Trying A New Way

During a thunderstorm, do you ever look out the window at the storm and take comfort that you and yours are warm, safe and dry. I don’t always take the time to look out and think about it, but it always satisfactory when I do.

Its a nice feeling, until I realize that I left something in my car. Then I have to debate how much I really need whatever I left in the car and either go out in the storm or go without. Its a weird jump but I remember telling a friend that one day I wanted to live in a motorhome and carry my house with me whereever I go. Her reaction was to laugh and ask me if I wanted to be a hermit crab.

This was a few years ago, but when I realized people actually do this, I decided this would be my goal for this year. I wanted find something and move in, in the fall of 2020 or spring of 2021. I have three cats and a parrot, one of the cats beeing a nine month old kitten I found on the side of the road last Memorial Day. He’s a good little kitten, but very much a kitten and I need to get the the kitten and middle cat used to a leash and harness. I thought this would be plenty of time for Mo, the nine month old, to settle down a little and find a home with space to put Ande’s, my parrot, cage.

I looked at floor plans online, but unlike a house or apartment its really hard to see how much room you really have. Even if I didn’t find a motorhome with enough room for Ande’s current cage, I needed to find one with space find a smaller one and then find a smallerone. Just before Thanksgiving I thought I would actually go out and look at motorhomes. I live in a tourist town near the beach so there are a lot of RV parks around and a handful of dealerships. Turns out most dealerships, or at least the ones in my area, don’t sell motorhomes. Only two dealerships had any on the lot and even then less than five.

About a week before Christmas I looked at one that was a great fit for everything I needed and was half the price I had looked at. I couldn’t help but to jump at the opportunity. It was a used motorhome so it needed a couple of cosmetic need from the mechanics. Normally this style has a couch, but I guess the origional owners didn’t like the couch and had it removed. They put in two recliners, which I still haven’t figured out how they had enough room to recline them where they ended up placing them. I thought I would just unbolt one of the chairs and put Ande’s cage there. I picked up the rig about two weeks after I signed the papers. They needed to fix the awning over the living room slideout.

I was excited but dreading all the work it takes to move. I’m still moving, so still have that feeling of dread. My other fear was that I wouldn’t be able to figure out how to run the motorhome properly. One of the mechanics, Tony, walked through everything on the day I signed the papers. But over the course of the two weeks I was afraid I’d forgotten everything he told me.

About three days before I picked up the RV, I started looking for an RV park to start out at. I really wanted to start off at Puerto Del Sol at the north end of North Beach in Corpus Christi. I figured this would be a great place, close enough to my apartment to take my time moving in, close enough to work that I it would still be convient and with great views. Although its not in the best part of town. I called them during my lunch break. They were very abrupt with their “no”. I asked if they had availability; they asked how big my motorhome was, they immediately said “no” without hearing the dates I wanted to stay.

I had bought a 31′ home. The kitchen has more counter space then my apartment. From inside it seems so big, but when I park it next to another motorhome, it looks small. I like it, its small enough for me to feel comfortable driving (with cameras) and large enough to live in comfortably with three cats and a bird.

After my rejection at Puerto Del Sol, I called the Sea Breeze RV park in Portland, TX. They had an opening, not for the full amount of time I wanted to stay, but were willing to work with me to get me a slot. I moved in that Saturday afternoon after picking up the RV.

Like I said earlier, I was a little nervous about hooking up and running the motorhome. Tony gave me a review, I bought a couple of hoses and RV toilet paper. Apparently septic safe toilet paper isn’t enough, and I’m not about to take a chance stopping up my black waste tank. Ick! My sister drove over to the park with me and things were pretty simple to set up. Plugged in the RV into the 30amp plug turned it on and hooked up the city water hose.

We moved all four animals over which took a little bit of time. I let Ande take his time to get into the carrier on his own. Creepers and Mo, the oldest and youngst of my cats, loaded into the kenels quickly, but Salem, my largest cat, fought me hard. We got everyone over and took some clothes and other things I needed over in two trips and went to dinner. We were exhausted.

