Sea Turtle, Inc...

We started our morning off with breakfast at Manuel's - one of Steph's "must do" things while here.  The breakfast tortillas are outstanding, so that is an easy pick.  From there, a stop at one of her favorite shops by the lighthouse, ArtSea; the folks who have that are friendly and have lots of interesting things in their shop, many hand-made.  It is a definite step above and refreshing change from the myriad beach shops.

Back home to regroup, feed Rufus, and on to SPI.  We showed her the changes at the Isla Blanca Beach Park, including the amphitheater under construction and the dune reclamation project.

From there, it was on to Sea Turtle, Inc...

Sea Turtle, Inc is a turtle rescue/rehabilitation and education facility.  Their main emphasis is on the endangered Kemp's Ridley turtles that have South Padre Island as one of two places in the world where they lay their eggs.  There are other Sea Turtles that make the Gulf their home, and they are represented here, as well.  A couple months ago, they opened their new Education Facility, which is huge and modern compared to the old facility that is now their hospitalization/rehabilitation area.  It is impressive.

Going into the new area...

Yes, Steph has a flair for the dramatic - no idea where she gets that from.

Joan, walking through a display that shows what the turtles see with plastics in the water...

The boardwalk between the new portion of the facility and the old...

Checking out the rehab tanks...

Sharkbite!

Back to the new facility where we took in an educational presentation, checked out the displays, and visited the gift shop...

This display allowed you to crawl under and put your head in a dome so you got a "turtle's eye view"...

Did I mention: drama?

A young girl by one of the viewing windows in the tank, to get some perspective on size...

Allison, the one flipper turtle and a friend...

If you look close in the photo above, Allison (the one on the bottom) has a rudder strapped to her shell to allow her to maneuver.

A display showing the relative actual sizes of the various Sea Turtles...

The facility is very well done - this new portion is a very nice addition to the community.

A warm day, but Dairy Queen helps.  Then, back home, where Steph got to see the new Vespa up close and personal.  The word "cute" was mentioned quite a few times... not by me.

We discussed a sunset cruise to look for some dolphins, but the wind has kicked up... maybe tomorrow.  Steph would like to see some dolphins and I want to make that happen for her.

That girl is still here...

Rufus and I have a routine most mornings: I get up, feed him, then get my hot chocolate, Joan's coffee, and morning snacks ready.  Then settle in to watch some morning news.

This morning, Rufus came and stood on my chest while I was still in bed... "She's still here.  That girl didn't go home last night."

"Yes, Rufus, that is Stephanie, our little girl.  If it wasn't for Stephanie, we may not have been a cat family.  She came from a long ways away to see us, and we are happy she is here."

"Oh, OK."

Rufus is pretty understanding like that.  ;-)

We picked Steph up at the airport yesterday - this is really a treat to get to see her this time of year.  Especially this year: she is a teacher in Arizona and the teacher "Walk Out" that happened earlier this month threatened to interfere with this timing for her to come see us.  It was close.

Steph didn't have checked luggage, so it was just a few minutes from first seeing her come down the escalator at the airport to sitting down for supper out at Texas Roadhouse (almost a family tradition when she and Dan come here).  Dan is still working this week (also a teacher, at a different school); this is the first time since they got married that it is Steph here solo.

We had a wonderful visit over supper, then came home to more catching up... it has been two months since we left Phoenix, but it seems longer.  It is a delight to have her here.

The important question you're all thinking: how is Rufus with all this?  Well, Stephanie loves cats, she is crazy about Rufus, and Rufus likes attention... this pretty much plays out for everyone's happiness.  Rufus met Stephanie the first day we adopted him, and has been happy to see her each time since.

We didn't know how Rufus would be with an overnight guest... he slept in his usual place: by our feet.  But, he did want me to know that Steph was still here this morning.  Steph is still asleep, so I quietly got up and fed Rufus... knowing that his meal schedule stays intact, even with company, he is fine with the situation.

We're looking forward to showing Steph around and letting her see what summertime in the Tropical Tip is like - she has only been here once in the summer, and that was 9 years ago.

When the moon hits your eye...

If you said, "Dean Martin," you get 10 bonus points.  If you said, "Who's Dean Martin," get off my lawn ya damn kids!

Did you see the full moon last night?  The May full moon, also known as the "Full Flower Moon," was beautiful.  I'm guessing that "full flower" part doesn't need explanation?

For those who slept through it or were in an area with clouds, here' how it looked...

While it looks like most every other full moon, I enjoy taking it in.  And not having to deal with the public, 'cause they be crazy during the full moon.

I'm so excited...

I just can't hide it.

If you said, "The Pointer Sisters, 1982," you get 250 bonus points.  If you are about to lose control and think you like it, you get 50 more bonus points.

