Beach to Bay 2012: Mini Vacation in Corpus

Way back in the fall, Jack sent out an email asking for interested people to join his Beach to Bay Relay Marathon team. The race would be in Corpus Christi. I was interested mainly because of my popup and the opportunity to go camp for a weekend at the beach in it. I had no desire to be a runner or walker in the race, but Jack said he needed drivers to get the racers to their start points. I immediately went on line, looked for an RV park, booked a space, and told Jack I would be a driver. Of course, since then, I traded up to the Colby T. No problem. I had booked a pull-through anyway.

The last few weeks were agonizing. As I have said to many people, I am either off on a trip with the Colby T., or I am thinking about being off on a trip in the Colby T. Waiting for this one to arrive was pure misery. On top of that, last week was horrible. I had two major projects that were driving me up the wall. First I had to complete a software spread sheet for the upcoming Braun Station technology deployment. We are getting all new equipment. It is my job to determine and tell the installers what software will be placed on every single computer. The teachers with special software needs are supposed to help by gathering some information including purchase order information. About 30% of them did not honor my requested deadline. About 20% filled out thier forms incorrectly. About 5% never did it at all and had to be hunted down. The other project was a retirement video for one of my team members. I asked my team to get some quick videos of students saying things to the teacher. Most of them needed severe editing to harvest the usable bits. The program I always use for that stopped working on my school computer. I spent hours just getting that worked out. Then, even Audacity wouldn't work right. What should have been about a three hour project turned into a day and a half of frustrating work. It made me mean tempered and hostile.

Anyway, Friday finally came. I had agreed to take Jack down to Corpus with me, since his wife, Deb, was going early to pick up the racer's packages, and they really didn't need two vehicles down there. I like someone to talk to, and he would help me hitch up, so it worked out for both of us. I left right at 3:00 so I could run home, change, and use the restroom. On the way, I stopped and picked up a corsage that N2S was going to give to a young lady he was going to the band banquet with later that night. After all that, I ran back up to school and got Jack. He was just as ready to get the hell out of SA as I was. His week, as a principal, had not been any better than mine.

We went to Packrats and got the Colby T. hitched up and on the road in record time. Jack was able to direct me right to it, and he was able to do some of the hitching process without being told what to do. He had a camper for several years, and is my go-to person for answers and advice. You may have read before how he let me park my popup at his place at first. He rode out there with me the first time I ever towed it, and taught me the ropes.

The trip to Corpus was uneventful. On the way, Jack helped me understand the trailer brakes better. I never really understood what they do. I thought that my foot on the brake activated them the same as the trucks brakes. It doesn't. Jack also figured out how to use the “info” button on the radio screen to see the On Star information anytime I want, even after the screen clears.

We got to the Hatch RV park, unhitched, plugged in the shoreline, turned the AC on, and headed to Rudy's to meet the other people. We were meeting to make final arrangements for the race the next day. I was glad, since I still did not really understand where I was going, who I was giving rides to, and when I needed to do it. I ate some prime rib, drank a beer, and talked to my “riders”. Then I said my goodbyes and drove about 12 miles back to the camper.

I still had to do all of my setup stuff. I put the stabilizers down, moved everything in from the truck, and went through my campsite check list. I had to hook up the water so I could use the toilet. My fresh water tank was empty. If it had been full, I could have skipped that until morning. I didn't bother with the sewer connections that night. I knew I wouldn't fill my black or gray tanks before Sunday. I would just wait to hook that all up when I was ready for “the dump”.

There was a Lakers game coming on at 9:30 which I wanted to watch. I normally only watch them when they play the Spurs, but like to root against them during the playoffs. That meant the TV had to be set up, and the cable connected to the park's cable box. I put the cable under the sofa and out the shoreline hole. I walked out to the other side and tried to hook it up in the dark, but I couldn't get it to connect. I went back in the camper and did enough kitchen set up so that I could access my flash light (which is now in a more accessible spot for next time!). When I went back out to connect it, there was a black widow spider sitting about three inches from it. The light scared her, and she scurried into a hole on the cable box. Who knows what might have happened, had I kept trying to hook up without the flashlight! Jack told me that I should always be careful with the AC and cable connections, because he has seen that type of thing before.

Anyway, I got it connected and did an auto tune for the cable. I got over 100 channels! I couldn't find the game, so I went on my iPhone and searched for the TV listings in Corpus and saw that it was on ESPN and finally got it on the screen. Then, I finished setting up the dinette and the kitchen counter stuff, including the Keurig coffee maker. As my coffee was brewing, I went ahead and put pillow cases on all the pillows before finally sitting down and watching the game.

