Day 12 @ South Padre Island, Texas
Started the day with breakfast at home (the RV), then went for a long walk on the beach.
We were going to go on the guided bird tour, but I decided we weren't that looney (looney bird that is). Maybe tomorrow.
Went to the farmer's market. Bought tamales, kettle corn, & tomatoes. What a combo. Then back to the RV for lunch (tamales and tomatoes). Most of the kettle corn disappeared before we got back to the RV.
I worked on getting organized to go fishing. All the new tackle in the tackle box, strung a rod, etc.
Went to dinner at Joe's Oyster Bar. I had the $5.95 15 fried oyster special and the seafood soup. Connie had the crab cake plate. By the way, if anyone ever comes here, you must try the crab cakes and the fish soup as well as raw oysters (if you like em) at Joe's Oyster Bar. They are extremely good. The fish soup is not even on the menu, but they always have it. Ask for tortillas, instead of crackers to go with the soup and tear off small strips to add to the soup. Delicious! Expect to find 12-20 crab claws in the soup (along with everything else in the sea) which you must pick out to eat separate from spooning.
Was going to go fishing after dinner, but got sidetracked by a free dolphin show off the bay point where we usually launch the kayak.We loved it. Saw about 5 or 6 dolphins within 100 feet and there were playing for nearly an hour (still there when we left). Four or five "dolphin cruise" boats came by loaded with people to see the dolphins. We had a better view from the rocks on shore than most of them. The only thing that would have been better is if we had the kayak amongst them (we'll try this tomorrow).
Yea, the winds are down below 20MPH again in the morning...so its back to kayaking again.
AS MY SWEET WIFE JUST POINTED OUT, THIS BLOG MIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER NAMED THE TRAVELING FOOD SHOW...NOT THE TRAVELING YAK. WATCH OUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HERE I COME!
Probably not so true in the future...as we are starting to at least eat lighter fare at the RV. We're not to the point of cooking at the RV yet, but maybe by next trip we will be (if I ever catch fish!!!).
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Day 11 @ South Padre Island, Texas
Kinda laid back day today. Mostly touristy & old folks stuff. No kayaking as winds still high. Waiting for Monday and good winds.
Breakfast at Manuel's as usual, American today.
Visited "Sea Turtle, Inc" which deals with rescuing sea turtles and sea turtle eggs on south padre. They have a bunch of tanks with turtles for viewing...some quite large, and a oral presentation every half hour.
Visited "The Birding Center", but only the outside as we were too cheap to pay the entry fee. We are going back tomorrow morning for a guided birding tour.
Wanted Italian for lunch, but the best place did not open until 2pm (or so their website said). Went there at 2pm and the sign on the door says they don't open until 4pm. Went back to the RV and ate sandwiches and fruit. Went back to the Gabriella's Italian at 4:30 and it was fantastic. The salad...the bread...the dip...the pizza were great. They also have 25 micro beers on tap. I tried 5 each 5oz samplers of different micros . The best one was from McKinney, TX.
May or may not make it to the beach for an hour or two...that's it for today.
Kinda laid back day today. Mostly touristy & old folks stuff. No kayaking as winds still high. Waiting for Monday and good winds.
Breakfast at Manuel's as usual, American today.
Visited "Sea Turtle, Inc" which deals with rescuing sea turtles and sea turtle eggs on south padre. They have a bunch of tanks with turtles for viewing...some quite large, and a oral presentation every half hour.
Visited "The Birding Center", but only the outside as we were too cheap to pay the entry fee. We are going back tomorrow morning for a guided birding tour.
Wanted Italian for lunch, but the best place did not open until 2pm (or so their website said). Went there at 2pm and the sign on the door says they don't open until 4pm. Went back to the RV and ate sandwiches and fruit. Went back to the Gabriella's Italian at 4:30 and it was fantastic. The salad...the bread...the dip...the pizza were great. They also have 25 micro beers on tap. I tried 5 each 5oz samplers of different micros . The best one was from McKinney, TX.
May or may not make it to the beach for an hour or two...that's it for today.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Day 10 at South Padre Island, Texas
Breakfast at Manuels again. I tried the the special which was the "Migas" breakfast. Basically its a scrambled egg Frito pie (without the chili). It was good, but i won't repeat it. Connie ate American (eggs/bacon/biscuit).
We were determined to put the kayak in and sail today after yesterdays fiasco of the lost sail mast. Bad decision. Winds were too high. Had to port the kayak back to the launch point (truck) as tacking into the wind was too hard on the sail and the amateur sailors. Never any danger, just too hard on old folks. We learned a valuable lesson. 20MPH wind is good for sailing the kayak. 25 MPH wind is not. We will never go out when winds are or will be over 20 MPH wind again.
