No heading space for this one.   Things change so much I never know what I am doing.   It is 1/24 fri pm.   We got into Austin on tues pm late, had a hard time finding a place in the dark.  We ended up at a clear view dealership park.  The weather was turning cold and nasty.  Leroy got up early thurs am, said we aren't staying and we hit the road.  So sorely Austin didn't get a look or an old school chum a call.  We got into Dallas/FtWorth area area about 6pm.  We are in a place called Cowtown RV park in Aledo.  It's a ft worth suburb.  We got a really cheap rate by staying two weeks.  We wanted to be here at least two weekends.   Anyhow on the way up here we went thru Fredericksburg, Leroy wanted to see the WWII museum. I guess we stayed there before Austin.    Anyhow while he was in the museum I took the dogs out to the lady bird park we had been at before.   There I spent almost two hours with the most wonderful man and w watched birds together.   Dogs never did walk, they sat around and waited by my chair as I watched birds. This gentleman was so much help and we saw so many birds.  We had the beat chat and laughs, it was so cool.  Then he told me he really was new to bird watching and photography, but he was an expert in dragon flies.   He told me to wait and went to his car and brought me a field guide he had written and a large print of a picture he had painted.  It's beautiful.  I felt so special James Lasswell was his name.  So it was the best afternoon I have had in a long time.  So we both (Leroy and I)  had good days.   He truly enjoyed the museum, he went late one aft and early the next am.  One of the times he went I drove around, saw the town with the dogs, and found a quilt store.  It was the nicest store I have found.  It had everything, and a building for classes, and a building for retreats.  All in the cutest setting.    So I found another store Donna.   Now I will find some here.  I just enjoy the visits to the shops, being able to buy you a fat quarter is the frosting on the cake.  It is hard to find one always tho, as like this store had so much to chose from.
Anyhow we are here in the Ft Worth area and now need to get together with some people.  It was in the teens last nite when we got in and with lots of wind so we were frozen, and it was a windy hard drive for Leroy.  Today it got out into high 30's or low 40's and should start to warm up but another cold wave is coming, tho maybe not this cold.  We got ahead of the snow and ice tho, so guess it's good we didn't stay in Austin.  Pups don't like the cold as I won't walk them so far, big woose that I am.  Today we stayed around home, and of course I washed clothes and caught up.  Then we went to a roadhouse for supper.  Railroad smokehouse, a BBQ place with a live band and it was packed, and a sheriff standing at the bar.  The food was good tho!

1/21 tues

Well we got out of that lot and it's myriad of trees just barely.  Some were pretty low and put some pretty big  gouges in the roofing.  Then we started out on the road again.  It kept getting later and later.  Finally we found a truck stop and pulled in there.  I went to bed like always andLeroy slept on the couch in his clothes like he does in unusual situations in case he is needed to spring into action.  There was no action. He was more concerned he would have to move the vehicle as it wasn't a large truck stop.  So again I hit the sack early and was ready to go by 4am.   We didn't start out then as Leroy was still tired.   He had to take Iris out (she has had a bad tummy for the last few days) and poor Sidney has these episodes in the nite where he crystal so pitifully.  I think he wakes and doesn't know where he is.  Usually Leroy doesn't hear him but being right out there in the living room he couldn't not hear him.  So he got good sleep but in sections.
We started out about 830 and we just stopped at a rest area with a trail and walked the dogs already.
This is where he realized the tears and is now up on the motorhomes in the wind trying to patch the spots.  Pray I don't end up doing the rest of the driving because he fell off.   Sitting here  I see an RV that was parked with us in San Antonio.
Well he is down from the roof in one piece and has fixed the gouges temporarily till camping I world sees it.   We have our insurance thru them and I have tot cell anyone our there, it is thee best!

1/20 mon

Sometimes I think Leroy drives me crazy, but suppose its mutual.
Last nite we stayed in an oyster catchers port , only RV there plus a fresh fish semi, and I had a bar and they we're watching the game so Leroy went over there and spent the evening with a bunch of fisherman, making friends, chatting, making one coke last all nite and he watched the game.    I on the other hand was totally exhausted and I scrambled two eggs and hit the sack.
Today we went to the Arkansas wildlife refuge center.  It is thousands of acres and there are lots of trails.  It was great, I walked trails till I felt like my legs were going to fall off. We did see a pair of whooping cranes.  (They have two and they handle 250 acres so pairs are spread out.) and we saw a gator and we saw another gator catching his prey.   We missed the wild hogs, and the armadillos.   We did see a dead hog on the road that had been hit by a car.  It was a totally great days.
We left thee and are now trying to find a RV spot for the nite. And then we will head to freidricksburg
Whoa. We just had an interesting try at a mobile park, we got in and couldn't get out and had to drive thru a vacant lot and trees were to low, oh my dear.  Leroy handles things well tho, I give him credit for that.  It's dark and hard to see, hope we live thru this.

12/19 sun

Well we left North Padre Island this am after a walk on the beach and a little beach clean up for them.  We were in a primitive campsite and also totally out of any signals.   No communication with anyone.  Then we must have done something wrong and run the batteries completely down so then we had no power unless we ran the generator to charge the batteries.   It was no problem for us as the skies were absolutely beautiful and the weather was warm.  I got out walking on the beach last nite tho and before the moon came up I could barely find my way back, as my headlamp was also losing power.  It's really erie. Ring out there in the pitch black alone with a black dog!  We walked on the beaches, Leroy flew kites, I practiced my recorder and harmonica outside in the sun, I sketched in the beach.  It was so nice,   We went with the rangers and naturalists on everything,  we went to a photography class, a birding class, a bird tour, a beach walk, and a plant walk,  we soaked up all the info we could.   And hopefully I will retain some, it was wonderful.   This a a place we will come back to or maybe even volunteer at.  The sands are white and soft, better than in cancan where the sand is coral eaten and pooped out tiger fish feces.  That doesn't sound so good at all.
I have gotten so many birds added to my life list.  Now we are headed to where the whooping cranes area and then back thru friedricksburg so Leroy can see the WWII museum.  Then to Austin where we check out the area and look up some old friends.  Texas is an amazing state and really has so many diverse areas and things to offer,  I thought it was just a big flat state that didn't have much but one month can not even touch it all.
Now after leaving the sand we need to find a place to wash these dogs.  They are dirty.   Haven't been washed since end of oct.