We spent the weekend in Corpus Christi, and returned home via Aransas Pass, Rockport, Fulton, and Holiday Beach.
Things are improved, but changed. There are still a lot of houses and buildings with tarps on their roofs and Tyvek wrap instead of bricks, wood, or stucco. There are a couple of new businesses, but these are accented by vacant lots, or lots with slabs of concrete where old businesses or homes used to be. Some with small piles of rubble in the corner of the lot.
The owners of our old home are still doing repairs. There is an outhouse in the front yard for the workers, and heavy equipment parked around the house. I'm glad to see they are still serious about putting that 97 year old home back together.
This was Shrimporee weekend in Aransas Pass. The town had to put in a lot of work to move all of the trash and equipment off of the fairgrounds in order to put on this 70 year tradition, but they seemed to have done a good job. One of the park and ride places is the parking lot of the old high school (where 3Reds & I went). The school is in sad shape, with repairs still needed. A good reminder to all of the visitors that Aransas Pass is still on the mend.
Passing through Rockport I was surprised to see there were a lot fewer trees. Rockport has a strong building code designed to protect the area's Live Oak trees. When big businesses, like WalMart want to come in and build a huge complex, they first have to meet with the tree committee. Usually, you cannot see the building behind the trees, and there will be live oaks in the parking lot that the store must landscape around. Enough trees and limbs were broken or blown away that you could clearly see the buildings.
Heading north on the coastal highway the barbed wire defining ranch land still has mattresses, pillows, other personal belongings and remnants of buildings hanging on them. The main power substation just north of Holiday Beach has not yet been rebuilt. It looked like balled up aluminum foil back in September. What is new are the utility poles running along the highway from another substation somewhere north of the area. All the new poles lined up perfectly make for an interesting visual, until the disappear inland somewhere.
The local news in Corpus did a story on the struggle Rockport businesses are having reopening. Finding employees is still hard. If you know anyone who would like to move to a small coastal town with a large art community, send them to Rockport.