Lunch at Daddy's. Good stuff.
Took took the rest of the day off.
Dinner at Daddy's...can't get away from those boiled crayfish this time of year.
Breakfast at Manuels again. I tried the the special which was the "Migas" breakfast. Basically its a scrambled egg Frito pie (without the chili). It was good, but i won't repeat it. Connie ate American (eggs/bacon/biscuit).
We were determined to put the kayak in and sail today after yesterdays fiasco of the lost sail mast. Bad decision. Winds were too high. Had to port the kayak back to the launch point (truck) as tacking into the wind was too hard on the sail and the amateur sailors. Never any danger, just too hard on old folks. We learned a valuable lesson. 20MPH wind is good for sailing the kayak. 25 MPH wind is not. We will never go out when winds are or will be over 20 MPH wind again.
Lunch at Daddy's. Good stuff.
Took took the rest of the day off.
Dinner at Daddy's...can't get away from those boiled crayfish this time of year.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Day 9 @ Sourth Padre Island, Texas
Day 9 @ South Padre Island, Texas
Started with the "American Breakfast" special of the week at Manual's Mexican Food, $3.95 for 2 eggs, 2 bacon, hash browns, & biscuits to die for. Is Good!
Completely readied the kayak for launch at the county park site this morning. Last thing was to put the sail on. Found that some dummy (me) had left the sail mask behind a couple of days ago. So we loaded it all back up again, as the wind was too strong 25MPH+ for pedaling without a sail. Bad way to start a day. At least we were able to replace just the sail mast at the local kayak store...so we're ready to try again tomorrow. Wind is best first thing in the morning.
Lunch at Dirty Al's. I tried the ceviche, which is kind of like a shrimp cocktail, but is fish marinated for 24 hours in lemon juice instead of the boiled shrimp. It's in a tomato juice with avacado/onion/tomato mixed in. Is good!
NAPPED! Required! We are blaming the naps on the seasickness medicine.
Had an exploratory expedition a little further south late this afternoon. Drove above 40 miles, but we only went 4-5 miles south of South Padre Island. Had to go around the Brownsville Ship Channel. Checked out the Boca Chino State park located at the ocean closer to the Mexican border. Nothing there but ocean beach! Visited the site of the last Civil War Battle, Palomino Ranch. Some say it occurred after the end of the civil war as General Lee had already surrendered, but the Texas Confederate generals had not. We were also looking for a road to the South Bay (good fishing), but did not find it. Must pedal kayak 2 miles instead.
TOOK CONNIE TO MEXICO! Actually, I took her to see Mexico across the Rio Grande River. We were less than 50' from Mexico as the Rio Grande we were on the US bank of is only about 100' wide at this point. We did have to stop at the Border Patrol check station on the way back. but they didn't check us..thank goodness as we had the Cruiser loaded up with stuff (legal camping stuff only, but a lot of stuff).
Dinner at Daddy's. They have outstanding boiled crawfish I can't seem to get enough of.
Started with the "American Breakfast" special of the week at Manual's Mexican Food, $3.95 for 2 eggs, 2 bacon, hash browns, & biscuits to die for. Is Good!
Completely readied the kayak for launch at the county park site this morning. Last thing was to put the sail on. Found that some dummy (me) had left the sail mask behind a couple of days ago. So we loaded it all back up again, as the wind was too strong 25MPH+ for pedaling without a sail. Bad way to start a day. At least we were able to replace just the sail mast at the local kayak store...so we're ready to try again tomorrow. Wind is best first thing in the morning.
Lunch at Dirty Al's. I tried the ceviche, which is kind of like a shrimp cocktail, but is fish marinated for 24 hours in lemon juice instead of the boiled shrimp. It's in a tomato juice with avacado/onion/tomato mixed in. Is good!
NAPPED! Required! We are blaming the naps on the seasickness medicine.
Had an exploratory expedition a little further south late this afternoon. Drove above 40 miles, but we only went 4-5 miles south of South Padre Island. Had to go around the Brownsville Ship Channel. Checked out the Boca Chino State park located at the ocean closer to the Mexican border. Nothing there but ocean beach! Visited the site of the last Civil War Battle, Palomino Ranch. Some say it occurred after the end of the civil war as General Lee had already surrendered, but the Texas Confederate generals had not. We were also looking for a road to the South Bay (good fishing), but did not find it. Must pedal kayak 2 miles instead.
