South Padre Island

I recently took a trip to South Padre Island. For those of you not in the know, South Padre is a tiny island at the very tip of southern Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s narrow but long, tropical and balmy, a popular destination for family vacations throughout much of the year and for college students during Spring Break.

Gulf of Mexico

I took a handful of pictures on the trip, although not enough to bother posting them for friends to see on FB. So I thought I’d post a few of them here.

Laguna Madre Bay

I had intended to take more but I found that South Padre isn’t exactly picturesque. That isn’t to say that I didn’t have a good time, because I did. I just don’t think it’s especially pretty there. The island is highly developed, full of hotels and condos and restaurants and tacky souvenir shops. It’s also full of people. Perhaps I was spoiled by Maui; I was expecting less concrete, more jungle.

Laguna Madre Bay, looking back at the island

At any rate, the trip was fun, very laid back and relaxing. I went to the beach every day for long walks in the surf. It might have been romantic if I hadn’t been alone, haha. Fortunately, I found it conducive to overcoming writer’s block. I had a lot of great ideas walking along the South Padre beaches. I have to wonder if I might have taken better advantage of Maui when I lived there, if I’d only known that the beach had magical writer-enhancing properties.

Texas sunflowers

So I hope you enjoy these pics. And if you get the chance, take a nice long walk today. You might just come up with the next great American novel while you’re at it.