Wacky Weather

In my mind, since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August of 2005, weather has been different. It seems like there have been more extremes to weather systems. Katrina, of course, was a powerful and extremely damaging storm. It was followed about a month later by another powerful storm, Hurricane Rita. 3 years later, Texas was hit by another hurricane, Ike. We experienced high winds and rain as far inland as Kilgore, where Donna and I watched the storm from our patio.

Since then, we've seen extreme drought across the western half of the US, heavy floods across the eastern seaboard as well as the Gulf Coast (remember Superstorm Sandy in October 2012), wildfires all over the West, and other weather oddities.

This morning, we recorded a low of 37 degrees in San Angelo. This is May 14th, a time when our lows should be in the 60s, and we are just 5 degrees above freezing. What is going on? And our measurable rainfall for 2014 so far is .75 inch. At this rate we will get less than 2 inches of rain this year.

I know there are naysayers out there, but weather patterns are changing. The facts are there to back this up. To me, the question is whether the cause of such changes is man made or merely a natural shift occurring over time. After all, there have been such changes in the past.

I'm not a scientist, so I don't engage in such debates. But I do know that humans need to be ready to adapt to weather changes. And we don't seem to be very good at that, especially in the good ole US of A. After all, consider our arrogance. We march into the desert to an area that receives about 4 inches of rain and build a city of over half a million people called Las Vegas. When neighboring Henderson and other nearby communities are thrown in, that population swells to almost 1 million people. Over the years, they have been pretty free with water use out there.

We've done the same thing in Texas and other areas as well. On the High Plains, we farm extensively using water from underground aquifers, most notably the Ogallala Aquifer. How long can it last? In my area, San Angelo, we get 17 inches of annual rainfall, yet people have traditionally planted yards, often with water intensive grasses such as St. Augustine, and have watered as much as necessary to keep those lawns lush and green.

Yeah, it takes a while for us humans to change the way we do things. It's difficult to give up practices we've held for years and years and make those adjustments. It really is a change in lifestyle. I love a green, lush lawn, but I really don't expect to have another one on an ongoing basis for the rest of my life, at least if I continue to live in areas with reduced rainfall. But I see this as a challenge, an opportunity to find a new way of doing things, a more efficient way. Were I to build a new home, I would equip it with a system to recycle grey water to water the lawn. I would install large rain water collection containers, as much as 3,000 or 4,000 gallons, and use that water for surface plants, such as trees and a garden. I might even plumb that water through a filtering system into the house for limited uses there.

Time we all started thinking out of the box regarding how we live.

Port Aransas: Where We Ate

While in Port Aransas, we needed to eat out only once each day since we had a good complimentary breakfast at the hotel each morning (see previous post, "Port Aransas: Where We Stayed"). Since we were on the coast, we certainly wanted to eat seafood, and that was our first meal after arriving on the island.

After checking into the hotel the first day, we went to Castaways for our first seafood meal. For a long time, we had been dreaming about eating some sort of seafood boil, so after reviewing their menu, we opted for the Treasure Boil, which includes snow crab legs, shrimp, potatoes, sausage, and corn. The boil was enough to feed us both, and the cost was $21.99. Donna had a good time. She loves boiled crab and shrimp. When I was young, I enjoyed shrimp of all types, but I can take it or leave it these days. So I concentrated on the sausage and potatoes while Donna polished off the crab and shrimp. I'm not a seafood connoisseur, so I can't comment on the quality, though personally I found the entire meal a bit bland.

On our second day, we ate at San Juan Restaurant, a local Mexican restaurant recommended by the clerk at the hotel. This was my favorite meal of the trip. I had cheese enchiladas while Donna tried the carne al pastor, I believe. I liked my enchiladas. I'm not a fan of New Mexican red chile sauce, and it seems that many restaurants are going that way these days. I prefer a chile carne sauce on my enchiladas, and that is the way San Juan prepares them. They also had a thick layer of cheese atop them. The beans and rice were also good. The salsa was darker than what I'm accustomed to, and it had a stronger flavor, but we both enjoyed it. Service was attentive and pleasant. I'd go back to this place.

On our last day in Port Aransas, we ate at a small place called Oceans of Seafood (no website available). We had noticed this place as we drove around town. It is a combination market and restaurant, sort of a "hole in the wall" place. Some of our best meals over the years have been at such places, so we decided to try Oceans of Seafood. We weren't very hungry, so we opted for their poor boy sandwiches. Donna got oyster while I got shrimp. They were really very good. The bun was great: it was lightly toasted, very light, and had something of a sweet taste. The shrimp were fried nicely and were somewhat flattened so that they would sit on the sandwich easily. In all honesty, I much preferred that shrimp poor boy to the seafood boil we had two days earlier.

