Port Isabel, Texas

On our way to South Padre Island, we had driven through the picturesque town of Port Isabel.

 

A sculpture near the pier.

Shops and galleries all over.

Loved this old turquoise tugboat.

The pier complete with.....

a Pirate Ship!

View of Port Isabel from the pier

Port Isabel's historical lighthouse

The lighthouse is open, so up we went.

Around and around for 47 steps

then up some more

fun to see the inside.

Then we were at the top!  Wow!

Overlooking the pier & the bridge

A better look at the bridge to South Padre Island.

The pier - South Padre in the distance

An oil rig to the west. Unfortunately for Texas, the oil prices are so low that it doesn't make sense to even run the rigs, so they are sitting idle.  We are enjoying our low gas prices, but can't help but feel sorry for the people here who make their living in the oil industry.

 

It was a spectacular view from the lighthouse, but now I have to climb back down....

See ya later!

 

 

 

 

What A Zoo!

I am way behind on my blogging!  I usually try to blog when the weather is cold or rainy, but we have had a great run of nice weather here in Brownsville. On two of the few rainy days we had, we went to the movies.  More about them later.

One of the things we were excited about doing here was getting together with our "old" neighbor, Rob Gilkerson (son of Jim & Pat) and his wonderful bride, Megan Kinery, and their two kids, Claire & Patrick.  Rob & Megan suggested the Gladys Porter Zoo, here in Brownsville - WHAT FUN - to see the zoo with kids!

Patrick in his cowboy hat and Clair in her Glee Club uniform!

They were great guides around the zoo.

The gorillas are always fun to watch.

Alligators & crocodiles!

Fun to watch the kids feed the giraffes.

The king of beasts enjoying the sunshine.

These two geese were battling each other - for what, I don't know, but one finally ran off.

 

After all of the walking, we stopped for some "Space Age Ice Cream".

Patrick admired his creation - a red sand filled dinosaur.

And Claire made a rainbow colored seashell for her teacher!

(Later, she went back and made another beautifully colored seashell for "someone really special", who turned out to be her mother (awwwww)!

 

The following week, we had the pleasure of going to Rob & Meg's beautiful new home in McAllen.  Both of them are professors at the college there working hard towards tenure.  Rob is doing research in mitochondria (hope I spelled that right) and Megan is in cancer research.  It was fascinating to hear about their research, and heart warming to see how devoted they are to their students.  Many of their students are Mexican and are the first in their families to attend college.  We think the University is lucky to have both of them!

 

Now for our movie reviews.  We saw two movies this month- "Joy" & "The Revenant".  From the trailers, we expected "Joy" to be more of a comedy than it was.  Jennifer Lawrence plays the lead character, Joy, who invented the Miracle Mop.  There were funny parts, but it showed how hard it was for her to get her idea made, then market it.  She faced one obstacle after another including people trying to steal her idea, and a non supportive family that eventually tried to sue for partial ownership of her company. 

"The Revenant" was very intense, as is evident in its trailers, with Leonardo diCapprio doing a fantastic job in the lead role.  It is the story of a guide to American fur trappers who gets attacked and severely injured by a bear. One of the two men left with him to either nurse him back to health or bury him when he died killed his son and left him to die.  He wanted revenge.  It is beautifully filmed and is quite the story.

 

Hope everyone survived the winter storm this week!  I'll be back later with more to see in Brownsville.

 

South Padre Island

We heard that Friday was supposed to be a really nice day, so we decided it would be a great day for a little beach time.  South Padre Island has been on my bucket list, and since it is only about 30 minutes away, off we went.

The town reminded me of many of the spring break spots in Florida, with tons of hotels, huge souvenir shops, restaurants and bars.  But, when we got to the beach, it was beautiful.

You can drive in along the beach and park.  There were lots of people fishing using these huge poles set in stands.  Never saw anyone catch a fish, though.  We walked the shore, looking at the birds and the people.

The surf was pretty high.

The dunes.

Loved watching these little guys.  I can't believe how fast they can run.

There were at least 3 different types of gulls.

Had to get a selfie!

After our day on the beach, we stopped at Coconuts Bar & Grill and sat on their deck overlooking the bay between South Padre & the mainland.  That is the bridge in the background.

 

As always,

but don't miss the weather!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

After a little over a month spent in Hondo, just west of San Antonio, we were back on the road to our southernmost destination this winter, Brownsville.  Ron met a guy when we were in Duluth who said he had stayed in Breeze Lake RV Park and "it ain't one of those fancy places, but the people are great"...and that is the truth!  The park is in need of a little fixing - but the Canadian "winter Texans" are a hoot.  About 40% of the park residents are Canadian, with a number of Midwesterners too.  We have been to a couple of dances in the club house, drinks on the patio all over the park (sometimes everyone just sets their chairs up in the middle of the street for happy hour).  There are dinners, exercise classes, art classes, plus lots of excursions for sight seeing in the Rio Grande Valley.

Our first stop was old town Brownsville, which is literally a stone's throw from Matamoros, Mexico. 
The Historic Brownsville Museum is located in the old Southern Pacific Depot building.

It is a beautifully restored building with Spanish colonial architecture built in 1928.

The inside of the depot has also been restored.  It has displays of old furniture, household items, replicas of clothing worn "back in the day".

This bed was as large as our king sized bed!

I love the terracotta tiles & of course, the detail on the doors & windows.

Gotta love this drinking fountain!

 

One of the things we liked best was the exhibit breaking down the history of Brownsville - from the Coahuiltecans to the Spanish to the earthen fort (yes, earthen!) of Fort Brown, formerly Fort Texas, established in 1845.  Brownsville has had many battles fought on its soil, including the Mexican-American War and the Civil  War.

This exhibit explained that Brownsville has actually had 7 flags - Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederacy & the United States. 

And for a few months in 1840,  the Republic of the Rio Grande.

 

The prized possession of the Museum is a Baldwin wood-burning narrow gauge locomotive - housed in its own building.

It is quite something to see- smaller than I would have expected.

Check out that cow catcher!

 

From the museum we walked downtown.  It is very Mexican, with some familiar store names thrown in.   Just north of downtown was a cathedral that I wanted to see. 

Immaculate Conception Cathedral was built in 1856 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Hard to believe that most of the exterior is original - including the 36 stained glass windows.

The vaulted ceiling is lined with gold leaf, and the bronze chandeliers were imported from Paris in the late 19th century.

A beautiful tomb on the grounds.

 

We tried to go through the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, but it was closed for installation of its next exhibit, but we excited to find a Farmers Market nearby.

We've been enjoying the mostly beautiful weather, but trying to blow a little warmth your way!