Going to the beach!

I hate to admit this - I've lived in Corpus Christi since Jan 2006, and I've never been to the real beach. I've gone to the man-made ones downtown or along the shore by the bay, but not the REAL deal. Not enough time, always have stuff to do, working to get ahead, going out of town, it never seems to end. BUT, this weekend, I went. JP made a special request, so I had to say yes. The beach wasn't at its best as Dolly purged just about every bit of seaweed (which, for you non-scientist types, is NOT a plant) up on the shore. That meant a lot of stuff stuck in the seaweed. No matter, we went for a 2 hour walk along the shoreline and had a blast. Saw some VERY cool birds including this Great Blue Heron.
Here's a close-up:
Others included lots of Caspian terns: Long-billed curlews: Short-billed dowitchers: Lots and lots of laughing gulls and ring-billed gulls, some pelicans that made my day, and birds that I cannot yet identify. I'm learning more about shore birds since coming here -- I was raised as an academic on forest/hardwood trees and associated songbirds and riparian habitat birds of Central Texas, so this is a whole new 'bird menu' for me. I researched eastern screech owls for five years in central Texas...they don't mingle with shore birds much. So, I'm learning....

Following our walk we went to a favorite seafood place - seating is outside at Snoopys and is next to a pier located right on the inter coastal canal: It's so relaxing to watch the sailboats come and go, the pelicans looking for a free handout as the deep sea fisherman come in, and drinking a cold beer with your freshly caught shrimp. Also located right next door is Scoopy's! -- yummy ice cream! Awesome -- a little sunburn, full tummies and I finally made it to the beach. It was so fun, and I'm thankful for JP's insistence on taking time off from cell phones and work and computers. It was a great day! It won't be so long before I return -- already making plans to bring Audrey!