December 2005 ...........

Port Isabel: A village developed in the 1700's by Mexicans and abandoned prior to the US declaration of war with Mexico in 1846. The lighthouse was built in 1853 and is open to the public. From the top the view is spectacular. We spent part of a day with our friends, John and Nancy Kelker, they own a RV lot in Long Island Village, which is connected to Port Isabel by a swinging bridge. We had lunch with them at the Pirate's Landing, a really good place to eat. Port Isabel is the last city you visit before you cross the 2.5 mile Queen Isabella Causeway to Padre Island. Bottom left photo; Dean, Nancy and John at their RV lot at Long Island Village, Botom rightt: John and Nancy Kelker.

December 2005 ...........

South Padre Island: A barrier island along the Texas gulf coast and a popular spring break destination. From the late nineteenth century until the 1950's the only way to reach the area was by ferry. The first bridge was built in 1954, and was a 2.2 million dollar swing bridge, now the Queen Isabella State Fishing Pier.The current Queen Isabella Causeway, built in 1974 is the longest bridge in Texas. The residential property on the island is more than fifty percent owned by people from Mexico. If you follow the road out of town a few miles it is blocked by shifting sand dunes. You can drive your vehicle 25+ miles down the beach after the road ends. It's best to enter the beach with your vehicle at a place where you pay $2.00, if you try to get onto the beach at other locations you will likely get stuck in the sand. There are guys with trucks that sit around just waiting to pull you out (and charge you). We drove about ten miles down the beach, ran out of time but would have liked to go further. There is still trash from the hurricane washed up and the beach is very desolate. This is our second time on Padre, we spent two weeks there in 1999. It's a great place to ride bikes, but like most of South Texas the wind never stops.

| Home | Map Page | Texas Index | Next Texas Page | Previous Texas Page |