Port A Market Day

So, howdy.  Again, it's been a while, but yet, here we are again.  Still in Rockport, TX.  Last you read, we enjoyed the fundraising Fulton Oysterfest and fireworks.  The next day, it was sunny and warm, and yard sales called.  As we moved from one junkyard   junk yard sale to another, we reminded ourselves that this area was decimated by Hurricane Harvey, in Sept 2017, and if anyone had anything of value at that time, it was likely gone, literally, with the wind, and has since been replaced, or deemed unnecessary and therefore, not replaced.  Seems like the only items we found were items that should have been tossed out with last night's trash.  Really.  There was not one single item that even remotely interested us.  And we visited about 5 different sales, in 5 different (geographically and monetary standards) neighborhoods.  Oh well, such is life.  Besides, I couldn't think of a thing I wanted to give up enough to bring something else in.  You know that old saying holds true, especially when you live in an RV - something IN, something OUT.  And then we came across The Junk Store.  I know, you think I'm just calling it that.  Nope.  That's the name of it!  Wonder why I didn't get a photo of their sign?  Who knows.  Maybe I was just overwhelmed at HOW.MUCH.STUFF.WAS.THERE!  We were greeted in the parking lot by a huuuuge round buoy.  I mean, I know they are big, but I didn't know they were taller (and thankfully, much wider) than I.  I couldn't take its picture because Bailey was tugging and tugging, trying to get me around the corner of the store to look at the fancy barstools. 

Inside we go!

And go...

And go....

Something for everyone!  Actually, LOTS of somethings!

Wow, that place about took my breath away.  And, nooooo, we didn't find anything to purchase here, either.  But, we did find interesting things to look at...especially those barstools.  Should we purchase a house again, here in Texas....well, NO.  Banish the thought.  Those barstools look fine and dandy in a saloon or pub, but I don't think they'll fit my decor.  Ever.

So, the next day was Market Day in Port Aransas (locally known as Port A).  Remember, this is all at the VERY beginning of the NovelCorona 19 pandemic (hereafter referred to as Pre-CP), so we were only just a little bit concerned about going out in places of public gathering.  Yes, it crossed our minds, but Spring Break was due to start Monday, and we hadn't yet visited the island (Mustang Island), and we wanted to go before the crowds and kids hit.  So Bailey's dinner was packed, along with a few water bottles, and off we went.  The causeway looked just like we remembered it, except the old, dilapidated campers were mostly gone, and there were a couple of nice homes sprung up about halfway out to the ferry landing.

A sure sign that summer crowds have not yet arrived; the wait time for the ferry was only 15 minutes.  We have seen it as long as a couple of hours!

Check out those things under the crane!  Those are windmill arms!

And behind the acres and acres of windmill arms is an oil rig - right there in the channel!

When we got in line for the ferry, they had just finished loading one, and we were only a few cars back for the next one, and there was one arriving just as we pulled up.  We knew the wait now would only be a few short minutes.

 In Texas, ferries and beaches are considered public roadways.  So, even though there is no bridge, the GPS knows the shortest distance is straight across the channel.

 Yup, the ferries take 5th wheels.  Took ours, a few years ago, remember?

And, Class A's, too.

Once we arrived at the Market grounds, we parked in the lot, then had to cross over the ferry lineup to get back to the Market.  And just in case you took a notion, they were advising you against jumping the curb.  And put up some pretty heavy-duty blockades, to make sure you didn't.  I *think* that was so that no one cut across the grass to cut in line.  Sometimes the ferry lineup is really long.  And, in the summer, really (REALLY) hot.  Tempers have been known to flare.  Noooo, not ours.  Sorry for the blur...again, Bailey is tugging in an effort to get me moving again.  

So, there really wasn't much of a Market on this last day of monthly Market Days...I think the weather (chilly, blustery, promising rain showers) was a factor, as well as, this is the end of the Winter Texan season, and Spring Breakers haven't really arrived yet.  I purchased a couple of handmade soap bars, declined the opportunity to have some sleazeball hippie rub CBD oil on my back, chose not to sample the salsa and jams (CoronaVirus was just around the bend, but we had been hearing reports from overseas) and we were done.  Moving on to the beach....we figured these people didn't value their camper as much as we valued ours.  We stayed here a month, in our 5th wheel, a few years back, when we worked at On The Beach RV Park, but we left our job early, only partly because of the damage being done to our rig.

Lots of birdies here, all facing into the steady wind.

The beach looked clean and inviting, but geeze, it is windy here.

We thought we'd stop in at one of our favorite beach shops..

I tried to buy a hermit crab.....(but we knew we were leaving our rig behind for a month, while we traveled to Pennsylvania to resolve Dad's estate, and what would we do with Crabbie while we were gone?  See, he had a name and everything already!) 

  

Across the street was our favorite candy store, Island Candy, home of The Good Stuff.  Seriously, that is what they call their world-famous pecan or walnut caramel.  And rightly so, it is truly, The Good Stuff.

