Views of the Neighborhood

July 9, 2017July 8, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 71 Comments

Yesterday was a big day in Port Aransas. There were two main events taking place. The first is the annual dog surfing contest. The second is the deep-sea fishing tournament. This week I will feature the dog surfing contest and next week will be the deep-sea fishing contest.

The dog surfing contest is put on to benefit the local dog rescue group in Port Aransas.

The first photo will take you back to the 60’s. The VW micro mini bus is the source of the sounds of the event.

Port Aransas Dog Surfing Contest

Here is a shot of a contestant waiting for the under 25-pound class.

Here are a couple of lightweights cruising in on a wave

Finally made it to the beach

Some spectators were there with their humans

Waiting for the above 25-Pound class

He is up and riding

Rode it all the way.

I think he may be in trouble

Yup need to take that big step.

Now the champ catches the curl

Steady as she goes.

Dog surfing

And a great finish

The Texas Surf Camp was in session while the dog surfing was in progress.

Sunday – More Views of Scotland

July 2, 2017July 1, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 79 Comments

Here will be the last pictorial from Scotland. I had a wonderful time filled with exceptional sights and sounds of a beautiful country.

Cawdor Castle

This is a photo of The Cawdor Castle which is owned by the Dowager Countess Cawdor. She opens the castle to visitors in the summer and then takes up residence in the fall. It is said that Shakespeare stayed and wrote McBeth while here. In fact, Cowdor is mentioned in McBeth.

Cawdor Castle

Here is a view of the rear with some gardens showing.

A shot of the formal gardens

Cawdor

This is the back of a carriage. On the door is the Dowager Countess Cawdor symbol and below the symbol for the Order of the Thistle which is the highest honor in Scotland.

Distillery

Of course, no visit to Scotland would be complete without a distillery tour. This is the Benromach distillery. A very fine single malt whiskey.

Loch Ness

This is a shot of Loch Ness. Did not see Nessy.

Caledonian locks

Here is a shot of the Caledonian locks. The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. It was opened in 1822 and runs 60 miles. There are 29 locks in the system. This was a shot of the locks near Inverness.

The highlands

Here is a photo of the Highlands. You van see a waterfall and farmhouse.off in the distance.

Highlands

One more shot of the farmhouse including the stream.

Highlands

More waterfall.

Loch Loman

A photo of Loch Loman (Taken from a speeding car.)

Glasgow

Our hotel in Glasgow. A real European flavor.

Stair

This was the four-floor stairway in the hotel in Glasgow. The chandelier made it quite unusual. Well, I hope you enjoyed the selection. If you want to come over, I have about 300 more. I could put you to sleep fast.

Views of the Neighborhood – Edinburgh Neighborhood

June 25, 2017June 25, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 77 Comments

Today’s views are of the neighborhood that I have been in since Monday. There have been so many things to see and here is a sample of the city.

Edinburgh

The requisite view of the surrounding countryside as we come in for a landing.

Edinburgh

This is a shot of street where the apartment we stayed is located. The entrance is below grade through the gate which is just after the stairs.

Edinburgh

This is a view of Edinburgh taken from Calton Hill. It was taken at 9:45 pm and the sun was just beginning to set.

Edinburgh

This is a photo taken at Edinburg Castle. The young, serious, well dressed, military man is in charge of shooting the 1:00 cannon (which is done daily) which you can see in the background. The other guy looks like a writer or homeless person to me.

Edinburgh

This is a shot of the castle. The day was spectacular.

Edinburgh

A view of Edinburgh from the castle. The Firth (inlet of the sea) of Forth is in the background

Edinburgh

The botanical gardens in Edinburgh are vast and interesting. Here is a photo of giant lily pads.

Edinburgh

This is Hoyroodhouse, the ceremonial palace of Queen Elizabeth.

Edinburgh

The Holyroodhuse Abby ruins. This Catholic church was destroyed in 1133.

Edinburgh

This is my attempt at art. A shot of the Edinburgh Castle taken at night with a view of an old town street.

Edinburgh

St Giles Church which is the home church of Scotland.

Edinburgh

An inside photo of St. Giles.

Edinburgh

The National Gallery of Scotland.

Edinburgh

A shot of a typical street.

Edinburgh

The Lord Nelson memorial.

