May-June, Wine & Food Festival in August, Inter- national Festival in September, Pearland Arts & Crafts on the Pavilion in October and Hometown Christmas Festival in December.
COLE’S ANTIQUE VILLAGE AND FLEA MARKET—The market welcomes thousands of visitors every weekend with plenty of shopping for unique items. 1014 N. Main St. (Texas 35), just south of Beltway 8/Sam Houston Toll Road. 281/485-2277.
http://colesfleamarket.com.
HISTORIC SITES—Sites include the Old Settler’s Cemetery; Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad Depot; Hunter Park; Zychlinski Park; and the First United Methodist Church of Pearland. 713/436-5595.
SRI MEENAKSHI TEMPLE—This is the only Hindu temple dedicated to the Goddess Meenakshi outside of India. Visitors come to the temple to admire its beauty and ornate detail. Special events are hosted year- round with culturally rich programming. 17130 McLean Road. 281/489-0358.
www.emeenakshi.org.
PORT ARANSAS POP. 3,772
ALT. 20
MAP V-18/JJ-21
PORT ARANSAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TOURIST BUREAU VISITOR CENTER: 403 W. Cotter. 361/749-5919.
www.portaransas.org.
An English settler built a ranch house on this site in 1855. It was later developed as a popular fishing village. Lodging choices range from quaint cottages to resort condominiums and beach houses. Fresh seafood shops and restaurants offer a variety of cuisine. Catch the trolley to boutiques and art galleries. Some areas of the beach require a parking permit
available at the chamber office and other locations. Group boats provide bay and deep-sea fishing.
There also are docking facilities and launching ramps. Fishing tournaments are held from June—September. The Deep Sea Roundup in July is the oldest fishing tournament on the Gulf Coast. Call 361/749-5919 or visit
www.portaransas.org/fish_boat.html. Enjoy kayaking, beachcombing, jet skiing,
parasailing and surfing. The only seaside links-style golf course in North America designed by Arnold Palmer is the Palmilla Beach Resort & Golf Club. Call 361/749-4653 or visit
http://palmillabeach.com/golf. The Whooping Crane Festival is held in February. Visit
www.whoopingcranefestival.org.
FISHING PIERS—Free fishing is available (fishing license required) from the beaches and jetties, as well as lighted piers that extend into the Corpus Christi Ship Channel: J.P. Luby, Ancel Brundrett and Charlie’s Pasture piers. For a fee, anglers may use the lighted Horace Caldwell Pier.
HISTORIC INN—The Tarpon Inn—This vintage wooden structure dates from 1886 and is completely restored. Tarpon scales decorate the lobby and feature signatures of famous visitors, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Duncan Hines, who spent his honeymoon here. 200 E. Cotter. 361/749-5555.
www.thetarponinn.com.
MUSTANG ISLAND STATE PARK—Seaside beaches stretch for five miles along the open Gulf of Mexico. This is one of the best places to see coastal marine life, from sea turtles to herons. It offers rinse showers, bulk water and portable toilets in convenience stations along the beach. Admission charge. On Texas 361, 14 miles south of Port Aransas. 361/749-5246.
www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/mustang-island.
PORT ARANSAS MUSEUM—The museum is in a turn- of-the-20th-century kit house. Local residents rallied to save the house, move it to its current location and turn it into a museum showcasing local history and early island lifestyles. Free. 101 E. Brundrett. 361/749- 3800.
www.portaransasmuseum.org. Farley Boat Works—This is a living museum
with a functional boat building shop. 716 Avenue C.
www.portaransasmuseum.org.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE—This research facility, with a visitor center,
68 Explore Buu Mon Buddhist Temple and Lotus Gardens in Port Arthur.
includes aquaria with Gulf marine life and plants. The center also has exhibits, poster displays and a gift shop. Educational movies are shown at 3 p.m. Mon.-Thu. Explore the Wetlands Education Center with free tours weekly featuring marsh/sea-grass ponds. 633 E. Cotter Ave. Along the ship channel at the northern end of Mustang Island. 361/749-6805.
www.utmsi.utexas.edu.
