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South Padre Island

RollLeft

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brownboy

brownboy 45

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Spring Break 1993

Charlie's big extravaganza that was mostly in a parking lot though we didn't realize it at the time.  Louie's wood decks.  The Radisson was fancy.  MTV Beauty and the Beach.  Slept in the closet of a room since it was the darkest place. Bungy jumping in a parking lot.

Cruised down to Matamoros to a bar where you smashed your beer bottles on the ground.  Guy walking around with car battery and we made a ring and saw who was the first to let go and paid for the privilege

Bought some cheap smokes that made me hack up a lung the next day and I smoked Marlboro Reds but I earned enough "miles" for a fancy lighter and branded jacket.

I wish I could go back.

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Skipper

Skipper 6,202

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Heading down first week of August with kids.  We used to go frequently when wife's family had property there 2009-2015 timeframe but haven't been back since.  Looks like Wanna Wanna, Daddy's and Dirty Al's still around which were 3 of our go-to's every trip.   Manuel's in Port Isabel apparently closed permanently which sucks as that place was a must for breakfast tacos.   Any good replacements or other new spots people like?  We're staying in a condo at Saida.  

Also, any recs for a kid friendly bay fishing charter?  My 5 YO son fished off a dock at a lake a few weeks ago so is adamant we are fishing this trip.

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Native Horn

Native Horn 3,516

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13 minutes ago, Skipper said:

Heading down first week of August with kids.  We used to go frequently when wife's family had property there 2009-2015 timeframe but haven't been back since.  Looks like Wanna Wanna, Daddy's and Dirty Al's still around which were 3 of our go-to's every trip.   Manuel's in Port Isabel apparently closed permanently which sucks as that place was a must for breakfast tacos.   Any good replacements or other new spots people like?  We're staying in a condo at Saida.  

Also, any recs for a kid friendly bay fishing charter?  My 5 YO son fished off a dock at a lake a few weeks ago so is adamant we are fishing this trip.

Haven't been to SPI in several years, but the breakfast tacos at Isabel's in Port Isabel are very solid and cheap.

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Zepol87

Zepol87 9,191

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3 hours ago, UnivTex34 said:

Ceviche Ceviche for lunch. 

We leave tomorrow. I'm getting nothing done at work today.

Haha same here. So damn ready, I haven't been in a long ass time. So I do appreciate the food recs. GF wants to do dinner one night semi fancy. Anything worth a shit?

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UnivTex34

UnivTex34 1,763

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1 minute ago, Zepol87 said:

Haha same here. So damn ready, I haven't been in a long ass time. So I do appreciate the food recs. GF wants to do dinner one night semi fancy. Anything worth a shit?

Sea Ranch has always been the fancy seafood place. We usually go on the last night. 

Apparently there is a new place, F&B and the reviews seem good. The wife and I are taking advantage of the grandparents one night and the plan is to try it out, I'll let you know. 

 

When are you headed down?

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BigOrange1

BigOrange1 6,471

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5 hours ago, Skipper said:

Heading down first week of August with kids.  We used to go frequently when wife's family had property there 2009-2015 timeframe but haven't been back since.  Looks like Wanna Wanna, Daddy's and Dirty Al's still around which were 3 of our go-to's every trip.   Manuel's in Port Isabel apparently closed permanently which sucks as that place was a must for breakfast tacos.   Any good replacements or other new spots people like?  We're staying in a condo at Saida.  

Also, any recs for a kid friendly bay fishing charter?  My 5 YO son fished off a dock at a lake a few weeks ago so is adamant we are fishing this trip.

We went on a family trip to SPI a couple of weeks ago and my brother, brother-in-law and I took my nephews (ages 5, 3, and 3) on the pirate ship.  They have a bay fishing ship too that I'm sure is kid friendly: https://www.ospreycruises.com/schedule-prices/

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Pdawg88

Pdawg88 1,131

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We fly in from Oklahoma City next week for a cheer competition for my daughter (she’s 12). We go every year and one of my favorite places in Tom and Jerry’s. Food isn’t high class but good bar food if you have been drinking all day. Daddy’s is also good and we try to go there once while we are there. I’ve heard Jelly fish are bad this year but who knows. I’ve been every year for 5 years and haven’t been stung so I guess I’m do. 

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Zepol87

Zepol87 9,191

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3 hours ago, UnivTex34 said:

Sea Ranch has always been the fancy seafood place. We usually go on the last night. 

Apparently there is a new place, F&B and the reviews seem good. The wife and I are taking advantage of the grandparents one night and the plan is to try it out, I'll let you know. 

 

When are you headed down?

Leaving tomorrow but staying in SA tomorrow night to meet up with some friends then finish the drive Saturday morning. 

