Sunday 10/03/2021
Today, just for a change, it was not raining when we woke up so we reverted back to our normal custom of walking just as soon as I had showered and shaved and completed all of my normal morning ablutions. We did not walk on the berm by the pond preferring to leave any Alligator sightings to later in the day and maybe when I have my big camera with me. Of course, if I am that prepared, we will not see the Alligator. Instead, we took a short stroll around the grounds before returning for breakfast and coffee. It’s hard to keep track of the days when there is no reason to but I figured out today was Sunday because all of the other campers were home. My next door neighbor was having his truck worked on by another camper who lived just across from us who, by the sign on his truck, was a travelling mechanic. Very useful to have as a neighbor.
We have nothing planned for today so I sat at the computer and worked on the pictures that we took yesterday. I was especially proud of the Alligator pictures as I didn’t really expect to see one. I completed yesterdays blog and decided to put a temporary hold on posting past copies of my old poetry for a while to get better caught up with the current blogs and to make them more recent for the readers. At least until I run out of things to write about and then I can always resort back to reposting the poetry.
I took the dogs for a walk as Sandy was just being a bug and wouldn’t leave me alone. Not sure if it was a potty signal or just her wanting to get out and about. Whatever it was, we harnessed up and were ready to leave and as I was locking Miss Daisy’s door, Mikey started hopping around as did Sandy and then me and then I discovered that our entire entrance was covered with fire ants. We quickly moved on with me brushing fire ants from my legs and boots and the dogs rolling in the grass and biting their legs and feet. Both of them found every puddle and wet grass they could as we headed for the Dog Run where I let them off their leashes only for them both to find yet another puddle to lay down in. Poor things must have been bitten all over. We finished our walk which included walking around the pond without getting close to the water and headed back to the RV.I took a short drive to see what was down the opposite direction from where I came in but the only thing I found was a gas station which had a Subway attached. Nothing wasted as I bought a sandwich for dinner this evening but could not find any fire ant killer. Tomorrow maybe when the stores are open. After all, today is Sunday. I need to add that to my supply of things to carry with me all the time although this is the first time that we have been bothered by them. It came on to rain, again, and I mean hard. It just fell out of the sky. It was raining so hard that there was a steady stream of the stuff pouring off the awning.
We had no plans for the evening so we all ate our evening meal and settled down in front of the TV to watch football.
Monday 10/04/2021
The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. Needless to say, the humidity is very high which we discovered on our first walk of the day. I counted the RV’s that are parked here and there are a total of 27 on a campsite which is set up for around 80. They are also working on making the park even bigger by adding new sites with a total capacity of around 132. There are several large industries scattered around which I noticed on the drive in, oil and gas refineries and such so maybe they are looking for permanent tenants for the people working there. Talking of working on the site, the area where they have the heavy equipment is extremely wet with the recent rains and I wonder about its stability even when it is “dried” out as it is basically very heavy clay/loam. The workers are back at it again today playing with their Tonker Toys. As I watched, they brought in another heavy ‘dozer and loaded out a smaller one. They also removed a roller which I imagine, is absolutely useless on the wet ground.
I need to start thinking of whether to stay here for another week or move on. The internet is really good and our exercise comprises of walking around the park which gives us about a mile or so per day depending on the number of circuits. They have a really nice Dog Park but that is basically a waste of time as both dogs just sit down in the grass.
I needed to locate a grocery store other than the gas station and found that there is an HEB in Alvin which as it turns out has a population of close to 30,000. I made the drive in for about 9 miles and discovered a very nice little country town with everything I wanted including the aforementioned HEB with a gas station, a Home Depot and even an ATT store although the latter did not have just what I wanted. Finally, the big win of the day was the discovery of a Starbucks, manna from heaven, as I had not had a latte for two weeks or more. Saved a lot of money though as those things are expensive. Oh yes, I bought ant killer. I also stopped by a tire shop not for new tires but to see if they knew where to plug in the gadget that Allstate had forwarded on to me that needed to go in the Jeep. It is a system whereby I only get charged for miles driven as the Jeep spends a lot of time just sitting. The gentleman I spoke with very obligingly installed the unit which was just a plug in job and I thanked him very profusely for his time and trouble. Now to see if I really do save money on car insurance.
The drive back was uneventful and I was greeted at the door by two little dogs who desperately wanted to “go”. I quickly harnessed them up and off we went exploring and checking on the work that the dozer work crew had performed. Did not get to see an Alligators but I never walked out on the berm either. The sites are drying up as the rain appears to have disappeared for a while and walking around the park was much easier with not having to constantly drag Sandy out of the puddles. That girl loves to get wet and dirty. Mikey, on the other hand, stays comparatively clean and dry, obviously not the water lover that Sandy is.
We finished the day in our usual way, eating the evening meal and then settling back with a glass of wine to watch the English football.
Written 10/04/2021 – Check out my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com