See the high-water mark on the doors there?  That's how much water they took during Harvey.  Click that link above and then visit their Our History page for pictures of the devastation and rebuild

Bailey was a wee bit camera shy.  Actually, she just didn't much appreciate being stuck through the hole in the plywood, but I was able to get her to hold still just long enough to commemorate our visit.

Oh, but inside, oh, my.  The choices! The sights!  The aroma!

Just as in olden days, most of their candy was in open bins.  With tongs.  Some tongs in the bins, some tongs on strings, hanging down.  I really couldn't get past that....CoronoVirus is just around the bend, remember, but, even on a good day, the germaphobe in me says, RUN, Run Away As Fast As You Can! So, nooo, we didn't make any purchase out of any bin.

But, (or should I say, BUTT) when it came to the caramel and fudge, well, they were on slabs behind the plastic sneeze guard, and they were served up only by the girls of the counter, so yeah, we made our contribution to the shop owner here.

Back to the store across the street, cuz now the shark is empty.  It is one of the most popular photo ops on the island, and it's usually full of kids getting mom to snap their picture, so when the opportunity presented itself, we took it.  Yup, that's me wearing Dick's jacket.  It's what we had on hand, and it was cold!

Bailey says, WHAAAT are you doing to me Mom??

By now, the beach was a little more populated, but we went anyway, hoping to give the puppy a chance to potty.  We had taken her into a grassy field next to the beachwear store, but, THAT was a BIG mistake.  After about 30 feet, she simply froze in her tracks and Would.Not.Budge.  Come to find out, the grass there, while green and lush looking, was FULL of sand burrs.  The poor dog had burrs up her wazoo.  Literally.  And every step she took had to have been really painful.  In so many ways (and places).  We picked her up and carried her over to a bench, where we spent about 15 minutes removing about a hundred burrs.  Hence, the potty stop on the beach. And, since it was rapidly approaching 3 o'clock, we took time out for her to eat the dinner we had so wisely packed her.

Next we hit up Seafood and Spaghetti Works, just down the road.  This was one of our favorite restaurants when we were here years ago, and it was good to see that it was still in business, even though the building was all new.  Originally, a guy named Jay built a geodesic dome to house a game room for a water park he was building here on the island.  However, there was an oil spill that year and tourists didn't come as planned.  So, he changed his plan and converted the dome into the quirky restaurant we remembered.  You had to go up a creepy set of stairs to the dining/loft area, and there were kites of all kinds and sizes strung from the rafters.  Yup, they were every bit as dirty and dusty as you would imagine.  But, the food, oh, the food was good.  There was a chalkboard downstairs in the bar area, highlighting the day's catch and specials.  Not a one was under $25!  And this was YEARS ago.  BUT...you see, they had a Senior Specials lunch menu, and anyone, of any age, could order off that menu...and they were all the same dishes!  Portions were only slightly smaller, and still plentiful, plus, you still got the soup and salad bar included.  Granted, you had to request the menu, and it was sort of a secret among the locals, but, hey, everything on the menu was $9.99, so it was exactly right for us.  Well, they had this new building, the kites were gone, the creepy stairs were gone, everything was CLEAN, but they still had the Senior Specials menu, and prices were only a few dollars more.  Still reasonable, still great food, still all-you-could-eat salad bar.  Yes, we had the shrimp.  We were happy.  Dinner was fine.  Probably more than we needed.  But still fine.

And, back to the ferry, where I tried to capture a better shot of those windmill arms.

They are simply massive, and this photo just doesn't convey how big or how many acres were covered, but, they went all the way back to that crane way back there!

And so our day ended peacefully.  We got back to the camper in good time; we only got a bit of a shower along the way.  And the next day, life as we knew it came to an end.  The news out of China was only a hint of what was to come.

Fulton Oysterfest and Fireworks

Remember the LaMardi Gras parade?  To benefit the Lamar Volunteer Fire Department?  Well, Fulton has one too.  A Volunteer Fire Department that is...no Mardi Gras parade.  So, Fulton's main fundraiser is the Oysterfest.  There's a parade for that too, yes, but after Bailey's melt-down with the LaMardi Gras parade, we decided to take her elsewhere that day.  More on that in the next post.  For now, let's stick with the Oysterfest.  We parked just south of Charlotte Plummer's (yes, we do love that place, have for years!) and walked up to the harbor, where all the action was.  The carnival opened at 5 pm, but fireworks weren't due to start till 8, so we went about 6 pm.  Yup, check out how light it still is!  Love that!  Summer is definitely on its way.

I am always mesmerized by the flashing lights and amazed that people can get on these hastily constructed (and possibly LOOSELY constructed) rides.  And it seems they all go HIGH up in the air.  Yeah, not my thing...moving on....

This ride was called the Sea Ray, and there was a mermaid in the bow...

and a pirate at the wheel...cute.  But still too scary for me to even watch.

