South Padre Island, Texas
We chose South Padre Island because we wanted to experience warm weather in February. We considered other options, including New Orleans, Miami, and a couple other cities in Texas. We landed on South Padre because it was the first place where we got a positive response from a property manager. Truly, we had our sights set on New Orleans, but when we realized that the Superbowl was to take place there the same month, we gave it up. Property owners were understandably raising their prices in anticipation of the big game, and we found ourselves priced out of any of the suitable properties. Shifting any farther right put us squarely into Mardis Gras territory and commensurate prices, so we reluctantly turned our sights elsewhere. We'd really like to spend time in NOLA eventually, and the triangulation of winter weather, culture, and cost of living makes it really attractive. Plus, my friend Haley lives there, and I'm starting to wonder if proximity to friends trumps all. I miss you Natalie!
South Padre, we hoped, would be more a two-legged stool. We had no expectation of having any cultural experiences. I had never visited, but Elliott spent a Spring Break here in college. Aside from returning from Mexico shirtless and alone, because he traded his shirt for two beer mugs and drunkenly lost all his friends, and multiple meals at Whataburger, he didn't remember much. Whataburger is still doing a brisk business, but trips to Mexico are less recommended these days.
After weeks of freezing weather and twenty-four hours of driving through some of the least impressive parts of the US, we were incredibly happy to arrive to warm weather and beaches. I experienced pure joy the moment I limped onto the beach and felt the sun on my fish belly white skin. While the weather wasn’t uniformly warm or even pleasant throughout our stay, we felt lucky to be missing February in the midwest.
Accommodations
We rented our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo on E Whiting Str for $3000 total, not including refundable deposits. It is two blocks away from the Blue Marlin Supermarket and two blocks from the beach - a really, really great location. Check-in was easy, and I felt the property offered good value for the cost. I have a couple of small nitpicky complaints that aren't worth expanding on, and one bigger one: the jacuzzi. The property has a pool and jacuzzi it shares with the other half of the duplex. We knew the weather wouldn't likely be warm enough to draw us into the pool, but we were excited to use the hot tub. Except it wasn't a hot tub. The property description listed a "jacuzzi". Are cold jacuzzies even a thing? Along with the other nitpicky complaints, I found myself wondering if I would have chosen a different rental. On balance, this was probably still our best option. I have a feeling we'll be settling for less and paying more in future locations.
Pros:
Two bedrooms = two completely separate working areas
Two bathrooms
Location
Proximity to beach
Proximity to grocery
Walkable to many bars and restaurants
Private outdoor spaces
Outdoor grill
Comfortable, king-sized bed
Fully stocked kitchen
(from Elliott) Trash pickup is twice a week
No neighbors! No one occupied the other half of the duplex the entire time we were there.
Cons
Discovered dishwasher was broken almost immediately, but it wasn't replaced
Pool and jacuzzi not heated and not usable
Grill used charcoal
Weird layout (both bathrooms were downstairs within feet of each other, but second bedroom is upstairs
Loud washer/dryer that can be heard throughout the home
No mail. This was new for us, but USPS doesn't deliver to many (any?) homes on the island. I figured this out the hard way, of course. According to the lady working in the post office, if the sender writes "General Delivery" on the letter or package, the post office will hold it for pick up for one month. Fed Ex and UPS will still deliver.
SPI is known as a spring break destination for college and poorly parented high schoolers. This is probably the best lens through which to view the activities and amenities it offers. Everything seemed to be just a little lower quality than what we've found in other beach destinations. With a few exceptions, all the "beachy" restaurants seemed to have more or less the same menu. There is no real shopping in the area unless you count the dozens of gaudy beach supply and T-shirt shops. You know the type - the shops where you have to walk through a giant shark mouth to enter and there seems to always be a sale where everything is 50% off. And since you can't get mail delivered, Amazon is out. My guess is that most services are on par with what college students would expect. The upside is that I spent almost no money there! Since we were still trying to nail down our budget for travel, this helped set a solid baseline.
There were a couple experiences worth noting.
South Padre Island Jetty
On the southern tip of the island is a park. There is a small fee per vehicle. The park is full of expensive-looking campers. Extending from the park is a long jetty that extends half a mile into the Gulf of Mexico. It's walkable and full of people fishing. On the day we visited, the weather was beautiful, and it felt like an adventure to walk out into the gulf.
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
This wildlife refuge is about half an hour's drive from SPI, and Elliott wanted to run there. I brought Sally to walk while he ran. We parked in a small parking lot, crossed the main road, and walked a couple minutes to graveled road that led to the larger part of the refuge. I was worried that Sally would encounter a poisonous snake, so my head was on a swivel, and I kept her leash short. About five minutes into the walk, I was alarmed to see a large black snake, maybe five feet long and a couple inches in diameter, slither across the path several yards ahead of me. Obviously, that was it for me. Sally was already dragging anyway. I checked on Elliott's location to make sure he was still moving and turned back towards the nature center.
Adjacent to the parking lot is a small area of beautifully maintained trails. Sally and I explored a bit, and settled into a gazebo that had a good view of a clearing where a lot of birds gathered around several feeding trays. It was peaceful, relaxing, and worth the trip.