Rockport got its name from the rock ledge that runs along the shore of bay. Its main economic drivers are tourism, shipping, and fishing. We have been here for three months and spent many hours at various marinas and scouted out interesting piers. Here the marinas are filled primarily with what we call ‘working’ boats. Very few boats are fancy. Boats go out to dredge for oysters and then when the shrimping season opens they trade their dredging buckets for shrimping nets. Both activities are highly regulated and areas where either oysters or shrimp can be harvested are limited and the quantities are also restricted. Both industries have suffered major setbacks in the past few decades from the effects of flooding (too much fresh water dumped in the bay), pollution such as oil spills and then hurricanes! On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall over Rockport. The devastation was horrific! While some areas in Rockport are fully recovered there are many areas where one sees destruction that can only be attributed to a major hurricane.
A Classy Dock Junkyard
Photographers should not look down while crossing a bridge. All too often it results in "Let's go down there. We need to check that out." Short time later there is a U-turn (legal or illegal) and a trip back across the bridge looking for a road down. Such was this morning's first bridge crossing.
What we found was a very classy dock junkyard. It is being put together in loving fashion by Rusty, a guy with some money and a whole lot of 'memorabilia'. Story goes that Rusty built all of the iMax theaters on the west coast and is now 'downsizing' and putting much of it here. Whatever the story, the 'crime' scene tells all.
This store sells books. Very nice ones, in fact. I bought one about oceans and the importance of sustaining them, oceanic ecosystems, tragedies caused by man, etc. I bought it for a gift. The photography is inspiring. Only cash is accepted, by the way.
Bet the rental on this baby is reasonble.
Then Tom got personal and intimate with this lady.
This is taking container gardening to an extreme.
Every junkyard, to be legitimately classy, has humor.
To be a REAL junkyard, classy or otherwise, you need a DOG.
We spotted a boat entering the marina. It should feel right at home.
We finally drug ourselves away from these treasures. Heading south towards Calistoga on some very winding roads, we ended up at Clear Lake for the night. Tomorrow we will meet up with Kati for breakfast and cook up a great photo shoot for the three of us.
Have a great weekend. We are thinking about you.