Trying to find the Sun and Warm Weather - Trip Report, February 2022

[DonnaR57]

My husband and I just got back from an off-season trip, our first one since retiring (other than a trip over to see family). We had a few goals for this trip, including:

* Trying out the new road ride, to see how she'd do for handling weather, fuel mileage, how much we could pack in her, etc.
* Trying to find Sun, Warm Weather, and Surf when the weather in Missouri was cold and cloudy.
* Always in search of new locations to explore, foods to try, etc.

Of the three main goals, two were realized. Sad to say, the goal to find warmer weather was not -- despite aiming ourselves towards southern Texas (Corpus Christi). But we persevered, and I'll post our trip report. I'll just do it differently than I usually do. Photos will be included, but as always, if you want to see more, just click on the photo's number link. It will take you to my Flickr public account where you can gaze all you want.


Days 1 and 2, Travel Days

We left our home in mid-Missouri in a small mist which was a bit icy. The roads here had already been serviced, as had all of the roads we were on that day. We took I-44 through Missouri and onto the Turnpike in Oklahoma. It either did a misty ice, sleet, or rain on us through Missouri, and when we pulled into the OK Welcome Center (I needed a new map!), it was snowing. We fueled up in Tulsa, the first of quite a few fuel-ups at a Sam's Club where they are less expensive than others. By the time we approached Oklahoma City, the sun was coming out and we were relieved! We pulled into Gainesville, TX, and overnighted at a Fairfield Inn there - first time we've ever stayed at a Fairfield. We ate dinner at a place called the Wolf Den. The food was just okay, nothing to rave about.

The next morning we got up to a sleet storm. We made it out okay and onto the freeway (I-35) which was treated and running smoothly. There. At that time. However, we kept getting promises from The Weather Channel that we'd run into less sleet, etc., after we passed through various cities. Nonsense, it either sleeted, rained, or just was cloudy and cold on us all the way to San Antonio. The traffic was HORRENDOUS. It was one traffic jam after another. We lost 40 minutes here, 10 minutes there, 15 minutes there, all sitting through construction delays and an occasional probably-weather-related accident. The weather finally settled, as did the traffic, after we got around I-410 in San Antonio. We got on I-37 there and the next two hours were smooth sailing. We usually check in to a hotel around 4 or 4:30, but it was close to 6:30 on this travel day: 475 miles in 10-1/4 hours.

We'd chosen a Radisson in Corpus Christi right on the Bay. To give them credit, they did say that they were undergoing renovations and there would be "some inconvenience". Well, there wasn't some, there was a LOT! Let's see....one elevator for the entire building and it was fussy about where it stopped, the restaurant was completely closed, the fitness center was closed, and there was no ice or vending machines in the entire place. We can live without vending machines, but the lack of ice was an issue. They are also changing brands. The wifi was great until they switched it in the middle of our stay and didn't let us know - it suddenly went out.

Pictures from the first 2 days:

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Stopping at the Oklahoma Welcome Center on I-44, to get a new Oklahoma map.

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Stopping at the Texas Welcome Center on I-35, to get a new Texas map. (Their map has a larger variety of city maps on the back, than the AAA Texas map.)

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View out of our hotel window. We'd reserved a Bay View room with balcony. We had a nice view of the bay, the USS Lexington (CV-16, a decommissioned Navy aircraft carrier now set up as a tourist place. It's a WW2 carrier, but was in service until 1991, so we remember it sitting in San Diego Harbor!)

[DonnaR57]

Days 3,4,5 and 6 - Seeing the Area

When we arose on the third day, and actually got to see something from the window, we were pleased with the view overall. (That photo was actually taken later in our stay.). We'd pulled in when it was getting dark the night before, so the scene was good except for the fog we could see out on the water. It did not bode well for a nice day, and The Weather Channel app was agreeing with that. So we debated what to do and when.

Over the four days, we took several scenic drives (one not on purpose, but it was a good one!). We saw a few different things, one that had been on our list and one that was on the "well, if the weather doesn't cooperate..." list. We ate a LOT and tried various restaurants in the area. We departed from our usual travel routine and went shopping, something that usually is NOT on our list of things to do.

I'll start with what we saw. Padre Island National Seashore was the first major thing. Hubby had never been there, and I had not been to the north end, so this was new to both of us. (My parents took us to the south end one April, over Spring Break, when I was a kid.). Once we drove out there, we went to get our new passes and found, instead, that we qualified for a FREE military pass. Unfortunately, you have to get a new one every year. But hey, it's free. Our next stop was at the Visitor Center, which (like much of Texas) was under renovation. It was therefore a small visitor center. But you could climb onto the roof platform and do a view or two, which we did. Back in our vehicle, we drove it as far as the paved road goes -- which isn't but a few more miles. Then, if you want to drive, you'll be on sand. We drove onto a beach, walked, and then turned around. Really, PINS is great if the weather is cooperative. I could see that we might have spent some time walking on that shore, if it weren't 39F and windy as heck!

