Today’s view of the neighborhood is the Chapel in the Dunes. On top of the highest dune in Port Aransas sits a tiny chapel. It was built in 1937 by Aline Carter who later became the Poet Laureate of Texas. It was in this chapel that Ms. Carter gave Bible lessons to the children of Port Aransas.

In the 1970’s Texas Artist John Cobb was inspired by Ms. Carter’s memory to paint the walls and ceiling of the chapel. His artistry along classic lines of the ancient biblical painters took over three years to finish.

So come with me on a tour.

We start with a long climb to the top of the dune

We see the chapel at the top

 

The woman to the right will give you an idea of the size of the chapel. Very tiny.

Inside there are several pews, and you can begin to see the result of John Cobb’s work. The altar in the center of scenes depicting the multiple religions of the world. You can also see that the floors made of pieces of granite cut in the Texas hill country and shipped to Port Aransas. The altar is solid marble.

 

As you enter the Chapel facing the altar the walls on the left depict scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible and the right from the new.

Here is a sample of the left wall showing Adam and Eve and other stories.

Here is the right. Although hard to see, New Testament events such as the coming of Christ are recreated.

Here is a shot of the back wall.  This is a summary of faith with Christ (in the center above the door) holding the keys to heaven (left) and hell (right).

 

The final shot is a thank you to our Docent Laura Davis for taking us on the tour.

 

 

This week I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of the signs people put on their houses. I have to give credit for this idea to my producer Molly.  In fact, the first photo is one in which she is very familiar. This particular sign is on a house  she did the interior design work. The owners picked up some advice that their home should be named after an animal. (Not form Molly)  An animal name is not an unique concept but the result took some finesse to work into the design scheme.

The next house label keeps the animal theme but seems to have a more tasteful way of display. (This is a house in my neighborhood, and you can see the effects of regulated signage)

The next four are in the downtown area.

All of them chose to go with something other than an animal name. (Unless there is something about Tiki we don’t know)

The next three continue the no animal theme.

I was quite glad to see someone had a happy place all their own. The next house took a cue from the first two and decided on an animal.

Wait. We need to see what inspired these guys to name their house the Orange Flamingo (besides too many mimosa’s)

Yup and you think this is a random stuff. The next series of photos are more or less unique kinds of labels for a residence.

I think the last one, “This is it!” says a lot.

Here are three more unique placgues.

Have to wonder about the canoe concept. I think “Blue” fits though.

This one made me laugh out loud.

I think these guys were in a hurry and had just come from a visit to Disneyland. (I’m sure Edward Scissor hands would like a few minutes with this one)

The final photo pretty much sums up the island experience.

I hope you enjoyed the view of the neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to make a run downtown yesterday, and as I was driving down the main street, I was struck by the number of sidewalk “sandwich board” signs there were. It also hit me that some them would make a pretty good post. So here is a sample of the signs that one can see in Port Aransas.

The first is for a restaurant. I have never eaten there, but the sign looks pretty inviting. It almost leads you to believe it is a free kitchen. (it’s not)

Then again maybe food is secondary.

This next one is curious

Glad it is not Henna by a monkey. Also, notice the left leg of the sign. Clearly, the artist is not a carpenter.

Another curiosity

Is Tropical Ice Cream different from let’s say Antarctic Ice Cream? Maybe not as hard.

Now for the sin factor

You can get it all here. (The lung doctor is up the street )

The next sign is a place where you can do pottery

I guess that is one way to sell the idea of working with a 1000 degree kiln

In Texas, we have a “Tax-Free” weekend where certain school supplies and clothes are state tax-free. The idea is to give parents a break on back to school items.

Unfortunately or fortunately silver jewelry is not on the list. (Nice try there retailer)

I like this one.

Has Eurythmics written all over it.

So that you don’t think all the signs are relatively culture-free here is one for our community theater.

The final sign is in the “if you can’t beat them join them,” category.

I hope you liked the sign tour.

Another big oil drilling rig has come to Port Aransas on Thursday for refitting.

This platform is the Noble Jim Day, and it has moved from the Gulf of Mexico to its mooring on Harbor Island in Port Aransas. The Nobel Jim Day is owned by the Nobel Corporation with offices in London and Sugarland, Texas. The unit is a semi-submersible and capable of operating in 12,000 feet of water and can drill to 37,000 feet. She was built in 1999 and retrofitted in 2010. She was primarily deployed in North America.

You can see in the background another rig The West Sirus that was parked back in July of 2015. This shot shows how the tug boats push and pull the deepwater drilling rig into place.

This photo is a shot of the rig nearing Harbor Island. It is now blocking the other apparatus from view. While the platform passed through the channel, all ferry-boat activity was halted.

Once the platform moved by the ferry-boat landing, the boats began running. You can see the long white ferries in the foreground beginning their crossing.

This photo shows the emergence of Harbor Island to the right as the big rig gets closer. Also, the ferries take on a frenzied appearance.

The final shot shows the big rig in its new home.