As I walked down . . .

. . . the streets of Laredo, I didn't see a cowpuncher all dressed in white linen.  I did see lots of Tejanos milling about dressed like other Texans.  We didn't stay around very long, but we did walk around a little in the historic downtown area and along the Rio Grande.  Next stop was Zapata where we intended to eat lunch with Uncle Russell, but due to illness he had headed back to Iowa.  We did stop and check out the church there, and took a couple of pictures.

We crossed the bridge and causeway onto South Padre Island late afternoon.  We checked into The Palms Resort, a small, quaint, older hotel that is right on the beach.  As it had a kitchenette, we then stocked up at on groceries at W.E.B. for a week of relaxation.
We walked the beach at least twice daily, and since the temperature has been cooler than normal, one of the first things I did was go sweatshirt shopping.  It was used almost every morning.  I think that the most concentrated sun that I got, was sitting on the balcony of the Plattners' condo visiting with Lloyd and Martha (who were also spending some time on the Island).  At the north end of the island, the main (and only at that point) road dead ends in sand dunes.  The road often gets drifted over with blowing sand, which reminded us of the snow drifts we were missing back home.  Twice we parked at the end and wandered about in the dunes, and then walked the more remote beach shelling.

Overall we had a week of beautiful weather.  Not as warm as we would have liked, but a nice week anyway.  I slept in most mornings, ate breakfast in the room, walked the beach, lunch in the room, nap, walked the beach, then out to eat at a different restaurant each night. We enjoyed a lot of good seafood.  We were late to church in McAllen on Sunday because neither the driver or navigator were paying attention and we got on the wrong road twice.  The worship and fellowship were a blessing and there were other visitors there besides us.  We spent part of Monday with another couple (that we met in church) who we discovered were staying at The Palms also.  Several mornings were a little foggy, but the days were usually sunny and warm (70's at the beach, 80's inland).

Our last full day in south Texas was spent with cousins Kay and Larry.  After brunch, we went to a bird sanctuary and were introduced to Green Jays, which can only be found (in the U.S.) in south Texas.  In Brownsville we saw the shipyards, and the controversial border fence.  We drove through some of the local agricultural areas and then had supper at the Ice House, where I enjoyed some good Texas BBQ.  Larry, being an amateur astronomer, rushed us outside after we ate and we witnessed our first (that we are aware of) Iridium Flare.  They also gave us a tour of the RV park they winter in just in case we ever become RV snowbirds after we retire.

They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.
Deuteronomy 33:19