Exploring the Coast: Jamaica Beach RV Park, 5/31/08

We left the campground this morning and headed for Corpus Christi. We got there about noonish, unloaded the bikes and rode along the Shoreline for a nice 14 mile ride. Corpus Christi was very different from what I expected. It was actually a lot nicer than I thought! The bike ride was fun – a lot like biking in Tahoe, except that it was hotter, more humid, no pine trees and did I mention hotter and more humid?! (About 92 degrees). Okay, so nothing like Tahoe except for the fancy homes – all circa 1955. We were total wet noodles and boy did I love the air conditioning when we returned to the Winniemobile. We had a great time driving along the coast and stopped at a very local roadside diner, called “The Diner.” The waitress, Rose, was very welcoming, the patrons all “locals” in their denim overalls and fishing caps. Ned and I feasted on gallons of ice tea (I now understand why this is the drink of the south), had the best blackened fish ever, with red beans & rice, spinach and corn bread. Our destination this evening was Galveston, but I decided, once again, that it would be more fun to get there by taking back roads. The majority of the way we took Road 521, “The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail.” It was absolutely gorgeous, meandering along the coast, and I was completely surprised by how much agriculture is in this area. Ned was pointing out all the crops, such as sorghum, cotton, soybeans, corn and rice. At one point, I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to find an internet connection – for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see if the Nedster really knew his crops and 2) What had the DNC decided regarding the Florida and Michigan votes. (Okay – I know I’m on vacation, but this political junkie needed her fix). When we went thru Port Lavaca, and spotted a Best Western (always free internet there), I pulled up wikipedia and you know what? – that Iowa Farm boy knows his crops! He got every one right. (Alas, there were no decisions yet on the political front). As far as the scenery goes, I must admit that I am very much taken with this area. I expected hideous refineries and oil rigs everywhere, but the industrial part was concentrated in pockets and the natural scenery was beautiful. The refineries are not like in the Bay Area located near residential area, but really far away from towns. Another interesting thing is that all the homes near the shoreline are built on stilts to protect them from hurricanes. It doesn’t matter if the home is a shack or a 5000 sq. ft. mansion, they are all at least 12 ft. off the ground. We finally pulled into Galveston State Park around 6 and the park was totally booked. We tried several incredibly disgusting local RV parks – some were full and others I refused to stay at – given I didn’t think I would live thru the night – and finally came up this little gem. Not only is it clean, has a pool & laundry facilities, free wi-fi (!), but also has a complimentary waffle breakfast tomorrow on account it is Sunday. Right now, there is a large screen set up in the grass field and the owners are showing the movie “Tranformers”. Very sweet. We are heading to the pool. Tomorrow is the day I’ve really been waiting for and what started this whole trip – Louisiana!

Water Wonderland: Lake Corpus Christi, 5/30/08

Ned here, filling in for Debi today. This was a delightfully leisurely day, a welcome relief after a few days of fairly long, hot drives across New Mexico and Texas. Last night was our first really hot and muggy night for sleeping. This was made more tolerable by the $12 twelve-volt oscillating fan that I had purchased at Kragen before we left for our trip. Unfortunately, the heat was apparently too much for the made-in-China fan because it gave out some time during the night. However, we slept well with just a sheet over us. Debi lounged about our campsite this morning, making good use of our hammock, and a few of the Entertainment Weekly magazines, which Megan had so kindly given her before our departure. Later on, we packed up the Winniemobile and headed down to the Guadalupe River to try out the swimming. Much to our horror, three bus loads of kids were there when we arrived at the river’s edge. We were pleasantly surprised to find that with only a tiny hike upstream we had a huge chunk of the river totally to ourselves. The water was a perfect temperature, and the setting, with huge cypress trees along the bank made for a truly restful and fun river swimming experience. (The above photo of the sea-otter-like Debi describes how much she enjoyed our time there.) After luxuriating at the river for an hour or so, we headed south in search of either Choke Canyon or Lake Corpus Christi State Park. The ranger at Guadalupe lead us to believe that both of those campgrounds might be heavily booked on a Friday night, so we readjusted our expectations for possibly getting bumped from either campground. On our 3 hour drive south we saw beautiful rolling tree-covered land, accompanied by a blue sky dotted with grade-school-art-project-looking clouds. As we drove closer, we decided we should call both the state parks to find out if they were already booked. Choke Canyon never answered their phone, filling our heads with images of their check-in office swarming with a mob of registering campers as the phone rang off the hook. When Debi called Lake Corpus Christi, though, the woman assured her that every type of campsite was available. Arriving at the campground, we were pleased to get our pick of multiple sites. We had stopped at a nearby town, buying supplies for dinner and Debi just had to have two new water toys. Returning to camp, Debi managed to get one of them inflated, and had it around her middle as we drove thru the check-in gate. The serious check-in employee had to crack up as Debi gave her “8 year old thumbs up sign.” Soon we were cooling off in our second body of water for the day. We spent about an hour paddling around in our new “sun&surf” tubes. After dinner we took a 9.5 mile bike ride around the Lake Corpus Christi area and were amazed by the number of sites. Much to our surprise, less than a quarter were filled! The Gulf awaits tomorrow.