Jalapeno Pigs

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 73 degrees, high 92 degrees, partly cloudy skies

After my morning walk, I decided I wanted a pig for breakfast. Not a full sized pig, as in a hog, but a favorite from Shipley's, the local donut ship. What's a pig, you say? Well, it's what a lot of people call a kolache with smoked sausage in it. The difference is that it tastes better than the ones that we get when we're in the hill country of Texas. I decided to go all the way this morning, and bought a pig that was also filled with jalapeno peppers. Ummmm, boy, it was good. I should have bought two.

Speaking of jalapeno peppers, we had never tasted these peppers until we moved to Texas almost 20 years ago. They can be pickled in vinegar, which is the way we eat most of them, but you can get them fresh in salsa. Other ways to fix them are as uniquely Texas dishes, such as Texas toothpicks (fried strips), Armadillo eggs (stuffed with cheese and deep fried) or even jalapeno jelly. We haven't tried that type. Either way, their taste is unique. We try to have some with us when we leave the state because we can't always find them in other states. When we were in Alabama last year, our friends Ruth and Marsha gave us some green jalapenos which we pickled. Sad to say, but we're opened the last jar.

Since my brother Terrell knew of my rainmaking prowess, he called me yesterday and asked me to go to his house today and wash my truck so he could get some rain on his yard. In yesterday's post, I mentioned that just the mere threat of washing the truck seemed to have caused a shower to pass through the area. When I arrived at Terrell's house today, it was apparent that he had gotten more than a shower. Not a deluge, but a good rain. I still washed the truck, so now we'll see what happens. The weather for the next few days is for 30-40% chance of rain. One thing to remember is that the fall season is typically dry here, so I don't know if the magic will work.

Not a lot going on here beyond trying to make rain. I took care of a few little chores, watched some television, did some reading, surfed the web..... Just taking it easy before going back to work tomorrow.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Hattiesburg, Mississippi: The Hub City

Not all who wander are lost.

Port Lavaca, Texas

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 91 degrees, partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, showers in the afternoon

When my morning walk was finished, I started thinking about what I would do today. The decision was made to drive down the coast to Port Lavaca, a place we have not been to in almost seven years. Our first time out in an RV was to Port Lavaca, and we were as green as grass when it came to setting up the RV. We couldn't get the RV off the truck hitch because I had it in a bind. Luckily, there were some people there who knew what they were doing, and they helped us out. If we hadn't gotten the help and advice we received that weekend, we might have had short lives as RVers.

We stayed that first weekend at the city-owned RV park located on the bay as you go into town from the direction of Bay City. That turned out to be a good choice, because we had two of our grandchildren, Julian and Zoe, with us. They were able to go fishing and play in the playground, and the experience made them want to go with us more. So I guess the weekend was good for them.

Since this is the last holiday weekend of the summer, all the RV parks in town seemed to be full. There was a lot of fishing going on, but I didn't see any fish being caught. The glare from the sun and water was bad, and I imagine a lot of people had headaches from it before the day was finished.

The first picture is of a mural painted on a wall in the Olde Town part of Port Lavaca. The second one is of Olde Town Port Lavaca. There's not much to it, and it appears that the town is trying to develop the area as a tourist attraction. I think they've got a long way to go.

Most of the business activity appears to be taking place on Texas 35, which is the main road paralleling the coast from Houston down to Corpus Christi. Since the route is along the coast, the terrain is about as flat as it can get. A railroad crossing might be the highest point along the way.

Has there been much in the way of change since were here almost seven years ago? Not really. A few more businesses, and that's about it. Of course, change may not always be good.

My brother Terrell is in Tennessee for a couple of weeks. He called me today and asked me to go by his house in Bay City. He wants me to wash my truck so he can get some rain on his yard. I guess he's familiar with my rainmaking skills. Well, it rained today with just the thought that I was going to wash the truck. It wasn't a downpour, but anything is better than what they have been getting here. The yards are brown, crops are dying, pastures are down to dirt, and the situation is not getting better. Maybe if I wash the truck tomorrow, I can help these folks out. Stayed tuned for an update.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Port Lavaca, Texas: It’s A State Of Mind!

Not all who wander are lost.

College Football Begins

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 89 degrees, light shower in the afternoon, mostly cloudy skies

I took a longer walk than usual this morning, like about 50% longer. I didn't set out to do that, but felt so good that before I knew it, I was farther away from home than I meant to be. At that point, I had no choice but to keep walking. I've got to be careful doing that.

After I got home and had a good rest, I took care of some light housekeeping. Dusting, shaking the rugs out, sweeping where there wasn't any carpet, vacuuming, and other little things.

At lunchtime, I met Lori and her family at K-2 Restaurant for lunch. This restaurant has a special on Saturdays which I like a lot. Big hamburgers, nacho bar, salad bar, and more. I loaded up on the nachos and brought my hamburger home for supper. While I was eating, I had a nacho or two for Carolyn.

The college football season officially started Thursday night, but most of the teams started playing today. As I'm writing this post, I'm watching Florida play Charleston Southern, a small school out of South Carolina. An obvious mismatch, and I wish the major colleges would not schedule these types of games. Of course, the small schools love to play the big schools because they get a big payday for it. And, I'm sure they like the exposure their schools get that they wouldn't have gotten. Anyway, at this point in the third quarter, Florida is winning 48 to 3.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Dahlonega, Georgia: A Better Hometown Community

Not all who wander are lost.

