http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=4316350785635987648 Cave Dwellings: My new favorite place…Port Aransas, Mustang Island…
Cave Dwellings

Buckhorn Creek, Lake O' The Pines, Jefferson, TX

Friday, January 24, 2014

My new favorite place…Port Aransas, Mustang Island…

   I have already taken so many pictures that there is no way to put them all on this blog…We  arrived here Wednesday about noon.  They  have a water and electric area and also some dry camping on the beach. MacGyver and I opted for the hook-ups.  We have parked on the beach before at Goose Island State Park. While the views are beautiful, we found that the salt water spray corroded everything in and outside of our rig..I was warned that this place was just a big parking lot.  I guess you could  say it is, but I really enjoy it. We have the sand dunes and Sea Oats right behind us, and when we have our window open we can hear the roar of the ocean at night.  The Gulf of Mexico lies about 1 block beyond us…

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Left is the view of the sand dunes out our window..and the endangered Sea Oats…We are all set up and ready for cocktail hour..But first, a walk on the beach…

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Yes, our weather was lovely..about 68 degrees..but that was to change soon. Yesterday we needed to resupply the food and wine dept. of our cupboards, so we drove into Port Aransas and took the free ferry ride across the bay to Aransas Pass..(all these things “Aransas” are making me crazy crazier).

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One of the ferry guys (did I really just type that?) was conversing with a passenger on the ride over…In the second photo you can see that they have more than one ferry.  Actually, I think I counted 6,and 4 of them were in service…It is typically a 15 minute wait and about a 5 minute ride across the bay…We found the Wally Mart got our groceries and went to catch the ferry back.  As luck would have it we were first in line to get on…”front row Joe”, with a great view of everything portside.

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Here we were….missing that ferry by “that much”, but first in line for the next one.  I was trying to hold my excitement in check, as the lady in the car next to us didn’t share my enthusiasm for missing that ferry.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this island experience, and the little town of Port  Aransas.  At the grocery store I was grabbing up Real Estate magazines like crazy.  I know, I know, the hurricane season can be a bit of a deterrent …and ..you probably need to have a house up on stilts…Tomorrow Den and I are driving  back into Port Aransas to do some site seeing, shopping, finding a local watering hole and picking up some carry-outs…It IS  Date Night , after all!!

 

When you are in the front row of the ferry, you get a great view of the  water…and…I spotted  pod of dolphins ( not sure if that is what you call a bunch of dolphins, but I just had a flashback to the TV show “Flipper”.)

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Now, in the left photo, if you get real close to the monitor and squint, you can see the dolphin right next to the pylon…keep looking…see him? Hey, I only had my phone camera on this trip, so this is all I got for ya!

OK, the weather took a huge “dump” here yesterday late afternoon. The sky got dark, the winds came up LOTS, and the temperature dropped drastically. I, for one, was very glad I was NOT riding on the ferry at that point in time. We had just been back about an hour…The winds gusts were about 40mph, and I just may have caused a scene if waves came lapping over the ferry deck. Just before all Hades broke loose, I did manage to get a photo of a rainbow over toward Port  Aransas…

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Again, look closely and you can see both ends of the rainbow…As for the little Casita next to us..I’ll bet he didn’t sleep much last night…Rock and Roll, baby!! That wind hawked all night and the temp went down to 32 degrees here, some icing occurring on the mainland. I had visions of my picnic tablecloth and candles flying toward South Padres..Our Satellite Direct TV dish did get knocked over.. This is  hard to do..MacGyver  has a big wood platform low to the ground that he sets it up on…Also, he usually puts  tent stakes in each of the 4 corners…OOPS! didn’t do that when we landed here…No worries, he got it up and working today…Sooo here we sit in the Hiker, all our day/night shades are pulled, 2 heaters are going, and it’s going to be a soup and sandwich lunch kind of day…But, Hey!..At least we aren’t in Illinois!!! More adventures to come!!

26 comments:

  1. be sure and go to Charlies pasture and walk the boardwalks out there. As you come off the ferry and turn right by the convenience store. The turn right right behind the same store and go to the end of the road. Good parking and a rest room. The pier you pass is the one that catches ship wakes and falls apart leaving folks stranded on the t-head.

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    1. Thanks Barney, we are heading that way tomorrow...hope we don't need Winter jackets!

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  2. Up the road a ways at Anahuac we are covered in ice. My extend a stay tank is frozen to the ground, so I can't lift it to feel how much propane I have left. :(

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    1. Oh my, Judy...We didn't get sleet here but the temp today is 34 degrees and wind chills to 15 degrees...Are you sure we are all in Texas?

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  3. Gosh, I am thrilled you love that place !!! Some of the reviews through me off... I knew if Barney had positive things to say, all would be well ..... so glad he is giving you some helpful directions to trail down !!!
    Just keep having fun .... I am with you so much warmer than Sandwich .....
    ALWAYS enjoy your blog, humor and your cocktail hour notations !!!!

