We Needed the Break!

26 April 2012--I am thinking a lot lately about getting back on the road again come June, so I have to get back in the swing of things, blog-wise. I am a little rusty, so this will be a quick update just to get the juices flowing.

Been busy doing things around the RV over the past couple months...who knew there would be so much work to do??? I thought we were supposed to be on vacation, but alas, RVing is not much different than owning a home...always something to do!

The 1st thing to go was our water heater. We kept having a leak that we couldn't stop no matter how many "quick fixes" we tried, so we ultimately had to replace the whole unit. As you can see from the pictures, this would have been a lot easier if the space we were working in wasn't under the RV, measuring about 18 inches from floor to ceiling. This small project took the better part of 2 weeks...we couldn't for the life of us get a small leak to stop no matter what we did, so a lot of trial and error even with a new unit. (I know, I know! Only pictures of Cathy, but I swear I was fully engaged...much more than I wanted to be I assure you!)

In March we went to Florida to visit with Cathy's family, but right before we left a neighbor in the RV park was getting rid of an almost new TV so Cathy and I scooped it up from them. That's me in the middle picture...couldn't quite contort my body as Cathy does in the 1st pic. We decided to put it in an outside compartment so we could watch TV out there in the nice weather.

And then about a month ago, right after we got back from Florida, we had a hail storm that beat the heck out of our air conditioning unit covers on top of the RV, and did some damage to our slideout awnings, so we had to replace them, too. Ever the assistant, that's me behind Cathy holding the awning as she threads it into place.

So after all this work, we decided we needed a break and headed down to Corpus Christi, the beach, and the 2012 Sand Fest. The 1st day we were there was quite windy so I didn't even try the water, but the 2nd day was warmer and only a little breezy, so I checked it out. The ocean felt closer to lake water, but with the breeze I figured if I went in I would freeze when I got out, so this is as far as I got.



A few pics here of some of the sculptures...these 1st 3 were actually done by amateurs. The 1st pic took 1st place by a team, while the 2nd pic took 2nd place team...the amazing thing was that the 2nd place winners were 2 sisters, 11 and 13 yrs old!!! Are you kidding me? How do some people get all the talent!? I bet they can sing, too! The 3rd pic was 2nd place by an individual...cool, huh?

For the professionals, this entry took 2nd place for individuals...the detail on the buffalo was amazing.

These were also done by pros, but not winners. Click on them and check out the detail.

This woman has lassoed a couple space aliens, and was the 1st place individual winner.

These lizards were 2nd place in the team event...notice the scratches on the face of the lizard on the left in the 3rd pic...crazy!



And finally, this elephant "snorting" 3 humans to make a mermaid at the end was the 1st place team winner. It was, by far, the most interesting!!! The name of the display was "So you want to know where mermaids come from"? You have to blow up the pics to tell, but what is happening is the elephant is inhaling 3 humans thru its trunk, then out the back of its head pops a mermaid. The detail of the humans inside its trunk...notice the belly buttons...was really bizarre. This was our favorite!!!

So that's it for now. We will be leaving here 13 June, heading to Boston...Can't wait!!!