Checking Out Birding Spots in Port Aransas

Tuesday, 28 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 34F (1C) / Hi 47F (8C)

You know there’s something wrong with the weather picture when your high temperature is just after midnight, and your low is around 3:00p.  Even the low of 34F (8C) isn’t quite right as the feel-like temperature in Port Aransas for anyone who went outside was actually 24F (-4C).

Rather than stay at home, we used this cold, blustery day to run errands in Corpus Christi.  Since I have nothing exciting to report from either Monday or today, I’ll go back one more day to a weekend outing instead.

Sunday, 26 January

With the sun out and the temperature at a comfortable 63F (17C) shortly after noon, we decided a long walk was in order.  Instead of our usual stroll on the beach, however, we headed into Port Aransas to check out two birding places Tricia at the visitor center had mentioned.  As serious birders know, the mid-day hours are the wrong time to go birding.  As serious photographers know, the mid-day hours are the wrong time to be toting a camera.  No matter; we were out on a recon with the bonus of a leg-stretching stroll.  I didn’t even take my DSLR with me.

Our first stop was the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, which in addition to birds and waterfowl, is home to Boots & Bags, two resident alligators.  Alas, no sign of them while we were there, but I did capture a quick shot of the very rare Alligator Ahmetus Muhittinensis ;-)

Crunch, crunch, slurp, slurp …. Yummm!

The birding center is in the marsh adjacent to a Nueces County water treatment plant.  And the stink that assaults your nostrils when you first arrive let’s you know that you’ve found the right place!  Of course, how bad the smell is depends on the direction of the wind.  By the time we were on the boardwalk leading into the marsh, the smell was tolerable, and at times, non-existent.

The white pelicans stuck close together as they fed on the far side of the marsh.

9-second clip of pelicans feeding en masse.

Aside from the pelicans, the only wildlife we saw in large numbers were American coots and some ducks.  Most of them were hunkered down on a patch of reeds, but a few of them posed nicely for me.

American Coot
”Ooops!  I think I Had an accident!”

Northern Shoveler

Green-Winged Teal

Next, we headed over to Charlie’s Pasture.  Located off TX361, we had plans to stop by this nature preserve each time we drove into Port Aransas.  But we kept missing the turnoff, which is marked by a very small sign.  This time, we made note of a landmark on our way to the birding center so that we wouldn’t drive by the hidden turn.

The turnoff for Charlie’s Pasture is just past this ‘landmark’ when driving from Port Aransas.

There were no other vehicles in the small parking lot when we arrived.  Walking to the signage at the head of the trail, the first thing we learned was that the bigger portion of the 1,217-acre (492 hectares) preserve is accessed from an entirely different part of Port Aransas.  OK — we’ll go there another time!

Left: The preserve is named for Charlie Bujan, who was born on Mustang Island in 1906.
He used to run cattle on this land, which he leased from the State of Texas.

Right: We strolled the boardwalk at Charlie’s Pasture in the lower left section of the map.
the main section of the preserve is at the top of the map.  the Leonabelle Turnbull birding
center is in the middle of the map; there are future plans for a trail connecting the two.

[click either photo for a more legible version]

If we needed any evidence of the drought plaguing Texas, Charlie’s Pasture provided it.  Except for a few places where we saw narrow streams of water flowing in from ponds, the whole place was dry — mushy in some places; totally parched in other places.  The birds were practically non existent, except for a few tiny birds at the end of the boardwalk; some kildeer that were too far to photograph even with my SX50, which is the equivalent of 1200mm at full zoom; and a couple of lesser yellowlegs foraging at the edge of a distant pond.

The boardwalk straddles land that is, with few exceptions, quite dry,

Left: The observation tower would be a good place to keep an eye on birds; but not today.
Right: Yellow-Rumped Warbler [as confirmed by Judy].

Parched!

Lesser Yellowlegs

Next time we go to either of these places, it will be at a time that is more appropriate for birding and for photography.  In the meantime, we enjoyed our stroll — a change of pace from the beach.

Our New Home at GWRVR

Saturday, 25 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 35F (1.5C) / Hi 57F (14C)

The polar vortex once again made its presence known to us this week.  But not with the fierceness experienced by those who were in the path of Winter Storm Janus elsewhere in the country.

