Port Aransas

[Skipper 6135]

Going with wife, kids and grandparents for long weekend in a few weeks.   Staying at a place in Village Walk.  We aren't going to have room to pack a canopy and chairs, etc.  I did a search and found that Bron's rents them.  Is that best (only?) option or are there others people use?   Also, what is best/nicest restaurant in town for date night assuming grandparents will watch our kids one night.  Actually our anniversary - not expecting anything really high end in Port A but what are best options that probably won't have lots of kids running around.

[justhookit 4191]

39 minutes ago, Skipper said:

Going with wife, kids and grandparents for long weekend in a few weeks.   Staying at a place in Village Walk.  We aren't going to have room to pack a canopy and chairs, etc.  I did a search and found that Bron's rents them.  Is that best (only?) option or are there others people use?   Also, what is best/nicest restaurant in town for date night assuming grandparents will watch our kids one night.  Actually our anniversary - not expecting anything really high end in Port A but what are best options that probably won't have lots of kids running around.

Bron’s pretty much has a monopoly on that.

For food unfortunately Liberty Hall / Inferno shut down and it was the best food in town. Venetian Hot Plate would be my next choice. Roosevelt’s behind Tarpon Inn probably has the best atmosphere but the food has been extremely hit and miss lately. There is also Phoenix out at Island Moorings.

[Skipper 6135]

14 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Bron’s pretty much has a monopoly on that.

For food unfortunately Liberty Hall / Inferno shut down and it was the best food in town. Venetian Hot Plate would be my next choice. Roosevelt’s behind Tarpon Inn probably has the best atmosphere but the food has been extremely hit and miss lately. There is also Phoenix out at Island Moorings.

Thanks.  What is rideshare like on the island?  Should we be able to find an uber on weekends relatively easily?

[Hate 20108]

Venetian hot plate sounds like something zee Germans would like...a lot.

[justhookit 4191]

Rideshare is hardly ever available here especially when it is busy. Taxis are much easier.

[justhookit 4191]

9 hours ago, horn4life said:

Just got back from long weekend in Port A. I did not put much effort into fishing, but saw a nice red pulled in Saturday morning off the beach, which will cause a hair more effort next trip.  Overall island is getting back to normal. And yes mask wearing in many places is clearly not a concern.  Of course my wife overheard the following conversation. " Well I got it, and it wasn't that bad. My wife got it, and she still doesn't have her smell or taste.  I will not get the vaccine, because Pfizer invented covid..."

So yep... back to normal!  But brain power and coastal communities ANYWHERE, are not highly linked from my life experiences.  The good news is I got to see some live music that was great!  Shorty's had it's 75th Anniversary Party, I saw some corpus buddies at a picnic table and sat with them for a quick drink while the wife and friends were waiting at Virginia's to be seated.  So I saw and caught a few minutes of Ty Deitz, who I actually liked a lot (after hearing a lot about him) before going over to Virginia's to grab a little lunch.  I will say that my opinion of Virginia's has improved dramatically.  Before about the only things I would order was the Fish Sandwich and the obligatory order of Smoked Tuna dip.  This go round with 6 different meals and a couple apps all the food was pretty darn good.  

Highlight was seeing most of the set of Ruben V and Jimmy Spacek with the East Side Horns.  I talked a moment to Ruben V and apparently I was there the last time he and his cohorts played Shorty's so I guess the cycle of life is back on track.  The wife and I met some nice folks, that I am sure we will see again, as our time in Port A increases  each year now it seems.  Only thing weird was the weather, with lots of midday fog banks rolling in on Thursday and Friday, before front rolled through Saturday morning.  About the only thing I did not do that I contemplated was to go down and drive PINS to see how much last year's storm pushed back the dunes, as I want to take my Trailer down there and spend a few nights camping on the beach.  But that's sort of a different subject.

Not saying you are completely wrong about the brain power in Port A but it did a really good job during COVID. It was the tourists that created most of the problems and refused to wear masks (shortys just lifted their mask requirement about a week ago, well after Abbott lifted it).

Anyway I was at the 75th Anniversary party also. You in this pic?

