We had a really long driving day from Louisiana to Brownsville, Texas (540 miles), but here we are now on the opposite side of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida. In the Keys we watch the sun set over the Gulf, but here on the Texas side we watch the sun rise.

We’re on South Padre Island now, staying at a KOA campground after several nights of Walmart. We were lucky; we arrived in South Padre Island right after the Texas colleges had finished their Spring Break – and this is where they all go to party!

Since the Spring Break crowd just left, the KOA is nearly empty, so we had our pick of campsites. We look out over the bay on the west side of the island.

Unfortunately, Dale came down with a fever shortly after we left Florida and she’s been pretty much immobilized on the sofa ever since, although she’s starting to feel better now.

Yesterday, while Dale napped, I took the Jeep and went four-wheeling on the beach. You can drive on the sand forever and I went up the coast for 10 miles before the tide started making the drive difficult, narrowing the drivable beach to a car’s width.

Here’s what the driving beach looked like at the start where most of the sunbathers parked.

At the point where I turned around ten miles up the beach, someone had planted a marker on a dune.

I decided to climb up to survey the scene. It was quite a hike from the water’s edge. That’s the Jeep way, way down there.

From the marker, I looked south, then north. Not a soul in sight for miles.

On the drive back, I passed this poor guy who, unfortunately, didn’t understand where you’re supposed to drive (on the hard-packed sand near the water). The local constable was there to supervise, but he wasn’t about to get out of his pickup to help the guy dig his way out.

Today was wash day. I decided to lounge around the pool here at the KOA while I waited for the washing machine to finish.