Back at South Padre Island

     We had a wonderful trip from Santee, crossing several states and lots of desert, but now we've settled in at the South Padre Island KOA.  What a treat to again experience warm temperatures and high humidity.  My sinuses are loving it!  Our site is tucked in the back corner of the park, and we have a wonderful view into South Padre Island from the rear of our rig.  We seem to like it better than being out in the park, surrounded by fellow campers in kinda cramped quarters.  I'm not crazy about having to walk on the small rocks on our site, but I'll get over it.  The park is full of wonderful people, and our friends from Winnipeg, Nancy and Al, were on hand to welcome us back.  Sounds like we're going to have to miss them next year, as they have plans to visit New Zealand and wander around in an RV down under.  That should be an awesome trip!  As a bonus, Al came out with a bottle of 12 year old scotch last night, as we stopped to welcome more of their family down visiting from Canada.
     As we came across from Santee, we stayed over at one of our frequent stops in Las Cruces, NM, and met some wonderful travelers from Burlington, VT.  Joanne and Dean were coming from Las Vegas after visiting family, and they pulled in behind us as we were checking in.  We had a nice visit that night, and discovered they were also heading for Sarasota, Fla.  So we're looking forward to getting to know them better when we meet up over there in a few weeks.

     Yesterday we finished up all our preparations for visiting SPI, by stopping over at the local county office and getting our beach pass valid for 30 days.  Entering the county park costs $10/visit, or you can get a 30 day permit for $25. Seemed like a no brainer since we anticipate a lot of beach time.  But wait....it gets better.  At the county office, the clerk asked if I was a veteran, and I just happened to have my new NY license which has Veteran across the top.  We were given our 30 day pass for $12.50!!  Can't beat that.  Next I'll see if I can get a discount on my Texas fishing license.

     It was such a beautiful day, that we wandered over to the Isla Blanca County Park,  The park is located at the southernmost point of SPI, and features over a mile of beachfront with several pavilions.  Today it was packed with families and tourists enjoying the 80+ degree weather.  There's also a 600+ full hookup RV park here, which looked pretty full to me.  It's quite a bit cheaper than our KOA, but the lack of shade would stop me from staying there.  There's also a large jetty along the entrance to the bay, which was lined with hopeful fisherman trying their luck.  All the fishing I have dome is further north up the beach, out in the surf, but this looked interesting.
   

     There's quite a massive statue of Jesus overlooking the entrance to the bay which serves to protect the sailors passing by.  Numerous plaques memorialize those who have lost their lives out on the water.
     As we worked our way north through the village of SPI, I spotted a DQ, a made the command decision to cool our cores with a DQ Blizzard.  We're not really sure how they had evaded us for this long!  If you ever get the chance, a DQ Blizzard will rapidly cool your core on a hot day!
     Returning to our site, the GMG smoker was fired up, and dinner was soon on the grill.  Happy hour drinks, and a tasty dinner, was a great way to end our first full day on SPI.  Not sure if we will be able to survive another 2 weeks!

     For all of our friends and family experiencing a pretty significant snowfall yesterday and today, we can only say that we feel your pain.  But, as you can see, this heat and humidity takes its toll also. Be safe everyone!