An Aransas Pass Christmas

We arrived in Aransas Pass (and the Palms RV Resort) Thursday. It is a very nice and very new RV Resort just outside of the town of Aransas Pass (which is a small "suburb" town of Chorpus Christi). It was beautiful when we arrived, sunny and low 60's so I immediately wanted, and needed, to head to the water and the beach. We drove toward Port Aransas and took the ferry over to the town and Mustang Island. It is a very typically beach town with the usual resorts and beachwear shoppes lining every road in town. Nice, though, to see Palm Trees again, smell the water/dead fish aroma and see waves crashing the shoreline. We didn't really know where to go or what to do so we drove a bit then took a road labelled "beach road access". It was very quiet on the island and even quieter on the beach. In fact, there wasn't a soul to be seen either way we looked...and this beach goes on forever. The odd thing about this beach is...you can drive on it. The beach itself is the "beach road". I have never seen this before and it was a little disturbing. Seemed like it ruined the beach and since it isn't a particularly wide beach, seemed a bit dangerous as well (when people are actually present, that is).

After a questioning look at Jeff, I pulled onto the sand. And immediately was sunk, and stuck. A few minuted in 4-wheel drive got us out of the sand but I opted for the road back to the highway after that! We ended up driving the entire length of Mustang Island and just before North Padre Island, turned off and into Corpus Christi and circled back home. That evening we took a walk through the park to check it out and met a couple enjoying the hot tub. Keith and Penne invited us to "go get a cocktail and get your suits on" and join them. So we did and ended up having a really fun evening with new friends. I think Jeff and I both enjoyed talking to people other than each other, plus these two were so nice and a whole lot of fun!

Chorpus Christi Beach

Yesterday was gloomy and cold so we went to what was, mostly, an indoor activity...touring the USS Lexington. The "Blue Ghost" is an aircraft carrier built in 1943, decommissioned in 1991 and called the Blue Ghost because of her original blue paint (she was never camouflaged) and the fact that the Japs repeatedly reported her as sunk, yet she'd show up again and again in thier backyard!

In Nov. of '44 a kamikaze pilot even hit the USS Lexington, killing 50 and injuring 132, yet within hours she had returned to normal flight operations. Tough boat, awesome history lesson. The ship is now a museum, not just for her history but the history of many other WWII ships and also had a great Pearl Harbor exhibit. The USS Lex was used in the film "Pearl Harbor" and there was an entire exhibit of that as well. There is also an IMAX Theater right on board and we watched a film called "Fighter Pilot".

Needless to say, we spent the entire day on board and did not even see the whole tour! Headed home about 4 and made a necessary grocery stop on the way. No hot-tubbing last night. It was windy and brrrrr cold!

Today is even worse and we are getting some slack for having brought this weather here. I refuse to take the blame but did notice on the national weather news this morning that Texas is literally the only spot in the country experiencing inclimate weather today. What the heck???? Even Minnesota is having warmer, dryer than normal weather. I think our temps are about even today too....48 here, 40 there! I'm happy for my family and friends in Minnesota but not too happy for Jeff and I (and all the other snow birds down here).

This is what happens when you get charged with "bad weather"!

It's Christmas Eve and it looks like our plans for the day include laundry and cleaning, maybe some bad football games (any game the Packers aren't in) and one good pot-roast dinner. I will probably not even get out of sweatpants today. Might take a nap too.

Missing my family. Missing my friends.

Merry Christmas to you all. Wishing everyone peace, love and happiness.