After our time of volunteering at the ILC center, we were ready to get away from the city and find some other parts of Texas.
Pictures don't do it justice. The former first lady, Ladybird Johnson, started a campaign to beautify the highways by planting native wildflowers like bluebonnets and more. It was the perfect season to enjoy all the blooms driving through the countryside.
The joy of not travelling on the freeway is the ease with which one can stop at random small towns to poke around in the shops a bit, find some good photo ops and enjoy a delicious lunch. Hico fit the bill for such a stop.
We had booked a night with Harvest Hosts at Longhorn Cellars near Fredericksburg. Somehow these kind of boondocking sites aren't exactly free as you end up shopping too!
The site itself was quite adequate and the evening began nicely with a chance to eat outside. Those clouds though turned into the loudest hailstorm we'd ever experienced in the trailer. I thought for sure a window would break! After it was over, the bedroom vent and side mirror of the truck suffered damage.
The next morning we went into Fredericksburg for breakfast and to walk the main street. We were too early to do any shopping. Fredericksburg has an interesting history. It was established in 1846 by a large group of German immigrants and it plays up its German heritage in the names of streets and businesses. We easily could of stayed longer, but we had other places on our mind.
Summer has arrived. It's time for a picnic lunch. Sometimes the freeway (yes, we had to return to the freeway again), has some lovely rest areas after all.
Continuing down the road, the landscape changed from the wine-growing hill country, to brush country to the flat lands approaching the Gulf of Mexico. Then, it was through Corpus Christi, along the causeways and over the bridges to Mustang Island to I. B. Magee Park Campground at Port Aransas. What a beautiful place to relax and enjoy the sea and salt air. I never in a million years imagined I'd be in this lovely spot on my birthday! The weather was warm. The wind was crazy, but the Gulf was amazing and it was wonderful. It felt like the middle of July.
It does look like a camping parking lot, but with sand dunes and no trees, what can you do?
Beyond that camp office building is the Gulf of Mexico with all the wind and the waves.
Going fishing wasn't going to break the bank so Dave had a chance to give it a go, fishing off the jetty both at Mustang Island State Park and right by the Pass where the ships came and went to Corpus Christi.
To learn a bit about Port Aransas we visited the Chapel on the Dunes. It's as if it's hidden in plain sight, on one of the highest dunes in the town. It was built in the 1930s by Ailene Carter as a place to share her faith with the children of the island. Then in 1972, John Cobb painted the whitewashed walls with murals depicting stories from the Old and New Testament. It's all a very intriguing story.
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute has a education center for the public to enjoy. Mustang Island is one of a string of islands along the coast of Texas that creates estuaries for a fascinating array of marine life. We saw dolphins following the ships in and out of the Pass, and we also saw sea turtles swimming along the jetty. The Center had several aquariums to view some of the other sea creatures from the area.
Port Aransas was a real gem of a holiday destination. It was relaxing and yet there was lots to see and do. Maybe there'll be a next time.
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