San Antonio Riverwalk - Last Stop

This is the end of a pretty long day: started at Padre Island, stopped by Marie's in the Hill Country, then walked (and walked) along the Riverwalk. There's nothing new about Riverwalk photos, but it doesn't seem complete without a few to wrap the trip.





Riverwalk





Scott Drive

 Almost at Marie's house!


Lola & Bill Scott's Road

On the way out, I stopped on Scott Drive and took a few flower photos. Hey, Scotts! Do these look familar?



Scott Drive Flowers

Let the Party Begin!




Girlfriends Charlene, Linda, and Marie. Oh! And  that's Wayne - Linda's hubby. (Hi Wayne)

Holiday Inn Padre Island - The Sand Bar beach club. The wild party. Ok. So we were asleep by 10:30.  Dinner at the railing looking out to the beach. A pretty good band. Passable bar food. And dynamite company!

Charlene Held Tomas, Wayne Reed, Linda Smith Reed, Marie Scott Marks

 


Linda, Marie, Charlene, Mary



Texas Surf Museum

Marie and I stopped at the Texas Surf Museum in hopes of seeing photos of our Flour Bluff High School classmate, Paulette Just. The special women's exhibit was over, but we still had a walk down memory lane.

Here's an article of Paulette Just Egeli in her surfing days.



Paulette Just of Port Aransas poses for a photo during the 1960s with her surfboard and a surf contest trophy. Once one of the top female surfers in the Coastal Bend, she was a member of the Copeland Surf Team of Corpus Christi.

and here are a few items from the museum that may interest some of '60s Bluff folks



Jack Green



Surfers in the mid '60s

 

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Jack Green and his car



Saturday Morning at Charlene's

As usual, I was up before everyone else. Coffee on the porch with a couple of sleepy dogs, then coffee with Charlene who dashed to the local taquaria for breakfast tacos. Marie is now up and the day is officially beginning!

Charlene has a therapeutic riding center and her son, Reid, has show horses. Between them, there are about 30 horses on the property.




View of the arena from Charlene's front porch

  



Some of Charlene's horse trailers

  


 



Wesson - Watching me take his picture.

 

Corpus Christi Marina

There are three "docks" in the marina - two T-shaped and one L-shaped.

T-Heads and L-Head: Corpus Christi Marina

Downtown Corpus Christi

Peoples Street T-Head

Peoples Street T-Head

Oyster Boat - Rockport/Fulton

Oystermen docking after a long day' work.

Texas Maritime Museum - Rockport

Since 1989.

Port Aransas jetties and ship channel

Big ship coming up the channel!

Ship Channel at the Port A jetties

South Jetty - Port Aransas

South Jetty

Padre Balli Park & Bob Hall Pier

Marie on the Beach

First stop for the day. The wind has been extreme, even for Corpus. But the feel of salt air is perfect.

Itinerary - Loop around the Beach to Bay

Marie and I will take a little memory tour around the beach to bay loop today. Flour Bluff --> Padre Island --> Port Aransas --> Aransas Pass --> Rockport --> Corpus Christi Bayfront --> Flour Bluff. Hopefully the timing works so we have dinner at Water Street Oyster Bar in the Bayfront area.




Loop around the Bay - Corpus Christi, Texas

 

Coffee with Marley

Marley, Wesson and I, a cow, and a horse are up early for coffee.

More Girlfriends!

Brenda, Linda, Marie at Linda's house

Oh my! Are we ever catching up!

Linda works at the National Seashore and lots of colorful beach finds at her house.

Good morning, Rolling Thunder

It's a beautiful time of day here at Rolling Thunder Ranch.

Cruisin' Down the Sabinal

Marie and I took the paddle boat for a lazy, before-dinner cruise.

Marie's - Utopia, Texas

Marie Scott Marks

The road to Marie's house.
I never remember where to turn to get to Marie's house; she has to come get me every year. Go to Utopia, turn left on some farm road, then turn right on some other farm road, then turn right down a caliche road, then turn right down another caliche road. Now why can't I remember that!

The Road to Marie's House

San Antonio

On the ground in Texas!

KC Airport - To San Antonio

Sleep is elusive the night before early flights. I suppose something in my psyche is worried I'll sleep through the 0330 alarm.

Play List

I made a playlist on the Amazon cloud last night for our entertainment this coming week. John is flipping through playing songs and offering suggestions: "I don't see any Sly on this list!" "Nope. I don't like Sly." "But don't you want this one." "Nope. I saw that one and didn't include it." Well.. well.. but.. but.. how about..
Nope. And don't put it in my list!

Missing you, Linda Hearne

It's April again, and I'm headed to Texas to visit a few friends. Linda and I always found time for lunch and catching up. There was never a conversational "warm up" period for us - no matter how many years it had been since our last visit. I'm really missing you, dear friend.

Linda J Hearne  December 22, 1941 - August 16, 2011
My friend, Linda

Counting Down!
The 3rd Annual Texas Girlfriend Tour begins April 25th.

Wednesday, April 25 - Leave the house at 0420 to catch a United 0618 flight to Denver. Then, Denver to San Antonio for an 11:19 arrival. Rent the car. Hotfoot it to Marie's house on the Sabinal River in the Texas Hill Country. Marie and Mary relaxing on the Sabinal Spend the night with Marie - hopefully at her Rolling Thunder cabin.

Thursday, April 26 - Marie and I head to the coast where we'll stay with Charlene and visit her Glenoak Theraputic Riding Center. We'll be there early enough for a walk on the beach, and maybe this will be the day Marie gets to visit her best friend from school, Linda. Charlene, Linda, and Marie were all cheerleaders. Maybe they'll give us an exhibition!

Friday, April 27 - Charlene works, but Marie and I are free to do some roaming. No work for us! Padre Island, Port Aransas, maybe Rockport or Aransas Pass. Maybe lunch somewhere along Corpus Christi Bay. Just beach, memories, and maybe a little shopping! Back to Charlene's for dinner and girlfriend time.

Saturday, April 28 - It's a Slumber Party! Charlene, Marie, and I head to a condo on the island for the day and the night. 'nuf said.

Sunday, April 29 - Breakfast on the island, and then back to the Hill Country. Relax on Marie's deck, then head to San AntonioSan Antonio to catch an early morning flight home. Adios to Marie and a wonderful week.

Monday, April 30 - 6:45 AM flight to Houston, then home. Arrive in KC 12:12.

.... and the story not yet told... We won't really know what our itinerary is until we do it. Isn't that what vacation is all about? Stay tuned!

IPhone Blogging

Each year some little gadget makes blogging easier!