On our return home, we decided to try the Cooper's BBQ in Junction. I've been eating at Cooper's for about 20 years now, and one thing I've learned is that each Cooper's location is different. My favorite is the location in Llano. We were hoping for something of that quality at the Junction location. We were disappointed. As always at a BBQ joint, we ordered only meat: a ½ pound of brisket, a ½ pound of sausage, and a ½ pound of ribs. We really didn't care for any of it. It was all dry and really lacked any kind of smoked taste. Even the service was lackluster with the employees more or less arrogantly acting as if they were doing us a favor by being open. And on top of everything else, the prices are too high. Next time we're in Junction and want BBQ, we'll go to Lum's. (Side note: I was unable to find a website for the Cooper's BBQ in Junction. The main Cooper's site at http://www.coopersbbq.com/ does not even mention the Junction location or link to it, though it does mention the locations in Llano, Ft. Worth, Austin, and New Braunfels. This makes me wonder if the Junction location is even affiliated at all.)

This is the last entry on our trip to Port Aransas.

Port Aransas: Where We Stayed

There are all sorts of places to stay in Port Aransas, including B&Bs, cottages, condos, and hotels. We opted for the Holiday Inn Express on 11th Street, which is really within walking distance of the beach. Total cost, including taxes, approached $120 per night. The hotel is relatively new, and facilities are nice. They include pool with hot tub, exercise room, business center, and free wireless.

I like a hotel that provides a good breakfast. Donna and I don't eat much. At home, we have only a light breakfast, perhaps a piece of toast, bowl of cereal, or a smoothie. Our big meal is lunch. At night, we snack. When traveling, our routine changes. If the hotel has a good breakfast, we fill up since it's included in the price. Then we eat our other meal of the day about mid-afternoon. That's all we need.

The Holiday Inn in Port Aransas had a good breakfast each of the 3 mornings we were there. Each day, there were biscuits and gravy, one of my favorite breakfast selections. On mornings 1 and 3, there were scrambled eggs, while on the second morning there were eggs folded over with cheese. On mornings 1 and 3, there were sausages while on the second morning there was bacon. Each day there was also cereal, cinnamon rolls, bagels, muffins, and other goodies. The coffee was good and included decaf, which Donna and I both drink. There was also milk and various juices.

So we ate hearty each morning and then did not need to eat again until 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

Images of Port Aransas

As I've previously said, I'm not a beach person. I don't like sand getting in everything; I don't like high humidity; I don't like that constant wind; I don't even care that much for seafood.

But I do like Port Aransas. It's easy, very laid-back. I'm sure crowds descend on this tiny community during Spring Break, but whenever we have visited over the years, things have been quite relaxed. I guess there is a bit of that "island time" mentality about the place. On local streets, people seem to take their time and drive the speed limit, though some folks do get in a bit of hurry on 361 south. Lots of folks walk, bicycle, or drive about on various slower-paced vehicles. And it's interesting to drive around the side-streets to see how the locals live.

One of the best places to get a glimpse of island life is from Roberts Point Park, just east of the ferry. The park is actually a small peninsula that forms Turtle Cove, where many of the local boats are docked. There is a fishing pier, observation deck, restrooms, and other facilities. The images below were taken from this park.

4 of the ferries at the loading point on the Aransas Pass side of the waterway.

A pair of dolphins swimming just off the shore.

The Aransas Pass lighthouse, located on Harbor Island a few miles to the north

Donna on a pier with various boats in the background.

This picture of the marina was taken from the top of the observation tower.

The following images were taken from other points in and around Port Aransas.

Horace Caldwell Pier near the north end of the island

One of the ferries making a crossing

This evergreen tree was outside our hotel, and we saw several others around the island. I don't know what it is, but we liked it. I took a close-up, but the picture was bad. (Note: after posting, a reader from Port Aransas wrote to say these are Norfolk Pines.)

This is the type of beach picture you don't normally see. Port-a-potties line the parking area and a maintenance vehicle sits idly by. The dune on the right is typical of this beach area. Most hotels and homes are located behind (west of) the dunes. There are no actual beach-front developments of any type.

