Tag: Port Aransas

Views of the Neighborhood – Holiday Parade

~ John W. Howell ~ 62 Comments

This week started the holiday season here in Port Aransas. Like everything else we do here, it was kicked off with a parade. The parade started about a half mile from the community center and ended there with hot cocoa, popcorn, cookies, coffee, and a visit by Santa. The evening was capped with live music and the lighting of the holiday tree. I apologize for the quality of the parade photos. The darkness fell and I really should have had a tripod. I think you can catch the spirit.

Holiday Party

The Community center is ready for the Holiday festivities.

The elves are putting out the cookies.

Frosty is waiting to greet everyone.

Frosty’s brother is here too.

The parade and activities were sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The tree is waiting to be lighted.

The parade is starting

EMS is here.

A decorated golf cart.

A golf cart with red running lights.

A classic 1948 MG.

The lifeguards are here with a Santa float.

The real Santa on a hook and ladder.

One of Port A’s finest.

Views of the Neighborhood – Recovery

~ John W. Howell ~ 65 Comments

Today on Views of the Neighborhood I want to give you a glimpse of a few of the merchants who are still not in their buildings but who have decided to start on the road to recovery their own way. Most businesses in Port Aransas lost their buildings. A few have decided to open with some temporary accommodations. I hope you enjoy the view.

The United States Post Office is up and running in temporary buildings on the original site but opposite the damaged building.

Ace Hardware pulled in a trailer and several Pods and now supply basic hardware items. The original store is behind the trailer and being worked on.

Coffee Waves

Coffee Waves is our local version of Starbucks. It is still not ready for use.

But you can still get a coffee in the parking lot. Their trailer is up and running.

My bank is open in a temporary trailer which is in front of the bank building.

The design Center is open for consultations. Their branch in Corpus Christi has the inventory.

Billy Joes is open with a food trailer. Billy Joe served free Thanksgiving meals on thanksgiving Day out of this trailer.

The Fly It Port A kite store is selling their kites on the front parking lot of the store. The store itself is under renovation.

Cherished Blogfest – One Photo – #CBF17

~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

Cherished Blogfest

The Cherished Blogfest is an annual blogfest where we share something we cherish in a blog post. This blogfest began in 2015, and well over 100 people came together to share words, photos, poetry, and thoughts about a cherished item. Many of us established new blog friendships, which continue to this day.

I took a photo which I published on one of my Views of the Neighborhood feature which is now a cherished item. It captures the spirit of our city, Port Aransas hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. No more words are needed.

Texas Flag

Views of the Neighborhood – Fence Art

~ John W. Howell ~ 62 Comments

Driving around Port Aransas I generally see things that I want to photograph. This week the producer insisted we record some of them. This post is called fence art for reasons you’ll see in a moment.

Fence Art - Port Aransas

I know you can’t see this very well from this distance but I wanted to give you a perspective. This is a fence adorned with items the homeowner picked up off the beach

Fence Art - Port Aransas

A little bit closer will give you a better idea.

Even closer shows you the objects and the weathered wood. Crocks anyone?

Here is a simple decoration made out of floats

I thought this gate had the look of an old jail. I also like the diving gull on the left. (it is not real)

Here is a fence made out of galvanized steel with some fish painted on the surface.

A closer look.

This is a small digression. In the old days there used to be a thing called air mail. This mailbox is about twenty feet in the air.

Fence art has to included fishing nets.

And big ole pieces of rope.

This is at the end of a cul-de-sac. I’m not sure this one would qualify as art, but I just imagined that it was put here after the first drunk ran through the fence behind.

I hope you liked the little tour of some of the fence art here in Port Aransas

Views of the Neighborhood – Art Center

~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

This week is the first Friday that the new Art Center is open. It was a grand gathering with wine and finger foods. How about we walk around together.

Art Center

The Art Center is now finished. Here is the parking lot.

This is a shot of the OPEN sign showing the cars in the reflection.

