We were having our 2nd club trip in two weeks and amazingly we had 8 people for this trip just like the last one.  That may be a record for turnout on consecutive club outtings.  I arrived at the Nueces Bay Bait Stand by the Portland Causeway a few minutes before the scheduled 7 am meeting time. I wanted to get some sunrise pictures and to make sure that I was not the last person on the water as is usually the case.  We launched into Nueces Bay and made a slow pass by the bird nesting island near the launch.  Since this is late in the breeding season there were only a few Great Blue Herons and some gulls on the island.  We headed over to the sunken barge and then up the undeveloped industrial channel where we sometimes get some good birding.  Evidently it was too late in the season there also.  The group split apart as we paddled back out of the channel and two of us paddled out around a point toward the middle of the bay.  Just as we were about to turn we spotted the dolphins.  They swam over to us and then lead us back to the rest of the group. Everyone got a chance for a close up encounters as the dolphins accompanied us all the way back to the lanuch.