Corpus Christi, TX

Mon., Feb. 17th – Wed., Feb. 26th, 2020

The first part of this week we did some non-fun things like working on our 17 page Estate Planning document, beginning 2019 tax prep, starting to clean the exterior of the RV (that was more a Gary thing than a my thing), and we had dermatology skin check appointments (and, no we did not want any laser treatments to get rid of any “wisdom freckles” as the Doctor called them). On the plus side we did have a chance to visit East Beach located at the end of Galveston island which is cool because you can see ships, barges, and lots of birding activity. 

On Sunday we headed to Corpus Christi to visit my Dad’s sister, Elizabeth, and her husband, Nick and my cousin Dale and his wife Delilah. D&D were nice enough to let us stay with them, and they live a stone’s throw from my Aunt & Uncle so it was very convenient for visiting. My Aunt Elizabeth is one of my favorite people on the planet. She is truly a southern lady, and she tells great stories about when she and Dad were younger. For example, just to get to school, they each had to ride a horse 6 miles or so and let’s just say they managed to get into a lot of mischief going and coming.

Dale cooked dinner for us the first night. He’s a marvelous cook. We stayed up chatting with D&D until quite late on Sunday. Monday we headed to the Goliad Historic Site for the day. Goliad features prominently in the Texas Revolution. There were more people killed in the Goliad massacre than at the Alamo. The Presidio (fort) has been refurbished and just a little further up the road is a Mission from the same period. Lastly the city of Goliad is the birthplace of Ignacio Zaragoza and there is a small museum in his honor. Even Northerners are unwittingly aware of this great general… Zaragoza led the Mexican army that defeated invading French forces on May 5, 1862, thus the reason for celebrating Cinco de Mayo. 

The Presidio is impressive as is the refurbished mission. The historic site does a good job of explaining Texas state history and all the competing nations vying for a piece of it. 

Spring wildflowers in Texas are a thing to behold. It’s a little early for them now but we did catch glimpses of early Blue Bonnets in bloom and Indian Paintbrush both along the drive and at Goliad. 

After our day’s outing, Delilah and I stopped and visited Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Nick while the boys organized pizza for dinner. 

Tuesday morning Delilah introduced Gary and I to Kodiak Cakes for breakfast. Think pancakes  but better for you. We’ve since bought some ourselves. Delicious and D’s were extra yummy because she included blueberries. After breakfast we visited the Corpus Christi Gun Club. My first time ever at a shooting range! It felt like a momentous occasion. Gary wanted no part of this endeavor. He opted to “shoot” photos and video of me instead. But he was practically in the next county taking photos… well behind me, so you get a great shot of my butt! One would think he didn’t trust me with a gun! 

Luckily there was no one else around when we were there, or I would have felt self conscious. When I first saw where the table set-up was and where the target set-up was, I thought oh by, if I have to stand way back here and shoot, there’s no way I’ll hit that little tiny target. It may as well be on the moon! But, Dale assured me I would be standing much closer, in fact I was up close at about 7 meters. Much more doable for me! Delilah loaned me her guns to shoot… a 32 auto Keltec, which was harder to shoot, and her 9mm Glock 17, which was easier to shoot. Don’t I sound scary???? 

Dale was an excellent instructor and very safety conscious. He taught me how to hold the gun, how to stand, and how to aim through the sites properly, and he made sure we all wore proper ear protection. It was a fun experience! A huge thank you to Delilah for suggesting it and Dale for being willing to take the time to organize everything and be my teacher! 

After our morning’s shooting, we brought lunch over to Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Nick and the six of us visited for the afternoon. Wonderful to spend time with everyone. I always feel closer to my Dad when I’m with Aunt Elizabeth. 

Later in the day, D&D drove us around Corpus Christi to show us the fancy newer homes on Ocean Drive and the old money homes on Hewitt Drive. We also drove out to the Texas A&M campus in Corpus and walked on the nature trail that surrounds part of the campus. The kids actually have dorm rooms overlooking the gulf! They can sit out on their balconies and watch dolphins and the birds. We saw white pelicans and a roseate spoonbill feeding among others. As Dale said, I’d want to be a perpetual student! The kids obviously take advantage of this great location as we saw wet suits drying on their balconies along with kite sailing equipment. Poor them! We even saw one student sitting pool side with his laptop. Sign me up!

Dinner that night for the four of us was at a Chinese restaurant. Gary couldn’t get over hearing country music in a Chinese restaurant. He was a little freaked out. 

Wednesday morning we had breakfast at an authentic Mexican restaurant and Delilah made Gary & I practice our Spanish. Unfortunately my 6 months of Spanish Babble lessons that I finished about 6 months ago have left my brain. Luckily the server’s English was far better than my Spanish. Dale ordered Nopalitos so we could try it. A dish made with diced nopales, which are the young pads of prickly pear cactus. Of course all the prickly things were removed. Delicious as was the rest of our breakfast. 

We said our goodbyes and a heartfelt thank you to D&D for their warm hospitality. We were so grateful to have a chance to spend time with Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Nick on this Texas trip. 

On the way back to Galveston, Gary and I decided to visit Aransas National Wildlife Refuge to hopefully see a pair of whooping cranes, one of the rarest birds in North America. We did indeed see a pair of “Whoopers.” They stand about 5 ft. tall with wing spans of about 7.5 feet and only weigh 15 lbs. They mate for life. Because they were at a distance and nothing else around them, it’s hard to tell their size. It’d be easier if a human could be next to them to get a perspective on their size but, big surprise, that wasn’t an option. Still impressive!! We also saw a gator sunning himself with his mouth wide open. Reminded me of a human deep in sleep sitting in a chair with their mouth open. Maybe we aren’t so different after all? We also saw a Spanish Dagger Cactus in bloom (see below). That was a first! 

From there we wound our way back to Galveston and our tiny home…