 See, there's even a posted warning!  DO NOT FORCE A CHILD TO RIDE IF THEY ARE FRIGHTENED.  I qualify as a frightened child in this case.  Besides, I was carrying a cell phone, so, no getting on for me.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Now, somebody used their kidneys on placing an ATM right next to the ticket sales booth.  Smart marketing.

We breezed through the Vendors tent in about 30 minutes.  Saw lots of jewelry and tee-shirts, metal art, acrylic pours, more jewelry and more tee-shirts for sale, but didn't buy a thing.  We live in an RV, remember, and there's only so much room in it.  Besides, there's a quilt shop here in town, and there's a shop hop coming up this weekend...

So we moseyed on over to the other tent.  This one held the beer, oysters, and for lack of a better term, entertainment.  And, obviously, more people.  Apparently, this was where the action REALLY was.

Dick went to check out the offerings, and this dude decided that the seat next to me was the only one appropriate for him to sit in.  Really dude?  There were others...LOTS of others...

Anyway, Dick came back and we listened to the band for a few minutes.  Thankfully, it was just a few more minutes. Like, one more song. They really weren't very good.  About 20 minutes till 8, we noticed people picking up their chairs and walking outside, toward the water.  I asked Dick if maybe we shouldn't think about doing the same?  Yup, let's do it.  We followed the crowd (bet you've never heard me say THAT before!  Pretty sure that's never HAPPENED before!!) out to the water's edge and set up our chairs by the bulkhead.  Signs.  Always warning signs.  This one is letting us know we shouldn't be using the ladder.  What ladder?  I guess there's one on the other side, but the only place it could possibly go is down into the water.  ??

(Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay)

My new phone has a Night Vision mode, so I figured I'd play around with it while we were waiting.

Ring around the moon!  Pretty sure that means we'll be getting some precipitation soon, right?

Right before 8 pm, the band quit and everyone was encouraged to join us outside by the bay for the fireworks show.  Right AT 8 pm (no Island Time tonight!), the MC started the countdown and when we hit number one, the first rockets exploded, right on cue.

We had an awesome vantage point, right in front of the barge from which the show was launched.

I was able to shoot a little video at the start of the show.  Click HERE if you don't see the video below.

The finale was really something to see!  Click HERE if you can't see the video below.

I'll spare you still shot after still shot of fireworks, truly, that's one of the things, you just have to be there to appreciate the show.  And speaking of the show....what's a carnival without a clown?  I hate clowns.  Thankfully, once he was done with the guy in the front row, he just moved on, leaving me alone.  Whew, another bullet dodged.

And Driver finally got himself some oysters.  Slippery, slimy things, but he loves 'em!

He enjoyed slurping each and every one.  Took him about 5 seconds to make all 6 disappear.  And loved 'em all!

Signs...more warning signs.  These were posted all over the tent!  Just in case you didn't already know, I suppose.  I'm pretty sure that everyone, everywhere, knows that eating raw oysters carries a risk.  What physician is going to ok or condone the eating of raw oysters?

Oh, and don't eat on the condiments table, either.  The Health Dept objects.  Either that, or they just don't want you to eat on the table by the Health Dept.  A little punctuation could make all the difference here.  Just sayin'

Hmmmmm....pretty sure these should be on ice, no?  Ah, what the heck...they're moving out of here so fast, there's no chance they're going to reach room/tent temperature before they're sold...

These young men were working just as fast as they could.  They were working hard and efficiently.  For no pay, I was told.  I bet they will have sore forearms by Sunday night!

By this time, we'd seen it all and done it all, and at least ONE of us had to find a bathroom.  Quick as possible, too.  So it was time to call it a night and head back to the car.  Oh, wait, Charlotte Plummer's has a bathroom (2, actually), and they were on the way back to the car!!  Off we went!  Signs, more signs, but who had time to photograph, at this point.  I'll just tell you, they said, Restrooms for Customers Only.  UGH.  Well, we were previous customers, did that count?  nope.  OK, so let's go upstairs and get a beer.  So, the Driver went upstairs to the bar, and I went straight to the bathroom.  Then I went upstairs to the bar, expecting Dick to be nursing a beer, but secretly hoping he had ordered an iced tea.  To Go, would be even better.  Aaaahhhh.....but there he was.  Sitting at the bar.  By himself.  Waiting.  Waiting?  Yup, waiting.  To get served.  The single waitress was also the bartender.  And she came by with 3 tickets to cash out and told us, she'd be right with us, there was one more table in front of us.  A party of six.  And 3 of them were kids!  Soooo, as she went to take their order, we did something despicable.  For us, anyway.  We headed back downstairs, and scooted out the door, as quick as we could.  Felt like worms on the way out, but, hey, even worms gotta pee every now and then!  

Next up, the Junk Museum and Port A Market Days.  Find your paddle, there's a water crossing involved!