December 5th, 2015

Dickens on the Strand day!  Yay!  This is always an awesome day - Dora and Ron dressed up, as usual, and took a vanload down to the Strand.  I met Luanne there and we toured around together - watched the parade, etc. etc.  It was great fun!

Elaine and Dora

Victorian medical team

Father Christmas

Victorian cops arresting Luanne

. . . and me

Bought this year's souvenir tankard here

Ron, Dora and Luanne

For Judy and Chris

Victorian hats for sale!

PITA would not be impressed

December 2nd to 4th, 2015

Wednesday - first shopping day of the season!  What a great day - getting together with a lot of the regulars here - lunch and shopping at the Baybrook Mall. Good to be back!

Wednesday evening - drove my rig in to choir practice - lots of hugs and welcome backs from choir members and of course Tracy!  Wonderful to be back - I have two rehearsals before the Michael Burkhardt Savior of the Nations, Come hymn series presentation - twelve pieces of music.  I bought the score when I was in Ottawa, and I already know most of the music - so it's okay - going to be fun!

Friday - Luanne invited me to go to the Historic District's open house - four houses are opened to the public for viewing!  It was great fun, although long lineups at each house - but well worth that wait!  As Luanne's friend said, one of the houses looked like someone had "upchucked Christmas" all through it!  Crazy, incredible, over the top decorating!

On the way home, we visited the Galveston Brewery - maker of craft beer on the island!  Thought of Bobby - will come another day for more of a tour. Very cool place - lots of people there playing games - it's really a local hangout, not a tourist attraction.

December 1, 2015

Tuesday: a momentous day in many ways!  Good Sam agreed to tow me to Taylor's automotive in Dickinson (love those guys) and sent the same tow truck people to do this.  Well, half way there, as we turned on a green arrow off one highway onto another, my rv fell off the tow truck!  The women there told me that this just happens sometimes . . . One of the guys was in the rv at the time - must have been a shock for him!  They put it back on and when we got to Taylor's, as they pulled into the drive, it fell off again!  This time, everyone at the garage heard and/or saw this happen - lots of witnesses.  After they parked my rv around the back, I noted that the  bumper was missing!  The driver said that, yes, it had come off - just call him after I was finished at the garage and he would come and put it back on.  After he left, one of the women at Taylor's went inside my rv to look at it and told me that the bumper was broken in half!  Needless to say, I didn't call the driver to "put it back on"! Taylor's found the problem with my rv: a belt had broken, triggering the drive shaft sensor and causing my motor to stop.  They fixed it for $500 (way less than I feared) and by 2:30 I was on my way to Galveston! I put in a call to Good Sam and they're starting a claim for me - they should call me back some time next week.  In the meantime, I'm missing a licence plate on the front - I screwed it off the bumper and put it in the window, since in Texas you are supposed to have a plate on both ends.  Actually, it's not exactly the bumper - it's the plastic thing that attaches to the bumper and holds the licence plate.  There's probably a more technical name for it . . .
Driving onto Seawall Blvd. gave me the same old surge of well-being that it always does - the ocean!!!  I'm now set up in my old site at Jamaica Beach RV Park - and the oleanders in the bush next to my rv are still in bloom!

My poor broken bumper - and dented actual bumper, too!

They also dragged my bicycle holder along the cement - at least it didn't break or drop my bike!

Frank Taylor has won all kinds of racing awards

The shop cutie!

Another dent

Good old Jamaica Beach site!