Varner-Hogg Plantation

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 74 degrees, high 90 degrees, mostly cloudy skies

I had several chores to do this morning: laundry, a little housekeeping, go to the library, and that sort of thing. After the chores were finished, or at least the ones I wanted to do today, I decided to go to West Columbia, which is about 22 miles away, to see the Varner-Hogg Plantation.

We have been through West Columbia many times over the years, but never took the time to stop and see the plantation. The first picture is of the house, which was built in 1834 with bricks made from the mud of the Brazos River. The style is Greek Revival, which was popular in that time period. The second picture is of the beautiful pecan orchard on the property.

The plantation was developed to grow sugar cane for sugar, and a sugar mill was constructed in the 1840s for refining sugar. It must have been quite a large brick building, with two floors. The mill was destroyed by a hurricane in 1900, and the only things left are the kettles and brick foundations. It's important to remember that all these buildings were built with slave labor, which also raised the sugar cane until the Civil War was finished.

A barn on the property was filled with different tools and wagons from the era, including this John Deere wagon. Looks good, doesn't it? As I was walking around the property, it occurred to me how quiet it was. The plantation is less than two miles from town, but it almost seems like another world.

The holiday coming up is the last one of the summer, and it looks like people are taking advantage of the long weekend. I saw many RVs on the move today, heading to the beach and different campgrounds in the area. I hope they have a good time.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - West Columbia, Texas: First Capitol Of The Republic Of Texas

Not all who wander are lost.

Four Day Weekend

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 74 degrees, high 91 degrees, partly cloudy

When I got home this evening, it looked as though the area received a little bit of rain. There were some small puddles along the edge of the road, and a few places where the road was still a little damp. I know most people want good weather when they have a holiday, but I think they would trade a little good weather the next few days to get more rain here. It is so dry that......

The job site works four 10-hour days a week, which means that today was the last work day of the week. Combine that with the Labor Day holiday, and it's four days in a row off work. If it wasn't so far, I'd go back to Tuscaloosa to see Carolyn. Just thinking about driving 750 miles one way wears me out.

I have several things planned to do over the long weekend, including the normal things like house cleaning, washing the laundry, buy a few groceries, and several other things. I also plan to do some things that I will tell you about as I do them. There should be some pictures to share.

I'm a little tired tonight, so I'll cut this post short.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Atlanta, Georgia: City Of Peace

Not all who wander are lost.

Loud Pounding

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 91 degrees, clear skies

More acquaintances were renewed at work today, and so far I've only seen a fraction of the people I used to work with. I'm glad I made the decision to come work for a couple of months, and I'll probably be glad when it's over so I can go play. Don't tell anyone, but this seems like play to me. And I'm being paid!

I talked to Carolyn this evening, and it looks as though I won't be going to pick her this weekend. Terri still needs some help, so we're thinking that I'll go get her in about three weeks. At least I hope so. I'm ready to have my partner at home with me. There are times, however, when parents make sacrifices to help their children, and this is one of those times for us. As I've said before, it doesn't matter how old your children are, when they need your help and you're able to help, you've got to do it.

A strange thing happened last night about 2330 hours (11:30 p.m. for those who can't read military time) when I was awakened from sleep by a loud pounding on the RV door. At first, I didn't know what the noise was, but as I became more awake, I realized someone was knocking on the door. I went into the living room and asked who was there. There was no way I was going to open the door to see who it was. A female voice said it was a name I was not familiar with, so I asked her to repeat it. Still not recognizing the name, I told her I didn't know who she was, but as far as I was concerned, she had no business knocking on my door that late. She apologized and apparently left. I tried to see who was outside, but never did see the person. Needless to say, it took awhile for me to go back to sleep. Don't you hate it when that happens? I wonder what she was up to? No good, I'm sure.

I've been here for two weeks, and I'm finally starting to sleep good at night. I hardly hear the trains, and when I do hear one, it just registers in my subconscious, instead of making me sit straight up in the bed.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Missoula, Montana: The Garden City

Not all who wander are lost.

A Touch Of Fall In The Air

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 76 degrees, high 89 degrees, mostly cloudy skies

In many areas of the country, the temperatures I listed above would seem hot. Here, they feel almost balmy, with a touch of fall in the air. Okay, so the touch of fall is wishful thinking, but does everyone realize that today is the first day of September? Time sure seems to fly when you get older.

I went to a meeting at work today, and I knew everyone there. That's amazing, considering that there were about 20 people in the meeting. They welcomed me back and thanked me for coming to help them. It's not hard to come to a place like this that is so sincere in their welcome.

After work, I was so hungry my stomach was gnawing at my backbone, so I ate supper before going for a walk. The cooler temperatures make walking a lot easier. I felt so good that I walked a little farther than yesterday. Once the longer hours start in about four weeks, I probably won't have time to walk, so I'll enjoy it while I can.

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I liked the murals in Eureka, California. Here are a few examples of what I saw while we were there in 2004. The colors are varied and bright, and as I mentioned, by the time I found all of the murals, I had seen most of the town. We wouldn't mind going back there someday.

That's about it from here. The Labor Day weekend is coming up, so we'll try to find some ways to enjoy the last holiday of summer.

Good night, Dear.

More later, be safe.

Today's State - California: The Golden State

Not all who wander are lost.