Corpus Christi, Texas

During October, we hit the road to visit our son, who is attending Corpus Christi A&M, and to explore Corpus Christi.  We arrived on Saturday afternoon and were able to check into our hotel at the Hawthorne Suites off Windward Dr. on Padre Island.   The room was clean, the staff was friendly, but the best part was that it was within walking distance of the Gulf of Mexico (not the bay).   We spent several hours roaming the clean, public beach across from the hotel and enjoyed watching the kite surfers and the fishermen on the pier getting pounded by the surf. 

Public beach on South Padre Island

On Sunday, we drove to the downtown area of Corpus Christi where the U.S.S. Lexington has been docked since 1992.  It was very interesting to see how the sailors aboard the world's oldest air craft carrier would have lived and worked. 

The U.S.S. Lexington

After our tour we drove up Padre Island to Port Aransas where we ate dinner at Virginia's on the Bay.  We had an hour long wait before we were sat at our table.  While waiting, we enjoyed sitting on the upstairs, covered patio that overlooked the marina.   We were a little disappointed in the quality of seafood at Virginia's on the Bay.  We would say it was average to below average for the area.  Next, we found ourselves roaming the back streets of Port Aransas and in a local dive called Shorty's on Tarpon St.  Supposedly, Shorty's is the oldest and friendliest bar in Port Aransas.   We thought it was a great place to enjoy a cold beer on the patio while listening to live music and people watching (locals and tourists).