Karaoki at Padre Island

Sunday, March 8

When there is a treadmill, I’m on it. At 7 am (well, actually it’s 8 am, because the clock was set ahead one hour last night) I am up and in the gym in two minutes.
I shower by the pool and after breakfast we walk over to Al and Yvonne’s place.
Long Island Village, is just off Port Isabel, a lovely place on a peninsula along the Gulf of Mexico. The park was established 20 some years ago, with small modulars and lots for RV.s it has spread out to at least 500 units. There are small canals with narrow strips of land in between on which are two rows of lots all facing the water. All the lots face the water and in between is a roadway from where you drive into each lot. Palm trees are lined along the road, giving it a nice tropical look. The lots, measuring approximately 25 x 50 feet are all concrete, some are used for only RVs and many are permanent modular homes. It’s the patios and the small gardens that make some of the units look wonderful.
Many have access to the canals, where they may have some sort of watercraft for recreation or fishing. There is lots of fish in the canals.

The lots are quite expensive and can cost as much as $80-90,000. O top of that owner pay an annual fee which can be as high of $10,000 depending on the unit size.
We finally have a decent internet connection at Al’s place and I have a chace to catch up on the blog. I am sure many friends and family are waiting to hear from us.

We drive to South Padre Island for a long walk on the beach. The sand here is so soft. It is spring place and there are thousands of college students. The army takes advantage of the crowds and have a booth set up with incentive for enrollment. They offer scholarships, sign up bonuses as hight as $ 40,000 and more.
We walk quite a way and enjoy watching the people, the birds and the thirsty people, of whom some have set up an interesting contraption, from which 6 can drink at one time. Ramiro’s dream comes true as het get to hold one of the beauties.

South Padre Island is one long strip of restaurants, hotels and apartments of which many are owned by Canadians, Mexicans and Americans. Those from the north stay for the winter, while those from the south come here for the summer months. Many of the hotels and apartments along the beach are closed for repairs. Hurricane Dolly has done a lot of damage last September.

After lunch we return to the Village and spend some relaxing time at the pool before we get dressed for the evening.

Tonight is Karaoke night. Al and Yvonne take us to Padre Island to Joey’s place. At least twenty of their regular friends are already there and they al greet us with enthusiasm. The DJ start the music and signs. The list goes around and those who wish to participate sign their name and the choice of songs they will sing.
There is a variety of entertainers, Once plays the mouth organ, the others sing, either solo or duet. They all sound pretty good. Then it’s Al’s turn. His specialty is Elvis. He does a great job and everyone cheers. He has quite a number of fans here.
It’s quite late when we return back to the RV. The fog has set in and it’s rather humid.