South Texas

Starbase!  At Boca Chica Beach.
Those RVs beyond Kelly VI (my RV)
are permitted free camping along the road and on the beach.
As the sand here was quite fine, I decided
against driving, let alone camping, on the beach
and stayed at various places in and near Brownsville.

The main reason for heading to Brownsville, aside from having never been there, was to observe the eighth launch of the SpaceX prototype Starship.

As the launch was projected to take place in late February or early March, I knew there was a good chance I'd get to see the launch.

I also knew that rocket launches are often delayed, sometimes by weeks or longer, so missing the launch altogether was certainly a possibility.

For panoramic video, Click Here.

This bike ride has good variety
as it runs southbound from
the Palo Alto Battlefield National
Historical Park to the
Mitte Cultural District,
downtown Brownsville, TX.

Map of the Palo Alto Battlefield at the National Park,
north of Brownsville.

My bike at the northern end of the
historic Palo Alto Battlefield Trail.

This park, 
Ernesto Gamez Cascade Park,
was very nice with
many families enjoying
picnics, walks and
even a fun water park. 

This is the front side of that
artificial "mountain" in the
previous photo.  It feeds the water park.
For a video, Click Here.

This walk took me around the
park and into the pennisula.

Statue of "Mr. Charro."  In the Mitte Cultural District,
downtown Brownsville.

The "Mr. Amigo" plaques
honoring local citizens
are mounted in the plaza
in a semicircle around
the grassy mound.

This spot is only 6 miles from the launch pads
at Starbase and is on a small hilltop so the pads 
are easily visible, but only from the roof of Kelly VI.
Thankfully, my collapsible ladder
provided me a rooftop perch.

View of Starbase from my rooftop.  Sadly, it was a
foggy, hazy day.  The launch date had already been pushed
into early March and even with the poor visibility,
the broadcasters for the launch were mostly positive about
Launch 8 taking place today. 
For a video from my roof, Click Here.
The countdown worked down to T-40 seconds, then a Hold.
Sadly, the hold continued to be extended until a
delay was announced.  As I had to
begin my trek back to Houston the next day,
or miss my flight to visit my son, I would miss the launch.
Launch 8 would not launch until two days later.

My stop for the night was also very hazy & foggy.
The birds were very much a huge presence,
for a video, with avian audio, Click Here.

This video's big impact is the audio.  These birds 

were not to be ignored!  😮

Halfway back to Houston, I revisited Magnolia Beach.

This street sign confirms that
the right way is "This Way!"

Gulf of Margaritaville, TX

Great BW spot on the San Bernard River

SpaceX was planning Launch number 8 of their prototype Starship from Boca Chica, TX sometime over the next few weeks so Kelly VI and I wended our way slowly south along the Gulf coast.

We stayed at Boondocker Welcome sites, truck stops and Walmart parking lots, so every night was free, except one when I decided to use the paid overnight to dump and fill my tanks.

Fancy shark sculpture

 

A solo musician played for the diners at restaurant across the street from my BW Host, for video, Click Here. 

Northbound tug and barge

For video, Click Here.

A solo musician played for the diners at Sunday Brunch, for video, Click Here. 

Campsite, Magnolia Beach, Matagorda Bay, Indianola, TX

Dawn on the bay.  For video, Click Here.

At the fishing marina,
Indianola, TX

Sunset as the fog moves in.

Fog was THICK!

A nice bike ride along the water
from my campsite to the
fishing marina at Indianola. 

This walk was through an
arroyo in Harlingen, TX

On the beach enroute to Corpus Christi.
Free camping on the beach here at Mustang Island,
yet the sand is very fine and Kelly VI, my RV, almost got stuck.

Bill Taylor flew in from DFW to enjoy a few days
together on the beach.

Sunset in Brownsville, TX 

Storms rolled through Brownsville and 

South Padre Island for a couple days.

In Isablanca Park on South Padre Island,
looking across at the SpaceX Starbase.

I believe this little octopus was dead.

Huge, noisy flock of birds at Brownsville Walmart

Kooser 2025

Sean, Bill, Murph and Guy on the deck outside
the Goggle Pub at Seven Springs.

The annual Kooser Ski Trip proved to be another great weekend of skiing and camaraderie.

Flew with this fellow to Pittsburgh.

I stayed with Bill the night before the
weekend and discovered this
Steelers Skull, reminiscent of Arizona!

Plenty of snow this year!

Guy skis the sunny slopes!

And Sean brought the steaks again,
ribeyes this year.

The crew enjoys tailgating in the cold sunshine.

Sean had a great FB post:

Warren Stewart (Guy), Bill Paviol, Allen Murphy, and I had our annual Kooser/Seven Springs trip last weekend. We met up at Hillbilly's Pub 'n Grub Friday night. After a couple years of lame snow, we had a proper winter for this trip. We even got to ski Corkscrew, which was still technically closed, but fun. We met Gary and Mike on the slopes, and Kevin for lunch in the north lot since he couldn't get a lift ticket- they were at capacity. The Big Red crew and Mike met us at the cabin for dinner Saturday night.  Sunday I threw another GoPro mount on the back of my ski for a new angle. We had another great day of skiing, hung out at the Goggle for a bit, then I had to head back to Grit for nine sets of volleyball. My legs were Jello by Sunday night.

Click Here to see Sean's FB Post.

Caught pics of both flights
for the return trip.

FB Post: Florida Cycling vs Pennsylvania Skiing