This morning, we bade farewell to sand, surf, sun and mosquitoes, can’t forget those mosquitoes. We left Port Aransas at dawn. Took the ferry to the mainland, being first on and first off. Then we started driving north. We passed San Antonio, Austin, Waco and eventually Dallas. Before Austin traffic was light, but afterwards it was a slough. We kept going and eventually hit Oklahoma, leaving Texas behind. Tomorrow, we head to Bentonville and the Walton art museum. We also hope to see Anne’s cousin Suzie. Then we head home.

It has been a good trip and relatively cheap too. We got to see a part of the country that is pretty unique. Some Texans refer to the Gulf coast as the Texan Rivera. I think a poor man’s Florida is closer to the truth. There are plenty of sandy beaches to lounge upon. We visited Padre Island National Seashore that has more than enough sand. Florida has the Everglades, but the Aransas National Wildlife Preserve can match that. In retrospect, I wish that I had spent less time chasing Whooping Cranes and more time looking at what else was around.

Pictured is a Caracara, what I view as a vulture want to be. Smaller than a Turkey vulture, they tend to get bossed around by them. Especially around the carrion. Yesterday, in Aransas NWR we first saw a small wild pig. It popped out and then back into the bush too quickly to get its picture. A few miles down the road, where we saw this Caracara, it was hanging out with a bunch of vultures, who were hanging around a large dead pig that had become roadkill.