Corpus Christi - Sparkling City by the Sea
By Irene Butler
 Scouring a map for a southern vacation niche, my husband
Rick pointed to a dot on the Gulf of Mexico saying, “Corpus Christi has a nice
ring”. A bit of investigation revealed it had enough sand,
surf and delightful amenities to fit our classification of “glorious”.
Gaining its appellation from the Roman Catholic feast day
on which Spanish explorer Alonzo Alverez de Piñeda discovered the area, we
arrived in the only city so named on the planet.
On our very first morning, we headed out of the city proper
and over the bridge to Padre, the world’s longest barrier island, with a
phenomenal 70 miles of beach. Part of Padre’s appeal is for what it does not
have – crowds – with the exception of an influx of college students during
spring break at its southern tip.
 Near a row of resort hotels we moved with the flow of
beachcombers. Children raced up and down the rolling
dunes edging the beach, fishermen bobbed their lines from docks and piers, and
bird-watchers focused their binoculars.
When our legs gave out we took our cue from vehicles slowly
manoeuvring along the firm sand periphery and drove to an isolated spot where
 only
the lapping of waves could be heard and seagulls soared. We waded along the glistening turquoise shoreline and then perched on
a dune to savour our picnic fare of chilled jumbo shrimp dipped in delectable
sauce and crusty French bread spread with Camembert between sips of Wolf Blass
Cabernet Sauvignon.
 During the following weeks a leisurely routine evolved of
beach excursions interspersed with walks along city streets and stops at
attractions no visitor would want to miss.
The USS Lexington commands front and center stage in the
bay. Dubbed the Blue Ghost for its steel blue colour, this WWII era aircraft
carrier has
 a
grand display of vintage planes on its 3-football-field length upper deck. Turned museum, after serving longer
than any other carrier in US Naval history, its 16 deck height now houses a
3-storey IMAX theatre where white-knuckled and queasy we dipped and dived as if
in a cockpit with fighter pilots doing training manoeuvres.
 From
the lowly salt marshes to the dolphins at the upper echelon, we followed the
evolutionary path of sea inhabitants at the Texas State Aquarium. We learned that Padre Island is one of the
few nesting grounds in the world for the endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles.
To help regenerate their numbers, eggs are collected and hatched in protective
nurseries. We imagined the thrill of joining scientists and volunteers on the
shores of Padre during summer for the hatchling’s release and to see them race
across the sand to their briny home.
 The Art Museum of South Texas captivated us with early
western themes of riders and horses thundering across landscapes. In another
area were the works of Dale Chihuly. The patch covering the visionless left eye
of this world renowned glass artist was not a result of his trade, as I would
have thought, but from an auto accident in 1976. Since then, lacking the
necessary depth perception, he conceptualizes projects with sketches and paints;
then has a team of artists bring it to fruition in molten glass. Several of his vibrant works, including the massive Cascade
Blue Chandelier, were stunning.
 Nestled under the shadow of the harbour bridge, the Museum
of Science and History displays artefacts from shipwrecks off Padre Island
dating back to1554, as well as replicas of two of Columbus’ three ships. The
third, the Niña, is moored in the downtown marina.
An evening on the Texas Treasure Casino Cruise did not
bring us nearer to a pot of gold; but it did award us a golden sunset upon
embarking and a wealth of fun. Live entertainment and a scrumptious buffet went
on for the first hour of the sail. I rested my slot arm until the ship reached
international waters and gambling could legally commence.
 Bird watchers flock to Corpus
Christi to see the many winged beauties that skirt the shorelines when migrating
between North and South America, and species that stay for a spell. Of notable
interest are the endangered Whooping Cranes who make an astounding 2,400 mile
journey annually from their summer abode in Canada’s Northwest Territories to
spend their winters in Aransas National Wildlife Reserve.
 Early one morning we boarded the
75ft Wharf Cat and sailed out to meet these dual citizens, who as adults stand 5
feet tall and have wingspans of up to 7 feet. We found them happily scooping up
their favourite blue crab and wolfberry lunch. In the early 1900’s only 16 Whooping Cranes remained in the world; today, the
result of conservation efforts, there are 475 world-wide (both in the wild and
in captivity), and the count at the reserve this
 year was…..drum roll, please….
235!
Though our people pleasures digressed somewhat from the
cranes, we agreed there was a lot to “whoop” about in their choice annual R&R
location. Lounging at an outdoor café on the bay watching yachts and fishing
boats cruise by on our last evening was a divine end to our enjoyable and
memorable stay in Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi
pop. 380,000 (2005 census)
Average winter temperature – 70 -80 F
288 days of sunshine annually
www.corpuschristicvb.com
Turtle tidbits:
www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/stsr.htm
Whooping Crane wooing:
www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/endspecies/whooping/index.en.html
Whooping Crane & Birding Boat Tours
www.texaswhoopers.com
(361) 729-4855 or 1-800-782-2473
Hotel Suggestions:
Radisson Beach Hotel
3200 Surfside Blvd
Corpus Christi, Tx (361) 883-9700
www.radisson.com
Bahia Mar Extended Stay Hotel
15201 Windward Dr.
N. Padre Island
(361) 949-2400
www.corpuschristibeachhotels.com
PHOTO CREDITS: Rick Butler
|
