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Our Awesome Travels

Our Awesome Travels
Taken In Quartzsite Arizona Dec 7th 2015

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Black Fri. Nov 26th, South Padre Island


Where are we Today?
Brownsville Texas

        Today is another great warm sunny day it is "Black Friday" the day it seems everybody wants to go shopping for the best deals of the year, line-ups, crowds, pushing and shoving, not for us. So we are going to take drive to South Padre Island and see what this winter destination as all about.
the bridge
watch out!

Welcome
        It was about a 40 minute drive past some very busy crowded parking lots and stores. Across the bridge to the island and explore. This island is really a huge sandbar with sandy beaches, touristy stores, shops, expensive condos, hotels and property. Not unlike Myrtle Beach and Daytona Beach.
catchy storefront 

        The nice thing was it's not too busy here, I think it was a little off season plus everybody was shopping at the big box stores. The skies were sunny and it was about 83f (28c) with a nice warm breeze.
quiet main street
        The south part of the island was a county park that we did not want to pay admission to so we drove north, There is only two roads north and south so we drove them both. Beach accesses every where, tiny parking lots and some private access points as we got to the northern end of the island.
Bay access
beach access
Me!
back over the dunes
        Heading north the road narrows down with huge sand drifts almost blocking the roads, with sections down to one lane only. This really reminds me of some winter travel back home with huge snow drifts and impassable roads. The difference here is its not icy and very hot out, I really like this kind of winter weather much better. My winter clothes here are shorts, t-shirts and sandals. We did stop at a couple of beach access points and walked the beach for a while, and splashed in the warm waves, but it was pretty windy to spend much time there.
sand drifts
interesting house
beach access


nice houses
        Ok by now its lunch time and we are looking for a restaurant with some seafood, local flair and is busy (that usually means its a good place to eat).  Well Daddy' Seafood and Cajun Kitchen looked like just the right place.
looks good
Have to go in now!
Fat Tire on Tap
         And sure enough the signs inside were inviting, the decor was interesting, the service was great , the beer was cold, the prices very reasonable and the food was excellent! Suzie had fried scallops and fries and I had "The Bayou" blackened catfish topped with a crawfish etoufee and white rice, a real tasty cajun dish.
Suzies scallops and fries

my tasty cajun dish
        Ok now we have seen south Padre Island, beautiful white sandy beach, pretty close to perfect climate, but too much of a resort area for us. But I would like to return to Daddy's to sample more menu items. So a different route back home thru areas here that really reminded me of our time in Mexico, the local stores and houses on the side of the roads and most of the signs in Spanish. We weren't far from Mexico with the border fence along the side of the road.
border fence
        Now back home the neighbors bright flowers greeted us and our lawn chairs beckoned us to relax and read, so under much protest (not) our books, a beverage and the shade took care of another great afternoon.

        No supper again tonight just some crackers and cheese hit the spot.    
hit counters
Visitor Number
 
Notice the controls for this Map on the left side, you can zoom into different areas of the map and see where we are or have been.
View Winter 2011,12 in a larger map

6 comments:

  1. longer drive down there than most think... but yes it is a destination location...

    ReplyDelete
  2. heyduke50:

    I guess we are not touristy enough for this place a little to crowded for us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What will those pelicans bite if you flash them??? LOL!

    Love the picture of the Bougainvillea flowers. They remind me so much of Rhodesia, where I grew up and of Durban, South Africa where I lived for 25 years.

    ReplyDelete
  4. These resort towns are all starting to look the same to me.

    I think it is going to take us a year of cleaning to get all the salt and sand off our rig.

    Oh, well, like you said, we could be dealing with snow !!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! Very nice! Love the ocean photos!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Daryl:

    Thanks for the info on the flowers
    did not FLASH the pelicans so I do not now!!!

    TnT:

    Yes they all look the same only different,
    And the sand and salt will never go away, but it's worth it.

    Lou:

    Yes just lovin the ocean, but to windy and humid.

    ReplyDelete

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