Views of the Neighborhood – Oil Spill

November 5, 2017November 4, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 41 Comments

When it rains it pours they say. On October 19th a barge filled with crude oil had an explosion three miles off the Port Aransas coast. The picture above was taken by the Coast Guard. Before the fire and resultant leakage of oil were contained approximately 2000 barrels out of the 133,000 barrels on board leaked into the gulf. So three weeks after Hhurricane Harvey we also were challenged with oil on the beach. Sadly two of the eight crew members went missing, and only one body has been found. I did not report this sooner as there were other positive things to see in Port Aransas. My reason for publishing it now is the Texas Land and Cattle company responded quickly and got most of the oil picked up in a matter of days, so it ended quite well. Few sea creatures and birds were affected as well.

Here is a long-range shot of clean up crews working the beach.

It is interesting the way they draw circles around the oil and then shovel and rake it up.

The oil goes into plastic bags, This crew is working South.

A view to the North shows another crew working their way South as well.

A crew member picking up bags.

A view to the South again. The oil rides on the tide, and you can see in this shot the tide is high, so the oil is high on the beach.

This photo was taken yesterday, and you can see quarter-sized chunks of oil now solidified into tar.

Views of the Neighborhood – Halloween

October 29, 2017October 28, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 49 Comments

We had a cold front move in for Halloween. My photos this week show islanders bundled up like they are in Alaska. This weekend had two Halloween events pictured here. The first is the annual sand pumpkin carving event. The second is the Trunk or Treat event held in the park. I hope you like them.

The lifeguard was on duty even though it was fifty degrees.

A view of a professional rendering of pumpkins on the beach.

Kids and a mom carving the sand pumpkins.

A couple of youngsters getting started.

A different technique.

A boy and his dad.

Mom and Cowboy fan.

More reminders of how we feel.

The Cowboy fan agrees.

Old glory is never too far away these days. A reminder us of how fortunate we are to live here.

Now for the Trunk and Treat which took place in the late afternoon. You can tell by the long shadows.

Our department of Parks and Recreation is the best.

You can see how it works. Folks have their trunks full of goodies.

There are also freshly grilled hamburgers.

This couple had a well decorated golf cart.

Speaking of pirates.Nice crew.

A shot of children getting treats at a picnic shelter.

Some of the goodies.

A huge castle for jumping.

Little duckies with gift numbers.

The biggest bounce house on the planet.

Happy Halloween from the island.

Views of the Neighborhood – The Annual Old Town Parade

October 22, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 59 Comments

As you may know, Port Aransas was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. Each year there is a parade and festival honoring Port Aransas’ old town. In spite of Harvey and in spite of the devastation especially in old town, the parade and festival continued as usual. I hope you enjoy the photos.

This is a shot of the parade lining up to start

With two state troopers in the lead, we are off. The State Troopers who number about twenty have been an immense morale booster to the community. They can’t be thanked enough.

Two signs. The first says “Riders of the Storm and the second says “Tell Your Harvey Story,” and a link to do that.

This is a fire truck from Buda, a town near Austin.

A bunch of golf carts with Port A Proud signs.

A big float with the same message.

Here is a resident on a three-wheeler with signs that read, Port A Strong Port A Proud.

A float from Keep Port Aransas Beautiful.

The background has changed a little to show some kids getting candy thrown by the parade participants. A Mid Century Pontiac is very cool.

Some residents enjoying the parade and some children racing back to the spectator section with candy.

A day school float. A reminder that the Port Aransas schools are open again.

Photo of a good Samaritan getting candy for the children and the ARC turtle patrol in the background.

Here is a lovely Mid Century MG with a thumbs up driver.

A little boy goes after the candy.

Here is the poster announcing the Old Town Festival of which the parade was one item. I purposely did not crop out the backgrounds on the parade route. I think it was important to catch the spirit of the parade in spite of the surroundings. Hopefully, the photos did that. There were way too many to post all of them but maybe you got the flavor. A very uplifting event.

Views of the Neighborhood – Random Pics

October 15, 2017October 14, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 54 Comments

Today’s View of the Neighborhood is a collection of random photos taken while searching for something interesting to share. There are a couple of stories in these pictures, and I hope you enjoy them.

Views of the Neighborhood

Virginia’s by the Bay is one of the first restaurants to open after hurricane Harvey. Their sign says what a lot of people think.

