Enjoying Corpus Christi Texas!

Well, it hasn’t taken long for me to feel “behind” in my blog postings😊 Suffice it to say that it’s because we’ve been busy with site seeing, hiking, fishing and almost anything outside other than sitting at a computer. We had a nice Christmas with Anita’s niece Kassi and her family in Louisiana. There was lots of good food and good company. John’s parents, Lorraine and Otis, and John’s brother Phil were there too. Later in the day Mike (Missy’s son), his wife Jessica and their kids joined the festivities. They sent us off with lots of leftovers, which we enjoyed for days after😊

Before Christmas day, we had gone out to dinner in Toledo Town TX with friends we made in the Toledo Bend LA (Fort Polk) Army Rec Center campground. John and Dawn are a nice couple from Michigan and Lonnie is from Oklahoma.

Lonnie, John, Dawn, Anita, Steve Dec 23, 2022

We drove to Corpus Christi Texas on Dec 27, 2022. It’s been nice being in a campground in “civilization”. Toledo Bend felt somewhat isolated, which was good at first, but we were both ready to move on when our month there was over. NAS Corpus Christi has a nice campground and the base is close to lots of restaurants, stores, bait shops, fishing piers, and churches. We’re very happy here.

From Corpus Christi, we’re able to take day trips to see sites we’re interested in. One week we went to Port Aransas, Mustang Island, North and South Padre Island for the day.

In Port Aransas we checked out local fishing charter companies. We decided to book a fishing trip with Deep Sea Headquarters. Our hope was to go on Steve’s birthday, Jan 14th, so we put our names in for any day they needed two more to fill a boat. We got to go on Steve’s birthday and boy what a beautiful day it was! It was a 12-hour trip which was about 3.5 hours getting out, 5 hours of fishing, and 3.5 hours getting back. Steve and I limited out (4 red snappers) early in the day and then we were hooking more for others on the boat to reel in. In Texas, if we had reeled them in, we couldn’t just give them to someone who didn’t have any fish yet. They had to actually reel them in. The red snappers were a lot of fun to catch! If we had not limited out so early and caught some toward the end of the day, we might have brought home including an 18 lb red snapper! Anita hooked it, but gave the rod to another guy on the boat to reel in.

Steve & Anita with the boat's catch (4 red snapper per person was the limit)

Boat we caught all the fish from

One week, we took a day trip to the King Ranch in Kingsville TX. That was an interesting place. It’s an operating ranch, raising prize winning longhorns, Santa Gertrudis breeds. From their website, the history goes: In 1853, Captain Richard King purchased a creek-fed oasis in the Wild Horse Desert of South Texas, sparking generations of integrity, preservation, and innovation. King now covers 825,000 acres—more land than the state of Rhode Island. Over the course of over 160 years, King Ranch led some of the first cattle drives, developed the Santa Gertrudis and Santa Cruz breeds of cattle, bred the finest Quarter Horses, and produced champion Thoroughbreds—all under its iconic Running W® brand. Today’s King Ranch is a major agribusiness with interests in cattle ranching, farming (citrus, cotton, grain, sugar cane, and turfgrass), luxury retail goods, and recreational hunting. King Ranch continues to foster a culture of uncompromising quality, stewardship, and authenticity—a true testament to Captain King’s integrity and commitment to the land.

What Anita was most intrigued with from the tour and history, was that Richard King was only 12 years old when he ran away and stowed away on a steamboat ship, only to be found and told he had to either work or be tossed overboard. He loved working on the water and eventually became captain of his own ship and that’s how he made his money to start buying land. The other thing that we learned is that the King Ranch Ford Truck got its “brand” of the running W from the King Ranch in Texas. Now when we see those trucks, we’re reminded of Richard King😊

King Ranch Logo with its "Running W" which is seen on King Ranch Ford trucks

Another day in January, we went to San Antonio for the day. We started out wanting to see the Alamo and the River Walk, but we learned of other sites to see at the Visitor Center. By 5pm when most of the sites closed, we had visited the Alamo, Buckhorn Saloon, San Fernando Cathedral, San Jose Mission, San Juan Mission and Espada Mission; and we had had lunch outside on the Riverwalk.

The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum is the oldest saloon in Texas. Its walls are filled with mounts of antlers, horns, and animals of all kind. The history on their website says the saloon was opened in 1881.

Steve in front of Buck Horn Saloon

We learned a lot about the Alamo while we were there. Anita and Steve basically knew little to nothing about the Alamo, but were amazed to learn about its history as a Spanish Catholic mission church turned fort in the 1700’s.

