It’s about ten degrees warmer here than it was when I left Corpus. But alas, it’s drizzling today, supposed to rain all day tomorrow, and of course everything will be closed on New Year’s. So it’ll be a while till I can start sightseeing. I’ll be here three or four weeks, long enough to … More Greetings From Brownsville TX

If the only thing you see about “vanlife” is on InstaGram or YouTube, you’d be forgiven for thinking that every dweller spends all his time on a sunny beach in a shiny new tricked-out Sprinter, with a blonde girlfriend who looks like a lingerie model and does yoga in a bikini by the campfire. It … More What’s My Vanlife REALLY Like?

[NOTE: I’ve blogged all these “how-to” posts before, but am gonna re-run them on occasion, since folks may have missed them, and many of them have been updated or expanded since they were first posted.] Back in my younger days as a backpacker, we used almost no electricity at all. I sometimes carried a small … More Electricity in the Van

This is a great place to spend an afternoon watching bugs and birdies, and having a picnic lunch. The Visitor Center has some native critters on display, and there are several miles of walking and biking trails. I had a good time here. Some photos. ​Visitors Center ​Birdie Sculpture ​Scientific equipment to study rainfall ​An … More Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve

  The days get longer and warmer from here. 🙂    

I had a good time here. The Botanical Garden is actually two places in one: there’s an arboretum along with a display of some live birds and reptiles, and also several miles of nature trails. Some photos from a visit. ​The Botanical Gardens ​Tabasco, a Scarlet Macaw, greets all the visitors ​Some nice tropical palm … More South Texas Botanical Gardens

The Texas Surf Museum in Corpus Christi is a display of surfboards, most of them made in Texas, and some historical displays. I have never surfed in my life and all I know about it comes from Beach Boys songs, but I found it interesting and had a good time here. ​The museum ​Inside the … More Texas Surf Museum

In 1992, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage,replicas of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa maria were built in Spain and sailed to Texas, docking in Corpus Christi Bay. Here they ran into a series of misfortunes. They were involved in a collision with a barge, and after being on display … More The Nina Replica

This is a nice science and history museum in Corpus Christi TX. There happened to be a school group visiting while I was there, so by following along behind them I got an impromptu guided tour.  🙂 Photos from my visit: ​The museum ​The outside garden ​Inside the museum ​Timber from the wreck of the … More Museum of Science and History

  Ack, when I got home to the van this afternoon I noticed a patch about the size of the palm of my hand where the paint has flaked off: Alas, this is a known issue for vans of this make and year (2011 GMC Savana). Apparently GM effed up on their paint formula, and … More Argh, I Got the “Peelies”