Sandfest 2007 - Day 2, Surviving the Rain!

The sculptures are progressing in spite of the rain, click here to see the progress!

Sandfest 2007 - Day 2

We hit the beach early since the weather service was calling for thunder storms throughout the day. Sculptors continued work on their creations and the judging will be held tomorrow.

Just as luck would have it, the skies opened up. Rain and festivals - not a good mix.


Click Here.

Sandfest 2007 - Day 1

Sandfest 2007 kicked off this morning in Port Aransas.

In it's 11th year, the event is a 3 day festival drawing over 100,000 visitors and hosts solo and team master sculptors from around the world. With live music, food, sand sculpting lessons, amateur sand sculpting contests and activities for the little ones, it's sure to be lots of fun!

Today's weather was hot and sunny with high gusty winds, which made the sculpting a challenge! A centerpiece sculpture underwritten by event sponsors was completed and it is spectacular.

The Master sculptors have 21 hours to finish their creations. Judging will be held tomorrow, weather permitting. Forecasters are calling for rain so let's hope it holds off until the judging is over!

To view our photos of Day 1 Click Here.

Offshore Rig Troubles

We've had a bit of excitement - an oil rig was run aground just off our beach. We've enjoyed a birds-eye view of the action from the Boardwalk here at Gulf Waters - and it's created quite a stir!

The Coast Guard is monitoring the rig to prevent it from sinking.

Crew members of the tug Vinton Crosby radioed the Coast Guard at about 3 a.m. reporting the jack-up rig Dolphin III, which they were towing, was listing to one side and in danger of sinking or tipping over. Around 6 a.m. the tug crew was able to move the rig into shallow water, where it remains. There were no injuries to the crew, but a Coast Guard rescue boat crew was dispatched from Station Port Aransas to investigate and were forced to return because of strong wind and waves. A Coast Guard helicopter crew was sent after sunrise and they were able to monitor the rig and ensure all personnel were safe.

The rig crew reported that a generator powering the de-watering pumps had run out of fuel and the pumps had stopped running. They continue to try to re-float it.

Robert, our neighbor, thinks there's a job opening for a fuel attendant!


To view a few more shots of the rig click here.

Our Blog

Our Blog is a work in progress. Updates are sporadic, so we appologize up front for that. Nancy is new to Blogging and frequently consults with Lisa for technical support. It's coming along, but needs a lot of editing.

It's Spring in South Texas

For the longest time the Bougainvillea were nothing more than clumps of bare branches. I thought they were dead until last week. In short order, the foliage has completely filled the branches and blooms are beginning to appear. Palms have lots of new frawns and the park is really coming to life. Unfortunately, many of our friends are making their way back home (Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia - even North Texas.) It's sad seeing everyone leave and we will miss them. Safe travels everyone - we hope to see you down the road!

By the way, we are leaving for the Hill Country (Kerrville) April 2nd!

Sandfest 2006

Spring arrived in Port Aransas and it's been a great time to be on the Beach.


What's next you ask? SAND SCULPTING! Port A hosts an incredible event that draws lots of people. Sculptors from around the world will be here working their magic and we are really looking forward to being a part of it.

To check out some of the sculptures from years past click here:

It's All About the Birds!

If you enjoy birdwatching, South Texas is the place to be in Winter. Herons, Gulls and songbirds - just to name a few. While at the beach we've noticed more and more flocks of Pelicans heading North. I've counted groups of 40 or more in flight. They are very majestic - and have a huge wingspan!

We're Planning Our First Cruise - Bon Voyage!

We've met many of our neighbors in the Park. One couple in particular, Joe and Cheri Gallemmo, have been an absolute wealth of information. You see, Joe and Cheri are retired military and they've travelled all over the world. They have been avid RVers for over 30 years and they've been on more than 15 cruises, so you can only imagine how interesting our conversations have been.

At some point during the evening we talked about the places we've been and where we'd like to go in the future. Australia came up, as did many other places in the U.S. and around the world. You see, Cheri and Joe are always on the lookout for the next great trip. They have access to a travel agency catering to the military and airline pilots. This agency provides them with tremendous travel deals.

The following day Joe and Cheri let us know about an incredible cruise they were considering. Cheri said "What do you think about a 30 day cruise from Seattle to Sydney, Australia?" Of course we were intrigued, and with little thought, we said "Let's do it!"

The cruise has a number of ports of call; Seattle to San Francisco; to Hilo and Maui, Hawaii; Bora Bora in French Polynesia; Papeete, Tahiti; Rarotonga in the Cook Islands; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Fiji (Suva); Auckland, Christchurch (Lyttleton), Dunedin (Port Chambers) and Fjordland National Park, New Zealand; ending in Sydney, Australia. An absolute dream holiday for us.

We will begin our journey on September, 23rd and plan to stay on in Australia and New Zealand for an additional month to explore more of those countries.

We cannot wait for this adventure to begin and look forward to sharing the details with all of you.