Continued... (T-1)

 So after work, I picked up the RV and headed home to get my wife and load it up. We had made plans to head out Thursday night and get to the coast early on Friday. The loading went very fast and we were on the road by 6pm. 

We had a good drive down with only a little traffic. It is nice having an RV when on a road trip (for many reasons) We pulled over at a Wendy's and got something to eat. We ate in the RV in the parking lot. It is nice to be able to do that. Sometimes we just pull off at a rest stop or a strip center parking lot, cook something, and enjoy breakfast/lunch/dinner while watching tv. 

We arrived at Magnolia Beach a little later than we expected. Since we were boondocking (i.e., no electrical, water, or sewer hookups), we wanted to make sure we had plenty of fresh water and enough gasoline to run the generator. We found a state park and pulled in to dump the tanks and fill up on fresh water. 

We loved Magnolia Beach last Thanksgiving when we visited. It was nice this time too, but not as pretty. The water was choppy and brown. It had been green and clear (for Texas) before. The beach was much more crowded this time, as expected. There were dozens and dozens of horse trailers and people riding their horses on the beach. Apparently some horse owner's group does a Memorial Day ride every year. It was really nice to see them and various groups did mini-parades while we were there. Besides the horses, there were some pretty cool buggies and carriages. 

On Saturday, we decided to head to Padre Island. We found another state park on the way to dump our tanks and top off the fresh water. The drive was nice, but we were unable to find a place to park on Padre. We worked our way back up to Mustang Island and found a great spot. The beach was pretty packed. But that was only because it was 7pm when we got there. The next day we found out that the beach is insanely packed on holidays. Or maybe every weekend during the summer. By mid day on Sunday, the groups and families were two deep on the beach and another row on the dunes. They sure do have it well organized though. With a very wide lane for traffic that will easily accommodate any two vehicles passing each other and a separate lane for emergency vehicles only. 

The sand is so soft here and the water was more clear than we expected. But there were crashing waves all day, so still not very clear. With the wind, it was very comfortable laying in the sun. Our dog Charlie was only introduced to the beach last year and he loves it. It is amazing how doing the most ordinary things like reading, watching tv, cooking, eating, are so much better being away and closer to nature.