Peak wind gusts were measured today at 68 mph, but now the wind has become calm. Even that wind didn't push out the high tide. I did catch a 17 inch trout on the pier last evening. Bill waded the HEB shoreline Tuesday and said the little trout were everywhere, but he never got a keeper.
A CPL truck came by yesterday and replaced the whole fixture of our security light near 701. John worked today to try to get the pier lights repaired. He has the most lights working than I have seen in a long while. He said he has ordered a timer for the Phase 2 pier lights since they have been on 24/7 for almost two years.
All the "Patterson for Sheriff" signs are gone from around the motel. Maybe they didn't have permission to put them up.
About two months ago a gravel parking lot was constructed at the airport. I have seen as many as 200 vehicles parked there night and day and weekends. No one that I asked knew what that was for. Finally they put up a sign. It says,"offshore parking." Mystery solved. They are using it for parking for workers who are transported by helicopter to the offshore rigs.

The winter fishing pattern continues to be a bit different. The tide is really high for this time of year and the water clarity is not good. Don Gormley took his boat out Sunday and fished Aransas Bay with no success at all. Some of the guys went wading near Aransas Pass yesterday morning and caught one keeper trout right off the bat and then, not another bite. The water temperature remains about 60 degrees. I did see someone catch a trout out of the Rockport harbor yesterday.
I visited with Beverly Peddy yesterday. She said that the December financial statements are ready and she will mail them out in the next few days. We should have had very few expenses these last two months. There has been no construction activity. Ron has completed the river rock project on the flower beds. I don't know what he will start on now. Remodeling continues on 101. Another owner said that Rob said that Justin and his family will move into the unit when finished.
The big security light next to 701 remains out. Of course, we are billed the same whether it is working or not. Generally, CPL comes out the next day after being called. Five pier lights remain out.
It appears that 508 has not yet closed. The "for sale" signs are still in the window.

Winter has been visiting Kontiki this week. The next few days look much better. I hope to get out and chase some trout. The weather didn't deter the winter Texans from having their weekly covered dish outing on Wednesday. Joyce Humphreys has had her brother and sister in law here to celebrate her birthday on the 22nd.
The Rockport Pilot lists Gus' place(203) for $335,000. I don't know that we are there yet.
While the weather has been poor, I looked over the annual meeting minutes that Karra sent out.(at least we got some this year, lol) I need to remember to note some errors in the minutes to be corrected at this year's meeting. First, the meeting was called to order at 9:10 not 10:10. The area suggested for the communal mailboxes was not south of the 700 building, but west, next to 701. This location would have several advantages. In item 15 the minutes state that an interest rate of 1.5% per month is to be charged for late payment of insurance. The declaration clearly states that the interest rate shall be 10% per annum, not 18%. Finally , there were three votes for an annual audit, not two.

Edd Bowers' Birthday Bash

It was an exciting scene Monday afternoon between 4:30 and 5:00 pm as folks scurried around Kontiki on their way to 210, for the big surprise birthday party for Edd Bowers. The hosts had a difficult time keeping the noise down as Edd approached for a supposed toddy before going out to dinner with the Gormleys. The reason being, 51 people were packed into 210 as Edd and his daughter, Debbie Johnson from Trophy Club, Texas, arrived. From the look on Edd’s face, there is no question the surprise portion of the party had indeed been pulled off. Friends of Edd came from Corpus Christi, Victoria, and Rockport and of course, Kontiki, to celebrate his 86^th birthday. Edd’s daughter, Debbie, and Don and Dee Gormley were hosts for the bash. It is believed that folks had a good time, as the hours posted on the invite were 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and, as the time neared 8:30, the party was still going strong, and the honoree was making the rounds, visiting with his longtime friends. Many of those attending brought food, and that added to the feeling that everyone was involved in pulling off the big surprise! It was an evening that will be talked about at Kontiki for some time.

Dee is greeting Edd as he arrives.

Edd with Capt. Benny and his wife.

Edd with Dee, Don , and Debbie.

