South Padre Island

Roger here...  I have neglected posting since our return to Mission, Texas in December.  I hope to catch everyone up on our busy times since then, but in the meantime, it was time to "exercise" our motor home.  Since South Padre Island is only an hour and a half from our home, it was time for a four-night beach get-a-way.

We parked at the South Padre Island KOA.  Since we were only visiting for four nights, we decided to splurge on a pull-in site with a view.  It was a great site and worth the extra money.

Dianne, Poquita and Bandido Approve of the Campsite Raised Deck

Some very sad news.... We lost Tequila several weeks ago.  Her kidneys stopped functioning.  It was totally unexpected, and we miss our funny girl terribly.  It did not take Dianne long to find a replacement from Cinderella Pet Rescue (where we are volunteers).  Poquita ("Little Bit" in Spanish) is our first small dog.  She is a chihuahua  mix.  She is loving and hilarious.  She copies everything that Bandido does.

It did not take long to set up our outdoor living area, since all of the furniture came with the site. 

 Watching the boat traffic on the bay was great fun.

The local pirate ship coasted by several times a day.

All four of us kept an eye on the local shore birds as they paraded around the tidal pool in front of the motor home.  The dogs had to have been confused by the changing scenery....  is that water still out there, or is it sand?"

After dinner we strolled along the bay next to the campsite.  It was a pleasant walk in an unfamiliar place... lots of new smells for the dogs.

The evening view of the bay bridge that we crossed earlier in the day was spectacular.

We sauntered by Pier 19 as we returned to our motor home.  We would be eating there the next evening.

Our main activity during the day time was walking with the dogs along the endless beach.  I had forgotten the peacefulness of walking on wet sand while listening to the roaring surf and watching the whitecaps on the waves.  It did not take long for me to take off my shoes.

Bandido had a great time wading in the surf and checking out new smells in the sand.

Poquita had never seen the ocean before, and she was not entirely sure that she liked it.  In fact, when Dianne sat her on the sand near the water, she wriggled out of her harness and headed toward the safety of the dry sand.  After Dianne soothed her for a while, she watched Bandido having fun and decided that it might be ok.  Poquita always walked on the edge of the water, ever ready to scamper away like the shore birds when the waves slid too close, but it did not take long for her to have fun. 

That evening as we were getting ready to go out for dinner, we watched the eerie and ominous clouds of an approaching storm.  

We crossed the bridge into Port Isabelle, planning to eat at Joe's Oyster Bar.  Friends recommended it.  Unfortunately, it was closed that evening.  Sorry we missed it, but all was not lost.

We drove back to South Padre and ate shrimp at Pier 19.  I also enjoyed an amazing bloody mary complete with a shrimp garnish.  Dianne had some coconut concoction.

We walked out onto the pier after dinner to take in views of the impending storm.  The storm raged later that night while we were asleep.  The key word in the previous sentence was, "were".  It was quite a storm....  high winds, torrential rain, and ear-splitting thunder.  The lightning was close enough to be blinding, even through tightly closed eyes.  Bandido, our chicken dog, hid under the steering wheel.   

When we awakened the next morning we were greeted by beautiful sunny weather.  Back to the beach we went.

After a long walk next along the surf, we hopped in the car to find Clayton's, the largest beach bar in Texas.  

Dianne found a shady spot on the massive deck so we could continue to watch surf roll in.  We each had a "Pain Killer".  I won't divulge the recipe, but suffice it to say that one was enough to (along with the music) set a festive tone.  

We had so much fun that day, that we repeated it the next day...  long beach walk followed by a relaxing time at Clayton's.  

Dianne here:  We've discovered that September is a great time to visit the beach - the summer crowds are gone, kids are back in school, and the Winter Texans have not yet arrived.  We had no trouble finding parking at the beach access.  And the weather was perfect right along the beach.

In case you are wondering what our dogs did during our Clayton's time.... 

... they politely rested underneath our very tall bar stools.  The long walks on the beach seemed to wear them out.

"Hey dad, what are you doing way up there?"

Back at the campsite I grilled tuna steaks for dinner.  



We were somewhat concerned about our drive back to Retama Village the next day.  A possible tropical depression was developing not far from our location.  I can certainly drive the motor home in rain, but windy conditions can be a little dicey.  The "dragon" in the sky (below) seemed to be telling us that it was time to leave.

The drive home was actually a non-event... a little wet, but nothing more.

Bandido says, "Hey dad, let me out.  We're home!"







We are planning a trip to the Texas Hill Country in October to meet up with friends.  In the meantime, I may write a couple of catch-up posts.  Stay tuned.

PET PICTURE OF THE DAY... 

Poquita poses for a photo next to her new Bark Box toy.