Valentine’s Day Dinner at Blue Lagoons

It has been an unusually chilly winter here, and many of the restaurants are still closed while undergoing repairs from hurricane Harvey. Luckily every year, our rv park, Blue lagoons, hosts a Valentines Day dinner. Its organized by the activities director,

Zita, and her husband Alan. Zita sets the whole dinner up and with the help of volunteers, and decorates the hall, while Alan, a Kansas City Pit master, smokes Texas quail, Atlantic salmon, and prime rib.

Others volunteered to host, and Della took Valentines photos, (I will add ours when we get it), of all those whom wanted images of the night’s festivities. The downside of this year’s feast, was the raging flu epidemic that was running through the park.

The places at the tables were all set, but there were many no shows, couples who took deliveries instead of spreading or risking catching another bout.

We sat at a table with Pam and Roy and Mary and Rich. Thankfully, Pam and Roy had both just recovered from the flu, while we hoped that we wouldn’t catch it again, (many are)! After a brief prayer of thanks, tables were called up for serving, with the quail and fish served first.

Getting served we enjoyed a delicious meal and pleasant conversations with friends and family. I did forget to bring my own camera but went back home to take images of all of all those attending.

Afterwards we visited with friends at other tables, before calling it a night and retreated to our warm rv. It was a good night, with my own Valentine, Renita. Clear skies

Blue Lagoons Arts and Crafts Show 2018

The setup was supposed to start at eight but by seven thirty members of our rv park were already arriving to set up their displays. It was time for our annual Arts and Crafts Show at Blue lagoons Rv park! This is the first year we advertised the show outside the park!

Our small rv park isn’t just a fishing park, but also has many talented people who spend their winter painting, quilting, and crafting. Each year we hold an Arts and Craft Show in which we encourage everyone to get out of their rvs and show what they make. Each year new people and new crafts come out and this year was no exception.

One of the new displays this year was by our next-door neighbor Sue. She displayed one of her beautiful quilts and demonstrated how she coils wire and beads and makes bracelets. She is offering a class in the park and had quite a few enrolled!

Another new crafter/artist is Dave. He has been in the park for a long time and has started to make steak turners, used in barbecuing. He makes them in both right and left-handed models and uses different woods, including walnut harvested from his family farm.

There are quite a few people here from Michigan and Al’s specialty is making Maple syrup! Each year he collects about three hundred gallons of sap a day, using plastic tubing and a gravity pressure vacuum system, (no carrying buckets)! He then boils the sap, reducing the volume about thirty times, before filtering and bottling his home-made maple syrup.

Evelyn had a busy year with her water color painting, and I made the mistake of not buying a beautiful yellow painting of a hibiscus in full bloom! Her specialties include birds, flowers, and pets/animals. One of her more unique paintings was one of a camel! She also displays her work in the clubhouse and takes commissions.

Diana brought and showed some of her knitting and jewelry, along with Jim who crafts rosaries, wire wrapped pendants, and does lapidary. Joe displayed and sold his fish scale jewelry! Finally, we of course showed our lapidary and jewelry objects.

This year we have added knifes and letter openers with scales, (handles made from dinosaur bone, Wyoming black and green jade, and blue and gold tiger eye.

Unfortunately, several others were unable to make the show as the flu has hit the park hard, (as it has everywhere). Pam and Roy had brought some of their lapidary and jewelry collection from their artist coop in Iowa but stayed in their rv recovering and regaining their strength.

It was the most people that have ever attended, and it was a fun show! Thank you to all who shared their work and thank you to all who came and enjoyed looking at our work! Now, we have a brief respite before getting ready for the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Show at the fairgrounds in Robstown, Texas). (March 3^rd and 4th. Clear skies

Three Days of Fishing with Dave, Rich, and Roy

The day Pam and Roy arrived, I had the chance to go fishing with Dave and Rich. Dave took the three of us went to a place that had been full of feeding black drum, (there are a lot of black drum this year). The first two hours were slow, but things picked up briefly and we managed to catch five black drum. I caught my largest of the winter, a twenty-six inch fish.

Two days later the wind calmed a bit, and Roy and I went kayak fishing in St Charles bay. After paddling a long way, we finally reached a back bay full of mullet, (bait fish). The presence of bait is usually a good sign but not today. The fish didn’t cooperate, and I missed the one bite I had. After a few hours of exploring we headed back and leap frogged along the shore looking for active fish,

I caught an undersized red, and Roy caught a keeper, twenty-one inch fish! A few more leaps and it was nothing but undersize reds, but still it was fun. Reaching a point, I cast out and caught a keeper black drum. A bite developed and both Roy and I caught more blacks. Many had been undersize but the largest was nineteen inches and they would all make nice fillets.

The wind had picked up and w it was a struggle to return to the truck. Waves occasionally splashed over the side and both of us were tired from the long three-mile paddle. It was a struggle for two seniors to climb out of the yaks but neither one of us slipped and fell in the mud, while getting out, (I fell last year at the same spot, providing those along the shore with some entertainment).

The next day was too windy for kayaks, but it calmed down in the evening and we loaded the kayaks and returned to the same spot. Nothing bit at first, but a slow bite eventually developed, and I caught four under size reds, rat reds, before catching my first slot sized red of the year!

Again, we leap-frogged along the shore looking for more fish but we never had another bite. Still it is always fun, and we had been rewarded in the morning, with the sight of three whooping cranes, feeding in a field alongside the road. It was another day to remember. Clear skies

Ps Everyone should be using circle hooks! They make a safe release of the smaller fish as they are usually hooked in the edge of their mouth. The key is to put your rod in the holder and do not set the hook as the fish will set it for you.