January 1st was a Wisconsin November day in Corpus Christi. Sun turning to clouds. Fairly warm cooling to low 50s with a cool breeze that was chilling. The temperature is so misleading when you get near the ocean and the breeze is coming off of it. Initially I was near downtown and there was quite a difference in temperature within a mile.

One of the places I was encouraged to explore was Heritage Park. This is similar to what other southern cities have done. They took numerous historic homes from around the area and over time, brought them all into a downtown area near the port of CC. There they placed informative historical markers in front of each restored home.

Today was a perfect day to do it as it was very quiet downtown and easy to drive around. I had the place totally to myself (until another couple showed up)!

There are 12 historic homes situated in the park with the oldest dating back to 1851. Each home was an Historic landmark in and of itself. They were chosen to represent the ethnic, cultural and economic diversity of Corpus christi. I was surprised to see how diverse it was, and perhaps may still be.

It was interesting that some of the other homes , which I did not take photos of, had families with Greek heritage. I expected Mexican American Heritage but I was surprised at Greek and Latin American and Russian. I’m sure there are even more ethnic settlers I missed. Corpus Christi does have quite a diversity.

Across the street from this block of homes, is a strip Park with three statues and an interesting plaque. The plaque speaks of the Irish coming to this area in response to encouragement through advertisements. Others came because they had served under General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican-American War (1846-48) it speaks of the diversity of skills they brought as well as ethnic backgrounds. These plaques are actually interesting to read, I think.

I took this photo in that garden sitting area where the roses were. Notice the Harbor Bridge in the background. That’s how close this section is to the coast and the harbor. That bridge is a landmark for the city. It also was all lit up with colorful lights flashing and changing color on New Year’s Eve. Also notice what I am wearing while I walked around this area!

I then decided to drive to the area under the bridge where the USS Lexington is moored. I had not been down there. I found out it had a couple of Beach parks, and a large array of resorts, restaurants and tourist shops. I bet this place is hopping in the summer!

I was fortunate in that I stopped near the harbor first, and when an ocean going oil tanker came in! It was moving right along, somewhat guided by an attached towboat. It was big!!

I looked up this vessel on google. It is interesting how much information is listed with a padlock icon after it. I imagine it is to safeguard the ship and the oil. It was built in 2009 and operated under the flag of Libya. It is 220 ft long and has a gross tonnage of 41,676. Now you know 😀 and so do I!!

I then drove further to one of the beaches. All along that area you have to pay to park unless you are in the public beach area. By the stores it is metered parking or you pay for the parking lot at its entrance. I was able to park by the beach. So I walked a bit down the beach and looked for shells. They are pretty broken up here as well but I found a few complete shells. Just something to do while walking. 😊

After this I headed back to the RV. I prefer to get back before dark. So this completes my exploring on the first day of the New Year 2021 👍 I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year’s Day, in whatever way you chose to spend it. 🤗