Corpus Christi / Mustang Island

Friday, Oct 12th

Meigs and Paul came down to say their goodbyes to us on Friday morning. I said “Let’s make this short and sweet. I can’t handle any long drawn out goodbyes.” So that’s what we did. We will so look forward to visiting them again once they are settled in their new home. 

We traveled on 37-S through San Antonio. Since we weren’t traveling through rush hour, the traffic wasn’t bad… but, as Paul said, it’s a winding road through the city, and it indeed was. We can’t get over all the “flyovers” in Texas. I’m amazed at the sheer height and magnitude of them. All these interchanges crossing over on top of each other. You can get a nosebleed if you’re on the highest level. 

In any event we had a nice drive down to south Texas and the Corpus Christi area and Padre/Mustang Island. We were back in the flat land of Texas rather than the hill country and saw lots of cattle grazing and horses. 

We crossed the causeway from Corpus Christi onto Padre Island and landed at Gulf Shores RV Resort (technically on Mustang Island in Port Aransas) in the early afternoon. This is a campground where the sites are individually owned and then are rented out if the owner is not utilizing the site. The sites are good sized with cement pads and room for an RV plus a vehicle and a golf cart and many folks have elaborate palapas, tiki huts, bars and/or grills set up. Plus there’s ample vegetation between the sites to ensure privacy. There are ponds scattered throughout that have great blue herons, egrets, turtles, and other native species of birds dropping in and out. Plus you have direct access to the Gulf by walking down a short boardwalk. It’s stunning… if a campground can be stunning. 

We were led to our site by one of the worker bees. Usually they lead you to your site then take off and you get to park yourself. In this case, not only did he lead us to our site, he completely directed Gary into backing up into the site, which was helpful since it was rather tight. He was amazing. I asked if he wanted to travel with us permanently. I said you made my life a whole lot easier. He said “I get that a lot.” I said “do you realize how many marriages you save????” He said, “yeah, I get that a lot too.” 

We learned later that to purchase one of the pads, it cost….. wait for it…. $140,000. Can you imagine???? $140,000 for a spot in a resort campground! OMG! In some parts of the country you can buy a home for less than a $140,000. Location, location, location. Anyway… the campground was drop dead gorgeous with access to the beach and a nice pool/spa area. We’d stay there again in a heartbeat… as a renter!

After we settled into the resort, we headed over to the pool to cool off. The air temp was a toasty 90 degrees.That night, prior to the sun going down, we headed to the beach for a walk. Lovely packed sand that allows cars and golf carts on the beach. You can ride for miles and miles on the beach if you want. We walked…. and not necessarily miles and miles but as long as we wanted, or until it was getting dark, which is close to 7:30 in these parts. 

Saturday, Oct. 13th

I have been incredibly blessed in my life to have amazing women role models. First and foremost, my mom (more about her later), but also my amazing Aunts. My mom’s two sisters, Marie and Grace, both remarkable women. And, my Aunt Elizabeth (my Dad’s sister) who lives here in Corpus with my Uncle Nick. When I was a child, Mom, Dad, and I would visit bi-annually when we made our Texas pilgrimages. Aunt Elizabeth is the epitome of a gentle Southern woman…. kind, warm, loving and an amazing cook. She has always been one of my favorite people on this earth. Uncle Nick is funny and gruff but a teddy bear under all that. For the past few years, Gary & I have been wanting to come down to see them. This year we made it happen. Saturday we headed to Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Nick’s house for lunch. Fortunately my cousin Dale and his wife Delilah live just a few blocks away from my Aunt and Uncle so we all had lunch together and the four of them put on quite the feast for us…. ribs, brisket, salads, beans, deviled eggs, and chocolate cake for dessert! We waddled away from the table. Such a fun day catching up with each other!  

I had never met Delilah before even though she and Dale have been married for 25 years. A meeting that was long overdue! She and Gary hit it off at the get-go. Their birthdays are mere days apart so I chalk it up to the Aries thing. I was fascinated that Delilah owns guns, and can actually shoot them! I know there are Northerners who own guns. I just don’t know any of them. So I found this fascinating! She and Dale have done skeet shooting and she can do target practice. Delilah just doesn’t like to clean her gun, but that’s what husbands are for!  Anyway…. I eventually got off the gun topic and we moved on to other things… like all the traveling they’ve done. Dale is quite the adventurer. He has hiked all over the U.S. with a very good friend who is a photographer and travel writer. He’s been allowed into areas that most folks don’t get to see. Delilah’s no slouch either… frequently they hike together.

