beaches and Austin (Center, Port Aransas, South Padre Island: to live, castle, things to do)

[TheHarvester]

Yeah, I had an amazing childhood. I had no idea how exceptional my situation was when I was only a child. It's been an eye-opener to live in Texas after growing up in one of the most privileged, comfortable, elitist places on Earth. Now I feel like a Texan and I feel awkward in Santa Barbara. I visit there a lot because of friends and family, and they can see the changes in me. I'm the "redneck" of the family now, I'm the guy with the ratty clothes and long hair and libertarian ideals. But I've still got plenty of elitism left in me and I can annoy the heck out of anyone with very little effort. See my posts in this thread, for example.

[malarkey]

Originally Posted by TheHarvester

I just want to inform you about how different it is here, trying not to bias this. My experience of camping on the beach in Texas was at Mustang Island (Corpus Christi area), and it was Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe I was there at a bad time, but I would have KILLED to be on an Oregon beach instead.

Uh, not at Thanksgiving you wouldn't. Everything would be drenched and COLD instead of drenched and warm! We stay in a cabin every year, with a wood burning fireplace to take off the chill after those beach walks. Camping at the Oregon coast is risky even during the summer. Beautiful yes, but camping weather? Rarely in summer, never in winter.

[Trainwreck20]

Yeah, I had an amazing childhood. I had no idea how exceptional my situation was when I was only a child.

It is kind of funny, but, no kidding, I was thinking the same thing about my childhood growing up in the woods south of Houston (when there were woods south of Houston). We spent may summer days playing in the woods along Clear Creek, hunting snakes and catching frogs. Don't know what my parents were thinking - my friends and I were all younger than 10 - but it sures makes for a fun time. In retrospect, my total unconcern for bugs and snakes has a basis, at least .

[jwb123]

Like, I said, we stayed in Port A - just a few miles up the roard from Mustang Island and it was a very nice beach. Nice sand, warm water - and there were waves... not the kind I grew up with as a kid, when we lived in Hawaii - but I didn't see a real difference in "beach and ocean quality" in Port A, to the beaches of the east coast, that I grew up with as a teen (Ocean City, Rehobeth, Dewey, VA Beach).

We are looking forward to going back and camping at Mustang Island State Park.

Being quite familiar with WA state beaches (Yearly trips to Long Beach and Ocean Park, WA) the gulf & Port A has it, hands down. I have never been to Oregon Beaches outside of Seaside... (I think it's called), but the WA state beaches I have been to are not particularly scenic, nor beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, and really - rarely are they even worth a visit. To windy and chilly right down on the waterfront, and weather always risky...

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

...I was thinking the same thing about my childhood growing up in the woods south of Houston (when there were woods south of Houston). We spent may summer days playing in the woods along Clear Creek, hunting snakes and catching frogs. Don't know what my parents were thinking - my friends and I were all younger than 10...

I really miss the safer, less-crowded, less-materialistic times of the past. Now I understand why every older person in every generation misses "the good old days." Your childhood sounds wonderful, and you probably didn't think twice about the humidity because it's what you knew, it was simply "the way things are." Sometimes it's best not to know all your options, otherwise you can get caught up in making comparisons instead of finding the beauty of the place where you are. Which brings me to:

Originally Posted by Jenbar

...we stayed in Port A - just a few miles up the roard from Mustang Island and it was a very nice beach. Nice sand, warm water - and there were waves... not the kind I grew up with as a kid, when we lived in Hawaii...

Anyone who can go from Hawaii to the Gulf Coast and still find the best of where they are earns my highest respect! I need to get into that frame of mind, and I think you just convinced me to give it another try instead of obstinately sticking to my one bad memory of trying to camp on the sand during an extremely humid windy Thanksgiving weekend. What I really need to do is LEARN about the place first, because I went there not knowing anything about how to do it, where to go, what to look for, etc. Obviously I missed a lot of the beauty because I was too caught up in my stupid comparisons between California and Texas. You guys are opening my mind... even though you have to use the Jaws Of Life to pry the thing open when it comes to Texas beaches.

[Trainwreck20]

Personally, I think I am too 'old' and wise to go camping on the beaches anymore, at least in the summer. I did a stint down in Galveston a few years ago, and I used to go walking or bike riding along the sea wall. Some days were fine, but other I would be SOAKED from the wind within a few minutes. You're right, though, as a child I never remember being hot or thinking "it is humid". It is also probably why I think Austin is pretty low humidity .

What I do like about Tx beaches is that they are so 'old school' beach...more of island time than party time (most of the year, anyway). There is a little motel right off the beach in Port A that has around a dozen tiny rooms and a little open-air 'diner' on the end of the building. Breakfast at the diner after a long night of hanging out at the beach or late night poker on the deck is one of my favorites. The waitresses look like they have been on the coast for pretty much their whole life (feel sorry for their skin, though) and are definitely not the college crowd wait staff around Austin.

Now I gotta go find the name of that place....

[malarkey]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Being quite familiar with WA state beaches (Yearly trips to Long Beach and Ocean Park, WA) the gulf & Port A has it, hands down. I have never been to Oregon Beaches outside of Seaside... (I think it's called), but the WA state beaches I have been to are not particularly scenic, nor beautiful by any stretch of the imagination...

No, the Washington coast isn't particularly beautiful. I do love Long Beach though. The real beauty is to be found around Cannon Beach and points south of there. It's truly stunning and why we always make the effort of the 4 hour drive...Hug Point, Oregon Coast - VR Panoramas (http://virtualguidebooks.com/Oregon/OregonCoast/HugPoint/HugPoint_TOC.html - broken link)

Originally Posted by TheHarvester

...otherwise you can get caught up in making comparisons instead of finding the beauty of the place where you are.

That's it really, isn't it? It doesn't just apply to landscape, it applies to everything. One of my bugaboos is comparing myself and my position in life with my Queen Anne neighbors who are sitting on million dollar properties and are stay-at-home wives with no kids or all the MS people I know who are retired and lead lives of leisure, simply because they were in the right place at the right time, not because they are smarter than me or better/harder workers than I am. It's really a nasty habit because I'll never be happy as long as I do those comparisons.

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Personally, I think I am too 'old' and wise to go camping on the beaches anymore, at least in the summer...

LOL I'm too old to go camping anymore period. In reality, I never was much of a camper. I like my soft bed, electricity and running water, thank you very much.

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

What I do like about Tx beaches is that they are so 'old school' beach...There is a little motel right off the beach in Port A that has around a dozen tiny rooms and a little open-air 'diner' on the end of the building....Now I gotta go find the name of that place....

See, I would love that. Places that seem to be locked in another time. It has a certain charm and it is unquestionably Americana at its finest. Lemme know when you find the name!

[jwb123]

MS people I know who are retired and lead lives of leisure, simply because they were in the right place at the right time,

Totally know what you mean there.... and truly, that's really all it is in regard to all those tech millionaires in the Seattle area. If my husband had got into the industry just 2 years earlier....

Bah. Let it go and move to Austin.

[Trainwreck20]

Okay, I found it, and their website is pretty lame, which seems appropriate .

BEACH LODGE, PORT ARANSAS, MUSTANG ISLAND, TEXAS

Yahoo reviews:
Beach Lodge on Yahoo! Local

[TheHarvester]

re: comparisons

Originally Posted by malarkey

That's it really, isn't it? It doesn't just apply to landscape, it applies to everything. One of my bugaboos is comparing myself and my position in life with my Queen Anne neighbors

This is a controversial topic politically because every sociological study demonstrates that people evaluate themselves in comparison to others. The ultimate conclusion is obvious: inequality is the root of a majority of social problems. When desperately impoverished people have to look at well-lit mansions looming over them, or take a bus to Master's mansion to clean their bathrooms, or stand behind the coffee counter listening to people gripe because their half-decaf mocha latte frappecino is in the wrong sized cup, it leads to class warfare.

Politics are a verboten topic on this forum so I cannot say anything more. I will only say that comparisons are the root of many psychological and social problems, and inequality is much worse than most Americans believe it to be. Reducing inequality reduces crime and other social ills. It's really quite simple if people pay attention to the causes of social problems instead of focusing on the symptoms. OK, done said too much, I zip my lip now.