While some of our Texan friends who live further north did get snow, the worst we had was strong winds that buffeted the rig Thursday night, and temperatures that never got over 34F (1C) the next day.  With the windchill, the feels-like temperature on Friday was around 23F (-5).  We hunkered down until today, when the sunshine warmed us enough to go for a walk around the campground … and on the beach.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have extended our stay in GWRVR to the end of April.  But, we will have to move a few times during that time frame.  After a month in site 756, Monday, the 20th, was the first of such moves.  We waited until the Prevost that was in our new site moved out before taking the Phaeton for a spin.  Our excuse — topping off the diesel.  In reality, we wanted to get the wheels rolling a bit before settling down again for the next six weeks.

For the first time since we bought the Phaeton in 2010, we took it to a regular gas station.  Having checked it out first, we knew getting her in and out wouldn’t be a problem.  But she sure did overwhelm the place!  Should have taken a photo while Mui was manning the sloooow diesel pump.  It took a while to quench the Phaeton’s thirst.

To return to GWRVR, Mui then had to execute a u-ey to get from the northbound lanes of South Padre Island Drive to the southbound lanes.  I was never as glad that we have a 55° wheel cut as I was that morning.  The increased maneuverability allowed Mui to easily make the tight turn.  Should have videotaped that turn, but I was too busy clutching the arm of my seat to think about it!

From Roughing It Smoothly; April 2008, Volume 5, Number 2 (Inside Cover).
The ad shows an Allegro Bus, but our Phaeton is capable of making these tight turns as well.

Anyway, we returned to GWRVR shortly after noon.  Sal escorted us to Site 461 and guided Mui into place.  We considered going face-first into this back-in site, but we would have been literally face-to-face with the Prevost in the site behind ours.  So, back-in we manuevered.

We moved from 756 (red arrow — bottom right) to 461 (blue arrow — top right).

We don’t have a pond view this time, but our corner lot is spacious.  Our only immediate neighbor is an owner lot that is not in the rental pool.  They’ve got their 5’er sitting there empty, so unless they come, there won’t be anyone on our driver side.  It’s pretty much the same with the lots across from us.  Only the corner lot is occupied; the others are all empty owner lots.

From the front …

… From the right.

It didn’t take long for us to get settled.  As it was a lovely day with plenty of sunshine and only a light breeze, Mui lost no time setting up the grill to cook up some of the köfte left over from our lunch with friends the day before.

Our first al fresco meal at GWRVR.

On the menu: köfte (ground beef patties), domateslİ pİlav (rice made with
tomatoes), cacık (cold cucumber soup with yogurt), and pİyaz (white bean salad).
[You saw this photo before when I cheated and used it on the previous post]

Our visit to the opthalmologist on the 16th had yielded a new Rx for me — no surprise there.  On Wednesday, the 22nd, we drove into Corpus Christi to run some errands and get that prescription filled.  The manager at the Walmart Eye Center took her time helping us and I ended up leaving a chunk of change behind.  Now that I am supposed to wear these glasses all the time, I also splurged on a pair of Rx sunglasses.  Looking forward to being able to see the GPS when I am driving!

I knew I was going to need a new prescription — sigh!

Our errands took long enough that it was 1:00p by the time we were done.  Time for lunch.  We decided to go to the PF Chang’s nearby.  I know, we should have gone to a local joint instead of a chain, but we had our reasons.

We used to go to this China Bistro when we lived in Northern Virginia — mostly to enjoy the chicken lettuce wraps that Mui has been unable to duplicate at home … must be some secret ingredient they use.

Anyway, we had more than just the lettuce wraps this time.  Our meal included chicken lo mein for me, and crispy shrimp with a side of fried rice for Mui.  We washed it all down with a couple of Tsingtaos and walked away well-satisfied with our meal.

What, no dessert?  Yes, we did have a sweet treat at the neighboring Marble Slab Creamery. We enjoyed our ice cream at one of the patio tables overlooking the fountain — another al fresco opportunity for us.

