Greetings from South Padre Island again!
- Thread starter vraiblonde
- Start date
We are having a 'wind event' today. Every 3-4 days the wind down this way kicks up. Much like it did when we were in the Florida Keys. Temps are in the 70s and getting up into the 80s in a few days. All this wind would be welcomed in the hot summer months.
The weather here is, um, whimsical. Storm clouds abruptly give way to clear sunny skies, and vice versa. Currently it is 72*, breezy and sunny.
But I want to talk about recreation.
The campground has a vigorous activities program, not just bingo and game nights. Tonight, for example, is Taco Tuesday - we'll gather for tacos and fixins in the Commons. Tomorrow is a game day with croquet, badminton, etc, tournaments. Thursday there will be hula girls on the sunset deck. The pool is heated and the fitness room is well-equipped. You could be confined to this campground and not be bored.
The state park is about a half mile away, easy walking distance, and there you can bike, hit the beach, or bird watch.
SPI is surrounded by water - the Gulf on one side, Laguna Madre on the other. People fish and boat year round.
Bar hopping is made easy by everything being along the strip, or go a block off to the Laguna shore for waterfront eating, drinking, music, and conviviality.
When Bann gets here we will go horseback riding on the beach, and we'll do another dinner cruise.
But I want to talk about recreation.
The campground has a vigorous activities program, not just bingo and game nights. Tonight, for example, is Taco Tuesday - we'll gather for tacos and fixins in the Commons. Tomorrow is a game day with croquet, badminton, etc, tournaments. Thursday there will be hula girls on the sunset deck. The pool is heated and the fitness room is well-equipped. You could be confined to this campground and not be bored.
The state park is about a half mile away, easy walking distance, and there you can bike, hit the beach, or bird watch.
SPI is surrounded by water - the Gulf on one side, Laguna Madre on the other. People fish and boat year round.
Bar hopping is made easy by everything being along the strip, or go a block off to the Laguna shore for waterfront eating, drinking, music, and conviviality.
When Bann gets here we will go horseback riding on the beach, and we'll do another dinner cruise.
So I guess you'll be moving on before the spring breakers descend?
Yep. But we've been in Panama City Beach during not only Spring Break, but Bike Week at the same time, and it was fine. Get in the hullaballoo if you want, otherwise there are plenty of quiet places to be.
I have been assured that I don't want to be in SPI for the summer season because the tourists suck. Although that's what all vacation resorts say.... Winter Texans are older and have been coming to the same spot for years, they know the drill and take some form of ownership. Vacationers, on the other hand, tend to be slobs and think it's the cleaning person's job to flush the toilet for them. They also don't want to deal with their kids, so the little cherubs run wild and act like hooligans under the guise of "having fun".
From here we head back to Maryland, via Branson, MO and maybe Gatlinburg.
We've been bar hopping and eating in restaurants since Bann got here because we have to cram a lot of SPI into a short week. 
Over the weekend there was an artisan fair at Isla Blanca park, which is right on the Gulf, with crafts and Mexican stuff to buy and food trucks. After that we came back and went do dinner, then for an early evening swim.
Today we're going on a horseback ride on the beach, which I'm really looking forward to!
Over the weekend there was an artisan fair at Isla Blanca park, which is right on the Gulf, with crafts and Mexican stuff to buy and food trucks. After that we came back and went do dinner, then for an early evening swim. Today we're going on a horseback ride on the beach, which I'm really looking forward to!
I'm definitely having fun with my margarita tour, that's for sure!We've been bar hopping and eating in restaurants since Bann got here because we have to cram a lot of SPI into a short week.
Today we're going on a horseback ride on the beach, which I'm really looking forward to!
Well I am worse for the wear after those three margaritas yesterday. Up all night, bleah this morning, it's ugly. And it's not like I was slamming them or doing tequila shots. I just can't drink anymore, which is sad because those waterfront bars beg to be utilized for their intended purpose.
You and Monello can drink, I'll drive the drunk bus.
Well I am worse for the wear after those three margaritas yesterday. Up all night, bleah this morning, it's ugly. And it's not like I was slamming them or doing tequila shots. I just can't drink anymore, which is sad because those waterfront bars beg to be utilized for their intended purpose.
You and Monello can drink, I'll drive the drunk bus.
I've been trying to eat low carb for awhile now. My problem is tortillas.
