I tried to organize a sunrise paddle on the Aransas River for our local club, but there was not much interest in getting up early enough for a sunsrise launch some 30 miles north of Corpus.  After a change to a slightly later time we had a group of 5 paddlers signed up for the trip.  We got the kayaks in the water about 8:00 am and although it was not sunrise we still had some shade along the east bank of the river.  Our group consisted of 3 of our faster paddlers in their fiberglass touring kayaks, a medium paced paddler (me), and a slower paddler in a short sit-on-top.  I split the group and sent the faster paddlers upstream with instructions to check out a bend about a mile away for sunning alligators and then turn back downstream.  Shirley and I headed downstream stopping frequently for pictures and to scan the grassy banks for birds and gators.  After about 40 min., the faster paddlers Scott, Mike, and Bob, caught up and we paddled as a group for about 20 min.  Scott spotted an alligator swimming along the north bank and we slowly followed staying close to the south shore.  Although we never saw the whole body, we estimated that it was a 5-6 footer based on the head size.  The wind started to increase so Mike and Shirley turned to head back while Scott, Bob, and I paddled a little farther to check out what was around the next bend in the river.  When we  turned, Scott and Bob went into what I consider "race" mode to catch up with Mike and Shirley.  I kept up for a while but got dropped when I slowed for a drink of water. We caught Mike and Shirley about 2 miles from the launch site and finished the paddle as a group at about 11:00.  After cleaning up the kayaks, we stopped at the little bakery in Bayside for sandwiches.  Although we did not get great looks at lots of gators, we did see the one fairly good sized one, saw a fair assortment of birds, and got to experience an almost wilderness paddle without houses, boats, or other signs of human encroachment.