[horn4life 3761]

32 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Not saying you are completely wrong about the brain power in Port A but it did a really good job during COVID. It was the tourists that created most of the problems and refused to wear masks (shortys just lifted their mask requirement about a week ago, well after Abbott lifted it).

Anyway I was at the 75th Anniversary party also. You in this pic?

Looks like that was between my visits I think.  I am guessing still in Ty Dietz set, and I didn't get back until a bit after 4 pm.  Even then I would have just been out of frame right as I snagged a table just out of view.  

You are right about Shorty's and both Giggity's being pretty good on the masks.  Looks at the age of most of the folks there if we wanted to get vaccinated, we could have gotten vaccinated.  I was just damn happy to hear some live music again.  I had a hell of a time... 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by horn4life

[immamac 42857]

Headed there this weekend. Fully vaxxed + 4 weeks so I'm fresh out of fucks to give about mask compliance, but I'll still sport one for the show. 

[Steamboat1874 4067]

14 hours ago, justhookit said:

Not saying you are completely wrong about the brain power in Port A but it did a really good job during COVID. It was the tourists that created most of the problems and refused to wear masks (shortys just lifted their mask requirement about a week ago, well after Abbott lifted it).

Anyway I was at the 75th Anniversary party also. You in this pic?

Nothing says "Shorty's" like that pic. I love the place.

[HenryJames 66080]

More like Fatty’s amirite.

[justhookit 4191]

3 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

More like Fatty’s amirite.

Yeah and they actually had 4 of their younger attractive bartenders working that day and I managed to get none of them in the shot. Pic fail.

[Lat22 4014]

Buncha snobs on this thread.  Maybe Martha's Vineyard would be more y'all's speed?

[Ag with kids 581]

On 4/12/2021 at 7:14 AM, horn4life said:

Just got back from long weekend in Port A. I did not put much effort into fishing, but saw a nice red pulled in Saturday morning off the beach, which will cause a hair more effort next trip.  Overall island is getting back to normal. And yes mask wearing in many places is clearly not a concern.  Of course my wife overheard the following conversation. " Well I got it, and it wasn't that bad. My wife got it, and she still doesn't have her smell or taste.  I will not get the vaccine, because Pfizer invented covid..."

So yep... back to normal!  But brain power and coastal communities ANYWHERE, are not highly linked from my life experiences.  The good news is I got to see some live music that was great!  Shorty's had it's 75th Anniversary Party, I saw some corpus buddies at a picnic table and sat with them for a quick drink while the wife and friends were waiting at Virginia's to be seated.  So I saw and caught a few minutes of Ty Deitz, who I actually liked a lot (after hearing a lot about him) before going over to Virginia's to grab a little lunch.  I will say that my opinion of Virginia's has improved dramatically.  Before about the only things I would order was the Fish Sandwich and the obligatory order of Smoked Tuna dip.  This go round with 6 different meals and a couple apps all the food was pretty darn good.  

Highlight was seeing most of the set of Ruben V and Jimmy Spacek with the East Side Horns.  I talked a moment to Ruben V and apparently I was there the last time he and his cohorts played Shorty's so I guess the cycle of life is back on track.  The wife and I met some nice folks, that I am sure we will see again, as our time in Port A increases  each year now it seems.  Only thing weird was the weather, with lots of midday fog banks rolling in on Thursday and Friday, before front rolled through Saturday morning.  About the only thing I did not do that I contemplated was to go down and drive PINS to see how much last year's storm pushed back the dunes, as I want to take my Trailer down there and spend a few nights camping on the beach.  But that's sort of a different subject.

Holy shit was PINS packed this weekend.  We decided to head down and take the dogs so they could run around a bit...we drove several miles down and it still looked like Whitecap Beach.  Completely full of cars.  So, we turned around and took the dogs on the boat out to the ski canals and let them run there.

I was surprised how busy it was - like a holiday weekend.  Dunes are back about 20 ft from before Hanna, though, since you were looking at that info.

[horn4life 3761]

2 hours ago, Ag with kids said:

Holy shit was PINS packed this weekend.  We decided to head down and take the dogs so they could run around a bit...we drove several miles down and it still looked like Whitecap Beach.  Completely full of cars.  So, we turned around and took the dogs on the boat out to the ski canals and let them run there.

