Dec 23, 2019
While Andy Bowie was close the beach price was not worth the poor bathrooms and wifi. There are only three choices for RV parks on South Padre Island and we went to check the other two. One was a very nice looking KOA that was a non-starter since it was way too expensive at around $80 a night. The other option was another county park which was a larger version of Andy Bowie but with no beach. It was obvious that South Padre Island was not going to be a good choice for RV parks so we did what we usually do when we are stuck, we stopped and had lunch. We pulled in next to a beach stuff store which featured a huge shark for its entrance. Olivia and I went to check the store out while Holly made lunch. The store was full of merchandise geared towards spring breakers and didn’t even have a decent selection of sand toys so it did not keep our attention for long.
We went back out to the RV for lunch and afterwards decided to try our luck at Port Isabel, right over the bridge from South Padre Island. Unfortunately the RV parks in Port Isabel were truly terrible and even more expensive. One RV park that looked almost post-apocalyptic wanted $50 a night with no wifi or showers. Oh well, we just dumped and filled water so we were good for a few days and there was a Walmart in Port Isabel so we decided to just forget about finding an RV park and have fun instead.
South Padre Island has a Pirate Boat Cruise and I was able to find a Groupon for just $49 for two people so I booked a 4:00 PM cruise. We got to the cruise spot a couple hours early and basically just hung around for a few hours until it was time to go on the boat. There was a nice pier where people where fishing so we walked along that.
When it was time for the cruise the first thing they did was to fire a cannon from the dock before we all boarded the boat. The crew were dressed like pirates and had a non-stop spiel and activities for the entire two hour cruise. They told stories, organized water gun fights, sword fights and treasure hunts to keep the kids busy. In addition we had several dolphin sightings as we cruised to the mouth of the harbor and back. Olivia particularly enjoyed the sword fighting and she got her turn with the foam sword she really laid it into the pirate crew. We also enjoyed a lovely sunset as we returned to the dock.
It was dinnertime when we returned and after the cruise we were feeling like having seafood so we went to Joe’s Oyster Bar and Restaurant. I got the Deluxe fried Seafood platter with fried fish, shrimp, oysters and a small fried stuffed crab for $14, Holly got the grilled shrimp, fish and oyster platter for the same price while Olivia got her usual chicken strips. My fried fish, shrimp and oysters were good although the stuffed crab tasted like it was just stuffed with regular stuffing. Holly’s grilled platter was excellent though, especially the grilled oysters. All dishes came with cole slaw and French fries and provided a good amount of seafood for the price. We would definitely return to Joe’s if we ever come back to Port Isabel. After dinner we just went to the Walmart and turned in for the night.
