Monday, 26 Mar 2012 - SPI

On the Pinta with Nina just behind me.

Portugese Man-O-War. The tentacles give a terrible sting.

Caspian Terns

It was a glorious day on South Padre Island and we took advantage of it!

We were on the beach by 10:30 am and didn't leave until 4:30 pm. We drove quite a way down the North Beach and except for the odd car, had the place to ourselves. Unlike most beaches, people are allowed to pitch a tent and stay overnight and we've seen mid-sized trailers pulled in for a week or more. The interesting thing is that the wind blows constantly, which means the sand is always shifting and for the life of me, I don't know how they pull them out. The sand is very, very soft and after a week it has drifted up around the wheels of the trailer. Even with a 4 x 4 truck hauling the trailers, it would be difficult. Being Monday, there was a disturbing amount of garbage left behind by the weekend gang. We spend a lot of time at this beach and appreciate the sheer beauty of the place. It bothers me to no end that even after a few beers, people cannot seem to understand what happens to a bag of garbage left behind. Once the seagulls get at it, the wind takes over and one bag can cover a lot of area once opened. The local people, clubs, and Winter Texans are doing constant clean-ups in those areas that the town can't get at regularly. At the North Beach, which is outside of town, the cost to get on the beach is $4 and this year they added another $5 plus give each car a garbage bag. When you return a full bag of garbage you get $5 back. It's a great idea and I'd vote for raising it to $10 to make sure people are motivated to fill a bag. Oh, there are lots and lots of garbage cans as well and some of the garbage on the beach is the flotsam that comes in on the tide. Without a doubt, plastic water bottles are the #1 item....thousands (really) and thousands of them, and frickin' shoes! The only type of shoe I haven't seen (yet) is a stiletto but everything else. The sun was hot, the breeze was cool and it was a magnificent day.

We came home and showered and then headed out for supper and on to the movie to see Hunger Games. If you have read the books..and I did..the movie is good..not great. If you haven't read the books..and Wayne hasn't..the movie is a bit 'weird'. Overall, I enjoyed it and it clearly ends setting up the next movie in the trilogy.

We went over to Port Isabel yesterday to see the replicas of the Nina and Pinta that are on a North American tour. The Columbus Society raised the money to have these two built..they were Christopher's favourites of the 3..and apparently won't built the Santa Maria as it is much bigger and almost impossible to bring into most of the smaller habours they visit. These first two are very small ships and I can't imagine a crew eating and sleeping on them while spending months and months at sea. These replicas have a few more amenities the originals didn't and because they don't carry cargo, the crew does sleep below decks.

That's life on SPI. We are starting to talk about the trip home and what route we'll take. We are going through Oklahoma this time, which is a new place for us and hoping to get off the expressways and on to a few secondary highways through some of the smaller towns.

Hope all is well at home. I hear people are rummaging in the back of the closet for the heavy coats and boots they'd hoped were done for the year. Seriously....you thought that? Take care and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx