We Have Moved Farther South...

and the temperature has dropped by 30 degrees!


We left Padre Island National Seashore on Sunday since the forecast was for 3-5 inches of rain and we thought it would be easier to be settled when it hit. This was the view from my perch in the motorhome when he hit Port Isabel. And as we traveled across the mile long bridge ...

to South Padre Island...

and our home for a couple of weeks.

We settled in and during the night the temperatures dropped, the rains started and the wind picked up. When we awoke today, it was in the 60's and is now in the low fifties and the weatherman says it will get into the 40's tonight. I didn't even know it ever got that cold on The Island.

Since it was going to be a yucky day for the beach,

we took off to explore the area. We started at the Brownsville IHOP and then headed west along Military Hiway, Rte 281, which runs very close to the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. There wasn't a whole lot to see, except sections of fence ... I never really have understood the rationale behind building a fence between Mexico and the U.S. and now, I understand it less. There are many areas where there are big gaps, left open so that farmers can move between parts of there acreage, I am told. There are other places where it is not complete and a lady at the wildlife refuge told us it may never be finished. In all, it seems like a giant waste of money and manpower; I am sure it cannot be effective. We did see a few border patrol, but again, way too few to do much good. Surely, there has to be a better answer... but I don't know what it is.

Many of you know how we enjoy visiting old cemetaries. Well, since it was raining, we did not get out to take a close look, but we saw many old plots that looked like this. A sign by this one told us that it was a family cemetary began in the 1800's. I like how flowers and other momentos are still placed on the graves.

We went as far as Pharr (pun intended) and then came back east on 87. Along the way, we passed through the towns in which many of our friends have stayed over the years. It was a dreary day, but an informative one. When we got back to the park, it was time for some warm soup for supper and time to spend a quiet evening at home. The Christmas tree is lit and A Griswold Family Christmas is on TV... what could be better!

More from South Padre Island in coming days.