Port Isabel, Texas

                                         

   Today I visited 3 museums in Port Isabel, Texas.  The Lighthouse was built in 1852, to guide ships through the barrier islands. In 1952 it opened as a State Park and is the only lighthouse on the Texas coast open to the public. The lighthouse is 70 feet tall. From in the top, a view can be seen for 16 miles.

     Treasures of the Gulf Museum tells the stories and shows artifacts from 3 Spanish shipwrecks in 1554, 30 miles north of Port Isabel. There also is a Children's Discovery area where kids can dress up like a ship crew or pirates.

     Port Isabel Historical Museum is in a building built in 1899. It has a gift shop . It has a large collection of Mexican artifacts from the US Mexican War. As I walked through, it told about the history from when Columbus came over from Spain, the war with Mexico, the ranching history, and  the fishing and shrimping industries.

 This view, from inside the top of the lighthouse,  is looking east toward South Padre Island. The bridge is the Queen Isabel Causeway. It is the longest bridge in Texas. It is 2.5 miles long.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

This view is looking west, from in the top of the lighthouse.