly noticing and enjoying everything. And so am I.

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    1. Hi Ginny, I think my head is spinning :) but enjoying the adventure.

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  3. You're really moving along today. There's certainly lots to see.

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    1. We traveled more than we usually do today. An amazing amount of things to see :)

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  4. Wow. You are really on a marathon road trip.
    LOVED the bird photos - and your dinners look great too.
    Take care - and have fun.

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  5. Beautiful birds at the beach and I love those in flight! Enjoy your day!

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  6. I love the meal you chose, Denise, it looks delicious! Lovely photos, and I agree that you got some wonderful flight captures!

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  7. And I bet you're not even tired! Loved the shot of the two birds walking into the water.

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    1. Well actually Valerie, we are a wee bit tired but staying in one spot for a couple of days to visit relatives.

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    1. Thank you Francisco, A hug and a good weekend to you also.

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  9. Grewt bird shots, Denise, and I wondered if you took them with your phone, iPad or camera. Glad too that the weather is cooperating for you both. Just wondering if you pre-planned hotel and any other stops or are you just traveling and stopping when a place looks interesting? Good idea about the in-room dining as we have done that as well😉

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    1. Hi Beatrice, we took the bird photos with our larger camera, with a 300 zoom lens attached. I look forward to the day when my iPhone or iPad can give us the same capability. Also, as far as our hotels are concerned, once we know where we are going to be that night, we do a search on hotels in the area and book a place a few hours in advance. We have never had a problem doing it that way. We hardly ever drive after 6:00 pm. And sometimes stop before when we are feeling tired. Room dining is fun!

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  10. Hello, I heard this area was a great spot for birding. Love the beach scenes and the birds. The Terns are one of my favorites. Looks like you had a lovely day in Texas. Enjoy your trip! Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Thanks Eileen, there certainly were a lot of birds out there.

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  11. you two are all over the place! what fun! I so enjoy seeing the beach and birds..so pretty.
    I've been trying to add protein to my diet. :)
    happy weekend to you..be safe.
    hugs,
    Marie

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  12. My husband loves shore birds, as he carves them.

    Well, he did more such carving, when we could drive over to Cape Cod in the Autumn, and spend time on Nauset Beach.

    Travel safely,
    Luna Crone

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    1. Thanks LC and how interesting about your husband and his carving. He must be very talentented.

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  13. Beautiful beaches and birds and I have never heard of putting rice and a silo. Now I have

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    1. Thank you Sandra, I never knew they did that either. I am learning all kinds of things on this trip.

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  14. SO how many more area, miles and states will you be traveling? That is such a cool idea. Would love to do something like that, but I pretty much just want to travel to other states where I have friends I have never visited! Loving the pics. Hope you are having a blast!

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    1. Hi Pam and thank you :) We are heading to California to visit Gregg's sister and then heading home. Don't know our route yet. We don't plan these destinations too far in advance.

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  15. Love those birds in flight. Nice meal from Walmart, too.

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    1. Thanks Gigi. Last night we dined at an Applebee's for a change and a little past our bedtime, lol.

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  16. Hi Denise and wow what a trip, you are most certainly covering some ground, some great and varied images, what with ferries, oil rigs and birds, enjoy the rest of your adventure, all the best to you both. John

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  17. Another lovely day in your travels ...
    Love all of your photographs, what a lovely lot of birds, fabulous to see.

    All the best Jan

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  18. You gone a long, long way! what wonderful memories you will have.

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    1. Yes indeed Rose, we have quite a few already.

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  19. Another great day and virtual tour for me, loving this trip. Have a good weekend Diane

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    1. Thank you Diane, and so happy you are enjoying the tour. I do enjoy yours. Happy weekend to you, Denise :)

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  20. I agree Linda, and I always feel it is a bit healthier too. Good idea about the Bumblebee snack packs and the snack size fruit containers. I will have to add those to the list. Thanks for the tip.

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  21. Just caught up with this post, You certainly are having an adventure. The pictures of the birds on the beach are very nice. Looks like a wonderful trip so far.

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  22. Don't you just love a nice walk along the beach! Loving all the birds. Great day.

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    1. It's wonderful and as I don't get to do it that often, I loved it! And the birds :)

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