Still recovering from Harvey, tourism gives beach town a boost
Port Aransas hosts Memorial Day visitors, but struggle continues with closed hotels
“Texas is bouncing back as far as significance after Harvey. You see the people here (at Port Aransas). I think they’re a testament to the fact that, hey, we’re going to bounce back.” Duane Bailey of San Antonio
PORT ARANSAS — Duane Bailey of San Antonio just had to show his pride for both Memorial Day weekend and for one of the many Texas coastal towns still contending with the impact of Hurricane Harvey.
So what better way to do it than with an American flag billowing amidst the many colorful pop-up canopies and tents along a lively stretch of Port Aransas beach by Horace Caldwell Pier?
“I’m a Marine Corps vet, I’m out here flying the flag, having a good time,” said Bailey, whose quiet Gordon Setter Annie tugged at her dog leash tied to the staked flag, while Bailey’s girlfriend, Susan Heckaman from Austin, soaked in the Saturday morning sun and some ’80s music.
“Texas is bouncing back as far as significance after Harvey,” Bailey said. “You see the people here. I think they’re a testament to the fact that, hey, we’re going to bounce back.”
Bailey and Heckaman were just two of many Texans in Port Aransas for the Memorial Day holiday, doing their duty for fun in the sun and for one of the
state’s more popular hot spots that kicks off summer vacation season for fishing lovers, condominium dwellers and just good ol’ beachcombers from the Alamo City, Austin, Houston and many other Lone Star locales.
Bailey, a site logistics manager for a commercial construction company in San Antonio,
stressed that Gulf Coast sites such as Port Aransas and Rockport still need a financial shot in the arm from tourists as well as from state and federal funding, even nine months after Harvey.
And while a stroll down the Port A beach showed plenty of families frolicking in the water and in the sands, two friends from Austin found the Saturday
showing significantly smaller than previous Memorial Day weekends.
Tina Reeves sat in a chair under a canopy with her friend Jenny Jones on the Port A beach, a Memorial Day weekend tradition they’ve shared for more than five years. Reeves said previous years would see canopies and tents two to three rows deep, instead of this year’s bigger gaps in between.
“It’s quieter out here. Not so many people,” Reeves said.
Reeves attributed the smaller crowds not to lack of interest but to lack of accommodations. She said she was surprised at how many big hotels were still closed, a statement made in the very shadow of the nearby tow-
ering Dunes condominiums building that was boarded up and fenced off.
Not that the shuttered Dunes represented a common sight. A drive down Alister Street, the main retail artery of Port Aransas, and around other nearby blocks showed just a smattering of closed storefronts and construction, while the many pastel-colored homes nearby looked equally intact.
“Things are actually going very well,” said Port Aransas Mayor Charles R. Bujan in a phone call Friday. “We’re expecting a big weekend.”
Even if that means making the most out of one-day visits rather than condo rentals and overnight stays. Bujan said accommodations in Port Aransas are still at only about 50 percent, though he noted practically all restaurants are open for business and all beaches are in tourist-perfect condition.
Quite the gaggle of day-trippers and campers drove in for just that kind of pristine beach experience.
In addition to Bailey and Heckaman camping at the Port A beach, Iganico Cerbantez and his friend Raul Hernandez brought their respective families to Port A from San Antonio for a Friday night campout and Saturday morning grill on the beach.
And Cruz Hernandez and Sonya Martinez left San Antonio at 5 a.m. Saturday for a day trip to Port A to kick back with seven of their nine children, plus seven grandkids.
“I thought it was going to be crowded,” Cruz Hernandez said.
“But it’s pretty nice.”
Retailers offered a similar experience. For instance, outside the jaws of the semitruck-sized shark at Destination Beach & Surf, Houston couple Alan and Rhonda Bryant, joined by Sugar Land couple Sandra and Jeff Parker, found their first-ever
visit to Port Aransas laid-back and enjoyable.
“It has everything I’m looking for,” Rhonda Bryant said. “A low-key weekend.”
Low-key may mean more elbow room at the beach for visitors, but it’s not exactly a cozy feeling for local businesses.
“I think it’s still definitely difficult,” said Destination shop clerk Valerie Hinojosa. “Especially because a lot of the people don’t have the customers, with places not being open for them to stay.”
But Bailey has just the remedy: Have fun in Port Aransas to
help Port Aransas.
“I would say go buy a tent, hang out on the beach, come early when the wind’s not bad and come spend your money out here,” Bailey said.