Jonathan Neufeld Outdoor adventure photography and mountain life

May 30, 2004 Corpus Christie Texas
I am noting a trend in the way the Texas weather works. When I get up in the morning it is hot and muggy, when I go out for lunch it is hot and muggy, and even when I come out of a movie theatre at midnight it is hot and muggy. It’s nothing I can’t live with but I really find it draining. We went for a walk in the morning yesterday while the Pilot and Nav were out getting maps made, it was only a 45min walk perhaps but we were tired when we got back, that sun is really draining.

After lunch we all went down to the Downtown part of Corpus and lo and behold the Velocity Games were on. There were people kite surfing all over the place, it was amazing. The beaches were filled with kites and boards and hoards of people watching. There were booths set up and a halfpipe with people doing skateboard tricks. It was all really neat. We walked for about 2miles down the shoreline checking out the sites. We were trying to get to the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington but it was a lot further than it looked and we tired quickly. We decided instead to go back and get the car and drive there, which proved smart since it was really on the other side of the bay! We did stop in at the travel info booth and picked up our encyclopedic “Total Guide to Texas” which has every small town and every small attraction in every small town. That should come in useful I think.

After dinner the Old Guys stayed at the hotel and the Young Guys went out and saw Troy. It was good, long, but good. It was a little confusing actually, usually in an Us-against-them style movie you know which side you are supposed to be cheering for but this time it wasn’t so. They introduced characters on each side and you knew they were all going to die, and didn’t care a whole lot when they did. Orlando Bloom was in it as one of the Princes of Troy, I can’t help but see that man as Legolas (from the Lord of the Rings) especially when they had him shooting a bow. Some of the cinematography in those scenes was very close to the LOTR stuff and I can’t help but wonder if they did it on purpose… hmmm.

We are moving hotels again today, but this should be the final move for a while. We might even do a trip out to Laredo, we’ll see.

And in late breaking news (8:26am Monday morning) we may go to Idaho, since it seems to be more clear than Texas… hmmm we’ll see I guess.

Saturday May 29, 2004 – Corpus Christie Texas
Music: Spirit of the West – Far Too Canadian

Today was a good day, another semi-nothing day, but a good day none-the-less. We had another free breakfast in the Travelodge, the usual cereal, fruit and bagels fare that almost every hotel offers now a days. We had booked into the Red Roof Inn across the street for the next few nights, but it was a really scary looking place and rather overpriced too. Since we are on the road we all get a per diem rate from The Company and it seems to make us all cheap as Scotsmen. We cruised around and found another hotel, a long-term style place that was cheaper and a little nicer too so we checked in there instead. It’s not as nice as the place we are booked in at for Monday, but it’s better than the red-light district aka Leopard Street. After we got all the gear packed and moved in to the new place we set out for the tourist parts of town, perfect really since that’s what we are in our off-time. We went to the South Padre National Coastline, a national park on the South Padre Island, roughly 15min from where we were staying. Being silly Canucks none of us took swim suits but we all had cameras and used them liberally (I’ll post pictures when I get around to figuring out the Shaw webspace thing).

For a prairie-and-mountains-boy the ocean is a dark and mysterious thing for me. I find it really interesting yet totally alien. I like to believe that I am at home in most outdoor environments but the ocean is a different kettle of fish really. The sea-life is different, the dangers are different and the beauty is different. I think we’ll end up going back tomorrow and taking towels and swimsuits, and maybe a few beers too.

One thing I have noticed about this town is the large number of large people, and the large number of SUVs they need to drive their large asses around. Maybe I’m being unfair and biased but there seems to be a lot more of them here than Calgary. Maybe I just don’t see them in Calgary for some reason. I’m sure there must be a lot of small thin people, but maybe they are all hidden behind the larger ones.

I broke one of my own rules today. I swore I would never buy food at a Wal-Mart, and I am sorry to report that today I did. I have broken a semi-cardinal rule of my life and all I have to show for it is a full belly. I don’t quite know what it is I have against Wallymart but I don’t like it. I think it is the vast amounts of consumerism at rock bottom prices. I think it is the kind of people that shop there (does this include me now too?) Maybe it’s the influx of Americana into Canadian culture; although this is a hard point to argue sitting here in Texas.

All the crew members (1-pilot, 1-navigator, 2-data boys) had a “Happy Hour” at the hotel tonight. We each brought some beer, or wine or scotch and chips style stuff. It was a good time, we sat around talking about new experiences and old experiences too. Some of these guys have been surveying longer than I have been on this Earth; that is a humbling notion for me to think about. At some point it turned into a complaint session about The Company which kinda bugged me, although I fully took part in it ( I’ve always said the one thing I couldn’t tolerate was intolerance). I don’t know why but any conversation about work seems to become very negative very quickly. It isn’t the greatest place in the world to work for sure, but it might be better if we didn’t all complain all the time.

We went out for dinner tonight at Joe’s Crab Shack. It was an interesting experience. The place had a wonderful atmosphere what with nets and hooks and fake crabs on the walls and ceiling. It was “Punk-Rock Night” so all the waiters and waitresses were dressed up as rockers. It was kind of disorienting in a sea food place, but a neat touch. They did a corny thing where they would play songs like “Car Wash” and “YMCA” and all the waitresses would come out and clap and dance. They all looked very bored though; we clapped for them anyway. The food was passable; everything was fried though which kinda killed the flavour and texture. Next time we’ll have to go down to the waterfront and spend more than $15 I guess, but that contradicts the On-the-road-Scotsman in me.

Today was an interesting day. It started out well enough, and ended well enough with steaks and beer. But the bit involving Homeland Security in the middle was a little dicey. I guess they are all really paranoid after the infamous 9/11 incident. We were simply trying to set up some GPS stations on the airfield, and had the blessing of the general manager of the FBO (Fixed Base Operator, the guy who sells us jet fuel and lets us park the plane at his place). So we walk out on to the grass and get busted by an airport cop, who calls his superior who calls his superior who calls… well you get the picture. We bugger off after giving him our names and numbers and have a lovely swim in the pool. ‘Bout the time we are thinking of settling in and having a beer or two we get a call from Homeland Security saying we need to go back for more interviews. We walk in to the tower area and there about 15 people in the waiting room, some cops, some FAA guys, some from TSA and some from RTO (the Red Tape Office). It all turned out to be a big misunderstanding, and they guys were actually surprisingly nice. Maybe it had something to do with them wanting to get the hell outta there for the Memorial Day weekend, maybe we were just nice stereotypical Canadians. They did take our passports and copy them “for their files” whatever that means, and when they were handing them out they asked the one Asian guy with us “Were you born in Canada?” She is looking at his passport, the page with the picture, and name… and birthplace. Needless to say he was born in Canada and felt suitably singled out. All ended well though, no one got a $10,000 fine not that they didn’t scare us with that idea though. They did end by saying, “We knew we wouldn’t have a problem when you phone someone and tell them to come in for questioning, and they do.” So that was good.

Tomorrow is undetermined. We still have no maps to fly with, and no weather, but we do have a place to stay which is definitely encouraging.

Well we landed safely in Corpus Christie last night, it was around 9pm and still hot and muggy. Today at noon it is just as bad. It’s bearable though, and if we hit the beach it’ll be even better. Hopefully we’ll be able to fly soon, the sky is all cloudy and overcast. We are also homeless for the next few days, we ahve a place for monday, but until then we need to find a new hotel, and on the memorial day weekend that could be a trick. Ah well, I guess we could always sleep in the plane!