Mustang Island beach camping! Written By Jami 09/05/2007 click for full size 
Writeup by Eduardo
Camping at Mustang Island State Park over the long Labor Day weekend was great! There was a lil’ bit of everything: sunny most of the time, a few showers in the late evening/early am (while we slept comfortably in our tents), tons of food, spending some leisure time with great friends, and boat lots of just plain outdoor fun!! While the threat of bad weather & other last minute conflicts kept some potential attendees home safe & sound, Eduardo was on a mission and braved the Armageddon weather advisories and torrential rains along the way from Houston and was the first one to arrive (via Ferry @ Port Aransas) to our Gulf of Mexico destination on Friday afternoon to secure a “good” beach camp location. Once in Mustang Island, the skies were partly cloudy and there were rains all around the area but not a drop on sight as the first tent and shade canopy went up just as the sun was finally peeking through the clouds to warm up the rest of Friday afternoon. Soon after the sun had disappeared in the horizon, Chris & Jami joined the joyous lone ranger, who immediately started making arrangements for the first bbq of the weekend (and there were several!). Putting up a new tent (and a great big red & white one it was!) in the dark is no picnic but with Jami’s skillful talents for reading instructions and managing the process, Chris & Eduardo were able to follow Jami’s lead & set the new tent up correctly. Great success! The first evening included enjoying some delicious fajita meat, sausage, hot dogs, delicious Greek pasta salad prepared by Jami & telling stories about something (forgot already!) Saturday morning was a glorious day (cool & partly cloudy early and gradually warming as the morning progressed) although it started a bit earlier than what Eduardo would have liked it (as he always says, “not a morning person doesn’t even BEGIN to cover it!”), which resulted in his tent generating some barely understood growls. Kathy & Jessica joined the 3 amigos a bit shortly after lunch time (which included fabulous pork ribs, chips & some more of Jami’s Greek pasta salad). The afternoon was spent going in and out of the water, Jessica did great on her first “ocean” (although it’s technically just a gulf) experience and was not initially impressed with the weird faint smell emanating from the oil rigs & platforms located at a distance from the park’s shore. Kathy also helped convince Jessica that the fish that could be seen swimming nearby were really not going to eat her alive! That provided for some cheap entertainment, at least for those of us watching, hehe! Once the sun set, the bbq pit got started and dinner consisted of beef fajitas, chicken, sausage & hot dogs (just for Chris, since he likes them so much!) supplemented with Jami’s famous bean salad. After dinner and while Jessica read a few books, the 4 musketeers went for one last swim in the dark and dangerous Gulf of Mexico waters one last time before calling it a night. On Sunday, the group was joined by Alex, Tim and his dog friend Orpheus at about mid morning. Although we had just had finished breakfast, preparations immediately went underway for an improvised (but delicious) bbq lunch including, you’ve guessed it (ha!), more meat & sausages, yay! Tim seemed to enjoy the long walk along the beach with Orpheus while Alex stayed behind chatted away with the group back in camp. A brief mid afternoon shower forced most in the group to huddle under the canopy, while Eduardo tried his luck fishing, but the rain only lasted a few minutes before the sun came out again, which prompted Jami to start a day-time campfire for all to enjoy. A bit before sunset, Alex, Jessica & Tim (& don’t forget Orpheus) decided to call it a day and head back to civilization in San Antonio for another scheduled MiSA event. Sunday evening the remaining crew (Kathy, Jami, Chris & Eduardo) enjoyed yet another round of bbq (I reckon everyone must have gained at least 5 pounds each from eating so much meat, hehe! yeah!) with appropriate “refreshments” to wash all that meat down. On Monday, we took our sweet time to start packing the tents & canopy up, gather our things and start heading out of the park. The group stopped at Chili’s in Corpus for our farewell lunch and then headed northeast back to Houston (Eduardo) and northwest to San Antonio (Chris, Kathy & Jami). Thank you to everyone that came to the camp and to those that thought about it but couldn’t. It was a fantastic time that I definitely want to repeat in the very near future! Cheers! Pictures can be found here! |
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Comments |
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 Kathy |
Lets do it again! The coast trip was wonderful! It was great to just relax. With the company of good friends, who cares about a little rain. Eduardo's BBQ was excellent as was Jami's pasta salad. I'd like to thank everyone for making my first camping trip so enjoyable. Those were my 1st campfire smores! Anyway, I look forward to going again. I'm definitely looking into getting my own tent. |
 Chris |
Heh This was the best weekend I've had in a long time.. with the exception of one other one.. Eduardo's BBQ'ing skills are without equal!! DAMN mosquitos!! |
 Jessica |
So relaxing! I wanted to say thank you for the chance to completely relax and get away from it all! Even the cooking! You and Kathy took care of soooo much; the next time I go camping, even if in Michigan, I am dragging you two with me! It was a very enjoyable event and I look forward to more! Thanks Jami! |