Saturday February 17 - Almost a week since the last posting, again because of lack of internet connection. We are now just outside of Brownsville, right on the Rio Grande in a golf community. Two of the holes on the golf course actually run along the river, so with the winds that blow here, it wouldn't be too hard to imagine hitting your drive and it ending up in Mexico. Apparently the Border Patrol are here a lot, just to make sure all is secure. I'd play the course, but it's so windy, it wouldn't really be enjoyable. Talking to a couple of the folks staying here, they tell us it's like this most of the time, especially in Feb and March. I put the awning up yesterday afternoon, but took it down this morning for fear it was going to get wrecked. My neighbour told me no-one has theirs up because of the constant winds.

Before getting here, let's go back. Our last day in Corpus Christie was cold and rainy, so we went to the South Texas Art Museum. It was well worth the visit, as there was a big display of Chicano Art, promoted by Cheech Marin, of Cheech and Chong. He's been an ardent collector of art produced in this distinctive Mexican-American style, and has been instrumental in its promotion in the U.S. The paintings are very different, dark, heavily symbolic, with the Latino culture spilling out of the canvasses. A whole new genre for us, so it was very interesting.

Next day we packed up and headed for Brownsville. When we got to the Texas Tourist office outside the city, we learned that there were sites available on South Padre Island, so decided to go there. We stayed in a large park that faces onto the beach, and that is at the southern tip of the island. South Padre extends about 5 miles to the north tip, where there is another County-run RV park. Cycling is fine ,as there's a wide bike path all the way from one end to the other. The main drag is lined with beach-wear stores, so many you wonder how they survive, restaurants, a few bars, offices and souvenir stores. It's an ideal place to spend some time if you like the beach lifestyle, much like Daytona, Cocoa Beach and all the others.

We got to the beach for a walk once, instead spending most of our time at the north end, where there's a very good Birding Center, as well as a Turtle Rehab Center. We even saw some new birds, new to us, which I won't bore you with, other than to mention my new second favorite, the Reddish Egret (pelicans are still number one). This guy is comical, as he sort of prances about in the shallows, almost as though on tiptoe, looking for food. He goes hophophop, using big steps, then lunges to score a win and gulp it down. He's quite tall, about three feet, so he's fun to watch as he goes through the motions, so unlike his stately and patient egret cousins.

Anyway, weather is always one of our main topics. On South Padre it was warmer, but foggy, thick fog, especially in the morning. We were there for four nights, and only once did we waken to sunshine. But not to complain, as the temps went up towards the 80s, and by mid-day, most of the fog was gone. But because of the warm air over the relatively cool Gulf waters, fog is the result. It didn't affect us too much, except when riding home the first day in the fog, Gail misjudged a curb and went down. Skinned her elbow, shin and knee, the latter rather badly. She made light of it, but is still tending to the knee, antiseptic and band-aid. The worst of it...she broke her new mirror. That's her second bike mishap this trip. so hope these things don't come in threes.

I should also mention the turtle rehab center. Today they will be moving into a brand new building on the gulf, a great step forward for this organization. The movement was started by a woman who became deeply moved by the plight of injured turtles, and thus worked tirelessly to develop the center through donations and volunteers. They now have more than two dozen turtles in house, some that will never be returned to the wild, because their conditions are too extreme. Turtles live a long time, so as a volunteer and I agreed, we won't be around when some of the residents will still need care. Could be our grand-children's generation looking after them. The rest will be released as they are able to deal with conditions in their natural habitat. Quite a few of them were badly affected by the cold winter water this year, and will be released in the spring. Most of them are greens, and are quite beautiful when you get a chance to see them in their tanks up close.

We moved on yesterday, and spent a good part of the day in a Birding Center, a big park not far from where we are staying. It was middle of the day, with not much happening in the bird department, so no exciting sightings. But we were able to ride our bikes and get some walking in, so it was okay.  Hot, too! When we left we drove down the quiet side road to Military Highway 189, and were met by a lengthy wall about 20 feet high, if not higher. Mr. Trump's dream, as this section of wall runs along the Rio Grande just south of the highway. Not sure how far it extends, but we'll find out as we move further west.

We decided to extend our medical coverage, and after much debate, are now covered until March 21st. That will give us a total of 4 months on the road, which for this unusual winter, will be just about enough. We aren't sure how far west we'll go. As usual, the weather may be a determiner. It would be nice to go back to Big Bend Park, but it's quite a long way from here, so we'll have to see.
Meantime, we have a pool and hot tub here, so we'll enjoy the rest of the day, and decide where to go tomorrow.

Pictures: Gail celebrating sunshine and warm weather on the beach at South Padre; a beautiful green turtle; my new second favorite bird, a reddish egret; and fog enclosing the top of one of the high rises on the beach, sometimes totally shrouded.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later.