JD's Cove Harbor Grill and Rockport Aquarium and Art Center

Sunday, February 28, I was up at 7:00. It is sunny and windy. At 9:30 I walk with Nan and Roxy. Home to stretch and we decide to axe the laundry today as it is way too sunny to do work. The high gets to 64 after a low of 49 degrees. I send an email to cancel Bob's birthday happy hour on Tuesday as schedules are not working out with everyone.

Nan and Tom may go to the Aquarium in Corpus which we have done in past years. Bob changes our printer ink cartridges as they finally give up the ghost. I Google for restaurants when we realize the Apple Dumpling in Rockport is closed on Sundays. I find JD's Cove Harbor Grill (in the old Uncle Billie's Wife's location on Bus. 35.) I introduce myself to Dan next door in the Presidential as he is outside as we leave. We head over to Rockport and find the old restaurant has been remodeled and is very cute now with a seaside flair.

There is a letter on the wall from the Rockport Chamber of Commerce about their recent ribbon cutting ceremony. It says JD was a Coastie (in the Coast Guard) in Kodiak where he met his wife. They moved here to open a restaurant. Their daughter is a waitress. It goes on to describe all new stainless steel fixtures in the kitchen, A/C in the entire building now, a remodeled dining area and "on top of all that free singing by my husband coming out of the kitchen!" And that is very true. He had 93.9 Oldies station blasting on the radio and he sang loudly to all of the tunes as he 'bammed' the spices and garnishes onto the dishes. The waitresses all sing along too.



We split a Crab Ball appetizer as it is their signature dish. It was very good with lots of crab and no filler. I have the fish tacos (grilled Mahi-Mahi) and Bob has the grilled Mahi-Mahi sandwich. We hope this place does good down here.

Next we're on to Rockport Center for the Arts. They are changing shows today so it was kind of disjointed. We struggle against the wind to get to the Rockport Aquarium across the parking lot. Two volunteers are there today and I ask the lady if she knows Julie (her and Chet were camped next to us last year at Rustic Cove.) Yes, she knows her and she still volunteers here on Thursdays. I told her to let her know we said hi. Seems Julie was kind of sick this past year. Hope she is doing better.

We finish browsing the aquarium and stop for a paper at Valero. On the way back we hop in the bird feeder/photo gallery shop on the main drag in Rockport. I find a greeting card mobile. The antique place in the little mall is closed on Sundays. Nan and I need to do the shops here but not Monday as many of them are closed.



We go home to read the paper as the wind blows and the skies are hazy. A new Grand Junction is setting up curbside-we're surrounded by them! We wave at the guy but leave him alone to set up. It's 4:10 p.m. and 64 degrees with 60% humidity. At 5:00 we put the bikes in the 'garage' as we're tired of them falling in the wind and we need to cover them to keep the salt air off. We rode them around first to see if the derailleurs are okay. I sure a got a yearning to hit the bike trails.

We knocked to see if Nan wants to walk. She'll join us for the second round as they just got home. The wind is really cold coming off the water. Nan and Roxy join us on the far side and we go around again. Our neighbor in the Grand Junction leaves in his truck so we check out his model #34 TRG, 2007. We say goodnight to Nan.



Canada won the hockey game in OT earlier. I work on the Sunday crossword. Later I leave a voice message for my niece Megan and our friend Glenda in Elgin. Glenda calls back and we chat. She's thinking about getting a webcam to stay in touch with her son Dan in NY. She tells me our Spring quilted wall-hanging is done! Wow! That was fast. I'll call her tomorrow if the office here says it's okay to send a package. We had a nice chat. She said her neighbor Donna has her new grandbaby. I work on journal pages until 9:30. The Internet connection is really slow now that the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics have ended. Everyone must be catching up on their computer stuff.

Sculpture Garden and Market Days in Rockport

Dolphins "Off Port Bow" by Sandy Scott at Rockport Center for the Arts Sculpture Garden

Saturday, February 27, it is sunny and chilly, 45 degrees, at 7:00 a.m. Of course it is windy, coming out of the north. I check email and upload pictures of Ethan until 9:00 (thanks for the pictures 'grandma', or I should say 'Lilla', Linda's grandma name!)

Nan, Roxy and I walk at 9:30. She calls as Bob and I are having breakfast a bit later to say they're going to the Fulton Mansion today. We really enjoyed that a few years back; I sure hope they do too. I go into cleaning mode, especially the bathroom and then I vacuum the whole place. I found a piece of my bike mirror that broke off last night and was hiding in the bike cover when I shook it out this morning. So Bob glued is back on and dug out his black zip strips to repair it. Voila! Good as new.

Six-foot Whooping Crane Sculpture-"Rites of Spring" by Ken Ullberg

I try to call Linda early but get her voice mail. Around 11:00 I try to call Megan. She calls back while I'm on the phone with my Mom and Dad, two very excited Great Grandparents. My folks have one picture printed from a cell phone the day Ethan was born. Dad wanted Mom to call Megan and Casey Wednesday after they all came home from the hospital but it never happened. Dad is making chicken soup. Neither one could tell me their favorite Olympic event. Mom was trying to describe some kind of skiing competition but I don't know which one she meant. Dad commented on four-man bobsledding. Mom chuckled at the comic strip she remembered from this week "Why are all of your sleds named Bob?"

"Birds of St. Francis" by Charles Umlauf

When I hang up I leave another voice message for Megan. Bob and I watch Olympic Cross Country Skiing 30K and team speed skating. Around 3:15 we leave to get a paper. A little red dachshund is in the back of a pickup truck visiting our streetside neighbor from SD. Bob looks around as we head north on Business 35 and says "That was The Smart." Nan and Tom were heading the opposite direction. We try three places for a paper and finally settle for Corpus Caller-Times. As we drove by the waterfront we spotted a Market Days with 30 or 40 vendors under tents. So we hop out to walk around.

"Return of Ancient Wisdom" by Leo E. Osborne

The wind changes and comes from the south across the Gulf and is really chilly. Most of the vendors have imports and junk so we don't browse long. We drive around to Rockport Center for the Arts Sculpture Garden Bob investigates hours while I find a restroom and then we stroll the garden and I snap some pictures. Bob says the Art Center just closed at 4:00.

Gulls alight on "Lighthouse Fountain" by Jesus Bautista Moroles

On our way back to the RV Park Linda calls. I'm glad I heard the phone in my purse. It was fun to chat and hear all the news about her first grandchild! Afterwards I'm reading the paper and hear a dog bark. I look out the window and see the little dachshund and a bigger dog are still in the back of the visiting pickup next door. They are barking at Nan and Roxy who are heading out for a walk. I put on a coat and join them. Tom joins us on the second round and comes in to get a piece of the paper from us. Nan takes Roxy home and joins us for a bit. I show her our Iron Out bottle as she was asking about rust stains. (Thanks Blair in Minnesota for turning us on to that!)

View of Aransas Bay marina from Sculpture Garden

They leave around 7:00 with a pink sunset and full moon to guide them home. I work the crossword and watch the Olympics. We clean some leftovers out of the fridge. It's 8:30 p.m. and 52 degrees with 63% humidity. There is an 8.8 earthquake in Chili and a tsunami predicted for Hawaii. Japan has a 6.5 earthquake. Wow!