Beach Walk

Here on the island, there is public access to the public beaches on the Gulf every 3 or 4 streets. Our rental condo is about halfway up the island on E Bahama St.  Our major landmarks are on this map. The Birding and Nature Centre, and Convention Centre are on the Laguna Madre Bay near the top of the map. The Turtle Sanctuary and information centre (Sea Turtle Inc.) is just south of them. Near the bottom of the map is the 4km Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge (causeway) across the bay to the mainland and Port Isabel. The birding place we call Sheepshead is 7 streets up from there and is on the corner of Laguna Blvd. and Sheepshead St.  It's about 4km from the causeway to the Convention Centre.

You can also see on the map that there are parking lots at almost every beach access point. Some have restrooms, walkovers (over the dunes) in addition to the paving and mobi-mats.

Today I finally got myself going and went for a walk on the beach. It was fairly low tide but the sand was hardened where the high tide had been. The high water mark is higher than I've ever seen before. There is evidence of erosion on the dunes. Most of the dunes are planted with grasses and plants which helps keeping them in place. The water is too cold for swimming (66F today) but great for fishing off the shore. The summer temps are frequently 90F+ so the summer is the peak time for the area. Residents up the valley flock to the island for the cooler temperatures and vast expanse of beach.

I'm facing north with my back to the stiff south wind.

These 'mobi-mats' make access to the beach possible for those with mobility issues. The town caters to beach and sun lovers. Many improvements have been made such as a wide pedestrian and bicycle lane the entire length of Gulf Blvd. and a new, bicycle lane on the main drag, Padre Blvd.

Right now, on Padre Blvd., dividing curbs are being installed between the northbound and southbound lanes with many u-turn spots. It's nice to see the island prospering from its tourist industry.

When we were here in November, the island was practically deserted. We have noticed a lot more people vacationing here this spring.

I didn't have my good camera with me but did see a pyrrhuloxia on my walking route.