Texas Chapter 2: Los Fresnos & South Padre

Having finally arrived in Los Fresnos for the months of February and March, we had hoped to enjoy some warmer weather.   Our fishing poles were definitely ready to roll for some shore fishing in the Gulf!   But that was not to be the case.

Since the weather wasn't exactly warm enough to be in the Gulf to cast out our poles for some fish action, we did drive into South Padre - Beach Access #6 to be exact - to check out the beach.  It was pretty quiet with some brisk weather but we drove for a few miles before we noticed that the tide was starting to rise.  That was our signal that it was time to get back to the entrance for our exit!

We did catch up with our friend, Richard, who winters in the Rio Grande Valley.  Richard has been a fishing buddy from 2012 when we first traveled to south Texas to spend the winter that year.  The weather and how the beach access was now set up, didn’t work out for us really doing much fishing at South Padre beaches.  Therefore, a drive to the beach at Boca Chica was our choice for fishing just as soon as the weather permitted.

To our dismay this became a waiting game.  Nonetheless, we decided to pick a somewhat warm day and take our chances.  The few fish that we caught that afternoon were cleaned and put on ice so that we could have our traditional fish fry “a la Richard” back at the park that we were staying at.  The fish was excellent and Richard added some delicious salmon steaks that he had from Costco.  It was like the old times, less the beach surroundings, for his homemade potato chips brought back many memories of our fishing together.  Thank you, Richard!

On our way to the beach at Boca Chica, we were able to take a few pictures of the work in and around the area known as Space X - the Elon Musk extravaganza – where he wants to ultimately build the space ship that will take people to Mars.  Elon, you’ve got a long way to go!  We couldn’t really see the actual launch pads where he has been testing rockets as they were miles away from the main road that we were on. 

   

We were very honored to have a very special friend of ours, Gary from North Dakota, that we met in Georgia this fall.  He drove his motorhome to Los Fresnos to spend a week with us at the campground.   Since this was Gary’s first time in this area, we wanted to make his stay memorable with a few  fun Jeep trips.

On the agenda was a trip to Port Mansfield to see the wild deer that captivate residents and visitors with their gentle demeanor.

Not to mention, a drive down to the marina to chat with the owner of a charter fishing boat.

How about a Mexican Bakery experience?  This was a new thing for Gary, and he was quite impressed.  Each of us couldn’t  leave without buying some of their pastries.  Gary said that he was going to put his goodies in the freezer so that he wouldn’t eat everything at one sitting!!!  

We couldn’t pass up taking him across the border into Mexico for a pedicure and the experience of saying that he had a margarita in a paper cup served to him.  We all had a fun day and of course couldn’t leave without some authentic Mexican food.

It was sad to see Gary leave, but as he is originally from Texas, he was north bound to see family in central Texas.

It seems everyone’s schedules are busy when you are retired and this is no exception for friends, Jim and Dodie from Minnesota.   We were able to finally connect with them while we were in Los Fresnos and they were in Los Indios. What a blast we had with them going to Mexico a couple of times, a Mexican Flea Market in Brownsville and buying pottery, fruit and the infamous “1015 onions” that are known as the sweetest onions in the world!  Our time together was magical and we will never forget it.

A very special visit from our daughter, Jill and our 7-year-old granddaughter, Julia was a hoot.

The four-day visit began at the start of the Corona virus in the US, so we were extremely careful and the number of cases in Cameron County (in Los Fresnos) at that time was pretty much non-existent.  Still, we did run into businesses that were closed and/or just starting to do carry out.  The hording of TP, water, cleaning supplies, and eggs was a shock but it was going on all over the country.  We stayed positive and had a good time and got them safely on the plane back to Minneapolis, but not before we saw the following:

South Padre Experience ~

Sea Turtle, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered sea turtles living in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was amazing to see how injured sea turtles are cared for in the park as they are being rehabilitated. Their ultimate goal is to return them to the wild after treatment.    The art murals within the park were absolutely beautiful.

Can you see Jill & Julia to the left, through the glass?

We definitely had to get our feet wet for a true beach experience.  Julia especially liked the “frolicking” with Grandpa!

The Sabal Palm Sanctuary is a 557-acre preserve which is located in Brownville, and the first thing that you see when you pull into the parking lot is the beautiful historic plantation house.

Rio Grande River

Bouganvillia growing upward into the palm.

The native Sabal Palm, here near the banks of the Rio Grande is found throughout much of Mexico but here in the US it is limited only to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  The preserve has over 3 miles of nature trails with wildlife viewing areas for rare and unusual birds from Mexico.

After Jill and Julia left, we too felt it was time to start moving north.  With previous plans to go to San Antonio and into the Hill Country for a month now being cancelled, we decided to leave a week earlier than expected for a stop north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. 

Good-bye Los Fresnos, South Padre and the red-winged blackbirds.  We love our birds.

This moment . . . take it as it comes.  Keep it simple.  Be gentle on your self and others.