My problem arose when we got back and it was cold and I had no hot water. I live in south Texas, so since it was hot during the day I hadn’t thought about the propane and I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. We consulted the owners manual, but couldn’t figure it out from the instructions (no pictures or diagrams). There were more warnings than instructions. I didn’t want to play around with it to much and have a potentially dangerous accident. Around eleven pm, I found a YouTube video that showed me how to turn it on. Success, I had heat! But it hadn’t been on long enough to have hot water, so I had a cold shower.

Three of the animals seem have settled in, all except Salem. Ande and I read a story or part of a story every night which she likes. She came out when I read to Ande, otherwise she mostly stays in the bedroom and is ususally hiding when I come home from work. She’s never moved before, so hopefully she settles in soon.

Sea Breeze RV Park is right on the bay. I want to walk around and explore the park, but so far its been dark or quite foggy when I’ve gotten home from work. Its still on my to do list. Maybe tomorrow or this weekend.

A Better Life

Last weekend I went to Cole Park. Cole Park is a park on the bay front of Corpus Christi. I’ve been there many times usually to watch a movie. They have an amphitheater there that sometimes they show movies on the wall in the summer. I’d never been and just enjoyed the park. It boasts a playground, skate park, a garden (I never actually found the garden) and a walking path along the bay. Part of the water area is lined with sand, but most of it is lined with rocks.

The park is mostly a large grassy area with a few palm trees, otherwise not much shade. So I walked down the path by the water, I thought this was the best way to see the whole park and get a breeze. They were setting up for some event when I got there, not sure what the event was but there were tents and food vendors arriving. I’m not sure how wise it was set up the event this early on a Saturday, because they kept driving on the walking path without much regard to others.

There was a nice breeze by the water so I thought I would have a seat on the rocks and just watch the water. There were a couple of families playing on the beach and in the water, I saw birds flying over the bay and even a two small sea turtles coming up for air. It was very hot but otherwise a very nice day. My plan was to find a nice place and just sit and kind of zen out, do some thinking. Unfortunately I got distracted and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

When I walked down to the beach, I thought I might walk down the water front along the rocks. Then I remembered my balance is no where good enough to do this so I climbed back down. What I saw on the beach was disgusting though. There was trash everywhere; straws, Whataburger cups, half of plates and so much small random plastic that there was no telling what it used to be. And those families were playing in it, the animals were living in it and feeding in it. But the people didn’t seem to care, they were letting there children play in it and were splashing around in it themselves. Its like they were desensitized to the trash like it was supposed to be there. I guess in a way it is, most of us have spent most of our lives going to the beach, to the park, walking down our street and seeing bits of trash in the sand, the water or grass.

The only places I really saw garbage cans was near the areas where the most people would gather: near the picnic areas, the playground and skate park; but only one near the water front and no recycling. People only do what is convenient and going a few extra steps or even holding on to trash is inconvenient so what do we do? We drop it where ever we happen to be. The way I see it we have two solutions for the future, let the Earth become a landfill (that we have to live in, because there isn’t any place to move to and start all over) or do what we can to keep our planet livable. I choose do try to do my part to help with the second option, but why doesn’t anyone else?

If any of our leaders cared more, and I don’t really mean politicians because they are and they aren’t part of our daily lives. I mean the city leaders, the CEOs, our parents and elders should take more responsibility. That also means each of us who can think for ourselves. We need to make clean up and taking care of the Earth easier, add more garbage and recycling bins and take the extra steps, the simple steps to do better. Disney has it right a trash can about every ten to fifteen feet. Come up with more reusable products and make them affordable to the average person. The average consumer is not going to buy a $40 water bottle. We aren’t the only animals, beings or lives on this planet, but we are the only ones that can help (I’m pretty sure of that, I think).

