2023-02-07 Padre Island National Seashore

Tuesday morning after breakfast we decided to head back to the island and go to the National Seashore. On this trip, we drove through Corpus Christi and made stops at the three T-Heads since Carolyn had never been there. It was not crowded since it was a weekday. Most of the shrimp boats were out but we saw a few and lots of fancy boats at the marina. I should mention that photo are all courtesy of Carolyn Patin. I know she took photos there as she takes photos everywhere. We made numerous stops for photo shots since Carolyn was driving. (I brought my RV on this trip and Carolyn brought her convertible for sightseeing. Yes, we had the top down.) We took the bridge over to the island and headed down island to:

I had my National Park Senior Pass ready for entry.

The first stop was Malaquite Beach Campground.

One day I am going to camp here. There are no hookups but there is a dump station with water right outside the campground. The price is right especially with the senior pass.

There were some openings available and RVs/tents of all kinds enjoying the campground.

You can walk down to the beach easily. The campground has restrooms.

Next up was the visitor's center.

It sits up above the beach with a nice boardwalk going down.

Inside the visitor's center, there are all kinds of exhibits including this touchy/feely one.

Next we headed to the other campground at Bird Island Basin.

Can't beat this bargain. There is a place where you can rent windsurfing boards and take lessons.

Here you park right next to the beach. This is the Laguna Madre side of the park.

We saw some wildlife as we left the park. Carolyn was very surprised. We also saw a large wild pig right after this but he was moving too fast for a photo.

Heading back towards Port Aransas and the ferry, we passed Mustang Island State Park. Both of us have camped here. It's kind of a parking lot but very popular.

We were hungry and decided on pizza for a change. This place is great. We were going to share a pizza but several people waiting to order said we needed to do the buffet. Score! $10/person includes drink, salad bar, pizza bar, and dessert pizza bar and ice cream. It was all great.....very impressed! Great salad bar included broccoli/cheese soup and tomato bisque soup as well as hot pizzas of every kind kept constantly filled.

This is from the salad and soup bar.

 After a late lunch we caught the ferry back to Aransas and then home to Rockport/Fulton. It was a great day.

Spring Break at Mustang Island

Final items were loaded into the RV on Monday morning and we headed out for Spring Break with the grandkids. We had two truckloads since there were three adults, two kids, and four dogs. Steve had to run by the Vet's to get Angus an allergy shot so he caught up to us when we stopped for lunch....hey, I didn't say we started at dawn.  It was raining all day but when Spring Break rolls around and you have the kids for the week, you have to take what you can get and the weather was forecasted to improve for the rest of the week. We were on the road to Mustang Island just off Corpus Christi. The rain was just letting up when we arrived. I had reservations for two days so I headed in to the office to get our site number and tags.  The lady was very nice and quickly got us all set up.

We left Helen at the office using the Internet...she still has to work you know and we pulled on down to our site. What????  There were at least 4 inches of water covering the site. Hmmm.....the front desk never mentioned this situation. A quick look around revealed that the few other empty sites as well as all of the full ones were in a similar situation. We told the kids they had to stay in the truck with the dogs. Steve and I rolled up our pants and put on our flipflops.  I wasn't worried about getting stuck because the parking area is all asphalt.

I told Steve that our plan was going to include getting backed in and leaving my truck hooked up to the RV if it was level enough. We would put down the front legs on the RV and not worry about the back stabilizers since we would still be hooked up.  Easy enough for a quick getaway and we had his truck to get around in. Once we checked out the electric with the Surge Guard and found that it was fine, we hooked up the power and the water, put out the slides and were all set up.  We had the kids take off their shoes and socks and put on their flipflops too. The dogs got a walk on the dry pavement and then we ferried them all inside. Helen finished up with her Internet work and waded in as well.  The dogs got ferried out once more before bedtime. It's a lot easier to ferry dachsies than it is a Staffordshire Terrier, it just takes more trips.

Fortunately, when we got up the next morning, the water had receded and the ground was just wet.  After breakfast, the dogs settled in for a nap and the rest of us hopped in Steve's truck to head down the road to Port Aransas. As you can see, it was still very overcast but NOT raining. We dropped Helen off at the Coffee Waves shop....she had to work again and the Internet at the state park doesn't work in the campground and is pretty darn slow at the office. Fortunately, the coffee shop has blazing wifi and great coffee so she was very happy. We headed to the water and saw...dark spot in the middle of the water....our first dolphin.