As of Saturday morning, there were over 40 RSVPs for Edd Bowers’ birthday party. I wish I could be there, but I had to come back to San Antonio for a few days.
Don and John and I went out for a couple of hours on Wednesday, but only caught small trout. The weather was not the greatest. I did hear that Otis(604) went to the St. Jose shoreline on the same day and had to throw back many oversized reds.
Friday morning I saw sheriff’s deputy, Lillian, had Justin pulled over on Fulton Beach Road. She looked like she was taking a final exam in speedwriting. I hope she wasn’t too hard on him.
I see Richy is driving a new Escalade, just like Karra. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The work on the motel should be finished in about three weeks. I guess work will begin then on the condo side.
Melissa has left from the onsite rental office. I guess they are shorthanded again. I think Rachel does a good job of trying to keep things going well, but that job is difficult. The winter Texans scheduled for 605, I am told, said the place was not up to standards and asked for other accommodations. I believe they are in 607. Jim and Lois are having to stay in 606 until their place is finished with the remodeling. It should be finished by February first.
The stucco workers came back by and repaired the slumping stucco on my place and 108. The repair didn’t work on 108. It slumped down again.
Winter Texans seem surprised that the roof will be replaced. They like the tile roof that we have now and without any leaks that are evident, the expense seems unnecessary.
I talked to Beverly Peddy on Friday. She said she is busy with W-2 forms and 1099s and is not sure when the next financial statements will be out. She indicated that the Crowley’s have loaned the HOA another $50,000. I’m not sure how that can be since that exceeds what the owners had authorized. I did have an extended conversation with the Aransas County District Attorney on Friday. He feels that any problems with expenses and an audit could be easily handled within the court system of the county. He had concerns about conflict of interest issues when I described our situation to him. I’m more concerned with the accountability of funds.
Its interesting that Sheriff Gilliam has campaign signs plastered all over town while the motel is surrounded by signs for Patterson for sheriff. The casual observer would think the motel is Patterson’s campaign headquarters. It may have something to do with the failure of the Sheriff’s office to solve the late August theft at the motel. I’ve called Phase II “the motel” for so long it’s hard to change. Only newer owners call it Phase II.
I hear that the Crowleys are due in town on Monday. I like it when Chris is in town. Things move at a faster pace and there is more news that’s fit to print.

Its been a great week for boating. Fishing has been great and the catching has been up and down. Tuesday, John, Dick, and Don and I went out for about three hours. We reef hopped our way to the nest boxes on Long Reef. There we caught about 15 trout most all over 14 inches, but only 3 over 15. I caught one that was unusual. The trout had no spots on its body. There were maybe six spots on the tail and about seven on the dorsal fin. It sure looked like a Sand Trout. It was just a hair short of 15 inches. All the trout hit DOA except one that liked a Corky. I did learn that Don Gormley can really back a trailer. He pulled my trailer out of the ramp and made a perfect backing maneuver to park it. I complimented his parking job and he mentioned that he won a tractor backing contest at a very young age. I know who can park my trailer now. Actually the trailer is in the shop for repairs to the boards and risers.
Wednesday, Don, John, Bill and I went out. This time we found a lot of small trout at the "pipe". None were big enough to measure. We spent about three hours again and came back with no keepers. We missed the first Wednesday Happy Hour, but some food was left when we returned.
Monday we had a sewer pipe blockage in front of the maintenance building. Fred Wright Plumbing came out and opened it up. There was also a main line water leak at the corner of 101 that was repaired. Ron is working behind the 700 building on the flower beds. Scott(702) will be glad to see the 10 foot oleanders have been cut back to three feet high behind his unit.

I want to extend a warm welcome to our newest owners. Alan and Angela Koemel drove in from Albany, near Abilene, yesterday to close on unit 108. They weren't able to stay around to enjoy the good weather as they have three young children to get back into school. They left early this afternoon. The kids are 2,6 and 10. This makes only the sixth unit owned by folks with young children. I'm sure their kids will enjoy the summers here as mine did. Now my children enjoy bringing their own children.
Another closing is eminent. Sandy Sanders of Corpus Christie is in the process of closing on 508. Sandy is already planning upgrades for the unit.
A surprise birthday party is planned for Edd Bowers 86th birthday. His daughter, Debbie, is driving him in from Dallas. The party is planned for Monday, the 14th, at 4:30 pm in unit 210. Edd's friends are invited to attend. I can post this because Edd doesn't read the blog!

Another condo is now under contract. Mike Piwetz has found a buyer for his place. They plan to close very soon. This will impact Bill and Donna who are staying there this winter. I have heard they are OK until the middle of March and then they will have to leave early or move again. So far this year they have spent time in 203, 104, and 108.
I helped another owner change from CPL last week. I got my December bill and the per kilowatt charge was 15.24 cents. I checked last December's bill and the rate was 10.05 cents. That's an increase of 51.6% in one year! I would have saved over $60 on my latest bill if I had changed electrical suppliers a month sooner. With oil touching $100 per barrel lately, I can just imagine what the electical rates will do. For more information about Texas rates you can check at http://www.powertochoose.org/