South Padre Island

 

Yesterday Brenda and I went to South Padre Island to visit our friends, Carol and Bob.  They live in a duplex across the street from the beach.  When we arrived it was pouring rain.  We debated on whether we should even go as it was chilly and wet in Donna as well, but decided we would go anyway.


Carol

We were glad that we went.  On Saturday evening we went to PadreRitaGrill to hear live music.  The singer was a fellow named J. Michael Laferty and he was fantastic.  We really enjoyed his singing and the back-up band.  We sipped on our margaritas and listened to him for the whole evening.  Our water was served in "red neck wine glasses" which were pint jars with stems. 

Carol and Brenda

  
We awoke to a gloriously sunny day and decided to walk along the beach.  There were a lot of people out either just walking or fishing.  We had to be careful not to step on the jellyfish.  Carol had been in some of the hotels along the beach and took us to some of them so we could see rooms that had been built and the view from upper patios.  We saw many birds that I did not recognize.  There were flocks of pelicans in the air and floating on the waves. 

          It seemed rather incongruous that there were Christmas decorations out and yet there were many flowers in bloom.  It takes a while to get used to that.  I am only used to a white Christmas and palm trees decorated in lights are still a foreign concept to me. 

After our walk we decided to go to Boomerang Billy's to hear Leslie sing.  I had heard Leslie sing the last time I came to Texas, and  I was taken once again with her powerful and beautiful voice.  Leslie sings a lot of songs from the 60s  and she has quite a following.  She has been singing at Boomerang Billy's for many years and is part of the Idiots Club.  It costs $5 to become an Idiot and then you can get a discount on your drinks.  Once you are an Idiot you can purchase T-shirts and other Idiot paraphanalia. 

Most of the Idiots there were wearing a T-shirt.  Some were wearing T-shirts from previous years so there were Ts of various colors.  There are other places on S. Padre that give discounts to Idiots if they show their card or wear their T- shirts.  One lady had cut her shirt so that it had little fringes on the bottom.  She then knotted beads onto the fringes and it looked quite stunning.  Some people just seem to know how to make their clothes look chic.

While listening to the music I also watched sand castle lessons on the beach next to the bar. 

 

                                      There were about four couples taking lessons.  I don't know how much they were charged, but they were doing a good job.  The instructor had a variety of tools - from small knives to drinking straws.  I am not very artistic and wouldn't try this myself, but I enjoyed watching others try their hand at it.

All in all it was a pleasant two days.  There is always lots to see and do on South Padre Island!  This was our first trip to the island, but I know we will make many more trips before our time in Texas is over.