JAN 28-30, 2015 QUICK TRIP TO TX COAST

January 28, 2015

First trip of the new year, now that we have gotten the generator repaired and the weather has finally decided to give us a break with sunshine and no rain.  We went to the gym this morning and then waited for a phone call from Dr. George's office before heading south towards Matagorda Bay.

It was nearly 5 PM when we arrived at the small park which allows 24 hour parking.  Still a lovely day and barely any wind made a long walk on the beach pleasant.  Spoke with a few fishermen on the pier and enjoyed the sun and surf.  Not many shells today, as the water is fairly calm.

 Beautiful grasses on the dunes, lit by a golden light.

 Finished our walk as the sun set.

Had sandwiches and chips with humus for a light dinner.  Quiet night with just the surf, a bright moon and quite a few stars.  Temps dropped but only to 40ish and we were comfortable with just a few covers.

January 29

Rose early and walked the beach.  We found hundreds of little mounds covering the area where the tide had gone out. Some textured, some smooth, and when the surf covered one you could see sand and water being spewed back out of the hole. We found out later that these are made by "ghost shrimp".  These are popular as bait and there is apparently a tool which you can insert into the hole and suck out the shrimp, which are an inch or two in size.

Continued our walk, on beach and amid the dunes.  Heavy dew on most of the plants.  Many grasses and a few brave flowers.

Some early morning fishermen arrived before the sun.

The waves and tide created many interesting textures.

 and the birds added some interesting tracks too.

Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, then we headed further south to Aransas Pass Wildlife Refuge, passing Copano Bay, the nuclear plant at Port Lavaca, several chemical plants and lots of open prarie-type land.  Flatter than flat.

Have seen quite a few predator birds including a pair of bald eagles, some osprey and various hawks. Also some geese and sandhill cranes in the fields, which will later hold  mostly cotton, rice and corn.

This turkey vulture posed for us in the refuge.

As did this gator who was no doubt enjoying the warm sunshine.  We saw lots of  birds in the refuge only a few of which we could identify as Kingfisher, egrets, great blue heron,  cardinal, vultures,  and geese. Birders flock here - sorry - to see the Whooping Cranes but most of the time you need to take a boat to get to them.   Many small songbirds flitting about, as well as a few deer.  We were there at mid-day, which isn't the best time to see animals.  The ranger there did tell us they had several confirmed sightings of  mountain lion recently!  In the past we have seen javelina, armadillos and a bobcat.

Next stop was Goose Island State Park near Rockport.  We've stayed here a few times and it was very busy today with the recent good weather.  We found a campsite in the wooded area, since the waterfront was filled, and drove down to the waterfront.

brown pelicans 

Near the boat dock there were quite a few brown pelicans and white pelicans.  A boat arrived with a few fishermen, and as they cleaned their catch, the pelicans and gulls were everywhere, waiting for handouts.  There was some sparring and fighting over pieces, but once the pelican had it in his pouch he was left alone.

The fishermen had a nice catch of redfish and sea trout, and after talking with them for a while, they brought us a bag of fresh redfish filets.  They told us most of the restaurants will cook your catch for you!  Can't get any fresher than this!  Greg was in awe of their boat, which was 660HP and reaches 70mph on the water!

We stashed the fish in the fridge, and continued walking the fishing pier area. What a gorgeous day!

 

 Then headed back to the campsite for showers.  We decided on Charlotte Plummers in Fulton for dinner.  They have been here a long time and have a good reputation as nice, good food and not terribly expensive.   They actually have a BYOF (Bring your own fish) item on the menu, so we had them grill our redfish and enjoyed salad, veggies and potatoes too.  YUM.  The restaurant  is right on the water and we had a table by the window upstairs.

Before dinner

After dinner 

Met some folks at a neighboring table who are from the Seattle area and offered to show us around if we make it up that way.  There was also a camera crew from the local TV Daytripper show filming in the restaurant and around town.  They interviewed the folks at the next table.

Drove back along the water. Plugged in and enjoyed a quiet evening.

January 30

Another nice day, but we spent most of it heading home.  Arrived around 2:00 and took care of some phone calls, bill payments, etc. for us and for Chap.  On the news tonight they are predicting cold (30's-40's) weather and more rain beginning tomorrow night, so our few days were a perfect get-away!