A Weekend in Port A

Port Aransas, or Port A as it’s affecting referred to, is the most adorable little beach community on the gulf coast of Texas.

Its a place I grew up going to for many a beach vacation and I have some of the very best memories of it! When we were planning our last road trip to Texas, I just knew that we had to include a visit to the beach - I just couldn’t wait to take the kids to one of my favourite places! And although we definitely missed having my hubby there with us, we had an amazing time and the kids can’t wait to take Daddy! ;)

We arrived on Friday afternoon, got checked into our hotel, went for dinner, came back and played in the pool at the hotel, and then attempted to get the kids to bed on time ish so that we would all have energy for playing at the beach! Saturday, we grabbed coffee and went headed to ____, a waterfront park. The city was hosting early Easter festivities so we thought we’d check them out. The kids hit up the bouncy slides and then played on the playground before we decided to head to the beach. I’’’m so glad we spend the entire day at the beach on Saturday as it turned out to be the much warmer of the days! We also rented a golf cart for a hour in the middle of the day to tour around the city and beach. Sunday was our last day so we had to check out, but we decided to head to the beach with our morning coffee and enjoy playing at the beach one last time. It was definitely cooler but still so beautiful!

I did my best to round up allllll the details of the trip…

Where We Stayed

Tropic Island Resort - This was an older hotel that had been recently renovated and they did a great job. It isn’t a fancy place, but it was nicely designed, and very practical - laminate floors, and a huge walk in closet for all the gear. Our favourite part, by far, was the pool area! It was beautifully done with tall palm trees, three pool areas, and lit up at night, it was just gorgeous. It was the perfect Texas beach vibe and we even met a lovely family while we were swimming, in typical Texas fashion.

And as chance would have it, the owners are Canadians that moved down! ;)

You can visit their website here.

Where We Ate

Virginia’s On The Beach - After we got all settled into our hotel, we headed here for dinner. One of my childhood friends, and a regular visitor to the area, recommend this place to us. To be completely honest, the kids were super tired and so I don’t feel like we really got to fully appreciate this place. But wow!! The location was pretty darn spectacular and the pina colada was lovely! ;) You can find them here.

Coffee Waves - We might have been the only people taking advantage of their drive-thru window that weekend but we’re just so used to a drive-thru! ;) This was our “go to” spot for coffee and one breakfast over the weekend and I’d definitely recommend it! Everything was so fresh, they had really great coffee, and the staff (and patrons) were all super friendly! You can find them here.

Whataburger - So, Port A is definitely not the only place we dined at this iconic Texas fast food establishment… We are huge fans of Whataburger and it seemed like the perfect place to stop for lunch on our way home on Sunday. Please note the Whataburger glamour shot of my mum and the kids - it’s one of my absolute favourite pictures! ;)

What We Did

Played on the Beach - I mean, it’s really want we came for! Living in Alberta for the past decade has made me realize how much I miss the ocean, and putting my toes in the sand. Like I said, some of my favourite childhood memories are of playing on this very beach, and I’m so glad Sophie and Simon got to experience that too!

Rented a Golf Cart

Y’all, this was an absolute hoot and definitely a highlight of our time in Port A!! Golf carts are allowed on most of the roads there (with the exception of the highway, I mean, duh lol) and they are great for driving on the beach! We just had so much fun exploring the town this way and will absolutely do this again on our next visit!!

Have you been to Port Aransas? I’d love any suggestions for what we should see/do or where we should eat next time… With moving to Texas, I see a lot of trips to Port A in our future!

Until I blog again,

Alex