Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Pioneer RV Resort, Port Aransas, TX: Jan 28-Feb 10
We visited Pioneer on a bird-watching trip during our first winter on the road, and we were so impressed that we immediately made reservations for the next winter. We wound up spending time here for the next two winters. It was interesting revisiting, and seeing how much our idea of a "suitable" RV park has changed.
As Doug was backing in to our spot, we noticed huge clouds of white smoke pouring out of the tailpipe, so much that he could barely see to back in. The guy who led us to our spot opined that we probably had a blown head gasket. That diagnosis was confirmed by a trip to one of the three garages in Port Aransas -- they said our truck would be out of commission for at least a week. As places to get stuck without a truck go, Port Aransas is actually not that bad. We had several friends in the area who wanted to see us enough that they were willing to drive to see us. Plus there is a shuttle/trolley that comes to Pioneer and circles the town's many attractions.Fixing the truck (we were without it for 8 days) was inconvenient -- AND EXPENSIVE! -- but we saved money on gas. And, of course, we really had no viable alternative.
Speaking of expensive, this park was WAY too expensive. We wanted to return to it "for old times' sake", but we will pick a more reasonable (and less snooty) park for our next visit to the area. The rate for two weeks here was just slightly less than the monthly rate we paid in Carlsbad. Since we made our reservations so late, we were in the higher-priced section, which had mostly newer and more expensive rigs. We felt like the country cousins, and this image wasn't diminished by our smoke-filled arrival. It was nice to be right across the dunes from the beach, but we found we didn't actually go to the beach very often.
We hadn't seen friends Fred & Linda Lanoue since they had stopped traveling and settled down in Aransas Pass (just a short ferry ride from Port A). It was wonderful to see them and especially nice to see them and their two cats settled so very nicely into a lovely single-wide trailer on about 1 1/4 acres. It suits them so well and it is nice to have memories of them in their new place.
Don & Janet Lewis are friends we met when we first came to Pioneer, and we have been great friends ever since. However, we haven't gotten to see each other much in recent years. This was a good opportunity to catch up with them, since they spend their winters here. Don plays banjo and violin with a band (The Medicare Band) that plays at a local watering hole on Fridays & Sundays. It is very popular with its "big band" sound and has quite the following of excellent dancers and enthusiastic listeners. We enjoyed hearing & watching them several times.
Friends Mike & Scott, fellow Escapees who camp-host at Yellowstone in the summers, were also at Pioneer and we had a nice visit with them. Kari Klier, a percussionist friend we met in Boulder, came down from Austin with her new husband for a nice get-together one Saturday night. It was wonderful seeing her again & meeting Jake.# posted by Doug and Willie @ 2:33 PM 
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