30 Apr 2023 - Arrived at Jamaica Beach RV Resort on Galveston Island TX + Stats

 

This morning just after 9am we pulled chocks, said goodbye to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and headed up the coast towards Galveston Texas and our 9th stop on this journey.  When I was doing the trip planning there were three routes that popped up and I chose a route that was closer to the coast.  In retrospect I would have changed that to the inland route that was slightly longer, but it is what it is.  We ran into some construction and other factors that caused some issues.  Garmin and Google maps did not see eye to eye shall we say, and we let ourselves be led astray.  But, 5:25 hrs and 237 miles later we arrived at our destination - without bending any metal and without any serious injuries.  

So, thankfully the weather conditions were great.  We got a view of the USS Lexington off to our right as we departed Corpus Christi.  We did a tour of this ship in 2019.  

On down the road Doreen's keen lighthouse eye captured a picture of this interesting structure - the Port Lacava Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center

I know we are in the middle of oil country, but the massive refineries are amazing. 

 Our route took us over several bridges including this toll bridge.  Because I have my Gamin set for truck/trailer mode it considers our height, width, length and hazmat on board when it selects our route.  I think that might have added to our issues today and it did NOT want me to go through this narrow toll booth.  We made it unscathed but the Garmin was not pleased.  

As we headed down the coastal highway the view was amazing.  The endless sand beaches and the blue waters are beautiful!  A busy Sunday afternoon on the beach!

At about 1435 hrs we rolled into the Jamaica Beach RV Resort where we will be for the next eight nights.  

Campground map - many sites here

An honorary Texan complete with Stetson! 

Sites are a bit snug but Liberty is loving the nice, soft grass - and no burs!

This evening we had a get together in the pavilion where we reconnected with about 30 or so Alliance folks who arrived early for the Rally.  

Charles & Leslie; Mark and Angie; Ralph and Lindy; Doreen

Later this week we will attend the three-day Texas Alliance RV Rally here with events scheduled all day long Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  We stayed in this area in 2019 and explored many of the local attractions that we will not revisit this time, such as the Houston Space Center and the Houston Astros stadium.  But there is plenty to keep us busy in conjunction with the Rally including getting caught up with the many Alliance friends we have met since we got involved with this RV brand in Feb 2020.  

Stats:  

This is campground #9 of 42 

# States Traveled Through So Far This Trip: 5 (IA, MO, KS, OK, TX)  

# States left to visit on this trip:  20

Baseball Parks Visited So Far This Trip:  1 (Globe Life Field - Texas Rangers)

Lighthouses visited:  0 (__)

Lighthouses climbed:  0

Point to point travel miles:  1829 miles 

  - Avg point to point travel miles between campgrounds:  183 miles

Vicinity miles:  660 miles 

  - Avg vicinity miles:  73 miles

Total miles driven:  2489 miles 

Total point to point driving time:  36 hrs 22 minutes

Total diesel fuel purchased: 139.589 gals 

Total diesel fuel cost:  $781.30 

Average diesel fuel cost/gal:  $3.540

Max diesel fuel cost:  $3.799 (Ankeny IA) 

Min diesel fuel cost:  $3.139 (San Antonio TX) 

Avg MPG:  11.73 miles/gal

Cost/mi of operation:  $0.32

# Nights at end of this stay:  54 (Includes Griff's start)

Total lodging cost:  $1772.80  (includes Griff's start)

Average cost/night:  $32.83

29 Apr 2023 - Sleepless Night and Last Day at Corpus Christi

 

The crazy weather I described in yesterday's blog continued... all night!  The wind was relentless and rocked the RV all last night and most of the day today.  It was of no direct danger, just loud and annoying and enough to keep us up all night.  So it had been a long day.  

Doreen did a couple loads of laundry in preparation for our departure on Sunday morning.  The laundry facilities here are free, which is the case in some of the military FamCamps we stay.  The machines are located in a building that is near the shore, so Doreen took quite a few pictures of the angry waters.  

Here is a video of the shoreline and the angry seas!  