TOOK CONNIE TO MEXICO! Actually, I took her to see Mexico across the Rio Grande River. We were less than 50' from Mexico as the Rio Grande we were on the US bank of is only about 100' wide at this point. We did have to stop at the Border Patrol check station on the way back. but they didn't check us..thank goodness as we had the Cruiser loaded up with stuff (legal camping stuff only, but a lot of stuff).
Dinner at Daddy's. They have outstanding boiled crawfish I can't seem to get enough of.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Day 8 @ South Padre Island, Texas
Wimped out of kayaking this morning due to high winds, even in the bay. Checked out a few more launch points for the kayak (if the wind ever slacks up a bit, or maybe if it don't).
Tried lunch at Manuel's (our favorite Mexican breakfast place). It is more Tex-Mex and we liked it better than the Mexican food at U.S Bar yesterday.
Spent all afternoon on the beach. Lots of kite surfers...must have been over 25. We excelled at watching them. The ideal age for kite surfing is like 16-18, but they make it look easy and they did it for hours on end and for miles (no exaggeration) up and down the beach. We'll stick to sailing the kayak (hopefully tomorrow). We were in the ocean for a while, but mainly in the beach chairs just a looking and soaking up the sun (along with a little windblown sand).
Dinner at Joe's Oyster Bar & Seafood Market. $4.99 a dozen large juicy succulent raw oysters ... yum ..yum.. yum. I tried the seafood soup which was great and Connie had blackened fish/shrimp/crab cake. All of it was great. The crab cake was the best we've found other than at Copeland's restaurant in Shreveport.
Wimped out of kayaking this morning due to high winds, even in the bay. Checked out a few more launch points for the kayak (if the wind ever slacks up a bit, or maybe if it don't).
Tried lunch at Manuel's (our favorite Mexican breakfast place). It is more Tex-Mex and we liked it better than the Mexican food at U.S Bar yesterday.
Spent all afternoon on the beach. Lots of kite surfers...must have been over 25. We excelled at watching them. The ideal age for kite surfing is like 16-18, but they make it look easy and they did it for hours on end and for miles (no exaggeration) up and down the beach. We'll stick to sailing the kayak (hopefully tomorrow). We were in the ocean for a while, but mainly in the beach chairs just a looking and soaking up the sun (along with a little windblown sand).
Dinner at Joe's Oyster Bar & Seafood Market. $4.99 a dozen large juicy succulent raw oysters ... yum ..yum.. yum. I tried the seafood soup which was great and Connie had blackened fish/shrimp/crab cake. All of it was great. The crab cake was the best we've found other than at Copeland's restaurant in Shreveport.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Day 7 @ South Padre Island, Texas
OMG! Been here a week and the rent is due! It's actually worse than that. We assumed that since the park was only 1/3 full...the site we are now in would be readily available for rent next week...WRONG! Starting May 1, this place starts to fill up. So we had to move the RV first thing this morning. Only took an hour...no bigee, and we moved into the lower rent district (just as good as the other) and saved $65.
Lunch at a real Mexican restaurant called "U.S. Bar and Restaurant". It used to be across the border in Matamoros, Mexico and was one of the top 3 restaurants there before the drug dealers shut down the tourist trade. It was different food to be sure, but at the end, the waitress did jokingly say "you didn't like it, did you?" as she looked sideways at my utterly empty plate...Oh yeah! Connie wasn't as impressed as I and we probably won't go back.
Did a little driving around looking for kayak launch sites.
Ran across the Blue Bunny delivery truck. Chased him down to find a Blue Bunny ice cream store, as the only ice cream we had found on SPI is "Italian" and tastes like Ben & Jerry's ... yuck! Anything but Ben & Jerry's. Mission successful, Blue Bunny in the freezer.
Took another afternoon siesta!
Went dolphin watching at the point...but did not see any today.
Fish dinner at "Dirty Al's", bought a souvenir T-Shirt that says "BIG PEOPLE ARE HARDER TO KIDNAP...EAT UP!" It's a being next to the Mexican border insider joke, and no I am not going across the border...T-Shirt or not.
Walked on the beach a bit...loving it!
OMG! Been here a week and the rent is due! It's actually worse than that. We assumed that since the park was only 1/3 full...the site we are now in would be readily available for rent next week...WRONG! Starting May 1, this place starts to fill up. So we had to move the RV first thing this morning. Only took an hour...no bigee, and we moved into the lower rent district (just as good as the other) and saved $65.
Lunch at a real Mexican restaurant called "U.S. Bar and Restaurant". It used to be across the border in Matamoros, Mexico and was one of the top 3 restaurants there before the drug dealers shut down the tourist trade. It was different food to be sure, but at the end, the waitress did jokingly say "you didn't like it, did you?" as she looked sideways at my utterly empty plate...Oh yeah! Connie wasn't as impressed as I and we probably won't go back.
