Feeling the concussive waves from pelicans dive bombing into water not 20 yards from us, delicious German streusel, and miles of beach to ourselves are memories we treasure from Padre Island.
Padre Island national seashore is all the way down the coast of Texas, near Corpus Christi, meaning you are not going to just stumble upon it. It is your destination. However, on our way to Padre Island we did stumble upon a delicious bakery. JB'S German Bakery had a line out the door when we arrived.
We almost did not wait. That would have been a mistake! We waited and it was worth it! We brought our treats to the island and ate them at the beach. Delicious treats and the best view.
Padre Island national seashore is a staggeringly beautiful beach. Closer to the entrance we watched rows of fisherman with their poles firmly planted in the sand. As we stopped to watch a fisherman with something on their line, we got quite a show. The spotter walked slowly down the straight line to bring in the catch but all of a sudden the taunt line and rod went slack. The spotter followed through and retrieved the end of the line, only to hold up a massive fish head with a missing body and what looked like a curved edge where the body should have met the head.
Shark! We gladly took this information with us as we drove the Jeep about 15 miles farther down the beach to a location called Little Shell. Aware that there were definitely sharks in the water, we enjoyed ourselves but with caution in mind. There was a flock of pelicans that occasionally grew near and would dive bomb, evidence that they saw schools of fish. They were great warning signs that fish were near and we would retreat to more shallow water to watch the spectacular show. We will never forget the feeling and sound of the pelicans diving into the water so near us. We felt the impact as their bodies hit the water, the sound was so intense and you could feel the concussive force echoed through the waves. It was like nothing we'd ever experienced: we felt it throughout our entire bodies.
The farther you travel down Padre Island the more remote and isolated it becomes. Keep in mind you are not going interstate speeds. You are on sand. Going 15 miles down the beach took the better part of an hour. Going farther down the beach would take much longer and Padre Island is long, 113 miles long. One day we will go back to explore farther down the beach, we hear there is a shipwreck.
We spent the morning playing in the water and had the beach mostly to ourselves minus the occasional vehicle passing by in the distance near the sand dunes. The beach "highway" was near the dunes. No road markers, just the understanding that the safest place to travel in a vehicle was just beyond the reach of the water. FYI, rattlesnakes like to live in those dunes, so use caution. We didn't see any rattlers that day but be aware.
It was a fall day in early October. The water was nice and warm from the sun with a cool steady seashore breeze. The seabirds loved riding the wind currents over the dunes. It was mesmerizing to watch. We enjoyed dipping our feet into the Gulf of Mexico while sitting in the sun kissed sand. It was a beautiful day.
Hozzászólások