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This week my fiancé's family invited us to take a trip down to Mustang Island for a few fun days in the sun. They booked a 4-day stay at the resort condiminiums of Port Royal. His family is of South Texas origin and has been vacationing at the resort for years. I had been once before, several years earlier, when I was just "the girlfriend". Not much has changed but that's not a bad thing.
Port Royal resort features a cascade of several pools & hotubs, a swim-up bar, tennis & volley ball courts, water slides, pool-side cabanas, and a kid splash-zone. Aside from activities such as beach yoga, sunday champagne brunch, and wine tastings the resort also features private boardwalk access to the beach.
What the resort cannot boast, however is a seaweed-free beach. Unfortunately we were all disaspointed to discover a 17-mile long mound of seaweed that had washed up on the shore, blocking access to the water. It could easily be walked over if you wanted to get in but, lets face it, squishing our bare-feet into a mound of seaweed just to step foot in the water isn't why we go to the beach. On the way back, I read this article that explained the why, when, and how of mustang island seaweed.
As we searched around for another shore-front location that wasn't plagued with weeds of the sea we discovered I.B. Magee Beach Park where, not only did the water front weeds still cover the shores but, large mounds of the weed were being shoved into piles where dump trucks were transporting it to the back of the beach. I've been to a lot of beaches in my day to include France, Spain, Ft. Meyers, the Keys, Daytona, Virginia, and Maine.. Nowhere have I ever encountered seaweed in this amount and nowhere have I ever seen a dump truck on the beach. While my future in-laws were heavily dissapointed, I was ammused.
Just a month prior we had taken a day-trip down to the beach-front where I found clear access to the beach however the waters were infested with Man O' Wars. (I was later surprised to learn that Man O' Wars are not jelly fish!) No way I'm getting in that water! But this time the masses of seaweed actually kept the fish and stinging Man O' Wars away, so I felt free to enjoy the waves and test my bougie board skills. Even though I came out of the water with bunches of seaweed tangled in my hair, I was happy to splash around in the waves without fear of being stung, or partially eaten, by lurking sea-creatures.
After that we spent some time on the pier, at I.M. Magee, fishing for a big sea catch. Although unsucsessful we did witness some neighboring pros pick up a small shark. I also had fun feeding the seagulls and pelicans but felt dissapointed that I had forgot my camera for the event.
As we explored the sleepy town of Port Aransas I was surprised to find an ice cream shop advertising French Crêpes. For those who don't know, a Crêpe is like a very thin version of a pancake. The big difference is that a Crêpe can be served both salty and sweet. The region of Bretagne in France is the birthplace of the French Crêpe. Having spent my childhood summers in that region I've developed a very discerning judgement of the Crêpe so I'm always eager to test-taste anyone's verson of my favorite beach-side food. Sadly, we arrived too late to taste their Crêpe that day. Only ice-cream was available.
On our way there we took highway 181 instead of I-35. I have to admit, the drive down I-35 is nothing to be envied. I was pleased to discover that 181 has several small towns that add to the charm of south Texas. I regret that we didn't have time to stop and explore the local flavor. I do recommend taking this route to anyone traveling in that direction. Although it will take a tad bit longer than the main highway, it's worth the views. On top of the that, the majestic wind energy turbines along 181 were a welcome change to the ugly industrial oil fields visible along I-35.
Despite the seaweed and missing French Crêpes, it was an over-all enjoyable experience. Even though the Texas coast could never match the French Meditereanian....it's still worth the short drive to smell salty air, enjoy some sailing or horseback riding on the beach, and delve into the fried fresh catch served almost everywhere in Port Aransas.
See photos of our Port A adventure here.