Day trip south to the King Ranch, halfway between here and Matamoros, Mexico, about 1.5 hours driving time. It was hot, windy, and humid. We signed up for the ranch bus tour, which proved to be uneventful and even a little boring; an hour and a half in a bus the size of a handy dart packed with people and featuring a poor air conditioning system, with windows that didn't open but threatened to rattle loose and fall out while bouncing over some of the ranch roads.
The driver liked to stop at every herd of cattle we came across, but motored quickly past the ranch mansion and other buildings that were photo worthy. The friends we were with had taken the tour a few years ago and said they got off the bus at a few interesting spots and got to see all kinds of stuff that we didn't today. Bummer.
So after the tour we decided to check out a seafood restaurant recommended by some people in the park here, Kings Inn in Riviera, TX, right on the bay and 20 minutes south of Kingsville. We started to get lost when our friend's GPS decided to go stupid once we got off the main highway, so I got my iPhone Google Map out, we got our own GPS out, and the backseat people were using smart phone apps, and also tried to call them on a cell phone, all to no avail. We ended up turning around and trying to find our way back to the highway when we suddenly got back on track and found the place.
It was a semi-dilapidated old beach kind of place with real linen on the tables. First order of business for the waitress was to tell us it was a house rule, men had to remove hats. Okayyyyy......
Second weird thing, they had no menus. They served everything "family style," meaning it comes on plates that you serve yourself from, and everything was sold by the pound. The waitress rattled off what they had, oysters, shrimp, scallops, and drum, that French fries came with everything, and they also had an avocado salad and onion rings you could order.
I had to go up to the front to find out prices per pound and what options you had for how the food was prepared, which turned out to be fried only, except the shrimp could also be ordered cold. I forgot that "fried" down here means battered and thrown in an oil fryer, so we ended up with deep-fried shrimp, oysters, and scallops.
The avocado salad was the best thing there, followed by the shrimp. Never had deep-fried oysters or scallops before and probably never will again.
On a good note, when we got back to the park, I bought a 10-pound bag of fresh huge prawns from a family who has shrimp boats out of Palacio, about 2 hours north of here. Stay tuned for photos of shrimp on the barbie tomorrow!
The driver liked to stop at every herd of cattle we came across, but motored quickly past the ranch mansion and other buildings that were photo worthy. The friends we were with had taken the tour a few years ago and said they got off the bus at a few interesting spots and got to see all kinds of stuff that we didn't today. Bummer.
So after the tour we decided to check out a seafood restaurant recommended by some people in the park here, Kings Inn in Riviera, TX, right on the bay and 20 minutes south of Kingsville. We started to get lost when our friend's GPS decided to go stupid once we got off the main highway, so I got my iPhone Google Map out, we got our own GPS out, and the backseat people were using smart phone apps, and also tried to call them on a cell phone, all to no avail. We ended up turning around and trying to find our way back to the highway when we suddenly got back on track and found the place.
It was a semi-dilapidated old beach kind of place with real linen on the tables. First order of business for the waitress was to tell us it was a house rule, men had to remove hats. Okayyyyy......
Second weird thing, they had no menus. They served everything "family style," meaning it comes on plates that you serve yourself from, and everything was sold by the pound. The waitress rattled off what they had, oysters, shrimp, scallops, and drum, that French fries came with everything, and they also had an avocado salad and onion rings you could order.
I had to go up to the front to find out prices per pound and what options you had for how the food was prepared, which turned out to be fried only, except the shrimp could also be ordered cold. I forgot that "fried" down here means battered and thrown in an oil fryer, so we ended up with deep-fried shrimp, oysters, and scallops.
The avocado salad was the best thing there, followed by the shrimp. Never had deep-fried oysters or scallops before and probably never will again.
On a good note, when we got back to the park, I bought a 10-pound bag of fresh huge prawns from a family who has shrimp boats out of Palacio, about 2 hours north of here. Stay tuned for photos of shrimp on the barbie tomorrow!
Above: Just try to get a photo of anything at the King Ranch from the handi-dart bus piloted by a weird senior citizen. This is a doorway into the huge mansion on the ranch. Striking photo, huh?
Above: Spaghetti night at the park. Actually tasted okay...
Above: Best thing at the King Ranch: Alamo Crackers. Really.
The ranch was established pre-Civil War, and the owner was friends with Robert E. Lee and helped run cotton through Mexican-registered ships through the North's embargo...
Above: Why do most of the major streets in Texas have at least 2 or 3 names their titles? Like Major Tom Brown Boulevard, or John Paul Harvey Road? Weird.
Above: REAL happy campers
Above: Far-away pic of the King Ranch Mansion (The driver had stopped the bus yet again for some more blasted cows that she seems entranced with)
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