By the Bay - Rockport,Texas

 By the Bay - Rockport, Texas

Rockport, Texas is a small town just north of Corpus Christi. We have never seen any place that has as many RV parks as this area.  There are literally dozens of RV parks around here.  The park where we stayed had very reasonable rates- especially if you stayed at least a month. Many people "snowbird" here to escape the bad winters up north.  We will definitely keep this location in mind when our travels slow down and we decide to spend longer durations in an area.

The above pictures were some of the artwork displayed at a park on the beach. This area of the beach was dog friendly, however pets were not allowed on most of the beaches. 

There has been a big Blue Crab in Rockport since 1957. Originally, it was installed on a restaurant roof as an advertisement.  After the restaurant closed, it was purchased by the city of Rockport and installed at the park.  This is the third one- the first one fell apart and the second one was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.

The Fulton Mansion State Historic Site is located in the city of  Fulton on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Colonel George Ware Fulton and his wife began building the 4-story structure overlooking Aransas Bay in 1874 and finished in 1877. The residence, dubbed "Oakhurst" by its owners, featured the most up-to-date conveniences for the time, such as indoor plumbing reaching sinks in every bedroom, gas lighting and central heating, along with three bathrooms and two built-in copper tubs. They spared no expense and the house was built to last. They also had the first telephone in the area. No one else had a phone, so we are not sure who they were able to talk to.

The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. When the State of Texas purchased the mansion and 2.3 acres, it was restored and opened to the public in 1983. In 2008, Fulton Mansion was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission and is now operated as the Fulton Mansion State Historic Site.

We set off for Goose Island in Fulton after we left the mansion.

A deer herd was standing outside of an apartment complex in mid afternoon. The area has an abundant amount of deer, but we saw over 20 of them in this one yard.

We saw this Grey Heron standing in the bay like he owned the place.

Texas version of the Big Tree is the same type of tree (Virginia Live Oak) we saw in Charleston. They estimate this tree is as much as 1100 years old.  It has been damaged many times over the years by bad storms necessitating many of its limbs to be trimmed and cut back. It was an impressive sight, but we believe the one in Charleston is actually much larger.

 Live Oak trees are pretty common in this area. We were a bit surprised to see so many of them here in Texas.

The Live Oak is an interesting tree.  It does not get a lot of height, but the branches spread out from the trunk and bow to the ground from the weight.

A "Submarine" in Corpus Christi was built by a local gentleman as a model, just for decoration. She is not sea worthy, but she is an eye catcher. I wonder who decided ships were female.... so.... I googled it. Most of the reasons cited were more humorous than serious and factual. One of the best reasons I found was because women carry life. A woman's body is unique because it sustains the life/lives she carries.  And I learned that the Woke madness has even tried to destroy this practice, they consider it sexist. 

The coastal water off of Padre Island has wave action much rougher than what we have seen at our other stops along the Gulf Coast.

Lisa and Karma inspecting a Sand Castle near the Padre Island Beach. This is actually a very elaborate store front for a souvenir shop.

The huge metal sculpture of a heron eating a fish, called "Rusty", is 30 feet tall, 30 feet long, and weighs two tons. The heron was built out of scrap metal in 2015. 

This statue of Jesus keeps a watchful eye on the shoreline of Corpus Christi from his boat in front of the First United Methodist Church. The landmark hosts the title, "It is I;" taken from the Gospel of Mark 6:50 that reads: And Jesus said, "Take Heart. It is I; Have No Fear."

After we left the statue of Jesus, we stumbled upon his nemesis. The Demon was formerly the Devil, who stood in front of a scary carnival ride named Hell Hole. Only three were reportedly made. This Demon/Devil was formerly at Conneaut Lake Park, and was purchased in an auction shortly after the ride was decommissioned. He now stands in front of a local recycling company. He looked like he could use a coat of fresh paint and some repairs. 

USS Lexington CV-16

USS Lexington (CV/CVA/CVS/CVT/AVT-16), nicknamed "The Blue Ghost", is an Essex-class aircraft carrier built during World War II for the United States Navy. Originally intended to be named Cabot, the new aircraft carrier was renamed while under construction to commemorate the recently-lost USS Lexington, becoming the sixth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name in honor of the Battle of Lexington.

Lexington was commissioned in 1943 and saw extensive service through the Pacific War. For much of her service, she acted as the flagship for Admiral Marc Mitscher, and led the Fast Carrier Task Force through their battles across the Pacific. She was the recipient of 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. Following the war, Lexington was decommissioned, but was modernized and reactivated in the early 1950s, being reclassified as an attack carrier (CVA). Later, she was reclassified as an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career, she operated both in the Atlantic/Mediterranean and the Pacific, but spent most of her time, nearly 30 years, in Pensacola, Florida, as a training carrier (CVT).

Lexington was decommissioned in 1991, with an active service life longer than any other Essex-class ship. Following her decommissioning, she was donated for use as a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 2003, Lexington was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The above is a WWII Avenger aircraft similar to the one that George Bush was in when he was shot down.  They have painted his and his co-pilots name beneath the canopy as though this was his plane.

Found this information to be very interesting.

This is the plane Maverick and Goose flew in the movie, Top Gun. 

Lisa was manning the gun in preparation of approaching aircraft. Luckily, it was a slow day while she was on watch.

A model of a Battleship manufactured completely in copper.

This will be the end of our touring Navy ships for awhile.  We are heading inland towards the Grand Canyon.  Lisa has been a real trooper touring Navy Ships and Museums.  These are mostly Mark's things to tour.