Incoming, incoming!We are being invaded! Known to most folks as “love bugs”, but I call them frenzied, flying fornicators (Triple Fs), these insects have been driving me crazy for the
last 6 weeks!It is an insult to Herbie,
that adorable Volkswagen Beetle, to share his nickname “love bug” with these pesky insects!
After finding a pair doing
their mating ritual on this stuffed rat’s shorts, I petitioned Mom and Dad to
take another road trip to escape the madness of these Triple Fs. Thankfully, my parents readily agreed.
So, off we went to Corpus
Christi.I noticed refineries were
abundant in the Corpus Christi area, yet fuel was more expensive there than
anywhere else along our route. Though
much of Texas needed rainfall at the time, the cotton fields looked like they
were thriving.
We settled into our room at
the Comfort Inn Suites, then we went to dinner at Doc’s Seafood and Steaks.It offers two floors of dining options, glorious
sunset views, musical entertainment, and delicious fresh seafood.For these reasons, we made this our “go to”
place for our daily evening meals, alternating between the casual downstairs
bar set-up and the full-service upstairs dining room.
Bands played on the lower level, while upstairs dining featured solo artists.
We enjoyed the "boils" of shrimp, hushpuppies, sausage, and corn at the downstairs bar.
One of our delicious dinners at the upper level.
Doc's offered magnificent sunset views every night of our visit.
We started touring the next
morning, putting our Texas State Park Pass to good use by visiting Mustang
State Park.Being a weekday morning,
there were few human visitors, so we enjoyed peace and serenity as we walked
the beach.
We explored Port Aransas,
too.
I could have bought a “genuine” shark tooth for a mere 99 cents here at The Islander.Dad finally convinced me it wasn’t a good investment of my cheese money.
I considered grabbing a shark tooth from this guy, but Mom put the kibosh on it.
Then we utilized our National
Park Pass at Padre Island National Seashore.I learned that all 5 species of sea turtles found here are on the
extinct list. Native dwellers used the
area to fish seasonally, early Anglo-Saxon settlers farmed here, and the island was used for open range ranching in the late 1800s.
We walked about a half mile down this road to visit the Novillo Line Camp, one of the areas used for open range ranching.
We learned the ranch is still occupied—by a herd of deer.
Based upon the sign, I thought I would see lots of wildflowers along the Grasslands Nature Trail...
...but there was little in bloom.
I earned another Junior Ranger badge!
You can drive along the beach
at Padre Island National Seashore, though after a certain point you require
4-wheel drive. We did a couple of miles
with the Rambling RV Rat Pack Rubicon, but if you know Mom, she prefers to
explore by hoofing it. The winds gusted
at about 25 miles per hour, which made Mom’s hair frizz and space out so much on
the sides that it looked like she had wings.
Give her a white robe and a set of rosary beads and she could pass for
The Flying Nun. Despite the crazy hair and
micro-derm abrasion treatment she received from the sand pounding at her skin,
Mom insisted she participate in the UP2U cleanup program sponsored by the Park
Service.
By watching these youngsters, I learned a valuable lesson on why you should NEVER feed a seagull--he brings all his friends and family to dinner with him!
It took less than 15 minutes for Mom to fill up the biodegradable bag provided at the Visitor Center with unwanted beach trash.
We spent several hours one
day touring the USS Lexington Museum.
Though general admission tickets are a bit steep at $25/person,
discounts are offered for children, seniors, and military personnel. And the
museum is so interesting, it is worth every penny.
Commissioned in 1943, the USS
Lexington aircraft carrier served in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Though decommissioned in 1947, it was brought
back into service in 1955 and remained in service until 1991, after which it
came to Corpus Christi to become a tourist attraction.
The USS Lexington holds the
distinction of being the first ever US Navy aircraft carrier to have women crew
members onboard. Interestingly, today’s
aircraft carriers carry 5,000 people—4 times the capacity of the USS
Lexington. Today’s carriers can be at
sea for months at a time and can go 20 years without refueling.
The USS Lexington Museum
offers a weekend of camping onboard. No thanks,
this stuffed rat likes his life of luxury RV living.
I decided Dad needed a "time out."
This art piece demonstrates all different types of knots!
My favorite part of the ship was the mess hall! Looks like they ate pretty well onboard, but I guess you had to give the crew something to keep 'em happy in confined quarters for months at a time.
I should buy this book for my Mom! Although being of Italian heritage, she seems to know how to cook for an army anyway.