Places where real Mexicans live and enjoy an appreciative audience have the best flour tortillas in the universe. They are light, thin, tasty, and grill up into the most sublime culinary treat imaginable. At restaurants they are made fresh, and you have never - ever - eaten anything better in your life.
Low carb tortillas come from the factory and have a shelf life of like 8 years. They are an acceptable substitute and a decent breakfast taco holder, and when I don't eat a real tortilla for awhile I'm happy with them.
But when I DO eat a real tortilla.....
When I'm in Maryland or Florida or, you know, Montreal I don't even think about it because those places don't have an audience for good fresh made Mexican food. Texas, on the other hand, does. And how. In fact, it's mandatory - just like good BBQ is mandatory. If your BBQ or Mexican restaurant is merely good, you will go out of business within a few weeks because Texas is not playing when it comes to food.
The thing is that I'm pretty sure that if I were in a horrible accident, my dying thought would be, "Damn it! I should have had the real tortilla!!"
So that's what I'm thinking about as I sit here guiltily munching on my egg and sausage taco made with a real flour tortilla that I only have because they were out of the low carb ones when I went to the grocery store.
Places where real Mexicans live and enjoy an appreciative audience have the best flour tortillas in the universe. They are light, thin, tasty, and grill up into the most sublime culinary treat imaginable. At restaurants they are made fresh, and you have never - ever - eaten anything better in your life.
Low carb tortillas come from the factory and have a shelf life of like 8 years. They are an acceptable substitute and a decent breakfast taco holder, and when I don't eat a real tortilla for awhile I'm happy with them.
But when I DO eat a real tortilla.....
When I'm in Maryland or Florida or, you know, Montreal I don't even think about it because those places don't have an audience for good fresh made Mexican food. Texas, on the other hand, does. And how. In fact, it's mandatory - just like good BBQ is mandatory. If your BBQ or Mexican restaurant is merely good, you will go out of business within a few weeks because Texas is not playing when it comes to food.
The thing is that I'm pretty sure that if I were in a horrible accident, my dying thought would be, "Damn it! I should have had the real tortilla!!"
So that's what I'm thinking about as I sit here guiltily munching on my egg and sausage taco made with a real flour tortilla that I only have because they were out of the low carb ones when I went to the grocery store.
Today we had lunch with a friend of my Mom's that is down here from Lincoln for a couple of weeks. My Mom has been bothering me about getting together with her since about a month before she even got here.
Mom: I'm going to have D call you.
Me: Okay.
Mom: You'll really like her.
Me: No doubt.
Mom: She'll be calling you. You'll really like her.
Me: Looking forward to it.
Mom: Did I tell you that my friend D is going to be down there?
Me: You sure did.
Mom: You'll really like her.
My mom says, "She's about your age." This could really mean anything because my mother doesn't have an awareness of how old I am. This person could be 20 or she could be 65 and my mom would say she was about my age because anyone younger than her is about my age.
Apparently she has been bothering D nonstop as well.
So today we had lunch and she was about my age and I really liked her. We went to Shrimp Haus and I had a blackened shrimp BLT that was one of the best things I've ever eaten. She's going to tell my mom that I showed up drunk and smoked at the table.
Mom: I'm going to have D call you.
Me: Okay.
Mom: You'll really like her.
Me: No doubt.
Mom: She'll be calling you. You'll really like her.
Me: Looking forward to it.
Mom: Did I tell you that my friend D is going to be down there?
Me: You sure did.
Mom: You'll really like her.
My mom says, "She's about your age." This could really mean anything because my mother doesn't have an awareness of how old I am. This person could be 20 or she could be 65 and my mom would say she was about my age because anyone younger than her is about my age.
Apparently she has been bothering D nonstop as well.
So today we had lunch and she was about my age and I really liked her.
We went to Shrimp Haus and I had a blackened shrimp BLT that was one of the best things I've ever eaten. She's going to tell my mom that I showed up drunk and smoked at the table.
So today we had lunch and she was about my age and I really liked her.
lucky_bee
RBF expert
I could live off of fresh tortillas aloneI've been trying to eat low carb for awhile now. My problem is tortillas.
Places where real Mexicans live and enjoy an appreciative audience have the best flour tortillas in the universe. They are light, thin, tasty, and grill up into the most sublime culinary treat imaginable. At restaurants they are made fresh, and you have never - ever - eaten anything better in your life.
