For this stop we thought we would go all out and do a "resort" RV park. There are plenty of "resort" RV parks out there but not too many live up to the name, that said we arrived at the Gulf Water RV Resort Park and were impressed big time. We were guided to our site and assisted in backing in (not that I needed it) and we were in. The site had a concrete pad, separate BBQ area, full hookups and only a short walk to the beach. We were impressed with this site not to mention that every person that walked by said "welcome to the park we hope you enjoy it". I have said this before and I will say it again the Americans are very friendly,welcoming people
The first morning Rose and I left early for a walk along the 29 mile long beach. We had no reason to do the whole 29 miles (we are on holidays after all!) but we managed a few hours walk along it and talked to a number of people who were fishing learning about the texan licensing laws etc. We arrived back at the trailer and true to form for a teenager Lauren was still asleep - no surprise there.
An early morning walk looking across the Gulf of Mexico
We had looked through all the pamphlets for this area and Lauren had penciled in a few things she wanted to do. First stop was the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier which was decommissioned in 1992 which put to sea in 1943! As always this was a great tour, just the size of these ships is amazing, the Nimitz class are even bigger! It took us about 3 hours to look over the ship and we did not even see it all, that would take days.
Just hanging in the hanger
Our next stop was the aquarium which was conveniently located next door. We headed down the ramp when Rose grabbed my arm and said, "hey look, it's Garry and Barb! (We met them and had a few too many drinks together in New Orleans). It certainly is a small world! So we had a chat and made arrangements to catch up later that night.
We headed to the aquarium which was great, we even got to "pat" the stingrays. When You put your hand in the tank they swim up to you, very nerve wracking for the first time but once we got the hang of it it was truly a great experience. Next stop was the dolphin show and Lauren put her hand up to be part of it, be it just to hold a shape against the glass. The dolphin had to pick the triangle shape and of course got it right. For her efforts Lauren got a voucher to the "Whataburger" chain so she was happy.
The dolphin show
Yep patting the stingrays
We arrived back at the 'resort' introduced ourselves to our 'neighbours' and ended up sitting outside chatting. The arrival of 'our landlord's' (Kathy) husband (Jay) all dressed in camouflage right down to the face paint was an additional highlight to the evening. Jay had been out duck shooting, God I love America. Over the next couple of nights we learnt much about duck hunting. Thanks Jay - we loved the insight and we hope to catch up for that duck dinner in the future. Jay also had a flag pole on his site and every couple of days he would raise a different flag. Being as patriotic as we are we have an Aussie flag with us which we hang on the awning when we set up. Jay made mention of it and as it was Australia day the following day he offered to fly the flag for the duration of our stay. Thanks again Jay.
Our flag was raised for Australia Day in the park
Our next excursion was to go horse riding on the beach, not what Rose and I would do normally, but Lauren has us thinking outside our square so we booked a morning beach ride. After ringing for directions, twice, we finally arrived and got acquainted with our horses. All three of of us have horse riding skills akin to below basic so we got a horse equivalent to our skills. We headed off - I am thinking I'm good with this then I remembered that there is no brake pedal - I can tow a 40 foot trailer on the freeways of the USA but not sure if I can stop this horse! We have two guides, one who came in on her day off just to 'hear our accents' (true story!) We slowly headed towards the beach when the guides horse suddenly baulked. Apparently there was an unfamiliar sand mound on the track which spooked him which in turn spooked our horses. Instinctively they about turned with the intention to head back to the ranch! We had received a brief safety instruction at the beginning of the ride so luckily we remembered what we had been told "the reins are your brakes and steering wheel". I hit the brakes, HARD, and pushed down on the stirrups, yelling to Rose and Lauren to do the same. Our guides were amazed we managed to do what we did considering our limited riding skills. The rest of the ride went without incident - a great experience.
Not expert riders but we look the part
Our five nights at Gulf Waters Resort came to end and it was time to move on. As always we have met some great people and it was sad leaving them. We exchanged email addresses and headed off to our next destination.
A 4WD Texan style - street legal and registered.
- Posted by RnR on their IPad
Location:Corpus Christi / Port Aransas
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