We left the storage area on Wednesday, April 18th heading south for Port Aransas. It was a beautiful day ... sunny with little wind. The drive shadows the coast down Texas Route 35 and you pass through Alvin, Bay City and Palacious on the scenic route. Much of the southern part of the 200+ mile trip passes through coastal wetlands which are teeming with birds and small critters. The interesting portion of the trip includes a free ferry ride across the intercoastal waterway at Port Aransas. It is a fascinating experience watching the very capable crew that directs you onto and off the ferry. It is doubly awsome that they easily deal with a 41' motorhome towing a car which adds about twenty more feet! We joined our rally group of ten rigs at the Pioneer RV Resort, a very large and well equipped, destination on Mustang Island which is near Corpus Christi.
We spent Wednesday traveling and getting set up on the campground. Several other rigs came in early and we all went out to Kiko's for a seafood dinner and returned for some games, TV, etc. Thursday was the arrival day for the rest of our group and some spent the day visiting the Sandfest site as they prepared for the construction of the sand sculpures that the fest is famous for. You can visit their web site at: http://www.texassandfest.com/. That evening, after a social hour, we grilled our meat of choice and brought other "stuff" to share; fellowship and games followed.
Friday was the beginning of the "fest" ... the sculpurers began their tasks which are timed - they have two days to complete their project whether it is a solo or dual effort. Sadly, we had some storms that evening and much of their efforts were damaged by the wind and rain; but, they were back at it bright and early on Saturday. The pictures you see below were taken on Saturday afternoon and show some of the exhibits partially completed.They should post the 2012 winners on the web site at some future date. An estimated crowd of 100,000 folks attend the fest each year.
AND THEN ......... on Saturday night, after a very yummy shrimp boil (shrimp, potatoes, sausage and corn on the cob) prepared by our hosts, we had BIKINI CONTEST! Here are the very shapely and sexy contestants:
Under great pressure the judge, whose spouse was in the "lineup". was unable to select a winner and had to designate ALL of the contestants to be winners.
We drove home on Sunday after "Caring and Sharing" ... such a great weekend with some super fellowship and ,of course and as always, very good food.
