More South Padre Island

Hi All,

     A quiet morning here ... watched some of the talking heads offer solutions for what ails America ... too bad these folks can't really effect the myriad of problems that need solving.

     Yesterday's highlight was the purchase of a new sofa. The old one was an eyesore ... hard to get out of ... uncomfortable, etc. This is such an improvement:

  
     We did drive out to Julia's Restaurant in Los Fresnos for a late lunch. It is about 21 miles west of the island. They have a Saturday special called Tampiquena Platter. It is some frajitos, a tamali, a chalupa, a taco, some Spanish rice, refried beans and a dollop of quacamole. I really need to go on a restricted diet until, maybe,  next Wednesday! But it is soooooo good!
     
     This morning I visited Sea Turtle Inc which is a popular tourist spot. They are a turtle hospital and exhibit. Every hour or so they have a lecture that covers the things they are involved in ... rehab and conservation. Check out their website and visit if you are in the area: www.seaturtleinc.org. They had a number of turtles in large tanks that have suffered flipper loss or shell damage (mostly from boat props). Here are a couple of pics:

     We plan to take care of some loose ends today which includes a trip to Wally's to get a mattress cover for the hide-a-bed in the new sofa. Then it's off to Blackbeard's for a late lunch. Then it's packing up our stuff for the trip home tomorrow.

     After the original post, we bought new lamps, so here is the living room now:

     Looks like the weather will be pretty good for the drive back tomorrow;  we plan to stop at Julia's on the way out. They have to-die-for Migas, a terrific Mexican breakfast dish that Gene is addicted to. Check it out on Google!

     Talk to you later.......

SOME MORE SOUTH PADRE STUFF

Hi All,

     It is another lovely morning here in Paradise... not much chance of rain...

     Yesterday we picked up the plexiglass top for the coffee table and drove out to the Federal Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge which is about 10 miles northeast of Port Isabel.

Their claim to fame is a very endangered species -- the ocelot. We didn't see any! We took a 15 mile scenic car trail along the coast which concentrates on wetlands mostly. We did see several deer, 3 lizards and a bunch of little birds plus sea birds abound. These two birds were of note:

   
It is probably hard to see, but South Padre Island is faintly seen in the distance in this pic:

On our return we stopped at the Pelican Station --- AGAIN -- and had a late lunch ... yummy fish and shrimp! Here is a view of the SPI bridge from our table and a sculpture in front of the restaurant:

Our day was complete with coffee and a snack... 

Talk to you later!

     

MORE SOUTH PADRE ISLAND

Hi all,

     Nothing too exciting to report ... the Pelican Landing previously reported turns out to be Pelican Station. Interesting history with that. It seems it is built on the same spot in Port Isabel which was the terminus for a railroad between Port Isabel and Brownsville to compete with a near South Texas railroad monopoly by the King Ranch folks. It had three locomotives and 54 cars. The restaurant is filled with memorabilia from the era, 1800's, as well as a wonderful collection of pelicans of all sizes and many different types of materials and colors. There is a seafood market attached to the restaurant. If you get to this area, check them out! Plus, the food was excellent!

     We need to pick up the plexiglass for the coffee table today and a new lock clasp. We have a large trunk containing our stuff for the condo, like dishwashing tabs, laundry stuff, extra TP, etc. I had is secured with a combination  lock. Numerous attempts to enter the code failed ... numerous codes were entered (surely my mind was not failing me ... again) ... finally I broke the hasp to open the trunk. On close examination, the lock had a button on the side that must be depressed AFTER one enters the correct code. DANG ... DOUBLE DANG!!

     No real plan for today ... maybe take a ride out the a wildlife area just north of here. They have a great car tour along the coast that is a sanctuary for lots of sea birds, various ducks and geese, plus some local critters. We might return to PL --- they are supposed to have a great pork chop lunch -- seems like food is a focus!

     Talk to you later .... 

     

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND

Hi all,

     We thought we would get away to the condo after the wonderful family gathering to celebrate our 60th anniversary earlier this month. Actually the date is in April but this allowed accommodation for school schedules, etc. We only missed our great granddaughter, Kayla, who had a previous commitment ... who could pass up a trip to Disney World in Florida for a couple of days with a bunch of old fogies. We missed her but are certain she had much more fun!

     The trip from League City was 400 miles of mostly rain which made for a long day, but we are so hurting for rain, one can hardly complain about the blessing. We stopped in Port Isabel to pick up some essentials -- shrimp, cocktail sauce, and a few other snacky things.

     The condo was in OK shape ... needed to fix a sink stopper, replace a missing glass on the coffee table (it had been broken) and see about getting the carpet cleaned.

     Last night we just put our feet up ... enjoyed some steamed shrimp, cheese and crackers with an appropriate beverage and checked out America's Got Talent on the telly.

     We had a laid back morning today ... this afternoon will include a tour of the island to see what's going on .... a trip to the glass guy ... a late lunch at the Pelican Landing followed by a visit to Wally World -- a social highlight! When I read this ... it sounds soooooo boring! BUT IT ISN'T!

     Talk to you all later .....

                                            Gene and Donna



     

    

Back home again

We came home on thursday ......but what a grand time we had!

Christmas morning we woke up to this:

and then Courtney and Maddie came down the stairs all bright eyed and bushy tailed ...

Of course, after the gift distribution and the opening and admiring and, of course, a great breakfast of sausage and egg dish plus a bunch of other stuff we had to rest:

Note there are 5 dogs here ... 4 doxies and an "old dog"

Keith cooked his famous steak dinner with baked potatoes and all of the fixin's ... simply deeeelicious! Wednesday night he repeated it with grilled pork chops! Here are few pics we took during the visit:

All in all we had a great trip! We were glad the RV part didn't work out in that we were able to spend more time with the family.

Talk to you later ...

SAN ANTONIO

     Well, we did't do the RV thing. Saturday morning we discovered the whole heat/A/C system didn't work nor did the Aqua Heat (internal diesal boiler that provides hot water for heating and utility). So, we decided to drive the car and freeload with our granddaughter and her family. The traffic was not too bad from Houston ... the 75 mph speed limit helps keep things moving ... some folks were REALLY moving. Lots of law enforcement action! The weather was good; cloudy, but that makes it easy on the eyes.

     When we arrived the Houston Texans were in a world of hurt at the hands of the Vikings and they never did recover.  For some unknown and incomprehensible reason, the San Antonio TV carried the Cowgirl game. What kind of a town IS this? 

     Last night our grandson-in-law (is this a REAL title?), Keith, bar-b-qued some really yummy chicken breasts that complemented the dirty rice (Cajun) and steamed broccalli that was dinner. Very, very nice!

     Tonight we plan to go to church and then spend the evening waiting for Santa.

     More to follow ....

HEADED FOR SAN ANTONIO FOR CHRISTMAS

     The RV finally got out of the shop; however, we will have to return it for some additional attention. Those items aren't going to prevent us  from spending the week in San Antonio with Jean and Jim and their two dogs and Courtney and Keith and Maddie (new great granddaughter whose real name is Madelyn Jean Germany) and their dog, Boco. Should be fun with the four miniature doxies and the rest of us. Jean and Court even have the menu for the week sorted out!

     We are spending the day loading up and getting everything ready to go tomorrow bright and early. Hopefully we will get to the Fort Sam Famcamp, a really nice campground on the base, in time to watch the Houston Texans beat the tar out of the Vikings.

     Took this picture this morning .... we are all ready for Christmas:

     More later ....