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BigOrange1

BigOrange1 6,471

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1 hour ago, Pdawg88 said:

We fly in from Oklahoma City next week for a cheer competition for my daughter (she’s 12). We go every year and one of my favorite places in Tom and Jerry’s. Food isn’t high class but good bar food if you have been drinking all day. Daddy’s is also good and we try to go there once while we are there. I’ve heard Jelly fish are bad this year but who knows. I’ve been every year for 5 years and haven’t been stung so I guess I’m do. 

We saw 3 jellyfish a couple of weeks ago.  Got close, but was never stung.

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4th and 5

4th and 5 4,915

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I saw 0 jellyfish last week. No sargassum. Saw some fine ass though.

I’m of the opinion that the juice ain’t worth the squeeze at the “finer” dining down there (F&B, Liam’s, Sea Ranch) and we stick with the midrange (Gabriella’s) or cheap (Cap’n Roy’s) and fire up the Weber at the condo with filets from the Marlin, seafood from Quick Stop, and bay/offshore catch.

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956 Worldwide

956 Worldwide 34,779

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1 hour ago, ocugolf said:

I miss like 10 years ago when Dirty Al’s was dirt cheap for great food and cheap pitchers. Just a nice dive. Still great. Price just up about 200% 

Took my new bride to Dirty Al’s on our honeymoon. Yeah, at one time it was just dirt cheap, spectacular fried seafood. I still go back, but it is too expensive. 
 

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UnivTex34

UnivTex34 1,763

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52 minutes ago, MAROON said:

I spy the best beach bar on the island in your first photo.

We are just far enough not to be inundated with folks congregating around it (last two years we have stayed at houses on either side) but still close enough to have a 3 minute walk from our beach setup for a turbo.

20 minutes ago, Pdawg88 said:

I’ll be there Thursday, staying at The Sapphire. If you see a guy that looks like Brad Pitt mixed with George Strait and Chuck Norris that’s me. 

Thursday is our last day. Look for the orange 80 foot long octo-kite (and possibly up to 4 other kites) and the Texas flag Academy tent with a Horns, Tech, and TxSt flags flying. I’ll be the one chasing the two year old that is obsessed with the water.

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Pdawg88

Pdawg88 1,131

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13 minutes ago, UnivTex34 said:

We are just far enough not to be inundated with folks congregating around it (last two years we have stayed at houses on either side) but still close enough to have a 3 minute walk from our beach setup for a turbo.

Thursday is our last day. Look for the orange 80 foot long octo-kite (and possibly up to 4 other kites) and the Texas flag Academy tent with a Horns, Tech, and TxSt flags flying. I’ll be the one chasing the two year old that is obsessed with the water.

You cool drinking beers with a Sooner fan? 

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4th and 5

4th and 5 4,915

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On 7/13/2022 at 1:36 PM, FirstTimeCaller said:

Place you are staying, or do you own a place down there?

I own a condo on the beach

On 7/13/2022 at 4:24 PM, UnivTex34 said:

Outflow blew through about an hour ago, lost one of our pop ups. Looks like we were not the only ones based on all the mangled mess we saw up and down the beach.

Use two 5 gallon buckets full of water as anchors, downwind. Keep the downwind side a little lower. Buckets will fit over the end of a folded up standard canopy to carry easily. I see people lose canopies frequently, it’s dangerous and damages other people’s canopies who have properly anchored them. If there is just a few of us I use a heavy duty umbrella with a heavy duty anchor dug deep with a mini shovel. If a storm comes thru we just put the umbrella down.

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17 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

I own a condo on the beach

Would love to hear more. I assume you AirBNB it? How often do you use it? Maintenance? 

Pain in the butt or totally worth it?

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UnivTex34

UnivTex34 1,763

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2 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

I own a condo on the beach

Use two 5 gallon buckets full of water as anchors, downwind. Keep the downwind side a little lower. Buckets will fit over the end of a folded up standard canopy to carry easily. I see people lose canopies frequently, it’s dangerous and damages other people’s canopies who have properly anchored them. If there is just a few of us I use a heavy duty umbrella with a heavy duty anchor dug deep with a mini shovel. If a storm comes thru we just put the umbrella down.

So we had the sand bag anchors on all 4 corners. This has been our solution for the last 5 years and never had an issue. The difference this time, the tent we lost was a 10x15, so it had much less support up top, and that is the point that failed. Bent up at the top, then sheared some of the connections as it was collapsing. It never moved from our spot. A second 10x10 that we have used for years had no issues.

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UnivTex34

UnivTex34 1,763

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1 minute ago, ztejas said:

South Padre gets hot...

But it's breezy and you can go swim I guess. 

Locals next to us bitched at the heat this last week. 89-92. I showed them my weather station in Austin at 108 each day. They agreed that 92 was ok.

seabreeze makes all the difference.

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