Spent the 4th in Port Aransas

Stephen took a vacation/holiday day off on the 4th...so we decided earlier in the week that we would go drive down and check out the Texas coast. It's only about 3 hours south. We love to celebrate the 4th in Huntington Beach, CA and since we couldn't be there this year we decided why not spend it at another beach! It's really nice having the luxury of Stephen's Hertz rental car and free gas. Road trips seem much more less costly because of it. We stopped at the Corpus Christi international airport to fill up on gas...it's a small airport and their Hertz location was very outdated and small. I swear the single gas pump they had was one made in the 70's!

After we filled up on gas we drove up the coast to head to Port Aransas island. We drove over a very big bridge and had a great view of the USS Lexington. It had some planes and helicopters on it's deck. It was really cool to see!

Not realizing Port Aransas can only be reached by taking a ferry boat across we got stuck in the holiday traffic and line of cars waiting to go across. It made our 3 hour drive a 4 hour one, but it was worth it.

Madeline kept asking "are we at the beach yet?", she finally got tuckered out when we were waiting in line for the ferry. Oh and we brought Penny Lane along with us, she was really good in the car - didn't whine unlike the kids. :)

The ferry ride.

Finally we made it across on the ferry. Palm trees, seagulls, pelicans and beautiful ocean water...we've made it to the beach!

Texas beaches are way different than California ones. I actually prefer the sand better here, it's real fine and soft like dune sand. And didn't know what to expect with the water. We saw the water near Galveston when we visited Houston, and it was pretty brown and yucky looking. But here it was blue and green...and the temp, was like tropical Hawaiian waters probably 78 degrees...we loved it!

James has always been hesitant about swimming in the water, especially if it's cool water. But he LOVED this beach.

Penny of course dug it too. She swam in the shallow surf. Ran from the little waves that chased her. And happily sat next to me when I lounged in my beach chair on the shore.

Stephen enjoyed his cold beers while walking Penny around and watching the kids splash in the water.

Of course Penny got plenty of attention by other beach goers. Asking what sort of breed she was and commenting on how cute she is. Even a few dog lovers pet her and let her lick them with a doggy kiss!

The kids probably spent 4-5 hours straight splashing around in the water. Stephen and I would take turns taking them out where they could jump up and down in the waves. James wouldn't stop giggling even after a few waves caught him in the face.

Madeline did a lot of rolling around in the surf. I could hear her talking and singing playing pretend. Something I remember doing at her age.

There was tons of people there...lots of college kids but lots of families too. A lot of people put up tents and flew their kites. It's nice because here in Texas you drive up right on the sand...so you don't have far to walk and find a spot.

This is how I spent most of the day, digging my feet in the sand as the warm water would come up with each wave. I enjoyed watching Madeline and James have such an enjoyable afternoon.

Madeline likes to get buried in the sand. Ya lets just say lots of sand in the crotch of her swimsuit! LOL. Penny was curious as was James. After she sat there for awhile we video taped her breaking out...

Check out Penny Lane in the back ground! :)

All in all we had a very fun 4th. This may become our new 4th of July tradition if we can't get back home to HB.