I was surprised how busy it was - like a holiday weekend.  Dunes are back about 20 ft from before Hanna, though, since you were looking at that info.

Thanks for the the dunes info! I was telling a my buddy this weekend that I want to take the RV down a few miles south on PINS, but I am pretty sure a Saturday is NOT when I want to do it. Maybe do a weekend IB Magee then on Monday head down to PINS on a Monday if the tides and weather is good.   

I am afraid that COVID made a LOT more people decide, fuck it... it's only a few hours away.  So rather than just the crowds in the Summer, they are drifting into my MUCH preferred off season.  My theory is that once sports, and in particular club pay to play sports get going, the beaches will be a lot closer to what I expect. As having coached two traveling teams for a few years, you simply do not get many open weekends.  (Hopefully this prayer will be heard!)

The next thing is going to be ... remember the Ski Canals....

[Ag with kids 581]

On 4/14/2021 at 6:53 PM, horn4life said:

Thanks for the the dunes info! I was telling a my buddy this weekend that I want to take the RV down a few miles south on PINS, but I am pretty sure a Saturday is NOT when I want to do it. Maybe do a weekend IB Magee then on Monday head down to PINS on a Monday if the tides and weather is good.   

I am afraid that COVID made a LOT more people decide, fuck it... it's only a few hours away.  So rather than just the crowds in the Summer, they are drifting into my MUCH preferred off season.  My theory is that once sports, and in particular club pay to play sports get going, the beaches will be a lot closer to what I expect. As having coached two traveling teams for a few years, you simply do not get many open weekends.  (Hopefully this prayer will be heard!)

The next thing is going to be ... remember the Ski Canals....

Since COVID hit, it's been a LOT busier here on the island.  Every weekend is packed, regardless of season.  My condo which usually doesn't rent much from the end of Spring Break to mid may has been booked solid both last year and this year.

We've even gone out to the beach mid week and had to drive miles down the beach to find a spot - in April.

It's helping the island economy though, so that's a plus.

[immamac 42857]

7 minutes ago, Ag with kids said:

Since COVID hit, it's been a LOT busier here on the island.  Every weekend is packed, regardless of season.  My condo which usually doesn't rent much from the end of Spring Break to mid may has been booked solid both last year and this year.

We've even gone out to the beach mid week and had to drive miles down the beach to find a spot - in April.

It's helping the island economy though, so that's a plus.

Here right now. Just got back from the beach with the boy. Water being warmer than the sand/air is kinda cool. It's a bit too cold to hang on the beach for me though. 

Did just drive through cinnamon shores to see what it's all about. I am not easily impressed and that shit was nice. 

[Ag with kids 581]

40 minutes ago, immamac said:

Here right now. Just got back from the beach with the boy. Water being warmer than the sand/air is kinda cool. It's a bit too cold to hang on the beach for me though. 

Did just drive through cinnamon shores to see what it's all about. I am not easily impressed and that shit was nice. 

I've only seen it from 361 on my way to/from Port A.  Maybe I'll take a short detour and check it out next time.  Heard lots of good recs on here.

Of course, I won't stay there since I already live on NPI, but it's cool to look at stuff.

And this cold stuff sucks.  I was hoping to get out and do stuff this weekend but it's just too cold for that shit.  Of course, maybe PINS is less busy because of it.

[immamac 42857]

10 minutes ago, Ag with kids said:

I've only seen it from 361 on my way to/from Port A.  Maybe I'll take a short detour and check it out next time.  Heard lots of good recs on here.

Of course, I won't stay there since I already live on NPI, but it's cool to look at stuff.

And this cold stuff sucks.  I was hoping to get out and do stuff this weekend but it's just too cold for that shit.  Of course, maybe PINS is less busy because of it.

We went in/out from the designated beach entrances on a golf cart.

Also Kenjos fly fishing guides is who I used on Friday. Excellent guide, very very surly - actually hope he starts posting here, but if you want a fly fishing guide for the shallows here I don't think there's a more fun guy.