We didn’t take a camera on this errands-outing, so no photos of any of this — except for the one of the lettuce wraps, which I borrowed from the web.

The temps are supposed to warm up further tomorrow.  If I can get rid of the headache that’s been plaguing me today, we’re going to check out the birding center.  We’d like to get a fun outing in before the next polar vortex hits us early next week.

Instant Friends

Sunday, 19 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 50F (10C) / Hi 64F (18C)

Haven’t done much more than walks on the beach this past week.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t have something to write about.  I do.  Something that I had been looking forward to for a while now.

The blogosphere is a small one.  I’ve said that before, haven’t I? 

You run across a blog, you read a bit, you exchange a comment or two.  Sometimes you’re like bloggers passing in the night; nothing comes of the virtual encounter.  At other times, however, a friendship develops.  Sometimes the friendship is instantaneous; sometimes it takes a bit of of time to develop.

Abby makes herself right at home at Gulf Waters RV Resort.                                  

Don’t ask me how I found Sue’s blog — The Moho and Other Traveling Tales.  I have no idea.  I may have clicked on a comment she left on another blog, or another blogger may have linked me to her.  It doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that we clicked instantly.

When Sue and I realized that we would both be in Texas, we knew we’d have to make a meet-up between Phaeton Journey’s and MoHo Travels a reality.  In the short time they were in Corpus Christi this week, we made a get together happen twice.

Mui and I had appointments to visit the ophthalmologist for annual check-ups in Corpus Christi on Thursday, so I suggested to Sue that we have lunch at one of the restaurants near NAS CCAD where they were staying.  And that’s how we ended up at Rudy’s BBQ for our first meeting.

Mo (left) and Sue filling up their lunch ‘basket’ at Rudy’s.

I couldn’t say whether the BBQ was good — I’m not an aficionado.  I know what tastes good to me, and the food here did.  I can say that the friendship that germinated on the net, fledged quickly during the meal, and grew to include Mo, the non-blogger of the pair.  Mo might be the quiet one, but she has a sense of humor that became quickly apparent as we all laughed and talked through lunch.

Left: our food Basket.
Right: Sue brings us a couple of ‘plates’.  Did I say that Rudy’s is a rustic place?

After lunch, we followed them back to NAS Corpus Christi where I visited with Sue and Mo at their home on wheels, and met Abby and Jeremy, the fur kids.  While I was with them, Mui took the opportunity to pick up a few more fixings from the commissary for Sunday’s lunch at GWRVR — our second planned meet-up with the MoHo gals.  All too soon, it was time for us to bid a temporary farewell to Sue and Mo, and return to our own home on wheels.

Sunday dawned with sunshine, but even as we were putting the finishing touches on lunch, the breeze cooled down the temperature just enough to make eating on the patio too uncomfortable :-(  When Sue and Mo, accompanied by the well-mannered Miss Abby, arrived shortly after noon, we sat outside long enough to enjoy our adult beverages and hummus, served with pita chips.

That’s not a new hairstyle; that’s the breeze making my hair stand-on-end.

I was really, really bad about taking photos … but because Sue shared some of the ones she took, and gave me permission to use them in this post, I have more than words to describe our day.  Unfortunately, that also means that the photos are of Mui and me, instead of Sue and Mo.  I really do need to get over my shyness over photographing people.  Thanks, Sue; you saved my bacon.

Mui gets ready to put the köfte on the grill.

Initially, we were going to do burgers for lunch.  But then I remembered the many comments Sue had made about how much she enjoyed the Turkish food she ate when she and Mo were in Turkey in 2008.  So, Mui switched the menu around and made some Turkish dishes instead.  The menu included köfte (Turkish ground beef patties [more commonly made with ground lamb in Turkey]); domatesli pilav (rice made with tomatoes); cacık (cold yogurt soup with chopped cucumbers); piyaz (white bean salad); and zeytinyağlı taze fasulye (green beans cooked in olive oil).  Dessert was not homemade — Mui ran out of time; so we had vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate chip cookies.

Too cool to eat on the patio, so we move lunch inside the Phaeton.

I’m cheating; these are the leftovers we had [on Monday] …
same lunch menu that we served Sue and Mo.

