Day 82 - 20 Mar - South Padre Island, TX

Photo: Texas landscape. There are more types of cactus here than I'll ever be able to identify.

We did housekeeping today...well, I did...including laundry and sweeping some of the fine layer of sand that was over everything. Wayne tested the hot tub and the pool and even had a bit of a snooze there. This is Spring Break in the U.S. so there are lots more families around and when I looked in the pool area, there were all teenagers and no adults so I passed on the pool. The weather was beautiful, about 77 degrees and once the sun went down (in a blaze of glory), it cooled off. The perfect climate and now I know why people who visit Texas enjoy it so much.

Tomorrow we will get on the free Yellow Wave bus...it's bright yellow and you just wave it down to catch a ride...and it cruises up and down the strip and across the bridge to Port Isabella, and perhaps bring a towel in case we decide to check out some of the beaches along the way. There are a couple of souvenir stores I want to visit, not so much for the stuff inside, but the outside has huge replicas of various types of seashells...it's really amazing.

We are down to our last couple of weeks and starting to plan the route home that has the best chance of taking us where the snow isn't! Until I called Jen & Carol tonight, I had this faint hope that perhaps the bulk of the snow would be gone when we arrived in Toronto, but I think from the sounds of it that it's a very, very faint hope! We've checked on the internet and the cherry blossom festival will be going on in Washington which I've tried to get to for a number of years so I think we'll stop there for a day or two and go to the Smithsonian for a day. The last time we were there was 42+ years ago, on our honeymoon, and I remember the Smithsonian vividly...it was awesome then and undoubtedly more so now. We might even have time to stop in Nashville and see what the fuss is all about. Since we've arrived back in Texas, the C&W music stations are the only thing that comes through so perhaps a stop in Nashville is good...we are no longer humming along with Brian Adams or Celine Dion, but singing lyrics about cheetin' wives, dead hounds, and whiskey drinkin' cowboys. Why, we even got excited when we drove through San Benito and saw on the water tower that it was the "Birthplace of Freddy Fender". Git along liddle doggie!

Carl...the KOA on South Padre is right beside the bridge and there is a pier that goes out from the RV park...so you can Google Earth it. You might see the LuvMasheen...it will be that tiny white blob in amongst the big white blobs (aka busses).

Until next time, take care everyone. We are thinking about Melanie (due date is Wed), Carol (congratulations on 31 Mar retirement date), Colin & Jen (honeymoon in Europe is booked), Tim & Kim (hosting Easter dinner this year), Kevin & Kate (gearing up for a very busy few months), Doug & Claire (planning the move to their new house), Ty (getting his first bike from the Easter Bunny), Sandy & Bill (still enjoying the Barbados sun), and all those who I know who are checking the blog to see where we are. We love and miss you all.