My Trip to Oso Bay Wetland Preserve

Today I went out to Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve. I’d been wanting to go out there for a few weeks but something always just kept being more important.

As I was driving out there, I saw a large metal sculpture of a heron with a fish in his mouth looming on the horizon. As I drove up, it turned out, it was a welcome to the preserve. The parking lot was well landscaped and clean.

The learning center was closed, it being Sunday, but I could still walk the trails. There was this cute little crayfish climbing out of the marsh and under the porch of the learning center and there were lots of little fish swimming in the pond.

Around the back side of the building was an open area with some low balance beams (which I did cross), some plastic stumps (which I did walk across), a cute bench with woodland creatures carved into it and a small man-made waterfall. I sat on a bench and watched the waterfall for a while. A painted bunting came for a drink of water and a rest before taking off to finish his day.

I got up and started down the trails. The ground beneath me was a clean brown gravel that crunched when I walked (it was a very satisfying sound), all the trees where green and lush and ready to hide any small creature, and the sky was blue with fluffy white clouds floating, a beautiful day. I started following a gecko down the path. Every path I went down, there seemed to be a large brown bird flying across the path. It was always too far away to see what type of bird it was. I did see vultures, black-necked stilts, pelicans, cardinals, egrets, herons, sea gulls along with the painted bunting. There wasn’t much water in the bay, but still enough for he animals to get what they needed. I want to go back when there is a little more water.

I cam across a crossroads and took a right along a yellow, “cobblestone” (sort of) path. I got the feeling this path was wet a lot, there was a bit of mud. I had to dodge large fire ants, bees and wasps and keep my footing in the mud. But I made it to the prairie outlook and the end of this yellow brick road.

On my way back from Pelican Porch, the furthest outlook I walked to, on my way to the playground, I was looking at a small tree. In one of the branches, there was a small mess of twigs. I looked closer and it turns out it was a bird’s nest and it had a baby bird in it. It raised its head, I guess it was waiting for its mom to bring back with dinner. The walk back was full of little ones, more geckos to follow back (so I didn’t get lost), mocking birds flying around and a Texas tortoise eating the plants along the side of the path. To top everything off on the way back to the car a caracara flew over the lot.

I spent about three hours out there. It was about a thirty minute drive from my house, but I would definitely go back. I would want to go back when it was a little wetter and earlier in the morning so the temperature is a little cooler, although it is south Texas. I suggest bring a hat and water bottle and make sure you look around and take everything in.

Earth Day/Bay Day

Corpus Christi is situated on a bay, Corpus Christi Bay, so they have and Earth Day/Bay Day celebration. It was held this past weekend. Since I moved to Corpus, I had always worked on Saturday, currently I have Saturdays off so I am taking advantage of festivals and other events. I had never been to Earth Day/Bay Day, so this year I went.

The celebrations were being held at Heritage Park. This area is a grouping of some of the oldest homes in Corpus Christi. Most have been restored, are Texas Historical Landmarks and many support the cultural diversity of our area. I have to admit when I was checking the Earth Day/Bay Day website, I was a little surprised that the event wasn’t being held at the bay. But Heritage Park is a beautiful place and there is plenty of room for all the tables, presentations and food.

When I walked in, the end of a falconry presentation was going on. As I walked around at all the tables, I hadn’t realized we had so many environmentally friendly organizations in Corpus Christi. Especially since conservation isn’t a priority in the everyday behaviors of the majority of our population. Reduce, reuse and recycle and other environmentally friendly actions are usually only performed by college students and if its convenient. In other words they won’t usually bother.

There were booths there from government agencies like TX Parks and Wild Life and the TX General Land Office to commercial organizations like the NEC to public health agencies and even nature organizations like the Texas Zoo and the Texas State Aquarium. I had fun walking around all the booths and seeing all the different way you can do better for the environment. The best part was I saw a lot of people I hadn’t seen in such a long time and getting to catch up.

