7/6/22 Should We Feel Sorry And Help?

     Last night (Wrote Sunday morning), after getting our supplies at the store and eating dinner we were going to meet my family at the Funtrackers here in Corpus.  My dad wanted to go back to the RV, and because it was close by, we decided to wait but get gas in the meantime.  When I pulled into the modest sized gas station, it had maybe 8 pumps, there was a car with its hood open.  I decided not to park next to it, and I tried going as far from it as possible.  Unfortunately, the other pumps were shut down and I ended up closer than I wanted.  I had a feeling this dude would talk to me.

    Sure enough, as soon as I started pumping, the young-ish guy asked if I had some extra change for gas.  I just said nah and turned around.  I fucking hate this!  First off, I could help, I am on vacation and obviously I am a grown ass adult, so I must have extra income to bring my family out to another town and rent another house (condo) to basically hang out for a couple days.  If nothing else, he fills me with a little guilt, which I am apparently still carrying since I remember the exchange and moment.  Second, this is probably just a scam, which makes him suck even more balls.  This gas station is next to a vacation attraction, so the guy, if he has 2-3 brain cells to rub together knows that most everyone filling up here is in a good carefree mood and he is preying on this.  Third, if he isn't out scamming, then what the hell is he doing cruising around when gas is as expensive as it is right now?  He shouldn't be leaving his house except to work.

    This is pretty much the same reason I don't gas up anymore in the middle of the night, like I used to do when I worked through the night.  I want to feel bad for this guy, I was tempted to help, but to what end?  When I got back in the car, and that pump was the slowest ever, I could see each penny counting down as it filled up, Wife told me she had a lady come up to her and do the same thing.  When she said no, the lady added come on, I'll just use the pump after you're done gassing up your car.  Fuck, that is even worst.  This moron thought Wife would just let her have the pump which is going to charge our credit card account so she can fill her gas and Wife would trust her to just take a couple gallons?  Give an asshole an inch and they will take a mile, fuck them.  Too many opportunist criminals have taken advantage of too many good people that now it is almost impossible to tell who is really in need and who is out here just trying to work an angle for their benefit.

7/5/22 A True Vacation Day?

     Yesterday, actual 4th of July, was a great vacation day.  Other than rushing to meet my family for lunch at noon, the day was mostly non-stress, and we just took it easy.  My sister called at 10:30am, to see if we were almost ready to go eat.  We were not, I had just woken, after getting up at 8:00am, then going back to bed at 9:00am.  I took a shower, then woke Wife who followed with her shower, then we woke Mijo, who has been staying up late on his phone, doing whatever teenagers do, when coaches aren't controlling their every move.

    We got to Joe's Crab Shack down at the T-heads on Shoreline Drive by 12:10pm, the drinks had just arrived, when my sister called for the 3rd time to see if we were almost there, I told her what drinks to order for us.  We got to just walk in and order our food, no waiting around for a table.  My sister, her husband and kids were leaving back home, so they were in a rush to eat and scurry.  I kind of hate that rush, we weren't in any kind of hurry.  The food was overpriced, and basic, but I guess that is all right.

    We then did actually take some pics on the water's edge, then my sister left.  Instead of my mom rushing off with them, I convinced her to send the leftovers, a bunch of shrimp and fries, with my brother, who doesn't care to do anything, to deliver to dad, who also doesn't like to move around too much.  My sister and them all left, we headed to the mall.  We didn't have an agenda, but I told Mijo we could look for shoes and other clothes for school, he chose to not do this.  Instead, I headed straight to the one store that sells high end jewelry, Reed's, to see what they had.  They had big billboards with Rolex watches, so I thought maybe they don't sell well here, and they might have some inventory.  Nope, they had the same BS, some display watches that aren't even for sale.  Why advertise a brand you don't really carry for the normal public?

    After this, we dropped off mom back at her RV with my dad, got off to say hi to him, then we went back to our condo, for a nap for a few hours, was the plan.  I went and laid down almost immediately, and slept for an hour, got up, played on the computer and laid down again.  Wife made some bacon, egg, and potato tacos around 7:00pm, then we talked about our plans to go fishing, which seemed like work.  Both of us thought getting in the pool sounded much easier.  Mijo was still on the phone, Wife and I took our little cooler full of drinks and hung out in the pool for a couple hours.  I ended the night falling asleep on the sofa watching one of Wife's shitty movies, something about two pizza places next to each other and the kids maybe are in love, seemed kind of stupid, but whatever.

7/4/22 The Perfect Vacation Moment Is Expensive?

     There was a moment yesterday at Rockport Beach where everything seemed just perfect with the world.  I think that is the vacation moment we look for when we venture out on these far away destination trips.  Wife and I were out about 100 yards in the surf, the water was about as clear and clean as it is for the Texas coast, at the Rockport Beach, it must be a protected bay, looking at the map, it is protected by San Jose Island, so it is not the open gulf.  The waves are not aggressive at all and even this far out, we are standing in water barely up to our knees with a slight wave bumping us every few seconds.  This is when one gets the feeling "we should do this more often..." and then it is another year before you come back.  Why, you ask?

