The Coastal Bend!

April 16-22, 2024

Sunset at Snoopy's

We finally made it to the Gulf of Mexico!  In fact, our camper was backed up to it with only Padre Island acting as a bit of a buffer between us and the open ocean.  Firefly Resort - Coastal Bend was where we parked it, which qualified as “home” for our stay.  Previously, this had been a KOA campground.  Only days before we arrived, it changed hands and became a Firefly resort.  Regardless of who owns the property, it was a wonderful spot.  It’s well maintained with paved, level, full-hook up sites.  Most notable are views that are hard to beat!  One afternoon, the campground hosted Robert McCoy, a local musician, to entertain guests poolside.  He is incredibly talented and has plans in the near future to record some of his music!  

Firefly Resort - Coastal Bend site #50

Musician Robert McCoy

It was great to trade the roar of I-35 for the roar of the waves crashing onto the sandy beach. In fact, we spent a good share of a day walking Whitecap Beach looking for seashells and, overall, taking in the scene on North Padre Island.

Whitecap Beach

Another day on North Padre Island took us to Port Aransas, located at the very northern tip of the island.  Along the way, you drive through Mustang Island State Park.  Mustang Island was originally named Wild Horse Island, as wild horses lived there for hundreds of years.  By the late 1800’s, they had disappeared; however, the name Mustang Island stuck.  

Continuing further up the island, we arrived at Port Aransas, where we spent some time at Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center.  

A few years ago, while camping at Everglades National Park, I saw my very first roseate spoonbill in the wild.  I had high hopes of having a second sighting of this beautiful wading bird and a visit to Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center did not disappoint me!  It was a thrill to watch this bright pink bird preen herself and fluff her feathers!  While there, we were reminded spring is prime bird watching season and the Corpus Christi area is right on the migration flight path.  Birders who were gathered at this preserve were more than happy to point out a painted bunting they were watching.  What stunning colors this bird has!  We also saw our first alligator of this trip while we were there.  I was thankful to be on an elevated boardwalk when we had this sighting!

In addition to the birding center, while we were in Port Aransas we took a cruise on The Scarlet Lady.  We were looking for a chance to see some dolphins in their natural habitat.  Once again, we were not disappointed!  The guide on the vessel had not even finished her spiel on safety before we had our first sighting!  During our 90-minute cruise, the dolphins gave us an almost continual show!  Our boat did not go fast enough to entice the dolphins to interact with us, but a larger boat passed us where the dolphins were having a blast jumping and dancing in its bow wave!  It seemed everywhere we went, there were dolphins showing off for us!  

A trip into Corpus Christi’s downtown started out with a stop at the visitor center.  There, we learned not only about the area attractions, but also about their unexpected new resident!  A year ago, a cattle tyrant was spotted in downtown Corpus Christi.  This is an exotic bird from Panama and South America that has never been to North America!  They hypothesize it hitched a ride on a cargo ship, ending up at the port of Corpus Christi.  We were told she likes to hang out near a dumpster located in the parking lot of a local oyster bar.  As luck would have it, on our way to a pastry shop to catch a bite for breakfast, we walked past a parking lot with a group of young men gathered at the end of a row of cars.  Each person in the group had donned cameras with large zoom lenses and had their binoculars trained on a dumpster.  We were pretty sure we had happened upon the cattle tyrant’s favorite hangout!  While the widely sought-after bird wasn’t there at that moment, it did make a couple appearances before long!  Apparently, birders from all over the country are coming here to see this rarity.  

Our photo of the cattle tyrant

A real birder's photo!  Maybe we need a better camera!

After grabbing coffee from Lucy’s and a pastry from Central Kitchen, we headed off to stroll along the historic seawall.  In 1939, construction began on the 1100-foot-long seawall.  Completed in 1941, this seawall provides protection for the community as well as beautifying the bayfront.  At one end of the wall, you find a touching memorial to Selena Quintanilla-Perez.  Selena was a much-loved Tejano singer who broke all of the barriers!  On March 31, 1995, at the age of 23, Selena was tragically murdered at a hotel in Corpus Christi.  Gauging from the number of visitors to her memorial, Selena remains much loved today.  