While she did that I got caught up on some computer work and took Liberty for a couple walks.  Liberty struggled to walk against the wind and could not wait to get back to the RV.  She is also annoyed by the little sand burrs that are prevalent here.  They are painful to the touch and her fur attracts them.  Before lunch we were able to tune into grandson Calvin's baseball game and in between the screen locking up due to lousy Internet here, we saw him bat three times including a triple, and pitch a few innings. He also was catcher for one entire game.  His efforts got him the MVP award for the tournament!  Glad their weather cooperated and they were able to get in the games.   It is still cold in Iowa!

In the afternoon we drove to the base fuel station and filled the big ol' brown truck with diesel.  That is unique as most base fuel stations don't usually have diesel.  We noticed the diesel prices were comparable with those off-base.  We also made a stop at the commissary to restock the fresh vegetables before departing tomorrow.  

Back at the campground we completed the tasks we normally do the day before we leave which makes things go smoother in the morning.

As the day went on, the winds died down until finally about dinner time we were actually able to deployed the satellite dish again. It was kind of nice just relaxing a bit tonight.  We typically review our route for the departure and make sure everything is ready to go.  

That's it from Corpus Christi.  Tomorrow we will pull chocks and head for the Jamaica Beach RV Resort on Galveston Island where we will attend the Texas Alliance RV Rally!  Thanks for tuning in.  

28 Apr 2023 - Padre Island and the Padre Island National Seashore

 

Today we headed south from Corpus Christi across the John F Kennedy Memorial Causeway to Padre Island.  We can see the causeway and the bridge from our campground. 

As we crossed the bridge, we were greeted by this sign.   

The area we entered as we departed the bridge is still considered Corpus Christi but it is on Padre Island.  There are shops, hotels, restaurants, gas stations and anything else you need.  

A souvenir shop topped with a lighthouse cupola 

From there you can either bear left (north) and head to Mustang Island State Park, or bear right (south) and down to the Padre Island National Seashore area, which is where we went today.

If you continue on past the Malaquite Visitor Center, and have a four wheel drive vehicle (based on the warnings as you enter the park), you will enter South Beach.  This area is a 60-mile long remote beach open to driving.  They say that two  wheel drive vehicle can proceed to mile post 5 and then four wheel drive is required for the remaining 55 miles.  At the end of the 60-mile beach drive there is the Mansfield Channel and vehicles cannot pass there.  Beyond that is South Padre Island.

So today we headed south with the ultimate goal of reaching the Malaquite Beach.  As we passed through the National Park Service checkpoint either our Access Pass or military ID allows admission without any fees.  A few miles down the road we arrived at the Malaquite Visitor Center.

The visitor center includes a pavilion with a book store, exhibits, bathrooms, an observation deck, and a ramp down to the beautiful beach.  

Our park ranger today!

As we headed down the ramp and stepped off into the ultra fine sand, it was so relaxing.  The beach was not crowded at all.  We walked down the beach a ways and really enjoyed the sounds and sights.  

A fly-over in formation!

Beautiful sand beach as far as you can see!

We remembered from our last visit here there were not many sea shells along this stretch of beach, but we really enjoyed the beach stroll. 

Doreen picking up a few small shells  

 

As we left the pavilion we stopped at a shaved ice trailer for a cool treat.

After returning to the campground we walked Liberty around the park, had some dinner and settled in for the evening.  Again tonight the storms rolled in and rocked things a round a bit.  We had winds approaching 55 mph, lightning and a lot of rain.  

This rolled through tonight, and another one right behind it.

No flags or awnings here!!

Tomorrow we will likely do some laundry, fuel the truck and prepare to bug-out Sunday morning for Galveston.  

27 Apr 2023 - Storms, Shopping and Walks

 

We woke this morning to another round of storms including heavy rain, hail and winds. This is becoming the norm down here.  The storms today extended from Texas all along the Gulf Coast into Florida.  With cell phones it is much easier to stay in tuned with the weather, but we still carry a battery-powered portable weather radio with us when we have to "bug-out" and take shelter.

Because it is naturally windy here, everything outside was already secured (or we never got it out).  Before the storm hit we powered down our Winegard satellite dish that is mounted on the roof.  This causes it to fold down into the stowed position and protects it from damage in the high winds.  

