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NOTE 1: Unbeknownst to you, I have been grappling with my email apps. We are in mortal combat and I am afraid that I may be losing. Gmail is very stable, but it won’t let me compress my photos. I can only send 4 or 5 photos at a time. So, if I have a bunch of photos, I have to send out a zillion separate emails, each with only 4 or so photos. This is not only a pain for me, but you poor readers are stuck with an ungodly number of confusing emails.
Apple’s Mail app does let me compress the photos. Great, but Mail has a mind of its own. It doesn’t use AI (Artificial Intelligence), it uses ASS (Artificial Super Stubbornness). About 20% of the time it does what I ask. When it does, the email comes through with a few paragraphs of text, followed by a bunch of photos, each with a caption that is logically attached to the photo. The other 80% of the time it decides, completely on its own, to do all sorts of ridiculous things like: resize the photos so small you can’t see them, separate the captions from the photos, or just refuse to send. Jeez, it’s hard to find good help.
What to do? We are looking into other email programs. Hopefully we can come up with a solution. Thanks for your patience.
NOTE 2: To all of you that have replied to the emails, thank you. I enjoy your feedback.
MAGNOLIA BEACH, TEXAS: All the info I had on the free beach camping near Port Lavaca, was pre-COVID. I had a hard time finding current updates. Was the camping area still open? If open, will it be overcrowded with RVers taking advantage of free camping? We decided to take a chance and entered the coordinates into Google Maps. 3 1/2 hours later we arrived to find the beach still open to camping, still free, and plenty of places open.
The sand was mixed with lots of sea shells, giving the surface enough solidity to keep our tires from sinking to oblivion. The ground was perfectly level. The Gulf of Mexico is only about 10’ from our front door. I have been assured by bloggers, YouTubers, and articles that the tide here isn’t a problem. Every other trailer and RV here is also hugging the water.
I can’t say we did much once settled in. We spent a lot of time trying out a new email app. If all goes well, it should present these journals in a more orderly and professional manner. Well, we’ll just see about that!
We did manage to drive into Port Lavaca. H.E.B. is a giant Walmart-like store down here. We stopped to take advantage of their cheap gas, $2.48, and pick up a couple of odds and ends at the grocery store, like some margaritas. You can’t be practically living “in” the water without margaritas.
For supper, we steamed some veggies and heated up the left over BBQ. Wow, the meat was even better reheated. I will never think of BBQ the same after this. Those ribs were just smoky, primal, succulent, melt-in-your-mouth tender, full of natural meat flavor......... Look, I absolutely love German sausages and smoked meats. But, I’m sorry, Texas BBQ from Lockhart, Texas, rated number 1 in the world, are world-class spectacular.
I have amassed a list of thoughts and observations that I can share now that we have a bit of a lull:
DEER HERD: In Jim Hogg Campground and the surrounding subdivision there roams a large contingency of deer just cruising around without a care. It very much reminds me of the herd that calls Luxury Estates subdivision up in St. Germain, WI home.
COWBOY CHURCH: Texas is squarely in the Bible Belt. There are all sorts of novel sounding evangelical denominations. Most start with “First” something or other. There never is a 5th or 10th.
The best name we came across was the 1st Cowboy Church of Burnet County. It must be a big deal as we saw several signs for it, although we never saw the actual church.
ARMADILLOS: These nocturnal animals are really cute. We read on some plaque that they hardly ever come during the day, but we saw one on the side of the road in broad daylight. By the time I stopped, backed up, and got out of the van to take its pictured, it just lumbered away.
GAS PRICES: So far, Illinois had the most expensive gas, right around $3.10 a gallon. Texas gas prices are all over the place. The cheapest has been $2.39, but it has ranged all the way up to $2.89. In Georgetown, we bought gas for $2.43 with the station across the road going for $2.79. That’s crazy.
MASKS: I am pleasantly shocked that in spite of the governor pooh-poohing COVID and masks, mask wearing in Texas is just about 95%. It is rare to see someone without a mask.
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