    This moment is not easy and carefree, it took a lot of money and energy to get us standing out here.  First off, we had to rent a place to stay.  I know we could have gone the easy and cheap route and just gotten a cheap room with two beds and be done.  I refuse to vacation this way, I want at least a room for Wife and me, even if we are not playing husband and wife at night, I don't want my kid seeing me scratch and fart and whatever else I do in the privacy of my own room.  Then there is the matter of food and supplies.  We went to HEB and easily spent $400 in groceries and other things.  There was a beach chair for Mijo, he didn't bring one to sit on.  We also bought a flimsy sun umbrella which could not stand up to the vicious wind we encountered out there.  The only meal we plan on eating in the condo is breakfast, so we got plenty of varieties for that, including bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, chorizo and tortillas, of course.  I like having coffee and a pastry when I get up, so I got some Kierig cups, there is that kind of coffeemaker in the room.

    There was the destination itself which was kind of comical.  My parents have always preferred or just gone to the beach at Bob Hall Pier, and we were about a mile from there, where we got our condo.  Out of nowhere, my folks went and scouted Rockport Beach, my in-laws used to go out there when they brought their RV a few years ago.  My mom really liked the beach, it looked calmer, so she chose the destination.  Bob Hall Pier is great, but it does face the open gulf and the waves get aggressive on windy days (it has also been under construction after the last hurricane came and damaged the pier itself).  The beach was a good 40-50 miles away from where we were staying, so the drive required effort.

    Yes, the perfect vacation moment can and does exist, but it is not just magical and waiting to happen.  It must be worked for, we found it, but only after really wanting it.  I am hoping for another one or two good moments like that, we still have a couple more days before we leave.

7/3/22 Getting In A Rush To Relax?

     Yesterday was a bit of work, even if we were on vacation.  First off, Baby A had a group of friends spending the night, which I always like, but then it took a minute in the morning to get all of them out of the house.  I had wanted to leave around noon, but it was closer to 1:00pm before we were on the road.  That was fine, like I said, I like Mijo's friends, I enjoy hearing their banter and how they talk smack to one another.

    Once we got gas and then some cash from the ATM at the bank, we got on the road and did not stop until we pulled into Corpus, at our condo.  We usually stop on the road for snacks or even to eat some burgers, there was none of that.  Instead, we flew about as fast as the car would go, it was great to make the trip so fast.  We then pulled into the condo, got all of our stuff down, talked to my mom and they were basically waiting for us.  I don't get how they were waiting for us to go to the beach or do something when we weren't getting here until almost the end of the normal part of the day.  We still needed to go to the store and stock up on food, which we always do, especially if we are going to be on vacation for longer than a weekend.  We quickly got our luggage off, peed and took a quick look at the pool, then headed to the HEB.  That took about an hour and a half, but we got plenty of breakfast material, which is something we do try and eat in the condo, to save a bit of money.  Plus, Wife does make a pretty good breakfast, even Mijo was requesting chorizo and beans be included for one or more meals.

    This of course, took another 45 minutes to an hour to go put away.  By now it is 7:00pm, and my family is calling to find out where we are, they are waiting for us at a restaurant we normally eat at.  We get there as quickly as possible and eat our food.  The conversation was a little awkward, my folks and sister had been together all day and we fall in not being in on everything, the teenagers are all in a mood, my dad was all the way over on the other end of the table, so he didn't really talk.  My mom then suggested Fun-trackers, which was a great destination when the kids were younger, I remember going and playing putt-putt and stuff, but Mijo is a big boy, he doesn't look like he fits on any of the rides, and he is 17, almost too old and too cool for any of it, plus at this point, we had driven the long drive, gone to the store, eaten and not quite had a chance to sit and rest.  We decided to cut out early and go back to our place.  Wife and I went and checked the pool out for about 30-40 minutes and Mijo stayed in the room, I think on the phone, by the jerky way he was acting.

7/2/22 I Can't Drive 55?

     I find it hard to believe we used to live in a time when 55 was considered highway speed.  Shoot, we end up driving 55 in town going back and forth running errands without noticing sometimes.  Today, we finally got on our vacation and headed out of town to the coast.  It felt great once we got on I-37 and being able to just open it up and gobble that highway at today's speeds.  I don't want to implicate myself, but it sure felt like we were going faster than 90 at times while getting between big cities.

    There is absolutely nothing interesting between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, except some lonely road that begs to be sped upon.  We were doing great most of the way, until we got to the George West exit, which was being monitored by three separate highway patrol officers.  I know they don't see it, but they are actually the danger.  Left alone, we all drive at our own comfortable speeds and don't bunch each other up.  The minute we see a trooper though, we slow down for fear of a ticket, and that just makes everyone drive bumper to bumper fashion.  This is extremely annoying and slows down the high pace we all want to drive.

