Salty Stories
The island town of Port Aransas has a personality all its own. The clock ticks a bit slower, the seaworn wood you see isn’t artificial, and the people you meet aren’t reading from a script. The locals call this convergence of authentic Port A character and culture “salty."
Meet some of the people who continue to make Port Aransas more than a beach destination.
This is their island, and these are their Salty Stories.
There are endless stories to tell and characters to meet in Port Aransas. Release a rehabilitated sea turtle with Alicia Walker and her team, create amazing sand sculptures with Mark Landrum, cast a line with deep sea fishing legend Dee Wallace, and catch a wave with Brittany and Magen.
Alicia Walker
The ocean is the soul of Port Aransas, and its allure softens the saltiest of hearts. Alicia Walker with her colleagues and volunteers at the Amos Rehabilitation Keep have dedicated their lives to ensuring future Texans get to enjoy the same connection with the ocean—and all its living treasures there within—as the generations that came before them.
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"You come face to face with a sea turtle and you can't help but be connected with it. We can help save one individual, but with education we can save an entire population."
Mark Landrum
Every year countless visitors find their spot along Port Aransas’ 18 miles of uninterrupted beaches, dig their toes in the sand, and maybe even try their hand at building a sandcastle—and that’s how it started for Mark Landrum as well. What started as a simple hobby for Mark quickly grew into a way for him to enrich the lives of both those who visit Port Aransas and those who call it home.
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“I feel blessed to live on this island, because of this sand everyone wants to come here. It’s one of the best places in the world for the sand and sand sculpting.”
Dee Wallace
You don’t have to tell tall fishing tales when you’ve lived a life like Dee Wallace. He has drawers packed with passports stamped from the world’s most exotic countries and ports, and walls covered in photographs of world record sports fish. After decades as a world record-chasing fishing captain, Dee Wallace has made his home in the small fishing village where he first fell in love with the sea—Port Aransas, Texas.
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“I searched the word for the best islands, and always ended up back here.”
Brittany & Magen
To ride the power of the ocean, to move with it and conquer it for just a moment…it’s a draw that keeps surfers from coast to coast coming back. A group of female surfers have emerged here on the True Texas Coast to stake their claim among the waves off Port Aransas. Their story is moving and their impact on the community is inspiring.
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“The peacefulness you feel out on the water, it’s cleansing.”
More Salty Stories
Winton’s Candy
How glimmering candy wrappers and tempered chocolates brings nostalgia to thousands of visitors.
The Owens Family
How love at first sight grew into one of Port Aransas’ most successful stories.
Farley Boats
How a simplified boat design laid the cornerstone for the entire town of Port Aransas.
Podcasts
The island town of Port Aransas has a personality all its own. The locals call it “salty," and there’s no better word to describe the seaside authenticity you can only find in Port A. Now you can hear straight from the people who have made this island what it is today. This is who we are and these are our stories, our “Salty Stories.”