Edinburgh

The National Monument. (which was never finished)

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Views of the Neighborhood – Pole Vaulting

June 18, 2017June 17, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 52 Comments

Yes, the headline is correct. Every year Port Aransas host a major pole vaulting event. Pole vaulters come from all over Texas to spend two days here testing their skills. The event draws college athletes as well as Olympic team members. The whole idea is for the students and athletes to get together and participate in some wholesome, friendly rivalry. This event took place yesterday, and I was certainly glad I went. I hope you enjoy it.

This first photo gives you an idea of the track and the contestants lining up. Also, you can see the number of poles at the ready

Pole Vaulting in Port Aransas

Here is a shot of one of the two tracks being used. This also gives you an idea of the spectator base.

This shot was interesting to me since it shows how high the bar is in relation to the size of the athlete. She is just talking off.

Here is a different athlete going over the bar

And then the long way down.

In this shot, you can see a contestant getting ready for her vault.

Pole Vaulting in Port Aransas

This young person is an Olympian.

Her starting run shows how every muscle in her body becomes employed.

Here is a shot of the bar.

On the second track, the bar was a little lower. Here an athlete makes it over

Back to the big bar. Here is an athlete who gets tangled in the bar. It is designed, so the athlete does not get tangled.

Of course, the Hot Dog Lady would not miss this event.

I like this next shot because it shows the pole vaulting equivalent to the soccer mom. It takes a trailer to cart those poles.

I love this shot since it shows all these young people getting ready to vault. You can never doubt the future with a picture like this showing their interest.

Here is a final shot of the venue which is one of Port Aransas’ parks

***

By the time you read this, I will be on my way overseas. If my response is delayed it is because I have run into a WiFi dead spot. Otherwise, I will have pretty good connections today.

Views of the Neighborhood

June 11, 2017June 10, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 47 Comments

I have Taken you to the Port Aransas Museum before, but last night there was the opening of a special display. The display commemorates Port Aransas area surfing.

This first shot is of a painting which was used as the program cover. It is the old Danceland where surfers used to meet to party. The building was torn down in the late sixties.

Surfer exhibit.

The exhibit had some informational stations like the one below. This tells of Women surfing pioneers.

The Caldwell Pier in Port Aransas is still a favorite surfing location. This shot is from the mid-sixties.

The next photo is a display telling of surfers riding the swells of a hurricane.

The event had its share of old surfers, and l you had to do was add a barley pop to begin a lively discussion.

Of course, there was a board rental place called The Surf Shack. Those long boards from the sixties are quite impressive.

This display points out the origin of surfing in Port Aransas in the early sixties.

A photo of a Surf Shop in the mid-sixties and a cherry 1966 Mercedes 300 sedan.

Here is a photo of the Magic Bus.

An actual surfboard.

I left this photo in so you could see how the exhibits were presented. (I also thought that guy in the pink shirt and the Corona was really the epitome of a surfer dude.)

A shot of the barmaids at work.

So you have an idea of the venue here is an outside shot of the museum building. I liked the flag flying as well.

Views of the Neighborhood

June 4, 2017June 3, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 70 Comments

This week’s View of the Neighborhood is a report on the modernization of Port Aransas. By modernization, I am referring to the new construction going on about town. Yes as sad as it is, our little town is getting new buildings.

The first photo is a brand new Dollar General Store that opened this week

New Construction

I tried to get an art shot but as you can see it is still a Dollar General store.

Turning to something really positive. Our Art Center is getting a new building. Here is an artist rendition of the finished building.

This photo shows the progress to date.

So you know the improvement here is a shot of the current Art Center building

Now on to new tourist facilities. This is a photo of new short-term rental units going up.

This shot lets you see that the units are a courtyard with a pool in the middle.

Here is a new retail center going up. There will also be short-term rentals on the second floor.

A report on progress would be incomplete without a couple of chains. Here is the famous Texas fast food chain Whataburger.

And (Ta Da) a brand new Domino’s.

Views of the Neighborhood

May 28, 2017May 26, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 100 Comments

On Friday we had a special ship come through the Corpus Christi Channel.

The VLC Anne, reportedly the biggest ship that’s ever been in the Gulf of Mexico, entered the channel about 7:15 am

The ship is 1,093 feet and can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil.The ship headed from the Gulf to Occidental Petroleum, also known as Oxychem, in Ingleside.Nine-hundred thousand barrels of crude oil will be loaded in Ingleside, and the ship then will head offshore, where an additional 300,000 barrels will be transferred onto the ship. The reason this needs to be done is the Channel is not deep enough to .accommodate the fully loaded vessel. Most vessels carry only 300,000 barrels in total. Loading at the Ingleside dock saves about seventy-five cents a barrel.