Flags of those who defended the Alamo

The San Fernando Cathedral’s website says: San Fernando Cathedral has always been at the center of San Antonio. It is a special place that occupies a unique role in this city and the many visitors who come by the thousands every year. San Fernando Cathedral was founded on March 9, 1731 by a group of 15 families who came from the Canary Islands at the invitation of King Phillip V of Spain and is the oldest, continuously functioning religious community in the State of Texas. This church was planned to be at the center of life in this city. The Cathedral building has the added distinction of being the oldest standing church building in Texas, and for all of its more than 281 years, has been serving the people of the Archdiocese and San Antonio. For almost 95 years, San Fernando served as the church for all of the religious denominations of San Antonio as the Catholic Church was the only recognized religion of the Spanish and Mexican governments prior to Texas' independence. San Fernando has become more than the geographic center; it has become an ecumenical, cultural, civic, and service center of unity and harmony for all the God-loving people of San Antonio and beyond. San Fernando serves as a refuge for many of the poor in this area who come for help and trust their needs will be met. As the first church in the city, San Fernando has a rich history of responding to the people's needs in and around the church. Over 5,000 participate at weekend Masses each week of the year. Over 900 baptisms, 100 weddings, 100 funerals, and countless other services are performed each year. Symphonies, concerts, and television specials are but a few of the special events held in the cathedral regularly. Hundreds of people enter the church daily to pray, visit, light a candle, or follow various devotional traditions. Tour buses arrive constantly. Each person is a part of the story of this magnificent place and a tribute to its enduring presence as the spiritual center of San Antonio—truly the heart of San Antonio!

San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio TX

Mission San Juan website says: Originally founded in 1716 in eastern Texas, Mission San Juan was transferred in 1731 to its present location. In 1756, the stone church, a friary, and a granary were completed. A larger church was begun, but was abandoned when half complete, the result of population decline. San Juan was a self-sustaining community. Within the compound, Indian artisans produced iron tools, cloth, and prepared hides. Orchards and gardens outside the walls provided melons, pumpkins, grapes, and peppers. Beyond the mission complex Indian farmers cultivated maize (corn), beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and sugar cane in irrigated fields. Over 20 miles southeast of Mission San Juan was Rancho de Pataguilla, which, in 1762, reported 3,500 sheep and nearly as many cattle. These products helped support not only the San Antonio missions, but also the local settlements and presiding garrisons in the area. By the mid 1700s, San Juan, with its rich farm and pasture lands, was a regional supplier of agricultural produce. With its surplus, San Juan established a trade network stretching east to Louisiana and south to Coahuila, Mexico. This thriving economy helped the mission to survive epidemics and Indian attacks in its final years.

Mission San Juan

Mission San Jose website says: In 1720, Fray Antonio Margil de jesus founded what became the best known of the Texas Missions, San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo. Viewed as a model of Mission organization, Mission San Jose was a major social center. The unique architecture of its church and the richness of its fields and pastures led visitors to comment on its beauty. The size of the complex bears witness to San Jose’s reputation as the “Queen of the Missions”. Mission San Jose was moved twice from its original site until it was finally built at its present location, set back from the temperamental river to a place on a small rise. At this time, it entered into a period of great achievement. Mission San Jose became the showplace of the Southwest. The present church of Mission San Jose was begun in 1758 with the cornerstone laid by Governor Don Hugo Oconor and Gaspar Jose Solis, a Franciscan inspector. It was not completed until 1782 but became “the most beautiful church along the entire frontier of New Spain”.

Mission San Jose San Antonio TX

Mission Espada wasn’t open when we visited, and their website doesn’t give its history, but Wikipedia has a little about Mission San Francisco de la Espada (also Mission Espada). It is a Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio, Texas, in what was then known as northern New Spain. The mission was built in order to convert local Native Americans to Christianity and solidify Spanish territorial claims in the New World against encroachment from France.

Mission Espada San Antonio TX

Steve and Anita were both amazed that masses are still held every week at these mission churches built in the 1700’s. Also, that originally community members included Indians along with the Spaniards. We’re both enjoying learning new things about history.

On Jan 7th, Steve and Anita attended mass at the Corpus Christi Cathedral. The students of the Catholic school there put on a performance for the last Sunday of Christmas. After mass we at at a seafood restaurant downtown called "Landry's". It reminded Anita of a restaurant by the same in from her home town of Lafayette, LA. Turned out to a chain or restaurants now, with the first restaurant having opened in Lafayette, LA. That was fun to learn!

Corpus Christi Cathedral 7 Jan 2023

7 Jan 2023

Corpus Christi Cathedra 7 Jan 2023