We had made tentative plans to go to the birding center after lunch.  In the end, though, we decided to go for a walk on the beach so that Miss Abby could join us as well.  Talking the entire time, we didn’t realize the passage of time and walked farther than we had planned.  Well, we all needed to walk off our lunch, so it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that our walk ended up being longer than anticipated ;-)

Abby decided to play the ‘shy card’ when I clicked the shutter for this photo of Mo and Sue.

Thanks for a great afternoon, ladies.

Sue and Mo are moving on tomorrow.  Since we’ve extended our stay in Port Aransas until April, who knows, our paths may cross again this spring when they head west again.  If not, we’ll meet again someday … somewhere.

UPDATE:

Sue's side of the story is here.

Celebrating in Port Aransas

Wednesday, 15 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 44F (7C) / Hi 58F (14C)

The sun’s been gracing our skies since it burned off the thick marine layer we woke up to Monday morning.  We’ve had beautiful blue skies since then.  That’s the good news.  The not-so-good news is that the sun doesn’t seem to be strong enough to negate the windchill from the almost constant breezes coming off the Gulf.  With lower temps, today was the worst of these past three days.  But this too shall pass.  It won’t be long before we’ll be complaining about how hot it is!  C’est la vie!

After a particularly windy night that had the slide toppers flapping away, we woke up this morning to celebrate Mui’s birthday!  Our plans were to leave early and go find some birds, but one look at the temperature gauge changed our minds.  You know, we’re fine with a temperature of 44F (7C) or less when we’re in the Arctic in the summer.  But we find ourselves chickening out and staying indoors when we have those kinds of temps here in the winter.  Haven’t figured that one out yet ;-)

Instead, we waited for the temps to rise, and by then Mui was in the mood to go on the roof with a tube or two of leveling compound to re-seal some seams on the roof.  So, it was past noon when we finally made it out for his birthday lunch in Port Aransas.

The birthday boy chooses the Trout Street Bar & Grill for his celebratory lunch.

As it was after 1:00p when we finally made it there, the Trout Street Bar & Grill was fairly deserted.  Getting seated at a window-side table with a view of the marina was the next best thing to being at a table on the veranda.

Our server, James, promptly showed up at the table to take our drink orders.  Easy decision — we are in Texas after all — what else could we order but a couple of Shiner Bocks … thanks, MZ and TZ, for introducing us to the brew!

Cheers to a happy birthday!

We started off with an order of calamari to share.  It was OK — but the batter, we felt, overwhelmed the delicate taste of the calamari.  Although we weren’t too happy with the appetizer, we both really enjoyed our main courses.  In my case, Shrimp Larisha — Gulf shrimp sautéed in garlic butter, and topped with toasted bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese; served with rice pilaf and vegetables.  Mui ordered one of the specials, so his dish didn’t have a fancy name.  Nonetheless, the blackened drum fish, served with a side of Creole sauce, and the same pilaf and vegetables, was very good.  Since we had let slip that we were celebrating Mui’s birthday, James suggested the Birthday Brownie for dessert.  Should have gone with our first instinct and ordered the key lime pie instead.  This is our second brownie a la mode in as many days, and it wasn’t all that satisfactory.  The a la mode part was good; the brownie not so much.  Oh well; now we know what not to order for dessert the next time we dine out.

Shrimp Larisha	Blackened Drum Fish	Birthday Brownie

We walked out of Trout Street with plans to go for a walk around town.  It didn’t take more than a few minutes for us to figure out that we didn’t have enough layers on.  So, we quick-stepped it back to the car and returned home, where Mui spent the afternoon accepting happy birthday wishes from friends and family, and his high school Facebook group.

We have some errands to run tomorrow … but also some special plans that I’ve really been looking forward to.  But more on that later.

Into Kuannersooq Fjord We Go … but not in the Phaeton

For those who saw this post pop up on their RSS feeds … it’s a blog blooper!  Sorry; I’ve deleted this erroneous post from this blog and re-posted it where it belongs in Two to Travel.