Another place we saw was the Fulton Mansion. It was located north of Rockport. The Fultons were evidently a rich, influential family in the history of Texas, so their home is maintained by being designated Historic. You start at the Visitor Center/Museum, pay a very modest admission fee, and tour the small museum. The museum was very hands-on, which would make it great for families with children - dress up in Victorian clothing, dress a mannequin in Victorian-era clothing, help build a Lego-type bridge (Mr. Fulton was a head engineer on the Covington-Cincinnati Bridge), turn wheels to learn, etc. After learning about the Fultons, you go out to the Mansion and go through the garden to the back door. You can see the first floor (parlor, dining room, sitting room), the second floor (bedrooms, an indoor bathroom!), and the basement. The house has a third floor but it's not for public viewing. There were docents if you needed to ask a question. About half the furnishings were owned by the Fultons. Some burned in a fire so the society replaced them with antiques that were exact or to the era. All in all, my husband and I were fascinated and awed by this beautiful home.

When possible, we'd take a walk on a beach here and there. We walked up to the entrance of the USS Lexington, but did not choose to go in. My husband was career-Navy and did not wish to pay someone so that he could go see the inside of a ship. I didn't really want to go in, either. But it was nice to see that she is lovingly cared for (this is a WWII ship) and not scrapped at the bottom of the sea someplace.

We learned a lot about how to get around Corpus Christi. As I stated, much of Texas is in renovation or under construction -- and the freeways of CC are part of it. GPS isn't necessarily keeping up with it, either. We missed exits that were marked with something else and had to take the long way more than once!

Now for some photos:

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Along the paved road on Padre Island NS, I was taking a photo of the sign when I noticed a white bird in the marsh. At the Visitor Center later, we determined that it was some type of egret.

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A view from the platform at the Visitor Center for PINS.

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A view from PINS on the shore. They had picnic tables every few hundred feet or so. I commented to my husband, that must not have been fun to tote those down from the Visitor Center!

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The Fulton Mansion, as seen from the water's side. The docent said they didn't have visitors today enter through the front door, to try to keep the salty air out as much as possible, but the Fultons would have invited guests in via this door.

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The Fulton house was full of historical furnishings. This was one of my favorites: a "square" (actually rectangular) grand piano. I would have loved to see how it sounds!

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Another favorite furnishing.

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At the foot of the USS Lexington (CV-16).

Next posts will include scenic drives and eateries.

[DonnaR57]

Days 3, 4, 5 and 6 - The Scenic Drives

Due to the weather that was less than stellar, we took more scenic drives than we'd intended. Some were totally accidental, yet others were purposeful.

First scenic drive was of the accidental variety. The GPS was leading us (supposedly) to NAS Corpus Christi. It was a beautiful drive - along the shore, past many multi-million dollar homes located there on the beach, Texas A&M Corpus Christi campus, marshes, right up to an NAS gate that probably hasn't been opened in years. This was one time we didn't mind the GPS gaff! We did manage to find our way to the main gate of NAS CC.

Next scenic drive was out to Padre Island National Seashore. When we were done at PINS, we drove north to Port Aransas. We would have kept going but we kept seeing signs about a ferry crossing, so we turned around and went back to the room. In retrospect, we should have driven to the Ferry Port and just sat there. Evidently, that's where a lot of the ships come into Corpus Christi Bay.

Another scenic drive was the day we drove up to Rockport and Fulton. We crossed the causeway, discovering how close the town of Portland was to us. Once done at the Fulton Mansion, we drove through Rockport to see some of the beach houses. Many were up on stilts.

Other accidental "scenic drives" were because of GPS vs. CC Construction. The GPS would say, "take next exit to Martin Luther King Drive", but there was no such exit. So we'd end up taking the longer way to wherever we were going. BTW, ML King Drive, we later realized, was marked with "Nueces Dr" on an orange construction-type sign.

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Bridge over the Causeway.

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View over a bridge while on it.

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View along Ocean Drive, the one we took trying to get to NAS CC only to find it goes to a closed gate.

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View on Timon Ave in the North Beach area, on our way to our hotel. You can see another bridge in the background. Less able to be seen is the new bridge that they are building.

Still to come, the food, shopping and return trip!

