Corpus Christi, TX (3-5-11)

Well, since Saturday's weather was not supposed to be the best, we felt justified in lazing around all morning.  I should have been doing laundry, but, I didn't.  By afternoon at least the rain and thunder had stopped, so we managed to get ourselves out the door to go check out the USS Lexington, a WWII vintage aircraft carrier.  We were not alone.  There were hundreds of cub scouts swarming the ship.  It turns out that  thousands of kids spend a night on board every year. You could see how excited these kids were, bringing in their sleeping bags and gear and in general running around the ship. What a great thing for them, such a unique way of learning and yet having a lot of fun.
    In retrospect we should have gone earlier in the day, because we didn't really get a chance to see everything we would have liked.  We wandered the flight deck and some of the other decks and we watched a movie (Fighter Pilot- Operation Red Flag) that was really awesome, and had nothing to do with the USS Lexington. The USS Lexington got her name when the original USS Lexington was sunk during World War II.  This ship was in the process of being built, so the  name was changed midstream.


Carriage house at King Ranch

       Sunday was King Ranch day.  Captain Richard King settled here in the mid 1800s and started what was  then called the Santa Gertrudis Ranch, with two land grants, when he was very young. Over the years it grew to encompass over 800,000 acres and was eventually renamed The King Ranch.  He raised Quarter horses and cattle, and  King Ranch is considered to be the birthplace of ranching.  Richard continually bred the cattle in order  to create a breed better able to withstand the Texas heat and dry climate.  Eventually the Santa Gertrudis breed was recognized as the first breed of cattle to be created in the United States.  After his death his widow and his son-in-law took over the running of the ranch, which is still a family owned business today.





brand new babies

       Our tour was a bus ride along pastures and fields as our guide explained the history of the area and also discussed current operation of the ranch.  He explained how the hundreds of horses that are born on the ranch each year, are raised and trained.  They don't "break" horses at the King Ranch.  Breaking a horse is a faster way to get it to do what you want, but training a horse is more humane and respectful.  The cowboys spend hours working with the young horses over the course of a year.






Quarter Horse at King Ranch

 

   Well, this morning we got up and moved the trailer to Goose Island State Park.  When we got there the volunteer told us which sites were open and let us go choose the one we want.  We chose site #1, which is about 15 feet from the water.  Because we got there so early, the site was still occupied- by a woman who really didn't want to leave and was at the ranger station trying to see if there was a cancelation.  We told her there was no rush to leave (check out time isn't until 2 pm anyway) because we could just park in front of her until she was ready to go.  Once we did that, we went for a walk out on the huge pier, and ate some lunch.  Later on we rode our bikes to see the "Big Tree" a 1000 year old oak tree.  It was huge.  While we were there we ran into Marilyn and Brad, a couple we had met in Quartzsite.  We knew they were following behind us traveling across Texas,  and we were trying to make plans to get together.  Hopefully we'll get a chance to get together again before we both move on.

It's raining!!!! (Corpus Christi, TX 03-05-11)



Our King Ranch on the beach



     I know that seems like a strange thing to get excited about, but its been about 5 months since we've seen any real rain,  and it's pouring out!  We've actually seen more snow than rain, sadly. So, anyway, I am not complaining about it, especially since the weather forecasters got it right this time so we had no plans for this morning.  Later today we hope to go check out the WWII vintage aircraft carrier USS Lexington.






free beach camping at the National seashore

        Yesterday  was supposed to be the nicest day so we headed to Padre Island National Seashore.  The weather wasn't all that great, but at least it didn't rain. The Corpus Christi area has barrier islands just offshore, which makes for lots of beaches!   It's a little spooky, but the beaches are considered to be roads, and everyone can drive on them.  There is very little tide here, which plays a role in being able to do that.  There are signs posted near the intersections of "real road" and "beach road" that let people know the condition of the beach roads, some of which are only recommended for 4 wheel drive vehicles (which we are not) but others can be traveled by almost anyone, including motor homes.  You can camp for free on the beach in a lot of areas, you just have to get a permit, and can only stay 2 weeks at a time.  Interesting idea, but not for us this time around.  We don't read many books and there isn't much else to do there, especially since the weather is not very warm. This isn't the place that brings in hoards of spring breakers, it's a remote seashore, with no "amenities".  A lot of birders come here to see the huge variety of birds that migrate through the area.  I was almost quick enough to get a great picture of the pelicans and terns in flight.




 



ferry ride from Mustang Island

 The day we got here it was early enough that we had time to do a quick drive around, so we drove across the bridge to Mustang Island.  There is a state park there with a campground, and several RV parks as well, with lots of beaches and stores-mostly selling souvenirs and beach gear-so we didn't stop.  Apparently there's a constant breeze here, so surfing, windsurfing and kite surfing are all popular sports.  On the calmer, inside bays, kayaking is popular. Mustang Island is connected to the mainland by bridges, but there is also a free automotive ferry that cuts off some of the travel time.  We decided to take the ferry just for the fun of it, and had to wait about 20 minutes, but it was a unique experience.  It was dark by the time we got across the water (about a one mile trip, if that).  We got "spoken to" by the guy who loaded our truck onto the ferry.  While waving us onto the ferry, he was waving his hands around in what seemed to be a random pattern, but apparently it wasn't random, we just didn't speak the language.  Once all the cars were loaded he came over and basically told us we were pretty dumb not to figure out where he wanted us to park (which wasn't where we ended up).  Paul apologized for not understanding, saying it was our first time on the ferry, but he still looked at us dumbfounded.  I guess he wanted us to park in the middle, taking two spots, so no one would park close to our enormous dually truck.    Oh well, we'll know next time!

   Yesterday we had some free time so we did some planning.  We put together a rough idea of where we want to travel this summer because staying in Massachusetts requires making reservations.  Originally we were going to try to be there for July 4th, but now we're going to be there at the end of May, and stay for 2 weeks.  So Ray and Dawn, make sure you have time in your schedule for us!!  We are thinking of getting there by way of Washington D.C. since we haven't been there yet ( Steve, that's your headsup that we'll be calling you).  Once we leave MA, we'll head to Michigan for the Traverse City Cherry Festival.  Paul has always wanted to go, so this is our chance.