Periodically along the bayfront, there are stunning white gazebos with interesting historical information on plaques inside.  We had fun learning interesting facts from days gone by.  I also was reminded to watch where I walk, as I nearly stepped on a man sleeping on the ground as I walked into one of the gazebos.  Homelessness is such a problem in so many of the communities we have traveled to.  More and more I realize the importance of loving everyone I meet and treating each person with dignity and acceptance.

At the end of the bay wall, the designer put a statue of Christ honoring Corpus Christi’s namesake.  The statue depicts the story of Jesus calming the sea as depicted in the three synoptic gospels. It was quite the view with the bay as the backdrop for the statue.  The view from behind the statue gives you the illusion of the boat being on the water!

Downtown Corpus Christi also has a fun South Texas Music Walk of Fame.  Established in 2004, this walk honors South Texas musical artists.  The final six stars are being added this year to make for a total of 100 stars.  Each star was handcrafted by local ceramists.  As you can guess, Selena has a star, along with George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Bill Haley and 96 other talented musicians.  

It’s hard to pick a favorite meal while visiting “The Bend”, but one favorite certainly was thre brunch we enjoyed at Chops & Eggs.  It really doesn’t matter what time of the day you go; you will receive a fresh, farm-to-table meal served up in style!  We also had to try out the ever-popular Whataburger (found on virtually every street corner throughout Texas).  In 1950, Harmon Dobson founded Whataburger in Corpus Christi.  He wanted to serve a burger so large that it needed two hands to hold it and would impress people so much that they would say “What a burger!”.  He certainly accomplished those missions!  The tasty, “fresh, never frozen” beef was evident.  Side note: this huge burger is too large for my appetite: however, the junior burger is just right for me.  For fresh seafood, we enjoyed dinner at Doc’s Seafood & Steaks.  They offer live music most nights to complement the mouthwatering meals served up!  Snoopy’s was another favorite spot.  Both of these restaurants are located under the causeway bridge as you drive from Corpus Christi to North Padre Island.  The food was delicious at both locations and the sunset views equally a treat!  At Snoopy’s, we noticed there were bayside tables available and, following dinner, we moved to one of these tables.  This enabled us to take in the sunset as we enjoyed the music being played.  It’s important to understand that these tables were open to the sky.  I hadn’t considered the ramifications until I suddenly felt a warm “plop” hit my leg.  Clearly the locals had wisely chosen the tables under the eave.  I now appreciate the name of the bird that was responsible for the plop that landed on me – “laughing gull”.  The good news is that we had moved following dinner!

As long as we found ourselves in the migration path at a prime birding location, we went to a couple of other favorite spots where birders like to gather.  Packery Channel Nature Park is steeped in history.  In the 19th Century, a hide, tallow and meat-packing industry was located here.  It also served as a yellow-fever quarantine station and a shipping site for the area’s salt-mining and bird plume industry.  Today, with the help of a grant, this 38-acre county park is filled with native vegetation, specifically selected as food sources for migrating birds.  The boardwalk wanders through the park, giving you wonderful access.  

Oso Bay Wetlands and Nature Preserve is another great resource for the community and visitors alike!  This is a 162-acre preserve with two miles of trails going through it.  We were thrilled to see several more roseate spoonbills as well as prickly pear cacti in full bloom!  Finding a western diamondback rattlesnake positioned only a foot away from the trail we were on gave us a new kind of thrill that I don’t care to repeat!  Fortunately, Dick spotted it before we reached it and we were able to give it a wide berth.

Is that a rattlesnake????!

Yes!  It was!!!

I see a couple of roseate spoonbills!

The final birding location we visited was South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.  In fact, this facility is hosting a birding festival the week after we were there.  In addition to stunning flowers and vegetation, we saw a large purple martin colony!  Fortunately, the only snakes we saw were harmless ones the center has on display!  Again, it’s hard to pick a favorite exhibit, but I think I would have to go with the orchid greenhouse.  It definitely got me wanting to grow a few orchids!  My sister-in-law Rowena is quite an expert in this area, so I might have to consult her!

 Plumeria Garden - a Hawaian flower used to make leis!

Inside the butterfly garden

Orchids in the orchid greenhouse

Ir's not a rattlesnake!

Yellow Rose of Texas from the Rose Garden!

I know we only touched on the sights, sounds and flavors of Corpus Christi but, like most spots we have been to, it’s nice to leave a few things for our next trip!

Up next:  South Padre Island!