North Padre Island

Rockport is just a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico. However, at this point, in the Gulf of Mexico there is a long barrier island between the Texas coast and the Gulf. Padre Island runs for miles along the coast. We are across a narrow channel from North Padre Island. We decided to explore the area. The only way to get to the island is to take an auto ferry. There are actually a number of small ferries that shuttle traffic across a narrow channel. It's a shipping channel as well. As we were returning, we had to wait for the barge you see in the picture to cross in front of us. As auto ferries go, these are quite small. When we were returning, we were the fifth vehicle to load on the right side of the center/pilot house. The barge canted noticeably to our side. The next vehicle to load was a semi. The ferry came back to level very quickly! The picture that shows the name of a ferry was taken from the window of our pickup as we approached the shore on the land side.

North Padre Island is quickly being developed as a retirement/resort area. There are new retirement housing units that range from very expensive ($275,000 for a LOT on a canal) to high rise condos to RV parks not unlike the one we're in. The picture of the tree was taken along a street in a neighborhood with million dollar-plus homes.