Scootin'...

Yeah, I remember that scootin' stuff - seems like there hasn't been time for it lately.  Or, the wind has been blowing like stink.  (springtime in the coastal Tropical Tip).

In our island village...

Heading across the bridge to get off the island (yes, we did see a dolphin playing)...

Today is Good Friday... and it is a good Friday; lovely weather.  It is also Holy Week, (Semana Santa as it is known in Mexico)... or sometimes called "Hell Week" by some of the local merchants.  It is a holiday week in Mexico, and South Padre Island is a beach destination for a lot of Mexican nationals.  Due to long wait times at the border, local news folks have been forecasting a smaller crowd this year.  You wouldn't know it by the traffic coming into town (or the family crowds in Wally World)...

Traffic was backed up for several miles outside of town, with people heading to the island.  Notice in the photo above, there is no traffic for those of us heading out.  Of course, there is the realization that we will have to deal with that traffic when we come back home (maybe it will have thinned out by then?).

Turning north on the road just outside of Laguna Vista, we are treated to brand new road...

This road has been crappy, so this is good thing.  I've said it before, but the riding here leaves a lot to be desired (flat, not much for curves)...

We had the road mostly to ourselves, then turned off on the road that leads to the Laguna Atascos National Wildlife Refuge...

Looks like there is about 3 miles of road that still needs to be replaced to get to the Refuge - we chose to turn off rather than ride on unpaved and/or freshly oiled road surface.  This road has been horrible for over a decade, and now well over a year in the rebuilding process.  Granted, there is not a lot of traffic to the National Wildlife Refuge these days, but I'm not sure that it isn't due to the near-off-roading you had to do to get there.  Maybe soon?  We have been saying that for years.

We rode inland into a building crosswind.  After a while, we decided to turn around and head back the same way.  Truly, not much to look at out there.  Still, it was good to be riding again.  Coming back into town, the traffic was backed up even further...

Bumper to bumper, stop and go.  We had to stick it out until we got into town far enough to get to a side street that goes through (part of Port Isabel is also an island).  On the way, we passed this sign,,,

It is indicating a speed bump, but the 13 year old inside of me still snickers when we ride this way.

Crossing the bridge back onto our island, another dolphin sighting; it's pretty much all we get since the boat is still in storage.

Joan and Rufus are now out on the deck - with the temp in the 79 to 80º range, it is quite pleasant outside.  As soon as I click "Publish" on this post, I will join them.  :-)