While exploring the coast we stumble in to the naval air station and stop to figure out what to do the next. A courteous guard approaches and in response to our questions gives us directions to a fish restaurant he favors called Snoopy’s. That becomes our dinner and I’m only sorry Scoopy’s next door was closed so we couldn’t get ice cream for dessert.
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| The Corpus Christi waterfront, the WWII carrier USS Lexington in the distance. |
The next day we explore North Padre Island, one end of a long barrier island just off the coast. It is a good drive but we are disappointed as only 9 of the 70 miles of the Padre Island National Seashore are paved and my 2WD truck is much to squirrely on sand, shortening our exploration.
Later as we pass a large mall Marcia’s shopping gene kicks in and she wants to check out a Dillards. While she looks (good news: she guys nothing) I walk the length of the crowded indoor mall. Looking down from a balcony I notice a woman in a lounge chair staring upwards, blankly fortunately, with a metal frame holding her mouth in a roughly rectangular shape. Shoppers pass paying no attention as something like a black-light makes her cheeks glow blue-green. (Marcia later tells me she was probably having her teeth whitened, as if this makes sense in the aisle of a public mall.) From another balcony I see a different women in another lounge chair with someone using what looks like dental floss to snare and yank things invisible to me from her skin. The only people watching are an intrigued small boy and I. Again, shoppers pass paying no note. (Marcia says this has something to do with removing unwanted facial hair, but shaving would seem much more practical and painless.)
As I walk back to Dillards I see mall security questioning two people that just don't look like shoppers. One cop casually rests his hand on his holstered pistol, seemingly sending a message of warning to the two characters. I contemplate which way to dive if I hear gunfire but nothing happens. I go on maybe 100 feet and sit in an empty lounge chair to wait for Marcia, keeping my eyes wide open since I don’t want any facial hair removed. Suddenly a klaxon sounds, strobe lights flash, and an amplified voice says something I can’t understand. I think of the security incident 100 feet away. The flow of shoppers continues without pause. The alarm goes quiet and Marcia arrives, then the alarm starts again overlaid with an unintelligible announcement. Nobody pays any attention. We leave.
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| North Padre Island - before reaching the park. |
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| Mary Kay top salesperson? |
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| Is this really the oldest bar in Texas? |
We head toward our campground, first stopping at a building claiming to be the oldest bar in Texas. Three things attract me: I want a drink; I like history; and even in a state where people can legally carry concealed weapons, it seems a bit over-the-top when a pink battle tank pulls out of a parking space.
We go inside, noting that the entire building is covered by another shelter, much like the one protecting the ancient ruins at Casa Grande, AZ. We sit reverently at the old bar and I ask the bartender about the sign outside. She says it really isn’t the oldest and she has been trying to get the owner to take the sign down. I ask about the tank outside, and she says two guys own it and drive it around promoting breast cancer awareness. (I thought it might have belonged to a very successful Mary Kay dealer.) We order wines but she says they don’t have any, sorry. We ask about beers but all they have are Budweiser beers. We settle for a gin-and-tonic and a vodka-tonic and soon return to our trailer.
