Oh, what a beautiful morning...

Oh, what a beautiful day.  Musical theater, anyone?

Clear blue sky and moderate temps when I paddled a couple laps first thing this morning.  Before cleaning up for the day, I washed the truck and cargo trailer.  We are on water restrictions here, so vehicle washing is only allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays... birds seem to do the most crapping on Thursdays and Sundays.  And we have big birds around here.

It is officially May.  The resort where we live has two distinct seasons: Winter Texan season, which runs December through April, and the summer renter season, which runs May through September.  I'm not anti-social, but October and November are my favorite months here... the weather is still warm, without being stifling hot; and it is quiet.  The Chamber on South Padre Island does a lot of promoting, bringing people to the island... but that is only weekends.  I am a big fan of "the shoulder seasons."

Winter Texan season is just what you'd expect: retired folks who come here to escape the frozen northland.  The resort is a happening place, with activities from golf and tennis to dances and dinners.  Golf carts are a popular form of transportation on our island, even for those who don't golf.  This place isn't a 55+ resort, but you'd think it was.

Summer renter season is just about the opposite... oh, there are golf carts running around, but they are often being driven by a 10 year-old, even though there are signs saying you must have a drivers license to drive a golf cart.  RV sites in the resort are dwindling as houses get built; the RVs coming in for the summer are more small travel trailers, designed for weekending as opposed to motorhomes and 5th wheels made for extended living.  Instead of a couple in a 40 foot RV, it is a family of 8 in a 20 foot TT.  Full size grills and other summer "amenities" are unloaded from pickup trucks.  Instead of old folks doing exercises in the pool, there are hordes of screaming kids.

The winter folks are inside by 8:30 in the evening; the summer folks are just ramping up as it gets dark.

Summer can be hot in the Rio Grande Valley, but it is always cooler on the coast.  There are a lot of people from the Valley who come here during the summer to get away from the heat (it was 15º cooler here, compared to the Valley, inland 20 miles, last week when new high temperature records were set), and play on the beach.

This is the first weekend in May... lots of "moving in" today.  It's about this time most years that we are gearing up for moving out.  ;-)

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A sure sign: I put away the dinghy yesterday.  The motor has been flushed, the carb drained, and it is in its "travel mount."  We carried the dinghy to the truck today, and put it in its travel spot.  That dinghy is the replacement for the one we had that came apart... it's supposed to be the same size and weight.  Not even close.  With the carrying cases side by side, the new one takes up about 25% more space.  And my aching back tells me it is heavier, too.  I suppose some might say the same thing about me.  ;-)