To the Island we go!

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today.~Zac Brown Band

When we first left Asheville, NC,  where we called home, we had jobs lined up with Amazon before we left and I swore I wouldn’t move somewhere without a job lined up. Never, say never because here we come South Padre Island, TX, jobless. The island is a hot tourist destination and home to a ton of Winter Texans so we crossed our fingers and winged it. We had made reservations just in time, the park was almost full months in advance. We stayed at Isla Blanca Park which was located on the southern tip of the island, surrounded by water on three sides and offered over 600 sites.

We hoped this was not an omen. When I got my first glimpse of the island from the Queen Isabella Causeway, I knew it wasn’t. With nice pull through sites we were able to get set up quickly and get to exploring. Our friend headed over to be our tour guide to the beach and then finally to some food. Our tour guide was a friend, fellow camper from Amazon, who told us all about South Padre. Maybe he should take up sales because he sold us on South Padre, it’s good to have friends on the road!

I needed to see the beach! Well we were in luck just a quick walk and there we were. We were first greeted with a large statue of Jesus, maybe another omen? In the photo of the beach you will see a large pipe that was being used to move sand from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway down the island to broaden the beaches. Okay, we have traveled, set up, explored a bit now we need some grub. We walked out of the park and over to the Shrimp Haus to grab a few beers and dinner. 

Yes, we just moved to an island with warmer January temperatures than we are used to but, it’s by no means time to whip out the bikini. We compared temperatures one night of South Padre to Asheville.

Our fist week we spent grilling out while sitting by a fire all in the good company of our familiar friend in a new location. We went out job searching and I soon realized we arrived early for the hiring season but I lucked out in the first week and got hired at a new restaurant,The Meatball Cafe, as a host with hopes to wait tables soon. We headed into Brownsville, the closest big city, to buy slip resistant shoes and got ice cream to celebrate an income obtained in the first week. Another night we went to Dirty Al’s for some seafood and discussed the progress we had made in just a week. Things looked promising for this quaint little island. The sunsets were always something I gravitated to on the island, as the day is drawing to a close you reflect on what has taken place and what a new day will bring.

My back up camera man sneaking in a shot of me photographing the sunset. More to come on our time on the island, mainly we worked our butts off, literally. But we had one hell of a time doing it!