Vacation in April

I am exploring options for a family vacation in May. We have an 8 and a 4 year old. We went to Disney last year, but can%26#39;t afford something as big this year due to the economy. What is the weather like mid May? Are there any family resorts that have things for the kids to do that are also close to a nice beach? TIA

Vacation in April

May will be getting quite warm with temperatures possibly in the 90%26#39;s.

Here are some things to do locally:

Corpus Christi Area Attractions

General information from CC Convention and Visitors Bureau

http://www.corpuschristicvb.com/

USS Lexington Museum WWII Aircraft Carrier

http://www.usslexington.com/

Texas State Aquarium

http://www.texasstateaquarium.org/

Museum of Natural History with Columbus ships replicas

http://www.ccmuseum.com/museum/index.cfm

Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce

http://www.portaransas.org/

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge -- Home of the Whooping Cranes

www.fws.gov/southwest/REFUGES/texas/aransas/

Padre Island National Seashore

http://www.nps.gov/pais/

The King Ranch

http://www.king-ranch.com/

Resorts I can recommend:

Sandcastle

www.portaransas-texas.com/sitepages/pid42.php

Holiday Inn Sunspree

www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ss/1/en/hotel/pdino

Port Royal

http://www.port-royal.com/index.html

Vacation in April

The enire family can enjoy a sightseeing tour on Captain Clark%26#39;s Flagship in downtown Corpus Christi. The Selena memorial is on the corner of Peoples Street. The Nina Columbus replica ship is in the marina and the Flagship, 3 deck, paddle-wheel style sightseeing boat is around the corner. www.captclarksflagship.com

We were recently in South Texas and ran over to Corpus Christi and Padre Island for a day to scout it as a possible future spring break option. It is definitely off the list of consideration. My kids are older (teens) but I wouldn%26#39;t go there for any family vacation.

Coming into Corpus Christi you go past miles of oil refineries which is OK but not real attractive for a vacation spot. The bigger issue was when we got to the National Seashore beach. At the Padre Island visitor center the first thing we saw were signs warning about trash on the beach. Ocean currents meet there and collect “the world’s trash” on the beaches (their words). The signs warned to look out for medical syringes, hazardous chemicals and oil tar. As we walked the beach we found that they were definitely right about the trash. Even though they said the beach was cleaned daily, there was much trash mixed in with the wide band of seaweed at the high tide line. The waves looked great but we lost our interest in the water – we may have been better off not seeing those signs.

Anyway, when it comes time for that next trip south for spring break we will be turning left and heading back to Florida.

The pp was correct. The Padre Island National Seashore does have trash. It is about 80 miles of

natural beach, not the manacured sort one finds in front of beachfront hotels in Florida. After hurricane IKE there was miles of trash from the upper gulf coast washed ashore here. Maybe not as pristine as some but it is a beach with a personality all its own. And nesting Kemp%26#39;s Ridley sea turtles.

Padre Island National Seashore is a National Park. It is purposely kept is a natural state and because it is 100%26#39;s of miles of beach difficult to keep pristine. I am sorry that you found our area uninviting. Did you visit the beaches along Mustang Island? Did you visit Port Aransas, Rockport, Fulton? Did you see Bob Hall Pier and JP Luby Surf Park? How about Corpus Christi Beach? I hope your opinion of our area wasn%26#39;t based upon driving by the refineries and visiting one small area of the National Seashore? Yes, we cannot compare with the beaches of California or Florida but we do have great fishing snd watersports, are much less expensive, and have some of the greatest people you will ever meet. I hope you will give us a 2nd look!!

I think the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach downtown corpus Christi is nice for kids that age. Great pool, right on the beach, ping pong and shuffle board and other games indoors. Downtown Corpus Christi offers a sightseeing cruise on Captain Clark%26#39;s 3-deck paddle wheel boat where numerous birds and the bottle nosed dolphin can usually be seen. The museum is good. Accross the harbor bridge is the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington. Whereever you stay, you better hurry to make reservations.