Christmas on the Texas Gulf Coast Part 1 – South Padre Island and the trip south
The trip included most of the Gulf Coast with extended stays in South Padre, Corpus Christi, and Galveston. We intended to see the entire coast or at least as much of it as we were able to in two weeks. We stopped in every little town on the way to South Padre that made sense to stop in. We took in the Christmas scenery and enjoyed the “quaintness” of several small towns and county seats between Austin and South Padre Island.
Luling, Texas
The first little town that caught our attention on the way was Luling. For one thing, we were hungry and the Dairy Queen downtown looked so inviting. For another thing …. the oil pump Jacks were decorated for christmas!! I mean, if you have a pump jack, you might as well decorate it, and they did have pump jacks! Pleasant surprise!
Beeville, Texas
We eased on into Beeville. What a pretty little town with a beautiful county courthouse! Our eyes were really cought by the theater near the courthouse. The Rialto Theater in Beeville is being restored! Open house was scheduled for the 2 days after after we passed through …. we considered staying in the area to do the open house, but, decided to press on. The Barber shop on the right side of the entry took me back 45 years to a photo of my first haircut and my memories of going to the barber shop as a kid. The barber shop was still equipped with original chairs and utensils of the trade. Simply amazing. The snack bar on the left was almost totally empty.
The rest of the trip down was nice. The country roads in these sparsely populated counties were long and boring, but, the little towns along the way made the boredom worthwhile. We passed through the additional towns of: Kennedy, Alice, and Falfurrias. The Pioneer Theater in Falfurrias is also being restored. I just love the old theaters and am so happy to see another being saved. We rolled into South Padre, just in time, to continue the adventure.
Facebook Page for the Rialto Theater, Beeville (Pics of the barber shop on their page, too!!)
South Padre Island, Texas
We Spent three days in South Padre and the surrounding area. Christmas eve the temperature was 90 and we even got to swim in a churning ocean. A cold front came through that afternoon and the temp dropped to what I would call, cold. We stayed at the LaQuinta, right on the beach, and there were several places to see right in the immediate area. Audubon center right across the street, Sea Turtle Rescue within walking distance, A State Park/Beach next door, The Beach right out the back door. The seagulls even flew right up to the balcony where we sat out every morning looking at the beach and drinking coffee ….
South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center
The Birding & Nature Center is quite nice. Many many feet of boardwalk and many, many species of wildlife. All sorts of migrant birds, shorebirds, raptors, as well as just plain old birds. Reptiles, frogs, turtles, alligators. Aquatic life. We spent several hours at this location. There is a fee collector and ticket spitter right on the side of the Audobon Center building or you can enter the area at the convention center building. The island bus will drop you off, right there.
The office was closed during the time we were at South Padre. Next time we go, we do hope the office and visitors center is open. The photo opportunities were amazing. This is a must see on the island.
Sea Turtle, Inc.
Another fantastic visit is to the Sea Turtle, Inc. Building. There is no charge to enter, although, they do have a donation box. After a person has seen the work these folks do, it is almost a certainty they will donate. Take the kids and they even get to feed a turtle. There is no better sight that seeing a child connecting with a creature, an amazing experience we will not soon forget.
Sea Turtles (Another Must See!!)
Dolphin Tour
For us, the dolphin tour we went on was worth it for the first time, but, in the future will be a take it or leave it. We found a better way to really see the dolphins beyond what is seen from a boat following a pod. If we find a swim with the dolphins or an operator that brings them in really close, we’ll report on that in the future. Just watching fins come out of the water wasn’t really all that impressive. In Panama city we watched dolphins come into the beach to “swim with the humans” …. now THAT was impressive! We found in Chorpus as well as in Galveston a ship channel close enough to the shore so one can watch the dolphins jump out of the water in front of the passing ships. That was also impressive to see them having fun in their environment. See the pics in part 2 and 3 of this trip.
Port Isabel
Great little town across the causeway. We climbed the lighthouse, toured the grounds. Did a little shopping in the area. Went to several of the small museums. Walked the pier and had a few drinks. All in all, we had a really good time in Port Isabel.
Brownsville
Brownsville was a little depressing, in some ways. Huge fences and security measures that totally block any view of the Rio Grande. Downtown area that was boarded up and just plain dirty in several areas.
We had set out to see a few things and the things we did see, we liked. We drove the downtown area and enjoyed a little of the architecture. We found out how someone can make a wrong turn and have to go across the bridge into Mexico, easily.
We went to the children’s museum to see a costume exhibit. We truly enjoyed seeing the costumes of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America. Loved the colors! The presentation was fantastic and we were completely unfettered to look around without any pressure.
The museum is located at Dean Porter Park which also had the Christmas dollhouses and lights all set up. Each little house had its own theme. The park itself was very clean and there are numerous sculptures on the grounds. We highly recommend this little excursion into Brownsville. We didn’t go, but, the Gladys Porter Zoo is very close by, as well. One could easily keep the kids busy for an entire day in this little clean spot of Brownsville.
We wanted to go to the Historic Brownsville Museum. It is housed in the old Santa Fe Rail Station (which is a stunningly beautiful building), but, it was closed. We did go to the Stilman house museum. Fantastic displays of Texas history and the house itself was beautiful!
We also went to Fort Brown. Very enjoyable walking around the old fort buildings.
Boca Chica
Boca Chica is effectively a ghost town out on the end of the tip of Texas. Very few signs of life and plenty of abandoned dwellings and structures. The beach is quite nice, though.
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Another highlight of this trip was the time we spent at the wildlife refuge. We were able to see species of creatures that we never have seen in our little area of the state. The most striking of the species we saw, here, was the Green Jay. We also saw a Crested Caracara and several other raptors. And the numbers of feathered creatures were very high. This area is the winter grounds and the flyway for the great migration every winter. Take a few hours and make the journey to the refuge. It will not disappoint!
This concluded the time we spent in South Padre. We had a very enjoyable three days that we are going to reproduce. There is so much more to do and see in this area.
Next Stop – Part 2 On the way to and in Corpus Christi, Texas …..
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