Of course, that led to a ride on the vehicle ferry.  Steve and the kids were amazed when they saw trucks pulling big 5th wheels and motorhomes loading onto the ferries too. We were first on so we had a great view although the vehicles were too close together to get out.

We saw several more dolphins as we made the short crossing. The ferries are not large but they have a number of them running, even more when traffic is heavy. And the ride is not long but there is always the possibility of seeing dolphins and the ferry is free.  See the two dolphins?

Other wildlife hangs around the ferry docks too.

After crossing on the ferry, we drove the short distance to Aransas for a look around there.  The kids and Steve were already hungry so we stopped at a little Mexican bakery for a snack.  This is one of the very popular ginger pigs...sorry his front leg didn't make it until photo time.

We rode the ferry back again and checked out the park and marina near the ferry. Then we headed out to the pier and beach area.

This time we saw brown pelicans.  As you can tell, it wasn't warm at least by Texas standards.

We saw some ships come through the channel on their way to the Corpus Christ harbor which is the 4th or 5th busiest in the nation.

We also saw several campers on the beach. I think there were about four or five here as it is very popular with fishermen.  You can get a reasonably priced pass to boondock on the beach from the city RV park which is right behind the dunes. The RV park has hookups and is a little more protected from the gulf wind.  The sand in this area is very firm and there is a sand road running along the beach with entrances through the sand dunes every so often. There are also some port-a-potties at intervals as well as trash cans.

About this time, we headed back for a late lunch. We walked the dogs and relaxed at the camper for a while before heading back to Port Aransas for more sightseeing and to pick up Helen. It is a nice little town, very popular with birders and fishermen as well as tourists in the summer. Lots of RV parks as well as the beach.  The grandkids wanted to stop at one of the tourist beach shops to get a picture in their big shark. They have one taken in a shark from Florida too.

It was still pretty cool but a bit sunnier so we took Helen for a drive along the beach further down from the pier. This RV kind of parked himself in the roadway.

There were also tenters huddled up against the dunes. There were some people wading and even out further in the water but water temps in the 60s are a bit too cold for any but the winter Texans that flock down from the north.

 

The weather was no optimal but much better than the day before and we had a good time anyway. 



Wild Weekend in Corpus Christi

We were all packed up and ready to go when Helen came home from work at 12:30PM on Friday. The RV was sitting in front of their house when she pulled up. Dave joined us on his motorcycle a few minutes later and then we were off. Oops! The guys had to make a last minute stop back at our house because Dave needed a safety vest since the guys were riding their motorcycles and we were going to stay at Shields RV Park on Corpus Christi Naval Air Station (CCNAS or NAS-CCAD depending on which military acronym you choose). On the drive down to Corpus Christi, Helen and I were not sure whether they were ahead or behind us but I had written the directions down for Steve so it really didn't matter.

Just in case you are military and ever stay at the CCNAS, be aware that the entrance is a bear. The barricades extend quite a ways out in front of the gate and are very narrow. When the gate guard remarks "that was some impressive driving", you know that not everyone makes it through without scraping the sides. I'm all for security but since they have such a large well used RV park and only one gate open most of the time, you would think they would have a secure but easier to manage lane for RVs. Even going through the entrance portal itself is a stomach clincher as the opening slants in near the top and has two little cornices sticking further in.....which have obviously been scraped many times.

Anyway, we headed through the station and got checked in before heading to our site. We were just setting up when the guys pulled in so it was good to know they didn't have a problem getting their bikes on station. I should have mentioned that the guys rode their bikes because they came to Corpus Christi for BikeFest. Okay, there were other equally good reasons but that is why Dave came along. We grilled burgers for dinner and took the dogs for several walks.

We woke up to some really heavy rain laden clouds so the guys opted for a "dropoff" at the rally which was downtown. Helen and I left them at the door and headed to the People's T. This was Steve and Helen's first trip to the Texas coast.

See those clouds.....

We parked and walked around. A shrimp boat had just come in and there was a line up to buy fresh shrimp.

These were some pretty good size shrimp. The guy in back in red was sorting the shrimp out from some little crabs and fish.

These guys were waiting for the little fish he threw overboard.

Helen and I decided to take a chance and go on a boat tour of the bay but we decided we better grab a quick lunch before we caught the boat. Good thing we chose the restaurant just up the dock because we were no sooner seated on the floating deck when the skies let loose. Fortunately we were under cover. I had a great bowl of lobster, shrimp bisque and Helen had a bowl of gumbo and a crab salad. The food was decent but the waiter was a lost cause. It cleared up just before we boarded the boat with 6 other people.

