§ Redneck Riveiera - PART II

...to continue my road trip, it begins once I get on the southbound freeway, heading toward North Padre Island. It's dark o'thirty. The traffic is light; before the rush hour. I kinda sorta made my own dash camera. Instead of veering off onto a beach access road to view the sunrise, once we get to the island, I thought I'd set my camera on the car's dash and use the remote shutter to get the horizon pictures as I drive; showing what we'd see along the way heading to a favorite area of mine....Port Aransas, Texas. Come along with me in the passenger seat and see what there is to be seen on this new day.  The beginning of our journey.  You'll see what I see each time I drive the highway.  The colors, sky, traffic volume and wildlife activity may change from time to time, but it pretty much gives you an idea of my day trippin' to what lies beyond the road....

The island [Mustang Island] landscape....

Once we get away from the city traffic, and drive through the area known as Flour Bluff, the first 'pass' is Humble Pass [it's a waterway]. Then, the JFK causeway ahead. This crosses the Intercoastal Waterway...it's used to transport freight aboard ships and barges. The Intercoastal Waterway is just that!

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is a 1,300-mile man-made canal that runs along the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Brownsville, Texas to St. Marks, Florida. The Waterway links Texas ports with the rest of the country and enables the state to handle more than 50 percent of the Waterway's traffic.

Once past the causeway, a sign appears...Welcome to the Islands!

You're now nearing the intersection where you go one direction [south] and enter North Padre Island [where it's a Federal Park...North Padre Island National Seashore and NO human habitation is allowed...a protected natural environment]...or turn northeast onto Mustang Island, taking you to Port Aransas [from Port A, you can cross the ferry and go as far across the southern USA to  the Atlantic Ocean]. On Monday, the sun was just beginning to appear. It's about 15 minutes of dunes, palms, condos, hotels, cattails, birds, and rv parks:

By the time the sun breaks free from the earth's horizon, we reach Port Aransas. It's just a short drive now. We hit the first area and I grab my camera off the dash, get my phone to count my steps and head out. We get to the boardwalk at Leonabelle Turnbull Wildlife Refuge. On this particular day and at the early hour, it's quiet. A few birds are waking up, feeding or preening, talking to each other while hidden in the cattails. The resident alligators are not spotted as I scan the lake's shorelines. But the ship channel in the far distance is busy at the moment...TWO tankers are on the water...one coming in, the other going out. Soon, with a short sequence, you'll see them meet midway....

I ended up at the community park, near the yachts/marina. I walked the area and watched the boats go out and barges coming in being pushed by tugboats. Fishermen/women were lined up along the seawall, workers were repairing a damaged pier, the ferry boats were transporting vehicles across the channel. Seagulls were singing, pelicans were perched on boulders and pylons. The sun was up higher and beginning to make us swelter in the heat. I used the facilities if you get my drift...and then got back to the car and drove to the beach. After that, I called it a day and headed back the way I came; toward home. Arriving about 10:15 or so, the outside temperature registered in the car was 96 degrees without the heat factor. Is there rain in the forecast here? Doubt it...but Houston is getting some much needed moisture...makes it even MORE miserable this time of year tho, so I don't know which is worse.

...at the marina




...on the beach:



Redneck Riviera Part ONE

§ The WALL

Temp 96°(F) Heat Index 112°

I've been absent for a while...other than thinking of basting myself and hoping I'll be done cooking shortly, I haven't done much.  On a hazy, summer morning this week, before the rush hour traffic got heavy, I headed to downtown and the seawall. I figured Shoreline Blvd, being open air, there may be a slight breeze blowing in off the bay to keep my body temperature a bit cooler. [it wasn't the temp recorded up at the top right margin of my post...this posted temp was mid-afternoon when I typed the blog for pre-scheduling]  I got hot, but not too much. This summer, I have been suffering a bit in the hot humid days.  More so than years past.  In time, the dog days of summer will be over, and hopefully some drier air will move in for a new season! I'm counting the days...and this year, I'm hoping it's sooner than later!! As you can see by the first photo when I stopped to photograph part of the marina, the air was thick. You can almost feel the humidity in it, can't you?