[justhookit 4191]

I’ll do a more thorough update on all the changes to Port A but by far the biggest news is that the Woodys property which includes the Back Porch bar sold last month. Rumor is it’s going to be condos. So that means sometime in the next year or so we are going to lose Shortys, Flats/Howie’s, Bernie’s and Back Porch. Holy shit indeed.

[immamac 42857]

Holy shit. The last 7 beers were completely unecessary, but a damned good time last night at shorty's. 

Good to hang with the locals (including @justhookit), saw some rude ass titties, got drunker than fuck. Of course the day we leave the sun comes out to send us off. I hate leaving this place. I'll be back soon Port Aransas you beautiful bitch. 

[4th&Five 41558]

did you hang on to your dab pen this time?

[Hook1997 5366]

On 4/18/2021 at 11:48 AM, justhookit said:

I’ll do a more thorough update on all the changes to Port A but by far the biggest news is that the Woodys property which includes the Back Porch bar sold last month. Rumor is it’s going to be condos. So that means sometime in the next year or so we are going to lose Shortys, Flats/Howie’s, Bernie’s and Back Porch. Holy shit indeed.

Would Woody’s be moving there business somewhere else or just hanging it up?   Also did Bernie’s and Shorty’s sell already?  That would indeed suck with all of that closing.

[justhookit 4191]

4 hours ago, immamac said:

Holy shit. The last 7 beers were completely unecessary, but a damned good time last night at shorty's. 

Good to hang with the locals (including @justhookit), saw some rude ass titties, got drunker than fuck. Of course the day we leave the sun comes out to send us off. I hate leaving this place. I'll be back soon Port Aransas you beautiful bitch. 

Ha. Yeah once the Gaff closed it was probably time to go home. Oh well it was a fun time and now I’m going to have to listen to my friends give me shit for associating with an aggy. I’ll sneak a pic of those titties next time she’s working.

Edited April 19, 2021 by justhookit

[justhookit 4191]

37 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

Would Woody’s be moving there business somewhere else or just hanging it up?   Also did Bernie’s and Shorty’s sell already?  That would indeed suck with all of that closing.

Woodys is hanging it up. The owner is old and besides there really isn’t anywhere to move until they start to develop the Charlie’s Pasture area. Bernie’s and Shortys are on leases and yes the property they are on has sold. It’s not an if deal, it’s when. I’m hearing October for Shortys and not sure on Bernie’s but I’d be pretty surprised if this isn’t their last summer.

[justhookit 4191]

2 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

did you hang on to your dab pen this time?

This came up in conversation but unfortunately nobody else understood the reference.

[justhookit 4191]

Back at the scene of the crime

[Ag with kids 581]

On 4/14/2021 at 6:53 PM, horn4life said:

Thanks for the the dunes info! I was telling a my buddy this weekend that I want to take the RV down a few miles south on PINS, but I am pretty sure a Saturday is NOT when I want to do it. Maybe do a weekend IB Magee then on Monday head down to PINS on a Monday if the tides and weather is good.   

I am afraid that COVID made a LOT more people decide, fuck it... it's only a few hours away.  So rather than just the crowds in the Summer, they are drifting into my MUCH preferred off season.  My theory is that once sports, and in particular club pay to play sports get going, the beaches will be a lot closer to what I expect. As having coached two traveling teams for a few years, you simply do not get many open weekends.  (Hopefully this prayer will be heard!)

The next thing is going to be ... remember the Ski Canals....

BTW, in case you hadn't heard, Waves/Schlitterbahn is coming down sometime...not sure of the timeline but at least the eyesore will be gone...

[justhookit 4191]

Good lord this weekend was a shitshow. Beach was 4th of July crowded. The theory we are going with is that this weekend was supposed to be Sandfest and even though it was cancelled most of the people came anyway. If that’s not what happened we are in for another record summer. Again.

Restaurants and hotels are having staffing issues already. This summer may be a mess.

[Ag with kids 581]

4 hours ago, justhookit said:

Good lord this weekend was a shitshow. Beach was 4th of July crowded. The theory we are going with is that this weekend was supposed to be Sandfest and even though it was cancelled most of the people came anyway. If that’s not what happened we are in for another record summer. Again.

