Today we open a new packet of ketchup. Be careful not to squeeze too hard, or else you’ll end up getting it all over you. Today, our concentrated vinegar-and-tomato paste morsel will cover the highlights of our recent family excursion to South Padre Island.  Twenty hours of drive time, plus 7 days of sightseeing, all condensed into a few short paragraphs. For such a pithy, erudite wordsmith as I, an easy task! (har har, wink wink)
Disclaimer: I must admit, I was wary of traveling to SPI. Though I had heard it was a “great beach,” I had seen enough of Galveston Island to wonder if Texans truly even KNOW what a “great beach” is.  Having grown up in Florida, and spent lots of time touring the entire eastern seaboard of the U.S., I felt I was fairly well-versed in what constitutes a “great beach.” I am happy to report that yes, SPI is in fact, a “great beach”. Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging….
Sunday, October 15: Travel day with stops in Austin (snack/wiggle time), San Antonio (lunch), and podunk, South Texas (bathroom). Arrived at Marisol (our condo) around 5:45, unloaded the car, grabbed dinner at the first local joint we found – BIG mistake, but our waiter, Tim, took excellent care of us. Slept in a VERY warm condo.
Monday, October 16: Officially dubbed “The Day of Frustration.” Could also have been dubbed “The Day Matt Nearly Had a Nervous Breakdown”, “The Day Nobody Had Any Fun”, or “The Day the Wind Nearly Blew Us Off to Oz and the Waves Carried Trey out to Sea.” Hot condo. No A/C working. 85 degrees INSIDE with a high predicted of 97. Windy. Rough surf. Dangerous undercurrents. Trey LOVED the ocean. Crisana, not so much. One wave knocked her over and she was done for the week. We tried to set up a shelter. Then we got it set up and the wind nearly carried it away. One of us had to stand with all our stuff all the time so that none of it would blow off. After lunch, we decided to go to the pool instead. The A/C was fixed. Suddenly, the sun started shining and birds started singing and sappy music started playing and it became…”The Day When We Started Having Fun”. Ate at Blackbeard’s for dinner – much better choice.
Tuesday, October 17: Spent another morning on the beach – although this one not so windy. Shelter went up much easier, without any wind and now that we knew how to do it. Came in for lunch, went back out to the beach. GREAT day. Crisana went shelling, Trey went body surfing, and Mom and Dad went back and forth between the two. Enjoyed a great meal at “Pirate’s Landing” in Port Isabel across the bridge for dinner.
Wednesday, October 18: Went to “Sea Turtle, Inc.” in the morning for their morning feeding and demonstration. What fun!! Got to see several species of sea turtles, up close and personal, and feed several of them. Lunched by the pool, enjoyed a swim afterward, and ate dinner at Pelican Station in Port Isabel. Introduced Trey to calamari – he LOVED it.
Thursday, October 19: Took a nature walk out at Laguna Madre Nature Trail. It was HOT and still, but we got to see lots of fish, lots of birds, turtles, and even an ALLIGATOR. Very cool. But it was still HOT and STILL and HOT. Took a drive out onto the beach while we watched a front move through. By the time we got off the beach, it was raining. Lunched at “Cap’n Roy’s” on the Island – GREAT food. Trey ate FISH and loved it. Since it was raining, we couldn’t go fishing, so we spent an afternoon in the condo, resting, playing games, and watching tv.
Friday, October 20: Our last full day, and it rained! We stayed indoors all morning, hoping for the rain to pass, and by lunchtime, it did. We explored all around Isla Blanca State Park on the southern end of the Island, went fishing (Crisana caught quite a bit of seaweed, Trey successfully lost both his lures) off the rocks, visited the University of Texas Pan-American Coastal Studies Laboratory (the closest thing the Island has to an aquarium), and viewed amazing sand sculptures under construction at Sand Castle Days at the Sheraton Hotel. Though the kids wanted to stop and build, we headed on home, to clean up for dinner. We returned to Pirate’s Landing and enjoyed an hour of pier fishing before giving up and enjoying their seafood instead. We were entertained by a fabulous illusionist during dinner, and returned to the condo sorry to say goodbye.
Saturday, October 21: We left SPI in the morning and drove to Corpus under beautifully clear skies. We stopped off at the Texas State Aquarium for Trey to explore his passion. We had a great time, looking at all the fish, watching a dolphin show, and playing around. We hated to leave, but when it’s closing time, you gotta go. We did show Trey “Lady Lex” where he will enjoy his Scout Overnighter in January. Then it was back in the car for a LONG drive home. We stopped in San Antonio for dinner, then drove hard for the next 4 1/2 hours to get home. Debbi made it as far as Lancaster before the sleepy eyes set in and she had to turn it over to Matt for the last 30 minutes. We made it home around 12:30, and were off-loaded and into bed by 1:00.
The condo and vacation certainly don’t make up for all the stress and issues Matt has had to deal with at SHW over the past year, but it came close! We are all set to sign up again for next year.
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