FOGGY

It was a little foggy on this particular morning as we videoed the sunrise and scan around the Malaquite campground on Padre Island Texas.


As you enter the campground, one of the first things that you will see is the self registration station. There are no hookups. You use what you brung ! The water for your fresh water tank is located a few yards outside the campsites on the road as you come in, by the dump and flushing station. Generator quiet hours are from 10 PM till 6 AM. Most folks have solar panels but run their geneerators occasionaly. The sweet part of this place is the location and the price. It is right on one of America's finest beaches with picnic tables, sun shades, fresh water rinse off showers, stainless steel BBQ pits and all for $4. per day, with the Senior Pass !

Fresh water rinse off showers are conveniently located and do double duty as a shower. They shower in their swim suit and bring a towel and bar of soap with them.

Note how Dillon is acting while posing for the photo on the shower platform. He, he, he's afraid he's gona' get another bath !

There ar lots of whitetail deer on Padre Island. They will come up in camp looking for a handout.

REDSNAPPER

While down in Mexico we had occasion to eat lunch upstairs above the vendors and bustling crowds on the streets of Nuevo Progresso. The sound of live music first caught our attention, but it was more than that. The music that was being played was the music that we were all raised up on ! And, now that is a big AND, it was correct. You know how it is when you hear the oldies played by musicians from other countrys, it just isn't quite right somehow. This wasn't that way. It was correct. It was live and it was being performed by a Mexican performer that had had his "ROCKIN' " on. Here is a short video clip from the day we were there with Paul and Nancy our friends that are Wintering up in Mission, Texas.

The service was very good and the food excelent. The wait can be a bit long if you wait until lunch time to get there, maybe up to thirty minutes. This video was taken about thirty minutes before the lunch rush started. By then we had eaten and were ready to go back to shopping.
The RedSnapper is about six blocks down from the international bridge on the West side ( right ) of the main street. So many folks are always looking for authentico mexicano comida, but what they really want, and like, is actually TEX/MEX. This was about 60/40 authentic / tex/mex/, and extremely good.
We went further South and crossed over to the East side of the main street as we shopped for a couple of specific items. One of which was that Betty wanted a small colored leather backpack to keep her passport and a few simple items in so she wouldn't have a fanny pack tugging at her waist constantly. We have both lost enough weight that a fanny pack pinches loose skin around the waist. Most that she found were synthetic material and had velcroe fasteners or fastex fasteners. She wanted one that the flap covered a bolt snap for greater security. Those she found up near the border crossing were all in the neighborhood of $25 to $30. Prices improved as we went South down the street. When she found this one:

She knew that it was the one that she wanted, but not what the final price might be. She began the negotiation process. At one point it seemed to me that they were hung up on ten dollars, but Betty finaly bought it for nine dollars. Way to go Bett !

DRIVIN'

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We are back to Mustang island ! Down the beach many miles we found this golf cart. Betty took it for a spin ! He, he, well, maybe she just thought about it.
While down in the Rio Grande River Valley we met up with old friends Paul & Nancy, retired Navy, and bumped into friends from back in Wickes Arkansas as well as from Amazon dot com in Coffeeville Kansas. Our trips across into Mexico and to Historical sites along the Border were great. But it is good to be back to the beach !

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ARMOR

Video taken facing North from Nuevo Progresso Mexico
As the camera casually scans across the intersection that is immediately before the international bridge that crosses the Rio Grande River into the USA, note several things:
Two sandbagged and camo netted guard posts complete with assault rifle armed soldiers that stay out of sight when they periodicly rotate in and out of the posts.
The camo painted armored car that is parked in the pursue or block position in the intersection, constantly manned by rotating three man crew.
The white pickup on the far side of the intersection that has been stopped and is being searched by a Mexican Army team, even though it has already cleared the port of entry by two other Mexican Law Enforcement Agencys. A couple of things come to mind about observing this operation.
a. The Mexican Army is actively taking the war on drugs to the cartel in this area of the border.
b. The Mexican Army is striving to hurt the cartel any way it can. Because the incoming searches into Mexico are not looking for drugs, but cash that is returning from the USA to the Mexican drug cartel.
So, was it a scary thing, seeing such a powerful armed presence in the streets of Nuevo Progresso ? No, not at all. In fact it was quite the opposite, a quietly reassuing thing to know that some of our neighbors to the South will assume great personal risk, to simply do what is right.

