South Padre Island, Again!

Eyes wide open, bedroom fully illuminated, hazy three-drink hangover…something’s wrong. A check of the time shows what it is. It’s 0730 and we had planned to leave for South Padre Island (SPI) at 0600. We had overslept and now bolted out of bed in an effort to drive to SPI to check into our condo before the rental agency closes for the evening. Jane’s amazing at dressing and loading the mini-van.

Lighting the tree!

Capt. Larry’s dragging (maybe that was 4 or 5 drinks last night). It’s 0800 and we are loaded up, on our way, and driving faster than we ever drive to make up the time. We call the rental agency and find that they are open until 1800. We will be cutting it closely. We are driving like we are possessed, but by 1700 it’s obvious we aren’t going to make it in time. Another call to arrange for after-hours check-in and we start to back off and relax. We’re covered. A list of some grocery items we will need to fix our own meals (we’re going to miss cruising!) is generated and we stop to at a grocery to get what we need.

Ooommmpa pa!

We get to the rental agency to pick up our condo keys only to find that they are still open and waiting for us (guilt sets in for the grocery shopping). Arriving at the condo we unpack the car and crash for the night.

Tuba caroling

The next morning we arise for our morning walk to reestablish ourselves with the island. We had spent two months here back in 2013, so it didn’t take long to recall the island’s highlights. We picked up copies of the island’s local advertisement newspapers and discovered that there was going to be a Christmas boat parade that evening. Most of the afternoon was spent watching the Army-Navy football game while waiting for dark and the lighted boat parade.

Santa arrives

Arriving at a popular local restaurant/bar, Louie’s Backyard, that was the endpoint for the parade, we grabbed a couple of drinks and settled in to see the boats. The boat floats were respectable, but we’ve seen more impressive displays on our little Tickfaw River.

With the parade finished, we headed back to the condo and turned in. The next morning we headed over to Donna, TX, to go to a really large flea/farmer’s market that is a highlight for most of the Winter Texans staying in the Rio Grande Valley.

That's some carrots!

We had attended this market during our last visit to SPI and had a great time. One can find just about anything at this market and we were able to use our time efficiently as the junk was pretty much in the same places. After Jane had managed to go through the displays at least twice, we decided to get some fabulous Texas barbecue for lunch. It was delicious and we got to hear a local band play in the dining area. After we finished eating, we headed to the fruit and vegetable stands to pick up some locally grown produce.

Jane and friend at birding center

This is Capt. Larry’s, being the wishful gardener that he is, favorite part of the market. The valley produce is always gigantic, fresh, and exceptionally tasty. We purchased some marvelous citrus (the Rio Ruby Red grapefruit is the best), and green onions with bulbs as big as ping pong balls and cauliflower the size of soccer balls.

Birding center resident

We contemplated a 15 lb. bag of carrots, but figured that was a bit too much. We left the market just as the wind was picking up and rain threatened.

The next couple of days were spent hanging around the condo and exploring local sights. We spent one afternoon at the South Padre Island Birding Center where we saw lots of coastal wildlife. It was a fun afternoon, and again, something we had done on our previous visit.

A reptilian resident

We watched a short video about the migratory and resident birds that inhabit SPI, and then took a leisurely walk through the center’s backshore habitat to see what species we could find. Today it was mostly shorebirds and reptiles. The following day we decided to head over to Mexico.

Another center inhabitant

Crossing the border at Progreso allows us to park the car for $2/day and walk across the Rio Grande River right into central business district of Progreso. The street vendors descended upon us like flies to cow dung, but prior experience helped us to fend them off. We picked up some prescription medications at one of the pharmacies, and Jane found a store that had a nice selection of gift merchandise that she purchased, knowing that she could pay less on the street, but certainly with much more hassle. We found a restaurant that we had lunch at on our prior visit, and it was just as delicious and entertaining.

Ready for the parade

After lunch we spent a little more time shopping before heading back, clearing customs, and heading back to SPI. On the way home we discussed coming back to have our teeth cleaned. Progreso has 136 dentists for a population of just over 5,000 residents, and they cater to U.S. citizens coming over for less expensive dental care than can be had in the states. We decided that that was something we should do.

A couple more days of hanging around the condo and we find ourselves at “Thirsty Thursdays,” a happy hour hosted by other “Winter Texans” at our condo. Then it’s off to the SPI Christmas Tree Lighting and Tuba Concert. The tuba concert was awesome with 82 tuba players playing Christmas carols. Capt. Larry, a former first-chair tuba player, was delighted.

Parading the dogs

At the very end of the parade, Santa came riding in on a fire truck dressed in a “Summer Santa” uniform replete with red shorts and flip flops (thongs for you Aussies!). SPI is so like a small town. Two nights after the tuba concert, we returned to SPI’s city hall to watch the Christmas parade. The parade featured the usual assortment of small town politicians, marching bands from neighboring communities, and various businesses.

Here comes Santa!

Always up for a parade, Jane positioned herself near the middle of the road to make certain that she would not be overlooked in receiving her share of the candies that the parade participants were throwing. It was a great parade and another outstanding SPI community event.

We spent the weekend doing our normal activities and watching football again, but early in the week we headed back to Mexico for our dental work.

Crossing the Rio Grande

Crossing the border we headed to a dental office that we had seen billboard ads for stateside, but upon entering the office we found a backlog of patients and posters announcing that checks and credit or debit cards were not accepted. Since we didn’t have a lot of cash, we went about 3 doors down to the next office that accepted credit cards. We signed in and were told that teeth cleanings were $25. Jane was called back first, Capt. Larry to follow. And we were both absolutely pleased with the service that we received.

Our restaurant view of the Red Panty Bar

The cleanings were probably the best we had ever received, and you can’t argue with the price. We had lunch at a different restaurant with a balcony that allowed us to eat and people watch on Progreso’s main thoroughfare. We did some last minute shopping and crossed back over and headed home.

We finished out our last week at SPI doing local stuff, with one more “Thirsty Thursday” and packing the van to head back to Louisiana. We will be spending some time in the Florida Keys in January, but are already considering returning as a Winter Texan next year, unless theKkeys persuade us otherwise.

Pinatas for Christmas

It was a great segment of our “Winter Escape” and we look forward to the next segment- a 12-day eastern Caribbean cruise to destinations we have not yet been to. Sounds like fun!