Remembering the Texas Coast

With the threat of Hurricane Ike heading toward the Texas coast, I'd like to share some photos and highlights of our trip to Port Aransas just last week. This was the first time my brother Bill had been to Padre Island, so we were anxious to show him every aspect of it that we could.

After a really delicious seafood dinner at Pelican's Landing, we walked around the nearly deserted wharf area where lots of boats are moored. This was the day after Labor Day, the first day of "off-season", and many businesses were closed, some for the week. One sign we saw read "We're tired... See you Friday"!

So Wednesday morning Bill and I get up really early to take pictures of the sunrise. Unfortunately, the sun was rising on the other side of the building! But we did capture this tranquil shot of the beautiful pools at Port Royal. They look just the same as our first trip there back in the '80's. Then we rushed to the in house restaurant to be first in line for breakfast... "off-season", remember! We were the only ones in line for breakfast!

The beach is just a short boardwalk away from the condos, so after breakfast, with cameras in tow, we head out to capture some of the "beach activity". The birds were out, taking advantage of the incoming tide to grab a bite. And look! Footprints! Someone else is out on the beach, though we can't see anyone for miles. We have this place all to ourselves. This is heavenly.

At the north end of Port Aransas, the only way to leave town is by ferry. This is truly a gem of the State of Texas - a free ride across the ship channel 24/7. And since this is the "off-season" we never had to wait more than three or four minutes for a ferry. "So what?" you say. I have been here in the middle of summer when the wait was more than an hour long! A little jaunt over to Rockport was made easier by the short ferry ride.

After a great lunch at Charlotte Plummer's in Rockport, Bill and I drove over to the jetty back at Port A and took a stroll along the ship channel. At the right side of this picture you can see a fisherman napping while his line is out. And this old gentleman pelican came up to us, looking for a handout. Poor fellow, it's "off-season" and no one is around to feed him! We watched a huge oil platform moving out the channel to some place out in the gulf. Often you will see tankers coming up this channel.

All good things must come to an end, and this happy seagull bid us "Adieu" as we took the ferry back to the mainland for our drive home. Graham got his fill of fish and seafood, Bill and I had a ball with our cameras, and we filed away some memories of a beautiful three days at the coast. I pray that Hurricane Ike is gentle with us this weekend. Yes, we've been hit many times before, and always the sturdy people of the coast bounce back. But maybe, just maybe, it won't be so bad this time.

I have posted all my pictures at http://favoritetravelmemories.shutterfly.com/.