Restaurants and hotels are having staffing issues already. This summer may be a mess.

I didn't realize it had been cancelled.  All the traffic on the bridge and we all just assumed it was still on.

This weekend was pretty busy on NPI too - not quite the 4th busy, but not far off.

Summer will be a charlie foxtrot at this rate...

[horn4life 3761]

Looks like we are gonna head down next weekend.  Just booked a few days at IB MaGee, gotta use that trailer! So if the weather is decent we are rolling down Thursday or Friday.  I saw Starlite and the Moonbeams were playing Shorty's Saturday so probably will drop in for a bit of that.   From a glance at the Island Moon looks like shit tons of people, and potentially lots of sea weed.  

[Skipper 6135]

We are heading down later this week through the weekend.   If we go out to eat with kids one night what is a good spot that lets them run around some (if there is one)?   My 2 year old is a mess.  Damn near impossible to get her to sit still more than a few minutes at a time.  Also, is there a good link to live music?  My wife and I may get out without kids on Friday night.  Finally, per post above I see that "rideshare" is non-existent. Is there a go-to cab Company? 

[justhookit 4191]

Pretty much everything in Port A is kid friendly but the only 2 places I can think of where a kid running loose is ok are Lelo’s (burgers) and Gaff for pizza. https://portalive.com/schedule/ is pretty accurate for music. For cabs Gulf Coast Taxi or Port A taxi.

[HenryJames 66080]

I like Lelo’s. Solid burger.

[blacklab 11939]

Anything special/different about Padre Island National Seashore right now?

Thinking about camping this or next weekend 10-20 miles down the island. 

How's the seaweed on the beach?

[horn4life 3761]

On 5/3/2021 at 9:48 AM, Skipper said:

We are heading down later this week through the weekend.   If we go out to eat with kids one night what is a good spot that lets them run around some (if there is one)?   My 2 year old is a mess.  Damn near impossible to get her to sit still more than a few minutes at a time.  Also, is there a good link to live music?  My wife and I may get out without kids on Friday night.  Finally, per post above I see that "rideshare" is non-existent. Is there a go-to cab Company? 

 

23 hours ago, HenryJames said:

I like Lelo’s. Solid burger.

Lelo's would be my go to for any kid related activities.  It also have a really good hummus plate (and I am not that into hummus) but something green is an oddity in Port A.  I have been pitching them for a while.  We did unfortunately get a really over cooked burger on a Sunday, that I would have sent back, but we were trying to hit the road and clock was ticking.  Overall one of my new faves, as they pour a good drink, and the food quality has always been good (except for that one burger and I know they would have made it right had i bitched).

They also have Putt Putt at Kody's which has good food quality and you could have the kids playing golf until the order came tot he table.  It's also an order at the bar place so I like it for groups.

2 hours ago, blacklab said:

Anything special/different about Padre Island National Seashore right now?

Thinking about camping this or next weekend 10-20 miles down the island. 

How's the seaweed on the beach?

I too want a report.  My understanding (I think confirmed by Ag with Kids) is that the Storm that tore the t head off Bob Hall also pushed the dunes back widening the beach.  I am curious because I want to drag my trailer down and before you had to find a little pocket to park in and there were not that many.

I may drive down there this weekend if I can talk the wife into it for the day.  Just to check things out for the future, since we are going to Port A this weekend.

[justhookit 4191]

3 hours ago, blacklab said:

Anything special/different about Padre Island National Seashore right now?

Thinking about camping this or next weekend 10-20 miles down the island. 

How's the seaweed on the beach?

The only thing different about PINS right now is it’s crowded. Everything is crowded down here on the weekends. This summer is going to be a mess. There is almost no seaweed on the beach right now and there isn’t much offshore so this season looks like it won’t be a bad one.

[blacklab 11939]

Is it crowded 10-20 miles down or are you still able to get a few hundred yards of beach to yourself?

 

[justhookit 4191]

Two weekends ago it was fairly crowded all the way to big shell but it thinned out after that. An unfortunate side effect of COVID is that a bunch of Texans who had no idea PINS existed have discovered it.