[DonnaR57]

No doubt about it, road trip food can be delicious and it can be "meh". I think we discovered a few of both, and one or two in between.

When we arrived in Corpus Christi, and checked into our hotel, we were very hungry. It was almost 7 and we hadn't eaten since our vehicle "snacks" for lunch. The hotel staff recommended Blackbeard's on the Beach, located right across the parking lot. (The hotel's restaurant was closed as part of their renovations.). We felt that the food was good, not GREAT, but good. The place had three sections: a family restaurant section, the bar with both bar-seating and tables, and the back room if you wanted to enjoy live entertainment. We sat in the bar at a table that evening. My husband got some sort of seafood - that's one goal of this trip, to enjoy seafood - and while I just got chicken strips, I also ordered onion rings. Those things were HUGE, delicious, and yes, they had a lot of onion in them! By HUGE, I mean probably 6-inches in diameter. We ended up returning to Blackbeard's twice, both times to enjoy a happy hour drink. They do a great grog, according to my husband.

Another place we hit was a Mexican food place. Having lived in Southern California for years, and Arizona before that, I'm used to good Mexican food. Taco Bell has its place, but I needed a bit of Tex-Mex (similar to Cal-Mex). I got it!

We tried a steakhouse, over in Portland, one evening. The steaks were tender. Hubby had stuffed shrimp with his, but wished he'd have opted for regular, un-stuffed fried shrimp. The place was Texas A1 Steakhouse and Seafood. The food was fine, nothing exciting, the service was great, though.

Still searching for great seafood, we tried Pier 99. This was located right at the foot of the pier that goes out to the USS Lexington. We ate inside, as the breeze was still a bit much for us, but if we'd taken an outdoor table, the view would have been lovely. The food was fine, nothing especially exciting. The service was about the same.

When out and about a couple of times, we decided to have a go at Whataburger. This fast-food chain is *everywhere* in Texas. Hubby and I hadn't eaten at one for many years, and that was in Arizona when visiting my parents one time. The first time we ate at one this trip, we were out and about doing some shopping, so we stopped in for a burger and a drink. The second time, we were in our hotel room and knew there was a WB just down Beach Dr. from our hotel, so we bought a couple of burgers and brought them back to our room. They were definitely good burgers, but I still prefer In-and-Out.

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My dinner at the Mexican place (name forgotten). Fajita tacos, chicken tostada, rice, and beans. I was full!

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Lunch at Whataburger.

[DonnaR57]

Normally, on a road trip, the sun is shining, and the last thing we really want to do is to go shopping. This trip, however, called for shopping a few times, and to bring back souvenirs. Those souvenirs are not the type that scream of the visited locale, this time.

With NAS Corpus Christi so close, we chose to visit the base. We were going to get fuel there -- um, no, like so much else in Texas, it was closed for construction. We went first to the Exchange, looking for a specific item which they did not have. But the clerk was very helpful in telling us how to get what we were looking for, by mail. We went looking around anyway. It's a small exchange (on a small base), but we managed to find a few things to bring back with us.

Off next door to the Commissary. One thing we have noticed about Missouri is the lack of certain brands that we liked back in California. So we've said that our travels will now include stops at stores looking for those items. We walked out empty handed. This was a very small commissary.

Not all Sam's Clubs are the same, so we walked through it. Might as well, it was cold and rainy outside, not exactly conducive to a scenic drive.

I had brought my crafting with me, but was almost out of something and talked hubby into stopping at the local Hobby Lobby for me. It sealed the deal when we looked at the shopping center and realized that Total Wines and More was located right next to HL. We walked through HL and got what I needed, and then through TW in hopes that hubby could find a specific liquor that he can't get in Missouri. (He's asked at several liquor stores and they look at him like he was a martian, they never heard of it.). They had it, so he bought three bottles. When he needs some next (in a year or two), we'll call the TW&M store in St Louis and see if they can get it or carry it.

Our one item that could be considered an every-day souvenir from the trip? A large coffee cup from Padre Island National Seashore.

Other things related to shopping, Fuel! As one meme said on FB, "I went to an expensive place today..." (and it shows someone filling up their gas tank). Yup. Fuel went up 10-30c in places while we were gone.

We are normally not in the least bit "brand-loyal" when it comes to fuel for our vehicles. We usually take what's cheapest, if possible. Well, this trip, we found the cheapest fuel for the Subaru at Sam's Clubs. Though it is not required to use premium, hubby chooses to do so because of the type of engine that the Subaru has. Premium prices are all over the map. Sam's Clubs was always at least 30c cheaper PER GALLON. Rarely did we have to go more than 2 miles out of our way. The price varied from $3.18/gallon up to $3.49/gallon. The Sam's in Tulsa, on Sheridan, went up from $3.18 to $3.34 between the day we left and our last day on the highway. For Premium. (Things are up a lot more now, too. Our local places went up again another 20c a gallon for regular, premium, and up 10c for diesel.)

