Day 50-Tues, 17 Feb 09-S.Padre Island, TX

Well, we've found our 'settle' place. We are in a 2 bdrm, 2 bath condo on S.Padre Island and it is so beautiful, I know we'll hate to leave.

We'd decided yesterday that we would contact a couple of real estate mgmt companies, of which there are many here, and see if there was a reasonably priced condo or apt for rent for a few weeks. As I've noted before, we love travelling in the van but it gets exhausting after a while and we both were ready for 'some space'. Wayne called a few places this morning and we were able to look at one that became vacant today. We weren't keen on an apt block condo as we needed to ensure there was parking for the van and the one we looked at absolutely filled the bill. It's a 4-flex, 2 up and 2 down, and the bottom one was the one we looked at.

When we walked in, we couldn't believe our eyes...it is gorgeous! It's privately owned by a couple in McAllen, Texas and rented when not being used by the owner (as are most of the condos on the island). It has been professionally decorated and has everything from silverware to hand soap so literally a 'move in' property. We are about 200 feet from the beach we've always loved here, and there's also a pool in the back yard! We'd planned on renting for two weeks but when we saw it, we knew we'd like to be here longer so have rented it until 14 Mar. The timing is great as we'll be out of here before Spring Break when things become crazy on the island and the population increases 100 fold.

While we were waiting for Anna..the cleaning lady to finish...we went to the convention centre, sent a couple of e-mails, and I walked out along the nature boardwalk. There was a beautiful Osprey sitting in a tree, and a huge Blue Heron strutting and displaying for a female sitting along the shore. I plan on spending a lot more time down there, at different times of the day, to see all the beautiful birds that come there.

It's going up to 87 degrees here tomorrow so we'll probably spend some time in the pool and perhaps go to the beach later in the day when it cools down. There's air conditioning in the condo of course, so we won't be uncomfortable at all. At some point, we both need to find a place to get our hair cut...we are raggedy!

Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx