Port Isabel, Texas

Since we are located fairly close to the Gulf of Mexico, we have been anxious to get in some beach time.  However, since we knew that my sister Julia also enjoys the beach a lot, we waited until she visited us before driving over to South Padre Island.  Unfortunately, Saturday was not the best of days for such a trip.  It started out overcast, but still fairly warm.  While waiting to board a dolphin boat we did experience a brief shower.  In the long run, however, we had a great day.  The dolphin docks are at the base of the Queen Isabel Causeway, which links the town of Port Isabel to South Padre Island.  In the former town is Old Point Isabel Lighthouse, and it was at the top of that lighthouse where I took a picture of the causeway and harbor.

Old Point Isabel Lighthouse has been a well-known landmark since it was built in1852 on the grounds of a military depot.  It has survived war damage, coastal storms and years of abandonment.  It was a strategic prize for Confederate and Federal Troops during the Civil War.  Its light once projected 15 miles out into the Bazos Santiago Harbor.  That light was extinguished during the Civil War, as well as from 1885-95.  Its usefulness was forever ended in 1905.  The white house in the foreground of the picture above was once the home of the lighthouse keeper.

As I mentioned earlier in this posting, while in Port Isabel we took a dolphin boat tour.  While we were waiting at the Dolphin Docks for our boat to come in, a deep sea fishing boat arrived.  One of its passengers emptied her bucket of fish on a wooden table, which is provided on the docks to clean fish.  The brown pelicans and sea gulls seemed to know what was going to happen next!  We witnessed quite a feeding frenzy when the lady threw her fish scraps into the harbor.  I will write about our dolphin boat tour in my next posting.  We were fortunate to see many dolphins on that boat ride.