Entries this day: Port_Aransas

Port Aransas

9:24am Saturday 26 August 2000

Daytrip to Port Aransas

As I drove us into the parking lot of the grocery store, "do you need my help keeping you on track getting the right stuff in the store?"

Wende's all, "do *I* need your help? Do you want any input on what we get?"

"Naw I trust your opinion."

I pulled up to the front door.

"I'm not ready to get out yet!" Wende exclaimed, looking for a place to drop the stuff she was holding. "My shoes aren't even on yet."

"Wende, you're so particular."

Putting on her shoes, "Yes. And if you're just realizing this... welcome to reality."

"I'm just going to go park."

"No! I'm almost done putting on my shoes. Then you'd be in trouble the opposite way."

hahahah! I love Wende. I'd be in trouble the opposite way. That's so cute!!

She got out; I parked, grabbed my Handspring Visor and found Beastie Boys hello nasty CD! Yay Wende for packing it!!

At first I thought we had blown out her speakers; they were kinda vibrating. But I think actually they are just loose and shaking in their mounts. We probably just need to screw them in.

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10:14 am

We just took a picture of a teal convertable Mustang with a license plate that said 'KARINA'. We also just crossed the Brazos river.

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10:512

we saw cotton! we're having a fight about if it's trash or cotton. and about metyping while drivign.

10:59am

We just stopped by a big field of cotton. Gross images of slavery were going through my head: people being forced to pick cotton all day with no shade or anything and shaded assholes watching and whipping.

Anyway, it's pretty cool to me to see big cotton balls (Wende said they are called bolls in the fruit-thing) and it just is cotton. 100% natural cotton. wow!

11:55am

We're in Victoria getting gas at Exxon for $1.39 per gallon! It's an average of $1.53 per gallon in Houston. The best part about it is that I went to gasoline.priceline.com and tried to get it for $1.40 per gallon but my offer was not accepted.

12:11pm

We don't have a map and I remembered from talking to Bob to take 187 = 85, or 185=87, but they're not the same. Doh. Wende just asked.

2:36 pm

We got to zip across the *short* ferry crossing thing and only 20 cars per ferry could fit.

We made it to the beach! Even as we exited the ferry, we were pretty much lost and followed cars and got pushed around by a Right Lane Must Turn Right sign. Scrounging for change to get an umbrella. The sun is pretty scorching bright although it's only 89 degrees out according to Wende's truck's thermometer. Wende couldn't even flirt him into accepting a smaller deposit. I guess that's his job..

Woohoo we got an umbrella!!

6:13 pm

Well we found a spot not too far from Mr Umbrella Guy and planted our umbrella theres. We put on sunscreen in the air conditioned car since otherwise it was immediately sweating off. Ate tunafish sandwiches, then swam (I wanted to go deeper and Wende didn't want to get salt on her eyes) then I dug a big hole on the beach while Wende slept on a towel. Her stomach hurt; maybe from the tuna, (but my stomach is fine).

I started the hole with a teeny scoop with a plastic spoon. The spoon soon broke and I just dug with my hands. The sand here is much finer than at Galveston. I wonder why that is. I kept digging and digging and ended up sitting in this big gloppy hole of sand alternately full of water and gloppy sand-water. I slung glushous gloopy sandy splashes everywhere around me. Glooshed a layer of sand on my shoulders and back to keep them from getting burned. A few people commented and one woman asked what I was doing. "I'm trying to get all the water out of this hole!" She laughed, "I've got some bad news for you..."

As the hole caved into itself and I kept slinging gushy glooshes, I ended up in a hole about 10 inches deep and 3 feet in diameter. That's almost 6 cubic feet of sand!

We have returned the umbrella and are parked near the shower-house thing where Wende is taking a shower. Right at this moment I am watching 2 cars stuck in some soft sand: a white Camaro driven by a squealy blonde and a low-ish rider truck. A testosterone (she's a fake blonde) a testosterone filled young man with tall truck drove through quickly then wheeled around to push the low rider truck out. The Camaro has been pushed out with the help of several men. Now it appears that the big truck is even stuck and so there are two trucks in a row in the sand with 15 people around.

Here comes another low rider with hip hop bumping.. but he went around through the parking lot where many people have kept from getting stuck.

Toyota truck. parking lot

Dodge truck. parking lot

F150 pickup.. parking lot.

6:17 pm

They're still stuck. Easily 20 people standing around.

Oh my gosh a 3rd truck is now in front of the origninally stuck truck trying to pull them out.

jeep made it past them in the sand.

Wende's cellphone just rang but I couldn't find it in time.

3rd truck pulled the 1st truck out among some clapping.

Now 2nd truck is... stuck.. ah, no three guys is all it took to push him out.

clouds of sand being tossed up.

such fun on the beach. Ford F150 made it through.

Two Chevys made it through - one each direction.

Mitsubishi truck went around.

Now blonde and her friend are recovering her Camaro that was actually pushed backward out, so they still have to go back past. maybe she'll go around. She just exclaimed "party at our place!!" to her friend.

Toyota Tacoma made it through.

Blonde Camaro bumping music and she's using the parking lot. smart girl.

Red Chevy spinning his wheels determined not to get stuck.. he's stuck.

reversing spinning.. spinning sand spray

Toyota used the parking lot

red truck more sand more sping forwards now
backwards now spinning spinning spinning stopped. forward spinning spinning spinning he made it through.

Van sizing it up.. parking lot.

Mercedes... parking lot.

6:25 pm

Here comes cute Wende tiptoeing through the sand to keep it off her sandals.

6:47pm

Back at the ferry.

Hmm. They unloaded all the cars from 'our' ferry, then put the gate back down and didn't let us on. It seems to just be sitting there. Weird.

"Maybe they're out of gas," I jokingly offer.

"It's 7 o'clock, it's a shift change, they're like, forget you ugys we're going home," suggestes Wende.

6:50 pm

Now they're letting us on.

6:56 pm

Cool! we saw dolphins!!

6:59pm

Wende's stomach hurts so badly she's crying.

11:57pm

We're home.

We visited her grandfather "Paw Paw" at his lovely little homestead in Rockport. He built the house in 1974. I didn't see much, but we talked a bit and Wende felt sick. We had purchased Pepto Bismol, but it didn't seem to be helping yet.

Paw Paw has a large longhorn bull named Aggie. Nice. Aggie was born in 1993.

Drove drove drove while Wende tried to sleep. We got kinda lost on the way back; I turned properly onto 85 or 87 or whatever, and saw a sign "San Antonio 140 miles" So I turned around and took Hwy 35 north. I figured it would go (of all directions) north and hit 59. But no - it actually follows the coastline pretty closely. We took 35 to 71 and took that north to 59.

Before we got to 71, I stopped at a gas station for munchies and directions from two old men talking by their truck. They gave me great directions to 71 and 59. I second guessed them at one point and *almost* turned around thinking I had passed my exit.. just as I was about to turn around, I saw the overpass they said I would see just before 71. Perfect.

I made it pretty far (maybe all the way to 59 (at El Campo)) but soon thereafter I was getting sleepy and had to talk to Wende to stay awake. She was feeling somewhat better by then and listened to my stories and helped me stay awake all the way into Houston.

What a great trip!!

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