 |
| Photos- Of the sunrise I watched over the Gulf of Mexico. |
Later on, I was heading south on Padre Island for the Padre
Island National Seashore which is part of the National Park system. I got to use my annual parks pass again;
bonus! I’m always amazed at how many
National Parks or Landmarks that I just stumble across and am able to use this
pass. It’s the best investment that I
could have done during this adventure.
I drove to the visitor’s center after showing my annual pass
at the entrance gate. I walked into the
visitor’s center and there was a group with a national parks employee going
through a display of unique things that people had picked up along the
beach. I joined in with listening. The coolest thing I thought that was on the
display table looked like a piece of petrified wood but it wasn’t. It was fused sand from a lightning bolt that
had struck the beach. You could see
where seashells were captured in the fused sand. All kinds of things wash up onto the shore of
Padre Island because of its circular coastline and the ocean currents there are
thing that come from Cuba, the Caribbean and South America; most of the items
on the display table were seed pods, nuts, or coral.
I walked around the visitor’s center a little more. They had samples of the Kemp turtles that had
been almost extinct but with help from programs and local support they’ve been
assisted in the protection of their birthing places and releasing them
afterwards the numbers are slowly rising.
They had one of the large Kemp turtles on display but I guess that
currently they were releasing smaller ones in the early, early mornings at this
time of year.
 |
| Photo- Butterflies and flowers on the way to the beach. |
I went out towards the beach area. On the way, I saw a grouping of yellow wild
flowers where there were quite a few monarch butterflies landing and flying
around. I stopped and watched for a bit. While watching I also saw a small sand crab
run across the sand and into a hole. I walked
along the beach for a while. Down a
little ways there was a father and son fishing along the beach area. I watched them for a bit and then continued walking
down the beach. I saw all kinds of birds
and a couple of Portuguese-Man-O-Wars that had washed up on shore. The day before near the hotel beach I had
seen a jelly fish washed up on shore.
 |
| Photos- Father and son fishing on the beach and their catch of the day. |
I must have walked a couple of miles and decided to turn
around. The father and son were
collecting their gear and as I got closer I could see a line full of fish that
had been caught. I commented on their
catch and the father said that it was just the first catch of the day. There was a campsite nearby where I guess
they were staying. I wished him a good
day and continued on. I went into the
gift shop and looked around for a bit.
Then, I figured it was time to head north to Corpus Christi for my next
planned visit of the day.
I followed the Google directions to the USS Lexington Museum
which is in a bay area near downtown Corpus Christi. The USS Lexington War Ship is an actual
warship that has been permanently made into a museum. I paid my entrance fee and got a token for
the parking lot across the street. I hung
out looking at displays in the Hanger Bay #2 area while I waited for the next
film to start in about 10 minutes. There
were a couple of restored planes, some airplane motors that were on display;
along with some game like things to interact with. When they opened the theater a few minutes
later, I took the 3D glasses and found a seat.
 |
| Photo- The outside of the USS Lexington from the shore. |
The movie was focused on air races and restored planes. It had some cool effects with the 3D. A row back a woman said she thought that the
movie would be about ships since we were on a ship. Her husband nicely told her that it was an
air carrier ship and that’s why the movie was about planes. Oh, she said.
She still sounded a bit disappointed.
I just chuckled a bit.
 |
| Photo- Inside the USS Lexington in the Bay #4 area. |
I next went on one of the four other tours where you go
through parts of the ship. I did the #2
Tour which was the officers’ quarters, a Pearl Harbor Exhibit, and anchor equipment. I climbed in and around and up into the upper
deck areas of the ship. It was like
chutes and ladders with a bit of a maze thrown in. I was finding it fun and I looked out at the
outside windows as I went along. Next, I
did the #1 Tour which was the flight deck.
I went up and out onto the open area where they had old restore
airplanes, anti-aircraft guns, the plank, and the navigation bridge area. It was all pretty fun and I was having fun
going through rounded doorways and up and down the stairs that were like
ladders. I did Tour #3 which was the
combat ready rooms, the library, and the Captain’s Cabin. I was amazed at how much room the Captain of
the ship was given.
 |
| Photos- Stairs and doorways in the USS Lexington. |
Then, I thought I’ll do the last of the tours I hadn’t done which was #4. This tour was the lower decks where the engine room, sick bay, dental clinic, crew’s galley, a POW Exhibit, and a Chapel was. I climbed down to the lower deck and started to look at some of the crews small areas where they would sleep. Yikes, these were rather small and cramped. I went by the barber’s chair area. I then started going through some of heating and cooling equipment that was on the ship; that was rather cool because I used to be a secretary in this line of business. Then it was an exhibit on Pearl Harbor Exhibit. It was about this time that I really started to feel claustrophobic.
Next, I walked into the sick room area and I could feel the
sweat just dropping down my forehead. I
was starting to have a hard time breathing.
I sat down for a bit and put my head between my legs because I was
getting light headed. Oh no! I might be leaving something behind in the
sick room if I didn’t get out of here soon.
My stomach was starting to act up too.
I started to look for a way out.
Shortly after this I ran into a young married couple that had been in
the theater the same time as me. I asked
if they knew where the exit was because I was starting to get
claustrophic. They helped me out and
then led me over to one of the wide door bay areas when we reached the main
floor. They were both very sweet and
asked if they could help or get me anything.
They encouraged me to sit down. I
sat down and just took large breaths of fresh air. Well, I guess I’ll never be a sailor!
I left the ship shortly after I managed to feel normal
again. I was back in my car and heading
north to Bay City which was a halfway stopping point between Corpus Christi and
Galveston, TX. As I drove north the sun
started to set behind me and the moon was starting to rise in front of me. This moon was HUGE and kind of a yellow
orange. It reminded me of the moon in
that late 1980’s movie called Moonstruck in which Cher and Nicholas Cage
starred. It was HUGE and I sometimes
found it hard to keep my eye one the road because I was watching the moon.
It was as I got to Bay City that I discovered I didn’t have
the paper of which hotel I would be staying at for the night. Ooops!
I pulled into a McDonald’s hoping that they had free Wi-Fi. Nope!
I drove around and then saw a Chili’s and I thought I would ask there
while I grabbed a quick bite to eat. I
just realized I never ate any lunch and I was surviving on a Bit of Honey bar
that I bought at the National Park Visitors Center earlier. I asked the server if she knew of any places
with Wi-Fi nearby. Nope! Okay, this was not good.
I looked through my phone when I remembered that I had
called hotels.com earlier in the week when I made an error on an on-line
booking. I found the number and rather
quickly found out which hotel I would be staying at, the address, and the phone
number. I was back in business. Yeah!
