MINI ON THE BEACH

The beaches in Texas are open to vehicles....most that is.  Here is the Mini sitting on the beach at South Padre Island.  If we were to come back here again, we have in mind some "dry camping" (camping off the grid) right here at this spot!

The very southern part of South Padre is quite developed..stores, restaurants, banks and all the things folks need whether on the beach or not.   Many beach communities are just that....rather unattractive smatterings of seasonal "beach places".   Padre Island isn't like that....it is nicely done.   As you drive north on the island you drive out of the developed area and into one with just unspoiled beach on both sides of the road.  In the photo above, wind has certainly done its job on this one and only road north....sand covers the northbound lane.

Here we had to drive around the sand piled on the road by mother nature.  You can see one of the many pieces of road equipment trying to move it back to the sides of the road.  All hands were on deck for this job as the famed Spring Break will descend upon South Padre in another week or so...where the nature of this island will change dramatically with bacchanalia.  (A good time to stay away from South Padre for many of us).

This is the South Padre KOA...the round building on the right is the office and the one on the left is the common area for campers.  These two structures were formerly the very first water towers on South Padre Island.  Very clever to clean them up and "recycle" them into something funky and useful.  The KOA is a nice place to stay, but if we were to return we would do the beach camping thing....

This is the primary access point to the public beach...and as mentioned, it is for vehicles as well (thankfully, ATVs are not allowed here).  You pay $5 for the day access to the beach and that is the same if you are in a Mini Cooper or a motorhome!   

This is what we're talking about.   This couple just lounging outside their motorhome and enjoying the beach....with all the comforts of home.   We hope to see our rig at that same spot one day!

We were only on South Padre for a few days....and the weather didn't cooperate too well....lots of wind and some heavy rain, but we could tell it would be a great place to be when the weather did cooperate.   We'll be back.