TRAVEL|TAKING OFF

Corpus Christi

A must-see city in “The Lone Star” state

The state of Texas has a lot of interesting cities to see & explore.

Austin (the capital), Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, Galveston, etc. Even the small towns throughout the state, feel like big cities with lots of green trees/land surrounding them.

One city that’s a must-see to visit in Texas, is Corpus Christi. When the weather is right, Corpus is amazing to look at.

Getting there is a fun journey; if you’re traveling in a car. I live in San Antonio, so Corpus is a two-hour drive for me. I usually listen to music I have on the SoundCloud app or play music on YouTube, while I’m driving through a lot of farmland — before I reach my destination.

While I’m jamming & driving, I see beautiful fields & cows throughout my first hour of traveling. I’ll also see a billboard that says Trump-Pence on the right side of the road in an area that feels like it’s overrun by Trump supporters.

When I reach the second-hour mark, it’s most of the same, seeing more farmland & lots of trees. I start to believe that is all I’ll see; until I come upon these tall windmills all around this area.

It looks like there are thirty windmills on both sides of the area (there are a lot more windmills around Corpus Christi!).

My excitement is reignited, by looking at these amazing gadgets just spinning around. I spend so much time looking at them; when I should have my eyes on the road, but there isn’t too much traffic around me, so I can get away with it until I come upon a lot of traffic again.

There’s still no sign of Corpus Christi nearby. It feels like I’m traveling to the ends of the earth, with the scenery that’s around me.

The funny thing about Corpus is that it sneaks up on you. You believe you still have a long way to go, but you’re closer than you think. You go from seeing farm life to palm trees around nice-looking buildings.

I am finally close to Corpus (thanks to Google Maps), but I need to make a stop and refuel my car with gas. Plus, my driving leg could use a little nap to rejuvenate.

I stop at an Exxon gas station. When I get out of the car, I walk on my driving leg as if I’m injured, while I walk on my left leg normally. I used their restroom and grab some water, before heading back to my ride, paying for gas at the gas pump and fueling up my gas tank.

The sound of gas going inside your ride, while you look at the numbers on the screen never gets old.

My gas tank is filled & my leg is good to step on the accelerator a little longer. Time to do some more riding. I'm back on the road & getting used to seeing more palm trees in a beautiful-looking area. The more traffic & places I see, the more hyped I feel.

Ten minutes later, I see buildings!

I’m here! I’m finally here!

But, Google Maps isn’t done with me yet, it takes me past these tall buildings and beautiful trees & leads me towards a huge bridge that reminds me of The Chesapeake Bay Bridge that’s in Maryland, only this bridge is a lot shorter than that horror of a bridge up north.

I'm excited & nervous to cross this huge bridge with lots of blue water around it.

This is my first time going across a bridge this big as a driver.

As I drive on it, I’m amazed by the beauty of the blue water that’s on the right of my view, with a few huge ships just floating on top of it.

‘’Wow, this place is beautiful,’’ I say to myself.

There’s just water all over this city. It’s like being on an island (just my guess).

Corpus Christi has many places that are worth checking out. One place I love to go to when I drive there is North Beach.

This beach is beautiful. It makes you want to get an apartment or a house in Corpus & go there every day.

The waves in North Beach aren’t aggressive like other beaches can be.

If it’s a hot day in Corpus Christi, it won’t take too long for you to end up in the water. Plus, there are seagulls everywhere there! When I’m in the water, I like to watch those white birds fly around the beach.

Being in the water just rejuvenates you & takes whatever stress you had away.

Another place in Corpus Christi that’s great to visit is the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.

Besides astronomy, I was never a big science guy in school. This museum had me wanting to relearn science. There are so many cool things to look at on the science side of the museum that leaving it to see the historical side was kind of difficult for me.

After fifteen minutes of looking through the science section, I made it to the side I really wanted to see which was the history side.

Being the history nut that I am, I couldn’t wait to see what the museum had. That side is incredible!

There’s so much interesting information and images on the history of South Texas. It made me smile and appreciate being able to see everything that was there in the museum.

Some stuff I looked at for a little while before moving to the next section. I think I spent over an hour in the museum.

It’s a great place to visit for anyone who’s into science & history.

I’ve only been to one food place in Corpus Christi, but it’s a TERRIFIC one named, Yo Philly Cheese Steaks. Their food will blow you away!

Their french fries alone are a meal unto themselves. When I first tried them, each bite made me weep while sitting near North Beach.

They’re that good!

After taking my time with the fries, I finally made it to the Philly cheesesteak I ordered…

You really have to mentally prepare yourself, before you taste them; because the sub could overwhelm you (in a great way). Their subs have a huge load of meat in them with this incredible sauce.

If you’re a sub fan, you’ll love their subs!

I took my first bite and wept, even more…no way should a sub be that good!

So, I took my next bite — it is that good. I almost killed that sub, if only there wasn’t so much meat in it.

Yo Philly Cheese Steaks restaurant will change your life. I guarantee it.

Corpus Christi is a beautiful jewel that will make anyone who visits feel glad that they did.

I used to hear about the city a lot — when I was working at the Nix Health hospital in San Antonio. It took a while for me to make my way there, but now I see why Texans talk about it so much.

It’s heaven on earth!

I’ve been to Corpus several times since my first visit in December 2020. I plan on going back there some more in the future (unless life sends me in another direction).

There’s also a lot of love there for the late singer Selena (who sadly died in 1995) which was really cool to see.

Here’s a little information about her for those who are unfamiliar:

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (Spanish pronunciation: [seˈlena kintaˈniʝa ˈpeɾes]; April 16, 1971 — March 31, 1995) was an American singer. Referred to as the “Queen of Tejano music”, her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. In 2020 Billboard magazine put her in third place on their list of “Greatest Latino Artists of All Time”, based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart.[2] Media outlets called her the “Tejano Madonna” for her clothing choices.[a] She also ranks among the most influential Latin artists of all time and is credited for catapulting the Tejano (or “Tex-Mex”) genre into the mainstream market.[7][8]