Texas Recap

After leaving Florida and points along the Gulf Coast, we headed to Texas. We spent a few days in San Antonio. I already posted some pictures of the River Walk and the Alamo. I actually thought the Alamo was a monument for a battle won, not a battle lost. Oh well. We had a good time. The Riverwalk is a really neat place. It's mostly hotels and restaurants and so crowded with people you can hardly move, but still a really neat place for a nice walk. Then you go up to the street level and you can shop and eat some more. They were having a St. Patrick's Day celebration while we were there and they colored the water in the river green and had a parade through town and then had a parade of barges on the river. (We didn't see that.) On Saturday, they had a day called Arts Luminaria (I think), and all the art galleries were open for viewing. Downtown they had 6 different stages set up for performing arts. Musicians, dance groups, theater groups. It made for a very crowded downtown and Riverwalk. It was really cool being part of the local scene for a while.

From San Antonio, we headed to the Gulf Coast of Texas and spent 2 weeks in the Rockport/Fulton/Corpus Christi area. I liked this side of the gulf of Mexico better than the Florida side. It doesn't seem as crowded. I spent 2 good days birding with my friend Bron who lives in Rockport. I found a lot of new birds. But most importantly, it was really nice re-connecting and spending time with Bron. Then one morning, we took the Skimmer out to see the Whooping Cranes. (Hopefully, Bill will get around to updating his blog and get some pictures up. I posted some pictures previous, but he has the better ones.)

Bron took me to Corpus Christi to hit some of the city parks known for their birds (FYI, we were in the area prior to the big spring migration. I didn't get to see the hundreds of species that pass through the area every spring.). Bron drove me past the Selena memorial. She's quite the celebrity in Corpus.

The weather in Rockport was great. But it is so dry in that part of Texas. All the little puddles and ponds that are bird attractors were dust. We did have one big thunderstorm with lots of rain on one day, but they need a lot more. The storm came with its own tornado warning! Never seen a tornado. It was another new experience on this trip.

On the birding front, I had a good time. My final tally is 125 birds in Texas, my last 2 Texas birds being lifers for me, a female Vermillion Flycatcher and a Scaled Quail on our way to New Mexico. After Texas my life list is 381 birds long. I had a good birding trip and certainly plan to return to do the whole Texas Coastal Birding Trail.

From Rockport we headed back North to Austin. We needed to have the oil changed in the RV, so we spent a couple of days in Austin. I don't think I took a single picture there. Austin's motto is: Keep Austin Weird, and it is. But it is very easy to get around and has a lot to do. The Congress St. Bridge is known for its bats. They were just beginning to return from Mexico, so we didn't get to see any while there. We did, however, get to 3 brewpubs. Austin, not only being the capital of Texas, is also a college town. The LBJ Presidential Library is located here and all sorts of things. We really didn't do much there. We were gearing up for the long drive across Texas to New Mexico.

For thought: I've come to the conclusion that Florida is where old people go to spent the winters before they die. Texas, especially the Texas coast, is where old people go to live. After spending a month in Fort Myers, FL and then 2 weeks on the Texas coast, I can say that the folks who go to Texas are more active. More people walk and bike just around the rv park, not drive their golf carts. They swim in the pool and play shuffleboard and partake in other resort activities. Plus they go out more and do things around the area. While we were in Florida, some of those people didn't leave the resort the whole time we were there. There were 2 people in the RV across from us and I only saw the woman there once the whole time we were there. The guy there would sit out in the sun and smoke, but we never saw her outside the RV. And the people at the RV park in Texas seemed to be a lot friendlier. Not so "clique-ish" We were made to feel part of the family, not like an outsider in a tight knit community. Interesting.....just thought I'd add something deeper today.

Next up, New Mexico.

May your next bird be a lifer!

Laura