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Published: February 23rd 2007
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Sun. Feb. 18th: Today we started the day by heading into Port Aransas to Cotter Street Coffee Shop which has Wifi. We were able to connect and check our email and post to our blog. I had Eggs Strata and George had a Derby (like a round croissant with the middle cut out and filled with eggs, broccoli, and various cheeses). Then he had a slice of caramel apple pie! After breakfast we headed home and picked up the dogs, to head to Padre Island National Seashore. The National Park’s Senior Pass (Golden Age Pass) came in handy again and we didn’t have to pay to get in. We had another nice beach walk. So far we haven’t found a complete sand-dollar, just ½ dollars and ¼ dollars. The visitor’s center had a nice display of shells and various things found on the beach. They were able to answer my question about the holes in the sand with the little mounds around them. It turned out to be Ghost Crabs. We then drove on the beach to check out the camping areas. One area is on Laguna Madre which is a body of water that is hypersalinated and is connected to
Padre Island
White pelicans the Gulf by narrow channels at each end. Due to the evaporation of the water that enters the lagoon the salt content of the lagoon increases. It’s the only hypersalinated lagoon in the country. We saw a flock of white pelicans in the lagoon.
George had an interesting observation today. The trip started with the call of the road and driving to put on lots of miles. Then when we got to New Orleans we switched to vacation mode and were busy being tourists. Now we’ve switched to living on the road mode. The pace is slower in doing the tourist activities and we’re doing more regular day to day tasks. I had commented that last year our longest trip was 2 weeks and we’ve already been out that long and still have a lot more time to go.
Mon. Feb. 19th: It was a bright sunny but windy day. The waves were crashing into the shore as we took our morning walk. We went into Corpus Christi and had lunch at Blackbeard’s. We both enjoyed our meals. After lunch we went and toured the USS Lexington. It’s an aircraft carrier that was launched Sept. 26, 1942 and
Lunch vulture
Neeko eyes Lynne's food. Hopefully he doesn't drool too much on my shoulder. was in the Pacific front during WWII. It was involved in all major Pacific battles. It holds 1.499,925 gallons more fuel than our motor home. It was interesting to see the inside of the ship, the narrow walkways, the huge engines, the bridge, all the wiring, the dental and medical facilities, etc. We got our exercise climbing the steep steps. The ship’s deck was just like in the movies, windy!!! We planned to stay 2 ½ hours (the amount we put in the parking meter), but ended up staying until they closed, so that meant George had to go put more money in the parking meter. That was one impressive boat, and the planes on the flight deck were a big plus. The website is: www.usslexington.com.
Tues. Feb. 20th: Short sleeve weather today! We extended our stay 2 more nights. Later this week we need to be in McAllen to meet up with our new RV windshield. The plan is that they will come out to the campground and install it there. Today we needed to get online and take care of some business, so we headed to a local library. Then there was shopping for some camping supplies
USS Lexington
At Corpus Christi and groceries. It is interesting to shop at a different supermarket every time. Today we shopped at HEB.
This afternoon we went to Port A (aka Port Aransas) and went to The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. The book Off the Beaten Path notes that they have seven habitat aquariums and an impressive shell display. The shell display was indeed impressive, but I found the display of sand from around the world even more impressive. There were probably at least 100 labeled dishes of sand from all over the US and the world. It was interesting how wide a variety of sand there is. When we arrived there was a notice of a 3:00 movie. It was about 3:30 but we looked into the auditorium and found it was the movie An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. We joined the audience and were disturbed by the information presented. Later this week will be a scientist to discuss the movie. It was a great afternoon and well worth the drive to Port A.
Wed. Feb. 21st: It seems like there is something new to see everyday and today it was fog. We woke up to a dense fog
USS Lexington
Also known as The Blue Ghost, as it had been reported sunk 4 times by the Japanese during WWII. and there was more humidity, we did more sweating on our morning walk. Our winter dogs were panting and looking forward to the comforts of the RV. I’m amazed at how the dogs don’t try to drink the Gulf water. It was something I was initially concerned about, but after all this time am just amazed what they know.
This afternoon we went to the Texas State Aquarium. We enjoyed touring all the exhibits. It was educational and we saw lots of unusual sea life. We saw jellyfish that fluoresce, poisonous toads that we so colorful they looked like art, dolphins, river otters, sharks and sting rays. That is only a small list of what we saw today.
Tonight after sunset we drove down to the beach to take an evening walk. Now that it’s warmer the mosquitoes are out early or late in the day, so this way we could avoid them. It was a lovely walk on the beach with the western horizon red but gradually darkening and then watching the stars come out. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here and really liked the area. Tomorrow we head south to our next destination and hopefully to
Jellyfish
Colorful and on exhibit at the Texas State Aquarium. meet up with our windshield.
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Carol
non-member comment
longing for more sensory input
Hello, Your photographs are fantastic! I'll have to share this blog with Ryan and together we can dream about a future vacation in a WARM, sandy place with lots of wildlife (animal that is) and lush plant life. I miss the sand and dunes of West Michigan summers. Sure wish the blog could give tactile and auditory input, as well as visual. THANKS, again for sharing your experiences with us all. Keep on sharing and ENJOY very minute!