Day 70-Mon, 9 Mar 09-S.Padre Island

There's a beautiful, big full moon outside tonight. I bet the island police are gearing up for a very busy night!

Yesterday we re-visited the HeatWave custom car/truck show. Wayne was anxious to see the hydraulic lift show where cars & trucks compete to see how high the hydraulic lifts can make the vehicle jump. How these cars look is secondary...how high they can bounce is primary!

We were lucky to get seats right in front of the staging area so had a great view. Although most of the cars & trucks have been customized to do a bit of bouncing, the ones competing for height go way beyond what you see the 'bad boys' driving on television. I think the winner of the competition bounced the front end of both a car and truck over what the measurement instrument could register so they tagged it at 86 inches! It may have bounced higher but even with modifications, the vehicle's back end prevented it from going higher...and flipping over backwards!

Wayne was keen to stay and watch the bikini contest so we hung around a bit and listened to a few Rap bands. Now, you've got to picture the venue and who it attracts. I'd think I'd be correct in saying there were two WASPs, over the age of 40, in attendance at that show--and that would be Wayne and I! Spanish was the predominant language and I've yet to understand where the money comes from to customize these cars given our knowledge of the prosperity of the local Mexican community. However, if we thought we were outnumbered looking at the cars, we stood out like sore thumbs at the rap concerts! I don't often admit to feeling 'old' but I've tried and tried, and I'm just not appreciating rap the way kids do...or in this case, Black & Mexican kids do. However, when Dirty Worm showed up on the stage, one with a Freddie Kruger face mask on, I thought at least the entertainment would make up for what I wasn't understanding. We stayed, even did a little toe tapping at one point, but when the lead rapper said he'd bought OJ Simpsons gloves from E-Bay and was going to put them on so he could, "murder the shit out of the next song", I knew I was totally lost and no longer had the remotest interest in trying to figure it out.

Unfortunately, the entertainment appeared to be burning into the time allotted for the bikini contest so we gave it up and went home. It was really interesting to see these cars though, and as it was something we probably wouldn't attend at home, made for a great weekend diversion. We had a blast!

Today was beach day. Wayne walks every day on the beach so he's a brown as anything. I've never been one to stay too long in the sun unless there's a pool or warm lake/ocean to cool off in so I'm less tanned than him...which is okay. However, now that we are in to the last days on the island, I wanted to just enjoy the beach. We packed a lunch and were there by 09:30. Even though I slathered the tan lotion non-stop, by 2 pm I knew that even the breeze was no longer masking the heat and we came home.

Tomorrow will be my last trip to the wildlife refuge 50 miles north of here. Heaven knows I don't need any more photos of birds but the area is really beautiful and of course, there's that Bobcat that needs to be tracked! We're working at clearing out the fridge and freezer of food so that we can start fresh when we leave Saturday. There are a couple of nice local specialty shops I'd like to check out before we leave as well.

Bon Voyage to the Scott's who are heading to Williamstown and Washington for a holiday...hope they have a fabulous time. Our little HoneyB has been sick with the flu but says his tummy is better now. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx