Corpus Christi

We spent our second day in Texas in Corpus Christi. Our first stop was the USS Lexington, which is an aircraft carrier. Paul and Oliver spent longer on the vessel than the rest of us. Ian, Nadia, and I wanted to have more time at the Texas State Aquarium. We enjoyed a dolphin show at 11:00 and a shark talk at 11:30. We had to pay full price ($50!) for one of the kids, but the rest of us got in 50% off. At every attraction thus far, Oliver has qualified for the kids' rate, but that will come to an end in August when he turns 13. A few places have had a "teen" rate, which means Ian and Nadia's tickets have been more than Oliver's but less than an adult's ticket. Paul received a senior discount at Vermilionville. It was the first time in his life he qualified for the senior discount.

We ate PBJ sandwiches and such in the van while we drove to Padre Island. Part of the island is a National Seashore. The kids began their junior ranger booklets, but they wanted to finish them later and receive the badges by mail. We enjoyed Malaquite Beach. We would have had to pay to check bags on our flights to New Orleans because we cancelled our American Airlines credit cards. To avoid that fee we each have one small suitcase that be a carry-on. That meant we didn't bring any gear for the beach aside from bathing suits and sunscreen. Although we tried to apply the sunscreen liberally, we still managed to get some sunburn. Hopefully we'll do a better job in Hawaii in August. 

When I was reading the Dear Bob and Sue books, I learned that the Homewood Suites offered a free dinner to their guests. We've taken advantage of many free breakfasts over the years, but I had no idea a free dinner might be possible. Doing more research, I discovered that Homewood Suites has really cut back on that since the time those books were published, but I discovered that Drury hotels still offer a free meal from 5:30-7:00 pm. We had never stayed at a Drury before. For this trip I booked us to stay at a Drury for two nights in San Antonio and one night in Phoenix. Because we had a 2.5-hour drive from the beach to our hotel, we were going to be eating dinner closer to 7:00, which is very late for us. So, we stopped for small Frosties at Wendy's (used the rest of the gift card we used for lunch on the first day) to tide us over. I have to say I'm impressed with Drury! I would definitely stay at one of these again if it was available and at a reasonable price. They offer a very nice breakfast, free dinner from 5:30-7:00, up to three free alcoholic beverages per night (Paul and I passed on that last night), and free popcorn and sodas from 4-8 pm. Oliver swam the first night of our trip. The second night the pool was closed. The third night the pool was open but looked utterly disgusting so Paul wouldn't let Oliver get in. The fourth night we arrived at the hotel too late to have time to swim before bed. Even though he had been swimming at the beach that afternoon, Oliver went swimming at the Drury pool last night after taking a shower in our room to completely get the sand off. What they offer for dinner varies from night to night. I really enjoyed the chicken fajitas last night.

This region of the US has been experiencing warmer than usual temperatures. It's been in the low 90's just about every day so far. I brought an umbrella in my suitcase, but it hasn't rained at all so far. The gas prices have generally been at least 50 cents cheaper per gallon that what we were paying in Pennsylvania when we left. So far, the only place we've encountered toll roads was in Houston on Saturday. I'm not sure yet if I made the right choice when we rented the minivan. We only had to scratch one thing from our itinerary so far, which was the San Antonio the Saga light show that we planned to see at the at the San Fernando Cathedral last night. After being presented for 10 years, they are taking a break while they upgrade their equipment.