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.
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 spent today climbing the East and West Bluff at Devil’s Lake State Park. Merrimac Free Ferry East Bluff
