Payback...

My brother-in-law John is visiting for a few days. This is kind of a big deal... we've been inviting him to come down here for years, and this is his first visit. It's been a cold winter back in Iowa, and the break will do him good.

We gave John the city circle tour this morning. Well, more like the island circle tour. We showed him around Long Island and then drove across the causeway to show him South Padre Island. I’ve often said people either get it and they love this area... or they don’t get the lifestyle and don’t care for it. Just guessing, but I think John is leaning towards the latter. No doubt, end of the road places are not for everyone, but we hope he will enjoy his visit.

We stopped for a while to watch some people kite surfing; seems John was not too excited to hear that we signed him up for lessons. I don’t know what the big deal is - the water temp is up to 65º! (Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!)

After lunch out, John and I went out for the afternoon on the boat.

John taught me to drive a stick shift when I first got my learner’s permit. He taught me to fly when I was 16. He probably doesn’t know that he was an important male influence when I was growing up. It felt good today to be able to show him how we live down here and let him take the helm on Wild Blue. I gave him some guidance and he was soon driving the boat like an old pro.


We had a great afternoon on the water; the tour of the Port Isabel shrimp basin, down the Brownsville Ship Channel, including watching dolphins swim by the boat and leap out of the water. Back in time for sunset and drinks on the deck. Nice day.