10K Volksmarching in Corpus Christi

Sunday, 12 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort (GWRVR) — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 54F (12C) / Hi 69F (21C)

It’s late — about 10p — and boy is it blowing strong out there.  It’s also been raining on and off since we returned from today’s outing.  Good thing this front waited until now to come through or it would have put a real crimp in our activities today.

The blogosphere is a big one, but when you filter it down to people with like-minded interests — full-timing in an RV being one of them — that sphere shrinks and becomes a very small world.  It seems at times like we are all stalking following the same people.  That’s how we met Faye and Dave, who are also at GWRVR for a while.  Turns out that Susan (of Travel Bug fame) dropped them a comment mentioning that we were at the same campground.  A few email exchanges and a couple of G+ comments, and before long we had all agreed to do a Volksmarch in Corpus Christi.  During our walk today, we learned that Karen and Steve (of GoneByRV) also mentioned us to Faye — sorry guys, you’re too far away, or we would have invited you to join us as well.

For those who are not familiar with what a volksmarch is, the word comes from German and means “peoples’ march.”  Essentially, it’s a fitness walk on an outdoor path.  The length of the walks vary, but the most popular ones seem to be 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).  The nice thing about volksmarching is that because it is not a competitive walk, you can take your time exploring the places on your route.  If you have company during the walk, as we did today, so much the better — you don’t even realize how far you’ve walked.  (There’s more information on the website I linked to in the first paragraph.)

volksmarches ARE HOSTED by local clubS; THE WEBSITE provideS ROUTE information, including the start point from which TO collect directions.

Susan, an avid volksmarch participant, had chosen the shoreline walk in Corpus Christi for us.  Compared to the 2+ hour drive she and Bob made from San Antonio, our 35-minute drive to Corpus Christi was a piece of cake.  As we don’t have a back seat in the toad, Faye drove herself and we all arrived at the meet-up point within minutes of each other.  Directions for today’s volksmarch were in the walk box at the coffee shop inside the Bayfront Plaza Hotel.  Soon, armed with route instructions, we were off at a comfortable pace that allowed us to chit chat and get to know each other; and stop for photo ops along the way.

The Alice M. Milloy Corpus Christi International Seamen’s Center is a not-for-profit
“home away from home” for seafarers visiting the Port of Corpus Christi.

We started our walk under blue skies and sunshine, but as the forecasters predicted, the clouds soon moved in.  The temps remained in the 65F (18C) range for the most part, and when it reached around 75F (24C) at noon, I was happy to have the clouds filtering most the hot rays.  It cooled down considerably, and got windy later; but we really can’t complain about the weather we had for our walk.

We have blue skies when we stop to check out the houses at the Heritage Park,
the site of 12 historical Corpus Christi homes, the oldest dating back to 1851.

Right: a new addition perhaps, this house is in need of a lot of tender loving care.
Left: (1905) Simon Gugenheim house (top); 1908 Galvan house (bottom).

Bob and Mui walk around the inside perimeter of the Water Garden in
the Bayfront Science Park, while Faye stops to take a picture of …

… the cascading waterfall along the outer perimeter.

I love the dancing fountains that flow down a stepped wall.

Our route took us from the neighborhood streets of Corpus Christi to the Seawall, which was constructed between 1938-1941 to protect the downtown area from storm surges.  A popular place for locals and visitors to take a stroll, ride a bike, or go roller-blading, the seawall raised the shoreline 14 feet (4.3 m) above sea kevel.  Inside the charming, free-standing gazebos along the way are historical markers; and further along the path, informational panels about the planets are positioned on a scale that allows people to easily navigate through our solar system.

The Corpus Christi Seawall is a great place for a walk.  A stepped wall overlooking
the water, as well as double-benches along the way, afford places to take a load off.
The Miradores del Mar gazebos (Spanish for overlooks by the sea), copied from
similar structures in Morocco, Mexico and Spain, add charm to the scenery.

Untitled History — a sculpture by Mel Chin.
one part of a five-part sculpture (linked to above), the website describes it as:
”a dog looks up to what would have been a statue, its vanished master,
a Karankawa indian.  The feet remain.”

Left: USS Lexington from one of the miradors on the seawall.
Right: a “double the pleasure” mirador image from the marina.

