October Trip - South Texas - South Padre Island

After spending a week in the Rockport/Corpus Christi area, we left on a Sunday morning for South Padre Island.  The great part about this area is that it is too early for the snow birds from the north to arrive and fall breaks have not started.  Soooo...very little activity here.

South Padre Island is a 34-mile long barrier island and it's only a half-mile at its widest point.

The island basically has three north-south streets:

- Padre Boulevard is the main Boulevard with hotels, restaurants, attractions and shopping.

- Gulf Boulevard is located to the East of Padre Boulevard and has 23 public beach access points, bike paths, several beachfront resorts, and restaurants and bars.

- Laguna Boulevard is located to the West of Padre Boulevard and is the entertainment district with several bayside bars, restaurants, nightclubs and attractions.

Here is our site at the KOA on SPI.  Dave and Nancy next to us and a few other campers in the park.

Next to the CG is Pier 19, which we soon found out has very good food whether it is for dinner or breakfast.  And reasonable prices too.

Sunset view from Pier 19.  The bridge in the distance separates SPI and Port Isabel.

 Port Isabel has some interesting sites, including this water tower.

There is a small acquarium in the area with some interesting sea animals.

This turtle walks the floor in the acquarium and tries to get out the door if left open too long!

Dave found a special place???

Laguna Bay has the usual pirate ship that will sail in the bay waters.

And, a pirate nearby, of course!!

SPI beach (with the remnants of red tide still visible).

For the majority of the month of October, red tide plagued the coastline along South Padre Island. Although the deceased fish and shrimp count was been high over the past month, thankfully, due to its limited range and low concentrations, we saw no turtle  directly related to the harmful algae bloom.
The effects of red tide are widespread, affecting people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds.  These harmful algae blooms run like a ribbon along the coastline, occurring when colonies of algae grow out of control, producing toxins, and often turning the affected water red. When these masses of algaie decompose, oxygen is depleted causing animals to leave the area or die because of the event.  Waves can cause these toxins to become airborne, and with the ever-shifting winds, on SPI, these toxins can trigger irritation among residents and beach goers.

We drove as far north on the island as we could.  Not much up there yet, but did find that blowing sand is a problem.

Sand castles are prominent up and down SPI.

There is a turtle rescue group on the island that have turtles in various stages of rehab, and, some that can never be released back into the gulf.

KOA sign at the exit of the CG.

One evening we drove over to Brownsville to see Julie's college roommate (and our friend as well) Catherine Fletcher and her friend John.  We found their house, got a tour, and then drove all over Brownsville learning about all the city.

Also saw the fence dividing TX and Mexico with the Rio Grande River in the background.

After a pleasant evening with Catherine and John, including a great Mexican dinner including margaritas, we drove back to SPI and left the next morning for Schulenburg, TX.  (Why Schulenburg??  Find out in the next installment!)

October Trip - South Texas - Rockport/Corpus Christi

On October 4th we left Plano with good friends, Dave and Nancy Steffel, for a trip to south Texas, where we had never been before.
We drove some 400 miles to Rockport, TX which is on the Gulf of Mexico.

Found our campground (Drifters' RV Resort) and were very impressed with the CG.  Our site was paved and heavily shaded with full hookups including WIFI and Cable.  Temperatures were still in the high 80's/low 90's so shade was good!

On Monday we drove down to Corpus Christi to tour the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier that is on display there.  Glad we went in the morning because it would have been hot later.

Thought this sign says it all.

We toured a majority of the ship - up and down the narrow stairways to see everything and then went above to the flight deck and looked at the many planes on display.

Later in the day we drove from Corpus over to the beach - North Padre Island and checked out the beach.

On the way back to Rockport, we saw an oil rig (not in operation but looked like it was dry docked, for repairs maybe).

Saw several oil tankers in the bay.

The next day we drove to Aransas Pass, took the ferry accross and then toured Port Aransas and Mustang Island.  Found a German bakery that a friend of Nancy's suggested we go to.  Went for a late breakfast on Wednesday.
Fabulous food.

We also went to the Rockport beach on Wednesday afternoon and spent the time walking the beach and collecting snails, etc.

No, we did not bring them home!!

Rockport also had a Seafair festival while we were there.  Many booths and also a huge tent with food, drinks, etc. and music.

We also drove down to Corpus Christi Bay and found this restaurant.  Judy and I were there many years ago when Belinda lived in Corpus.  Food was excellent then and was very good now.

One of many sunsets while there.

One attraction in Rockport is the Fulton Mansion.  Rising above Aransas Bay, it must have appeared incredible in 1877, as it does today, with its mansard roof and ornate trim.  Interior gas lighting and flush toilets were progressive for this part of Texas.  Today, visitors to the restored home get a glimpse into the life of an affluent family in the late 1800's.
We toured the grounds and a gift shop while there.  Couldn't tour the house as it was being renovated.  Took 3 years and was going to reopen the week after we left.

On another day we drove up and down the beach at North Padre - found a neat restaurant on the water and some an excellent lunch while sitting on the deck with a cool breeze off the water.

The week went by very fast but we did see alot and felt that it was time to move on to South Padre.