Where do I begin? Houston to Corpus Cristi

I left you hanging in Houston a long time ago. Houston was great! The sun shone, it was warm, I did civilized things with my sister and Tom, and enjoyed not driving! I showered every day, what a joy. I left Houston on a Tuesday, decided to "see" Texas, not just drive through it, so I headed south. Didn't get all that far the first day and camped at a manmade lake that was built to cool the power plant that was there. The lake is now nice and claims to be the best bass fishing in Texas. Birds chirped as though it were spring, ducks and geese were on the water, fish jumped - very peaceful and nice. There was only one other camper. My water pump is on the fritz so dishes are wiped with a paper towel. I learned that there are a lot of Germans in Texas and so those towns are nice and neat. The further south I got the more desparate the landscape and the towns.

Hildegard developed a severe knock but I was near a town with a Toyota dealer and we limped there and she was fixed. Fantastic! The water pump fixed itself.

I headed for the Aransas National Wildlife Preserve on a bay. I got there in the dark, signs about mosquitos and no camping, so I picked up a brochure, backtracked and parked myself on a bayou - beautiful sunrise. I was excited about taking hikes in the nature preserve and headed out early in the morning. Tank top, peddle pushers, and mosquito repellant. I ran into a lady who suggested I put more clothes on. I told her I was O.K., lots of repellant. She said "oh, honey, that's just an appetizer". She also warned me about alligators. I was worried about snakes but bravely headed out with bare arms and all. The mosquitos loved me, I was watching for snakes, when I saw the alligators! They are a much bigger thing to worry about than snakes.

I headed right back to safety, put more clothes on, and did not stray far from Hildegard. The preserve is really beautiful though and I'm very glad I drove the 16 mile loop.

Corpus Cristi a beautiful and clean city that probably has the "death to mosquito trucks" patrolling because I didn't see one mosquito (even though my eyes were swollen from the bites that I sustained earlier, I could still see a little).