Lake Texana

 Brackenridge park on Lake Texana was a new park for us. A beautiful setting amongst many Oak trees. The park is very large with over a hundred sites plus a lot of open area. Many good things to be said but alas some negative ones as well.

 We enjoyed our visit but was lucky in that very few other guest. Had it been a busy weekend the experience would have been quite different.

carpe diem

Lake Corpus Christi State Park

  May 8th found us traveling to Mathis and another stay at lake Corpus Christi state park. We like this little park and use it as a staging area for our visits to greater Rockport Fulton area. We have stayed at several commercial parks in Rockport area but they are too expensive and do not provide the setting that we seek.

 If we are in the area then a sure bet is to find us at Paradise key for lunch. Link to more info Never a bad meal, great ambiance.

 We also like to frequent a small joint in Mathis called Vans. A dive sort of place but good food and service. Vans

 Our campsite, #31, was a little tight but provided a lot of privacy. The lake is very low and the fishing not so good on this trip. Last trip I caught 36 white bass, this trip only one.

 None the less we enjoyed our stay. Tomorrow we are off to a new to us campground. We have made 4 prior reservations only to have to cancel. Looks like this time we are going to make it.

gathering rosebuds...

South Padre Island

 On April 15th we headed south for a couple of days. We needed to go to Sandpipers and pick up some chairs left behind. Achieved that goal plus visited with Bill and Jocelyne, our Canadian friends. Then it was on toward South Padre island. On the way we  stopped at Longhorn Cattlemans bar b que in San Benito. Good food and revived memories of previous stops when on bike rides on the Spyder. More info HERE 

 Then it was on to South Padre Island where we had been many times. This would be our first time spending the night. Our lodging choice was Isla Grand beach resort, details here It turned out to be a good choice. Room was nice, view better than expected. Enjoyed walking the beach, people watching and surprising entertainment.

 In all of our previous visits we had failed to visit Sea Turtle Inc, link . A great organization doing wonderful work. Of course one must stop and view sandcastle display if on the island, even if none are castles.

 Some scenes from our visit

Lost Maples

  After several false starts we were finally able to go camping for a bit. Our destination was Lost Maples Natural area near Vanderpool. It is best known for the bigtooth maples found in the canyon. They adapted and survived climate change over the last 10000 years. While not in bloom it is still a nice, quiet park to visit. We journeyed down to Utopia for dinner on Tuesday and over to Leakey on Wednesday. Decent meals but nothing special. Was just fun to get away and change scenery. At the park there was no cell service so we were offline for the two days.

Surprises

 Our trip to Blanco yielded some surprises, not with the campground, but other locales. We planned the trip not to include us cooking dinner. On that we were very successful. We made the run up to Bluebonnet in Marble Falls. It was consistent as expected. We also included a stop at the Texas Cannon brewery, here. Surprisingly good meal and a cold beer. Next up was The Bistro at Blanco River, more here. Wonderful pasta dishes and great service.

 Our next surprise was not a restaurant but a distillery, more here. Did a tasting and and two bottles followed me home. Also visited the quilt store and scored some fat quarters.

 All in all a great visit. We shall return multiple times as it is easy to get to.

gathering rosebuds, making memories...

Blanco

  On Monday, November 18 we headed out for a quick getaway. Our destination was Blanco State park. A nearby park we have been to previously. Nothing special planned, just a change in scenery. 

Gathering rosebuds...

Happy Halloween

 Today we took a trip over to Rockport, by way of Portland. Did a quick stop at a Big Lots that was closing for towels. Did the usual visit to tackle town but did not score any bargains this time. That led us to Ace hardware store. Have been told it is second largest in the country. We picked up a handful of items while there.

 The main objective of the trip was to eat at Paradise Key. We always enjoy good seafood there and today was no exception. 

Back at camp I enjoyed my third straight day of success catching white bass. Catch and release by choice, but have caught 36. Lot of fun.

Carpe diem