 |
| Hook'ers' Bait Shop, Hwy 332, Freeport, Texas (Rolleiflex 3.5E, Tri-X 400 film) |
The Texas coast south of Galveston is a complicated terrain of wide bays, barrier islands, and inlets. In Texas, these openings between the sea and the bays are called Passes. Most are used by fishing and other commercial boats. The entire coast is famous for its birding because the wetlands and bays attract semi-tropical species rarely seen in other parts of the continental USA.
Decades ago, I went in and out of some of the ports, like Port Lavaca, on crew boats. One day I'll scan some of those photographs.
We will start in Freeport and work our way south.
 |
| No gas any more, Tivoli, Texas (Acros film, 35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens) |
 |
| Fixer-upper house, Tivoli |
 |
| Fixer-upper house 2, Tivoli |
Tivoli is an unincorporated community in Refugio County, Texas. It is on Hwy 35 a short distance north of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. If you have been to Aransas, you probably zipped through Tivoli. I was surprised to see a street where most of the houses were abandoned. Did a developer buy the street?
 |
| Farmhouse near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Note the tar paper siding. |
Aransas NWR is south of San Antonio Bay. The roads there are lonely and have a few abandoned old farmhouses. If you have never been to the refuge, definitely go. But be prepared for mosquitoes.
Between Houston and Brownsville, Corpus Christi is the biggest city on the Gulf of Mexico coast. It sits on a wonderful location facing Corpus Christi Bay.
 |
| Have a wee on the beach, North Beach, Corpus Christi (Fuji Acros film) |
 |
| America the Beautiful (architecture), Surfside Blvd., Corpus Christi (Hasselblad, Tri-X 400 film) |
North Beach is a rather cheesy tourist area. We stayed in a motel built up on stilts to avoid hurricane storm surge. Off season, the only food at North Beach appears to be at gas stations, so we drove across the bay into the city.
 |
| Morgan Avenue, Corpus Christi |
 |
| America the Beautiful (strip mall land), Morgan Avenue, Corpus Christi |
 |
| House (bunker?) on Morgan Ave., Corpus Christi |
The historic part of Corpus Christi and the business district have a beautiful setting on Corpus Christi Bay. But in my opinion, most of the city is an ugly mess of highways, urban sprawl, strip malls, fast food joints, and boring architecture. It's Americana extreme. It's a real shame.
Most of the photographs are from Fuji Acros film. I used my Leica M2 camera with 50mm and 35mm Summicron lenses.
