Port Aransas

We awoke to cool temperatures and overcast skies this morning. At least the rain, which seemed to have been with us most of the night, had moved on.  Appropriately for a wintery day, we sipped coffee, ate hot cereal for breakfast, and piddled around the house until the sun broke through the clouds. Right after lunch, we got on to our exploring.

One of the ferries to Mustang Island

With the hard day on the road yesterday still fresh in our memories, we didn’t want to venture too far from home.  We chose Port Aransas, just across Rockfish Bay.  Port Aransas is at the northern tip of Mustang Island, one of several long, narrow barrier islands along the eastern coastline of Texas.  We followed highway 361 south over several bridges until we ran out of land.  Ferries scurry visitors (and residents) across to Mustang Island for free and run 24/7.   The ferry ride only takes about 5 minutes.  Waiting for the ferry can take many more minutes than that, depending on the season.  Today we waited about 10 minutes and while we waited, we watched to dolphins.  They were too far away for a picture, however.

Camping on the sand

Searching for lunch

Once in Port Aransas, we didn’t have any place in particular to go, so we just drove straight ahead from the ferry landing as far as we could drive.  We found ourselves at a city park on the beach.  There were several others there enjoying the sunny, but windy, day.  Most folks were like us—just stopping by for a little while.  There were others in their motor homes obviously planning to stay a day or two.  I have seen pictures in some of the RV magazines of travelers camped on beaches, but have never seen it in person.  Fantastic!!

These gulls found their lunch

A nice trail at the Marine Science Institute

We stopped by the Univ. of Texas Marine Science Institute which has a small display inside as well as a paved trail, complete with interpretative panels, outside.  It was on our walk along this trail that I found the great blue heron so close I could almost touch him.

Elegance

And Grace

We drove on out highway 361 for a few miles toward Corpus Christi, but soon grew weary of being in the car and turned around.  Back on the mainland again, we stopped to pick up some fresh shrimp for dinner and got back to the Montana only a few minutes late for Peanut’s afternoon treat.

Tomorrow, we are currently planning to see what we can see in Corpus Christi.