Our Vacation on South Padre Island

Ok, I've lived in Texas my whole life, and I've never made it to South Padre Island until this week. What the hell was I thinking?! I love it!









Now, I understand I probably wouldn't love it quite as much in the Summer, during Spring Break, or high-season Winter, but in Nov. at the $38/night condo we found (Padre South Hotel) it was awesome!

The condo was right on the beach, which was beautiful. I can't believe we have that water and sand right here in Texas. It took us 7.5 hours each way to drive there, with the kids needing to make a few pit stops here and there, but it really wasn't a bad drive at all. I would totally do it again. The island was lovely and small enough so that you learn your way around easily, and everything is close by.



We got there Sat. afternoon, in time to check in and enjoy the beach a bit. Sunday we attended mass across the bridge in Port Isabel at Our Lady Star of the Sea, which was the cutest nautical themed church you'd ever want to see. Then we went to the shrimp festival in Port Isabel. Enjoyed the beach some more as well.

















Monday we took a road trip to Nuevo Progresso Mexico.

It took longer than I thought to get there, but the shopping made it worth it. It's so easy to park at the US side of the bridge and walk over, then the town itself is so small you can walk it in an afternoon. We went to a couple of the restaurants, Angel's for lunch (yummy food & yummier margaritas) and then Arizona restaurant on our way out for a couple more yummy margaritas. The Mexican margaritas are so different & so much better than what we get here. They're super smooth and not tangy at all. We visited the big shopping center called Canada, which has all the touristy stuff you could want, liquor and a pharmacy. I got a super great deal on the Mexican generic form of Nexium for my reflux. I normally pay $49/mo for Nexium with insurance. I got 200 of them for $60. I'm happy! Of course we had to buy some liters of booze while we were there. The prices in Progresso were much better than Matamoros, but we were shocked when we crossed back to the US and were charged taxes by Texas. Duty free only means free of federal tax. Texas still gets their share. Bummer!

We made a side-trip to San Juan, TX on our way back to see the basilica (gorgeous!) and the life-size stations of the cross they have outside along a walking path. That was amazing. I wish we had something like that around here. That would be a wonderful place to take your daily walk/jog.


















Tues. we spent all day at the beach veg'ing out.



















Wed. was a bit windy and cloudy, so we took the kids on the bay fishing trip, which was fun, but we didn't catch anything. We saw so many dolphins though, it was worth it. They came right up to the boat practically & were gorgeous! I couldn't stop giggling like a freak, I loved it so much. We could see dolphins daily from the beach too.




















Thursday I took a road trip with my parents to Matamoros Mexico, while Mike took the kiddos fishing at the pier. Matamoros was so much prettier than I anticipated. It was lovely. We took the $4 round-trip trolly from the bridge, and the 2 operators took such good care of us the whole time. They dropped us off at 1 town square so we could tour the church there, and then took us to the next one, and then dropped us off at the shopping market and picked us up. Then they dropped us off at Mi Pueblito restaurant, which was very nice and had great food (and margaritas!). My parents made fun of me as I became more giggly with each margarita. At least I'm a fun drunk and I wasn't driving! :-) The only things I bought in Matamoros were silver jewelry & a few boxes of fluid pills that were a good deal. Any time I'm near salt water I bloat big time.

Friday I spent at the beach and pool, while Mike took the boys fishing again. This time they caught a few but threw them back. Sat. morning we spent at the beach before we had to leave.

Three nights we had dinner at Dirty Al's, which has good prices and delicious fresh seafood. I've never seen shrimp that huge! And the blackened flounder was to die for. Our 1st night we had dinner at Amberjack's because it was on the bay, but the food was not good, only the location was.

I would go back to South Padre Island in a heart beat. It was so much fun and so relaxing. It's great to know we have a wonderful vacation spot with beautiful beaches within driving distance. No wonder so many Winter Texans love it too.

Adios!