The Sun Finally Comes Out

Saturday, 11 January
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: LO 55F (13C) / Hi 73F (23C)

Yes, I know we shouldn’t be quibbling about overcast skies and coldish temps when people in some parts of the country are barely thawing out after the recent deep freeze.

So I won’t complain about the dreary days we had this past week … or the temps that dropped down to freezing a few nights … or the thick marine layer that one day descended like a thick veil over GWRVR (Gulf Waters RV Resort, in case you don’t remember where we are) … or the stiff winds that made it downright unpleasant to be outside for a few days earlier this week.

Nope, I won’t complain about them; I’ll just mention them.

With surgical precision, Mui replaces the DVD player of his laptop with a 1.5 terabite hard drive.  those are not specks of dirt in the pink bowl; rather, they are the screws he had to remove to get under the hood, so to speak.

OK, so no one likes the kind of weather we had last week.  But if I am to be honest, I didn’t mind being indoors.  We had plenty to keep us busy, including dental appointments in Corpus Christi for our six-month check-ups.  It was an especially productive time for me — processing photos, and writing catch-up posts for last September’s trip to Greenland.  And we even figured out what we’ll be doing May through mid-July.  No; not sharing those plans yet, but suffice it to say that we’ll be heading north and east.  No, don’t beg; I’m keeping mum for the time being.

Left: Snowy Egret
Right: Cormorant with a pair of blue-winged teals.

So as not to jinx ourselves, I’ll quietly whisper that having paid our weather dues, it looks like we’re finally in for the kind of weather the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce likes to see around here.  Sunshine and comfortable temperatures.  Yes, today we had both; and if the forecasters are to be believed, there is plenty more of the same for the foreseeable future.

Celebrating the break in the weather, this snowy egret and blue-winged teal pair
are just some of the visitors to our pond at GWRVR today.

The turtles that live in the pond like the far shore where
they can warm up on a sunny winter day.

Like the birds, and ducks, and turtles that came out in droves to enjoy the beautiful day, we were also out to have some fun in the sun.  Our first stop was the Port Aransas Visitor Center where Tricia answered our questions and put together a selection of brochures for us.  She even tossed in a reusable mesh bag to encourage us to pick up litter when walking on the beach.  As you might imagine, she was thrilled when I told her about my “beach-litter challenge” to one and all (post here if you don’t know what I am talking about).

Our goody bag stowed in the car, we then headed over to the jetty for a stroll.  What a great place for a walk.  Next time, we’ll plan to go out earlier in the morning.  We didn’t see any of the sea turtles or dolphins that others have mentioned seeing at the jetty, but the pelicans were out in full force; as were the fishermen.

Huge granite boulders are easy and fun to walk on, and reach quite a distance out into the gulf.

Watch out Mr. Pelican; that wave’s gonna get you!

Instead of returning home the way we came via TX361, we opted to drive back by way of the beach.  Yup; the beach at Port Aransas is one of those that can be driven on.  It’s free unless you plan to park on the beach; in which case, you need an annual pass ($12).  Starting out from the jetty, the sand is so hard packed that you’d swear you were driving on pavement.  After a while, the sand becomes looser, but nothing that would really hinder a careful driver.  Along the way, we saw trailers and a few ancient motorhomes that were boondocking in the hard-packed areas, and lots of fishermen who had driven their vehicles clear down to the edge of the surf.

Let’s go for a drive on the beach!

With no vehicle access from the beach into the campground, we had to drive past Gulf Waters about 4 miles (6½ km) in order to get back on TX361.  We knew we’d have to do that, so it came as no surprise.  It might have been a roundabout way of getting home, but we had great fun driving the beach route.

Mui stops the car to pick up litter — in this case an empty beer bottle
that someone half buried in the sand!

Now that the weather is starting to improve, we’ll be out doing more stuff; so you might hear from us a little more frequently.  In fact, we have some fun plans in the works for tomorrow.