Yesterday was a "crappy weather" day along the Texas Gulf Coast. Fog, drizzle, wind and temperatures in the 50's.
Still, we got out and walked our beach circuit a couple of times, getting in six miles of outdoor activity. I enjoyed watched the seabirds feast at low tide, congregating for supper at the edge of the surf.
At home, it was not an outdoors kind of day, despite sunny skies.
No regrets. Fresh black drum fillets and salad for dinner.
The local weather woman on the news promised sun today, and she was eventually right. Threatening storm clouds hung around all morning and into the early afternoon, but there was no rain. By 2 p.m., the skies were blue and sunny.
We drove over the bridge to Corpus Christi after breakfast and then walked five miles up and down the walkway along the bay.
Then we headed over to Nueces Brewing Company for a stout and a pulled pork sandwich.
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| Another stout |
Although last call was at 2 p.m., they let us hang out long after that. There were families with kids and dogs and board games. Everyone was enjoying the sun coming out.
After arriving back at our Airbnb, Julia and I hit the beach for some more strolling along the surf under sunny skies.
It was a great day. The walking was flat, but we both got over ten miles in.
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| Finally Tired |
With the weather turning wet today, pickleball in Port Aransas was not an option. Instead, after our morning walk on the beach to the fishing pier, we drove in the other direction to Padre Island National Seashore.
After paying for entry (more on that later), we warmed up with a quick stroll down the paved nature trail. Julia discovered Indian Blanket flowers.
We drove on to Malaquite Campground to see how busy it was on a Saturday in January. The campground was nearly full at 11 a.m., and the two remaining spots were getting filled. One of the new arrivals was an Earth Roamer--my first viewing of one.
Then it was on to the Visitors' Center and the beach. The red flags were flying with high winds and a churned-up surf.
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| Dog access permitted on this trail |
It looks like I'm waving, but I'm just trying to keep my balance on the log with the wind blowing.
I've been to this beach half a dozen times during my life. What's different about this time is that I walked away with something valuable after paying the entry fee.
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| Recent birthday: Lifetime Pass eligible |
I'm glad that we were able to arrive on Padre Island a day early. The chances for beautiful sunrises and sunsets are slim for the next week according to the weather forecast. In fact, there's a better chance of some rain.
We still got up before "sunrise" and took a nice walk on the beach, observing some pink behind the clouds. Breakfast was cereal, along with my home-roasted coffee in the french press. Then Julia got that look in her eyes that spells trouble. "I'd like for us to go play pickleball in Port Aransas." Um, okay. I was planning for a more lazy day.
Community Park's pickleball courts were busy with Winter Texans from the Midwest playing pickleball. We ended up playing for over two hours. Nice group of people.
Afterwards, we stopped at Stingray's Taphouse and Grill for a wood-fired pizza and a beer from Nueces Brewing. By that time, Callie was quite frantic that she wasn't going to get a walk out of the excursion, so we took a walk up the Port Aransas beach.
We woke before dawn, got dressed and walked to the beach in the dark. By the time we made it to the fishing pier, we were rewarded.
We finished the day with over seven miles of beach walking. At the other end of the beach was Bob Hall Pier. In 2019, we ate and drank at Mikel May's, a restaurant/bar located at the beginning of the pier. The pier was severely damaged during the 2020 hurricane and then demolished. Only the closed restaurant structure remains.
Between walks, we grocery shopped at a HEB Plus for the week. We also stopped at Paul's Seafood and bought some fresh fillets of black drum, a local fish.
I really missed the taste of fresh saltwater fish. The fillets were delicious, lightly pan-fried with a little olive oil. With fresh asparagus and fresh bread, our meal tonight was better than any restaurant meal in recent memory and at a fraction of the cost.
Today turned out to be another long day. The original plan was to drive from Edmond, Oklahoma to South Austin, Texas. Once we found out that our Padre Island airbnb had a cancellation, making tonight available, we decided to push on.
We saw billboards for fried pies in Oklahoma and Texas. Julia was intrigued and ordered a peach fried pie, shortly after we passed the Texas state line.
I took a bite, but that was enough for me. The peach filling was ok, but the pie crust's grease coated my entire mouth in just one bite.
Interstate 35 was not very interesting, but the road was in good shape, and the speed limits were very accommodating. I can't remember the last time that I drove on a stretch of road with 85 mph as the speed limit.
We drove across the bridge from Corpus Christi to Padre Island just as the sun was going down around 6 p.m.
It was a beautiful, familiar sight, and the temperatures were still in the low 60's. Readers will remember that we stayed in the same general area in 2021. This is a different airbnb--smaller, cheaper, not on a channel but closer to the beach, very bright and clean. We met one of the friendly owners upon arrival. Our first impressions are positive.
We will be here for eight days and then continue our travels for a couple of days in San Antonio before crossing the Mexican border. At least, that's the plan.
We got up early this morning; said our goodbyes, and were on the road by 7 a.m.
We encountered heavy fog in Iowa, along with occasional black ice and temperatures in the mid-teens. We had decent weather for driving in Missouri, but then had rain changing to snow back and forth through Kansas and Oklahoma. We pulled into a cheap dog-friendly motel in Edmond, Oklahoma, putting in a ten hour, 655 mile day.
After unloading our gear, we went out for brisket and a local IPA.
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| Crossing the Mississippi River |
We drove three hours this afternoon to my parents’ condo in Cedar Rapids. Mom is 84, and Dad is 90. We suggested bringing carry out dinner, and they suggested Firehouse Subs. Julia brought fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, which my Dad thought was the best part of the meal.
My parents have always been routine-based. By nine o’clock we had a nice visit, and they were ready to get on to their evening routine. We are grateful for their hospitality. We will get an early start in the morning and get some miles in tomorrow.
It's time for a road trip. This winter has been grey and cold--without any redeeming qualities, such as snow to play in. Time to blow this Popsicle stand. The bags are packed. The neighbors are watching the abode with automatic weapons. Time to roll south. First stop will be Iowa, but it will definitely get more exciting than that.
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| What could be more exciting than Iowa? |
We've really been enjoying the change of the weather with one exception. Nights have been around 40 degrees, while days are generally ...
