A Day in Corpus Christi, TX – April 2021

We got to take a day trip to Corpus Christi and what a full day it was! If you have a day to spend in Corpus Christi, this is what we recommend experiencing:

Texas State Aquarium

U. S. S. Lexington

Selena Memorial

Libation 

Stop at Nueces Brewing Company for some local beer.

Seafood

 

To get some fresh gulf coast seafood visit Landry’s Seafood House.

Beach

There are a lot of beaches to visit in and around Corpus Christi. We chose to end our visit to Corpus Christi by walking along the beach at Mustang Island State Park.

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A Day in Antigua – December 2018

Our second port on our Caribbean cruise brought us to Antigua. We again did not have a plan of what to do or see in Antigua. I guess you could just say that we were winging this trip. Luckily after disembarking from the cruise ship, one of the first buildings on the main street was an information office. We stopped in there to try to see if we could arrange a zip-lining excursion, but we were unable to get others to join, which would have made the excursion affordable, so we opted to take the free self-guided walking tour of St. John’s that was included in the map that they gave us.

Here are some of the highlights of that self-guided walk:

• St. John’s Cathedral – a focal point of St. John’s landscape was originally built in 1681 but destroyed twice by earthquakes. The current structure, built in 1848, is located on a hill overlooking much of the city.
• The Government House – official office of the Governor General, a position created after Antigua and Barbuda became independent in November of 1981.
• The Antigua Recreation Grounds – hosts premier football, international cricket matches and the annual Carnival festival.

We had worked up an appetite from the walk around the city and stopped at the Antigua Habour Cafe and Restaurant that overlooks the harbor for a relaxing lunch and tasty fruity drinks. After lunch, we found a cab just one block over. We wanted to visit one of the forts on the island and maybe go to a beach. The cab driver recommended Fort James, which turned out to be right next to Fort James beach. We got two great options and only had to spend $25 (solely for the roundtrip cab ride), plus the cab driver waited for us and took us back to the ship when we were done. We walked around the fort for about 45 minutes, enjoyed the beautiful and secluded beach and then decided to have a beer at Beachlimerz, which is a high-rated bar and restaurant. Overall, it was a very affordable and convenient excursion.

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However, our day wasn’t without a little stress and excitement. We are going to share our little embarrassing story just as an example that even if you travel frequently like we do, you can still make mistakes. After paying and exiting our taxi, we started walking over to an outdoor market, when my husband realized that he didn’t have our backpack. We had either left it in the cab or at restaurant. While we had our money and identification on our bodies, we still didn’t want to lose the items we had in our bag. Unfortunately, our cab had driven away. We remembered what our cab looked like and who our driver was and, by nothing short of a miracle, found she hadn’t driven very far due to the busy traffic on the main road. Our bag was not in the cab, and she agreed to take us back to Beachlimerz to see if we left it there. She was super nice about it and chatted with us during the ride, which eased our stress a bit. Luckily, the bag was still sitting where we left it at the bar.

We met a lot of nice people that day, but our cab driver was the best! It is her kindness, generosity and selflessness that I will remember most from our time in Antigua.

A Day on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands – December 2018

We took a Caribbean cruise that left from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We disembarked at our first port, which was St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. After two days on the ship, we were very ready to be on solid ground.

We docked right outside Havensight Mall, which is a great location to do a little shopping. We did not have an excursion planned and really did not need one. St. Thomas was very easy to navigate. Plus, there was an Information office right next to Havensight Mall, which provided free maps and free wifi.

Since it was a beautiful morning and the skies were clear, we decided to take the Skyride to Paradise Point for some amazing panoramic views before going to the beach. The skyride lift does cost $21 per person, but it is worth it for the views, and there is a restaurant at the top where you can stop and get some food and/or drinks. Their specialty drink is the Bailey’s Bushwacker.

After having some lunch at Paradise Point, we descended back to Havensight Mall to pick up a taxi to take us to Magen’s Bay beach. There are convenient taxi signs everywhere. The key to taking a taxi in most places in the Caribbean is that it costs less the more people you have riding with you. We were fortunate to be in a taxi with 8 other people, so we only paid $4 per person for the ride to Magen’s Bay. I believe we only paid $10 per person roundtrip. The beach was wonderful. However, it is a popular tourist destination, so it was a bit crowded. You can rent loungers and umbrellas. We did end up renting an umbrella. We then spent hours relaxing on the beach, reading and occasionally going for a swim. We even had drinks brought to us. It was all perfectly relaxing.

We made it back to the port with plenty of time to grab food before getting back on the ship. While there was free food awaiting us on the ship, we felt that it is always more important to invest in businesses and restaurants on the islands and indulge in local cuisine, especially on the US Virgin Islands, which were devastated by a series of hurricanes in 2017. Some businesses have still not reopened. If you are an avid golfer, USVI is known for its golf courses – many of which were completely destroyed as well. St. Thomas was a beautiful island that warrants a visit. Although, I warn you: you may never want to leave.