All your classic images of the Lone Star State will disappear quickly on Mustang Island (30 miles from downtown Corpus Christi), where gentle waves lap at your toes and rustling beach grasses bend on the dunes. Mustang Island is part of a chain of glorious barrier islands that hug the Texas mainland. These dreamy strands woo visitors to kick off their shoes, hunt for sand dollars or cast a rod for redfish and flounder. Eager to try for tuna and other big fighters? Head for Port Aransas at Mustang Island's northern end. The Port Aransas Ferry System provides free transportation 24/7, linking the islands' only town to the mainland. "Port A" is poised along the Coastal Bend, an ideal departure point for deep-sea fishing charters into the Gulf's fertile waters. This funky old-fashioned fishing town also is the place to rent a beach house and enjoy a freshly caught seafood dinner. At the island's south end, Mustang Island State Park preserves the state's rich tidewater coast and offers an easy, yet wonderfully wild, getaway on 3,474 acres. Egrets stalk through bayside tidal marshes and rivers of grass. Sandy paths spin off into the dunes, eventually spilling onto long stretches of sun-kissed beach. Watch for dolphins hobby-horsing in the bay and just offshore, then follow their lead and test the balmy water.