Three Weeks in Texas Our Daughter planned a three

Rare Chance to get  a pic of Gig Harbor from the air

First Family Stop to see the Great Grandparents "Granny and Big Dave"  in Ft. Worth. 

Catch the Sunset where you are.

Visiting the Great Aunt is always fun at River Crest.

Fort Worth Stockyards to get the little Cowboy started off right in Texas.

A Natural.

Only in Cow Town

If  it's Water Big D loves it.

1st Train ride at Zilker Park

I was impressed, was not surprised to see these in Austin but was shocked! to see them in Ft. Worth.

Everything is bigger in Texas, Especially at HEB

Lucky D got lots o f Cousin L time 

Cousin E and the Cat got great reviews.

Do not Pass Austin without stopping in at Guero's for these Spinach Enchiladas

Yep Black Bears in Texas

Who knew there would be Bug Robots at the Austin Nature Center?

To Early to be this kinda of cold in Corpus, notice the Feels like=26 due to those 21 mph North winds!

Let's Go!

He loved Steering and pushing the buttons on the VHF

Whoa!

Did you see that?

A great Day to sail on the Iron Genny to Ingleside, need to run that diesel anyway.

They building these offshore platforms two at a time here in Ingelside.

On the Way back I shook out the Main just to let the sail get the cobwebs off.

You can count on 1 hand the number of times Corpus  Bay stays this flat in a years time all day long.

Finally the forecasted light winds fill in even if it is two hours later.

Amazing how a 2-3 mph wind can push a 30,000 pound vessel 2.1 knots.

Finally a bit more wind for the downwind run to the Gap.

Just enough wind to sail wing on wing.

Looks like I will easily make Corpus Marina in daylight.

7 moms showed up for this years gathering of "New Soccer" Moms. 

9 boys between them (impossible to get them all in the pic at the same time, and 1 mom second from right expecting a Girl!

The Austin Zoo is just the right size for Drew.

Got some excellent time in with his Second Cousins L & L as well

Three Weeks in Texas

Our daughter planned a three week excursion to Texas so Drew could return as a 1+yr old to see all the Texas Family and of course get some fine Mexican Food. We all piled on Alaska Airlines and through the generosity of my Daughter contributing her airline miles enjoyed a upgrade to First Class for the Flight. Yes I will have another Bloody Mary, Thank you very much!

The Admiral flew out ahead of us to get some time in with parents in Ft. Worth so after getting just settled in a house rental in Austin we loaded up Drew's toys and headed to Ft. Worth to get her and make the family rounds with Drews' Great Grand Parents and Super Great Aunt Roseann. Do not know how the planets lined up so perfectly but we had a perfect visit with "Granny and Big Dave" and the perfect dinner with Aunt Roseann at her favorite dinning room at the River Crest Country Club. We were pleased to find lots of children dinning that night as when we lived in Ft. Worth back in the days kids did not get to go out to Adult Dinner restaurants at all. That part of Ft. Worth seems to have changed for the better and we all had a relaxing fun time with Aunt Roseann. 

While we were in Ft. Worth we made sure to visit the Ft. Worth stock yards to get in some Cowboy time and the unusual Ft. Worth Water Gardens.

Back in Austin we spent several days with our son's family and Drew got lots of TLC from his Cousin's, Great Aunt Gin Gin, and his second cousins' Lux and Luna. We all took the drive to Corpus to spend some time on the boat but the weather was so cold we did not get the family sail in that I was hoping for. Drew did get some helm time in and loved the steering wheel and VHF radio. We visited the Texas State Aquarium so "Big D" could see some Texas animals. He is no stranger to Aquariums as he loves the Seals, Sealions, Octopus, and  Sea Otters at the Seattle Aquarium. But here he got to see Hawks fly right over his head and get up close with Gulf of Mexico Dolphins, lot of fun!

I stayed on the boat to do a few days of  general maintenance and they went back to Austin for the second Annual 79'Capitals Soccer Team reunion. Last May 4 of the core team showed up all with there 6 mo to 1 year old boys, this time 7 new moms and 9 baby boys with one baby girl on the way attended. Really sorry I missed this as the first party was pretty incredible with just 4 moms and 6 baby boys.

I did manage to get the boat out and run the engine for an extended time as I cruised over to Ingelside just to take a look at the latest offshore platform being built, That Bay was flat as a pancake but the forecast was for 4-6 mph winds in the afternoon so I was hoping for just enough wind to enjoy a bit of a sail and air out the sails. As I reentered the Bay on the return it was not a breath of air but I put the main out anyway to at least get some fresh air on the sail. Finally I saw a few ripples on the water and shut down the engine and rolled out the Genoa. All Right Allready! got 2+ knots of wind and we were ghosting along at just over 2 knots, The Auto pilot was working perfectly so I could attend to sail trim and try to eek out as much as possible. All my sailing time in Seattle has added to my sail trimming skills so I was practicing (interpreting) what I learned on small day sailors to a heavy cruising vessel. I made 1 long tack across the bay on a broad reach and waited till I could make the Gap for the marina entrance to jibe and sail wing on wing. Fortunately the winds just increased to about 4 knots and was enough to keep the Genoa full. Of course you have to play with all the electronics to make sure everything is working properly and the only problem I noticed was a loose wire on the Auto pilot remote control. This is minor and I will find a way to deal with it the next time I am in Corpus. 

Returning to Austin meant getting in some last minute Mexican food fixes and packing for the return trip to Seattle. Of course a big weather event came in that Saturday for our departure. We love Alaska Airlines but that had to be the most turbulent flight I have ever been on. Finally after a hour or so the pilot found some calm air and I could get my Bloody Mary!