South Padre Island, Texas

We left Houston at ten in the morning after a Waffle House breakfast so we would not need to stop for lunch. We knew this would be along ride so we had several ways to entertain ourselves. John had down loaded, Two for the Dough: a Stephanie Plum Book, by Janet Evanovich on his new Kindle. Mary had collected crossword puzzles for the last two months and brought the stack to use for times like these. This ride was uneventful with miles of agriculture growing on both sides of the highway. There were no risqué signs or HOOTER sightings. So we were content to spend this time with our own thoughts. The closer we got to the border of Mexico, however, things got exciting. We started seeing official looking cars driving past us with markings such as BOARDER PATROL, HOME LAND SECURITY VEHICLE, TEXAS STATE TROOPER. Soon after, we saw a forest of flood lights and cameras on poles on both sides of the street. A few miles down the road we noticed a group of buildings where more cars were stored. Then to affirm that they were doing their job, we saw a guy get pulled over as several troopers were inspecting his car with sniffing dogs. Well, you don't see that every day!

We finally arrived in Port Isabel around four in the afternoon and looked across the bridge to South Padre Island. It was like Eric our biker friend from Houston said it would be, very much like Miami Beach. There were high rises in a row all along the stretch of the island. We had planned to stay at the KOA campground but they did not accommodate tents. So John got on Hotwire to look for discount motels and found a Days Inn. I was pretty sure it was not one of the High Rises that we could spot from across the bridge, but anything was better than sleeping in the car! We rolled into our modest $55 motel, placed our luggage in the room and set out to explore the Island.

The Island is approximately five miles long and one fourth mile wide. The East side is bordered by the Gulf which today was flying a red flag due to the turbulence and the rib currents. We asked an official manning one of the fifteen beach access if people windsurfed out there. He answered with a mischievous grin, "You can try it!" I'm sure his life was without much excitement and would love to see us poor blokes make fun of ourselves tackling the waves! The other side of the island is on the bay side which seemed to be pretty flat but with a few white caps. As we drove up the island we noticed several kites bobbing above the dunes. We noticed a string of cars parked at the water's edge and we were ready to go there but noticed the soft sand and thought better of it for now until we investigated if there was a better way to get there. On our way back we noted the street were girl's names, then names of the zodiac, and finally names of the heavenly bodies and planets. We were sure that our contact person by the name of Phil Money lived on a street with a girl's name. We planned to deal with that in the morning, for now it was time to find a place for dinner.

We drove around until be found Louie's Backyard a restaurant on the gulf. We have found that if we share an entree and get an extra salad we have plenty to eat at restaurants. So that's that we did getting one sea food platter and salad bar. We ate as we were serenaded by a great mariachi band that played a variety of songs with German and French influence in Mexico. As we left the restaurant we saw that the amusement park next door had opened and people were taking advantage of the events. John wanted to try the bunge jumping but I told him he would probably lose his dinner and maybe have a heart attack. We only just started this adventure and we didn't need to lose our main driver, after all. I was hot to go on the car track but John talked me out of it and said I would have enough to do going windsurfing. So we relaxed and explored the rest of the island that night.

In the morning we went to see Phil Money who was recommended by our Tiga Brother, Larry. Phil had another commitment and sent Joe to get us started with our windsurfing needs. Joe was a retired engineer who worked at a plant across the border for many years. Soon after he retired the plant closed and moved to China and it was a good thing too as the border town near Brownsville has been plagued lately with vicious drug wars. Joe hasn't returned there for the last two years and now he has another job helping out with the windsurfing shop which allows him to play with all the toys.

The windsurfing shop is located on Carolyn Street at the dead end that faces the bay. We had to ask the neighbors because it was tucked behind another house and you had to walk around to the back and there it was! Phil lives across the street which makes it perfect for him if as he can walk across the street when customers come calling. We met Joe who showed us all the pre-rigged sails in the sail shack and in the store besides wet suits there was a wide varied of boards. Joe provided John with a 6.5 meter sail and a 130 liter board as the winds were pretty light. Mary wanted to use the 120 Liter JP Aussie board and a 5.6 meter sail. We had to wait for a gust to get across the deep channel in front of the shallow surfing area and once we got across we were able to stand if we fell off our board. The bay is covered with a sea grass and since we had our booties we managed to stand on this carpet without getting freaked out by what else was living down there. Mary attempted a few runs but couldn't get into the harness as it was set too high and the boom could not go lower on the mast. So that meant hanging like a monkey on a limb when the gust started to blow. That didn't last too long as the arms get pretty tired. John got into the harness but it was too light to get into the foot straps. Like Tierra Verde in St. Petersburg, the water is only a few feet deep for miles and if conditions were great we would have

The last impressive building before the long flats where the kite surfers played was the South Padre Convention Center. We decided to investigate the building and see what was in store for the next few days. We discovered that the local theater group was performing The Fantastics. This was the longest running play on Broadway and some of the original actors were playing in this play. We got tickets for front row seats. This is a play about two lovers and their fathers who built a wall to keep them apart. Secretly, however, they wanted their kids to marry. With the help of El Gallo, who sets up an abduction (Rape) and with two helpers the old bard Henry, and Mortimer his side kick who specializes in death scenes; they stage a way for the boy to rescue the girl and win her hand. The old bard, Ray Steward, was an original "boy" on Broadway. Watching him perform, you can see he still on top of his game. Mary had a special appeal for this play as it was the first production she choreographed back in 1970 at Ewa Beach, Hawaii. It was also the first play we took Ted and Lynda to see at Sundance Ski Resort in Utah in 1992. A perfect play for young love birds. "Remember there are no small actors, only small parts!

Arriving at South Padre Island

John, don't even think of it!

John flying his sail.

Mary, at Padreritaville adding the blog name on the Wall.

The Fantastics, our favorite play! 

South Padre Island looks like Miami Beach!

John listening to his Kindle!

The next morning we had time to do a quick bike run down the Gulf Road that provided a large bike trail for about five miles. We got up early and drove to the start and got our bikes off the rack. This would be fun because it was a straight run on a flat course with ample room to go fast hunkering down on the aero bars. Going south we flew moving around a few runners and in line skaters. Then at the end we turned and then the wind hit us…BAM! We were ready for the challenge going down a few gears and pushing the quads, we really got a good work out. By the time we were done, we felt sweaty and pooped. We were ready to do the drive north to Corpus Christi.