Loaded up and ready to hit the road - from Lake Hefner, OKC (our favorite hang spot at home)
Corpus Christi - Padre & Mustang Islands
If you actually know me, you know how fluid I am and how plans can change at the last minute, and actually.. most of the time the “plans” are just ideas without any concrete commitments anyway. This trip was no different. My son finished up his summer basketball league, I completed a photo shoot the day after, and with two weeks ahead without any real commitments, we launched! On the day of the first Lion’s Gate Portal (8/8), we loaded up the Jeep and headed south to do some tent camping. We just weren’t sure how far south we’d be going.
I had three different campgrounds in mind within a 30-40 mile radius in central Texas, and figured we’d snag whichever one was still available. Ya girl has ADHD though and I don’t always think about allll the necessary details. I’d forgotten how unusual it is to find a reservable campsite online so last minute, especially going into the weekend, since we’ve been camping primarily during the week over recent years. All three campgrounds I’d had in mind were booked up through the weekend! I discovered this not long into our trip, but was pretty unphased. Texas has 89 state parks…I was sure we’d find something to suit us. HA! Of the several, and I mean several campgrounds I searched, I couldn’t find any sites that were available for the days we were looking that weren’t dispersed camping with no water or restrooms (no thanks..not with kids).
So..along we went, further and further south. About three hours into the trip, with the kids asleep completely unknowing, I (or Source, rather) decided on Corpus Christi. We have relatives there and I’d been a few times before but not since I was a teenager. I knew that the beaches are pretty clean and the water is clear. Mustang Island State Park had some available campsites with electric if we decided we wanted that, or we could camp on the beach for free with admission to the park. Corpus had already been an idea of mine, but I didn’t intend to go until October when it wouldn’t be so hot. Buuut I brought my big portable battery and our portable AC, and I knew the kids would be stoked about the beach..so I thought “why not?”. This simple question governs a lot of my travel choices and I think it makes traveling with me so much more adventurous (disastrous if you ask my family), but I guess that’s all up to perception.
When we got there we drove right onto the beach. It was dark and the kids were still asleep, but they woke up pretty quickly to the sounds of crashing waves. We rolled the windows down and sat in tranquility for maybe two good minutes before realizing we had no less than twenty mosquitoes in the car. Huh uh! I’m not proud of what happened next, so I won’t go into detail, but after handling the situation we pretty quickly decided on a hotel for the night. Shoutout to Priceline and the sweet front desk clerk.. we actually ended up getting two nights for the price of one. Not in the original plan, but again…we’re fluuuid baaabyyy.
We were on the beach for the better part of three days, swimming, building sand castles, finding shells, taking fun photos and observing the aquatic life. We spent the first couple nights in the hotel then a couple nights camping on a much less mosquitoey beach at Mustang Island State Park. We ate lots of fruit and got allll the sun, swimming at sunrise and again at sunset, breaking only now and then to eat or take a drive and cool off.
The locals seem to like fishing a LOT, so I imagine if that’s your thing.. you may like to visit the area with your gear. We heard some cool stories about big catches near Flour Bluff/Laguna Madre. We didn’t get out and visit the Navy ship, visit local shops or eat at any cool restaurants, as we tend to opt for easy, close to nature, and budget-friendly when I’m the only adult along (which is usually)… but the Salty K laundromat on Padre Island def gets a five-star rating for vibes and cleanliness!
Most scenic sunrise view I've ever experienced from my tent window - Mustand Island State Park
I’m describing the adventure in pretty surface level terms, but it wouldn’t be very Rambling Hippie of me if I didn’t get at least a liiittle deep. Well that’s easy to do because aside from the obvious excitement and relaxation of the ocean waves and beach time, it was absolutely magical. I know...it’s Texas…Dirty Third Coast.. That probably doesn’t sound magical to everyone, but from start to finish this trip was exactly what my two littles and I needed after a big move and life transition.
Spirit led us to the perfect place, aligned special people with special messages for us while there, and even hooked us up with a free night at the hotel. Three times while there, GPS took us for big detours..for no apparent reason, leading us in perfect counterclockwise circles around entire neighborhoods and even a loop around the core of the city. This was grid healing work. I know grid work is part of the reason I’ve always felt called to travel, but I didn’t expect to be led in the way I was on this trip. From the route we took to get there and all of the signs along the way, to the stunning synchronicities while there, and even on the way back - our higher selves did their thang.
Sunrise swim and beach play
We stretched by the beach at sunrise, meditating to the sounds of the ocean waves and talked about how grateful we are for life and the magic of the moments we were experiencing. We swam while gazing at the golden light reflecting off of each others faces. We held tiny hermit crabs, followed sea snails until they disappeared into the sand, and I got to watch my son and daughter marvel at nature in a way I hadn’t seen in a while. Netflix and YouTube were forgotten, and the arguing between siblings went away for a while as they played and danced and splashed. Even in the heat of the day…sticky, hot, sandy…we were all content.
It felt like liberation. I’m looking forward to a lot more of that.
photo gallery
The first half of this set was taken with my DSLR, the rest are straight off the iPhone.