Mustang Island State Park

While at Port Aransas, Donna wanted to spend some time on the beach. The beaches within the city limits of Port Aransas require a parking permit, which I believe costs $12. Rather than pay that amount -- I am a cheapskate, after all -- we decided to head south on Texas 361 to Mustang Island State Park, which is nearly 15 miles south of Port Aransas. Since we have an annual parks pass, there would be no charge for us to enter the park.

We visited Mustang Island State Park many years ago, probably about 1992 when our daughter was about 12 years old. At the time, we had a Jayco folding camper (pop-up), and we spent 3 or 4 nights in the park and had a great time. The park really hasn't changed much in all these years.

One of the nice things about the park is that the paved park road extends to the beach to a paved parking area with nearby beach showers to wash away the sand. It's just about the cleanest way to visit the beach. I'm not a beach person. Oh, when I was young, I enjoyed the beach, but I'll take the mountains and forests anytime these days. Donna is the beach bum in the family, emphasis on bum. She still enjoys the beach, and I probably put a damper on her beach exploits.

Fewer than 20 people were using the park section of the beach. The water was cold and the wind was strong. After dipping my feet in the cool water, I found a place to put my lounge chair in the shade of a picnic table, and settled in for a nap. One little girl was flying a kite nearby. A sand crab occasionally popped its head out of a hole not far away, and a little prairie dog tried to make friends with me. It was very relaxing except for the constant cries of the gulls who stayed near hoping for a handout.

Donna looking east over the Gulf of Mexico

A little girl flying her kite

A friendly little prairie dog stopped by for a visit. My camera doesn't have a powerful zoom, so he was very close, almost within touching distance.

Sea gull perched atop a picnic table canopy, hoping for a handout

The camping area at the park. When we camped hear years ago, we were about halfway down on the left side.

Showers on the bottom, restrooms on the top. The bathhouse is located at the entrance to the campground

Following our trip to Mustang Island State Park, we drove a few miles farther south to the intersection of Texas 361 and Texas 358, which crosses the Intracoastal Waterway via the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway before entering Corpus Christi. The area there has built up over the years, and we wanted to see what services were available.

By vehicle, there are only 2 ways to reach the island.The first is to use the ferry from Aransas Pass, as we did. The other way is over the causeway from Corpus. Evacuating the island during a storm must be challenging.

Port Aransas Nature Preserve

We visited the Port Aransas Nature Preserve during our stay in Port Aransas. Sometimes referred to as the Nature Preserve at Charlie's Pasture, the preserve encompasses 1,217 acres of undeveloped land on the northwest part of the island bordering the Intracoastal Waterway. The preserve contains more than 3 miles of hike and bike trails, a pavilion, boardwalks over algal flats, crushed granite trails on the uplands, covered seating sites and two towers overlooking wetland areas around Salt Island.

During our visit, we parked at the pavilion and took the trail to the Salt Island overlook. (see map) We met several other folks along the trail, most of whom were bird watchers. We also met one bicyclist.

Boardwalk near start of the trail

Friendly little rabbit approached me on the trail before scampering off into the brush.

Various birds feeding in a pond along the trail.

Boardwalk seems to go on forever.

This photo was taken from atop the observation tower on Salt Island. It looks back at the trail we took.

Should you decide to visit the preserve, take along insect repellent. Bugs were quite aggressive with me along the trail through the brushy areas.

The Marine Science Institute at Port Aransas

While at Port Aransas, we visited the Marine Science Institute on the northeast end of Mustand Island. The institute is operated by the University of Texas College of Natural Sciences. According to the literature, the institute is "the oldest and most significant marine research facility on the Texas coast and is home to cutting-edge scientists, graduate students and educators. The institute helps create more productive fisheries, educates our next generation of scientific leaders, and works to understand how our oceans and coasts are changing through time."

For the visitor, there are educational movies and a few small displays available. It did not take us long to work our way through all the displays, and since we visited early in the morning, the movies were not available. As we were leaving, we were told by an employee that some money had recently become available so there was some expansion planned for the facilities. But this is an educational facility, so research and training comes first.

Below are a few pictures from our visit.

The visitor center of the Marine Science Institute.

This is the lower-right jaw bone of a Fin Whale, the second largest of all whales. The bone was brought up in a shrimp trawl net about 80 miles southeast of Galveston. The bone is 14 feet long and weighs 240 pounds.

Dolphin skeleton

Donna viewing one of the salt-water fish tanks.

Skull of a Sei whale

As is, it doesn't take very long at all to view the few exhibits at the Marine Institute, but it is worth the time to include it as a stop.