# Royale Beach Resort South Padre Island



## Kauai Kid (May 3, 2011)

Arrived here Saturday night.  Very nice resort with view of the Gulf and Bay.  We haven't  hit a bad restaurant yet.  The wind has been gusting 23-35 mph since we arrived and on the north end of the island the San Dunes have drifted halfway across the highway.  You expect Lawrence of Arabia to come galloping over the top.

More later:

Sterling


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## pianodinosaur (May 4, 2011)

Have a great time.  Glad to know the food is good.


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## Kauai Kid (May 4, 2011)

Maintenance has never answered any requests.  Perhaps because we are exchangers.  Bring your own can of WD-40 to oil up squeeky doors, etc. 

Extremely windy since Saturday 25-35 mph.  Hoping it will calm down this afternoon so we can go on a Dolphin watch.

Sterling


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## Catira (May 4, 2011)

Kauai Kid said:


> Maintenance has never answered any requests.  Perhaps because we are exchangers.  Bring your own can of WD-40 to oil up squeeky doors, etc.
> 
> Extremely windy since Saturday 25-35 mph.  Hoping it will calm down this afternoon so we can go on a Dolphin watch.
> 
> Sterling



Hope the weather improved for you today. There is a brewery on the main st at south padre island. How warm is the beach water? My daughter was down there this past weekend and said the water was still a bit cold.


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## Kauai Kid (May 4, 2011)

Will check out the brewery tomorrow.  A few people were surfing this afternoon without wet suits and water didn't feel really cold to me.

Got to fly  my puppy kite in loving memory of my Shih Tzu Bo, and a few healthy tears were shed.  He died from kidney cancer two years ago.

Windy really calmed down and we went out with Fin and Feathers for an enjoyable 3 hr tour.  Watched the Captain of a crew boat of oil rig workers back his boat into an incredibly small space to let off a bunch of tired men.

We saw cranes, egrets, skimmers, and finally a pod of dolphins.  The Captain takes his dog, Rozzie, along and she alerts everyone when she spots a dolphin.  She seems to sense the Dolphins well before we humble humans can even see them with binoculars.

The highlight was seeing three mother Dolphins with 3 babies.  One of the calves still had her white birth wrinkles.  Highly recommended trip for all.

Off to the crab races this evening.  Hope we don't get busted because of placing a few bets on the crabs.  :hysterical:  


Sterling


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## pianodinosaur (May 5, 2011)

I am a dog lover and a urologist.  Bo must have been a very special member of your family. 

It sounds like there is a great deal to do in South Padre.  Glad you are having a good time.


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## Kauai Kid (May 5, 2011)

Far more to do than you will have time for in a week.

Went on a Dolphin viewing tour with Fin and Feathers.  Most enjoyable tour on a pontoon boat with the Dolphin spotter Rossie the rescue dog,.  Finally were rewarded with a pod of Dolphins including 3 mothers and babies.  Extremely difficult to photograph as they take a  breath in about a second much faster than the Humpback Whales I'm familiar with.

The DEA was checking incoming boats and with their four 250 hp Mercury engines I doubt that anyone was going to outrun them.  They stopped an outgoing shrimp boat apparently for excess cash or the chemicals to make drugs.

Thursday the wind is down to five knots and the beach isn't all stirred up with sand in the water.

Sterling


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## Kauai Kid (May 5, 2011)

We ate at White Sands Restaurant today for lunch.  Those who had the $4.95 special couldn't eat all the Thursday special and for $5.95 the eats were so generous we honestly left half the plate of steak.

Visited the SPI birding center today. It has almost one mile of board walks, 7 blinds, and enough activities to keep you busy for a half day.  A must see. Board walk is easily accessible for folks needing wheelchairs.  Be certain you don't lean over the rail as there is a hungry gator waiting for Yankee munchees.   

Turtles are laying their eggs on the beach now and the Turtle Patrol checks several times a day to see about turtle nests.  Yesterday they removed 150 eggs from a nest.  Sea Turtle Inc has a 90% survival rate for the baby turtles and in the wild they have a 10% chance.  Great Organization.
,
The clerk informed me that they are getting many Mexican middle class families vacationing here rather than Mexico because of the violence in Mexico.  Last weekend there were more cars with Mexican license plates than folks from the US.  Many beautiful big eyed babies with cute smiles.




Sterling


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## Catira (May 5, 2011)

Kauai Kid said:


> We ate at White Sands Restaurant today for lunch.  Those who had the $4.95 special couldn't eat all the Thursday special and for $5.95 the eats were so generous we honestly left half the plate of steak.
> 
> Visited the SPI birding center today. It has almost one mile of board walks, 7 blinds, and enough activities to keep you busy for a half day.  A must see. Board walk is easily accessible for folks needing wheelchairs.  Be certain you don't lean over the rail as there is a hungry gator waiting for Yankee munchees.
> 
> ...



Wow seems like you are having a great vacation. The wind finally calmed down and the weather temps. seems to be great. I've never heard of that restaurant.. will have to check it out when we go in August. Don't forget to get a "blizzard" ice cream at Dairy Queen


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## Kauai Kid (May 8, 2011)

Finally after getting irritated at the front desk clerk maintenance showed up and fixed everything except the serated steak knives that wouldn't cut hot butter.

I got a luggage cart to check out with and the wheels hadn't been oiled ever so it squeaked  horribly.  Out came the WD 40 and at least one of their carts won't squeak for a while.

If you go be sure to take some good sharp knives and a can of WD40.

Sterling


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## pianodinosaur (May 8, 2011)

A Ginzu might make a fine Mother's Day present.


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## riverdees05 (May 8, 2011)

We were on SPI several years ago the week between Christmas and New Years and it was real windy the entire week.


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## Kauai Kid (May 8, 2011)

riverdees05 said:


> We were on SPI several years ago the week between Christmas and New Years and it was real windy the entire week.



I believe it calmed down on Wed to 15-20 mph.  Earlier in the week there were gusts to 40!!

The border patrol, homeland security, Texas Rangers with Glocks and Uzi's, and DEA were out in force at a mandatory stop 20 miles north of SPI in the middle of no where.  They had German Shepard looking dogs sniffing cars and trucks. They were not Grandma's lap dog.   Probably 100 officers and around 20 dogs and a helicopter.  Probably because of Bin Laden's death.  


After that, we didn't need any more coffee.


Sterling


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