JUST SOME TIDBITS....

Yesterday was hot, hot, hot.  I think the high was only 87, but there was a lot more humidity than the couple days before.  I think that, whenever it plans on raining, it gets real humid around here.  The heat and humidity yesterday proved especially trying since it was grocery day.  Since we left Channel Islands, we have really not kept any stores on the boat, knowing we would be taking everything off for the trip over.  All you need is one apple to fly out of the basket and under a chair where it would rest for the next two weeks in a closed boat and what have you got?  One hairy, smelly, green ball of mush that stinks to high heaven.  So, it was best to get everything off.

We went to the local market called HEB.  I mentioned it in an earlier blog post as being somewhat similar to what we are used to, but with different brand names.  Well, that was an understatement.  I would estimate that the HEB was twice the size of the Vons at SeaBridge.  One half of it was devoted to all sorts of household goods; everything from furnishings to motor oil, while the other half was devoted to groceries.  Rather telling was the fact that the shelves were all well stocked and quite deep.  There was plenty of everything.  A couple of things I noticed was that the bread section was not nearly as diverse in its variety as it is at home.  Nor was the meat section.  Now some of you are probably saying to yourselves, "gosh, I thought Texas is a great state for beef."  Well, I think you would be right, but it was not apparent at the HEB.  Not only does the meat section at home blow the meat section at HEB away in terms of volume, but also in terms of price.  Bacon was nearly $11.00 a pound! (must be relatives of Ms. Piggy!)  Also, there simply were not the same cuts.  Prime rib?  Forget it.  Tri-Tip?  A California thing only.  We did pick up some nice ribeyes, though.  Why am I posting all this gibberish about the supermarket, you ask?  Because:  markets tell you a lot about the folks who live in an area.

The veggie section was better than what we have seen at home - simply more variety. Although the prices were somewhat less than at home.  Certain items were not as nice - lemons for instance were ugly, but cheap. 

The fish section, on the other hand, was very large and very well stocked.

The rest of the market was pretty standard.  Again, it was well stocked.  Granted it's a supermarket, and likely one of a chain, if things are really bad in an area, it shows on the shelves.  You would not recognize a depressed economy by walking the aisles at HEB.

Brenda and I always play a game when we go grocery shopping together.  Once all the stuff is on the conveyor belt and heading towards the checker, we have to try to guess the price.  We will allow for who is closest.  The loser puts all the groceries away.  This trip was HUGE.  Again, there was NOTHING on the boat, so everything that makes a house a home had to be put on.  I took one look at the pile on the belt and said, "This is going to be $300."  Brenda, knowing what was at stake, chose to remain silent.  It's a good thing, too, because the bill came to $299.98.    Wow, did she dodge a bullet, or what?  It took a long time to package and store all the goods.  We filled the chest freezer to the brim.  It has been running hard to freeze everything since (since around 5:00 p.m. yesterday).

We had our first dinner on board last night.  We have been going out for meals since we were simply not prepared for groceries until yesterday.  We cooked ribeyes on the bbq and had them with a Greek Salad; a couple of cocktails, and all was well with the world - almost back to normal, except for the fact that it was so damn HOT last night. 

Did I mention that I picked up a Texas state flag at an outdoor market on Saturday?  It's a small one - like a courtesy flag size.  I have it up on the starboard pole.  I think it looks great, not to mention the fact that we are in Texas and should display their flag as a courtesy.  I'm going to try to pick one up for each state we are in.  That will make one hell of a collection when we finish this adventure.

Today, we are going to visit the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce.  Some of you may have noticed a comment posted on this blog by the President of the COC.   I HAVE NO IDEA HOW ANYONE NOT OTHERWISE NOTIFIED OF THIS BLOG WOULD FIND IT, BUT SHE DID.  So, we have to go say hello.  I hope to pick up more interesting bits of information about this area.  It seems every day, I learn something else.

I was talking to a guy here in the yard yesterday who has been in the Texas prison system 3 times in association with 7 felony DUI's

It's overcast and cloudy this morning, but the weather is not too rough.  It's warm out again.  Here's what the National Weather Service says about the marine conditions:

(5/10) Latest NWS Marine FX by KCRP
Valid through 11/1/2010 5:00 PM local time.

bays and waterways from port aransas to port o'connor-
420 am cdt mon nov 1 2010

.today...south wind 10 to 15 knots. bays slightly choppy to
occasionally choppy. a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms
in the morning...then scattered showers and thunderstorms in the
afternoon. 
.tonight...south wind 10 to 15 knots. bays slightly choppy to
occasionally choppy. scattered showers and thunderstorms in the
evening...then showers and thunderstorms likely after midnight. 
.tuesday...north wind 15 to 20 knots. bays choppy to occasionally
rough. scattered showers and thunderstorms in the morning. 

You all have a wonderful day, now!