We motored out of the dock area past all kinds of watercraft.

We went past the newly renovated "Nina" at the Lawrence Street T Head. Replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria arrived in Corpus Christi in the early 90s after being built in Spain and touring numerous places. They were all at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History but Pinta and Santa Maria were dry docked while the Nina was in the water. The Pinta and Santa Maria basically dry rotted and became unsafe while the Nina was restorable.

As we headed out past the T Heads, the sky once more settled down closer to the water.

The Corpus Christi bridge was swathed in mist and it poured once again. Fortunately we were under cover for the most part.

It brightened a bit as we went past the U.S.S. Lexington which is docked and open for tours.

This is the north beach area close to the bridge.

We went past the center where the BikeFest Rally was being held. Can you see all the bikes parked in front? It was packed.

Another view of the Lexington.

Since 9-11, no pleasure boats are allowed to go past the bridge into the inner harbor but I did manage to get a few pictures. Remember when I was trying to get pictures of the ocean liners while I was up in Michigan?

A couple of harbor tugs just waiting to move some of those big ships around.

We enjoyed the day in spite of the rain. Helen and I headed back to the RV to let the dogs out for a walk and relax and then we drove back into town just before dinner to pick the guys up. They said the BikeFest Rally was okay but not nearly as good as the Rally in Ruidosa that they try to make each year.

Dave decided to head back to San Antonio Sunday morning for two reasons. First, the weather looked more promising for the ride back on Sunday than Monday and second, because the rest of us planned to head out to Padre Island National Seashore and Mustang Island on Sunday. He is a lousy tourist.

The skies were dark but were supposed to clear up. Steve and Helen were looking out at the ocean at the visitor's center. I needed to get another National Park Senior Pass (yes I know...lifetime....but I could not find mine anywhere and I needed one for the COE parks).

See the dark stuff on the left side.....well, it wasn't long before it hit. I gave them the windshield tour of all the places of biggest interest in the park and then we headed up the island to Mustang Island. I pointed out Mustang Island State Park but it was raining so hard they really couldn't see much at all from the road.

It cleared up and then poured again several times on our way up island to Port Aransas. We stopped to eat at Shell's Pasta and Seafood restaurant which Helen and Steve found on Urban Spoon. It is a very tiny unprepossessing place from the outside. We had a fairly long wait outside but fortunately the rain held off. The inside was even smaller than the outside looked. The food is very eclectic but most of it was delicious.

Then we headed off to see the rest of Port Aransas. The skies were finally clear! Ships coming through the channel on their way to Corpus Christi harbor. There were a number of RVs parked on the hard packed sand right near the channel as well as lots of cars driving around. You can camp here on the beach for a small fee or go to an actual RV park just behind the dunes which has electric and water. Of course, you will find many RV parks and RVers in Port Aransas. It's a popular destination.

We headed down to the park by the ferry dock and saw lots of other boats. Some were fairly unique like this little short guy.

Or even more unique like this pirate ship. Okay, this is a tour boat. The passengers looked like they were having fun.

You can see that there was a lot of boat traffic out there coming and going. The blue boat is a shrimper with it's nets extended and the others in the background were all ocean going vessels.

There was a long line up and we had been gone all day so we passed on a ferry ride. It's a short ride, free, and you often see dolphins gliding alongside the boat.

As we headed back along the island road, it was blocked near the edge of town with a number of police cars directing traffic away from the road.  Hmmm....there is only one road down the island. We pulled into a little shopping center and had coffee at Coffee Waves while we waited to see what would happen. Steve had to try out their gelato which was also very good. We were able to take a detour through a neighborhood and get back on the highway further down.  That night we heard that they found a body off to the side of the road but not much more than that.

Monday found us pondering the weather again. We were trying to time the drive home to hit the least rain. We finally headed out about noon. Steve got a little wet as we made our way back through Corpus Christi but it cleared up as we left town and all we had to deal with was the wind. You can nearly always expect wind between Corpus and San Antonio because it is pretty wide open. It was hitting us at an angle so it got the front and drivers side. I wasn't worried about Helen and I in the RV because my RV is very stable in wind....just affects the diesel mileage. But Steve had his light bike. Fortunately, he said it wasn't bad at all. We stopped a couple of times on the way home.

Gretchen decided she would share the back seat with the big dog. Harley was on the floor and Willy was up front. Willy was a little miffed at Helen since she was occupying the navigator's seat which he considers his but he fell asleep anyway.

In spite of rain and windy weather, it was a great trip!