Padre Island NS
Penny and I rode together this morning the same 9 miles I rode yesterday, plus a side trip to investigate the boat launch. The winds were blowing, but just getting started. It was a more enjoyable ride on a number of levels.
Settling into our lawn chairs for a day of reading, the elderly man next to us was working on his motor coach. It seemed the fresh water tank was leaking. Penny commented that he wasn’t cursing or seeming upset at all. It turns out he didn’t want to ask for help. He walked over to say he used to be able to fix anything, but had a stroke which incapacitated his left arm. He said he was apologizing in advance since he was about to start cursing. I told him what Penny had just said and that I was more than willing to help him. He turned and went back to work, too proud to ask for help. After a few minutes, I approached him to offer help.
He had just paid $1900 to have the problem fixed at at RV place 50 miles away. I helped him change the plumbing to isolate the leak while preserving the water in the other fresh water tank so his wife could have her shower. He strongly reminded me of my dad; his face, bushy eyebrows, glasses, hands, and bandaged arms due to his thin skin and blood thinners. He was a German from Argentina who had settled in Phoenix thirty years ago. Godspeed, Fred!
After lunch and a nap, we went to see the Visitor’s Center and walk the beach. Just then, a marine layer of fog moved in obstructing the sun and cooling the air. We cut our beach walking short and headed back to the truck. From that point on, the weather turned from short sleeves to sweatshirts and long pants. This was not intolerable, but a change that required a change in attitude. It was still 40F warmer than Spokane or Grand Rapids!