I do have one complaint. Those running the booths seemed to completely ignore adults and only pay attention to the children. Adults need to and want to learn and experience the ideas too. And they have to power to make the changes in their households. It seemed just because I didn’t have kids I didn’t count. I even had one guy that I was talking to about sea grass beds end our conversation in the middle and start talking to a little girl when she and her dad walked up. He told me, “maybe she’ll grow up to be a marine biologist.” He was to only one to outright turn away, but other booths just acted like I wasn’t there.

I was talking to a co-worker today about it. She had a booth at the event. She told me that she had been taught that children were more important and that if an adult wants to learn, they are supposed to ask questions. The problem with adults asking questions is that they are paying too much attention to the kids to let the adults get a word in. I have a problem with thinking the children are more important. You as a stranger are not in the kid’s lives. They see you for two to three minutes, whereas they know, look up to and emulate the adult in their lives, parents, teachers, neighbors, etc. So why aren’t you paying attention to the adults too. Yes, children are the future, but unless we talk to everyone to start conservation in the present, there isn’t a future. Teach the kids, but teach the adults especially in a community that doesn’t put much faith in conservation efforts.

A New Perspective

Lately our weather has been very hit and miss, gray and ugly one day, clear and pleasant the next. This past Saturday was one of those clear and pleasant days. The temperature was right with just the lightest breeze and a clear sunny sky. I decided to visit Artesian Park in downtown Corpus Christi. I’d driven by this park many times and always wanted to stop, but never took the chance.

I drove downtown and since it was such it was such a nice day, I parked several blocks away from the park. I thought I would have a nice walk too. I parked across the street from the Executive Surf Club, a restaurant and bar sometimes with a live band playing in the courtyard, and started walking down the street. There weren’t a lot of shops open, but still had a few people out. I realized that I didn’t think I had been out and about downtown during the day much or at all. I had gone out downtown to meet friends at restaurants, bars or clubs, but otherwise I’d never spent much time there. To me downtown was always just a run down, shuttered place with nothing to offer, just bars, restaurants and a tattoo shop. While this is mostly true, there is an obvious attempt to change that. And when I took the time to look around, there was a beauty there too.

On the way to Artesian Park, I passed alley ways and storefronts (mostly closed on the weekend) and cross streets. Yes, I did have a destination but I also didn’t want to be so concerned with seeing everything or getting where I was going that I saw or experienced nothing. I had the time so I didn’t limit my trek so while I did continue on to the park but I stopped and checked out what I could along the way.

I finally made it to Artesian Park. Its supposed to be the first park in Corpus Christi created when Corpus Christi’s founder, Henry Kinney, donated the land to the city as a park in 1854. The first thing I did when I got there was to check out the commemorative stone to General Zachary Taylor’s army, they camped here from 1845 to 1846. Then I walked into the rest of the park. It was a nice green space within the concrete, brick and glass of downtown. I sat down on a bench and listened to the birds twitter and watched the squirrels run. The tree tops were home to a handful of grackle nests. One even ran off a mocking bird.

Next to the park was a boutique. In the past, I had always thought the building was a children’s home. I was half right as it was a house, but it contained a clothing boutique. They were having a pop up fair, there were vendors on the front lawn and porch. I walked around all the vendors and wandered around inside for a while before buying some jewelry. I probably shouldn’t have bought anything, but I could afford it and I really liked the pieces.

I took a different route back to my car. There are some really cute views of downtown, who would’ve thought. I found more street art than I thought there would be. And as I was walking, almost everyone I passed was staring at their phones. I was so curious, I peeked at someone’s phone as they passed me. They were playing Pokemon Go. I thought people had stopped playing that game a year ago. Shows me. I don’t know that everyone staring at their phones was playing Pokemon, but at least a few were.

The last place I stumbled across was the World War I memorial. I guess you could say I knew it was there, I’d driven by it before, but I don’t think I would have remembered it was there. It was just a large open green space on the hill leading from downtown to uptown. In Spohn Park, a wide open space before heading back to the car.