I'll just let you browse what you may see along the seawall, as you walk with me. From the many restaurants to sculptures, ship replicas, boats, yachts, seabirds, shrimp boats, skyline, culture [art gallery], unicyclist, and more. Come along...bring plenty of cool water, you're gonna need it. The round trip on only PART of the seawall will be about 7000 steps if you're counting [7196 for me]:

a ship's mast and signage [Corpus Christi Marina] and Joe's crab shack restaurant


Shrimp boats tied up at the docks and looking out beyond the breakwater to the open Gulf of Mexico



A replica of one of Christopher Columbus's ships...being restored. [note: it's been at 'dry dock' for years being restored! I see no new work done!!!]


The skyline

In all the time we'll be walking today, there is only ONE shrimper out to sea...the rest are tied up as you've seen in a previous series of pics. Either, too early or too hot? I do like to see them but you wouldn't catch me on one...they look rotten right down to the hull. And I can't swim. lol

Along the wall, on the sidewalk, you can rent scooters...or bring your own unicycle!  The white building behind the mirador is one of two art galleries in this area.  The large ship in the marina is a tour boat and the two benches, the shape of a ship's hull, is for lunching or dining as the sun sets along the parkway...maybe stop and have a smoothie, slushy, or cone?!!

I enjoy reading yacht's [boat's] names! Besides this one, Honky Voodoo, I spied one named Gypsy Pirate....hmmm!! The yellow piece of equipment is about a couple miles away from where we stand now...this is the new harbor bridge construction  I shared photos of a few weeks ago.  Of course, with a marina, you must have a yacht club.  And birds...A few Royal Terns graced some of the wall.

A big huge attraction in the downtown area seawall is the memorial to the Latino Singer-songrighter, Selena. Called the Queen of Tejano, Selena was a Texas native. She was one of the most celebrated Mexican American entertainers in our country. She was murdered in Corpus Christi by an obsessed fan in 1995.  Many,  many visit this site from all over the world!!

...and to conclude our day trippin' this time around, the last images:

Another sea-side restaurant is Harrison's Landing.  The owners have a historical background from the Harrison Family during the Civil War.  At Berkley Harrison [or Berkley Plantation] Plantation in Virginia ...it's home to the well-known music...the bugle played at the end of the day or at military funerals, TAPS.  The song was composed [1862].  The plantation is one of the first plantations in America, ancestral home of two U S presidents, and more. i.e, the first Thanksgiving  To end our walk, naturally, I have to photograph the favorite, the brown pelican.  And the last two are historical markers about the seawall construction [1941] and who designed it [the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore].

Read more of Selena
Read more on the plantation

§ And the Rains Came...

Sunday morning I left home early to avoid the heat. The humidity was high already, rain was in the offing. As I stepped out of the car when I parked along the seawall, I could feel the morning clouds would build up, cover us with the darkness of the pending storms moving in on the horizon. It was time to start moving before I got soaked!!!

Along the boardwalk and the Marina, most of the shrimp boats were still moored [tied up]; some were out to sea. The brown pelicans were mostly quiet, waiting for the return and their breakfast when the shrimpers throw the unwanted fish out alongside their boats. Always a virtual feast for the gulls and pelicans, and a free handout...

...Some private citizens were trying their luck for the catch of the day near the ships' channel, by the harbor. Their boat is dwarfed by the tanker leaving port...

...a couple sat quietly, with their hot coffee, watching the sun rise near one of the miradors [turret/gazebo] ..

.

The clouds would build up, darken the sky, then...quickly dissipate. Rain fell far away, while above me, the sky was blue and dappled with puffs of white thunderheads. Occasionally quiet thunder was heard rumbling in the distance beyond the Harbor Bridge....

Zooming in on the tanker that recently left the Port of Call, was being drenched in the morning mist...

...then it would clear out and the blue above would reappear - while the humid air remained only to build up again and clouds would cover us with a blanket of gray...

The odors from a nearby restaurant [behind the palms] permeated the air. Sausage, bacon, hash brown potatoes, pancakes and a hint of fresh coffee...

...Eventually walking through the marina, I found the near sunk replica of Christopher Columbus's NINA. She took on water during Hurricane Harvey and the city is trying to raise money for repair...

Then....THE RAIN CAME DOWN! Getting soaked before I took shelter under one mirador's roof, I stood and did some people watching, waiting for the storm to move out and head to another city park for more walking!!