Things to do in Corpus Christi
When my husband and I went full time in our motor home in August of 2018, or first destination was Austin, Texas. When we left there, we headed to South Padre Island and found we were going to drive through Corpus Christi. There is a large bridge you drive over and I saw the USS Lexington off to my right. Right then and there, I started making a list of things to do in Corpus Christi.
Texas State Aquarium
When I was researching things to do in Corpus Christi, I saw that the Texas State Aquarium was within walking distance of the USS Lexington. We decided to go to the aquarium first because I just love seeing all of the fish and wildlife aquariums have.
I thought the tickets were a little pricey (about $30 but we decided it splurge a little. The aquarium itself is beautiful with 18 different exhibits to explore. Their Stingray Lagoon was especially fun as you were able to feed and touch the stingrays as they passed by. Their Swamp Tales exhibit was cool as you could see alligators, turtles and other creatures. They had one large turtle that was loose and guarded by an employee to keep him from trying to crawl down the stairs.
USS Lexington
We headed over to the USS Lexington and paid around $17.00 each to get in. Honestly it was one of the coolest things we have ever done. They have set up five self guided tours where you climb down into the ship and get a feeling of what life is like living on a ship as well as exploring the tower.
During the tour, you get to go out on the flight deck and see all sorts of planes that have been used in the military. You can walk right up to them to inspect and even see into the cockpits. Of course, they ask you don’t climb on them or try to sit in them.
Going down into the bowels of the ship was my favorite. They actually have scale models where you can peer into a room and see a dentist working on a shipman’s teeth or a doctor examining someone. Their bunkers seemed so small and cramped it is a wonder they go any sleep!
Honestly, I wish we had more time to explore the exhibits in the USS Lexington, so I am going to keep it on my list of things to do in Corpus Christi.
Texas Surf Museum
When I came across the Texas Surf Museum, I knew I had to put it on my list of things to do in Corpus Christi. Most people associate Texas with oil barons and cowboys but there are a lot of people who surf in Texas on the Gulf Coast.
They have rotating displays from other surf museums. Currently they have a China Beach exhibit that covers covers stories of our troops surfing during the Vietnam War. Their photos and memorabilia are very entertaining.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
We had the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on our things to do in Corpus Christi list because it looked like an interesting area to explore. It is about eighty miles north of Corpus Christi so we took off early in the morning, so we had plenty of time to explore.
We were also hoping to see an alligator in the wild. We had spent several months in Louisiana at a resort called Reunion Lake and explored the surrounding areas and never saw one alligator!
They have some great walking bridges that takes you out into the swamp so you can see the natural wildlife. But of course, we still did not see any alligators. We drove up to this observation town and climbed to the top before heading down a one-way loop road and there we finally saw our alligator. He was just hanging off to the side of the road in a puddle of water.
All in all our list of things to do in Corpus Christi kept us busy. The city itself is quite beautiful and fun to run around. We still have other things to do in Corpus Christi on our list and will keep it for the next time we visit.