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    1. Thanks, Sally. We plan on writing down the stuff Barney gave us to do...and yes, we do love it LOTS down here.

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  4. If you want to see more dolphins go to the parking lot of the college on the Island. Walk around the gardens and then cut through an opening - to the wall and cement walkway along the water. Follow this to the left as far as you can. In January 2012 I sat there and saw large families/pods of dolphins. Weather should be warming up starting Saturday. I'm in San Antonio, I need to get back down to the coast.

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    1. Teri....I can imagine it's colder up there than here...yep,, get down to the coast again..I love this "coastal bend".!

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  5. Yes, despite your inclement weather it sure is much better than Illinois. Our territory up there is getting hammered again as well. We southern RV folks are sooooooooooo fortunate to be wherever it is we are...........

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    1. Al, I am so cold right now here in South Texas that I dreamed we were back in Illinois!

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  6. I've taken the ferry a couple of times now; both times I was driving. First time- I was the last one on and second time -I was the first one. I would stay at Mustang Island SP in a heart beat. I drove through last week. AND yes because of the corrosive effects, we decided not to boondock on the beach when our time is up here....tempting though. Stay warm today. These oak trees made me nervous last night during those winds. This weekend I'm sure you'll be walking up and down that gorgeous beach....enjoy!

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    1. Ingrid..Dennis says that those old Live Oaks have lived through a lot, not to worry about them coming down on your fiver. We drove by the Pioneer RV park and I thought about you and your family...Did they buy a lot to RV on?? ..are you originally from Chicago area...? Our son-in-law was born in Glencoe and his mother came here from Bonn, Germany...We really need a glass of wine together sometime..I have a bail bondsmen's card ;-)

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    2. I'm from Bartlett IL and dad still lives there. After touring around in the motorhome every winter they fell in love with Port A and for 7 years it was 6 mo in IL and 6 at the Pioneer RV Park. My dad is an avid fisherman. They never bought anything here. We leave for San Antonio on Saturday the 1st so I think we'll be down the road from each other a day or two :-)

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    3. We will be at Goose Island..in the trees...not sure which site...arriving the 29th...Stop by on the 30th and we can have some great conversation...FYI, camping in the trees is a bit of a challenge getting the fiver settled in between those Live Oaks!! San Antonio??? I'll bet you can get into Potter's Creek then...also, if you do, you may run into some full timer friends of ours , the Seles..Wayne and Rene..a great and fun couple who can give you the skinny on where to go what to see and the laundry.

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  7. Haven't been to that part of Texas. Will have to put it on the list. Most of our time in Texas has been spent getting some place else. Wishing you many great "happy hours" while you're there. We woke to a snow covered landscape here in South Mississippi, with temps never above 28 degrees today. Still can't be as bad as Illinois, though.

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    1. Yes, Jerry, you would love this part of Texas ..they call it the Coastal Bend down here...Also go to Goose Island State Park in Fulton, TX...what a lovely area that is too!

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  8. I warned you - since you are by the sea you should be cheering for the Seahawks not those ponies from Denver. This is Karma for you!

    Great header photo. I've heard a lot about Port Aransas and it does seem like a nice place. Great looking beaches.

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  9. Yes, Rick..Port Aransas is great...GO BRONCOS!

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  10. Did I mention how tired I am of the unusually cold weather for the south??? Well, I am!!! I can't imagine the weather where you are being so cold!!! Hopefully, this too shall pass and you will enjoy some warmer, sunny days on the beach!!!! Hang in there and think positive!!!
    Casitas are pretty insulated but nothing is fun when its that cold!!!!
    Stay warm!!!!

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    1. I KNOW!! This has been one of our coldest trips on the road in Texas...but it's still better than Illinois, right?

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  11. You should come to AZ the weather has been great 70 + everyday...

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    1. Yes, Kenny...we know. We do love the Ajo area too and it is always warm there..this just wasn't the year to go that far from Illinois..maybe another year!

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  12. Happy to hear you're enjoying Mustang Island. I definitely agree about going to Charlie's Pasture. Also Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center is worth a visit.

    Love seeing the dolphins from the ferry! Nice you had a front row view.

    Those cold wind gusts made quite an impression. We had our spigot on a slow drip all night...by morning we had "ice art" in our grass because the wind had blown the water droplets a couple of feet from the spigot. Very beautiful!

    Enjoy the rest of your stay in the "Aransas" neighborhood.

    Susan
    http://travelbug-susan.blogspot.com

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  13. Thanks for the info Susan...We are hoping for almost 60 degrees today, and we will go into Port Aransas and look for Charlie's Pasture...I really gotta say that I like this better than the Florida coast...less populated and just different somehow!

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  14. Dolphins hang out around the Station Street pier in large quantities at times. The walk out to the end of the Port A jetty is a fun walk to me.

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  15. Barney...We walked about 1/2 way out the jetty but the wind was so cold we opted that was far enough...Darn...didn't know about those dolphins at the Station St. Pier, but will remember for next time...

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