Five years after a traumatic event, we decided it was time to finally take a family trip and celebrate.                                 We thought what better place to commemorate such a tremendous milestone than to sunbathe and do absolutely nothing while the soundtrack of the ocean set the relaxing mood.

From the moment we stepped off the airplane, palm trees greeted us and the salty air filled our noses. Fortunately, the shuttle ride to the Emerald Beach hotel was short, because I couldn’t wait to get my toes into the sand. We quickly changed into our bathing suits and walked the shoreline for hours looking for the coolest shells we could find. Of course we did mistake some hermit crabs for empty shells, as some of the shells in our pile promptly walked away.

After we lived our Little Mermaid fantasies, we decided to head downtown where we discovered that the town had way more attractions than just the beach. To begin with, there was an art festival featuring original artwork, jewelry, food trucks, live music, and more! There were also quaint boutiques up and down the street filled with souvenirs and handmade trinkets. I’m not going to lie, in my mind I was singing “look at this stuff, isn’t it neat” as I strolled up and down the aisles. Music also played a big part in the downtown scene. Corpus Christi is apparently home to the South Texas Music Walk of Fame, featuring musicians from various genres of music, from Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson to the Dixie Chicks and George Jones. But, by far the most revered artist was Selena, who had her own shrine complete with a life-size statue and narration of her life story.                                                                                                                                                           Along with art and music, there was a plethora of restaurants offering the best seafood I’ve ever had, Harrison’s Landing being the most memorable as you can watch the boats enter and leave the bay while chomping on calamari and key lime pie. Other tourist-y options include paddle boats, jet skis, a bicycle that seats up to four people, and sightseeing tours.

Although we didn’t get to do most of these, the one thing we did get to enjoy was the sunset dolphin tour. We didn’t see any dolphins, but we saw a spectacular view of the city, a breath-taking sunset, as well as the Harbor Bridge and the U.S.S. Lexington. Despite the massive sunburn that I came back with, this vacation was definitely one for the scrapbooks along with Nashville and Disney. I would go back in a heartbeat!