A Summer Adventure: Corpus Christi (Part Two)

I knew we couldn't visit Corpus Christi without a trip to Padre Island (the national seashore, not the beach community), so on our last full day there, we drove about 30 minutes to the park. It was absolutely gorgeous.  Padre Island National Seashore is where they do Kemp's ridley hatchling releases all summer, but there weren't any happening during our trip. 

We found the 3/4-mile long Grasslands Trail and knew we could manage that, even in the heat, so we set off on a mini hike.  

And then we were off to the beach!  This is my kind of beach -- quiet, not crowded, sandy beaches, and blue water.  We just sat and played and watched the pelicans, seagulls and sandpipers.  

This is my favorite picture from the whole trip.

After a couple of hours at the beach, we rinsed off, visited the gift shop and headed to the Texas Sealife Center, which is a nonprofit that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases coastal and aquatic wildlife. We saw a lot of sea turtles, some of which are healthy enough to be released into the wild.

This is Matilda, a Kemp's ridley.  She had one flipper amputated, has a broken jaw with parts missing and has those pesky air bubbles trapped in her shell, so she's not releaseable.  

After our morning adventures, we stopped at an HEB for sandwiches and salad to eat in our room.  In the afternoon, we ventured out for frozen yogurt and a bookstore trip.

And then it was on to our evening adventure, a dolphin boat tour from Port Aransas.  We chose the sunset tour on the Scarlet Lady.  

Ready to set sail! 

Our cruise was 90 minutes long and we saw so many dolphins, including mother-baby pairs.

We saw lots of pelicans too.

And right at sunset, we passed by the Lydia Ann Lighthouse. It was so beautiful and I'm so glad we chose to do this sunset cruise.  

The next day, we realized that we were only an hour away from Goliad, so we decided to head there on our way back to Houston.  After living in Texas for over twenty years and teaching Texas history, this was the one big part of Texas history that I had never seen first hand.  

 
Our first stop was at Goliad State Park, which houses the restored Franciscan Mission Espiritu Santo.  The mission was established near Matagorda Bay in 1722 and moved to Goliad in 1749. 

We found the short Aranama Trail behind the mission.

We saw tons of huge ants (probably harvesters) that freaked Henry out as well as countless grasshoppers. The internet tells me that these are immature eastern lubber grasshoppers.  

After our hike, we headed across the river to visit the Presidio La Bahia, which, like the mission, was moved to Goliad in 1749.  The fort was important during the Texas Revolution. After the Battle of Coleto Creke, Colonel James Fannin and his 350 men were held at the presidio before they were executed on Palm Sunday 1836. The rallying cry at San Jacinto was "Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!"

Our final stop on our way back to Houston was the Fannin Battleground, located nine miles east of Goliad, where Fannin and his men were captured at the Battle of Coleto Creek in 1836.  

Henry and I had such a wonderful getaway and I am so glad we could do something fun while Will was off in France. I just can't believe it took me so long to visit these beautiful spots in Texas!

A Summer Adventure: Corpus Christi (Part One)

With Will off in France for three weeks, Gene suggested that Henry and I head off on our own adventure for a few days.  We decided to go to Corpus Christi because of Henry's love for baseball and turtles.  Unfortunately, we weren't there during a sea turtle release, but we had an amazing time.  Here's part one of our adventures!

Buc-ee's is our must stop on the way for snacks and coffee. Henry enjoys mochas -- we just mix hot chocolate and coffee together for him. 

After a long drive, Henry was collapsed in the hotel lobby.

We arrived in Corpus on Monday night and the only thing on our agenda was a visit to Whataburger Field to see the Corpus Christi Hooks play.  

Minor league baseball is awesome.  We had perfect seats right behind home plate.  Much of the field is shaded, so we were very comfortable.  

The freebies at a minor league game are also pretty phenomenal. We were there on dollar dog night, so dinner was inexpensive and then Henry got a Sammy the Seagull bobblehead toothbrush holder

and a free t-shirt!  We also got another free shirt for Gene.  

New caps from the gift shop.

The view of the harbor bridge in the background is beautiful.  And best of all, the Hooks won!  

At breakfast the next morning, Henry was sporting his new shirt and cap.  

We headed to the USS Lexington, also known as the "Blue Ghost."  The Lexington is an Essex-class aircraft carrier that was build in 1943.  

 

It was hot on the flight deck but it's always amazing to see these massive ships and planes. We were in awe.  

After our visit to the Lexington, we toured the Texas State Aquarium, which is located right next door.  

The highlight for us was seeing the sea turtles, of course.  We learned that when a turtle's shell cracks (because it was hit by a boat, for example), microscopic air bubbles get trapped and this causes the turtle to float.  Floating turtles can't dive for food and so they are not considered releaseable into the wild.   

There were beautiful mosaics everywhere.  

We also caught part of a dolphin show, which was incredible.  

The rest of the aquarium was pretty spectacular too.  

We took one last photo at the otter sculpture.

We were pretty tired after a very full morning so had some down time at our hotel before a late lunch at a Thai restaurant. We tried Thai iced teas for the first time.

Our afternoon was fairly lazy -- just a swim at the hotel pool, dinner and plenty of time for our audiobook.