On Day 11 of our RV trip to Texas, Tom and I enjoyed yet another beautiful day on South Padre Island, at the southern tip of Texas.
Highlights
Just like the day before, Tom and I took Aly to the north beach soon after sunrise. The sky was already clear and the air was considerably less humid than the previous morning. We parked at Beach Access 4 and, as soon as we crossed the boardwalk to the beach, Aly recognized her dog friends from the previous morning. They were just finishing their walk on the beach so Aly only got to play with them for a few minutes. But, no problem! She'd already spotted two energetic Pointers chasing each other farther up the beach. They were young, fast, and fearless like Aly. Another perfect dog day in paradise!
After her morning run on the beach, Aly didn't mind tagging along with us for some quick shopping across the bridge in Port Isabel. While buying groceries at Walmart, we learned that we aren't allowed to buy alcohol before 10am on Sundays. It was 9:45am and warming up too quickly for us to want to leave Aly in the Jeep for another 15 minutes.
This was our 4th day in a row with beautiful weather and, from our previous experiences wintering in South Padre, we know enough to take advantage when we have them. Strong winds were predicted later in the day. So, as soon as we unpacked our groceries, Tom and I headed back out. He rode his bike to the gym and I started a long walk along the beach to meet my friend, Kari at Clayton's Beach Bar. She and her sister are visiting their mom in a nearby town and decided to take a day-trip to SPI.
Clayton's Beach Bar is a 5 mile walk from our campsite... each way. It's far but unlike hiking in Colorado, its flat and at sea level. As long as the weather held out, the 10 mile round-trip walk on the beach shouldn't be a problem. And, if it was a problem for any reason, I could always hop on one of the free shuttle buses that run north/south through town. I walked fast along the beach but took a little time to lay in the sun along the way. Several people were building sandcastles and I looked forward to seeing the finished sculptures on my walk back.
The sun was intense as I sat on Clayton's deck visiting with Kari and her family. Fortunately the $1 Busch Lights were cold and the fabulous Rob Garcia Band, was back at Clayton's for another afternoon of live music. We didn't stay and dance like the previous day because Kari and her family were off to do some shopping. Plus, I had a long walk back to our camper. The weather held out until I was near the RV park. Then the wind started whipping up and blowing sand across the beach. It looked like blowing snow and matched nicely with the sand snowman someone had built.
By the time I returned from my 10 mile trek, my feet were sore and I was tired. But, not too tired to meet Dennis and Wendy for sunset at the boat ramp. They were kind enough to bring me a 12-pack of Mikes Hard Lemonade from their Walmart shopping trip. They were smart enough to go after 10am on a Sunday!
Challenges
Depending on the weather, it's hard to feel clean here, compared to Colorado. Our first few days on the island weren't particularly hot but they were humid and sticky. Happily, the wind seemed to blow out the humidity and it was nice to feel clean even hours after showering.
Photos Day 11
You can view our trip pics on the Carpe Diem Facebook page by clicking on the embedded image below.
Comments