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living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com
Texas has some very nice state parks. We have the annual day pass, which helps reduce the cost. We arrived here in Goose Island or Rockport, TX. Spacious, very green, quite a bit of wildlife, and well-maintained grounds and restrooms (with air conditioning). Deer are everywhere! You just look out your window, and there they are. Fishing is within walking distanc,e and many of the renters and renters have boats. We took many hikes although it was humid and 32C. Mosquitoes abound but are now on the retreat with the cooler weather.
Many fun things are nearby outside of the park as well. This is one of them: the Fulton Mansion in Rockport. It sits on the water and was built back in 1877 by George Fulton, a newspaper journalist. He married into a wealthy family and when his father-in-law passed away the couple inherited 28,000 acres of land. George was many things in his life, and he acquired nine patents. He designed the mansion, and it included new inventions, two of which he took claim to. The mansion is four stories tall and had flush toilets, heating, and a station in the basement that pumped carbide gas made from gasoline stored on the grounds away from the house. The pump required the staff to take turns everyday to wind or pull up the balasts, similar to a grandfather clock. This provided the lighting while coal-burning furnaces worked to produce heat.
George became a cattleman. Interesting because there was, at the time, no way to ship meat long distances without refrigeration. He took care of that as well. His brother and a friend created carbon dioxide gas that kept the meat cool at the slaughterhouse located on the same property. Ships would use the refrigeration method, and meat was carried as far as England. I got to thinking that George didn't like fish or seafood. Why would you raise cattle along the ocean and spend so much time and energy inventing things when the seafood was pretty much at your feet?
The grounds in front of the house facing the ocean. You can see how close the property was to shipping and fishing.
Deer are everywhere, and you really do need to drive under the 20 mph speed limit. We saw many dead deer outside of the park.
As you walk by them, they just stare at you. You talk to them and they follow you with their eyes. Move too quickly and off they sprint.
We stopped by the Texas Maritime Museum. It's not a big place, but it is worth the visit. No charge for entrance. It tells the story of the indigenous Karankawa and how they fished and worked the land before foreigners arrived. Very ingenious people who were tall and muscular. They were eventually pushed into Mexico but have resurfaced after Enrique Gonzalez published an article in a local paper about the Karankawa people. Others read the article and realized they had commonality with Enrique. They formed a group and are now 100 strong, rewriting history. Why? They were considered long extinct but had really gone into hiding. They say their physical traits are still noticeable even after mixing with Mexicans and some settlers.
I learned what a binnacle was! It houses a compass and has two globes, one on each side, made of soft metal to counteract the effects of magnetis,m giving a true reading. The tank also protects the compass from mist and humidity. These devices are still required today on cruise ships.
This museum is a good break for kids and adults from the internet, cellphones and television. It's always good to learn new things. During WWI ship building was big thing along the Gulf coast. However, steel was in demand but production was almost nil. They turned to concrete to build cargo ships. Not light weight by any means but they did the job. The hull thickness was about 10 times that of a steel plate.
The Rockport Harbor in front of the museum. There is a pecan shop located there, a small shack up on stilts. I asked if they sold pecan pie by the slice and she showed me what looked like a brownie for $4! What? Maybe I have lived outside of the U.S. for too long.
On our way to see the sunset one evening we came across this beautiful great blue heron. I think its a nest as the bird wouldn't move.
Is this a sunset or what? Everyday we've seen some wonderful sunrises and sunsets. Today here in Mathis, TX (we're now at the Corpus Christi Lake State Park), we were talking to a couple of women at a thrift shop. They asked where we had been and where we were headed and one of them said that the sunsets at SPI are incredible. They are but what we've discovered is that all sunsets are amazing no matter where they appear.
Our site at Goose Island. The neighbor has the same make as ours, and just two feet longer. We are on the edge of a wooded area and the deer stroll through to graze and they look at us just like we look at them. It is very quiet here.
Our best breakfast deal is Laredo Taco Factory. They are in Stripes fuel stops and they are owned by 7-Eleven Corp. They always have good breakfast deals and all the salsa and topppings you want.
Like I mentioned, we are now at the lake in Corpus Christi and headed to the Shrimporee tomorrow for the day. The weather has taken a huge turn and it's chilly, cloudy and windy. My kind of weather.