Then came the storm along with very heavy rains and some small hail.  The winds picked up substantially.  I am thankful we purchased our Weatherflow Tempest device as it allows me to actually measure wind speed right here in the campground.  So this was this morning!

Gusts to 45 mph!

So Doreen and I hunkered down and did some work around here.  No sense in trying to do any touring in this kind of weather.  Later in the day the storm passed and the sun emerged.  We all enjoyed a couple walks around the park.  The rain accumulated but it did not take it too long to soak in.

Low lands next to the shore become a pond

After our walks Liberty was ready for a nap, so Doreen and I headed up to the Commissary (food store) and the Naval Exchange (NEX).  We replenished a few fresh items in the fridge and picked up some other items in the NEX.  

After dinner we headed out on another walk, this time down to the boat harbor.  This area appears to have been a sea plane port and there are tie downs imbedded in the concrete in a pattern.  There is also a couple ramps where sea planes would transition from the water to land. 

One of the many aircraft tie-downs on the old seaplane ramp

The ramp extends down into the water.

We walked out onto a jetty to an old fishing pier and there were some folks fishing there.  They hoped to catch some flounder, black trout and drum.  

They pointed out a dolphin cruising the area and we watched it surface several times.  

Before we left the area Doreen selected a few sea shells to bring back.  Nothing spectacular here as far as shells.

Back at the campground we met our neighbors from Gardiner Maine.  Paul is a retired Navy Veteran and his son is stationed here training pilots.  We talked a lot about Maine and our time in "the County" (Aroostook County) and our Maine trip in 2016.  Gardiner is not too far from the campground we stayed in 2016.  As we talked the sun set over the base.

Tomorrow we will hopefully visit Padre Island again and have a look around.  Since we spent quite a bit of time here in 2019, we've seen the Texas State Aquarium, the USS Lexington, the Astro's minor league baseball field and many other local attractions.  We will see what tomorrow brings.  The forecast is for improving weather.

26 Apr 2023 - Arrived at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi TX

 

This morning about 0834 hrs we said our goodbyes with sister Karen and pulled chocks at the Llano Grande Resort.  We had a great time here and we will see Karen again back in Iowa when we are home for a week around 1 July.

Karen and her Scottie "Max"

The drive to Corpus Christi was uneventful and included a quick pause at the US Customs and Border Protection Checkpoint south of Sarita on Hwy 77.  They operate 71 traffic checkpoints, including 33 permanent traffic checkpoints, near the Mexico–United States border. The purpose is "to deter illegal immigration and smuggling activities". They are located between 25 and 75 miles of the Mexico–United States border along major U.S. highways; near the southern border of the contiguous United States. There are also a number of these checkpoints near the northern border within 100 miles of the Canada–U.S. border.  We were asked if we were US citizens and that was it.  There were other vehicles being searched as we proceeded through.  There were also working dogs checking out the vehicles with their finely tuned noses!

We stopped at a rest area along the way but other than that, three hours later and 163 miles later we rolled into Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Nice, short travel day.  I like it!

We camped here in 2019 as we traveled westward all the way out to San Diego CA. With a momentary pause at the main gate for an ID card scan, we made our way to the Auto Hobby Shop where the RV park check-in is now located.  They assigned our site, processed our credit card, gave us a map and away we went.  The RV park is located right on the bay!  Padre Island sits between us and the Gulf of Mexico

The RV sites are paved, fairly level, full hookup and widely spaced, which is nice. You are quite a ways from your nearest neighbor.   There are plenty of walking areas for Liberty to explore.  

We don't have any firm plans yet while we are here.  I spent the afternoon getting caught up on some phone calls and ordered a couple parts (hood latch/sensor and flag pole base) to arrive at Galveston when we get there.  We also took a few walks with Liberty and enjoyed the bay and the maritime environment. A few pictures:

Latrine in disrepair, near a pier that is closed

Great afternoon for a nap!

Either wild flowers or weeds - either way they are pretty and plentiful!

Looking forward to some sunsets here!

That's it for now.  From Corpus Christi Texas!