From Desert To Seashore

Well! I am finally updating this blog. We have been so dang busy there is just not enough time to do everything!

We left Quartzsite about 10 days ago and came to Aransas Pass, Texas which is in an area we learned to love a few years ago. Aransas Pass is on the mainland along Redfish Bay and just a short ferry ride to Port Aransas on Mustang Island.

When we wintered here previously we stayed on the island and would take the ferry over here for Wal-Mart visits, different restaurants, fresh seafood, a bigger full service grocery store, and different kayaking trails. Now we don't have to do that because we are here! We take the ferry over there to see old friends and go to the beach.

It has been 7 years since we have wintered here and there have been so many changes. The Conn Brown Harbor is just 5 minutes away from where we are parked and is in the throes of a big revamping phase. It is the homeport for dozens of shrimp trawlers who fish the Gulf of Mexico and have earned Aransas Pass the title "The Shrimp Capital of the World". It is fun to go there and watch the boats come in and out. A few days ago we took a picnic lunch and sat and watched the boats, the sea birds, and the fishermen. The weather was beautiful for that sort of thing because it was in the low 80's the first 8-9 days we were here.

Yesterday we started getting some much needed rain and since we couldn't do much outside activity we headed to Corpus Christi just 20 miles away. We enjoyed the day just checking out all the changes there and we also ate at one of our favorite restaurants The Bayou Grill and had some delicious jambalaya. We made time to go see our friend Shannon Taylor who we hadn't seen for years and had a great visit. So it was a great day even if it was rainy off and on.

Since we started traveling during the winters 12 years ago we have been looking at each area we stayed in to see if we would want to return there often. We knew we liked the desert and all the ATV trails it provided and we knew we liked this area with the Gulf and all the water opportunities. And now we think we are ready to leave the ATVs at home next year and come back here again and bring our kayaks! When we had our kayaks here 7 years ago hardly anyone was kayaking and now there are tons of kayaks out here! And lots more kayak trails we haven't been on and are anxious to try. So maybe we have found a "home" for a while!

I have posted some pictures I took from the ferry and from the fishing jetties in Port Aransas and will take many more. Our weather is supposed to get back to being sunny and in the high 70's by Monday so in the meantime we will be thankful for the rain that the area needs so badly.

Don't forget to click on the photo to get a better view and then click on the back button to go back to the post.