Port Aransas

I'm back from my weekend trip, and I had a great time! Everything was prearranged so I didn't bother finding out exactly where I was staying or exactly what we'd be doing. We got to Corpus Christi and I was a little surprised to find that our trip wasn't quite over--another hour of driving took us to Port Aransas, which is on the gulf and I assume is much nicer than any beach on Corpus Christi bay. We camped at Port Aransas Park, right on the beach. I've been camping a handful of times before, but always in a wooded area. Camping on the beach is a lot of fun! We had lots of food and drink and a campfire Saturday night. There was no rain, to my pleasant surprise, but plenty of wind. I was sure my tent was going to collapse sometime during my stay, since I had to set it up in the near dark and was short a tent stake, but it survived. The sound of the wind and sea put me right to sleep both nights, and was pleasant to wake up to.

Saturday afternoon we went on a gambling cruise on the Texas Treasure. I had been on a ship like this once before out of Jacksonville, but this one was much larger. We had a large group of people, and had a bar reserved just for us, on the top deck aft end. Free beer was part of the deal, and I took advantage. The crew made it hard to turn down. All I had to do was flinch as if I was getting up for one, and a waiter (who somehow knew my name without me telling him) was there with a fresh one before I could stand up. Outstanding service. I did a little gambling too, and it was nice to be able to alternate the gambling with sitting at the outside bar and enjoying the sun and music.

I used to think I'd hate going on a cruise ship after all my time at sea. I'm coming around to think just the opposite. Its such a ridiculous contradiction of worlds for me; it almost feels as if I'm getting away with something when I should be scanning the horizon for ships (which I couldn't help but do). I wonder if it would've been more fun on the submarine with some music and drinks on the sail. Maybe, but the thought of having to crawl back inside would probably spoil it.

They have got a huge ferry operation at Port Aransas that we had to use several times. Four docks, at least as many ferries, and lots of traffic. I can't say I've seen anything like it. My travel mate wondered out loud why they didn't build a bridge and after a little research it became obvious. This narrow inlet is the ship channel for all of Corpus Christi, and a bridge would have to be damned tall for all vessels to get through. Not a problem for the inland side, but the other end of the bridge would tower over little Port Aransas. Of course a drawbridge is also an option. But, the system works, so why fix it? I guess eventually they'd save money on operation expenses, but bridges aren't cheap, either.

I did take a couple crappy pictures. They are so bad I'm not sure anything can be made out in them, but I'll try and post them soon anyway.