This is the second winter Tom and I road-tripped to South Padre Island (SPI), Texas. Last year we spent most of January on the island but we were a bit disappointed in the weather. It was colder and rainier than we expected. This year we booked an RV site for the month of February because, according to historical weather data, February is slightly warmer and sunnier than January.
We arrived on South Padre Island on February 3th, a few days later than expected, thanks to our unexpected delay in Fort Stockton. The weather across Texas was just starting to warm up following the ice storm that stranded us earlier that week. We had a few scattered days of bad weather but, overall, the February weather was much better than January of last year.
South Padre Island KOA Holiday RV Park
For 26 days we lived among other “Winter Texans” at the South Padre Island KOA Holiday RV Park. Most of our RV neighbors return every winter from cold northern states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. We also met quite a few Canadians and a handful of people from our home state of Colorado.
During our time on South Padre Island Tom and I enjoyed the beaches, kayaking, workouts, biking, playing pickleball, live music, and even a day-trip to Mexico.
Beaches
We visited the beaches north of town almost every morning. While Aly tested her bird hunting skills, Tom caught bait with his home-made shrimp sucker, and I practiced flying my drone.
Kayaking
Our campsite at the KOA RV park was near a boat ramp which made kayaking easy. We just rolled our kayaks down to the water. And, since the ramp is on the Lagoon side instead of the Gulf side, the water was relatively calm. While Aly and I enjoyed kayaking, Tom and his friend enjoyed fishing... and catching!
Biking
Tom and I biked all over the city of South Padre Island. We rode our bikes to the Farmer’s Market, to watch live music, to play pickleball, to workout at the beach, to take fun photos, and to follow the Sea Turtle Art Trail.
Beach workouts
I enjoyed free workouts by the beach… one of the many winter activities available on South Padre Island.
Pickleball
Tom and I first started playing Pickleball in Colorado last fall. We barely learned the rules before winter came and we stopped playing. We started playing again, relearning everything, at the county pickleball courts on South Padre Island. We had a blast and plan to continue when we return home to Colorado.
Live music
We enjoyed endless opportunities for live music on South Padre Island. During the winter months the music is geared to our (older) demographic. We found country, classic rock, and oldies every day of the week. The biggest problem was choosing between all the great entertainers and venues! We solved it by hopping from beach bar to beach bar meeting friends along the way!
As the South Padre Island bids farewell to the Winter Texans (mostly retirees) and welcomes the Spring Breakers, the music venues remain the same but the entertainers are replaced to suit the college crowd.
Mexico
We joined our friends for a day-trip to Mexico, walking across the border via the Progreso International Bridge. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Arturo's Bar and Grill, shopping along the main street, and $20 mani/pedis at Pauly’s.
Hurricane Aly
Before Tom and I participated in any of the human activities I described above, we did our best to wear out 11-month-old, Aly. We took her to run on the beach almost every morning and to the KOA dog park many times a day. She loves any opportunity to be with people or the many dogs she meets.
What Aly doesn’t like is being left alone… not even in an air-conditioned camper with the radio playing, special dog treats, and access to our bed. No matter how much time we spent puppy-proofing before leaving, Hurricane Aly always creates a path of destruction. It was a little funny until she pulled a dirty bowl full of water from the kitchen sink and dumped it all over our bed. Then, apparently, she tried to clean it up with an entire box of tissues!
Hurricane Aly has been downgraded to a tropical storm with her private bedroom in our newly renovated kitchen!
On the road again
We packed up our camper, said goodbye to our fellow Winter Texans and are back on the road for a leisurely drive home. Our rough itinerary takes us from South Padre Island to San Antonio, Austin, and Oklahoma City as we visit friends and family along the way.
Comments