Thom and Dar's Sabbatical Journal

One of the newer attractions here in the Rockport/Fulton area is the Bay Education Center. Completed just over a year ago, it's the facility at which the public connects up with something called The Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve. From their website : The mission of the Mission-Aransas Reserve is to develop and facilitate partnerships that enhance coastal decision making through an integrated program of research, education, and stewardship. This mission allows us to achieve our vision of forming a center of excellence that creates and disseminates knowledge necessary to maintain healthy Texas coasts. The Reserve has three primary goals: (1)to improve knowledge of Texas coastal zone ecosystems structure and function, (2) to promote understanding of coastal ecosystems by diverse audiences, and (3) to promote public appreciation and support for stewardship of coastal resources. And from the Bay Education Center website : Whether you live in the area or a

The real core of Winter in the USA is January and February.  And, as we near the end of February, one of the early signs of Spring is the slow start of the Winter Texan migration back north. After 2 or 3 months packed tightly together with others in small sites at cramped RV parks, nerves start to visibly fray, routine evolves to boredom, and thoughts gravitate to the return trip back north. The local touristy sights have all been done... repeatedly in some cases. Excuses for shopping trips to Corpus Christi or Victoria become flimsier. Happy hours start earlier and last longer. There's a palpable desire to get moving. Today our friends from Minnesota, Doug and Kay, leave Sandollar and begin their 6 week trek northward. In another week, our Washington friends Jimmy and Julianne will start heading west too. By the first week of March the RV park starts to resemble Swiss Cheese. If last year was any gauge by the first of April we're one of only a small handful left... but we

Black Skimmers on the beach on Mustang Island We're approaching the half-way point in our stay at Rockport this winter and my case of "hitch-itch" has degraded to a full blown rash (roamin' rash??). No amount of salve or medication is going to remedy this problem until we can start moving again about April 1st... and that's no joke. Dar's been putting in her time at the hospital, but not as much as last year. In her first four weeks last year she put in something like 195 hours -- not bad for a part-timer, eh? This year, same period, she's logged about 120 hours -- a more reasonable number, and one closer to what she was looking for. Friends Doug and Kay (from Minnesota and currently in Rockport), after reading my post a couple weeks ago about hard boiled eggs, fixed me up with some "Eggies", six of them to be precise. These "as seen on TV" devices eliminate the need for peeling as the egg is cooked in the plastic Eggie after

First, an update on Dar's brother Dennis.  We're not calling him "Miracle Man" yet, but he is certainly "Lucky Louie" considering how things have worked out this past week. If he had to pick a place to have an accident this serious he couldn't have done better. His buddies called 911 (there was cell phone service), the paramedics arrived within 10 minutes (with snowmobile and evac sled), a first-class medical center was right down the road in Marquette, he was checked over and a diagnosis was made quickly - a tear in his aorta (very serious), and he was rushed into an operating room where a crack medical team spent the next four difficult hours patching him up. If he had been in a more remote part of the Upper Peninsula (and there's a LOT of remote-ness in the U.P.) the outcome, almost certainly, would have been far worse. He may well have become just another statistic. He made it through the first night, a very good sign. And over the next few day

Monday, January 30, Dar's brother Dennis had a serious snowmobile accident. A Marquette Michigan resident and long-time "Yooper", he was out on the trails with a few other guys when he somehow tangled with a tree. His buddies and the authorities apparently worked quickly and efficiently to get him to the hospital where the full extent of his injuries were discovered. He suffered a tear in his aorta, a very serious injury which many, maybe most, don't survive. He was rushed into surgery. It was all happening so fast. Laura, his wife, was scrambling to alert family and friends. But there was nothing else to do but wait. Dar was working when Laura called. I, in turn, called Dar and filled her in. Being more in the know about medical things she knew right away how serious it was. Carrying the burden of this terrible news, it was hard to keep her mind on her work and duties. Her supervisor was able to find a nurse to relieve her so she could come home and wait for more