Thursday
morning bright and early our wonderful hostesses Carolyn McWeeney and
Jeanette McClure prepared coffee, muffins and hot bagels to all that
came and there were quite a few folks that decided to partake, also
Lisa Rynearson and Pam Erikson opened up registration. At 9 o'clock
an army of Madders hit the beach for cleanup. Unfortunately we did
not collect the total number of trash bags that were filled by the
beach trash combers. Around 11 AM Bob and Pat Harko began setting up
shop on the ground floor of the LCRA Nature Center getting prepared
to mix up and cook their Jambalaya. Promptly at 12:30 they served
everyone and Verna Kropp, Sharian Dayton and Beverly Reynolds helped
setup and coordinate the feast and post cleanup. At 2 PM those that
chose to take advantage of the program provided by the nature
centers Animals of the Gulf Coast Area convened to their class
room and enjoyed the program. Around 4 PM folks started to march and
drive to the beach to drop off and haul their wood down on the beach
which was a 100 yard jaunt by foot to Ranger Duke's prepared location
for his bonfire, it was great team work! After dinner the bonfire was
enjoyed by many.
Friday
morning Mary Rosin and Nina Dean was ready with hot coffee and
goodies ready to go at 7:30. Lisa and Pam were manning their
registration table by 8 AM and one hour later those that registered
for the class Wings Over the Wetlands began their informative
program. In the early afternoon Ranger Duke and Beverlee cranked up
the grill and the jalapeños were flying. At 3:30 theAdventures in
Beach Combing class convened without their usual move from the
classroom to the beach because of the weather conditions. All agreed
to finish their field instruction the next morning. At 6 PM everyone
assembled at the Nature Center for the much anticipated pot luck
dinner. Carolyn Youngmeyer brought and assembled all the center
pieces for the tables this year. Carol Curtis, Sharon Stevenson,
Sharian Dayton and many others helped setup and clean up our room
afterwards. During our dinner Verna Kropp was presented a t-shirt
with her 2009 Matagorda Madness artwork on the back. Jim and Kim
Phillips were awarded the annual official State of Texas seashell the
Lightning Whelk for driving the furthest to our gathering
from Gilbertsville, KY.
Ranger Duke's bonfire for Friday night was canceled due to the bad
weather.
Saturday
morning hostesses Beverlee Niskanen and Vicki Muller had more coffee,
muffins and hot bagels ready to go bright and early at 7:30 AM. Pam
and Lisa finished up registration. The Beach combing class continued
their field trip to the beach at 9 AM crunching through the ice on
the beach. The Leisurely Kayak Trip on the River Channel was
canceled. At noon Pat Harko demonstrated and taught her Christmas
Spiral Ornament Class. At 1 PM sharp one of the most enjoyable
programs that the Nature Center provided us this year was an outdoor
Matagorda history class setup with a mock encampment that was built
authentic to the Texas Revolution War period complete with musket
rifles and a cannon that the historians shot off for us. At 3 PM we
all gathered in front of the Nature Center for our group photo done
by Brian McWeeney. Between 5:30 and 6 PM most everyone drove to town
and enjoyed some fresh Gulf seafood at the Waterfront
Restaurant. Once everyone returned back to the RV Park Ranger Duke
again had the beach bonfire stoked for everyone's warmth and pleasure
to enjoy.
This
year Matagorda Madness was a bunch of fun with weather conditions
ranging from 55 degrees and sunny to 40 degrees and raining to flat
out snowing on the Gulf for the better part of one day. We are so
thankful that the Nature Center provided us a gathering room to get
out of the weather. All together there were 61 registrants for the
courses that were offered by the Nature Center and few dollars
donated. The story around the bonfire was that Matagorda Madness
lived up to its name sake just like its first year in 2006.
Sincere
thanks to everyone that helped and attended.
Blair & Jeanette McClure
Agenda
