Trippin with the Stumpster

I just can't say enough about the Texas State Aquarium!  It is absolutely amazing and it's my absolute favorite place to visit here so far!  So yesterday, Jer and I had to make yet another trip to check out all the things we missed the first time around.  What an experience!  Now, I can totally understand why our friend, Phyllis, has volunteered here for over 25 years.  She must be just like me.  She can't get enough of this place either! So one of the highlights of yesterday's adventure was the dolphin show.  Unbelievable!  Those dolphins could jump, spin in mid-air, play catch, and even wave to the crowd!  They were quite the entertainers and it was so much fun!  After the dolphins, I ventured into an exhibit where this large fish tank filled the room from top to bottom.  At the top, the tank curved over the top of you so you could walk right under it. It was absolutely breath-taking!  Have you ever had a shark swim r...

The last time I had ridden on a ferry, was many, many moons ago, so when I heard there was a ferry at Port Aransas, another road trip was in order. Port Aransas is nestled between Mustang Island and Corpus Christi, and is widely known as the fishing capital of Texas.  No wonder there were so many boats in the sea!  I've also heard Port Aransas has a 1000 acre nature preserve. How cool is that?  Jer and I will definitely put that on our "to do" list before we go home! So anyway, we  pull up on to the ferry, and I'm just as excited as a kid jumping onto a carnival ride for the first time.  Wow!  Immediately I am impressed at how many cars are stacked on there.  You know - kind of like a can of sardines!  And being the tourist enthusiast I am, I couldn't help it.  I just had to open my window and snap a few pictures.  Im sure the Texan drivers and the many seagulls that hitched a ride, probably thought, "Oh boy!  That's go...

Can anyone tell me what day is it?

You know how they say everything is bigger in Texas?  Well, I'm not one to disagree, especially after our road trip the other day to find the biggest taco in Texas. Shortly after our arrival in Corpus Christi, a friend from back home sent us a text, encouraging us to to check out Recio's Smokehouse Restaurant and Catering in Corpus Christi.  Turns out, Recio's claims to have bragging rights on serving the largest taco in Texas.  Weighing in just short of five pounds, (yes - I said FIVE POUNDS) this monstrous taco is an amazing homemade tortilla stuffed with refried beans, potatoes, breakfast sausage, chizo, eggs, brisket, and cheese.  And it's a real bargain, priced at a mere $12.99!  Better yet, if you happen to have a big appetite, it's free if you can eat the entire thing in under thirteen minutes! So of course we had to check this bad boy out. Jer and I hopped in the car and the road trip was on!  We were off to see THE TACO!  The largest taco ...

If you ever would happen to glance at my personal calendar, one of the first things you might notice is that the last Tuesday of every month is blocked out.  Well, there's a very special reason for this.  The last Tuesday of every month I have a very  important lunch date with all my retired SCSB friends.  We all meet at the Pizza Ranch at noon so we can chit, chat, and of course eat. We've been doing this for the past three years and it's always guaranteed to be a good time. So as I sit here today, this last Tuesday of January, in Corpus Christi, Texas, I'm thinking about my retired bank friends back in Iowa.  Did they remember the day?  (Usually, I send an e-mail to remind them.)  Did Denise and Mary join them?  This would be their first official "Old Timer Tuesday" as retirees.  Did they all celebrate with an extra piece of dessert pizza?  And was everyone able to attend or did the nasty Iowa weather keep anyone away? Well as you ...

You know you’re officially old when you’re on vacation and you’re most visited tourist spot is not really a tourist spot at all.  Oh no, it's much better than that.  It’s our local H-E-B! So what's H-E-B, you Iowans ask?  Well I wish I could say it’s the Health, Exercise, and Balance gym but think again. Heavens!  You know you wouldn’t find me there!   H-E-B is to Texans, what HyVee and Fareway is to Iowans.  You see,  H-E-B is a premier grocery store and oh my, what a sight it is!  Imagine our Avoca Flower Shop, Avoca Foodland, Carley Drug, Casey’s,and Dollar General all in one. That’s H-E-B! And let me tell ya, you better know what you want when you go in there, or you’re going to come out with twice as much as you need! I know!  How does that happen!?!  lol! Anyway, as you can imagine, our trips to H-E-B have become quite frequent and with each visit I  find something new. If you ever go to H-E-B, let me give you some ad...

What a fun, interesting day!   Our new friend, Phyllis, so graciously took us to the Texas State Aquarium during the first week of our stay.  Just a short distance from our condo, the aquarium is where Phyllis has been volunteering for over the last 25 years.  Wow!  Are they lucky to have her!  That little lady holds so much information about every species in the place!  You name it, turtles, sharks, fish, birds, etc. - she's a book of knowledge! Upon entering the aquarium, we took an immediate left where we started our tour viewing a multitude of fish. How fascinating!  There were fish of all sizes and all colors.  I personally was attracted to the seahorses, as I had never ever seen one in real life.  It was interesting to watch the little guys swim around their tank,  just like a child on a stick horse, bouncing up and down.  And when they needed to rest, they just wrapped their tails around the stalks of weeds that blan...