We’ve arrived at what could be the southern terminus of our land journey. I know we were much farther south than this, but that was by boat. This was kind of our goal, to spend a few days on the beach at Port Aransis. We may end up farther south--we’re making this up as we go, but this was a rather big goal... and here we are.
We took off from Magnolia Beach right away in the morning. Many people in the other RVs were probably not even up yet, just those who were up walking their dogs. Come to think of it, there are a lot of dogs so maybe most people were indeed up. We chugged slowly by the long line of RVs, giving the Texas wave to those who were up and about. Magnolia Beach is a nice place to spend a night or two; it’s quiet, clean, and secluded and people are generally friendly. Several full-timers here, gypsies living in converted vans or school busses. There was even a converted ambulance on the beach. It’s rather fun just to observe all the different rigs on the beach and what people call their home on wheels.
We traveled south to Rockport, about an hour away. When we were through here two years ago, we didn’t spend any time here, so we spent most of the day here, walking the mile-long Rockport Beach, visiting the Bay Education Center and the Rockport Center for the Arts, walking downtown Rockport. At the education center, we sat in on a presentation on the whooping crane and their migratory habits or lack thereof. The whooping crane was almost extinct and then was clawed back from extinction by the dedicated efforts of conservationists. There are just over 800 birds known to exist now, most of those spend there winters near here.
A small percentage of these birds are tagged with leg bands and transmitters and the speaker described the process of tagging a bird by lying flat on the ground where the birds congregate and then jumping up when a bird is near, chasing it down, and tackling it. No nets, no sophisticated methods, just sack ‘em before they get to the end zone. They do this when the birds are molting so they can’t fly real well. I wish she had a video of this process, I’m sure it would have been quite hilarious. These birds are five feet tall with a seven foot wingspan.
Another half-hour and a short ferry ride took us to Port Aransas. Coming off the ferry we could feel the change immediately. It was getting rather warm in Rockport, but here the breeze off the water was cool and refreshing and we drove the remaining distance with all the windows open. After picking up our twelve-dollar parking pass, we drove onto the beach, a vast expanse of sand that stretches for miles. Here you are allowed to park on the beach and we found a suitable spot and backed the RV in so that the rear window faced the surf. With all the windows open, the roar of the surf and the gulf breeze blowing in are a delightful combination that will make for some wonderful sleep later on.
Looking down the beach, we can see several RVs parked against the barrier, but after dark it seems like you are all alone with only the surf and the breeze to keep you company. The dune masks the lights from the town and once the day-use people are gone, it’s only the steady rhythm of the waves and the occasional passing golf cart that can be heard. There aren’t many places where you can park your home, open all the windows and let the Gulf provide the soundtrack. This is one of them.
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