I went from the River Bend Resort to South Padre Island to spend the day before checking in to my next resort. I was amazed at how much construction has been done and how much continues to be done on the island. In only four years since I have been visiting there, the edge of construction has extended several miles up the coast.
SPI is the southern-most town on Padre Island, a very narrow barrier island off the eastern coast of Texas. Padre Island is actually 130 miles long, but because of breaks caused by areas below sea level, it consists of a series of separate land masses. The farthest south land mass, which includes SPI, is about 35 miles long and only about 1/2 mile in width. (I'm estimating these distances, so don't use them in a college essay!) After leaving the occupied area, the road continues north for several miles and has beach access roads every mile or so. After the road ends, the remainder of the island is undeveloped.
As I've done on previous visits, I drove up the shore about five miles before turning into one of the beach accesses. I've gone this far to have a more isolated beach on which to walk the dogs, but my mistake this time was to go on a Saturday afternoon. The normally quiet beach was converted to a freeway for 4-wheel-drive pick-ups, the sand packed down by all the traffic where it was hard enough, and deeply rutted where it wasn't. I tried to walk the dogs, but gave up after a short time, worried that one of them would veer off to the side as a truck whizzed by.
On my way back to town, I stopped at the Laguna Madre Nature Trail where boardwalks weave through four acres af wetlands. There were lots of birders on the boardwalk, and they looked at my dogs with glances that said, "Those animals better not disturb the birds!" I'm happy to report that the dogs were very well-behaved and never made a sound.
After my SPI tour, I went to the RV Resort I had visited last year, Winter Haven in Brownsville, and spent a very hot two days there before starting the trek homeward. When I left the resort Monday morning, the temperature was already 79 at 9:00. It got up to 93 by the time I reached San Antonio and was still that high when I hit Austin at rush hour. Travel advice: Do NOT attempt to drive on northbound I-35 through Austin during afternoon rush hour! There are no alternate routes and it was terrible! Bumper-to-bumper traffic, frequently at a complete stop, for what seemed like days. In actuality, it took me an hour to go about fifteen miles. I was worried about the engine over-heating, as the temp was still in the mid-90s, but even though my interior thermometer said it was 124 degrees (pretty sure that was wrong!), the MUTT made it through without a problem. I spent that night just north of Fort Worth and by the time I went to bed, the temp was in the 40s. The next morning it was 39, and after that, it was all downhill. However, the skies were clear all the way home.
I'm now sitting surrounded by piles of papers and files as I try to get ready to put my home on the market. Next trip will be the B Social Rally in Nebraska in June. Until then, I'll be stuck in the house throwing, packing, and otherwise ridding myself of years worth of accumulated stuff. Thanks for "joining" me on my winter trip and stay tuned for the next edition
1 comment:
Marty glad to hear you made it home safe and sound. Bet your Minn. weather is alot cooler than your time in Texas. Take care and see you in Neb.
Anne
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