Hurricane Harvey

(While this article focuses on the Coastal Bend of the Gulf Coast, we cannot ignore the devastating flooding that is taking place in Houston and surrounding areas. I grew up in Houston. Nell and I have family and a lot of friends there, so our thoughts and prayers go out to them.)

Everyone probably has a favorite place to visit, to spend a week or a weekend, or a vacation. I have to admit, when Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, I saw the names of a lot of places I had never heard of. With that in mind, I suspect not everyone has ever heard of Rockport or Port Aransas. They are on a part of the Texas coast called the Coastal Bend, near Corpus Christi. They are small towns, coastal towns, tourist towns. And we, like a lot of Texans, love them.

When we were traveling full-time in the motorhome, we spent two winters in Rockport. Rockport sits on the mainland. Port Aransas sits on Mustang Island, beside the shipping channel that leads from the Gulf of Mexico to the Port of Corpus Christi.  One of our favorite day trips was to take the car ferry from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas and explore the town, walk on the beach and watch for dolphins at Rogers Point Park. We’ve also spent an occasional week at Mustang Towers, a condo that sits right on the beach further down Mustang Island, and we’ve stayed at other rental places on the island with family as well.

Our first winter there, we meandered around at the Port Aransas marina and I did a little painting there. We met several people who lived full time on their sailboats moored at the marina, and one day we were even invited aboard by one of them to share a bottle of wine. We have a piece of decorative ceramic on our patio which we bought in Port A.  And, of course, we’ve developed our own list of favorite restaurants, cafes, and shops. Earlier this year, we were seriously considering relocating to an RV park in nearby Aransas Pass.

On Friday night, a monster named Harvey roared ashore as a Category 4 hurricane and devastated Rockport and adjoining Fulton, Port Aransas and Aransas Pass. We’ve already seen images of familiar and favorite places severely damaged. Major RV parks on Mustang Island have been destroyed. We’re still not sure of those in Rockport, but some were right on the waterfront at ground zero. At this writing, first responders are still trying to clear Highway 361, the only highway running the length of Mustang Island from Port Aransas to Corpus Christi.

The area will spend years rebuilding. We intend to continue trying to find places to stay when they reopen and spend badly needed dollars at restaurants and shops. We don’t have a lot. But we haven’t lost everything like the businesses and residents along the Coastal Bend. For now, if you were planning a trip there, you should call ahead.