Here at CoffeeSock, we are big fans of the Texas coast!

I was 18 when I left my home in Marble Falls, Texas and set off for Corpus Christi, three and half hours south to the gulf. On paper, I was there to attend Del Mar College, but in my heart, I was there for the coast. I traded some school grant money for a surf board and spent class days paddling around with my closest girlfriend. On the Texas coast, I fell in love with VWs and learned the art of breaking down in the soft sand. I still think about those hours sitting in the always-blowing breeze and watching the pelicans.  

For those four years in Corpus and North Padre Island, I learned the beaches of Texas until I was ready for my next adventure and moved to the “big city” in Austin.   I’ve had a love affair with the state coast ever since. 

Texas beaches have their own personalities, from the vacationer-vibe and boardwalks of Galveston to the quiet aquamarine water and white sands of Mustang Island State Park. The coastal areas offer their own abundance to those who come – free places to gather with friends and family, social spaces to relax and have fun, quiet spaces for solitude and reflection. And of course, countless plant and animal species call the coast home.  

That’s why efforts like the Texas Adopt-a-Beach program are so important. If clean beaches keep the coast welcoming for the students, families, and retirees who love them, clean beaches are crucial to the sea turtles, algae, crabs, and fish that sustain the gulf ecosystem. 

And consider these facts published by the Texas General Land Office (you can print out learning activities for kids here too):  http://www.glo.texas.gov/adopt-a-beach

• Aluminum cans take 200 years to decompose and the plastic 6-pack rings that hold them together take 400 years to decompose – both are dangerous to animals and people.
• Glass bottles take 1 million years to decompose and broken glass can cause injury and property damage
• Plastic bags take 10-20 years to decompose and find their way into marine animal foods and boat propellers

At CoffeeSock, our love for the beach (and the mountains and the forests and the rivers) inspired the need for our product. We’re committed to a world with less trash. This is why the CoffeeSock family adopted a stretch of Texas coast extending from North Padre Island to Mustang Island State Park. A few times each year, we enjoy the coast with our friends and family and spend some time keeping it trash free.  We are lucky to have family living in a bay area full of sea critters that we get to visit often and spend time in one of our favorite places.  

You can adopt your own stretch of the Texas coast through the General Land Office, here. http://www.glo.texas.gov/adopt-a-beach

I ran the beaches as a mousy-haired kid, surfed through my independence as a 20-something, and now regularly return with my own kids to camp on the sand. Someday I’ll dip my toes in the sea and sit on the edge of a clean and still-vibrant beach, a happy old lady.