"Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep going." Albert Einstein

We rode our bikes to the end of the hotel/condo area.

Monday was a busy day.   While Pat was grilling dinner we got to see a pair of dolphins playing in the bay near the RV.  I took a late afternoon walk on the beach and it looked like people did some creating today!  We had to pick up a package in Brownsville earlier this afternoon, so we checked out the Palo Alto National Historic Park.  Just before lunch we took a 12 mile bike ride abd I started the day at 6:30 a.m. with a walk on the beach and some shell collecting.

Today started out cooler but warmed up quickly to near 70°.  It's not going to last though.   We have another cold wave coming.  Thursday night we will be down in the 30's!

Dolphins were out playing in the bay behind our RV.

 

I tried waiting until the surf washed up and filled the moat, but I got hungry.

 oil rig

The Palo Alto Historic Park is where the first major battle of the Mexican/American War took place in 1846.  In a large open field not far from the Mexican/U.S. border, Mexican and American troops faced off for control of Texas.  

Superior Mexican troops fell back 5 miles mainly due to the "flying artillery," lightweight carriages that were carried by horses, that could be moved quickly.  This particular battle only lasted one day, killing 9 Americans and 102 Mexicans.  Interestingly, the number one killer of Americans during this war?   Dysentary!

Mexican flags showed the battle line of the Mexican troops.

This Texas Indigo Snake crossed the sidewalk right in front of us.

The only Prickly Pear that was blooming

One of the big and heavy American cannons that could hit the Mexican forces while they were out of range of the American troops.

This is at the beginning and end of each block on the downtown strip.

We came across "Miracle," by Sandy Margret.  Her design was inspired by the miraculous journey of a sea turtle.  It is to remind us that it isn't just the sea turtle we need to protect, but also it's habitat.  It is part of the Turtle Art Trail.  

On the way back from our bike ride we decided we needed lunch.  Pat asked if I was up for gas station food.  Laredo Taco can be found in many service stations in Texas.  I was misled by the "Taco" in the name so I said "sure, just get me a hard shell."  It was called a taco but looked like a fajita (Pat said there was a language barrier problem when he tried to order a taco).  

Someone told us this was a Sandy Hill Crane, but we think it's more likely a Blue Heron.

Wow, what a change!  Saturday morning I was at the beach by 6:45 a.m. Didn't find any interesting shells but saw a fantastic  sunrise.  66°, gentle waves, a slight breeze, almost shorts weather.  7:30 a.m.  WHAM, temperatures fell, winds out of the north at 40 mph, and waves were crashing in!

Where are the Piepers now?  South Padre Island, TX.