[hookemATL 11740]

3 hours ago, justhookit said:

Two weekends ago it was fairly crowded all the way to big shell but it thinned out after that. An unfortunate side effect of COVID is that a bunch of Texans who had no idea PINS existed have discovered it.

Any chance you could head down there and scare them off?  I will buy you an alcoholic, low calorie mango seltzer. 

[Ag with kids 581]

3 hours ago, justhookit said:

The only thing different about PINS right now is it’s crowded. Everything is crowded down here on the weekends. This summer is going to be a mess. There is almost no seaweed on the beach right now and there isn’t much offshore so this season looks like it won’t be a bad one.

There was a good amount of seaweed on the beach on Sunday south of Bob Hall (not far, maybe 1/4 mile down).  Pretty busy, but I've seen it MUCH worse in the past year.

[Ag with kids 581]

3 hours ago, justhookit said:

Two weekends ago it was fairly crowded all the way to big shell but it thinned out after that. An unfortunate side effect of COVID is that a bunch of Texans who had no idea PINS existed have discovered it.

No shit.  I couldn't believe how packed it was a few weeks ago.  Drove at least 3 miles down and it hadn't even started to thin out yet.

I'm thinking about seeing how it looks if you turn on N Beach Access right before you get to the PINS gate and then head north towards the pilings.  Maybe those noobs don't know about that yet???

[Ag with kids 581]

29 minutes ago, hookemATL said:

Any chance you could head down there and scare them off?  I will buy you an alcoholic, low calorie mango seltzer. 

Fuck...we had a couple murdered on NPI in 2019 and that didn't stop them from coming.  Just what do you want us to do???

[hookemATL 11740]

2 minutes ago, Ag with kids said:

Fuck...we had a couple murdered on NPI in 2019 and that didn't stop them from coming.  Just what do you want us to do???

did....you just admit to having a couple murdered?

[utee94 15825]

20 minutes ago, hookemATL said:

did....you just admit to having a couple murdered?

That's the way I read it, too! 

[Ag with kids 581]

37 minutes ago, hookemATL said:

did....you just admit to having a couple murdered?

 

16 minutes ago, utee94 said:

That's the way I read it, too! 

Ok...so you want us to get rid of people and now you're complaining about methods????

[Hmbre97 6308]

Drove to Port A/PINS yesterday. Beach conditions weren't great so not sure how that influenced people showing up but it was pretty stacked to about 5 miles, then a good bit to about the 10. After that was the occasional RV and dudes fishing. It really cleared up at the 20 mile mark because it was 4WD only after that point. I turned around at 30 because it was desolate and didn't want to get stuck out there by myself.

[horn4life 3761]

On 5/9/2021 at 2:50 PM, Hmbre97 said:

Drove to Port A/PINS yesterday. Beach conditions weren't great so not sure how that influenced people showing up but it was pretty stacked to about 5 miles, then a good bit to about the 10. After that was the occasional RV and dudes fishing. It really cleared up at the 20 mile mark because it was 4WD only after that point. I turned around at 30 because it was desolate and didn't want to get stuck out there by myself.

I know it was windy as shit when we were down in Port A Sunday.  Any Pics?  I am trying to figure out how much wider the beach is after the big storm last year?

[Hmbre97 6308]

5 hours ago, horn4life said:

I know it was windy as shit when we were down in Port A Sunday.  Any Pics?  I am trying to figure out how much wider the beach is after the big storm last year?

No pics showing the whole beach but it is probably 50 ft or more wider. The dunes got pushed back a good bit.

[Ag with kids 581]

On 5/13/2021 at 8:10 AM, horn4life said:

I know it was windy as shit when we were down in Port A Sunday.  Any Pics?  I am trying to figure out how much wider the beach is after the big storm last year?

Are you wanting pics of PINS?  Or just the normal NPI beach?  I may be at the beach tomorrow (we usually go in right south of Bob Hall) depending on the weather.  I can get you some pics of the dunes then.

Not sure if I'm driving all the way down to PINS though... 

[justhookit 4191]

Yeah I am not sure where he is asking about. The dunes in Port A haven’t moved and are more built up towards the gulf. The beach is narrower now.