In the height of the summer, I went on a 3-day trip from Austin to Corpus Christi coming back via Port Aransas. I've been to Austin several times as I've got family there to visit, but I wanted to see what the Gulf coast was like.

First port of call was the beach near the USS Lexington at Corpus Christi. This is actually in a very large natural protected bay, but the hot continuous summer wind from the Gulf still created a few waves in the warm water. The water was not clear and I've always been a little suspect about the quality of the water in the Gulf being aware that there is a major oil business around these parts. It had a strange feel being far removed from the type of beachline you'd experience in California. Although, the water's always damn cold in California! I also went to Padre Island which lies directly on the coast of the Gulf. The beach was quite nice and if you're lucky you may see sea turtles lay their eggs here.

Later I explored downtown Corpus Christi as I was staying in a motel by the harbourfront. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed here. It had nothing of the charms of Austin and it felt quite empty and even a little menacing with a few very odd people straggling around the place. The whole place was still being blown by this continuous hot summer wind. There were still a few interesting buildings in the town to look at.

The harbour with its marina is pretty good with a nice selection of seafood restaurants including Landry's which has a nice outdoor seating area right by the pontoons of the marina itself.

After visiting Padre Island, I went north to Port Aransas which was a nice little seaside community with several surf and souvenir shops, restaurants, and bars. From here, I took the short ferry ride to get to the other side of the bay entrance and went via the backroads back to Austin.