So, you're asking, "Is it because Emerald Guitars is going to announce 4 new models tomorrow, on their 20th anniversary celebration?"  Well, yes, that is exciting.

But, our sweet daughter is coming to visit us tomorrow!  They weren't able to come over Christmas, so they used the tickets for Steph to be able to come here, and Dan gets to go back to Wisconsin in June for a family birthday party.  Plus, they are done with school for the season and get the rest of their time off together.  Everybody wins!  We are very excited to have Steph here with us for a few days.

Warm, humid, and windy today - we took a day off from the boat.  We did ride the scoots to go have BBQ for lunch.  As we get some shade on the front side of the house, I'll be a bit productive and check tires and fluids on the scoots today... that should be enough effort.

What about Rufus?  Yes, he is excited that Stephanie is coming.  What?  How's he doing?  He is fine - he is a happy boy and a good boy.  He eats, sleeps, and plays; he is my almost constant companion.  Regarding the sleeping: he can sleep most anywhere...

His favorite toy is still the lightweight pop-up tent/house - he doesn't just go in it, he knocks it around and rolls all over the living room in it...

Wrapping up a holiday weekend...

I remember the days of 3-day weekends... trying to squeeze a "mini-vacation" into those 72 hours.  I don't miss that.

Living in a resort area, we are very cognizant of the crowds who come to the coast for their get-aways.  In fact, we plan around that, so we aren't caught in traffic on the main drag.  We avoid our local restaurants when we know there will be crowds and waits.

I was surprised last night when Joan said, "Pier 19 has that breakfast you really like as their Monday Special - want to take the scoots and go over there early?  Maybe we'll get in before the crowds are out of bed?"

While she had me at "breakfast," she really set the hook with scooters, some riding, and that special... I'm in.

We got there just before 8:00 and didn't have to wait for a table.  The food was good.  You could tell by the wait staff that it had been a long weekend.  When we were done, we took a chance and rode around the island a bit - the motels looked plenty busy and the restaurants that serve breakfast had lots of cars in their parking.  Looks like a good start to the summer season here.

Before heading for home, Joan asked if I wanted to take the boat out before it got too hot.  Again: I'm in!

I prepped the boat while she got drinks for us.  It is another beautiful day here, with sunny skies, warm temps, and a nice breeze.  Heading out our canal, I could see the tops of a couple barge boats across the land.  Turning out of our canal, the first one was a tug pushing a couple barges...

As we came up on him, we could see that he had intentionally run the front barge against the shore on the far side of our island.  This isn't unusual, if they have to wait to get into the Port of Brownsville.  About that time, the radio crackled - a Coast Guard small boat was calling this tug to see if he had a problem...

"No, sir - we're just waiting for our orders for docking."  He wasn't the only one...

This tug was also sitting - easy to see why when we got to this point...

An outbound tanker had departed the Port of Brownsville.  We heard the Port calling another tanker who is inbound that "... it will be 20 minutes before you are cleared for entry to the Brazos-Santiago Channel (aka the jetties).  A busy holiday for the Port, with one tanker leaving, another coming in, and two tugs waiting their turn for that same narrow stretch of water.

Before we could get to the ship channel for a closer look, another view popped up...

"Well, I guess we should watch for a minute or two."  ;-)

You can tell from the background, that we aren't even out of the turning basin, yet.  (That barge above has a crane on it that is setting pilings for the docks there.)

Moving down to the ship channel, we watched the departing tanker...

There were all kinds of small fishing boats and jet-skis scurrying about.  The only other vessel that was taking the time to enjoy the scenery and what's in it...

Fins to Feathers, another dolphin watch excursion boat - this one is a 6-pack operator; no, not cracking open beers, they are set up for no more than 6 passengers.  We make it a point to stay out of the commercial operators' way - we're doing this for the fun of it.  We passed by them and found some more dolphins who looked like they needed some watchin'.  ;-)

One of the dolphins tossed something into the air - we at first thought it might be teaching a baby to jump... nope, it's a fish.  That's unusual.

This one surprised us, popping up right next to the boat...

NoFin...

Looking down the ship channel to the jetties, the next tanker coming in...

Back to the dolphins...

Shooting fast, they aren't all in focus...

Well, the boat seat is crisp.  ;-)

Time to head for home.  We saw this flying overhead...

I had to crop in close to tell what it is: an ultralight on floats.  Not much opportunity to use one of those around here, considering our typical winds.  Looks like fun, though.

Coming back around the west side of our island, that first tug and barges have changed it up a bit...

He unhooked from the back and is holding the barges in the shallow water from the side.  I guess his wait extended out a bit.

Just before turning into our canal...

 
The guy in the small fishing boat is getting a visit from the Texas Game Warden boat.  Hope his catch is in order.

Nice to not be on the road this holiday weekend.