It was so great to see Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Nick in their home of four years near D&D. Everything is on one level, easy to navigate and take care of, and they are managing quite well on their own with the occasional help from their sons. Also, it came out at lunch that when Mom & Dad had married and moved back to TX, that Dad and Aunt Elizabeth had been in a rodeo competition…. something to do with Dad tying up the goat (or was it a calf) and Aunt Elizabeth having to pull a hair and run back with it. They won $100, which I think was first place! 

We said our goodbyes after a fun afternoon, and Gary and I ran a few errands… mainly getting in some food. Then we headed back to the campground and another evening walk on the beach. This time there was a wedding that had just concluded. The arbor was still on the beach and we saw the bride. They were having the reception steps away from the beach. They’d rented a couple of houses and had tables set up outside. Looked like everyone was in high spirits… as they should be!

Sunday, Oct. 14th

We had Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Nick, Dale & Delilah over for lunch today. They made us a feast yesterday and we made them… chicken salad. But it was a really good chicken salad 🙂  with lots of fixins. Since Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Nick were campers most of their adult lives, they enjoyed seeing our “tiny home.” And, Uncle Nick especially was enthralled with it. He checked it out top to bottom! It was Hot today so all socializing was done indoors! Luckily, we can seat six comfortably, and of course, we had room for Maya who is D&D’s beloved elderly dog. We got a dog fix. We enjoyed lots of good conversation and laughs. After everyone left, Gary & I took a ride down to Port Aransas just to see the town. Last year it was hit by Hurricane Harvey. We saw some damage, but not a lot, but then we didn’t know what it looked like before. Port Aransas is a quaint town with some shopping and some restaurants, but not a lot of either. It has it’s own rustic charm. We also checked out a few other campgrounds in the area. None as nice as the Taj Mahal we’re staying at. By the time we got back, it was time to relax. 

Monday, Oct. 15th

We decided to take a walk on the beach in the morning. It was muggy…. a warm wind for sure! One thing that Padre Island and Mustang Island are known for is the wind… it blows almost continually… between 10 and 25 (or even 30) mph is not that unusual. Takes a little getting use to. We didn’t mind it, and as Dale & Delilah said, it does help in the summer to have a constant breeze. Just not something that we’re accustomed to. After our walk on the beach, the rains came in and dropped the temps by about 30 degrees! So Gary & I decided to head off to Corpus Christi to see the USS Lexington. 

There have been several USS Lexingtons. In 1941 Pearl Harbor was the base of the USS Lexington (CV-2), one of three aircraft carriers assigned to the Pacific Fleet. On December 5, the Lex left Pearl Harbor carrying aircraft and supplies to reinforce troops at Midway Island. She was at sea on the 7th and didn’t return to Pearl Harbor until December 18, 1941. In May of 1942 she was sunk in Battle of the Coral Sea and replaced by the present USS Lexington (CV-16) in 1943. This USS Lexington has set more records than any other Essex Class carrier in the history of naval aviation.This ship was the oldest working carrier in the US Navy when decommissioned in 1991. And, she had the distinction of being the first ship in naval history to have women stationed aboard as crew members (1980).

Speaking of women serving in the military, my Mom was a WAVE and served during WWII in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor. One of the many reasons that she’s my hero. A young woman from Brooklyn, NY stationed in Hawaii, who met my Dad (born and bred Texan), fell in love, married, and after the service, settled in Texas and started their family. Pretty gutsy for a 20-something-year-old woman who’d never been away from home!  But I digress…

We were able to wander throughout the Lex on our own self-guided tour…. first seeing a film about life on an aircraft carrier, then seeing officers quarters, enlisted men’s quarters, the bridge, the narrow hallways and stairwells and the flight deck.

The USS Lex is known as “The Blue Ghost” apparently her demise has been greatly exaggerated over the years… at least four times she had been (mistakenly) reported as sunk. 

And for those adventurous folks, you can actually spend a night on the ship. No thanks. 

After touring the Lex, we headed back to the campground to meet up with Dale & Delilah. They were picking us up and taking us for a ride on the beach to get the true experience of life on the Texas Gulf! Padre Island runs into Mustang Island and Padre Island National Seashore is the longest stretch of undeveloped beach you can drive in America… about 60 miles. But the drive-able beach area is even longer than that taking into consideration other parts of the beach beyond the national seashore. Dale was a great tour guide and first took us through Port A to show us the areas where Hurricane Harvey has left its mark and where areas have been re-built. We saw it better through the eyes of a local. Then we drove for miles on the beach…. with hardly seeing a soul. After that we headed back to Corpus and saw their townhouse and they took us out for dinner at a great local restaurant. We had lots of good conversation and laughs. A perfect day! 

Tuesday, Oct. 16th

A chore day today…. doing laundry, getting in a few groceries, fueling up, and another long walk on the beach before heading off tomorrow to cross the lower Gulf states and head into Florida.