It appeared that a Mexican Army Captian was in charge there at our last visit and he seemed to be insuring that the soldiers exibited the utmost in courtesy and professionalism. Thanks to the Mexican Army for doing the right thing in difficult times.

Click on each photo to get a better view and details of the armored car, soldiers and weapons.

PROGRESSO

During a stop at the WalMart Supercenter in Port Isabel for supplies before going out on South Padre Island, I had occasion to talk to campers about the situation along the border, in refrence to the on going war on drugs. Some of the reports were wild conjecture and some were good first hand observations. We then went on line to read what the media had to say about a shootout that happened in downtown Nuevo Progresso early last December.
I also read the local chamber of commerce's version of those events. By reading between the lines and choosing the logical middle ground between these two versions, both of which had an agenda of using the media for their own ends, I arrived at the following conclusion.
The Mexicam Army was pursuing drug dealers from out in the rural areas into the town of Progresso. The heavily armed and millitary trained narcoticos were cornered just blocks from the US border. In the following shootout the Mexican Army prevailed and the surviving narcoticos went to prison.
Believing that the mexican Army is taking the drug war to the narcoticos, we felt better about going over into Nuevo Progresso for lunch today. Here are a few photos of our lunch trip. The border plaque in the middle of the international bridge.

The official greeting station on the Mexican side.

A camo netted and sand bagged emplacement,manned by assault rifle armed Mexican Army Soldiers, one of two that face towards Mexico to keep an incident from spilling over into the US side.


The emplacements and the armored car were constantly manned all of the time we were there. Those soldiers wouldn't talk to the many hundreds of tourists that filtered by, but, instead were constantly vigilant. All weapons and Soldiers appeared to be in the "cocked, locked and ready to rock" condition.

The professional aire and demeanor of those Soldiers reassured us that this was indeed a peace keeping mission of the Mexican Army, aimed at protecting citizens of all Nationalitys.
We went to lunch and shopping feeling good about our first hand observations. We both bought a hat. Here is a look at mine.

Checked out street vendors.

And had a very nice lunch upstairs at the red snapper restaurant. We will be going back there !

Despite the wild rumors, it was a great, safe, trip. we are going back tomorrow with friends. He is a retired Navy Chief. Yeh were' gona' have a great time !

ISABEL

The low angle of the early morning sun seems to accent the tapered curve of the beautifully restored Port Isabel lighthouse. When the stucco layer was being renovated they discovered many graffiti signatures of Civil War Era Millitary people that were here during the various occupations

The grounds at the lighthouse are meticiously and loveingly maintained. There is a ancient mesquite tree in the compound that allowed us to sit in it's shade and listen to it gently humming to us in the light breeze. We soon began to realize that it wasn't a hum at all, but instead, as we began to listen more closely, in the morning calm, tales of ancient sights it had seen.

Each corner of the street intersections nearby have these grand medallions imbedded in a beautiful setting of antiqued brick. At first glance it would be easy for them to be mistalen for a simple manhole cover. Then as you stroll nearby, you note that they have faces and information that just seems to inescapeably draw your attention. It is a wonderful way to mark a historical site.

Click for a larger look at the diagram of the lighthouse

At the nearby Pirates Landing we came across this heavily armed buccaneer

O'NITE

We are hearing from campers that frequent Boca Chica, that overnight camping is no longer allowed. Seems as though Homeland security deems it too risky, stating such factors as Indoccumentados and narcoticos, ect.. We have just overnighted on South Padre and will take a look at Boca Chica today. We sure would like to spend a couple of weeks there. Should that not work out for us, we will move on over to the Nuevo Progresso area. It has always been one of our favorites.
By the time we got through "muttin' roun' " on South Padre, the shadows were getting long and the day was drawing to an end. So we decided to stay overnight at the end of the road on the beach. Here is a look at our very hastily chosen overnight spot on the beach: