Settling in...

It was a warm, sunny morning when we first got up.  Last night, Joan had suggested that we go out for breakfast to Pier 19 today, then go see how things are progressing in Isla Blanca Beach Park.  By the time we got cleaned up, the sky had gone solid overcast... and then a light rain.  Checking weather, it looks to be an all-day event.

We enjoy Pier 19 - every table/booth has a view of the water; and, the food is good.  There is live music (very mellow guitarist/singer) on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Not fancy, but a nice atmosphere.

From the causeway, we could see a large white aerostat blimp by the Coast Guard station - that is new.  We knew we'd have a better view of it from the park...

These generally contain low altitude radar than can detect aircraft coming over the border.  I can't say for certain that is the purpose for this one, but it looks like others we have seen.

The new amphitheater in the park is coming along nicely...

There are a lot of changes in store for the park - this looks like it will be a nice addition.  Going by the water on the bay side, pelicans and one of the excursion boats...

Driving around to the Gulf side of the park, more big changes underway...

They are tearing out the road that ran by the beach.  There is still access to the beach, but it is kind of a mess right now.  Work has begun on putting up another beach pavilion set back 100 yards or so from where they tore down the other one.  I'm guessing this project will take some time... well, nothing moves at a face pace here.  But, this is pretty extensive.  A sign showing what one of the beach pavilions will look like...

This is truly a world-class beach, but the facilities have been ... um... rustic.  The price for an annual pass to the park has more than doubled over the last few years, with nothing much to show for that increase.  It will be some time in the making, but should be nice when done.

We drove up the island - didn't see a lot of changes, but it all looks nice.  Not much traffic out and about; not because of the rain, this is just a quiet (between seasons) time of the year.

It was nice to be able to just "tourist around" this morning.