Up next will be our return trip. Sorry, no photos in this post.

[DonnaR57]

Originally, our return home was going to be via central Kansas, to visit family. However, it appeared that our visit was going to coincide with someone else visiting, and also, we didn't think we were properly prepared for weather. (More on that as I wrap up the trip.)

The Return Trip

We went home via the same route we came, so we used I-37, 35 the first day, and I-35 and I-44 the second day. As we pulled into San Antonio, we asked locally about a route around the city. Both men told us, you should be fine on I-410 to get to 35, traffic is moving. So we did that. There IS a non-interstate "loop" around the city, but the west side is under construction and the east side is primarily 2-lane.

We were able to get through all cities, including the Fort Worth area (I-35W), without a lot of delays like there were the week before. We were greatly relieved to take lesson than 9 hours to make the 475 mile trip. We fueled somewhere around San Marcos, using another Sam's Club. Once again, it was 30c cheaper than everyone else for premium.

We overnighted again at Fairfield Inn in Gainesville. More on that in a moment. We ate, at the suggestion of Fairfield's manager, up at the WinStar Casino about 10 miles away just inside Oklahoma. There were all kinds of restaurants in that place, and we were able to snag a walk-in to Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse, just next door to Kirby's. The food, expensive, was the best on the whole trip. I had steak, hubby had lobster. The atmosphere was comfortable, casual. The bartender did a great Blue Hawaiian.

The next day, we sailed home, 500 miles in 9 hours. Not complaining! Oklahoma City and Tulsa were easy to get through, even finding the same Sam's Club for fuel in Tulsa. Home looked great to us. Our daughter had been keeping an eye on it.

One thing we did this trip, that we haven't done before, was to eat breakfast every travel day at a Cracker Barrel someplace. They have a large enough breakfast menu that you can choose a different meal every time. They do great pancakes, eggs, and have lots of bread choices including sourdough. So we ate at 4 different Cracker Barrels. There IS one in Corpus Christi, but we chose not to go there.

Fairfield Inn - this was the first time we had tried this model in the Marriott conglomerate. We found the staff at this one to be very pleasant and helpful. The bathroom was good sized, but in one room there were glass doors in the shower-only, and the other room we had was a tub with a shower curtain. Both were the same room types, otherwise. The one on the second stay had the trash dumpster out our window - and they pick up the trash at 2 am. Ask us how we know. :-). We had to ask to be let into the fitness room on the first stay, and then the pool on the second stay, because they are monitoring how many people are in either one at the same time. (Marriott rules, not Texas', I think.). The pool, for being an indoor pool, was NOT heated. It was like ice so we didn't stay. The room was sparsely furnished - bed, small side tables, console for a desk and a piece of furniture that could hold your suitcase and still have drawers below it. However, that last piece got in the way of getting the luggage cart into the room. Oh, the room did have a nice nook with a small closet, refrigerator, coffee nook, etc. And this place DID have ice and vending, plus a laundromat that we would have used if we'd kept our same plans.

Trip Musings

This was our first "winter trip", but we were woefully unprepared. We'd left our heaviest jackets at home, which was a mistake. We were able to layer and stay warm enough in TX and on the way down, but we didn't know how weather would go on the way back. Our new packing list now includes winter clothing! Will we do another winter trip? You bet!

Our New Road Ride

One goal was to see about the handling of our new car on a long trip. We had to learn to load it. We learned stuff about the vehicle just doing that! Plus things like fuel mileage (22-28 highway mpg), cost of fuel. One thing that is nice about our car is that the fuel tank fills on the passenger side. That means shorter line at places like Sam's that generally are cheaper and have a lot of customers.

Enjoy These Photos from the Last Days

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My Blue Hawaiian at the Casino.

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The Casino, as we passed by it the next day. When on our southbound trip, we saw this and thought about Primm, NV - casinos right on the State Line there. This wasn't far from the OK/TX state line.


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When I see this sign now, I think, "We're almost home!" In reality, we still had another third of the day's mileage to go.

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Missouri is very welcoming on I-44 coming in from Oklahoma. The first two rest areas - one just inside State Line and the other around MM111 - have visitor information centers, and both are themed to old US 66. The sign says "Missouri Route 66" at the top.

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This is part of the theming at this rest area. There's also a children's play area right in front.

So this concludes the trip report for this short "shake down cruise" with our new road ride!