I’m not a hardcore birder, but Rockport’s coastal marshes beckoned. Early morning I drove to the nearby wildlife refuge (or parklands), armed with binoculars and a guidebook. Egrets, herons, sandpipers, and roseate spoonbills flitted in the shallows. The hush and beauty stunned me.

Back at camp, I made a “bayou breakfast skillet” — slices of smoked sausage, onion, bell pepper, diced potatoes — all tossed in a cast-iron pan. I drizzled in some Texas hot sauce and served it with rye toast.

The rest of the day I strolled the resort grounds, dipped in the swimming pool, read a novel in a lounge chair, and napped in the shade. At sunset, I walked the private pier again, letting the horizon glow and the water calm me.

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Madison Greenwood