Corpus Christi; The Southernmost Point of our Tour

Within moments of walking outside in Houston this morning, I tore my shirt off. It was already damp with sweat. Humid, is what I’m saying. Hot and humid. 

We piled into the car and headed for Corpus Christi to teach ROCKIN Nia again.  This one was an early one; scheduled for 4:30 in the afternoon, so we were up and out early. 

After driving for an hour or so, we stopped at a Target store. I had to run inside to get a coffee, since I hadn’t had mine yet that day, and River needed to get out of the car for a bit and run off some steam.

After a bit, we got back on the road.

I liked the look of Corpus Christi as I was coming over the bridge with Corpus Christi Bay on one side and Nueces Bay on the other. I drove through a part of town that looked like an abandoned beach community. 

River and I were graciously invited to stay with Manny Garza and his boyfriend, Bill and their three dogs. I was a bit nervous, but River had been proving so well mannered that I thought it would be worth a shot. I had a reservation at a nearby Motel 6 that I didn’t cancel until after dropping by the house and seeing that they would all get along. River was actually being picked on by the three dogs that were all about a quarter his size, and he would just run away and hide between my legs.

We then went over to Studio X where Nicole Raglin had set up the ROCKIN Nia event. There were about eight people in the studio and it went over very well based on the smiles during class and the comments afterward. One comment was: Jason is a fantastic teacher/role model.. The music, moves and energy were great!" and another was: "Rock and Roll Nia was amazing, totally exceeding my expectations.  Thanks Jason for leading us through a Rock and Roll Nia journey; it was an honor to participate in your class and learn from your mastery of the Nia technique."

I'm not sure you'll be able to view it, but this is a link to a short video of the class that Nicole posted on Facebook: Video link


Nia isn’t established in Corpus Christi. There are no classes anywhere in town and some of the people in my class today hadn’t even heard of it, or had never done it with a live teacher, so I was proud to be able to cut a ribbon of sorts. I’m hoping the local community can run with the torch now and get something going in the town.



After class, Manny took River and I down to the beach and we got our feet wet in Corpus Christi Bay. We took a quick tour of a cute city. It seems like it would be a good winter getaway.

Later that night, after showers and some pizza and watermelon, I took River out for an evening walk and noticed some lightning off in the distance. It seems a big cold front with thunderstorms was headed for us, and there was lots of concern for my safety during my trip to Austin the next day. 



River met Manny and Bill's big black cat, who intimidated River enough to seemingly satisfy his desire to learn more about cats. At least temporarily. The cat would hunch up and make a howling sound and River would take cover with his hackles raised. I was able to walk River, heeling at my side, past the cat without him breaking his heel. They were a foot apart.

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