Texas Maritime Museum

Jan and I visited the Texas Maritime Museum. It is home
to an exhibit of some of the things from the ship la Belle, which
was a ship which belonged to an expedition by La Salle. Museum
is located in Rockport, texas. Cost of tour is $5 per adult.

Parts of Cannon. On right, you can see crest from
King Louis XIV.



Round survival craft


Survival craft

Pelicans sitting on the lamp post

Big Tree, Goose Island, Texas

Oak tree over 1000 years old

Fulton Mansion

The Fulton Mansion is a state historic site that can be
found in Rockport, Texas. Cost to visit is $6 per adult.
Tours start on the hour. George and Harriet Fulton
named their home "Oakhurst" because it was surrounded
by many oak trees. The house was built in 1874. It was
built to withstand hurricane-force winds.



Sitting room


Fire cracker plant growing in the garden.

Brown Pelican out fishing

Jan and I took a trip to the South Jetty at Aransas Port
Texas. We saw many fisherman and this brown pelican who
was also busy catching fish.


Gulp and down it goes.

Replica of Columbus's ship "Nina"

Stopped to take some pictures of the replica of one
of the ships on the voyage that Columbus took.

USS Lexington

We took a tour of the USS Lexington which is docked at Corpus Cristi, Texas. What a great tour. We got to visit the bridge, engine room, galley, and other rooms. The USS Lexington is now a museum. There are 5 tours that you can take throughout different parts of the ship. On deck, you will find different types of jets and even a helicopter. We were able to climb the stairs to the bridge. They also have a Mega Theater on board. We had a choice of two shows, one about a jet pilot, the other about Lewis and Clark. There is also a place to have lunch. We really had a great day. If you go, be sure to take your time as you tour the ship. Cost was $9.75 per adult. Lots of photos in the album in our travel photos link.

USS Lexington

Gary sitting in Bridge chair

Deck

The deck is so hugh that 3 football games can be played
at the same time, or 1000 cars can be parked.

Fort Clark Campground, Brackettville, Tx

We stayed at a Passport campground in Brackettville, Tx.
for 2 nights.
The campground is located on what used to be Fort Clark.
General Patton was stationed here at one time. The campground
has a large spring-fed pool. Gary did a little fishing and
I did some bird watching.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Spring and Spring-fed swimming pool

Alamo Village Movie Location

On Monday, March 5, Gary and I went to see the Alamo Village Movie Location. The cost was $9.75 per adult. It is located 7 miles outside of Brackettville, Texas. The location features the only replica of the 1836 Alamo Mission. It was built by John Wayne for his movie "The Alamo" The cost for building was over $12 million. Included in the cost was a village which would served as a replica of San Antonio during the early 1800s. The Village is also an active movie set. Since the filming of the Alamo, more than a 100 movies were filmed in the village. The village also houses movie props and a John Wayne museum which includes pictures taken during the filming of some of the movies. Besides movies, the village is used for commercials, tv shows, music videos and documentaries. Movies such as "Banderlero", "Gambler V", "Lonesome Dove", "Gunsmoke, the Last Apache", and others were filmed at the village. Brooks and Dunn used the village in their music video "You're gonna miss me when I'm gone". There were not many people there this time of the year. From Memorial day to Labor day, they have shoot-outs in the Village street and it becomes a very busy place. The village has a saloon which is open during the day which serves breakfast and lunches. Prices are very reasonable.

Gary and I really enjoyed walking in the footsteps of major motion picture stars. You can view lots of photos of both the Village and the Alamo by clicking on the travel photo link. For more info on the village you can go to www.alamovillage.com

John Wayne's Alamo

the church

Cantina

Scene from "The Alamo" filmed here

Dusty Road to Marfa Lights

We wanted to stop by Marfa, Texas to see if the mysterious
lights would show up. Little did we know that they were working
on the road. When we pulled into our stop for the night, we
were shocked to discover that our taupe colored jeep was
now white!!!! Upon further discovery, so was the bottom of
our motorhome. We spent close to 3 hours cleaning our
vehicles. Thanks to dry-wash and advantage, our vehicles
were closer to their original colors. It was really cold. We
parked the motorhome so we could view the lights out the
windshield. We think we saw the lights. When we went to
bed, it was in the upper 20s.

Marta, Texas Sunset