Well, not today evidently!

However, I have petted a pelican before on one of our earlier vacations. You just have to approach them slowly, watching for that long beak, and carefully reach out and touch him softly on his back feathers. That’s how I did it anyway!

Today, however, this not camera shy guy was simply waiting for people who were fishing to toss him some bait to eat. When he saw I had nothing to offer, he turned and flew down to the water to fish for himself! I will try again! I was right next to him in this shot and he was unconcerned about my proximity to his.

We visited Fisherman’s Wharf, this fishing dock here where we saw the pelican, and checked out the menu prices at the newly built Grumbles restaurant. Comparable to Trout Street (one of our favorites) but we weren’t in the market for an expensive lunch. We had lunch at Waves coffee shop so we could have a delicious panini, and I could finally have a small gelato! Yummy! Another one of my favorites, Waves coffee shop serves all the favorite coffee combos, sandwiches, pastries, and gelato. It’s an eclectic little shop, with a gorgeous painted blackboard decorating the entire back wall. People love to come here for its spacious dining area where they can eat, relax, chew the fat, and enjoy the boho feel of the place. Oh, my gelato was a small cup with two flavors, honey cheesecake, and caramel white chocolate. Divine, I tell you! I love gelato because it’s not as heavy as ice cream and does not give me a stomach ache.

Those who know me and my story know that our first trip down here as newlyweds was rife with mistakes. Those who don’t, well trust me, we made it through and kept coming back year after year. This is the place we ended up staying in the end, it was reasonable back then and was within walking or bike riding distance of most everywhere we needed to go. It’s called Amelia’s Landing and sports decor in the aviation style.

Our ill-fated trip provided us with a story to tell our kids and memories that have lasted a lifetime. Everything that could go wrong did, and we learned many lessons from that first trip.

1. Always plan ahead.

2. Have your own credit card or plenty of cash.

3. Know your budget and stick with it.

4. Never try to ride a bike, 5 months pregnant in the heat of the summer unless you’re in top shape!

5. Book a place in advance!

6. Port Aransas is expensive, so plan accordingly.
7. Bring everything you think you might need. How naive we were to pack a suitcase and that’s all!

Now for the story:

We were flown down as a wedding gift from a friend of the family, so Dave assumed he’d be able to rent a car with his dad’s credit card. They would not take it. Or cash. It had to be a credit card in HIS name. Ugh! So we rented an island limo (basically a taxi) and he drove us from Corpus to the island. He thought where he dropped us off was close to town. It wasn’t. It was a few miles from town. We stayed at the Executive Keyes, a condo we could not afford more than one night. We were too far from town to walk to a restaurant, so we walked to the end of the street the condos were on and bought a microwave hot dog and stuff to make me a sandwich. Probably a couple of sodas too. Not knowing how we were going to get to town or where to go once we got there, I had the brilliant idea to rent bicycles. Wrong! Here we go, down 11th street, with our bags hanging from our handle bars, trying to follow it into town. It was probably 95 degrees and like I said, I was five months pregnant with our second child. A super nice guy in a pickup took mercy on us and let us ride in the back into town. What an angel! He dropped us right in fron of the Crazy Cajun where we decided we would have lunch. That lunch was history in the making, because it’s been a tradition ever since to go eat there at least once every trip. It was my first experience with a crawfish boil and I had no idea what to expect. So when they dumped all our food on the table, at first I was shocked, then surprised at how delicious everything was…once I learned how to shell a crawfish! What fun! How spicy and yummy they tasted to me, and the corn on the cob with the tasty sausage! I had no use for the boiled potatoes, and we’ve learned a lot about crawfish boils since then, but that was one of our best meals that trip. Next we pedaled ourself to Amelia’s. I don’t remember whether we just ended up there or we called ahead from our condo, but this was a much more affordable option. Then it rained, and rained. I thought the trip was over. Then the sun came out and we finally made it to the beach. But having no gear or protection from the sun, we probably didn’t stay long…I can’t remember. I do remember going to a bar once and knowing our next trip would be completely different. We came next time with friends, learned more about the island, and the next year we brought the boys. Having this as our first experience might have been the best thing that ever happened to us, because we fell in love with it and we learned something new or had a new experience every year!

Back to the present. I’ve been busy learning to make macramé holders for people with air plants. Here is my second one. I still need practice and I should have bought thicker twine, but this twine is good for jewelry and other projects. I’m so glad to have another craft I’d forgotten I knew from my former life. I’m also working on a sculpture and my mind is bursting with so many ideas for my rocks when I get that going!

I also found a new tasty beverage because we can’t find the brand of canned Palomas I was drinking, which was Cut Water. This one is by Two Chicks and it’s delicious, but a tiny bit sweeter. Other than margaritas, this is my new favorite beverage,

I love the feminine design too!

That’s it for today, but so far we are enjoying our casual pace, one of the benefits of staying somewhere for three months. Oh, and one more thing! I finally pulled the trigger and ordered an e-bike! More on that later…stay tuned!