The other side of their sign also says what a lot of Port Aransas people think.

Port Aransas lost all of the firetrucks and EMT equipment. Here is a photo of The Cleburne Texas truck doing duty in Port A.

Here is a truck from Abilene, Texas which is in the center of the state.

And the Fire Chief from Wichita Falls, Texas which is up near Oklahoma

This next series of photos are of boats that ended up as far away from water as possible. This one landed in a scrub pine outcropping.

Here is one in a shopping center.

Another boat is in the parking lot of a shopping center.

This one ended up at the end of a canal.

Signs are another interesting part of the Port Aransas scene. This one is simple and tells you the IGA is open.

A kind offer by the local Chiropractor. Most of the signs in Port A are handmade.

Here is an exception. The Pepsi company put some of these signs where Pepsi is sold.

Here is a sign I love. This sign pointed the way to the National Guard position where you could get Ice, water, and food. When you have none of these things, this sign was a welcome sight indeed. It is on its back because it is no longer needed.

While taking pictures I came upon my barber Mike’s new location. He has set up shop in a storage unit. I’m glad I found him.

I hope you liked the walk around today. Next week there are several activities which I will document.

Views of the Neighborhood – Bird Sanctuaries

October 8, 2017October 7, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 73 Comments

I originally made a pledge not to show the personal devastation here in Port Aransas. I am keeping that pledge but feel compelled to show some of the effects of Hurricane Harvey on our three bird sanctuaries. This is a side of a disaster one normally does not see. Also, this is a side of a disaster which by necessity becomes a secondary priority to recovery. The city has been making repeated pleas to the state and the federal government to release disaster funds to restore basic services. So far, other larger cities have been granted aid while Port Aransas continues to struggle. You can draw a comparison to the city wide damage from these views of the birding centers.

Road to the Alligator

Here is a photo that I took in the summer of the entrance to the Birding center

Here is what is left of the boardwalk

Here is a closer shot of the observation tower

I took this shot of the pier at Charle’s Pasture this summer.

Here is all that remains.

This sign shows the power of the wind

This is a photo looking back toward the pier. You can see the sidewalk is missing.

Paradise Pond

Here is a chalkboard picture I took a while ago at Paradise Pond.

A lone message remains.

Paridise Pond

I also took a picture of the beautiful pond teaming with life.

The way the pond is after the salt water incursion.

Paradise Pond

A previous picture of the Paradise Pond woods and attempts to save a tree taken before the hurricane.

Now all the trees are in danger.

I never got a photo of the new walkway at Paradise Pond but here is what it looks like today.

As you can imagine there is still a lot to do. Thanks for taking this tour. I know it wasn’t very pleasant but if anyone asks, tell them Port Aransas needs some attention from the government.

Views of the Neighborhood – Saying Goodbye

October 1, 2017September 30, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

Tony Amos

Tony Amos rescuing an Atlantic Bottle Nosed Dolphin.

On September 4th, 2017 Tony Amos at eighty years young left this Earth for another of God’s assignments.

To quote the Corpus Christi Caller Sun-Times, “Amos, who was born and raised in England, began his life’s work of rescuing and rehabilitating sick, stranded and injured sea turtles, marine mammals and birds began in 1979 after the Ixtoc I oil spill in the Bay of Campeche.

He arrived in the Coastal Bend shortly before the spill after accepting a job as an oceanographer at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.

Since then his rescue work included endangered Kemp’s Ridley turtles, piping plovers, red knots, brown pelicans and, at times, bald eagles. He came into contact with more than 5,000 sea turtles and more than 15,000 birds.”

Here is a shot of Tony releasing a Green Turtle

Tony Amos

A picture of Tony at his last auction. He held an auction each year of off the beach finds to raise money for the Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARC)

Yesterday Port Aransas said goodbye to Tony in the most fitting way possible. His remains were carried out to sea by one of his beloved turtles from the beach named after him.

Tony Amos

Here is the sign honoring Tony.

A lot of people gathered.

Tony’s ashes were sprinkled on the turtles back, and the turtle aimed toward the sea.

As if Tony was cheering him on, the turtle went toward the water.

Getting closer.

A final plunge and we said goodbye to the rehabilitated turtle and Tony

I think Tony enjoyed the whole thing. It was his kind of event

The sunset put a beautiful finish on the memorial.

