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Published: July 22nd 2013
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USS Lexington
front entrance. $5 parking right across the street Got a long weekend off from work so I decided to explore South Texas. I have lived in Texas for 14 years yet I have not seen much of it. My style of travel is anything off the beaten path so why not check out the towns close to the Texas-Mexican border? Despite the little research I came up with and friends' advice against going to a border town, I decided to give it a go. I wanted to see all that Texas has to offer before I leave.
Day 1 - Thursday July 11, 2013
Destination: Corpus Christie (3 hours drive from Houston in my '09 Toyota Camry) headed for the USS Lexington. Private parking lot right across from the Lex charged $5 all day parking. I met this retired sheriff deputy from Dallas who was visiting with his 11 years old daughter, I offered them to use my $1 off coupon. He said sure and ended up paying for my entrance fee ($13.95) into the Lex. He gave me his contact information in case I end up in Dallas some day. After 2 hours of wandering around the Lex and watching an inspiring 3D movie about "Rescue
USS Lexington
Retired serviceman volunteer to take visitors up the ramp incase you don't want to walk to the entrance of the ship Operation to Haiti", I walked to the beach located right next to the ship, bought a $3 cup of shaved ice, lay my towel down and took a nap under the built in umbrella on the beach. For dinner, I met up with a friend at Yoshi sushi. I paid $40 for my share including tips, but you can probably order something else for much cheaper. I had miso soup, spicey garlic edmami, house special seafood salad, and a plate of assorted fish salad. Afterward, we headed to Brewster St. Ice House where a country band from Austin, Texas called Reckless Kelly was playing. My friend Joe bought the tickets in advance for $15 per person. Brewster St. reminded me of your typical country dance hall, girls walking around in cowgirl boots, lot of military guys walking around. If you like to people watch, Brewster St. is definitely the place not to be missed on a Thursday night in Corpus Christi.
Day 2 - Friday July 12, 2013
I had lunch at Hester's Cafe inside the South Texas Institute for the Arts. I ordered the lunch special (half a sandwich and soup), water, and their infamous blueberry cheesecake
USS Lexington
view of the Lex from nearby beach for desert ($15 total). I took a spot right outside of the cafe with a gorgeous view of the ocean infront of me, the Lex to my right, and the Aquarium to my left. Next time, I'll definitely check out the Hooks Stadium and visit the Aquarium.
I left Corpus around 12 noon headed to Brownsville, Texas where Enrique, a 23 years old male environmental engineering student from University of Texas Brownsville had agreed to host me. I arrived at his house around 330 p.m., his roommate made us early supper (a Mexican dish called "descarda" or "discarda"); I don't recall but it was spicey and delicious beef, chicken, assorted vegetable served over white rice. After supper Enrique drove us to South Padre Island, about 20 minutes drive away from Brownsville. We set out towel on the beach infront of Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill, swam, dug my feet under the powdery sand, drank beer, started talking to 2 couples who were vacationing from San Antonio, Texas. The ladies invited me to try their vodka cranberry cocktail. Enrique's friends from Tampico, Mexico happened to sit right to our left. We watched the sun goes down over glossy beautiful water
USS Lexington
a must see in Corpus Christi, especially the 3D movie (I found it so inspiring) (not turquoise or gorgeous by anymean, but beats the water in Galveston), enjoyed 20 minutes of nonstop firework which started at 915 p.m. It was then I realized that there are so much beauties around us and sometimes it isn't the place but rather the company that makes the place.
For late night dining, Taqueria El Ultimo Taco serves to die for street tacos. The waitress will even bring you a plate of saute onion & small bowl of lime. 2 plates of 4 assorted street tacos, 2 soft drinks cost around $12.50 for two people. This is a good reason not to miss Brownsville, Texas. We got back to Enrique's place, watched Super Bad, laughed our hearts out, and fell asleep to the spirit of being young and full of life.
Day 3 - Saturday July 13, 2013
Destination: Matamoros, Mexico. After much time wasted, my host Enrique hesitantly decided to take me across the border into Matamoros. $3 per car to enter Mexico. Fortunately there was no line at the check in point as we went around 2 p.m. We had late lunch at Enrique's favorite gorditas stand. 2 plates of 4 assorted gorditas, 2
USS Lexington display
different types of planes ice cold drinks cost $8 for 2 people. After lunch we went to a local park where they had a huge red sculpture, we took some pictures there and opted for the parque central area. There were several vendors from Oaxaca selling souvenirs from mezcal, clothings, jewelries, etc...There were not much to see in Matamoros, so we headed back to Brownsville to get ready for another night of firework on the beach in South Padre Island. $2.50 to enter the U.S from Mexico side, the guy at immigrant check in line said "Ma'am you're not supposed to have your cell phone out".
We stopped by Walmart to fill up gas, got 2 trays of vegetables, ham, cheese & crackers, beer, and filled up the cooler with ice before heading to the beach. Traffic was backed up at 7 p.m. on Saturday to get into the island. We must have been in traffic for 1 hour before we reached Clayton's Beach Bar & Grill. We swam, watched firework again then met up with Enrique's classmates inside Clayton's where they had a live band playing. One drink after another, we ended up hanging out on a sail boat. Tired and hungry,
I devoured some burger that Joe from our group had brought from Whataburger and fell asleep on the couch while the guys (4 in total, 5 including me) continued to drink and talked the night away. I woke up around 7 a.m. and the sail was up high, Enrique told me we have been sailing since 4 a.m. heading for the Texas Clipper (a 473 foot merchant marine training vessel that was sunk on November 17, 2007) for some snorkeling actions.
Day 4 - Sunday July 14, 2013
Snorkeling at Texas Clipper with strong currents, the guys put down a line for us to hold on to in case the currents were too strong to get back to the boat. Despite the strong currents, the Texas Clipper looked beautiful from atop. The lights were dancing under the deep blue water like they were playing tricks on me. I saw about 6 barracudas swimming close to the sunken ship. It was a beautiful site to see. We set sail back to South Padre Island and reached shore around 3 p.m. Exhausted from being out in the sun and that Texas heat beating on our heads, we hurried home to
Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge
view of Harbor Bridge from the Lex. The bridge lights up at night and makes a beautiful sight to see whether driving or walking Enrique's place in Brownsville, showered, and took a long nap. We had dinner at Taqueria Siberia, cost around $12.50 for the 2 of us including drinks. We ended the night watching Here Comes the Boom starring Kevin James. I woke up the next day, Monday, bought my $15 worth of Starbucks goods, filled up my tank of gas and headed back to Houston (6 hours drive).
Overall, I really enjoyed my trip down to the south of Texas. The handmade corn tortillas are probably waiting to be devoured by my ferocious appetite right about now. I sure will miss eating some real street tacos made perfectly to my liking. When traveling, sometimes it isn't about the place. Sometimes it's the company that makes the place an unforgetable one. Thank you Enrique for an amazing time!
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