I got a little tired during the second half of the game, so I went ahead and set up the bed. I watched the rest of the game propped up on all of the pillows and drank a glass of Scotch. The game was great. I especially liked the end when the Thunder pulled off their second win of the series. I didn't bother with the after game crap. It was after 12:30, and I was tired and needed to be up at 4:15 Saturday morning to give myself time to drink some coffee and head over to pick up my runners, almost 30 miles away, in condos on Padre Island.

On the way to get the riders, I noticed that I only had gas for another 55 miles. I knew that I was going to be in bumper to bumper traffic for more than an hour when I took my people to the finish line after they completed the first leg. That meant I needed to get some gas. I got it at the first place I saw along the way. Fortunately, I had left extra early, which is my usual habit for this type of thing. I still made it in plenty of time to my first pick up spot. Then those riders and I went on to the next condo and got the other two. I didn't really know any of them. They were all running for the Nichols team, except one of them, who was a sub for a Braun Station runner whose back was too hurt for her to make the trip. Even the sub was the wife of a Nichols person.

We drove about two miles and parked along a street in a neighborhood. We walked in the dark to the Padre Balli Park, where the race would start. I waited for the three first leg runners to go to their start before heading down to the actual beach with the fourth person, who was actually doing the second leg.

The second leg was starting right near the Bob Hall Pier. Since the announcer was driving me nuts, I said my goodbyes and went out on the pier. I bought some sunscreen since I was going to be at the beach all morning. Then I hiked out and watched the people fish for a while. It was a beautiful morning. The breeze on the pier was cool, and the sunrise was still finishing when I was out there. I decided to go back and see if I could get some coffee in the pier's grill. It turned out to be a patio with a great view of the beach. I decided to sit there and wait for the first leggers to get there. When they did, they ran right below me and crossed under the pier to pass off their batons.

When my last runner, who was more of a walker, came in, I put my coffee cup on the counter and went down to the beach to hook up with them. We walked to my truck and got in the long line of vehicles who were waiting to go over the causeway to get back to Downtown Corpus Christi where the finish line and race party were.

It took us over two hours to get to the causeway bridge. We would move about three car lengths every five minutes or so. We had expected that, because several hundred cars full of leg one and two runners needed to get across, and, the bridge was partially closed since the leg three runners were going across it. When we were about two football fields from the bridge, the lady behind me must have fallen asleep or something, because she suddenly rear-ended my truck. It was obviously a rubber on rubber kind of thing, so we just kept going. I checked later, and there was nothing on my truck.

When we finally got on the bridge, the traffic sped up as if someone had pulled a cork from a bottle and spilled us out. I was disappointed. I had really wanted to be stopped up there, so I could look around and maybe even take some flip videos. No such luck. Within fifteen minutes, we had crossed the causeway, passed through Flour Bluff, and parked the truck downtown.

We headed from the parking space up on a hill to the beach for the party. It was about 10:30. There were bands and booths all over the place. There were thousands of people already there, with more coming all the time, as the other legs ended. The final leg, the 6^th, would not even cross the finish line until about noon, with the exception of the serious marathoners who had probably beat us there, grabbed their awards, and headed off to the airport to get to their next race.

The runners were given free beer, pizza, gatorade, water, and fruit. The drivers didn't get anything. One of my runners gave me his beer, which was nice. I drank it, but wasn't in the mood for beer in the hot sun at 10:30 AM on an empty stomach. Once a few more people got there, I started to get antzy. Some of us where supposed to go to Port Aransas for a suprise birthday lunch for one of the Braun Station runners at 2:30. I was hoping to watch the Spurs game at that time and had already called the restaurant to make sure they would have it on. But that was in four hours. I was hot, I was tired, and I was in no mood to sit in the hot sun waiting for everyone else to be ready to go back twenty-five miles to Padre Island, shower, get dressed, and drive the 20 miles to Port Aransas. That restaurant had nothing I would be able to eat. On top of that, my camper was only 2.5 miles away! I made sure my runners had rides back with the others, said my goodbyes, and headed back to the Colby T at about 12:00, where  I noticed, in the daylight, that the trailers on the edge of the park where really close to the graves in the Holy Cross Cemetery next door. People sleeping in their campers would be within 10 feet of the dead folks sleeping in thier graves!

I laid down on the sofa and took a really short nap. Then I got up to use the bathroom. That was when I remembered that the frame of my glasses had broken in the morning. I had carefully used them to get to the runners, but wore my sunglasses at the beach, even while it was still dark. Now the sunglasses were all I had. I tried some tape on the frames, but it just wouldn't work. I worried then about getting them fixed. Sunday, I would have the long drive back to SA. It would be Rachel's birthday. Could I get them fixed then? Would I have to wait until after school Monday. That would mean a full day of work in sunglasses!

