Texas Gulf Coast – Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
Headed out of the City of Corpus Christi on our continuing Texas gulf coast vacation, we made our first stop at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We saw a whooping crane way off in the distance and hiked a trail about a mile in length. We took the auto tour around the backside of the refuge and saw several white tailed deer and a few osprey. The visitors center was awesome and the folks running it were very nice and attentive. There are a couple really photogenic spots, like this massive tree that one cuold easily get lost under. Nice coastline. Lookout tower at the very back overlooking wetland areas. Just a beautiful place to spend some time. Pick a warmer day than we did, though …. lol!!
The highlight of the early leg of the journey was when we ran across a flock of hawks, all redtail as far as I was able to determine, in a group of eight or nine feeding on a raccoon. I have never seen a group of hawks feeding. I have seen two working together, never a flock. As soon as I saw them I pulled over and several scattered into the surrounding trees. One stayed put and continued to tear away at flesh. I was able to inch ever closer, little by little. To the left is the result of a lot of patient approach and a hawk that was determined to continue to feed. Ultimately we departed the area and they all presumably finished dinner, together.
Texas Gulf Coast – Port Lavaca, Texas
After leaving the refuge we drove farther up to Port Lavaca on the Texas gulf coast. We simply took a rest and looked around. Halfmoon Reef Lighthouse was once out in the water to mark the channel into Matagorda Bay. The coast guard sold the structure and it was moved inland to point comfort. Later it was given to the Port Lavaca Historical Board and moved to Port Lavaca where it was restored and still stands today.
The rest of the drive was peaceful and mostly boring untile we got to Freeport, crossed the bridge to the south end of the island. Loving the view of the ocean and the beaches until it got dark. We ambled on in to Galveston, ate and bedded down for the night.
Texas Gulf Coast – Galveston, Texas
Galveston was a really fun city to visit. Downtown is all spruced up and there’s a really nice shopping district. Way better than it was in the 90s when we went down there. We went to the railroad museum in the old rail depot. Nice displays in the buildings to interact with, and our daughter had a blast! There was a PILE of actual rail cars and engines out back, many of which were open to climb right in to touch and feel. Dining Cars, Mail Car, Box Cars, Crane Car, Locomotives. This is a great way for children to feel history. Displays of rail memorabilia, dining car cups, saucers, plates, a model railroad, ticket counter, buttons to press to make signs light up …. it took hours to take it all in. Phenomenal place worth every penny of entry fee, and it wasn’t much.
The Historic Downtown District is shoppers delight. Lots of specialty shops, food, drinks, entertainment and the best part, for me, was the architecture. Well worth taking a few hours and walking about, just to look around and maybe indulge a little. There is something, there, for the entire family. They even have an old style soda fountain!
We also visited a couple city parks, went through several neighborhoods, walked the beaches, the pier was a little disappointing. The fishing pier was partially destroyed by a hurricane and it wasn’t nearly as long as it once was, but was a lot of fun to be out there, nonetheless. We looked at the Pleasure Pier, but in all honesty, it was way too cold to have a good time riding outdoors. We skipped that, this time. We went down to the docks and bought some amazing fresh gulf seafood to bring home with us. We watched the pelicans race for the trash the dockworkers threw out their back doors for quite a while.
The other place we went that really sticks out in my mind was Seawolf Park. We toured two ships, the WWII era submarine USS Cavalla and the WWII Destroyer Escort USS Stewart. What an amazing walk in historical perspective. Being inside the submarine, especially, and the imagination of time spent undersea during a war in that vessel was …. well, sobering. It is really hard to imagine what those folks endured. One gets an up close and personal self guided tour through both vessels with very few areas that are inaccessible. Great family fun and a great real time lesson in history for the little ones.
Another great part of Seawolf Park is just being on the grounds. There was a few spots for wildlife to congregate and nice areas to sit, relax, and take in the view. We learned that ships use the ship channel, often, off the eastern side of the park …. and where there are large ships on the move, there are dolphins having a party. We saw several dolphins at this locatin, as well. They were so much fun to watch. Well woth spending the time to watch the very animated festivities.
Texas Gulf Coast – Sadly, Homeward Bound
We hated to get back home to reality, but we had to. We took the ferry across the ship channel to take the long way around up the Texas gulf coast then back to Houston and hit I-45 headed north. None of us had ever been on a ferry, before, so we had to. The dolphins in the channel swam next to the ferry and our daughter’s eyes were glued to the water as we crossed. Was a nice drive through some pretty country and a relaxing way to leave ….. until next time.
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