Apparently, my brethren were not welcomed onboard the USS Lexington--rat guards were installed on all the lines leading from the ship to the pier.
View of the harbor from the USS Lexington, including the longest cable-stayed bridge in the US.
On another day we drove to
Kingsville, about an hour West of Corpus Christi.We traveled alongside wind turbine farms that
were so ginormous, the big boy cranes next to them looked like Tonka toys.
Our destination was the
famous King Ranch, which today is recognized as the largest ranch within the US
of A.I learned on our bus tour that the
ranch founder, Richard King, parlayed 2 Spanish land grants totaling 68,500
acres that he purchased along the Santa Gertrudis Creek in 1853 into about 3
quarters of a million acres at the time of his death in 1885 at the age of
60. He transformed the entire
cattle industry along the way. In fact, his Santa Gertrudis cattle was the first beef breed developed in America, recognized by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1940. And the Quarter Horse breed was developed here, too.
The "Running W" brand seen in the right foreground of this photo has been in use over 100 years.
King's backstory is intriguing. After his parents died when he was 9 years
old, his aunt sold him into servitude to a jeweler in Manhattan. He abandoned his position, ran to the docks
in NY Harbor, and stowed away on a steamboat.
When discovered aboard, the captain and crew of the ship realized
immediately that he was an extremely bright boy, and they taught him everything
about navigation. By the age of 16 in
1840, he became a steamboat pilot. Two
years later, he and a friend were running their own successful steamboat
company.
King helped the Confederates during the Civil War since the main causeway to transport cotton was on his property.
King Ranch is still an
operating cattle ranch, but with fewer cattle and cowboys than in its heyday.But the promises King made to his ranch hands
back in 1853 are still in existence today: the Ranch still feeds and houses the
cowboys and their families, offers free education to their children, and promises
a job for life.
I learned that in addition to the cattle and horse operations, the ranch property contains a
huge natural gas deposit.So, this place
is a proverbial gold mine for the King family.
Sadly, of the 220 current
descendants of Richard King, none live on the premises or are involved with the
daily operation of the ranch.It is all
handled by a management company.
The 37,000-square-foot, 17-bedroom home with 26 fireplaces, built in 1913 for $375,000, has not had anyone reside in it since 1974...
...except this peacock, who appears to be a squatter living on the porch.
This building, once a guest quarters, is now used as an event center. Wish we could have toured the interior of the residential property buildings, but that is off limits.
We only viewed a small
fraction of the ranch’s acreage.And although
I couldn’t get many good photos from the moving bus, we were blessed to see lots of wildlife including javelinas,
herons, waterfowl, and several different birds of prey. In fact, 326 species of birds have been identified on the premises, which is no surprise since 400,000 acres are designated as a Wildlife Conservation Area.
Some of the original machines used on the ranch are still found on the property.
The Santa Gertrudis Creek runs through the ranch acreage. In fact, the property was originally called Santa Gertrudis Ranch. However, Richard King's widow renamed it King Ranch in homage to her deceased husband.
Recognize this barn? Ford features this iconic structure in its commercials/advertisements for its F-150 King Ranch Edition pickup truck.
The tour was a steal for the
$12/adult ticket. And how fascinating it was to learn that the only other tour guests once worked on this ranch in the 1990s and
currently raise St. Gertrudis cattle in their homeland of Australia!
We purchased an additional
$10/adult ticket for the museum in town, which was once an icehouse and now is
a gorgeous event center.However, no
photos were permitted.
Going to the Corpus Christi
area was a wonderful diversion and a good way to celebrate the start of our 15th
year “houseless”, enjoying the fulltime, mostly traveling (except when Dad
has medical problems) RV lifestyle.Ironically, with diesel prices so high these days, it proved more economical
for us to take this mini getaway by driving the Rambling RV Rat Pack Rubicon,
stay in a hotel, and take all our meals at restaurants than to tow our
home on wheels.Plus by leaving the RV
setup at home, we were able to fit into the parking lot at Buc-ees in Wharton to visit my beaver
buddy!
We were so thrilled when RV
friends David/Carol made a detour along their route home from a cross-country
trip to come visit us in Texas! A grand
time was had by all.
Mom cooked a family-style dinner for David/Carol one night...
...and then Jim/Lisa joined us all for dinner at a local Mexican joint.
I can’t believe that Dad has
been getting his chemo/immuno therapies for nearly 3 months. He is scheduled for CT scans in September,
which will determine the next steps in his battle with cancer. We thank you all for your moral support and
your prayers!
