Texas & Arizona 2000/01
Texas

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This region is very popular with migrating birds as there are many bays, wet lands, etc that are warm in the winter. We went to Port Aransas on Mustang Island and watched the pelicans, gulls, terns, etc feeding on fish near the surface (caused by opposing currents stirring up the water) while dolphins played among them.  At a nearby Bird Sanctuary there were boardwalks among the wetlands where you could watch alligators, turtles, and all sorts of birds.
 

Port Aransas harbour	Looking for shoes?	Looking for lunch?	Port Aransas bird sanctuary

Corpus Christi is the only major town nearby - 30 miles away.  It's right on the ocean and seems to be more of a summer destination - the beaches, boat cruises, etc would be a bit cool right now.  The USS Lexington aircraft carrier is docked here and open to visitors, so we'll probably go there one day.   Lot's of really fancy homes along Ocean Drive, on the way from downtown to Texas A&M University.  An interesting way to visit Corpus Christi from Rockport is to go via the ferry from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas and then drive down Mustang Island to Padre Island on then over the JFK Bridge to Corpus.  Many parts of Mustang and Padre Islands beaches are designated as highways and open to all traffic.

Gwen's daughter, Sue, lives in Dallas and was visiting for a few days while delivering Hal's new bass boat and we had dinner with them at their trailer.

Hal brought his Yamaha Virago cruiser (he recently sold the Yamaha TW200 I rode in Tucson last winter) and we took a ride up the coast to the Big Tree at Goose Lake State Park.  This is a 1000 year old Live Oak and the largest in Texas.
 

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Padre Island beach	Gwen, Sue and Hal	Hal at the Big Tree

Well, Christmas is here and there's still no snow!  Hal and Gwen visited on Christmas Eve for supper and then we went to their RV at Fulton Oaks, just a few minutes from us, for Pot-Luck Christmas dinner in their Clubhouse.  Took the chance to go for a ride on Hal's Yamaha - I'd already had my first Christmas Day bike ride on my Suzuki earlier in day !! Later in the day, we took out his boat on Copano Bay - it was cool and cloudy so we didn't stay out too long.
 

Candlelight supper on Christmas Eve	My 2nd bike ride on Christmas Day!

Tried to play golf on Boxing Day but got caught in a violent thunderstorm that flooded the course in minutes. It was so bad we had to take shelter and then 'wade' back to the clubhouse - at least it was 70F and wet instead of white!

Went to Corpus Christi to go on the USS Lexington but decided instead to go to the harbour where the shrimp boats were returning from fishing.  The pelicans get really pushy when the fishermen start sorting out the shrimp from the fish.  It seems they only keep a few of the fish and throw lots away - the pelicans get right in among them on the boat to fight for the fish.  It's amusing watching their antics.   We bought some shrimp ($4 per lb) but Sandy didn't like it really as they were still alive and thrashing around - it took a while for her to build up the courage to cut their heads off when we got home.
 

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Corpus Christi	Buying shrimp	Pelicans looking for fish	More pelicans

Had a couple of bike rides along the coast to watch the birds.  This is a popular stopover for migrating birds and there are hundreds of species here - some people visit here just for the bird watching as it's so good.  Trouble is, we don't know what most of them are so we bought a bird identification book.
 
 

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Rockport harbour	Birds at the beach	Birding Centre at Port Aransas	Port Aransas beach

We decided to leave here earlier than planned so we can be settled in at Tucson in time for Sandy's birthday.  We'll be leaving early on New Year's Day so should be at Justin's by Jan 4 at the latest (it's just over 1600 Km from here).