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Tuesday 5 July 1994: Another very hot and humid night - unfortunately
our air-conditioner was leaking due to high water-pressure so we couldn't use it. After
negotiating the freeways of San Antonio for an hour looking for a camera repair shop,
we decided not to visit the Spanish missions, and instead headed south on I-37
towards the sea, having lunch near a dam at Three Rivers, where we saw a
scissor-tailed flycatcher (a bird) but failed to photograph it. There was a park near the
dam, but admission was $5, which seemed rather a lot. Refuelled at Mathis, and
continued through Corpus Christi without stopping to the beach at
North Padre Island.
In the city, IS-37 was still a main
8-lane highway, but it gradually became narrower, crossing along the
J. F. Kennedy Causeway to the island and turning south along the line of
the sea front until, still without any major turn-off roads or junctions,
the road came out directly on the beach, beyond which a sandy track
continued for some 40 miles to the south. Naturally, most traffic ended
at the city limits - and we went only about a mile along the beach track.
In the afternoon the area was quite busy, but by early evening only a few
other RVs remained, and these were well separated. Camping on the beach is
free for up to two weeks, with only a nominal fee to enter the area, which
is a National Seashore Park. The sand was a little difficult to drive on
- away from the 'road' it was very soft and our vehicle felt rather unsteady
at times. As the sea level did not change much with the tides it was possible
to park only ten meters from the water without risk of submerging. Still,
we were told that cars often get stuck and indeed during the first night we
were the amused watchers of a rescue, which took over an hour.
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