Did a little driving around looking for kayak launch sites.
Ran across the Blue Bunny delivery truck. Chased him down to find a Blue Bunny ice cream store, as the only ice cream we had found on SPI is "Italian" and tastes like Ben & Jerry's ... yuck! Anything but Ben & Jerry's. Mission successful, Blue Bunny in the freezer.
Took another afternoon siesta!
Went dolphin watching at the point...but did not see any today.
Fish dinner at "Dirty Al's", bought a souvenir T-Shirt that says "BIG PEOPLE ARE HARDER TO KIDNAP...EAT UP!" It's a being next to the Mexican border insider joke, and no I am not going across the border...T-Shirt or not.
Walked on the beach a bit...loving it!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Day 6 @ Padre Island, Texas
Started the day getting replacement keys for those lost lost in the ocean yesterday. Success at the local ACE hardware store, except for the clicker which will wait.
Lunch special at Daddy's Seafood & Cajun (Almonde Grouper...yum!)
I don't know where the afternoon went...OK, maybe we took a nap...it's an occasional old folks thing.
Spent the last 2 hours of the day on the bay sailing with winds at about 15MPH...it was a blast.
Back to Daddy's Seafood & Cajun. I discovered they still had boiled crawfish...so I'm hooked.
That's All Folks!
Started the day getting replacement keys for those lost lost in the ocean yesterday. Success at the local ACE hardware store, except for the clicker which will wait.
Lunch special at Daddy's Seafood & Cajun (Almonde Grouper...yum!)
I don't know where the afternoon went...OK, maybe we took a nap...it's an occasional old folks thing.
Spent the last 2 hours of the day on the bay sailing with winds at about 15MPH...it was a blast.
Back to Daddy's Seafood & Cajun. I discovered they still had boiled crawfish...so I'm hooked.
That's All Folks!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Day 5 @ South Padre Island, TX
Breakfast at Manuel's (Local Food on the cheap). Launched the Kayak at the county park. First day (couple of hours this morning) trying to use the kayak sail and it went great even though wind was only 4-5 MPH. Lunched at Dirty Al's (again on the cheap, shared zucchini & lunch salads). I could brag we are eating healthy, but that Ranch Dressing on the salads & the fried batter on the zucchini would make a liar of me. Dang it was good! Shared acquired RVing Corpus Christi information with neighbors headed there in a couple of days. Enjoyed several hours on the beach and in the water later this afternoon, then went back to Daddy's restaurant for dinner. I really love the shrimp (huge) and oysters (very tasty) down here...but what really blows me away is the Flounder (fried and blackened). Got to catch some myself! Check back in a day or two to see if I do or don't.
Oh yeah...the only spoiler today was that I tried fishing using the car keys as bait at the beach (bathing suit pocket). No fish caught, the keys are a permanent part of South Padre Island, and a $50 Lock Doc bill! It coulda been worse.... Don't worry, be Happy!
Breakfast at Manuel's (Local Food on the cheap). Launched the Kayak at the county park. First day (couple of hours this morning) trying to use the kayak sail and it went great even though wind was only 4-5 MPH. Lunched at Dirty Al's (again on the cheap, shared zucchini & lunch salads). I could brag we are eating healthy, but that Ranch Dressing on the salads & the fried batter on the zucchini would make a liar of me. Dang it was good! Shared acquired RVing Corpus Christi information with neighbors headed there in a couple of days. Enjoyed several hours on the beach and in the water later this afternoon, then went back to Daddy's restaurant for dinner. I really love the shrimp (huge) and oysters (very tasty) down here...but what really blows me away is the Flounder (fried and blackened). Got to catch some myself! Check back in a day or two to see if I do or don't.
Oh yeah...the only spoiler today was that I tried fishing using the car keys as bait at the beach (bathing suit pocket). No fish caught, the keys are a permanent part of South Padre Island, and a $50 Lock Doc bill! It coulda been worse.... Don't worry, be Happy!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Day 4 @ South Padre Island, TX
A good day! Started as a technical observer at 6am of the South Padre Island Kayak Fishing Tournament this morning. Got some good tips. Not ready prime time myself yet. Had a HUGE breakfast taco at Maguel's (shared with Connie who slept in), then checked out a new pier to launch from (Palm Tree Pier). Wal-Marted and fixed/improved RV. Lunch at Joe's Oyster Bar (great oyster/shrimp/fish cheap). Did not go kayaking today as the wind was too high. Went to the beach for awhile, but again, wind too high to stay long. Going back to Daddy's Cajan Seafood for dinner. That will make 8 consecutive seafood meals in a row (not counting breakfast). No end in sight!
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