We returned home last night from South Padre Island. The trip overall was a success with some minor hiccups along the way. My husband left our 10-year-old daughter to make the reservations and did not double check them before booking. This left us with less than ideal sleeping quarters but it was workable.

Four full days of beach time was a bit too much so I suggested we take advantage of some other activities available on the island. I mostly wanted to take advantage of the perfect conditions and go fishing. The entire time we were there the weather was mild with temps in the mid-80’s, the water was very clear (unusual) and the winds calm. The water was so clear that we could see fish swimming under our feet when were swimming! It reminded me of the waters in the Caribbean and Australia.

So, we booked a dolphin sunset tour for the third night and a bay fishing excursion the next morning. We had considered a deep sea fishing trip but it took half a day and our children would likely not do well for such a long period of time. The bay fishing was 4 hours and in shallower water.

The kids really enjoyed the dolphin cruise. Though they had never been on a boat of that size (only kayaks) none were nervous and we had no sea sickness. The dolphins showed up enough that my youngest kept yelling, “Mommy! I saw a shark! I saw it’s fin!” lol He eventually realized it was not a shark toward the end. 🙂

We got to see a beautiful sunset over the bay as well on that trip.

The next morning we rose early and I was able to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. I didn’t get much sleep the entire trip so waking early was no issue. For some reason I struggled to get to sleep while there. When I started to drift off I’d wake suddenly in a panic, my heart racing. I have no idea why this happened.

The fishing trip was fun but my oldest and youngest both had full-on panic attack episodes over the waves rocking the boat. My oldest recovered to the point of actually catching almost as many fish as me. My youngest took longer. He had to sit in the captain’s cabin to recover. We caught lots of fish. I lost count of how many I caught but among them were sand trout, whiting, catfish and a black tipped shark (oh and one crab but that doesn’t count). Adrian caught four keepers and we ended up with enough fish to have fish tacos for lunch. None of the fish were very big but it was still fun.

While on the boat I was in heaven. I could have stayed out on the water all day. The rocking of the boat caused me no issues whatsoever which was a surprise. I am prone to seasickness. The weather was so mild, the water blue and the skies cloud-free. The rocking of the boat was relaxing to the point that I found myself in a kind of meditative state. I remember daydreaming about living there and working on a boat. I told my husband I wish I could have stayed out on the water all day every day. The only thing missing was catching a bigger fish, one that gave a good fight. I suggested to my husband that we take a trip, just the two of us, and fish the entire time. That would be so awesome. I doubt it will ever happen. He is not into fishing like I am. 😦

Something odd that happened after the fishing trip was that for the next 24 hours whenever I would close my eyes I could still feel the boat rocking in a very real way. My oldest two children complained about the feeling. I actually liked it. It felt somewhat like I was plastered drunk without the sick/spinning part anyway. Unfortunately, it kept me from falling asleep. I didn’t really mind, though.

The other part of the trip that I enjoyed was being in the water and floating on my back while the waves rocked me back and forth. This particular beach was perfect because of the sand bars. They broke up the typical riptides making for perfect swimming conditions. We could go out hundreds of feet from the beach without worry of being swept away. The sand bars extended even further than that.

As I assumed would happen, the drive to and from South Padre was the most challenging. We rented a Dodge Caravan so the kids could move around freely and boy did they ever. Moments of quiet were rare. Fights broke out often and my husband insisted on chatting throughout. I just wanted silence or music. I didn’t get my way. 😦 Eventually, I just laughed through the crazy moments, poking fun at myself for being irritated at my kids for being kids. I thought to myself, “If I had gone on this trip without them I would miss this chaos and their energy.” I ended up laughing so hard I cried one time because Elek kept screaming at the top of his lungs for no reason at all except to scream.

Here are some photos of the trip.

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