photo by Neudoux & Imshiad

The deep-water port of Corpus Christi, located 377 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth, is a modern port city. Gutzon Borglum, the builder and sculptor of Mt Rushmore, built a 2-mile seawall in the heart of this city’s business district, with steps leading into the water, joining urban structures with the sea. Much of the focus of this city of 275,000 people is on the sand, sea, sun, and partying—college students throng here during spring break for the more than 100 miles of beaches on nearby Padre and Mustang Islands, which have the best sand along the Texas coast.

The Texas State Aquarium is the largest in the country. It features close-up views of the Gulf of Mexico in a wide variety of marine habitats, including an artificial reef community created by the massive leg of an offshore oil rig, and other exhibits containing more than 250 species of marine life in 350,000 gallons of sea water. The aquarium is home to a rare captive albino alligator. “The Wonderful World of Sherman’s Lagoon” features stars of Jim Toomey’s comic strip who explain lagoons, barrier reefs, and the animals that inhabit them.

The Conservation Pavilion has water turtles and Texas otters among its occupants.

The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History offers hands-on exhibits. Visitors may explore a 1554 Spanish shipwreck, identify local shells and birds, see live alligators and other south Texas reptiles, and walk among native plants.

Corpus Christi also has botanical gardens, a greyhound racetrack, and a zoo. Boat trips in Corpus Christi Bay visit dolphins in their natural habitat. Fishing is possible from municipal piers, jetties, beaches, and the seawall, as well as from charter boats. Anglers hook sheepshead, sand and speckled trout, redfish, flounder, catfish, whiting, drum, pompano, and Spanish mackerel. Deep-sea anglers cruising gulf waters take tarpon, sailfish, wahoo, king mackerel, bonito, red snapper, and jewfish.

The USS Lexington Museum on the bay is housed in a vintage wartime aircraft carrier that served longer and set more records than any other carrier in the US Navy.

The Lefty Frizzell Country Music Museum is dedicated to a local boy who made it big in country music.

And the 110-mile Padre Island National Seashore is one of the last natural seashores in the nation.

Corpus Christi can be reached by car by I-37 and US-35, or by bus; it has an international airport.