Five Down, 45 to Go!

November 28, 2011

Today is dead calm again.  Time to golf in Texas.  There are only two choices in our vicinity.  A Par 3 course in one of the local retirement communities where the longest hole is 140 yards.  The other is the South Padre Island Golf Club.  The local rooty-tooty course which is open to the public.  Fourteen dollars versus 48 dollars for 18 holes.  This is Texas so we go for the big one.  After seeing this sign at the first hole I didn't chase any out of bounds balls.

Tried some of the local brew after the game.

Got the sticker!  Notice that line of stickers leading to Texas.  I will fill up that southwest corner come next year.

High Winds on Padre

November 26, 2011

Dead calm today.  Must be laundry day.  Did get to go out to lunch afterwards on one of the local piers.

Found a pirate friend.

Pelicans all over the place.  So much so that they have their own sign.

November 27, 2011

Last night the winds kicked up to over 40 mph.  The clubhouse was rocking around all night.  Mark was very nervous about going out in such strong winds but considering that one of his problems in the kiting days prior to this was the wind not being strong enough he decided  to go.  Sweet Jesus!  He is up again.  I am a nervous mother bird when he goes out there.  It is kind of like when I used to watch Lindsey playing soccer when she was little.  I would stand on the sidelines and when she would go after the ball to kick it my foot would kick at the same time hers would.  I so wanted her to get a good kick in.  Same thing with Mark.  I root for him to get up every time he falls and then I am formulating a rescue plan in my head in case he gets in trouble.

This is Mark when he first launches his kite.

That is Mark in the middle.  He made a good run in 25 mph winds and successfully returned to the beach.  It was 69 degrees today so with the wind chill it was pretty cold so we didn't stay out too long today.  Actually, I didn't even get out of the jeep today.  Mark had to get someone on the beach to launch him.  I almost had to get out of the Jeep when he returned but I waited long enough and someone else noticed him and caught the kite when he returned.  I could just see myself knocked down in the mud by that huge thing.

Photography Skills

November 25, 2011

Today we are again out kiteboarding.  Mark makes a great run and actually returns to be beach where he started.  That is a great success.

This is what you get when you try to take a picture of a beautiful sunset while sitting on the couch.  I didn't really see the screen when I took the picture because I was so focused on the beautiful sunset.  My camera did, though.  Mikayla will get a laugh out of that one!

This is the shot I got from standing on top of the picnic table next door.  I need to get outside a little earlier so I can get some cool sunset pictures.

Thanksgiving at Isla Blanca Park

November 23, 2011

Today we move to Isla Blanca Park.  Our spot looks good but we find that the grass is full of stickers!  The same stickers that were in Craig & Wendy's lawn and Andy Bowie Park grass.  Those darn cockleburrs.  We also have a few goat heads.  Miserable for the people that have dogs.  Every time we walk back into the clubhouse, we have to scrape all the stickers off our feet but we still manage to drag a few in.

We meet our new neighbors, Charlie and Joanne.  We notice that Charlie has tin pie pans hanging from sticks all over his lawn.  They bang in the near constant wind.  What the heck, I have to go over and introduce myself so I can find out what Charlie is thinking.  He tells me that he has pigeons eating his grass seed so needs to scare them away.  He is likely to scare us away with that incessant banging.  Well, after we are parked about 2 hours Joann brings us two pieces of fresh, warm apple cake.  I guess we will stay right here for a few days.

Happy Thanksgiving!
November 24, 2011

Today is the Thanksgiving potluck at the Bingo Hall.  I bring deviled eggs.

This is Mark talking to John from Minnesotta.  I sat next to his wife, Joey.  Nice people.  We drove by their spot, C76, later in the day to scope them out.  We noticed they drove by our place the next morning.  We are all alike, aren't we?

Mark is in line, left of the star on the wall.  He was a little unhappy about not being first in line but our table was called second so that wasn't too bad.

Back to the Beach

November 21, 2011

Today we are back at the kiting beach.  Trying a down winder, which means Mark is at a neighboring beach which is upwind of the regular kiting beach.  He launches there with the intent of getting to the down wind beach without having to worry about driving his kite upwind.  Two launches, each unsuccessful.  He can get up but cannot keep the kite in the air.  We observe everyone else has no trouble.  Final conclusion, it is not the gusty breezes, it is Mark's current driving ability.  We will try again tomorrow.

November 22, 02011

Today the wind is down early in the morning (10:00 am) so we head to the Birding and Wildlife Center that is down the street and walk the boardwalk.  Then it is off to Ace Hardware for maintenance stuff and then down to Isla Blanca County Park and pick our site for the next week.  We are moving down there to try their park for a week.  They have a Thanksgiving Potluck which I will sign us up for.  More activities down there but further from the kiteboarding beach.

It's All Happening at the Zoo

November 20, 2011

Mandarin Duck

Today we go to the Turtle Rescue Facility and the Zoo in Brownsville, which is about 25 miles to the west.  Brownsville is a port town that borders Mexico.  Saw the port with lots of huge ships and a couple of the access gates said they were open to the public and you could get fresh wild shrimp.  They were singing my song.  I wasn't prepared to bring any back with us but I will go back before we leave South Padre.   The zoo was pretty good with a nice assortment of animals.  Didn't take any pictures until I got to an open aviary.  Many beautiful birds of brilliant colors.  This little guy amazed me.  I had heard of Mandarin Duck on the menu of a chinese restaurant but did not realize they were so beautiful.

I did feel like I was deep in Mexico as we visited the Brownsville area.  With the exception of one white gentlemen who looked to be married to a hispanic lady, we did not see one caucasian person the entire day in Brownsville.

The turtle rescue facility was in South Padre Island.  Small outfit with lots of turtles.  Most of the huge ones were missing a fin and that was why they were in captivity.

Sweet Jesus! He is Up!

November 18, 2011

We went to the kiting beach today so that Mark could make his first attempt at kiting.  It has been 8 months since he kited in Mexico and needless to say he is very nervous.

This is Mark getting his kite "launched" into the air.  You just get one of the other kiters to hold your kite and turn it so that the edges are not flapping and it is catching the wind solidly.  Then you give them a thumbs up and they let go.  The kiter then "drives" his kite up into the air.

The end of the story is that Mark was not successful on his first day.  We left the beach a little sad, planning the strategy for the next attempt and analyzing "why" this embarrassment had to happen.



November 19, 2011

Sweet Jesus!  He is up.  We are back at the beach today, a little less nervous.  The routine for getting your kite ready is long with a lot of detail, as far as I can tell and I think it helps Mark mentally calm his nerves.  Just my observation.  Anyway, after approx. 25 minutes of preparation he is launched and gets up the first time.  I will tell you that the big complaint regarding this beach as far as Mark's concerned is that the water is extremely shallow and you walk out into the water almost 1000 ft. before it gets a little deeper.  It makes your legs tired getting out there.  Anyway I had to drive the Jeep down the beach a ways to pick up the old man.  He couldn't drive the kite back upwind to beach where he had begun.  That will be the next learning curve.

Yes, the kite closest to us is Mark.  Happy day.