Welcome to Gulf Waters RV Resort

Sunday, 22 December
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Lo 60F (15.5C) / Hi 73F (23C)

I used our travel day from Houston to Port Aransas to catch up on the four-day trip that brought us from Florida to Texas.  That was three days ago.  Three days that passed in the blink of an eye.  I’d better get cracking and complete our sojourn here before we find ourselves packing to move on.

We were up early for the 207-mile (331 km) drive to Port Aransas on Thursday, the 19th.  By 7:15a, we were negotiating the frontage road directions the Garmin was spewing out to get us on TX288 South.  Having consulted with the Z’s about our routing, we then picked up TX35 South for the remainder of our trip.  This turned out to be a comfortable and scenic drive even if we didn’t catch any glimpses of whoopers in flight.

I had to put a couple of waypoints into our planned route so that Streets & Trips
would keep us on TX288 / TX35 for the 207-mile (331 km) trip south to Port Aransas.
[Yellow marker #2 is the only truck stop along this segment of the highway.]

We thought we’d need to pull over somewhere for lunch en route, but the three hours or so it took us to get to the ferry landing in Aransas Pass went by so quickly that we didn’t find it necessary to do so.

Speaking of the ferry … this was the Phaeton’s first cruise and it turned out to be a piece of cake.  The Aransas Pass/Port Aransas ferry is free and runs 24/7 year round; weather permitting, of course.  By opting to use it to cross over to Mustang Island, we shaved 47 miles (75 km) off our route.  The guys and gals loading the ferry know what they are doing.  When TX361 dead-ended at the ferry landing in Aransas Pass, we were waved into an open lane to await loading instructions.  Our wait time was about 15 minutes, and it took less than that to load our ferry when the time came.  Directed to straddle the left two lanes on the ferry, we were packed like sardines with cars, motorcycles, and an 18-wheel dumper truck around us.  Unable to open the door wide enough to squeeze out and take photos, I had to be satisfied with some shots and a few video clips out the Phaeton’s windshield.

Top Left: TX361 dead-ends at the ferry landing in Aransas Pass.
top right:  Our ride has arrived!
Bottom left: We’re on …
bottom center: … and so is the toad!
Bottom Right: welcome to Port Aransas.

When we were on the Constellation for our TransAtlantic crossing earlier this month, Captain Tasos mentioned that sighting dolphins riding the bow wave was considered good luck.  He was right.  The dolphins that accompanied the ferry across the Corpus Christi Channel guaranteed our safe passage.  Alas no photos of them, but for those interested in “moving pictures” of our ferry adventure, here’s a short 48-second video to entertain you.

The Phaeton’s first ferry ride!

Two tips regarding disembarking the ferry if you’re heading south on TX361 once you arrive in Port Aransas.  Make sure you take the first right onto Cut-Off Road; and when you get to the next right turn, which will put you on S Alister Street/8th Street/Hwy 361, take over the center lane to make what is otherwise a tight turn — especially if you are a big rig.

We pulled up to Gulf Waters RV Resort around 12:30p.  And fell in love with the place immediately.  Blue skies, palms swaying in the breeze, wide sites, nicely maintained grounds, ponds that attract birds and turtles, and a very walkable wide beach on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico just steps away from our site.  What’s not to like?  At $730/month, the rate comes out to a little over $24/day.  We’ve paid more than that in state parks, so we’re good.  Of course, electricity is extra, but we don’t expect that to make a dramatic difference to the final tally.  Thanks go to MZ and TZ for doing the recon last year and suggesting this place to us!

We reserved Site 756, one of the premium owner lots, last April.
[map courtesy of the resort website]

This ownership RV resort is a popular place.  According to the campground staff, this is low season.  Yet, almost every site is booked.  Sure you can find a week here and there, but if you want to stay long term, nothing is available … we know because we’ve already asked about extending for another month or two.  No can do was the answer.  Good thing we made our month-long reservation back in April!

Site 756 has a separate toad parking area and plenty of living space; to the right of the
storage shed is a tall hedge (not pictured) that separates us from the neighboring site.

The hook-up side of the coach is landscaped with gravel and grass.

The living area has a concrete table and benches for al fresco dining.

Even with the concrete bench at the front of the site, there’s plenty of
room for our own chairs when we set them out.

Looking across the pond at the Phaeton and its neighbors.

We’re going to use our own chairs to sit outside, but we know a very nice couple who
will be using the blue ones in another site when they come down to Gulf Waters in April ;-)

Our view!
Note the little ducky in the bottom right corner that welcomed us to site 756 …

… turns out it’s a permanently anchored decoy!

So, the duck that welcomed us to our site might not have been real, but fear not.  We’re visited regularly by egrets, herons, gulls, grackles, killdeer, and even turtles that come to the pond daily.  The birds are obviously used to people; they fly off only if a dog comes running to chase them off.  Most of the dogs we’ve seen are well mannered, however, so I anticipate being well-entertained when I get to sit outside.

This pair of kildeer must have a nest nearby as they are often seen together near our site.

This great blue heron is intent on fishing, completely disregarding any distractions nearby.

Speaking of sitting outside, we haven’t done much of that yet.  Not because it’s been cold — it’s really been quite nice with sunny to partly cloudy and comfy temps (so far).  And it’s not the wind that’s kept us inside, either — though a little less breeze wouldn’t go amiss.  Rather, the cold I’ve been nursing since 7 December has been diagnosed as bronchitis.  We ended up going to the urgent care clinic — at Mui’s insistence — when my cough returned ten fold on Friday.  A course of antibiotics and resting since then seems to be doing wonders.  If I behave for a few more days and follow the doctor’s orders, I should soon be in better shape to enjoy what the area has to offer.

Here’s the beach we walked on Friday morning before I received doctor’s orders to rest
for a few days; it stretches for miles and we look forward to getting back out there soon.

Looking back towards the resort from the boardwalk;
you can see how close the Phaeton is to the beach access point.

Now that we know that extending our time in Port Aransas is not possible, we’ll need to start thinking of some plans for the next little while.  But first we’ll enjoy the Season and have fun exploring the area.

No poinsettias for Christmas, but we have hibiscus to add color to the Season.

Keeping fingers crossed that the cold front heading our way won’t necessitate digging out our Arctic gear from the basement ;-)