Live from Spring Break :: Part 1

Greetings from the Lone Star state! We're already on Day 2 of Spring Break 2008 in Pharr, Texas. I meant to blog on Day 1 but I was too blasted tired. We all were.

We were supposed to fly out of Minneapolis at 6 a.m. Monday but we actually had a SNOW delay. Can you believe it ?! The de-icing process was mildly interesting but the whole thing made us really glad to be leaving the Midwest! Despite the delays, we were able to hit the pool right around lunchtime. Temps were in the low 90s. Thoughts of snowy runways were melted into the past.

In the mid afternoon, we donned our St. Patty's green and headed for Pepe's on the Rio Grande. Neat open-air, thatched-roof saloon on the river (a.k.a. U.S./Mexican border) that Carter and I enjoyed last year when we were "breaking" in Texas. Wanted to share it with Daddy this time. I even managed to get a dance out of hubby. I know I would have gotten more dances -- it was an entertaining musical duo on stage -- but we headed out early.

Carter's ears were bugging him. They were still plugged from the plane ride and he was in a bit of pain. After a stop at Walgreens for ear drops, followed by naps (or should I say "siestas") all around, we were all restored to normalcy for dinner and a card game (a new version of 3 to 13! By the way, Carter and I played 3 to 13 on the plane and it sure helped pass the time.)

Today was a very, very windy day -- and rainy -- but that was fine. We drove up to Corpus Christi (less than 3 hours away) and enjoyed the Texas State Aquarium (indoors). The rain held off for the dolphin show. Got some good pictures I'll have to post online when I get home. There's even a picture of me petting a 2-year-old crocodile (see how brave I am on vacation?)

After the aquarium we drove over to Mustang Island, the north end of Padre Island, where hubby camped during spring break back in 1985! It's gotten a little crowded in some places but it was still uninhabited for the most part. We drove down to the beach a few times to see the big waves (due to the high winds). While trying to take pictures, the tide sneaked up on me and I couldn't escape. So I had a 3-hour ride in wet shorts and underwear. Well they dried after an hour or so, but that doesn't make a good "woe is me" story, does it? It was sincerely entertaining, though. Carter said he'll never forget that image of me tring to outrun the tide. Too bad I was the one holding the camera!

On the way home, we drove through an area of smoke and emergency vehicles and noticed an orange glow in the distance. Turns out there is a massive wildfire out of control and that same highway we drove on is now closed with some 500 homes in that area ordered to evacuate. I guess the windy conditions, along with the fact that they've had no measureable precipitation since November, really fueled that fire. (Note to self: Bring snow with me next year. The Texan landowners will welcome it and the Wisconsinites will love to see it go!)

Well I better hit the hay -- I think that's what they say in Texas. I have go to bed and NOT set the alarm! Ahh, vacation...