WILDLIFE VIEWING SITES—Many migratory and resident birds can be seen on Mustang Island.
www.portaransas.org/birds.html. The Joan & Scott Holt Paradise Pond—
Mustang Island’s only freshwater wetland is a favorite stop for migrating birds. 361/749-4111.
www.cityofportaransas.org/paradise_pond.cfm. Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center—A
boardwalk provides a popular viewing spot for more than 100 species on a given day and an opportunity to see “Boots,” a six-foot alligator. Texas 361 at the ferry landing, take Cut-Off Road to Ross Avenue and follow the signs to the center.
www.cityofportaransas.org/ Leonabelle_Turnbull_Birding_Center.cfm. Port Aransas Nature Preserve—This is a 1,200-
acre site with upland trails, boardwalks, viewing towers, covered pavilion and picnic areas. This natural area’s extensive tidal flats provide feeding areas and habitat for shorebirds and endangered and threatened species such as the piping plover. Two entrances: at the end of Port Avenue and on Texas 361. 361/749-4111.
www.cityofportaransas.org/nature_preserve.cfm. The Port Aransas Wetlands Habitat Park—
Offers a boardwalk and gazebo with fantastic views of shorebirds. On Texas 361 about one-half mile south of Avenue G.
OVER THE RAINBOW
THE RAINBOW BRIDGE CROSSES the Nueces River to connect Bridge City and Port Arthur. It is one of the most historic and steepest bridges in Texas. The bridge’s 176-foot clearance height resulted from a requirement that any U.S. Navy ship at that time (1938) could pass under. Today it is only one way—southbound.
★
PORT ARTHUR POP. 54,597
ALT. 18 MAP Q-23/NN-16
PORT ARTHUR CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU: 3401 Cultural Center Drive. 409/985-7822.
www.visitportarthurtx.com.
In 1840, this was the site of a settlement known as Aurora. The city was named for railroad builder Arthur E. Stilwell. It is the home of Lamar State College and a year-round fisherman’s destination. The average temperature varies from 55 degrees in winter to 82 in summer. The convention and visitors bureau offers a Waterways Guide, which provides information on area freshwater and saltwater fishing. From the port, view the harbor and the largest
gantry crane on the Gulf Coast, and see the Rainbow and Veterans’ memorial bridges. The Rainbow Bridge’s 176-foot clearance height resulted from a requirement that any U.S. Navy ship at that time (1938) could pass under. Veterans’ Bridge, completed in 1991, with 143- foot navigation clearance, is the first cable-stayed bridge on Texas highways. Port Arthur comes alive during Mardi Gras. The
family-oriented pre-Lenten celebration is growing in this Cajun city.
BUU MON BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND LOTUS GARDENS—The temple, a four-tiered pagoda tower, is known internationally for the quality of its tropical and hardy lotuses and water lillies. A garden festival is held in June. 2701 Procter St. 409/982-9319.
http://buumon.org/buumon-garden.html.
LAKE—Sabine Lake—A saltwater estuary at the confluence of the Sabine and Neches Rivers. The main body of the lake is about 14 miles long. Offers fishing and boating. Accessible from Port Arthur.
www.visitportarthurtx.com.
LOWER NECHES WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA OBSERVATION PLATFORM—The 100-foot wheelchair accessible boardwalk is located on an abandoned oil well drilling site. The platform overlooks the Sabine River marsh, allowing visitors to see herons, egrets, ducks and other wildlife in a natural habitat. From Texas 87, turn south on Lake Street. 409/736-2551.
MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST—Exhibits explore the natural history of the Texas Gulf Coast from pre- historic fossils to the diverse flora and fauna of today, as well as trace human history. Popular culture exhibits include the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame and the Sports Legends Gallery with tributes to natives like
PHOTO: WILL VAN OVERBEEK/TXDOT
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