Our Wheelchair Travels: Mustang Island and Port Aransas, Texas.

Planning a quick getaway is never easy if someone in your travel party uses a wheelchair.  Not just any hotel, flight or activity will do.  But over the years you'll develop a knack for what works and what doesn't.  And every now and then you discover a little gem worth sharing with others.

Let me introduce you to Mustang Island State Park.  It's run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is located on a sliver of land just off the mainland of Corpus Christi, Texas.  It's easily accessible by causeway at the end of Corpus Christi's South Padre Island Drive.  We found a hotel room surrounded by shopping on SPID-- as the locals call it-- and the park was just minutes away.  Mustang Island State Park isn't really fancy.  There are camping spaces and slots for RVs. But it has one thing that makes it a gem for someone with a power wheelchair.  You can drive up to the edge of the water and the sand is so tightly packed that you can roll your wheelchair out and enjoy the sun, the breeze, the ocean spray and the fun of being on the beach.  My wife uses a heavy Permobil Chairman and she had no problem rolling around on the sand.

Now beware.  Even a little splash of surf will suddenly turn the sand into mush, so don't venture too close to the water.  It caught us by surprise once when we didn't realize the tide had crept in.  Luckily my son and a friendly beachgoer were able to help me quickly get my wife and her chair to higher ground.

And while you're in the area you might want to drive up to nearby Port Aransas.  It's a fishing town popular with inland Texans who access it directly from the mainland via a local ferryboat system.  Make sure you add the time spent waiting in line for the ferryboat to your travel time if you're coming from that direction.  We missed a fishing charter once because of the delay.  But if you're coming from Corpus Christi it's just down the road from Mustang Island State Park.  No ferryboat ride needed.

Port Aransas is where we found a wheelchair-accessible fishing boat, the Island Queen II.  When I read the boat was a converted ferryboat I knew I had found what we were looking for.  It is quite spacious and I'm told they host wheelchair groups.  They also had an assortment of folding ramps to help you board.  My wife's chair got stuck on their ramp, however, and I ended up lugging my folding ramp from the car to get her on board.  But no ramp works with all models of chairs.  So be prepared.

In any case it was a small price to pay.  My wife enjoyed the 4-hour bay fishing trip and the congenial crew.  She also  caught a small shark which made everything worthwhile.  She was thrilled.  I can't speak to the boat trip personally since I get seasick easily, so I didn't even try.  No reflection on the boat.  The Island Queen II runs three times a day: 8:00am, 1:00pm and 6:00pm during peak seasons.  They love walkups, but you'll want to call to make sure they have enough passengers to make the scheduled runs: (361) 749-6969.

Also read Our Wheelchair Travels: Hawaii.