We wanted to plan a trip a little further away from the house this year for Thanksgiving and Tommy had been asking for the beach again, so we thought about Corpus!

In researching I found the perfect KOA Holiday in Rockport. Extremely nice park with lots of amenities. We got a waterfront spot backed up to Salt Lake with gorgeous views! You will hear about some pros and cons to that as we go through this adventure!

Corpus is known to have one of the largest aquariums in the US. So that is on the to do list! I also found that the USS Lexington aircraft carrier museum is located in Corpus. See the planes up close and tour the flight deck. Sounds like something cool to do too!

Let’s begin with packing, the weather was turning cooler as it does sometimes around Thanksgiving! I found myself loading up summer and winter clothes. That is the good thing about packing in the driveway. Whatever and however much… It fits!

We were not in a hurry and thought we would enjoy a scenic drive. We loaded on the ferry and drove through Galveston. Ended up on the front and got some laughs as we watched a ton of “ferry newbies” get drenched by the waves as the strong winds carried us all the way to Rockport…

The strong gust definitely made for a longer than normal travel day. When we arrived in Rockport, the KOA Holiday was off the main street, which was a little unusual, but got checked in and parked and were thrilled with our waterfront location. While the sun was out it was very nice outside, but as night rolled in, the winds never stopped and I wondered if our “outdoor living time” would be bearable on this trip.

Flagship!

For those that don’t know, I did not! LOL Whataburger was established in Corpus Christi. Our trip would not be complete without breakfast and checking out their original flagship location. Tommy is perfectly happy any time there are biscuits involved! It is two-story building and we were early enough that they were not too busy, not really sure if that is the norm or not. It was very windy and cold so that may have kept locals in for the morning!

USS Lexington / Aquarium / Surprise

Heath really enjoys the history of the Blue Angels as well as all the military planes. That does not mean that he wants to go up in one, LOL He prefers the ground view! Our plans for the day were to go to the “aircraft carrier” in the morning and then visit the aquarium followed by a surprise for the evening.

To say that Tommy was extremely nervous when we parked with the view of the (acc), is an understatement… He proudly stated “no” and “no thank you” as I continued to encourage and walk him to the entrance! I do have to admit, it is very “grand” and if you are not sure why you are there, I can see where it would be a little scary.

You enter by making your way up the ramp/pier to the (acc). We walked up but, realized that there was a trolley, so on the way out we caught a ride down! After Tommy’s reaction, I was a little concerned that we were going to be able to get him back on this evening as the “surprise” is also located on the USS Lexington!

He seemed to relax as we started walking through the vessel. It was large and open with lots to look at. He took part in some photo opportunities and even took a picture of me. Look at me on the other side of the camera! LOL On a side note, he is really good with a camera/phone. Even cropping and adjusting photos… Who knows maybe he will be the photographer on our future adventures!

Simulator!

Tommy was feeling adventurous and just followed Heath right into the simulator! As you can see him holding the door…it was dark. As the movement started, he did a lot of repeating of everything Heath was explaining to him in order to help calm himself!! LOL

Heath said after exiting himself, that Tommy got out just in time. It started blowing air on the back of his neck and I am not sure how Tommys reaction to that would have been. Enjoy!

Flight Deck - Elevator

I was thankful that we found an elevator to make it to the flight deck. The ladders and stairs on the (acc) were not made for Tommy’s ability & size! He was still a little nervous I believe thinking that we were going to load him up in an airplane, kind of like his nerves from the air show adventure. He walked through but was eager to leave at the same time. That is the downside to some of our adventures. Heath and I would love to linger and view more than Tommy is up for sometimes:(

We did not take the tour of the (acc) but one was going on so we were able to listen to parts of it and found out that some of the original “Top Gun” movie was filmed here on this flight deck. They have Maverick and Goose’s F-14 plane from the movie as well as a plaque stating some of these facts. Very interesting, especially if you like the film!

Visiting this USS Lexington museum is worth the time! They also have a cafe area along with a gift shop!

A walk down to the Aquarium

Both of these stops of our adventure were within walking distance of each other, which made it nice for parking! In walking up to the entrance, we realized that the “rescue center area” had been closed for renovations. That was disappointing, I was looking forward to Tommy seeing some of the behind the scenes caring for these animals.

Everything inside was divided by territories I guess you would call it. The exhibits were all good but nothing like I expected to be one of the top aquariums in the US. Tommy was less than impressed that there were no penguins at this location. There were some interesting things, the shark area had a dive cage that was pretty cool and lots of photo opportunities.

This place does not really have anything on Moody Gardens in Galveston! As most of these places like this, their pathways always lead to the gift shop and once Tommy looked at everything there, he was basically done…

Here I am thinking, what are we going to do now. I thought the museum would be a good 1/2 day and the aquarium would be 1/2 day and then our surprise for the night would be perfect timing. We haven’t even been here an hour, and he is ready to go… With the set-up, things were kind of scattered. I was looking for this area where turtles, sting rays, otters were supposed to be, and we had not found them. As we came out of the gift shop, I noticed people flooding around these outside doors. Thankfully that lead us to many more animals! Still no penguins, but Tommy was happy to see some dolphins.

The outdoor dolphin pools had visuals underground. Tommy enjoyed watching them from this angel. He had several that kept coming around him in the corner. For a few minutes, he was “the dolphin whisperer”! LOL

We grabbed a bite to eat in a cafe in the outdoor area. The food was really good! We found him some French fries and with a little convincing we managed to explain that they would be doing a “dolphin show” and once that started, he was all in!

Although some challenges along the way, we did have a good day! One thing I would like to add about this website for the Aquarium. They have a prepared sensory section along with printables for a social story that you can use to prepare your special need child/adult to visit this facility. This speaks volumes to me as you know I am all about a visual to help prepare your child for something new.

Hate to be suspenseful but I guess you will have to await the reveal of the evening surprise on the next one!

- God Bless