Wintering in South Texas

[CWJK55]

We have reservations for January in South Padre Texas. I'd planned to spend time at Port Aransas by Corpus Christi and then head up to Austin.
I've never been around hurricane disaster areas. I know that South Padre didn't get hit too hard by Harvey but Corpus Christi/Port Aransas did.
Right now Houston looks to be impassable. While we have no plans to stay in Houston it is our route in and maybe back out.
We can go and add money to the economy or would we just ba adding more mouths to feed?
For you who are more experienced should we look at changing our winter plans to Florida?

[Heli_fixer]

I would love to hear some thoughts on this. We are also planning on going to this same area in January.

[rk911]

same here although we'll be in transit along I-10 to AZ in late Jan or early Feb.

[Jerry TX]

Having lived in Houston from 1978 to 2012 I think you'll be amazed by the recovery the County and City will make by Jan. While the current situation is a magnitude bigger than anything experienced during my 38 years in Houston, I think it is safe to continue your travel plans for Houston in January. I'd be cautious about traveling through the area on I-10 in Sept and early Oct. as an alternate you could travel north through Dallas/Ft Worth on I-20 and take US-281 south to San Antonio. It's a more scenic route anyway.

[CWJK55]

Right now we're planning to cancel our reservations. I'll wait a bit to see how things progress. The next choice was to go down to Florida, but now there is Irma.
Wait and see.

[Larrikin]

We live outside Austin now but were swamped by Ike in 2008. I concur w Jerry TX that you should be fine that far out. Port Aransas and Rockport will be struggling, they were pretty basic small towns. Corpus Christi should be in good shape by then from a tourist point of view. Unless you are coming from the East Coast stick with South Texas.

[smlranger]

We also have reservations in January at Gulf Waters RV Resort in Port Aransas. Their website only says they are closed and not taking any reservations. We have no idea if they can/will recover by January. Our plans would also have us traveling thru Houston to get to Port Aransas.

Heck, we also have reservations for Sept 11 - Oct 16 in Myrtle Beach, SC but Irma may put a damper on those plans.

[rvbiker45]

I would caution anyone that is planning on cruising through the area that has been hit by Hurricane Harvey to be aware of the overloaded local economies. There will be an enormous number of migrant workers and displaced locals that will be occupying the RV parks where you might want to spend some time kicking back. The locals are going to be looking for any and everything to live in until their homes can be repaired. It is going to take a very long time to put things back in normal shape.

The lower Rio Grande Valley is probably open for normal business, but the middle coast is not and will not be open for awhile. I offer this as a heads up to what you might encounter.

[CWJK55]

"Unless you are coming from the East Coast stick with South Texas."

We would be coming from Illinois. My normal route is to head South as quickly as possible: down 57 through Illinois 55 to Baton Rouge and then take 10 into Texas.
That takes me through or around Houston. My choice is to swing south along the coast on 35 to Corpus Christi and then 77 further south.
I could cut through Arkansas from Memphis towards Dallas but I worry about cold weather taking that more northern route.

[rvbiker45]

If the northern route through Dallas is of some concern because of the weather, just keep an eye on it. If an ice storm is forecasted, just find a place to park and wait it out. They (ice storms) usually pass in a couple of days.

The poster that mentioned having reservations at Gulf Breeze in Port Aransas might want to start thinking of a plan B. The RV park next door to GB named Pioneer was 100% destroyed. That is according to local reports. I don't know how cement pads, etc. can be totally destroyed, but that is what is being stated. I can envision the buildings and RV's being annilated, so proceed with caution with your future plans. I have not seen any reports on the condition of GB RV Resort.

Just food for thought.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by CWJK55

We have reservations for January in South Padre Texas. I'd planned to spend time at Port Aransas by Corpus Christi and then head up to Austin.
I've never been around hurricane disaster areas. I know that South Padre didn't get hit too hard by Harvey but Corpus Christi/Port Aransas did.
Right now Houston looks to be impassable. While we have no plans to stay in Houston it is our route in and maybe back out.
We can go and add money to the economy or would we just ba adding more mouths to feed?
For you who are more experienced should we look at changing our winter plans to Florida?

I'd just phone ahead to see how things are - I'm sure if everyone goes to Florida or Arizona it would not be good for Texas, so call and ask, I'm sure they will be honest and let you know what to expect - while things in and around Houston, may not be back to normal for years - the rest of the state is fine.

JMHO,

[Stripe34]

I'm on a couple of FB groups where folks are pre-hired to be work campers at some of the Port Arkansas / Corpus Christi area campgrounds. These folks are getting updates from (these particular parks) saying PLEASE don't cancel, they want people's business, they intend to be open, etc. The parks that folks are communicating with are requesting just a week or two of customers patience so they can give an accurate update.

One thing I will say is that we had to change plans last year and camp in FL instead and it was REALLY difficult to find suitable campsites in places we wanted to go (most were full). "Suitable" (for us) was big-rig friendly & FHU & safe - and near our route. Good campgrounds in FL might be full already.

HTH.

[GoneToTheDog]

I'm thinking Arizona is going to be even more crowded with snowbirds than usual this year.

[Duoglide1]

The RGV did not get any rain. It should be business as usual. Lots of parks in Harlingen/McAllen/Mission.