A Four-Day, 65-Mile Walk
Along the Texas Coast
Texas Monthly Magazine,
by
David Courtney*
Original Article
Posted By: StormCnter,
7/24/2020 6:24:09 AM
I wasn’t born on the Texas coast, but as the old saying goes, I got there as fast as I could. I come from Temple originally, landlocked deep in the state’s interior. We didn’t lack for watery recreation in Central Texas, where there are plentiful creeks, rivers, and lakes, all of which we regularly availed ourselves of. But there was, of course, neither a sandy beach nor a Gulf of Mexico in sight.
That seashoreless existence came to an end when I was about four years old. In 1970, my dad, a hardworking Temple attorney active in civic affairs who had earned an occasional respite, purchased a small beachside unit
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Paperpuncher 7/24/2020 8:11:02 AM (No. 488909)
Sounds like you had a very nice childhood.
3 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
StormCnter 7/24/2020 8:24:46 AM (No. 488924)
When we had teenaged kids, we frequently camped on North Padre. It was a great experience for all of us.
2 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Jen103143 7/24/2020 8:43:06 AM (No. 488954)
I was pulled into this story easily...and stayed with it until the end. It was soothing, and strangely interesting as I realize how deprived I have felt for good, clean stories in this time of pandemics and civil unrest. Hopefully, enough of us honest-to-goodness Americans will realize how the media has worn us out mentally with a constant barrage of propaganda, and will seek to dry up the fountains of filth!
9 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
HotRod 7/24/2020 8:55:34 AM (No. 488970)
As a kid, I lived in Corpus Christi in the mid 1950s. Padre Island was a wonderful place to go (except for the tar balls.) In 1955 and '56 there wasn't much out there except a fishing pier, which IIRC was named the John Hall Pier, and the Red Dot bait stand. We drove our car down the beach, almost to the King Ranch property. We shot our guns out there. We fished from a boat at night in Laguna Madre.
I haven't been back in years, but I suppose its all condos, hotels, and tourist facilities now. There aren't many unspoiled beaches any more, except those not suitable for tourist development.
3 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
GO3 7/24/2020 8:56:03 AM (No. 488972)
My wife and I grew up around water be it pools, lakes, and oceans though in different parts of the country. This story struck home with very similar memories. North Padre would not be my first choice though. It doesn't take an off shore well to blow to still have oily globs on the beach and I've never seen the water anything other than murky. South Padre is my preferred spot. Cleaner water, organized waves, and better beaches. It's raucous only during certain times of the year. Our fondest memories are of SPI and the beaches of Coronado, CA.
3 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Proud Texan 7/24/2020 9:14:01 AM (No. 489000)
I will have to read the rest of the article later - it sounds interesting seeing what other posters wrote. I live in central Texas. Most creeks go dry most of the year, especially in summer, and the wild hogs are everywhere and guess where they congregate, and urinate and defecate. You don't want to do much playing in that.
Another thing, the David Courtney I know wouldn't be caught dead writhing for the liberal Texas Monthly.
2 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Proud Texan 7/24/2020 9:14:43 AM (No. 489001)
Writing, not writhing. Of course, he wouldn't do that either.
3 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
texaspast 7/24/2020 9:22:53 AM (No. 489010)
Interesting read, but I'm surprised at the poor editing. Texas Monthly is liberal, of course, but they still have some great articles. This writer repeats himself several times - it looks like he moved a few sentences to different places in the article, but forgot to delete them from their original spot. That's one of the downsides of writing on a computer and using copy and paste.
3 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Skinnydip 7/24/2020 10:12:45 AM (No. 489058)
#8, I noticed that too and I suspect that they may be sidebars that didn’t convert well to the computer version. Of course, I’d rather blame it on ill-educated liberal editors.
1 person likes this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Geoman 7/24/2020 12:57:23 PM (No. 489266)
Thanks OP, for posting what is sadly a rare diversion from the bad "news" of 2020. What the author evidently feels about Padre Island, I tend to feel about the Big Bend country. I was raised on military bases near some of our country's great coastal areas, so the mountains and being able to look upon great distances have always held a special appeal. Our country and our memories of growing up in it are too precious to lose without a hair, teeth, and eyeball fight that I'd walk 65 miles to join.
1 person likes this.
This story brings back my own memories of family vacations to Port Aransas near Corpus Christi as a kid during this same time period. He’s right about the brown water, Mexican trash floating in the waves and sharks swimming right offshore, but I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Now the sunburns on the other hand....
1 person likes this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Penney 7/24/2020 2:55:29 PM (No. 489437)
Texas is, '' a whole 'mother country,'' and we loved living there in South Texas! There is so much variety to explore there with fine people throughout. May it always be such a wonderful place!
1 person likes this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Penney 7/24/2020 2:57:13 PM (No. 489439)
'' a whole 'nother,' country try!'
0 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "StormCnter"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Comments:
Note: Although the date is March, the article appears in the August, 2020, issue.