Here is a look from the front door.

An alcove with lots of jewelry

An artist who does lovely paintings of local animals.

Another view of the interior

Music was provided by Jack Grant, Arnold Govella, Bill Averbach and more.

A shot of another alcove

There are also ceramics (Hard to shoot against a window)

List of the patrons.

I thought the cocktail tables in the shape of pallets were cute

Another photo of ceramics.

This is Amy Sullivan who was juried and awarded a Merit Show Artist designation.

Her winning entry is the fish on the right.

This airplane painting is beautiful.

Had to get a shot of the wine bar and servers.

This chandelier at the front is stunning in person. I hope you enjoyed our evening at the art center.

Views of the Neighborhood – Charlie’s Pasture

~ John W. Howell ~ 60 Comments

Today we are visiting The Port Aransas Nature Preserve which encompasses 1,217 acres in an area formerly known as Charlie’s Pasture. The area was named after early resident Charlie Bujan who allowed the locals to graze their cattle on his property. The Port Aransas Nature Preserve includes nearly 3 miles of crushed granite hike and bike trails and boardwalks over the algal flats. Amenities include the pavilion, sheltered overlooks, picnic tables and restrooms.

Birders look for waterfowl (Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Cinnamon Teal), grebes (Least included), heron and egrets, cormorants, shorebirds (such as Black-necked Stilt), and flaming pink Roseate Spoonbills.

So here is a view of Charlie’s Pasture. Hope you like it.

Charlie Pasture

The entrance.

Charlie's Pasture

A long view of the pavilion.

Information about the preserve is on the post.

A view looking back from the information post. Notice the Farley boat and retired oil derricks.

Closer view of the pavilion with water behind.

Swallow nest in the rafter of the pavilion

A view of one of the hiking trails from the pavilion

Closer shot of the warning sign. Yes, snakes are here. Best to wear boots.

Shot of the water located on the hiking trail

Going to the Charlie Fishing pier. Notice the receptacle for old fishing line.

A little closer view of the four oil derricks on Harbor Island. For those who have seen my Views posts before, the ferries (Which I have pictured often) Run to Harbor Island from Port Aransas and land to the right of the derricks. A sign regarding wakes reminds us that large freighters move through the Corpus Christi Channel.

A look back toward the shore from the fishing pier. Notice the houses in the background. They are permanent residences.

A shot of a fisherman and the Corpus Christi Channel channel.

A photo from the pier by the fisherman. This is looking North West. Charlie’s pasture is on the left.

Views of the Neighborhood – City Services

~ John W. Howell ~ 65 Comments

My producer and I were discussing the number of services that were available for residents of our city. We have a population of 3,300 and it is amazing the number of services available in Port Aransas. We decided to detail them here. We left off trash and brush collection as well as police and fire since those are available to most cities. We did not include those activities available exclusively to tourists too. I hope you enjoy a recap of those amenities available.

Port Aransas Services

This is our community theater.

The new art center (under construction)

The Museum

The Computer Center.

The weekly newspaper

Chamber of Commerce

Animal rescue

And since the Producer is also involved in Boxer rescue we have extra pictures of dogs…

And these adorable kittens. Our shelter is a no-kill shelter, so all the rescues have an opportunity for a new home.

The Library. (Which is expanding)

A wildlife refuge named Charlie’s Pasture. Here is the pavilion with bay water in the background

The Marine Science Institute

The public pool with new water slide.

Port A parks

Skate park

Port A pParks

Baseball fieldParidise Pond

Paradise Pond

Roberts Point Park

Robert’s Point Park

I.B.Magee Park

I.B. Magee Beach Park

The Birding Center

Marina

The marina

The airport.

Views of the Neighborhood – Deep Sea Tournament

~ John W. Howell ~ 63 Comments

Deep Sea Roundup

 

Last week the 82nd Port Aransas Boatman Deep Sea Fishing Tournament took place. There are three divisions, Bay/Surf, Deep Sea, and fly fishing. Anglers competed for two days, and winners were announced on Sunday.

