Padre Balli Park

We enjoyed our four-day stay at Padre Balli Park–which was conveniently located to both Corpus Christi and Padre Island National Seashore.  On Thursday and Friday, the area was moderately crowded.  We spent our time mostly on the beach, starting our hikes before dawn.

But as Easter approached, the crowds arrived.

On one day, we sampled the beers at Lorelei Brewing Company, which had  a delightful outdoor space.

On another day we went to the Texas Sealife Center where injured or diseased sea turtles and other creatures are nursed back to health and then released.

On Easter morning, we got up at 5:30 a.m.and attended a non-denominational Passion Play held for many years at one of Corpus Christi’s waterfront parks.

By Sunday afternoon, the beach was packed as tight as a parking lot with vehicles, dogs and people.  As campers left the full Malaquite Campground at the National Park to go home, we vultured a prime campsite protected by the dunes but still overlooking the gulf.  By Sunday night, the crowds had left, and we had the beach to ourselves.

Family Reunion

After taking the Bolivar ferry across to Galveston, I drove north about twenty miles and checked into the Tropical Gardens rv park ($20/night with Passport America discount).  I needed a couple of days to do some Brew Hut repairs/maintenance/cleaning to prepare things for my wife Julia’s arrival. 

Tropical Gardens was a very basic park that featured mostly full-time residents in older trailers; however, it was equipped with a shower and laundry facilities, along with full hook-ups.  Then I headed to Houston’s Eastlake RV resort, which was conveniently located to the Houston airport.  I’m not a big city person anymore, and Houston is a huge, sprawling city with terrible traffic and tollways that do not take cash.

I picked up Julia without too many problems and drove back for a late dinner of shrimp, pasta, wine, and a late night hot tub soaking. 

On the next morning, we pulled out under cloudy/rainy skies and drove to Padre Island.   The weather was overcast, and severe storms were predicted for that night.  We considered free beach camping but ended up checking into Padre Balli County Park's Campground.  Next to the campground, there was a restaurant and bar on the Bob Hall Pier.  We decided the price and location were right ($25/night).  We took full advantage by getting in a long walk on the first day and a nice dinner of oyster po’ boy, shrimp tacos, and good drinks.

The photo of the restaurant above was taken the day after the storms, which did turn out to be severe and gave the Brew Hut quite a shaking.  Julia felt bad enough for Callie to let her crawl in with us for comfort.  But by 8 a.m. the front had moved through.  The forecast for the next few days is for lots of sun.