We needed to arrive at the Wall’s home after 4.30pm to let them get home from work. So we decided to spend a little longer in San Antonio and stop on the way to Portland at the Corpus Christi Lake State Park.
We walked into town from the hotel and found a diner which advertised a bargain breakfast. We were in shorts and this seemed a little out of place as it was distinctly cool. The breakfast was fine and we were greeted as honoured guests as visitors from England are not common in this establishment.
We decided to go up the Tower of the Americas in Hemisfair Plaza; it is interesting that Texas has no hesitation in grabbing a grandiose title for the tower which, frankly, is not as impressive as the title. We started our visit with the “Skies over Texas” 3-D cinema experience, we soon had on our stylish glasses and I warned Julia that her phobia creature, the snake, might make a close-up and personal appearance. We set off in a helicopter, buffeted by the wind, and shaken by the pilot’s maneuvers before landing and taking part in a cattle stampede. All of which we coped with until, in the desert, Julia was attacked by a Rattle Snake! The whole experience is claimed to be 4-D because of the seat getting involved in the action, when the snake reared we were jabbed in the back to simulate its strike! After this to quote the publicity; the 4-D theater zooms in on such scenes as a Friday-night high school football game, working up-close-and-personal with a space shuttle at NASA and more. It was OK but not a holiday highlight.
We then ascended the tower by lift, it reminded me of the John Handcock tower which stages a race each year to run up the flights of stairs, people complete the race in less than half an hour. The views over San Antonio are good but there is not much to see as the city is relatively flat. When we ventured out onto the viewing gallery the wind was seriously strong and on one stretch I felt the wind actually lift me briefly. It was also bitingly cold outside at that altitude making the shorts an even worse decision.
We returned to the hotel checked out, collected the car immediately outside and set off for Corpus Christi. The Walls actually live in Portland which is on the other side of the bay to Corpus, the crossing served by a large bridge next to which are the Texas Aquarium and the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, both of which are excellent to visit but we have ticked them off on a previous visit. We had therefore decided to stop off short of Corpus and check out the Corpus Christi Lake State Park.
We switched off the satnav and followed signs towards and into the park, we passed through a check point and paid up our $4 each for a day ticket and were given a map; straight away I can suggest two economies the authorities could make in November, first don’t employ gate staff and then issue blank pieces of paper rather than maps as nothing is going on. Unless the lady on the gate is paid $16 per day the place is running at a loss. The park is, as you may have worked out, on the edge of a lake and in summer there will be lots of lake-based activities going on. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, we walked along the edge of the lake and basically that was it.
We pressed on towards Corpus Christi, the journey was good and we timed our arrival well, Jane was home and Kevin arrived within a half hour of us. With really good friends the time just passes, we talked, ate, drank and talked more. We caught up about families, jobs and basketball. We started on the garden patio with a log burning for warmth and we moved in to eat and finished in the lounge with a basketball match on the large screen making the occasional conversation point.
The following day both Kevin and Jane had headed out to work before we got up. We headed through Corpus and onto Padre Island; here we had brunch at Whataburger. Kevin had provided us with some vouchers and pointed out that Whataburger had opened its first outlet in Corpus Christi. As we ate at the first Whataburger on the island we noticed two things of interest, firstly as the staff delivered the completed order the carried with them a condiments tray which allowed the punters to sort out what they needed with their meal without leaving their seats, secondly the establishment we were in catered principally for working guys in the area so it must have represented good value. In order to use our vouchers we had to buy a standard burger fries and a large drink, so with free top-ups, we left the restaurant carrying a full bucket of sprite, not the best decision for a man of my age, who now plots his course by public conveniences.
We continued down the island road and ended at an almost deserted beach, on our previous trip to Texas we had discovered that Texans drive onto the beach and set up their picnic area around their truck. Dollar in Dallas had not provided us with a truck but we still drove onto the hard sand with three other vehicles. From there we walked along the edge of the sea and enjoyed the seclusion and the bird life. My camera again did well; the 10X optical zoom was brilliant for getting closer to the storks which tolerated us in their preserve with little concern. About half a mile down the beach we passed a campervan parked and guarded by a wolf on a chain, we had no idea what the owners were doing but they had found a foolproof way to do it in private.
We had arrived at this almost deserted beach pretty much at the farthest point of the island but it was not the area we had visited previously so we re-traced our path and this time followed a beach sign nearer the start of the island. This navigation took us to the beach as we remembered it; we walked out on the long pier, saw people fishing and basically just enjoyed the experience.
As we returned later with the intention of checking out Corpus Christi the city we noted the housing developments which were either side of the Padre Island causeway, they seemed to consist of streets of big houses with a canal at the front and a road at the back, most of the houses had a boat moored at their own dock. It was obvious that these Texans loved their coastal heritage. On the subject of heritage, in looking through my photos I have noted the number of American flags I have captured, it is an iconic sight but, more than that, it reveals a real reverence for the flag beyond anything we in Britain would recognise.
As a quiz question you might be amused to ask; “Which organization burns the greatest number of American flags?” the answer is the American boy scouts. This is not down to their lack of respect for the flag but the exact opposite; they are trusted to dispose of old ragged flags in a dignified fashion.
We never really found the shopping centre of Corpus Christi but we did locate a huge Academy Sports and found Sarah her basketball boots at a favourable price. Kevin approved of them when he later checked them out.
That evening we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant in Portland, Kevin had not changed from his work clothes and was therefore recognised by both the waitress and other customers as a Coach from Taft, a large high school in the area. It was amazing how high a profile school sport has in the local community, as a basketball coach in Texas you are respected but as a football coach you would be worshipped. We hope to travel to Indiana some day where that will be reversed.
On our return to the house we again chatted and the time passed as quickly as it had the previous night. We truly hope that Jane and Kevin will be able to come over to see us before long.
The following day it was again time to move on, we set off for Houston, our final city, by about 10.00am.
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