The Deep Sea Roundup began in 1932 as the Tarpon Roundup and has grown from a handful of Port Aransas fishing and hunting guides pitting their skills against one another to the largest family fishing tournament on the Texas Gulf Coast.  The Roundup attracts fisherpersons of all ages and skill levels.  Deep Sea Roundup draws over 800 contestants annually. Here are few pictures to give you an idea of the activities.

Deep Sea Roundup

This is the central pavilion where fisherman can take a break.

A family posing for a picture as they dock

A nice Wahoo

The news team from Corpus were there.

Here the news team interviews the guy with the Wahoo

One boat’s catch

A shot of the tote board will give you an idea of the number of fish groups.

The game warden team were there as well.

A volunteer helps with a tuna.

This is the official length measure spot.

This boat is powered by 1050 horsepower.

The volunteers pose for a photo.

A boat with a couple nice Red Snappers. The volunteer takes the name of the angler and the boat. The fish are then taken to weigh- in. In the right foreground, you can see the elbow of a volunteer and tail of a fish on the way to weigh -in and measure.

Wind sock champ

This is a shot of the winner of the wind sock division.

Hope you enjoyed the Tournament.

Views of the Neighborhood

~ John W. Howell ~ 71 Comments

Yesterday was a big day in Port Aransas. There were two main events taking place. The first is the annual dog surfing contest. The second is the deep-sea fishing tournament. This week I will feature the dog surfing contest and next week will be the deep-sea fishing contest.

The dog surfing contest is put on to benefit the local dog rescue group in Port Aransas.

The first photo will take you back to the 60’s. The VW micro mini bus is the source of the sounds of the event.

Port Aransas Dog Surfing Contest

Here is a shot of a contestant waiting for the under 25-pound class.

Here are a couple of lightweights cruising in on a wave

Finally made it to the beach

Some spectators were there with their humans

Waiting for the above 25-Pound class

He is up and riding

Rode it all the way.

I think he may be in trouble

Yup need to take that big step.

Now the champ catches the curl

Steady as she goes.

Dog surfing

And a great finish

The Texas Surf Camp was in session while the dog surfing was in progress.

Views of the Neighborhood – Pole Vaulting

~ John W. Howell ~ 52 Comments

Yes, the headline is correct. Every year Port Aransas host a major pole vaulting event. Pole vaulters come from all over Texas to spend two days here testing their skills. The event draws college athletes as well as Olympic team members. The whole idea is for the students and athletes to get together and participate in some wholesome, friendly rivalry. This event took place yesterday, and I was certainly glad I went. I hope you enjoy it.

This first photo gives you an idea of the track and the contestants lining up. Also, you can see the number of poles at the ready

Pole Vaulting in Port Aransas

Here is a shot of one of the two tracks being used. This also gives you an idea of the spectator base.

This shot was interesting to me since it shows how high the bar is in relation to the size of the athlete. She is just talking off.

Here is a different athlete going over the bar

And then the long way down.

In this shot, you can see a contestant getting ready for her vault.

Pole Vaulting in Port Aransas

This young person is an Olympian.

Her starting run shows how every muscle in her body becomes employed.

Here is a shot of the bar.

On the second track, the bar was a little lower. Here an athlete makes it over

Back to the big bar. Here is an athlete who gets tangled in the bar. It is designed, so the athlete does not get tangled.

Of course, the Hot Dog Lady would not miss this event.

I like this next shot because it shows the pole vaulting equivalent to the soccer mom. It takes a trailer to cart those poles.

I love this shot since it shows all these young people getting ready to vault. You can never doubt the future with a picture like this showing their interest.

Here is a final shot of the venue which is one of Port Aransas’ parks

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By the time you read this, I will be on my way overseas. If my response is delayed it is because I have run into a WiFi dead spot. Otherwise, I will have pretty good connections today.