Karen Gales Youngson: Aransas Pass

After three days at 'home' we are ready to do a little exploring. We head south out of town towards Aransas Pass following roads that take us back and forth to waterways, docks, boat launches and piers. It is the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend and there are a lot of people out fishing everywhere. It's very similar to the Grand Isle area with such a diversity of marine industry and recreation.

I had heard of the Intracoastal waterway that follows the eastern coast from Norfolk Virginia to southern Florida. I didn't know until now that it was man made. The portion that runs from Florida along the Gulf coast to Brownsville Texas was developed by The Corps of Engineers in the first half of the 1900's. It's construction was accelerated by the discovery of oil in the Gulf. It provides a safe inside passage for support ships to the oil rig platforms. It is also a gateway for the Gulf fishing industry and extensively used by recreational fishers.

A woman fishing from shore as a push barge moves by on its way to one of the industry sites like Kiewet or Gulf Marine.

It is hard to get oriented with so much water around us. At one point we watched power boats fishing alongside kayaks and then there was a man standing in waders fishing. The water is so shallow in places that even the egrets and the herons can walk through.

Bait and seafood shops abound. We stopped at a few to check out what's available. In this shop we had a good talk with the woman, getting a lot of local information. When she heard we were planning to take the ferry over to Port Aransas she advised us against it today as it is the last day of the weekend and all the visitors will be trying to get off the island on the 3 - 25 car ferrys. She said we wouldn't have any problem getting over there but could have a long wait getting back. We will do that trip on a week day another time.

It is enjoyable to be around water and we fantasize about a winter here with a boat. RV or boat?....there's always something to contemplate and we will definitely give this area a thorough researching over the next month or two.