This first photo is a condo near the entrance to the channel. I took this picture so you can get an idea of the scale of the ship. The condo is six stories tall

Anne

Here is the bow of the ship

And the rest. The Anne is registered in Marseilles, France.

The Anne is accompanied by three ocean-going tugs. The tug in front is spraying water. This is a salute of welcome to the Anne.

Here is another shot without the zoom.

Here is a shot of the tug itself

One more photo of the ship.

Here is a closeup of the bridge. Notice the instructions to the crew. Also, note how high the Anne is riding in the water

I took this photo to show the size of a crew member (in orange near the middle of the photo)

A final shot that includes the mothballed drilling rigs.

I hope you enjoyed the visit.

Views of the Neighborhood

May 21, 2017May 20, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 56 Comments

Yesterday I was in the golf cart heading into town to protest my tax appraisal (Whole other story). The reason I had to use the golf cart is my car has been held prisoner in the mechanic shop since last Wednesday. (Another whole other story.) I was going to shoot a pictorial on the High School and Middle School here in Port Aransas since that is where the protest meeting was being held. While motoring along the beach, I decided to take a shot of the crowds here for the weekend.

Go Topless event

Then I came upon something that I didn’t know about.

Well, I canceled the High School Pics and went for these instead.

Yes, by “go topless” they mean to take the top off your Jeep. This event is happening this weekend all over the US.

I didn’t see anyone taking the top off a Jeep that had a hard top, so I think the rules are pretty loose.

Families were participating

Everyone was real friendly

One club had their banner on display

I threw this one in for Charles Yallowitz. He has a thing for squirrels

Here is something you don’t often see. Jeeps parked on one another. This must be like circling the wagons

Here is another look at the same group.

There were a few custom Jeeps as well

Here is a 1976 Jeep which has been converted to a sand machine.

There were many more but time does not permit all. I hope you enjoyed the brief look at the Jeep Go Top Less Day.

Views of the Neighborhood

May 14, 2017May 13, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 52 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms. Today’s view of the neighborhood takes us to Robert’s Point Park for the annual Port Aransas Art Fest. It is here where local artists display their crafts and artwork and offer them for sale. Because of the number of booths I did have to pick and choose which to feature.

This first photo is the vendor of hot dogs known in town as The Hot Dog Lady

Art Fest

The next is a display of handmade pots and mugs.

Here is an artist who paints birds.

This next booth is of items made from recycled material.

The artist paints scenes on sand dollars. Seems like no home should be without one.

While walking around, I noticed some dogs. I took a picture of the biggest.

And the smallest.

The Art Fest is sponsored by the Port Aransas Art Center.

Here is a shot of mobiles made of stainless steel. A suitable material for this climate.

Animals painted in oil on canvas.

I thought this booth was unique with the different signs.

Here is a tighter shot of the signs. I liked the Group Therapy sign.

Art Fest

This photo gives you an idea of the number of booths. In the foreground is the sound system.

Finally the advertising for the Art Fest.

Hope you liked the View.

Views of the Neighborhood

May 7, 2017May 7, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 43 Comments

Today’s Views of the Neighborhood is all about the ferries that connect our island to the mainland. There are two ways on and off the island. The first is a causeway at the South end of the island and the second is a ferry ride at the North end.

Here is an archive photo of Mitzi the first ferry to serve our Island in 1922.

First Ferry

This next archive photo is of the Nellie B in service in the 1930s and 40s. In 1968 the Texas Department of Transportation took over ferry operations and the rides became toll-free.

PA Photo

Now in modern times, the Ferry service has the latest equipment and technology.

This sign gives ferry riders an idea of how long the wait will be in enough time to turn around if they choose.

Port Aransas Ferry

This is a shot of the latest ferry put into service in 2010. It carries twenty-eight cars. There are two of these giants.

The next photo is of the older and smaller twenty car model of which there are six.

This photo is of the landing at Aransas Pass on the other side of the channel.

Here is a shot of the Port Aransas side of the channel

You may have noticed that each of the Ferries has a name. The names of the Ferries are past Executive Directors of the Texas Department of Transportation. Here is a close up of the Arnold W. Oliver.