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Published: August 3rd 2010
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Budgeting has put a tight hold on Summer Vacations this year but I refuse to go down without a fight!!
My solution? Lets "getty up" to the part of Texas that has the beaches!!
Corpus Christi is the most well know beach area because of the mainy attractions such as the U.S Lexington Battleship and the State Aquarium, however the actual beach part runs very low on my score card. The sand is a bit on the rocky side and the waves are not the relaxing soft waves I have come to adore over my travels. If I was to give advice to other families I would not suggest you roll out the mats on this beach for swimming. The overall city looks runned down to poverty or neglect. However, the restaurants are pretty darn good for seafood! I'll admit I was turning my nose up at the outer decor of the most well know places like Pier 99 and Blackbeards and was ready to leave without sampling the local fare. Thankfully my husband did not want to hear my regrets later and decided we were going to try Blackbeards for a Shrimp Po'boy sandwich. It may not
look like much from the outside even though it provided a photo op for my kids with the wooden gallows, I'll even admit I wasn't thrilled with the inside decor but when the food arrived.....WELL...it made up for everything I considered "corney". I mean it was so good I forgot to take pictures of it because it made my mouth water when it arrived! I had the Garlic shrimp appetizer, Shrimp Po'boy sandwich and my kids split a beef burrito ( two fed off of it and didn't finish it) with 5 drinks= $34.00 total. Amazing Price for such a good bite of food!! I'm still dreaming of the shrimp dishes! Next time I'm getting a Po'boy to go home with to stop my cravings.
We did stop in at one of the souvernier shops and you can't tell from the highway but the front door must be accesssed by going through a sharks open mouth, my kids were entertained by it. My daughter bought an Eagle ring carved from a seashell for $5.00 and has been showing all her friends the unique find.
We stay the night at the Horthorn Inn which was about 15 mins from
the actual Corpus Christi Beach. We booked the suite for $102.00 but it provided alot of room for a family a 5 that included a small kitchen with a regular size refrigerator. Breakfeast was included and a pool with a jacuzzi that stayed open until 10pm, an excersice & buisness room. My kids loved swimming at night in the lighted up pool after the disappointed beach scene. The next morning we set out to hit the other lesser known island parts. When people say South Padre is next to Corpus the don't mention its another 3 hours from Corpus thus cancelling that part for a later date. We want time to enjoy the beach. So we drove out over the bridge and vered left for mustang island and Port Aransas. You cannot really see what your gonna get for a beach until you turn on an access road and pass the grass covered dunes. We turned off of Access RD #2 and giggled in delight at what we saw! This was what we were looking for in a quick beach retreat. The sand was soft and silky and the waves were soft enough not to send my seven year old
back to the car in fear. Honestly, this beach was fantastic for us! We could walk for awhile and the water was never past my waist, plus the water was pretty clear and VERY CLEAN!! It was not over crowded and we felt like we had rented a private section. My 13 year old turned around from the waves smiling and said "This is the BEST EVER, EVER out of everything we did this summer!". It made me wish we had found Mustang Island in the beggining of our residence in Texas. 2 ice cream trucks came and I had to laugh at my daughter and husband sucking snowcones while in the waves! Who does that?! My family of course! "Life is good".
Leaving Mustand island we drove through Port Aransas and did not realize our mistake of taking the free ferry across to Aransas pass until it was too late. Why? Because the line returning back to get on the ferry was LONG! I can't put into words how far back it went but enough to where we decided to just drive arround the whole bay to get back to where we started out in Corpus. So we
didn't get to stop and take in the Port Aransas sites. The overall driving time from san Antonio to get there was 2 hrs 45 mins leaving at 4pm on Friday. Getting back was the same on Saturday. We can't wait to book a hotel closer to Mustang Island next year to relax and enjoy ourselves.
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