    As I have said before, I tend to get sleepy when we head out of town and specially when I eat.  In order to keep myself awake, I told Wife we would eat when we got into Corpus, which was fine with her, if it kept me driving.  Driving that fast also keeps me alert and does not allow me to get comfortable to the point of drowsiness setting in.  I am pretty sure we left Austin at 1:00pm and were in Corpus by 4:00pm.  Maybe it took another 30 minutes to get across town to the Flour Bluff area, but I can live with that, the boring part is driving slow on an open highway.  For a few minutes, we did get down to 59, and compared to what we had been driving, it felt like we were going 30, it was super frustrating.  The slowdown was due to a couple of big trucks trying to pass each other.

    It all worked out pretty well.  Right as we drove into town, we got the email and text with the door code to the condo, so we were able to drive right to it and walk in.  We had already paid online, so there was pesky check-in, we just took out stuff from the car to the condo unit and then we were off to get food for the next 5 days.

7/1/22 Perry's At The Domain?

     We tried something different today, and I think I kind of liked it.  Boy hasn't been coming around as often as I thought he might, but since he didn't make it for Father's Day (he went to Dallas for a friend's engagement something or other), he had said he would take me to lunch or dinner.  I called him on that earlier this week and we started talking about it.  We ended up at meeting Friday at Perry's, which is a high-end steak place at The Domain.

    It had been a while since I had been to a real nice steak place, other than the Brazilian steakhouses, which are always pretty good.  This place specializes on some sort of pork chop that they finish at the table, but they have a cheaper version that serve as a lunch option on Fridays.  We both tried this and although I know pork is not as good as steak, it was still a fine option.  The meal came with mashed potatoes, and I added some asparagus as an extra side.  It had been a few weeks since we had sat with Boy and conversed, so the conversation was easy and we jumped around topics from family to work, to even a bit on the latest Roe V. Wade overturn.  I liked this type of meet-up with Mijo, it felt like I was truly talking to an adult, or even a peer.  I kept jokingly saying "If Muhammed won't come to the mountain, the mountain shall come to Muhammed."  I am the mountain, is the joke there, since I am a big ole cow.

    I am always amazed when I venture out and see other normal humans doing their thing.  It's like some people don't have jobs and yet get to enjoy the best that life offers.  Some of the people at the restaurant genuinely appeared to be wearing pajamas, but how?  It is the middle of the day and most of these people were not on a jaunt out for lunch from their jobs.  The people around us were either dressed up, like they were out, maybe on vacation, or they were dressed down, like eating here is normal activity, I was confused.  Boy just thinks most of these people work from home, or they are on vacation, which are two more possibilities, but who knows.

    We ended lunch with a dessert, I ordered what was named a Rocky Road Bread Pudding, but there was no ice cream, instead, the bread pudding was topped with a thick marshmallow, which had been burned somehow with a flame, then this was all drizzled with chocolate and walnut chunks all around.  It just topped off a surprisingly good lunch.  I left thinking we need to do this again on a more normal time, like once a month.  Mijo agreed that it was good, and we should meet up in a couple more weeks.

6/30/22 Finally Hit A Vacation Week?

     It might be possible that we go too hard in this house.  We both work year-round, none of that time off like teachers have during the summer.  I'm normally fine with it, until I have to go out at a different time than I usually do, and I see all these people just seemingly enjoying life with no look of work or worry on their minds.  Adding to our busyness, Baby A has been keeping as busy as us all summer, with his weight training in the morning, followed by wrestling practice, and then those 7v7 scrimmages, it was all getting to be a bit much.  I have to say thankfully, we ended the month with rain chances, which as a side effect, cancelled the 7v7 scrimmages, so that took a little load off, and then we hit Thursday, which ended the week for Wife and me.

    I have been looking forward to this week off for a while now, so to make the most of it, I went in to work early yesterday, knowing that there was plenty for me to do.  I dropped off Mijo at school, then headed in to work at 9:15am, or so.  I quickly got to work, and thought I would have until noon, when Mijo normally gets out.  He texted at 11:00 that they had finished early, I think the coaches were ready to get going too.  Just like us, the athletes will be off all next week, so it seems fitting to take some time off together and have a mini vacation.  We will be out of town for a few days, it has been more than year since we last went to Corpus Christi, I am a little excited, mostly just to be getting out of our normal routine.

    I then had to go back to work for a few more hours, worried that with the mid-day deliveries from Fedex and others, we would get something that could not wait, workwise, prompting me to stay longer than I planned.  Luckily, there was only one pressing job, but it was a simple and quick one, it added maybe 20 minutes to my day, no big deal.  I finished everything I was doing by 5:30pm, then headed home.  Wife was out at her normal time of 4:30pm.  She got home by 6:30pm, which allowed us to go out and have a nice dinner.  I really can't over how nice it is to have her back in town, having these nice dinners in the middle of the week seems like a treat, between me being on night shift for nearly twenty years, then her working out of town for 5 years, I think it has only added to our relationship not feeling like we have always done the same old thing.

    I don't really know what happened when we got home.  I took a shower, went upstairs, and I guess I fell asleep almost instantly because I don't even remember talking with Wife.  Let the rest begin.