Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

PORT ISABEL PART DEUX




Just a few more photos from Port Isabel.  These were taken from a pier at Pirate's Cove.  Pirate's Cove was just an area with restaurants, gift shops, fishing pier, a dock for a dolphin watch tour, fishing charters and a special "Pirates Cruise" geared towards the kiddies.  We of course, acted like kids and John posed as the pirate and I posed next to the Pirate!


GONE WILD ON THE ISLAND




No, nothing more happened here.  After a day of dolphin cruise and beach time we were hungry and thirsty so we headed to the bay side of the island to a restaurant and bar that I had a gift certificate for (remember Restaurant.com and their  $25 certificates that you could purchase for $2?).  We had a couple "dressed" Coronas (they salt the necks and put a lime in the top) and did a shot of tequila along with a dinner of calamari, chips and salsa, guac, grilled chicken on a stick with grilled pineapple and blackened mahi mahi tacos.  The top photo is taken from the bar's upper patio.  Ok, so after a couple beers and the shot I was feeling a little "happy".  As we were leaving we noticed, parked across the street in a nightclub's parking lot, you got it, the "Girls Gone Wild" RV/Bus.  It was too good of a photo op.  So I ran over and John took my picture.  About the same time another car load of old people (quite a bit older than us) drove up and were giggling at the sight of the bus (and then us).  The driver got out and told John to get in the picture and the rest is now history.  It made for a great laugh!


SOUTH PADRE ISLAND


These photos are both from the day we spent on and off Padre Island.  We drove over to the island Sunday morning and went straight to the marina at the south end of the island.  There we signed up for and went on a dolphin cruise.  It was about an hour and a half long and we went out into the gulf.  The top photo is a photo of a boat similar to the one we took out on the cruise.  The bottom photo was taken off the tip of the island going out into the gulf on the gulf side of the island (versus the bay side which is called the Laguna Madre).  We saw a lot of dolphins but they're out and back in the water so fast we decided not to aggravate John with trying to get a good photo and just lived in the moment instead.  And the moments were many and fantastic.  I can't even count how many dolphins we saw.  Some of them close enough that we were splashed by their tail fin when they went back in the water.  A few even swam along the side of the boat for quite a distance.  I loved the boat ride, the dolphins and the scenery.  The experience definitely is in my top ten of vacation activities.  Next on my list might just have to be swimming with them! 

FORT BROWN CONDOS


Back from vacation and attempting to share some photos from our vacation. We stayed at the Fort Brown Condo Shares in Brownsville, TX. The condos themselves were just ordinary, a 2 story building from the 60's/70's. But these grounds were beautiful. Set on a resaca on the grounds of Fort Brown, next door to The University of Texas - Brownsville. This photo was taken with the condos behind us and the resaca in the photo, the building in the distance is part of the university.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

TRIPPIN'

Oh, baby it's cold outside. Then warm. Then cold. Then . . . well, you get the picture. So crazy weather like this gets me thinking of other climes, which gets me thinking about vacations. We have a few planned.

We're planning to take a short weekend trip down to see Bryce at Mizzou and make a few stops along the way at wineries and antique shops. In March we are headed to Brownsville and South Padre Island Texas. In June we are headed out to Washington State to visit family, friends and (fingers crossed) see our oldest son graduate from Portland State University (Yea!!). Oh, and take in some wineries out there. I'd also like to travel with John once or twice more this year on business (usually Richmond, Virginia, Kansas City or Chicago) and I hope to plan a girls weekend of shopping somewhere. Oh, and throw in a couple weekend getaways with John, hopefully, one will be to visit my niece in Indianapolis and another down to Southern Illinois to visit more wineries.

I would love to hear if you have any travel plans or tips. Where are you headed this year? Anyone been to South Padre and got any good restaurant ideas, places to go or things to do? We will be staying in a condo in Brownsville (which I got a deal on through RCI vacations) and flying on Southwest to Harlingen (2 free tickets with John's frequent flier miles). But we're still looking for a cheap car rental (any help here?) and ideas for things to do while we're there. So let me hear from you!