February 2, 2005

February 2, 2005

Matagorda Bay to Port Aransas, Texas

DAY 229

 

Today was cold and cloudy again, but at least it didn't rain. I had a colitis flare up starting about 5:30 A.M. so I felt sick and weak for most of today.

This morning we walked Bo along the shore line of Matagorda Bay. The beach was covered in oyster shells. Just before we left Bay Side RV Park, the lady from West Virginia, in the motorhome next to us, came over with maps and tourist information for the areas we will be visiting over the next few days. She and her friend are travelling in the opposite direction to us, and had just been to the areas we're going to.

We left the town of Palacios on Matagorda Bay, continuing southwest along the Gulf Coast on Hwy. 35. Between Lavaca Bay and San Antonio Bay, Hwy. 35 comes inland for a bit. The landscape changes to prairie. Longhorn cattle grazing in pastures. We stopped for groceries and lunch in Rockport. We missed the turn off to Hwy. 361 in the city of Aransas Pass, and went 5 miles too far, to the next town of Ingleside, before we realized we missed our turn off. We back tracked to Aransas Pass ( the city ), and turned east onto Hwy. 361. We took a small ferry across Aransas Pass ( the water, not the city ) to the town of Port Aransas on Mustang Island. As we crossed Aransas Pass on the ferry, we could see dolphins arching their backs / dorsal fins out of the water in front of the ferry. Looked like a scene from Flipper. Once on Mustang Island, in the town of Port Aransas, we headed for Port Aransas County Park on Magee Beach. The road is the beach ! WE had a choice between boondocking / dry camping right on the beach, or being in a serviced site behind the dunes just off the beach. It was cold, with a strong wind on the beach, so we opted for a serviced site behind the sand dunes. Once we got parked and hooked up, we went for a very long romp on the beach with Bo. He sure is "up" for anything ! Good thing I saw the dead jelly fish on the beach before he did ! Just as it was turning dark, we walked back to the trailer, and brought Teddy outside for a short walk. Teddy thought it was too windy, and didn't really want to be outside for more than a couple of minutes.

One thing I really dislike about the U.S. is the amount of garbage strewn about. It was bad enough out in the middle of nowhere in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, where I was constantly picking up discarded coffee cups, drink cans, water bottles, potato chip bags, etc., but on the beaches it's really unsightly ! There's a real lack of concern for the environment down here.

I spent part of the evening working on the photos I’ve taken over the last few days. Joanne made gumbo for supper. MMMMM !

DSK