We have hurricane Cristobal to thank for this trip.  Travel plans were made for a trip to Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. The morning we were scheduled to leave we postponed that trip and decided to head West instead to avoid hurricane winds and rain.  We settled on Port O’ Connor, because we have family there.

Where we would stay was a game of RV Park Internet Roulette. The ball landed us at Beacon 44. It is a cute little place ran by a sweet, laid back couple, Doug and Mary Jo.  This park has many more amenities than we have had lakeside camping. They have a pool with games for the kids, laundry room, a catch and release fishing pond, and a nice clubhouse equipped with a full kitchen, shower, pool table, games and puzzles.  

Two miles from our camping spot lies King Fisher Beach. This bayside beach is a perfect beach for little kids.  We went a couple hundred yards out and were never over waist deep in water.  The water is very calm (most of the time) and the beach has plenty of sand. The video below shows an unusual windy morning. Beach and water are both soft on the feet, no sharp rocks or debris.  We collected seashells, admired crabs in elaborate shells, and even saw a stingray!

Middle of the week we drove back to Victoria, Texas to visit another cousin’s Harley Davidson Store. We visited with our great aunt Barbara and cousin Dawn and they so generously sent us home with some Harley swag on the house.

The biggest advantage to changing our vacay destination was getting to connect with my husband’s family.  His Aunt Margie loaned us her golf cart to cruise around town (the best way to travel in Port O’Connor) and surprised us with a gift card to her friend’s boutique, Jo Beth’s Creations. I highly recommend this store for souvenir shopping. It is full of beautiful Port O’Connor themed gifts and clothing. Susan showed us her eclectic collection of all the things she found on local beaches and even sent a few treasures home with the kids.  They gave us the town tour which included the fishing ship docks, dinner at a Josies Mexican Food and Cathys seafood restaurant, Aunt Margie’s corner lot, and their private waterside Veranda. 

To make a wonderful trip extraordinary, Brittan and Susan took us out on their Haynie 21 Super Cat to the Matagorda Island Peninsula where they owned a piece of the private island.  One time was not enough. By the end we were chanting “Uno Mas” and decided to extend our trip to an eighth night so that would have time to spend a whole day on the Island with them. We spent our last day boating, fishing, playing in the water, and exploring Island Clint’s little piece of paradise. Clint is the only person who lives on the Island year round.

Check out our other trip highlights below, including visiting Froggies Bait Dock for “fresh dead” bait and watching the dolphins and seagulls fight for scraps as the fishermen cleaned fish. Thanks to the “fresh dead” bait, we had to throw away our ice chest.