A DAY AT THE BEACH

May 4/10


After 2 hot days here in Mission, Texas, we decided to drive 70 miles east to South Padre Island on the Gulf of Mexico for a change of climate. We drove through all the major cities in the Rio Grande Valley--McAllen, Pharr, Harlingen and Brownsville (on the Mexico border) on the way there. It is a very busy area as we approached the coast , with one city and one WalMart blending into the next. The highway actually drops below sea level in some stretches.


We had to drive across the 2 mile long causeway to get to South Padre Island—it was impressive.
Web site:   Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge

After driving through the town, we followed the road north to the end of the island and stopped to walk along the beach. The weather was great, sunny and not windy, about 87F. We got our feet wet (a little cold for swimming) as we walked along the beach and picked up some sea shells that are thicker than the usual Caribbean sea shells.

We had lunch in town at Cap’n Roy’s Seafood and looked in some of the surf, swim and souvenir shops. They were full of stuff that tourists and kids on spring break might buy. It is probably very busy then and during the summer months. We’re fortunate to be enjoying this area in the off season.