Scouting Mission

The weather forecast was a little Michigan-like with the highs in the mid 40's and rain so we decided to head up the coast to Corpus Christi to check out some of the rv resorts in that area. Our stay in Alamo is scheduled to end in a couple of weeks so what better time to find out a little something of our next planned stop. I say planned stop as we thought we'd make a stop in this area to soak up a little of Padre Island, Port Aransas atmosphere before heading on east to Florida. After reading a number of the slick rv park advertising brochures we were excited to see for ourselves what was available.

We arrived in the southwest area of Corpus Christi and were surprised a little by its size. Lots of freeways and shopping areas. We headed to the first park only to drive into the Naval Air Station by mistake. I kinda of got distracted as one of the new Marine Osprey VTO aircraft was landing and it was interesting to see it in person. Anyway, the corporal at the gate got us turned in the right direction and we quickly found the first park. Oceanside, pool, WiFi and all the am entities the brochure said...well I suppose that could be the case but one look told us I wouldn't park a dump truck in this place. Muddy streets, trailers and rv's older than some of jokes I tell, and all packed in there like sardines. Scratch this one off the list. We headed north to several that were nearer the city and made another discovery. Corpus Christi is a oil refining town in a big way. Cracking towers and miles of piping made up much of the nearby skyline. Plumes of billowing smoke of unknown materials filled the sky and some strange odors permeated the air. We arrived at the next park only to find it, like the other not quite as advertised. Not only was is down wind of the refinery but next to an aging cemetery. In addition is was poorly maintained and had far too many 'vintage' unkempt rv's to suit me. Not that I'm getting snooty but there was more mold and moss on some of these units than you see on a trip through the Everglades.

And so it went...park after park in poor condition and greatly over promoted in the brochures. To make matter worst, several of the places even had good ratings in the national rating books. We moved on to Port Aransas and found it a little too remote and then on to Rockport. We did find a modern, well kept park there but in the end decided that it was too remote. Maybe we're to accustomed to nearby malls and other places to visit but this area was just not getting it for us. The only highlight of the trip was an ocean side restaurant where we enjoyed one of the finest shrimp dinners we've ever had. If we had only had been there on Wednesday night as it was 'all-you-could-eat' shrimp night for only $11.99. Great place for seafood with a great view of the bay... a nice ending for a crummy day of park hunting. But we're sure glad we looked before booking ... something we don't usually get a chance to do. It was getting late and we had a three hour trip ahead so we headed back knowing that we had to make some decisions soon as where our next camp will be.