Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is about 400 miles south of Dallas – about 6 hours drive – on the Gulf Coast. Well ... the main part of Corpus Christi is not on the Gulf coast, because it is protected from the Gulf of Mexico by the 200 square miles of Corpus Christi Bay, behind the barrier islands of Padre Island and Mustang Island.

Pelicans "cleaning up"

Rust bucket!

I didn't realize, when I booked the hotel, that it was the tail end of Spring Break – the traditional time when American high-schoolers head for the shore and anywhere that will offer sun, parties, booze, and a generally unfettered lifestyle. Fortunately, the only effect on me was rather more traffic than I had anticipated.

Corpus Christi harbor

USS Lexington

I drove down on Friday, leaving Dallas at around 9am, and getting to my hotel around 5pm – slightly longer than Google maps had predicted, but I did stop once or twice along the way. After a day's travelling, I felt like a nice steak, and getting to bed. A quick search on the web (I had to carry my laptop with me because it's my week to provide “support” for the system I'm working on) revealed a nearby steakhouse with reasonable reviews. I won't name it, but don't go there – a pile of iceberg lettuce, two slices of cucumber, and a sliver of tomato does not, in my book, constitute a salad. The steak was ok, and the price was not exorbitant, so I was disappointed, but not too unhappy.

The following morning, I headed for the downtown area, because I'd read in a hotel guide book that a boat tour of the bay could be found at “the People St T”. As an aside, when I called the hotel for directions, they told me to take the SPID – once you know that this is the local abbreviation for the South Padre Island Drive, it's easy. Similarly, if you know that the People St T is a T-shaped marina located where People St meets the water, things make a lot more sense.

The marina was fascinating. I don't know what it is about shoreline communities, especially in the warmer climes, but they all have a similar atmosphere. I'm thinking of Miami, and the Keys, of Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles, of several places in the Caribbean, and even of the New Jersey Shore. Casual, relaxed, slow – call it what you will. You can tell the local vehicles in Corpus Christi – they're covered in a fine film of salty dust, and instead of “cow-catchers” and gun-racks, they have a rack at the rear to hold a cooler-chest and fishing gear. There's no point in trying to fight this, and nobody does.

When I arrived at the T, it was easy to find a parking space. It filled up relentlessly during the course of the day, but, when I arrived, it was mostly locals (predominantly Hispanic) buying fish from the boats that had recently docked. Pelicans and black-headed gulls swarmed around to clean up the remains.

The boat trip took about an hour, and cruised around the bay, including a close-up view of the USS Lexington. It wasn't crowded, and it was as much fun people-watching as it was seeing the shoreline from a distance. I'd guess that 75% of the people on board were Hispanic families – everyone else was probably already at the beach.

After the boat trip, I had lunch at Landry's Seafood House – a famous chain of seafood restaurants. It's so popular that it suffers the fate of so many large restaurants. If you've ever eaten at Schmidt's on Charlotte Street in London, you'll know what I mean – it was obviously once very good, but quality doesn't scale very well. The menu was extensive, but the service was slow (I had Cuban shrimp with polenta fries, washed down with a Cadillac margarita).

Americans trying to teach their SUVs to swim

After seeking some advice from the Visitors' Center, I drove down Shoreline Boulevard, past houses that have to be seen to be believed, to Padre Island, where I could quickly paddle in the Gulf of Mexico. On a European beach, if it’s popular, it’s crowded with beach umbrellas, sun loungers, and glistening bodies slowly being broiled by the sun; on the Gulf coast, just about every square inch of beach is taken up by partying Spring-breakers and their SUVs. There is nowhere to walk without having to dodge the traffic (yes – this is on the beach), and certainly nowhere to be alone with your thoughts. If you don’t like crowds, if you don’t like constantly competing blaring car stereo systems, if you don’t like the thought of police cars patrolling up and down the beach, this is not the place for you. So I was glad to get back on the road (because, like everyone else, I drove down to the water's edge), along Mustang Island, past queues of cars waiting to get down to the beach via the access roads for the Saturday night festivities, to the free ferry that would take me back to the mainland to complete my trip around the bay.

St Mary's

On Sunday, I planned my return deliberately to take more leisurely back roads (Route 77), past the largest squirrel in Texas, through Taft, and the “queen of the painted churches” – an elaborate Catholic church outside Schulenburg. Catholic churches in rural Texas are somewhat unusual, and, I imagine, owe their existence to a significant German early immigrant population.

Selena

Oh, I forgot to mention Selena. Selena was a very popular Mexican-American singer (“the queen of Tejano music”) who has her roots in Corpus Christi. She died tragically in 1995, murdered by the president of her fan club. I remember hearing about it, but wasn’t aware of the huge significance to the Hispanic community – not only here, but throughout America. A memorial to her was erected at the “T”, and there is also a museum. It was difficult to squeeze in between the constant stream of latino admirers to get a photograph.

Back at the hotel, I am slightly redder than usual, in spite of the sun-block, but my toes feel definitely better for having been dipped in the Gulf of Mexico.

Aunt Aggie De's in Sinton

Taft, "Friendliest Cotton Pickin' Town in Texas"