Port Aransas - The Texas "Rivierra"

Well, I wouldn't say that the word "Rivierra" even comes close to my mind when looking around this area and at the trash strewn beaches, jetties and dunes, the murky waters and mostly featureless dunes (with more trash).  If they spent a billion dollars to clean up the mess they would have a "Texas-size" pile of trash and still nothing very appealling to the eye like the Florida beaches and waters (numerous other places too like New England, the mid-Atlantic, California and the west coast).  The beaches here are flat and featureless except for the man-made jetties and fishing piers that occasionally interrupt the view up and down the beach with some other man-made resorts (hi-rises) interspersed some miles apart.

The town of Port Aransas is a quaint, small fishing town of some 3,480 people with fishing wharfs, bait and tackle shops, and fish markets with a few bars mixed in -- still very quaint when compared to Destin or Pensacola Beach or Panama City Beach. Those are destination places that people flock to in the spring and where "snowbirds" also go for the winter.  This is more of a gathering place for the mid-west snowbirds and lots of Texans with their pickem up trucks and 4-wheelers.  Not nearly as nice as Florida and not quite as warm either -- no "sunshine state of mind."

I will venture out these next couple or few days and see what else could possibly make this anything other than what I have seen thus far.  Temps will only be in the 40s and low 50s so the warmth of the Jeep will be good and I will see for myself.  So far, I have made the trip south and west (some 20 miles) to the nearest Walmart in Flour Bluff but, haven't gotten to Padre Island to the south.  When I see a break in the weather, I will be looking to head there and look for things to take pictures of -- maybe some waterfowl or prettier beaches (couldn't look much worse than what I have seen so far).

North of Pioneer Beach RV Resort (where I'm staying for the winter), the short drive past the Newport Beach and Golf Club gets you into the developed section of Port Aransas (southern reaches).  The nearest beach access road (road 1) goes right past the club house (more like a single-wide trailer home) and then onto the beach.  Going south on the beach gets you back to the RV parks boardwalk entrance to the beach -- a fairly long walk from my site.  Going north takes you past one hi-rise resort on the dunes and to the next closest beach access road which is where the "On The Beach RV Resort" is located -- first place I tried to get into but, didn't have space for my big rig (it is a much smaller RV park and fewer spaces).  Farther to the south (about 8 miles), is where the Fish Pass jetty is located on the beach -- where I first saw people catching lots of Pompano and Sheepshead -- that first really nice Wednesday when the temps were warm and the breezes were blowing from the south -- the water looked lots better then too.

I fished there yesterday afternoon to use up the rest of the bait shrimp someone had given me at the sea wall -- no one but, me out there and the stiff breeze from the north and northeast had me fishing the opposite (south) side of the jetty to keep the wind at my back or left shoulder.  Only caught one trash fish but, fed the rest of the shrimp to his brothers and sisters (most likely) -- one little glimpse of sunlight about an hour before sunset had me hopefull but, then it was gone and so was my bait.

Another mile or two north on the beach and you arrive at the closest fishing pier, bait, tackle, ice and beer store but, who would want to pay to fish from the pier when the nearest jetty by the shipping channel is within view -- free for walking a greater distance from the beach to cast your line (better chance for catching the really big one and you don't have to wrangle the fish up to the pier -- just over some of the rocks).

The drive on the beach can be really bouncy and slow as the speed limit is supposed to be 15 mph -- for that reason (the bumps).  There are port-a-johns at most of the beach access roads.  If you prefer the smoother ride, route 361 goes directly into Port Aransas and directly to the wharf areas, bars and shops if you wish.  Make a right on Cotter and follow the road again to the beach (after going straight  through one stop sign and winding past the University of Texas Marine Life Center).  You will arrive on the beach and next to the shipping channel that takes the big tankers and cargo ships or barges to the Corpus Christi waterfront.  You will probably see a few RVs along the seawall and elsewhere on the beaches -- some like Gypsies moving around from time to time from one spot to another (depending on whether they obtained county camping permits -- for a fee).  I met one couple there from Alberta that seemed content to move about -- even though they checked out the Mustang Island Campground 12 miles to the south (decided it was too small and out in the middle of nowhere).

There are two really small RV parks right in Port Aransas (Mustang RV Resort and Tropical Island RV Resort) which would put you in walking distance to all the local bars, shops and other activities of the quaint town -- not fully known to me, yet.  One of the parks is where a couple (the Borges) I met last year in Flagler Beach is staying but, they went back to Canada for the holidays and won't be back until the middle of January (guess they knew already that this is the dreary time of the year down here).  Still, I look forward to seeing them again and Manuel and I should be out on the jetty trying to catch some fish together -- maybe his wife has taken up the sport too but, will wait to see.

Looks like the rain extends from here all the way up past San Antonio and may continue for the next couple of days so am thinking of driving into "Bernies" one of these evenings to see a bowl game or two -- most interested in the Fiesta Bowl tomorrow night and the championship game on the 7th between the Irish and Alabama (Go Notre Dame!  Kick their butts).