Texas Part 5 - Corpus Christi and Padre Island in the Rain

South Padre Island Dr., Park Road-22

I felt a few sparse raindrops in Corpus Christi when I took River out for his bedtime walk, last night. This morning, the ground was wet and there were a few puddles. The sky was grey but it wasn't raining.
By the time we finished our morning walk and coffee, the rain had started. But it didn't deter me from my plans to enjoy Padre Island National Seashore. It was an hour drive from the motel room, and at times, the rain was so hard, I couldn't see. Giant puddles had already started forming in the roads.

Once I crossed over the bridge, the rain died down and stopped. I don't know exactly what body of water I crossed. It seems like a canal linking Corpus Christi Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.

I love the beach out there. I saw a sign that they call it The Third Coast. The waves in the Gulf today were plentiful and rough. The water was so warm that you couldn't tell you were standing in it if you had your eyes closed. It was windy and at times it was raining. It reminded me of Hawaii.

River and I found the Pet Area and we had the whole place to ourselves. I got out the 50' leash and let him run. We played for about two hours, chasing sticks, each other, running into the water and feeding him liver treats.

We would have stayed longer, but the rain and wind were getting so much that both of us were soaking wet, and I was beginning to worry for the safety of my iPhone and car key.

When we got back to the car, I realized I had no towels. They were all in the room. And River was more wet than I'd ever seen him. And I mean more wet than when I give him a bath, or when he falls in a lake, at least there's a spot or two or dry fur on his head. But not today. He was darn wet and wasn't liking it. It wasn't because the waves were pelting him any more than usual, but it was because of the torrent we were escaping.


It was a totally fun day. This is the second time I've been here and was the main reason I wanted to stay in Corpus Christi. I'd go back any time!

I stopped at the grocery store on my way back. I'm a fan of the Natural Grocer. And a new one just opened in Corpus Christi. I wanted to give it some business, and pick up a few things. They don't give you bags there, but they keep the boxes from their deliveries and offer to pack your groceries in one of them if you don't have a bag. They did that for me once, and I actually loved it. I prefer using a box now, over a bag, if I'm going to be driving in my car. It holds so much and nothing rolls around.

So I still have that first box that I got at a Natural Grocer in 2014. I brought it around the country with me, but accidently left it behind in a Connecticut Motel 6. I called a friend of mine to go pick it up and she hold onto it (along with my groceries and sundries) until I came back through New England in 2015. I got it from her then and used it for the rest of my 2015 tour. When I got home, I used it to hold a lot of things that I only use on road trips, and I got it out when it was time to hit the road and now it lives on the passenger seat of Babe.  It's so much more than a grocery bag; it's a recycling bin or clean trash bin, it is a hat holder, it is storage for three gallons of water or empty gallon containers, it holds River's water bowl between sips and serves as an arm rest.