Views of the Neighborhood – Community Spirit

September 24, 2017September 23, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 87 Comments

Continuing with my thoughts on maintaining a positive focus regarding Hurricane Harvey, I am featuring three separate groups who have set up relief points in town. All the goods in these relief locations are donations from kind folks outside of Port Aransas. These contributions have made a difference in helping folks through a very tough time.

Community spirit

Our first stop is the Recovery Supply Depot at Robert’s Point Park

Here residents can find almost anything in cleaning supplies, hardware, and food. Bear in mind the local grocery store just opened this week with a very limited supply.

This shot will give you an idea of the magnitude of the donations. There are even wheelchairs available.

I loved this shot since it shows bikes, shovels and rakes.

When I took this picture a guy off camera asked,”Do you have any tarps?” The answer was, “Sure do. What size?”

Port Aransas spirit

The next relief point is Cowboy Camp David. A place run by volunteers offering free food, water, and hugs. The words across the Texas image on the right of the sign read “Texas Strong.”

Water is very important and is available here.

The volunteers are setting up for lunch

The local churches were hard hit so Camp David is the point to gather for worship.

Cooking under a pop-up.

Two things every Texan loves. Bar-b-que and the Texas flag.

This relief point is the Harvey Help Center and is located in the ruins of the Laughing Horse Motel. There are bins of cleaning supplies, food, and clothes. (The Fritos looked especially good)

Here is a shot of the women who run this relief spot. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and desire to help those in need.

Views of the Neighborhood – Harvey Update

September 17, 2017September 16, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 67 Comments

I started out to capture the after photos of some of the places that I have featured on my blog. As you’ll recall, almost all of the photos shown were colorful and full of fun. After taking a number of the after shots, I simply stopped. Seeing these places as they appear now doesn’t capture the spirit of our town. The photos depict loss and sadness and are difficult to view. These are places of business and people’s homes and as such very personal spaces. I do not feel comfortable with an invasion of those private moments of challenge that a photo would represent.

Sadness is not what is left of Port Aransas. We still have the spirit to rebuild. I’m going to wait until the new, colorful, and fun Port A emerges. I’ll tell that story when available.

In the meantime, I will focus on the best we have to offer.

The Poly Anna

Here is a shot of the shrimp boat Polly Anna. The owners John and Molly rode out the storm and were able to bring her back home. She flies her flag proudly.

Texas Flag

Over the destruction in the marina flies the symbol of the spirit of our town and state. The flag stands for hope and the promise each of us must make not to give up.

Thank you for reading.

Views of the Neighborhood

September 10, 2017September 10, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 74 Comments

We are so happy to finally be able to go back to our home in Port Aransas. The water, electricity, and sewer are all functional. None of the repairs have started, but the house is livable. We need to say goodbye to Austin

This first picture is of the State Capital building in Austin

The spirit of Texas is reflected in the inlay of the floor directly below the dome. You can see the inlay pays homage to the five countries who at one time ruled the Republic of Texas. Counter clockwise from the top left is Spain, Next is France, next to Mexico, which is next to the Confederate States of America, and finally The United States of America.

The dome is directly above

Here is a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Alamo.

A photo of the downtown from Mount Bonnell which is the highest point in the city.

We cannot leave Austin without paying homage to its weirdness. The photo below shows a group on a pub crawl which is a mechanical device that all the participants need to pedal.

Austin and Port Aransas

So now a photo of the dawn over the Gulf in Port Aransas taken on Saturday morning.

Another shot taken Saturday

I will be able to show you some before and after shots of the community. It is still too soon, and people do not need me taking up space shooting photos around town while they are trying to restore their lives.

We all need to remember those who are in the path of Irma. Thank you for joining me, and it feels good to be home.

Views of the Neighborhood – Austin

September 3, 2017September 2, 2017 ~ John W. Howell ~ 62 Comments

Since we are still in Austin and looks like we will be for another week at least, this edition of Viewscomes from where we are since the views of Port Aransas are not very pretty.

Views of the Neighborhood

Here is a shot of the capital building taken from 5th Avenue and Lamar which is close to where we are staying.

Lucy and Bailey are used to a morning walk on the beach so if you don’t mind here is a pictorial of our morning walk in Austin. This is a shot of the city looking East back over our shoulders.