I grabbed my iPhone and searched the Internet to see if there were any Vision Works in Corpus. Two Eyemasters came up. They still had the old name. I was afraid they were not really there anymore. I called one, and they were still open. The lady I spoke with told me that they could have my glasses ready to go, if they had the same frames in the store. I rushed over there and, while waiting for them to finish with the other customers ahead of me, I found my frames on the wall. They put my lenses in them, and I was back on the road within twenty minutes of walking in the store! Later, I remembered that my sunglasses had the same frames. I could have swapped out the lenses, had it been necessary.

When I was back at the camper, I was shocked to see that the Clippers were pulverizing the Spurs in the first quarter of the game. I felt really guilty for letting them down. We all know that it is only my watching them religiously that has kept them going so strong. Of course, once I was back “in the game” everything took a turn for the better, and the Spurs one.

After the game, I texted Mike and Jack to see what was up for dinner. Jack and Deb had eaten at the lunch party and stayed there to watch the game, etc. They were going to pick up some libations and spend the evening on their balcony enjoying the ocean view. Mike and his gang were going to Port Aransas for dinner. I hated the idea of driving a round trip of 100 miles just for dinner, but didn't come to Corpus to sit in the camper doing nothing. I shaved in the sink using a cup of hot water from the Keurig (I didn't feel like messing with the hot water heater). Then I dressed and drove out to Port Aransas. I got there before the others, so I put us on the waiting list for a table for twelve. It would be about an hour wait.

We had a nice meal out on the patio of the restaurant. The server was not that great. They were out of my order, and they substituted something else for it. Then we had issues paying, because we had asked for separate checks and she refused. She told us we could just tell her what our part was when we paid. Then they got all mean about it. Oh well...

I took the ferry back to the mainland. It was not too long of a wait. I think it probably took me thirty minutes to get on one. The sun was not completely set, and everything was beautiful. The drive down the coast to Corpus was equally beautiful. I stopped for gas on the way to make sure I had enough to get home. Coming down had used up almost a tankful. Jack told me it would take more gas to get to Corpus because of the ocean winds blowing inland and hitting the trailer. He was right. It only took half a tank to get home, and I drove 70 most of the way. Going down, I rarely hit 65.

Back at the trailer, I settled in to watch another Lakers/Thunder game. I drank several cups of Keurig coffee because I was really tired. During halftime, I set the bed up like the night before. This time, however, I kept nodding off. I stayed awake for the last half of the fourth quarter. I celebrated for about thirty seconds when the Lakers lost, turned off the TV, and fell right to sleep.

I got a text from Jack at 6:44 in the morning that said, “What are you up to this morning?” I wanted to say, “I'm getting in my truck, coming to your condo, and killing you for waking me up this early on a Sunday morning during a mini vacation!” Instead, I just texted, “Nothing, yet.” He responded with, “We are looking for a place to eat breakfast.” I was not hungry, so I didn't answer right away. At 7:04 he texted, “We are eating at the Taco Cabana off Staples Street.” I answered, “Not hungry. Gonna pass.” Then I got busy with my end of trip cleaning rituals.

Jack wanted to meet somewhere so he could get the rest of his stuff out of my truck. He asked if they should just come to the camper. I told him that would be good. He could help me hitch up again. They got there after I had almost everything done on the checklist, including dumping the tanks. Deb came in and looked at the Colby T. Then we hitched it up, and they headed home. I finished my checklist. Then I walked up to the office to turn in my bathhouse keys and take some more pictures before hitting the road myself. I was on the highway headed for San Antonio at 8:34.

I stopped in Swinney Switch for about fifteen minutes. I wanted to buy some jerky at Mike's Market. It is one of the three or four buildings on a country intersection that make up the downtown area. There isn't much left of the town these days. The jerky they sell there is the best. It is huge pieces of steak that are minimally seasoned and dried. When you chew it, it turns into delicious roast beef in your mouth. It is amazing.

After a total traveling time, including stops, of three hours, I pulled into Packrats. I didn't have any trouble backing the Colby T. into place this time. I did it purely on sight with the mirrors. From now on, that is what I will do. I took the opportunity to test using the tennis balls when hitching by looking at the camera screen. I never thought of that before. Jack suggested it. It doesn't work as well as it does when you can actually see the balls in the mirror. But, it did get me perfectly lined up. I only needed to back up about one more inch to be right under the receiver.

Well, that was that. Another great trip in the Colby T. is in the history books. I don't even have a plan for the next one. I just want to survive the next two weeks of school. Then, I will see what I can fit in.