Timeless Journeys

Timeless Journeys with Sage Mustang Island, Texas

by Kimberly “Sage” Pridemore

Welcome to Infinity Magazine’s exciting adventure feature, “Timeless Journeys with Sage.” Sage has been with the Infinity team for several years, her wisdom, knowledge and experience makes her a perfect fit as Infinity’s Travel Editor for this special feature. Each issue will be a wonderful adventure with Sage as she travels to amazing destinations. Sage will share her travels with helpful tips, interesting facts about her fun filled and relaxing get-aways!

Mustang Island, Texas

I am so excited that many of the travel restrictions have been lifted. I am preparing to take my first international flight since last year. Ray and I are joining two other couples for two weeks of sailing in the British Virgin Islands. More to come on that! We just returned from a laidback stay on Mustang Island. Our home for a week was the Sea Gull Condominiums. It’s spotless, easy to check in and out of, plus they have rooms with a balcony facing the ocean. In just a few short steps, you’re on the beach. I highly recommend this place as it has everything one would need, plus a reasonable price point. To avoid the crowds, we visited from Sunday through Friday.

Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The island is 18 miles long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. We chose to drive the four and a half hour drive from our place. If you’re not within driving distance, flying into Corpus Christi is super easy.

One fun place to explore is Mustang Island State Park. There are five miles of coastline for collecting shells and nature watching. Water sports range from

parasailing, surfing and even skydiving. For those wanting a more relaxed day, chilling on the beach is the way to go.

Mustang Island is great to visit with your honey or to bring the whole family. Port Aransas is a cute little town a few miles from Mustang Island and known as the “Fishing Capital” of Texas. You can take offshore excursions, fish the bays and channels or cast a line at one of the many lighted public piers. Port A has numerous shops, boutiques and galleries. Browse for unique home decor, island fashions and souvenirs. One of the best ways to explore Port A is by bicycle or golf cart, rentable all over town.

Two of our favorite places for nightlife and music are Shorty’s Place Pub and Bernie’s Beach House. Shorty’s is the oldest bar in Port Aransas and a place where many locals hang out. Enjoy music playing on the jukebox or live bands on the patio with the ocean breeze on the deck. Bernie’s is the spot for island inspired drinks. It’s always a great place to dine, dance, and to play pool and poker. They even have a DJ in the evenings.

Ray and I hung out at Lelo’s Island Bar one of our afternoons and enjoyed some of the best cheese burgers. We each had one of their tiki drinks as well. I believe it was a Painkiller! Lelo’s definitely a dive bar with outstanding food and beach vibe.

Most of our trip was spent lounging at the beach. One of my favorite things to do is hit the waves with a boogie board. Ray and I bought two new ones this trip and spent nearly every day breaking them in. The waves are no joke and you’ll definitely get a full body workout! We spent mornings walking the beach before sunrise and collecting shells. I was always looking for that perfect sand dollar.

One of the highlights of our trip was finding out my close friend, Stacy and her husband are to Mustang Island two resorts down. Stacy co-facilitates a Women’s Empowerment Retreat with me. We had two in Texas in 2019 and are planning two more for 2021. Connecting with her and her husband for fun in the sun and dinner was kismet! It was not planned but no coincidence. We ended up having dinner both nights at Virginia’s On the Bay. It is located on the waterfront in Port Aransas, Virginia’s two story open-air restaurant. It has great seafood and service, as well as panoramic views of the harbor, lighthouse, and ship channel. It’s a great place to see dolphins playing and an awesome sunset. For both dinners, we shared oysters from the Gulf, and they were delicious! We also enjoyed local fresh fish each night. The grilled flounder and black drum were cooked to perfection.

My favorite restaurant in Port A is Irie’s Island Food. I could have eaten there every day! Ray loved it too. It is a small, extra casual restaurant featuring fresh, handmade meals and locally caught seafood. They have creative tacos on house made tortillas, Hawaiian, Asian, American/tropical and international cuisine. They also make New Orleans style beignets from scratch and roast their own coffee. The line often starts at 11:00 am and never ends until they close that night. You order off a black board menu and can hopefully find a seat inside or outside. They serve wine, beer and mimosas. I promise that the wait in the line is totally worth it.

There are many things on the menu we wanted to try. We opted for a bunch of different things to share. We started with the dragon queso with chips. It’s made with black beans, red and green dragon sauce. The homemade chips were to die for! We also had homemade shrimp egg rolls that were the best I’ve ever had! Lastly, we ordered fish and chips with fresh flounder, coleslaw, homemade fries and hush puppies. Needless to say that we were in desperate need of a walk on the beach and then a long nap.

Mustang Island/Port Aransas is almost like another home away from home for me in Texas. The trip

(Continued on pg. 6)