Ken and Kim's Big Adventure: Update from Drifters Resort

     It has been a little over a month now since we arrived in Texas, and wanted to let everyone know what we have been doing. After celebrating Thanksgiving in Atlanta with our “kids”, we took a leisurely three-day drive down here to the resort where we stayed last winter. The weather cooperated with us every day, and thankfully, no turkeys managed to mangle our windshield during this trip.
     Celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve with just the two of us still seems a bit strange, although we did it last year in Muscatine. However, with all of the other campers residing here, it feels much less lonely. Many people decorate their entire campsite, including setting up actual Christmas trees outside, wrapping lights all around their motor homes, trailers and nearby trees. There are lighted wreaths, flashing twinkle icicles, and inflated holiday yard ornaments everywhere. As tacky as that sounds, it was really pretty neat to see! (I tried to take a video to include here, but it was too dark). There was also a lavish Christmas potluck dinner, with ham provided by the campground hosts, as well as a New Year’s Eve dance with a band, champagne and party favors.
     There are so many activities in which to participate around here that we are never bored. We have breakfast and dinner potlucks, fish-frys (where the residents generously share their recent catch), rock & roll/country music dances with bands, Texas Hold’em nights, Wii and other game competitions, get-togethers to watch football games, ladies’ luncheons, aerobics classes, work-outs in the fitness center, craft club, etc. There is a beautiful pool here that we are anxious to use soon, also. (It is 76 degrees outside now – maybe today is the perfect opportunity!)
     Ken and I have undertaken several excursions on our own, as well. We visited the Corpus Christi Trade Center – a huge indoor marketplace with over 200 vendors. Going there involves taking a ferry, and we saw several dolphins leaping out of the water as we crossed. Having lunch at a seaside restaurant on a warm sunny day, while gulls fly overhead and boats sail by, has been a relaxing and enjoyable pastime for us. Most afternoons will find Ken hanging out with the neighbor guys, drinking beer and playing a rousing game of ladder-ball. Often several of us “girls” will sit and cheer, while enjoying cocktails and chatting together. Sometimes the lone, tame Barbado sheep (which looks like a cross between a goat and a deer) will wander through the campsite. Other times, it might be the noisy herd of guinea hens, squawking and walking by. I am truly enjoying my new Kindle that Ken bought me for Christmas, and its lighted cover allows me to read anytime!
     We have also signed up for Netflix and Redbox accounts, so if the weather is not particularly cooperative, we can enjoy afternoon movies and popcorn, along with a nap, if necessary. Inside our camper we have recently made a few extra modifications to make it feel more like “home”, too. I put together photo collages in six frames (57 pictures in all) to hang on the walls. Ken made a wood & glass table-top for our steering wheel, while I sewed a tablecloth for it and added a lamp and silk flower basket. It’ll never be nominated for a House Beautiful layout, but we feel quite comfortable here.
     There have been a couple of technological issues that have plagued us, however… our cell phone and Internet service is sporadic at best, so we had to invest in an expensive “network extender” to help resolve that issue. Also, Ken’s nearly-new deluxe Megatouch video game console has developed an annoying “freeze-frame” problem that we are trying to correct. And, when the propane gas truck came by to top off our tank, it inadvertently got over-filled, with a dangerous potential for explosion. It only took a couple of days (with much head-scratching and improvising) to remedy that situation. Luckily, everyone here is extremely helpful!
     All in all, however, we have definitely been enjoying our stay here in south coastal Texas. Some friends (Lynn and Sharon Kokemuller) from Muscatine stopped by on their way to South Padre Island, and we will perhaps be making a visit down to see them soon. Also included in our tentative schedule are plans to visit a lumberjack wood-chopping competition, quilt show, nearby “market days”, local theater performances, and whatever else we deem interesting. Glad that most of you are experiencing unseasonably warm weather during these winter months, and hope that you are enjoying all the good things in your life!