From the seawall, we walked in and out of two of the T-Heads at the Yachting Center of Corpus Christi.  The calm waters of the marina afforded excellent “reflection” photos that doubled our pleasure in the scenery.

Fishing vessels at the marina.

A mural at the yachting center depicts the Corpus Christi skyline with
the USS Lexington and the harbor bridge in the distance.

The calm waters of the yachting center reflect the skyline to double our pleasure.

Reflections … reflections.

Some of you may be familiar with Selena, the Tejano songstress who was from Corpus Christi.  We knew of her from a TV docudrama that we saw years ago.  She was killed at the young age of 23 by the former president of her fan club, whom Selena had fired after she caught her embezzling funds.  A much-loved daughter of Corpus Christi, there is a memorial gazebo (Mirador del Flor … Lookout of the Flower) in her honor at the corner of the Peoples Street T-Head and the seawall.  I meant to get a reflection shot of it, but the sun went behind the clouds before I could do so.

The pedestal of the memorial gazebo has tile mosaics hand-painted by
Texas children who loved Serena; and on the street level is a statue of her.

A little further on, along the Lawrence Street T-Head, we came across the replica of the Niña, one of the three ships with which Columbus crossed the Atlantic on his voyage to the Americas.  Spanish-built replicas of the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María were sailed across the Atlantic and came to rest here in Corpus Christi.  There seems to be an ongoing dispute about what to do with the ships — two of which are on display at the Museum of Science; Niña is undergoing restoration at the marina.

Bob and Mui provide perspective for the size of the Niña;
we all agreed that none of us would have wanted to cross the Atlantic on this ship.

No one in our small group said anything, but once we reached the turnaround point of the walk, we sort of sped up the pace — perhaps because we were all starting to feel hungry.  The only stop we made was at a crosswalk where Susan told us the story of the first time she and Bob did this volksmarch.  She relates the story of that day, which she describes as one “that will live in infamy (in my mind),” on her blog.  I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say that it was a “major ouch moment” for her.  Hopefully, our shared volkswalk today has erased — to some degree — the painful memories from that first time.

No Volksmarch would be complete without a meal.  Today was no exception.  No one took up Mui’s challenge of walking back to the Peoples Street T-Head to find a restaurant, so we picked up our vehicles and convoyed over there.  Despite the clouds, and the occasional drops of rain, we settled on the outdoor terrace at Harrison’s Landing.  Turns out that the place is named for a landing at Berkeley Plantation on the James River in Virginia, where “the haunting Taps bugle call was composed by Civil War General Daniel Butterfield.”

Plenty of conversation and good camaraderie at lunch wraps up our volksmarch.
[Faye on the left; Susan and Bob on the right]

While the menus could have used a good wipe-down, there was a good variety of food from which to make our selections.  I ordered the grilled shrimp tacos — with a bed of coleslaw on flour tortillas, dressed with a spicy (for me) chipotle aioli sauce, and a side of corn tortilla chips and homemade salsa.  Knowing that he’d be eating one of my tacos, Mui went lighter with a jumbo lump crab salad — that included sliced avocados, sweet red bell peppers, diced red onions, and crumbled blue cheese on a bed of mixed greens.  We both enjoyed our entrées, but agreed that the fudge brownie à la mode left a lot to be desired — which may explain why I neglected to take a picture of dessert.

Mui and I enjoyed our main course order —
grilled shrimp tacos for me; lump crab meat salad for him.

Susan and Bob had plans to continue their day at the birding center in Port Aransas.  As we had errands to run — including getting our much-delayed flu shots — we begged off.  I sure hope they weren’t caught in the sudden downpour that drenched Port Aransas soon after we returned home.  As we plan to visit the birding center in the near future, I am looking forward to Susan’s upcoming blog post.

Hopefully, we’ll have another chance to meet up with our new friends from San Antonio in the not too distant future — there are two volkswalks to do right here in Port Aransas … hint, hint.  Faye, and her husband Dave, who was unable to join us today, will be at GWRVR for a few more weeks, so we’ll get to see them around the campground I’m sure … BYOB happy hour maybe :-)