Port Aransas Real Estate

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - The coast is clear for now in Port A, but some South Texas Beaches have seen tar balls come ashore during the past week.  Large oil/tar blobs were a nuisance on S Padre Island late last week.  As the Brownsville Herald reports, all remnants have since been removed.

Smaller two to three inch diameter blobs were seen at the Padre Island National Seashore on Sunday.  The Corpus Christi Caller Times reports that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) has clean up crews working on the beaches.

The City of Port Aransas was notified yesterday by the GLO that sporadic nickle and dime size tar balls could come ashore on Mustang Island and potentially further up the coast.  As of this writing, no tar balls have been reported.

The source of the tar has not been identified as yet.  Fortunately, there are no reports of affected wildlife.  As Buzz Botts, Education Coordinator with the Padre Island National Seashore phrased it "The tar balls aren't so much a health threat as they are a sticky nuisance."

PORT ARANSAS, Texas – “It’s a good year to be a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.”  This is according to a new article in the Corpus Christi Caller Times.  The ongoing efforts to protect this endangered species are paying dividends.  The article reveals that “A record 196 Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests have been found along the Texas Coast, surpassing the 195 found in 2008, Padre Island National Seashore turtle recovery officials reported on Monday.”

Discover more about the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle at the NOAA Office of Protected Resources.  Donna Shaver leads the National Seashore Sea Turtle and Recovery efforts at Padre Island National Seashore (PINS).

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - Southern Living chose the new Mustang Island beachfront development Cinnamon Shore as the site for their new idea house.  The home has been open for public tours since early June and has proven to be a popular stop for Port Aransas visitors.

Now you can visit the home in the latest issue of Southern Living or online to see wonderful photos and get design ideas and style tips.

Last month I posted a sneak peek video tour of the home.  If you missed it, the story and video are available at Port Aransas Real Estate online.

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - While many vacation destinations are struggling due to the challenging national economy, more and more people are coming to play in "Port A" this summer.  That was especially evident during the recent July 4th Holiday Weekend.  

In a recent story in the Port Aransas South Jetty newspaper, local business owners were asked about the July 4th weekend.  Their answers tell the story:  "slammed" "phenomenal" "heavier than last year" "very strong" "record sales" "we're lucky here" and many more.  The entire article is available here.  For more information on the Port Aransas tourism industry, visit the Chamber of Commerce. 

July 4th Fireworks Over The Harbor In Port Aransas Texas

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - The Texas General Land Office (GLO) announced in a Press Release on Thursday that a newly formed company Baryonyx successfully won the bidding for two offshore wind farm leases.  The leases are located off the coasts of Mustang Island and South Padre Island and could become the biggest offshore wind farms in the nation.

The Corpus Christi Caller Times reported that the 500+ foot tall wind turbines would be visible from the shore of Mustang Island.

WASHINGTON— The Texas Department of Transportation will receive a federal grant worth $7,200,000 to purchase a new ferry boat for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced Tuesday. The new ferry boat will allow for expanded passenger and vehicle ferry service between Port Aransas and the mainland.

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - Governor Rick Perry's office just posted an article online that was reprinted with permission from the National Review. If you are a resident of the Lone Star State, you have reason to be proud.  A few excerpts are below and the complete article can be found here.

If you want to know where the future is headed, look where the people are going. And if you want to know where the people are going, check with U-Haul. Here's an interesting indicator, first noted by the legendary economist Arthur Laffer: Renting a 26-foot U-Haul truck to go from Austin to San Francisco this July would cost you about $900. Renting the same truck to go from San Francisco to Austin? About $3,000. In the great balance of supply and demand, California has a large supply of people who are demanding to move to Texas. 

Once a largely agricultural state, Texas today is home to 6 of the 25 largest cities in the country, more than any other state. Texas has a trillion-dollar economy that would make it the 15th-largest national economy in the world if it were, as some of its more spirited partisans sometimes idly suggest it should be, an independent country. By one estimate, 70 percent of the new jobs that were created in the United States in 2008 were created in Texas. Texas is home to America's highest-volume port, the largest medical center in the world, and the headquarters of more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, having surpassed New York in 2008. While the Rust Belt mourns the loss of manufacturing jobs, Texans are building Bell helicopters and Lockheed Martin airplanes, Dell computers and TI semiconductors.

Earlier this year I posted a great video about the Texas economy.  If you missed the Texaplex campaign, the video is available at Port Aransas Real Estate.

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - The oldest and largest saltwater fishing tournament on the Texas coast took place this weekend.  The 74th Annual Deep Sea Roundup brought record crowds and perhaps a few record fish.  The Corpus Christi Caller Times Michelle Christenson captured the event with some great photos that are posted at Caller.com

The tournament is sponsored by the Port Aransas Boatmen with proceeds going to youth-related activities and scholarships for Port Aransas High School Graduates.

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - Plans were recently announced for a three-story, state-of-the-art, eco-friendly research facility on the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) campus.  The building will be headquarters for the Mission Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and provide additional offices and labs for UTMSI.  Construction is expected to start later this year and will take 15 months to complete.  Details are available in this Corpus Christi Caller Times article.

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - Mustang Island continues to be a popular vacation destination.  This July 4th Holiday Weekend is no exception.  Local law enforcement officials told the Corpus Christi Caller Times "between 60,000 to 80,000 visitors are expected in Port Aransas."  The hotels and condos are booked solid.

If you are headed to Port A this weekend, you are urged to pack some patience.  You will be here along with 79,999 of your closest friends.  Ferry lines will be long and the route over the JFK Causeway onto Padre Island will be backed up on Saturday.  Locals will tell you that the key is to travel early in the morning or late at night to avoid the heavy traffic.

If you do come, you will be rewarded for your efforts.  Seasonal currents have brought in some of the prettiest water that we have seen in months.  The beaches are very clean as the "seaweed" season appears to have ended.  The forecast calls for sunny and hot conditions to continue.  The fishing has been great as well.  

If you have not seen the Port A fireworks show before, you will surely be impressed.  The show begins over the Municipal Harbor Saturday night at approximately 9:20.  All in all, it should be a great weekend on the coast.

View from the Aransas Princess Condominiums on July 2, 2009

View of the Nueces County Park from the Horace Caldwell Pier on July 2, 2009