Winter Fest

We just returned from two days on South Padre Island where Winter Fest was held.  The first day was the day seven different bands, duets or solos sang for us.  It was held in the Schlitterbaun Pavilion which is a covered facility with open walls.  It has a thatched roof.  The wind was blowing and we were pretty cold that day.  The temp. was 23C but the air off the ocean was cold.  We had jackets on, but the wind seemed to go right through them.  A staff member moved some picnic tables into the sun and Brenda, I and friends sat there rather than under the roof.  It was much better. 

Mariachi Band

South Padre sunset

I really liked the Mariachi Band.  It was a youth band and the lead singer was the man holding the guitar.  They were very good.  We did not stay until the end of the concert as we all felt we had enough wind to last us a long while.  Back to our hotel we went.  We stayed at the Schlitterbaun as they were having a Winter Texan special.

Brenda was shaking a bad cough so she stayed in while the rest of us went out for supper.  I met some new people and we all had a good visit.  I spent a good deal of time making dollar bill rings as they were fascinated with them.  What a beautiful evening it was.  Here is a  photo taken from the restaurant.  The sunsets there are beautiful.  There are restaurants all along the ocean strip.  Of course, their specialty is seafood.  I am not a seafood fan.  I know......so many of you are and people rave about the seafood on the island.  For one thing, it is fresh.  You can catch your own fish and most restaurants there will cook it for you.  I like fish from the sea, but could bypass the rest.  The others did enjoy their shrimp.

Leslie was singing there at Palm Street Pier.  She has a large following and people like to dance to her music.

Leslie

I didn't eat at this restaurant as I knew we were going to another place for 10 cent wings.  Leslie's show was finished at 7 pm so off we went.  I ordered 40 wings as I wanted to take some back for Brenda.  Well....that is only $4.  We all ordered and shared different flavors.

It was Karaoke night.  I asked the host to sing El Paso.  He asked me to come onto the stage and see if he had the correct version.  Before I knew it he had put a mike in my hand and he and I sang El Paso together.  Wow!  That is a fast song with many, many verses.  It was great fun!

El Paso

The next day was beautiful.  We began our day with a swim in the hot pool.  The sun was shining and the wind had died down.  The hotel staff puts these floatation devises on the pool at night to retain the heat.

Mark, Brenda and I swam in the warm water for awhile and then decided to go down to the beach. 

The hotel provided lounge chairs so we decided we would suntan for awhile.  Brenda stayed in the sun much longer than I did.  Even though I was not visibly turning red I knew I had enough sun.  Later that day parts of my skin turned a bright pink.
 

Brenda burning

Later that evening Bob, Carol, Mark, Brenda and I went out for supper once again.  We began at one restaurant that offered free appetizers and then went to Palm Street Pier again for supper.  I had a delicious fish dish.  Jerry and Karen joined us there.

Leslie was playing at Padre Bar so off we went to hear her once again.  The place was packed.  When we returned to our rooms,  Brenda and Bob played crib.  Some real competition going on there!  I went to help Jerry and Karen with some computer problems they were having.  I wasn't very successful.  I had not encountered that problem before.

The next morning we went to Pier 19 for breakfast.  It was another glorious morning.

Arrrrr!

We watched the fisherman standing in hip waders.  The water from Port Isabel to South Padre is very shallow.  It is an average of 2 and a half feet deep and is a very popular fishing spot.  The pelicans were out and resting.

Pelicans

We had a few chores to do and then headed back to Donna, Texas.  We had a great two days. There is always lots to do and many interesting people to meet on the island.  We both wished we could have stayed for a week, but had used up our budget.  We will go back before heading home.  Perhaps we will go back more than once!