Off we go on a midweek adventure……

On Thursday evening at Faculty Club, Scott says "Lisa wants a road trip." "Okay, where do you want to go?" "I don't know, where do you want to go?" Captain says "How about Lost Maples again?"  "Nah" says Scott, "we were there a couple of weeks ago." We say "Talk to Lisa and let us know." Next day Lisa calls, "How about Mustang Island in North Padre?" "When do you want to go?" "How about Monday", "I'll make reservations?" So that is how this week's adventure began. (The spontaneity of retirement, got to love it!)

We load The Wanderer, program the GPS and meet Lisa and Scott at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning. Scott says "Ever been to Goliad?" "No." "It's a neat little town not too far out of the way, let's stop there for lunch."

And this is Goliad.

We had lunch at

which got its name from the "hanging tree" across the street.

At one time court was held under the tree. If the sentence was hanging, justice was carried out immediately on the tree.

After a quick look at Presidio La Bahía in Goliad State Park,

we head on down the road, 

 

No, Ozzie didn't drive (but he wanted too!)

through (or was it around) Corpus Christi to Mustang Island State Park.

ABN with Izzy 










Lisa with Ozzie and Izzy 




                                                   

Scott and Captain were high school classmates;

Scott seems to know the whereabouts of just about everyone from high school, including Tom (aka the Handsome Sailor). Just so happens, Tom owns a Tiki Bar and charters sailboat excursions from Aransas Pass, just up the coast from Mustang Island. Off we go to see if we can catch up with him. 

And we did.

Captain hadn't seen Tom since graduation 45 years ago. Such fun catching up and knowing he is living his dream. Check out Handsome Sailor Charters.

Visiting Padre Island National Seashore,

we learn there is a Kempt's ridley sea turtle at the sea life rehab center, a must see since it is the  Texas state turtle.

 While there we saw other turtles,

tortoise

a bird (now what is it’s name?),

a monitor lizard,

and some snakes.

 Doc's restaurant was recommended by several folks, so we stopped for lunch;

and we understand why. The grilled shrimp with coconut cream sauce was over the top good.

Evenings found us watching the World Series (Go Cubs!) and eating Campfire Quesadillas. 

Heading back to College Station, a voice comes over the walkie talkie "Shiner Bock Brewery is just a little off the route, want to stop?" "Sure." Didn't get there in time for the tour but we did get the free beer samples and a tee shirt.

A little further down the road we stop at

Captain's dad used to stop there when he was roaming the state for the Texas Extension Service. He would always return home with a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

So did we.

Another great adventure with great friends! It would have been perfect except something, maybe red tide, stirred up Captain's allergies. Those that know him, well you know what that means (hack, cough, snort, blow, etc.)

Before arriving back in College Station, Scott comes across the walkie talkie again

"Ever been to Enchanted Rock up near Fredericksburg?" (Love exploring with these two four!)

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Gems in Aggieland

You know how it is; you live in a town but don’t see its gems. Let a new person arrive and you discover some surprises. That has been the case as ABN explores College Station on foot.

More than one local mentioned they didn't  realize it is a very walk-able and bicycle friendly city. With the large number of students who choose cycling over driving, bike parking lots like this one can be found throughout the A&M campus.

Of course, not everyone uses a bike parking lot.

Some locals don't know about the multi-use path around the perimeter of the campus.

A&M golf course with Kyle Field in the background from the multi-use trail

Did you (the locals) know you can walk to the campus from almost anywhere in the city entirely on a sidewalk? This delights ABN as she doesn't like to drive (bet you didn't know that, did you.) She took advantage of the sidewalks to stroll over to the MSC (Memorial Student Center) to visit the art galleries. A Rodin exhibit is featured in the J Wayne Stark Gallery.

Unlike the Rodin Museum in Paris where one sees famous sculptures like The Thinker, The Kiss and Gates of Hell, this exhibit is mostly busts of historical folks 

in which multiple originals were made from the sculptor’s first conception in plaster or clay.

Upstairs in the Forsythe Gallery, is a nice exhibit of works by founding members of the influential Taos Society of Artists.

If you do wander over to the MSC, remember to take your hat off before entering.

(No worries if you forget, no doubt an Aggie will tap you on the shoulder and remind you.)

The true gems of College Station are the A&M students who are very much a part of the community.

And this is how the green-ways are kept immaculate.

So what did Captain do while ABN was out exploring?

Repaired a gate,

washed windows,

grilled

and met up with friends for donuts or beer. Main topic of conversation? The Aggies' chances against the powerful Crimson Tide.

Leaving Faculty Club on Thursday evening, we happened upon Aggie Yell Practice.

So, what about the game? (Alabama 33, Texas A&M)14) Can we just move on? 

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Howdy

from College Station, Texas. More precisely from Rudder Tower on the Texas A&M campus,

where we meet with friends at “Faculty Club” on Thursday evening. (I have photos of some of our friends, but neglected to ask permission to post on the internet.)

Settled into what has become our fall routine, ABN is taking advantage of the miles of biking/walking trails and extensive amounts of sidewalks to explore the town.

One of the treasures found while walking.

Texas A&M has very limited student accommodations on campus leaving most of the 60,000 plus students living in houses and apartments. The students are very much a part of the community. We continue to be impressed with the friendliness and respect shown by the students, whether on campus or around town. Earlier this week, ABN got caught in a rain shower on one of her walks around town. A female college student pulled up in a car and offered her a ride.

With so many students commuting by bicycle, College Station is very bicycle friendly with bike lanes as well as the bike paths.

On Thursday sister-in-law, Anna, and ABN left the “boys” with their mother and took a day trip to Galveston.

Lunch at Willie G's on Pier 21

Anna on

the "Duck," a land and water sightseeing tour.

After a hardfought game against Tennessee last week, the Aggies are off this weekend. Speaking of last week’s game (and you knew we would), this is the street in front of mom’s house, which is about a mile from campus, on game day.

And what a game! 5 ½ hours we sat at Kyle Field! From the fly-over, piloted by an Aggie and a Volunteer,

through the half-time

to the final score.

What about the game? Well if you haven’t seen the recaps, then you are not a college football fan. The Volunteers gave the Aggies all they could handle. In spite of the passion, we witnessed southern hospitality and respect from fans of both teams.

“Walking back to the parking garage, we have to cut through the Quad. Lots of chatter and whooping all around until all of a sudden there was complete silence. Our [US] flag was being lowered. Everyone stopped and stood respectfully until it was done. Only then did the chatter and whooping resume.”(This was copied from sister-in-law’s Facebook page, but was witnessed by us.) Makes one proud to be an Aggie and Aggie spouse.

Today we are glued to the TV, pulling for Tennessee to upset Alabama. Go Vols!

Back in Aggieland

after stopping in Vicksburg, MS for a couple of nights.

Mighty Mississippi

National Cemetery at Vicksburg National Military Park

Yazoo River

The town of Vicksburg is very similar to our hometown; a river city with about the same population.

Look familiar, hometown friends?

Tipsy Tuesday was at Martins at Midtown where we ended up joining a table of locals. Topics of conversation? The mayor, need for a new water plant and bicycling.

Before heading in to College Station, we stopped overnight in Kilgore, TX to have dinner with our good friends, Christine and Mark.

This evening ABN went to hear former Army Ranger, Kris “Tanto” Paronto,  speak at Rudder Auditorium on theTexas A&M campus about his experience in Benghazi while Captain hung out with friends at The Faculty Club.

First beer from official mug at Faculty Club

We are settling in to our College Station routine; Early (like 8:00 a.m. early) church on Sunday, "Book Club" on Tuesday, donuts with high school classmates on Thursday morning and football on Saturday.

 Aggieland is geared up to welcome the Volunteers this weekend. Gig’em Aggies!