Texas Gulf Coast – Harlingen, Texas
On the way from South Padre to Corpus, we spent a little bit of time in Harlingen, Texas. No trip to the Southern Texas Gulf Coast is complete without a trip into Harlingen. We visited the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Museum, as well as, the Marine Military Academy Iwo Jima Memorial and Museum. They are both built on the former grounds of the Harlingen Army Air Field and later, Harlingen Air Force Base. Other things built on former Air Base Property of approximately 960 acres include the Valley International Airport, and Texas State Technical College.
First off, the Arts and Heritage Museum is full of historical exhibits. Structures that were moved into the property include Paso Real Stagecoach Inn, The first house built in Harlingen (1904), and Harlingen Hospital. The stagecoach inn has a room set up with period furniture that travelers would have found accommodating as they rolled into town to spend the night. Another room in the inn has all sorts of displays …. an old telephone operators station from early in telephone history, an old post office and several other artifacts from early in the 20th century. The hospital is set up with medical equipment and other artifacts from the same period. The home is beautifully decorated, as it would have been in that era. Fascinating displays found throughout the facility to peruse.
Just down and across the street is the Marine Military Academy. The Iwo Jima Memorial is simply an imposing site to behold. The memorial in Harlingen is the original model of the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. It took several minutes to take in the enormity. Even writing this is dredging up the feelings I had at the site …. Walking around the grounds one feels an automatic sense of reverence. There is a grave, right there, at the memorial. Harlon Block of Weslaco, Texas, one of the Marines depicted in the famous photograph of the raising of the flag at Mount Surabachi, is enshrined at this memorial. He is actually the marine at the base of the flagpole in that photograph. The sense of respect one feels at this place is overwhelming.
We also toured the museum across the road from the memorial. It is a small museum absolutely filled and bulging with artifacts. The retired Marines that were in the building when we were there, were more than happy to show us around and tell stories. We were mesmerized and could have easily stayed all day. If a person has any time at all to spend in Harlingen, this area at the Military Academy is an absolute must see.
Texas Gulf Coast – Raymondville, Texas
Raymondville is a quaint little town. The county seat of Willacy County. We went to the HEB grocery to stock up on food supplies and snapped a photo or three in town. The Texas Theater is, without any doubt, the neatest structure in town. I really hope one day someone restores it and it reopens!
Texas Gulf Coast – Sarita, Texas
Sarita is a tiny town within the 400,000 acre area of what once was the Kennedy Ranch, named for the daughter of the Kennedy Ranch owner, Sarita Kennedy. Sarita is the County seat of Kennedy county, which is the least populated county in the state of texas. There doesn’t seem to be more that about 60 total structures in the entire town. A Museum (The Kennedy Ranch Museum) and the County Courthouse are the sum total of commercial structures that appear to still be in operation. The museum was closed, as was the courthouse, we pressed onward.
Texas Gulf Coast – Kingsville, Texas
Kingsville is a good sized town. Kingsville is the county seat of Kleburg County, Texas. We spen a little time looking around and found the town to be nice and pretty, for the most part. We didn’t happen along to see anything of significant interest to us, but, we do plan to be back in the near future to explore a little more. It was starting to get a little late and we really wanted to get into Corpus Christie, before nightfall. We moved on …..
Texas Gulf Coast – Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi was so surprising on several levels. Heavy, heavy industry along the north side of town. Driving through what I would really call slum territory wasn’t at all appealing with a wife and daughter along. Our impression of Corpus Christi is …. well, a dump, to put it mildly. A lot of the actual town is very run down and dirty. Personally, I wouldn’t ever care to return to Corpus until that city, somehow, finds a way to clean up and at least give the impression that it is a Texas Gulf Coast city. It is almost shameful how bad it is in town. By far, Corpus Christi is the worst city in the state we have seen so far. Most of the cities and towns we have been to in Texas are deeply involved in urban renewal and restoration …. Not this one, not at all. Memorials and historic attractions that are closed off, not working, or both. Buildings literally falling apart and/or boarded up. Still, though, there were several bright spots in town, several things to see that really are worth seeing. We spent our first evening in town at Bayfront Science Park. There was a wedding underway at the water feature, so we stayed back. We went to the adjacent seawall and had a beautiful view of the Causeway all lit up as well as the USS Lexington, also known as the “The Blue Ghost” in the crisp night air.
The following day we saw several things. There is a collection of old homes along Chaparral Street in the 1600 Block with a visitors center and displays. We took the tour and highly recommend it. After the tour we went back to Bayside Science park to enjoy the water feature and that was worth it. Very relaxing and beautiful grounds of the Art Museum of South Texas. We crossed the bay to board the USS Lexington. What an education! WWII era Aircraft Carrier in service from 1942 until 1991. Planes on the flight deck, all sorts of interactive displays, educational movies, memorials, reflections. A realistic look into the service of the Navy at sea. Thoroughly enjoyed every moment on board and definitely worth the price of admission. Late in the day we crossed over to Padre Island and went north to see Port Aransas.
In Port Aransas we looked around a very nice little village and ended up at Roberts Point Park where we had a wonderfully relaxing time …. well except for the excitement of seeing dolphins up close. That was pure adrenaline pumping excitement for our daughter. A huge ship was coming by and the dolphins were in the wake out in front just having a blast. Like I said in the earlier post, the dolphin watch cruises are OK, but seeing dolphins like this is far more entertaining, even though it is a shorter scene. In port aransas the ships are fairly close, so even basic pair of binoculars will allow a good view.
We went on to the south to the national seashore at the south end of Padre Island …. it was almost closed when we got there. We spent a few minutes looking around, and left, headed back to the hotel for the night. The sunset while we were headed back to Corpus from Padre Island was spectacular!!
Next we are headed to Galveston …..
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