The wind brings change.

We went all over the U.S. last year finishing up our states and National Parks. 

WOW!

We had sustained winds of 30 mph and gusts in the gale force wind range Mon. and Tues. What wasn't put away, blew away!

We have more strong winds coming. We also have cold weather. Not as cold as some of the country but next Mon. and Tues. night lows of 39°.

The blimp was grounded. Faced this way Mon. but...

...on Monday it's direction was reversed. Pat said it is moored so it can move with the wind. Several years ago the first blimp,  costing millions of dollars, was ripped to shreds by high winds.

The birds moved away from the Water and into the parking lot's. 

We pulled our slides in to prevent damage to the slide toppers which are costly and hard to replace. 

This is our home with the slides in. Not a lot of room but but we can get to almost everything and it's doable. There is one small closet we can't get open and I can barely squeeze my hand into one of the crispers.

Wind blown beach.

Two days of shells.

Tuesday was a jackpot day! The bigger the shells the easier it is to fill in shell-art designs on the beach. These bigger shells were all in one spot and it took two bags. I didn't even get all of them, there were just too many.

Our first grandchild turned 17 on Wednesday. The time flies even faster with grandkids but it's wonderful to see the wonderful young woman she has become. ❤️

Ever seen a Mermaids Purse? I hadn't. Someone I met on the beach thought it was a living creature, but we were both surprised to learn it's an egg sac produced by chrondrichthyans which include some sharks, rays, skates,and chimaeras.

Cabanas here at our RV Park. They are compact but includes 3 beds and a small bathroom.

Beginning in Dec. I decided to try and walk more, either to finish off my knees or make them stronger! I built up to where I thought trying to average 15,000 steps a day was a good goal. Last week (7 days) was my biggie, 60 miles. This Wednesday I had 23,000 steps and Thursday 28,000 steps (11.5 miles).

I walked into the town of South Padre Island Thurs. for a little shopping. There are so many beach stores and most are huge. There were a couple big ones that had gone out of business recently but were already being remodeled. Pat met me for lunch at The Meatball Cafe. It was pretty good. For lunch they had several $10 deals that included bread, salad (house or Caesar) and a pasta dish. I even had enough left over for dinner. Pat went home but I moved to the other side of the street and worked my way back.

 

"Miracle," inspired by the miraculous journey of the sea turtle, by Sandy Margret. Many varieties of turtles are found at South Padre Island but Kemp's ridley sea turtles nest more here than any where else in the country. In the winter the public (we haven't seen any) can watch turtles, stunned by the cold and rescued, released back into the ocean.

I walked over to the bay before continuing my shopping trip. Decommissioned in 1998 the USS Independence began a 16,000 mile journey in 2017 from Bremerton, WA to Brownsville, TX. By 2019 it was scrapped and this is one of two 64,000 pound propellers on display on South Padre Island. 

Gravity Park has the tallest reverse-bungee in the world, along with a few other attractions.

Will these survive our upcoming cold-spell?

Whales beachstore

Yes, a LOT of candy. No, I didn't buy any. 

A sand sculpture I hadn't seen before.

Jaws Beachworld

A striped burrfish I think??? Burrfish resemble pufferfish. The pufferfish I discovered, however, should never be picked up as they are toxic and will kill humans. Good to know! I saw this guy on the beach Thurs. and I don't touch what I don't know anyway. 
Where are the Piepers now? South Padre Island, TX