Stay awhile in the Lone Star state

Other southern wintering spots may have grander attractions and bigger crowds but for the increasing numbers of Canadians who winter in Texas, it’s the small pleasures that are appealing.

“It’s for people who like nature and fishing,” says John Bax, originally from London, Ont., who has been wintering here since 1985 and whose films of bird life have been shown around the world.

Wintering Canadians who enjoy surfing, sailing and golfing will find it all on the Lower Gulf Coast as well as the opportunity to walk along the  beaches of South Padre Island or cast in the surf for whiting or fish out in the bay for speckled sea trout or flounder.

Nature lovers will enjoy quiet little Port Aransas on Mustang Island, where the whooping cranes winter along with more than 500 species of migratory birds

Besides the warmth and the range of activities, it’s the prices that draw the winter Texans, especially Canadian RVers from the prairie provinces who drive straight south. (By air, Houston is the gateway, usually via Air Canada or Continental).

The hard facts on currency
The hard facts on our soft currency: Texas8217; famous Buckaroo Bucks promotion offers many deals at par.

For accommodation, you can pay $1,700 a month (all figures in U.S. dollars) for a villa on a gulfside golf course. At the 1,500-site Fun ’N’ Sun RV park, the biggest in Texas, you can pay anywhere from $4,000 to $40,000 to own a stationary mobile home. The Baxes pay $1,900 annual land rental at the park for their modest 33-foot mobile home and commute to a second one in Saskatchewan for the summer. “Prices are lower here than Florida,” says John.

For more information on Texas and Buckaroo bucks call 1-800-888-8839