Corpus Christi
Campground
Rockport KOA Holiday
This park only recently became a KOA so some transitions were still taking place. It is a beautifully kept park with concrete pads and grass in between. A nice clubhouse, laundry, and bathroom facilities. The activity coordinators (a couple) were fantastic and so involved. Mark got to play here a couple of times and other entertainers came in as well. We taught line dancing several times and met wonderful people.
Things to see
Dog Park
We originally went here to run the trails at Memorial Park and found this great dog park. Polly just loved it and would start talking to us as soon as we pulled onto the entrance.
Goose Island State Park
This park is famous for its large live oak tree...one of the largest in the U.S. There really wasn't many other things to do here but interesting to drive through.
King Ranch
An iconic and historic ranch, one of the largest in the nation? world? Mark's brother Greg had the signature Ford F-150 "King Ranch" edition long before Mark even knew what that meant. We had a guide tour from a very, um, colorful guide. A retired school teacher who has interesting ways of stating things. We went here with Mark & Lisa.
Padre Island National Seashore
Much like the South Padre Island coastline, you can drive your vehicle right out on the sand. We met Mark & Lisa here to walk around and get Polly some exercise.
Food and Drink
Doc's Seafood and Steaks
Mark & Lisa were staying at a different KOA, so we met them here for a mid-day dinner. VERY good food!
Jalisco Restaurant
Our favorite Mexican restaurant in Rockport. We went a couple times.
San Juan Restaurant and Cantina
The food and drinks were good here. The only down side - the dude behind us played YouTube videos loudly on his phone the entire time.
The Boiling Pot
This place is so good that we went three times. Once by ourselves, once with Mark & Lisa (we've met up with them multiple times), once with Kevin & Brenda (see below). Dump the ol' boil right on the table and dig in. There's nothing cultured about how you eat this kind of food - just plan to get sloppy.
To make a long story short ...
Kevin Charles Fuhs
Seriously!? Who gets to meet a guy like this at a campground? Kevin and his wife Brenda were parked right next to us. I saw him outside one day playing guitar so, naturally, I walked right up and started a conversation. Turns out, he's pretty darn famous!
He goes by "Kevin Charles". He hails from French Lick, IN (yes, Larry Bird's hometown) and had a band that traveled with George Jones for many years. He has a very Johnny-Cash-like sound and has had charting singles and has traveled the world. He has been at John's house (that's how he says the name), had lunch with Glen Campbell, is friends with Anthony Smith (we did one of his songs together), and so many more people in "the business". Wow.
Kevin is such a wonderful person; kind, generous, full of stories. It was an incredible pleasure to share that small stage with him. Very humbling to be with someone like Kevin.
Please recognize when help is needed
WARNING! This story has to do with potential alcoholism. If you, or someone you know, might be having a problem with alcohol consumption. Talk to someone. Please get help.
There had been another camper next to us and we had met the couple who owned it. They were working remotely and had a couple dogs they'd take out for walks. They seemed nice but we didn't see them very often.
When I first noticed that something was not quite right, I was sitting in the rear area of our RV. The guy in the camper had come outside to gather up some garbage to take to the dumpster and had opened one of the small storage doors to take something out. He couldn't see that I was in our RV, the windows are darkened. What he took out were several small empty plastic bottles. At first, I thought those bottles had contained some kind of grey or black tank treatments but the more I thought about it, the more I thought I had seen bottles like that before - small alcohol bottles that you might find in a hotel room or at the checkout of a liquor store. I didn't think much of it at the time.
A few days went by and I was again in that rear part of our RV working out. It is the "garage" so there's plenty of room back there. It was mid-afternoon. The guy was outside his RV and again went into that little storage area. This time he pulled out one of those little plastic bottles, twisted off the top, and downed it. Yup, a little alcohol stash. Of course, I'm starting to wonder why he thinks he needs to hide this from his wife. The first evidence of a problem?
Several days pass. It is now a Sunday morning about 10am and we had started our workout. Again, I see the guy come out, go into that storage area, look around, pull out a small bottle, twist off the top, and down it. Just a couple minutes pass and he was back and downed another. Various people are walking around the campground, getting in their steps, running, walking their dogs, whatever. Each time he came out, he'd look around to make sure no one was watching. Sometimes he'd just down it. Sometimes he'd turn his back to the road.
Let's be clear. I am NOT stalking him. I'm doing my workout. I am not being quiet about it. Our door is open. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to embarrass him. I was stunned. Over the course of two hours, on a Sunday morning, he put down 12 of these bottles. Yes, you read that correctly. Twelve shots in about two hours. During this time, he actually had walked out to talk to some people that were out and about. He didn't stagger or, in any way, act like he was tipsy. How could he NOT be? He put down a LOT of alcohol.
So what were we to do? I barely knew him. We only saw her once or twice the entire month we were there. We did witness a difficult phone conversation he had right outside our camper, out of sight of his wife but right by our open door! Anger, frustration, talk of divorce, etc. We couldn't help but hear what he was struggling with. But, holy cow dude!
In the end, we did not confront him. That one Sunday morning was, by far, the worst we saw from him and, in reality, one of the last because we moved on shortly afterward. Yes, we know their names. No, I will not call them out. This is a cautionary tale.
If you are struggling, talk to someone. If you see someone struggling, talk to someone. Please get help.