Low carb tortillas come from the factory and have a shelf life of like 8 years. They are an acceptable substitute and a decent breakfast taco holder, and when I don't eat a real tortilla for awhile I'm happy with them.
But when I DO eat a real tortilla.....
When I'm in Maryland or Florida or, you know, Montreal I don't even think about it because those places don't have an audience for good fresh made Mexican food. Texas, on the other hand, does. And how. In fact, it's mandatory - just like good BBQ is mandatory. If your BBQ or Mexican restaurant is merely good, you will go out of business within a few weeks because Texas is not playing when it comes to food.
The thing is that I'm pretty sure that if I were in a horrible accident, my dying thought would be, "Damn it! I should have had the real tortilla!!"
So that's what I'm thinking about as I sit here guiltily munching on my egg and sausage taco made with a real flour tortilla that I only have because they were out of the low carb ones when I went to the grocery store.
I know your pain. I blame my mom, we were stationed in Corpus when I was a toddler and she used fresh hot tortillas from the stand outside the HEB to amuse/placate me while she grocery shopped every week Seriously nothing better!
So I broke down and had the carpet professionally cleaned today. We did a DIY shampoo a while back. That didn't compare to the mean machine the pros use. We vacuum quite a bit and get a lot of dirt up but it's not as clean as when you hit it with the big machine. They left a ram fan with us to finish the drying process. Apollo likes to lay up breeze of the air flow.
They also washed and waxed the rig. So now we can roll down the road minus the built of grime of the south west. And the tires have been topped off. I'm a bit of a worry wart when it comes to the tires on the rig. I see a lot of photos on RV FB pages of people getting blow outs with Chinese tires or underinflated tire. I don't have time for that.
2 weeks left here until we head north. It's been a pleasant time staying put for a whole 3 months. I did escape for 2 weeks to take my mom on a cruise. Then a week later busted a gut and was laid up for a while. All things considered, getting injured couldn't have occured at a better time. Well that is if you have to have surgery while you are on the road in a place with a small local population. The hospital they took me to was 30 miles away. As luck would have it, they weren't very busy, so I was able to get seen quickly and into surgery with in a few hours of arriving. No swimming for a few more weeks but at least the weather is nice even if this area is as windy as all get out.
Next stop, New Braunfels, TX. Camping right on the river.
They also washed and waxed the rig. So now we can roll down the road minus the built of grime of the south west. And the tires have been topped off. I'm a bit of a worry wart when it comes to the tires on the rig. I see a lot of photos on RV FB pages of people getting blow outs with Chinese tires or underinflated tire. I don't have time for that.
2 weeks left here until we head north. It's been a pleasant time staying put for a whole 3 months. I did escape for 2 weeks to take my mom on a cruise. Then a week later busted a gut and was laid up for a while. All things considered, getting injured couldn't have occured at a better time. Well that is if you have to have surgery while you are on the road in a place with a small local population. The hospital they took me to was 30 miles away. As luck would have it, they weren't very busy, so I was able to get seen quickly and into surgery with in a few hours of arriving. No swimming for a few more weeks but at least the weather is nice even if this area is as windy as all get out.
Next stop, New Braunfels, TX. Camping right on the river.
This happened:
We felt the motorhome rock and thought maybe it was a gust of wind, or an earthquake. It was hard enough to get our attention and bring the other campers out into the streets wondering what it was.
We felt the motorhome rock and thought maybe it was a gust of wind, or an earthquake. It was hard enough to get our attention and bring the other campers out into the streets wondering what it was.
... Yep.
Until a much better generation of engineers turns up, I aint gett'n on any rocket!
I've been depressed in anticipation of leaving Texas and those great tortillas. So Monello went to the tortilleria and got two big packs of raw tortillas - just the shaped dough, separated by wax paper slices. Tonight I grilled up a batch using the flat top for our grill.....OMG! They are SO good!
glhs837
Power with Control
I was going to ask if you felt it, it was a pretty energetic event. That was Serial Number 1. Was planned to do a static fire for the new engines, but they found a problem as you see. They are doing another one tonight, using SN 2, hopefully not as exciting. If it passes, you might get to hear the static fire test.
Kyle, these are not unexpected failures. They are intentionally moving fast and expecting to break things, testing new different methods and using stainless steel. It will all be as reliable as the Falcon or better before people ride. I'll note in passing, this is the same company will be the first group to fly Americans to space (in the next month or two) in America since the Shuttle stopped. And who also recently hired the former NASA director of human spaceflight.
