Port Aransas and Rockport

We travelled up to Rockport one Friday afternoon  to see if Tom could find his “Oysters Rockefeller” at the Oysterfest, but that didn’t work out . . . the festival didn’t open until the evening, and from talking to some people he found out that it’s more of a carnival – with more “fair food” than oysters.  He was bummed, but we got some lunch in town (still not oysters), and walked through the shops along the waterfront.

There’s still quite a bit of post-hurricane re-building going on, but the little downtown area is cute.  If you were furnishing a beach cottage, there were lots of cute options!

The Marina is pretty full, too --

pleasure boats,

and working boats --

but also some that don’t look like they are going to be sea-worthy anytime soon!

Back in Port Aransas, Tom might not have gotten the oysters he was looking for, but he did manage to buy some shrimp,

They were fresh off the boat!  $4/lb. for a medium mix – he just had to pop off the heads and cut off the shells!

Before --

and After!

He also managed to get some tamales from Granny’s Tamales!  This truck drives through the RV Resort every afternoon – playing music like the ice cream truck – and selling hot tamales!  He said they were OK, but it turns out that he’s not really a big fan of tamales.

As our days her on the coast are winding down, we finally got a few warmer days with some sunshine in the afternoon. 

One nice afternoon, we took a bike ride through town and down to the beach.

We stopped in a few of the little shops in town, and picked up a decal for the Jeep.  We checked out the candy store, too, but didn’t buy anything . . . too expensive . . . $9.50/lb. for basic bulk candy!  No way!  They did have Albanese Gummy Bears, though.

Down at the beach, we found this interesting sight . . .in one area of the beach, all of the posts were covered on these crocheted socks – all different.

I have no idea who makes all of them, but they were very interesting and colorful!

It was still pretty quiet at this end of the beach.

So, you can camp anywhere along the beach on Mustang Island.  The weekends can get pretty crowded, but during the week it’s fairly quiet. 

Riding along the beach, we came upon this interesting rig,

We stopped to take a picture, and the owners were sitting outside so we stopped to talk for a bit and ask a few questions.  They were from New Hampshire, and had built this rig themselves.  They bought the truck chassis with almost a million miles on it, and have no idea how many more they’ve added.

Pretty cool!

Almost back to Port A RV Resort!

Another day, we took the Jeep back down to the beach to see what the Spring Break crowd was looking like . . . not much to see at our end of the island!

Driving south along the beach, though, we found the college crowd!

Just look for the Police presence, and that’s where the kids are!  I think I’m glad Bryce went to the Dominican Republic!

I think this guy was keeping watch, too!

Back to the family area of the beach – much calmer and quieter!

It wasn’t until our last week in Port Aransas that we got to know fellow fulltimers, Mike and Kathy, originally from Alabama.  We found that we had a lot in common and really enjoyed each others’ company . . . making the most of our last few days together . . .

hanging out at the beach, going for ice cream, and dinner out,

and a beautiful sunset on our last evening in Port Aransas!

It was great getting to know you guys . . . see you again when our paths cross . . . and who knows, maybe we’ll plan that Alaska trip together!

Oh, yeah, meanwhile up in Michigan, the college kids were getting ready for Spring Break,

It appears that they had lots of fun!