It's an abomindation!

 

An abomination, I tell ya!  "Religion and societal beliefs?" you ask.  I don't go there on this blog.  Besides, this is far worse.

Out for a motorcycle ride this morning, it is very apparent that this is "the slow time" of the year: pretty quiet on South Padre Island.  Especially for a Saturday, with some downright lovely weather.  Oh, the restaurants that are open for breakfast seem to have cars in their parking lots, but not many people out and about.  The typical morning walkers and joggers along the walking/bike lane on Gulf Blvd.  The beach access parking lots are more empty than full.

No, that's not the abomination - I like this mellow time of the year.  To me, it doesn't last long enough, but I know some of the businesses would like to see more traffic.  One "casualty" of this typical October lull: Burger Fi has a sign on their door that says, "Restaurant closed for maintenance until further notice."  Same with Senior Donkey.  And Captain Roy's Seafood Restaurant, but it looks like there may be a change of ownership happening there.  In a resort area that needs a constant turnover of visitors, October is tough.

"What about the abomination?" you ask.  I'm getting to it.  There are a lot of beach shops on the island, and almost all of them have a bunch of golf carts for rent.  These are not your typical golf cart - there are many 6, 8, or 10 passenger versions.  Personally, I don't see the attraction for people driving to the island, then renting a 10 passenger golf cart... to drive around the island.  It is not unusual to see kids not in car seats or even strapped in with these oversized golf carts.  Often, Mom up front driving, then the rest of the family scattered about the back seats.  No, that isn't the abomination, just an observation.  The rentals for these carts are advertised at $125 per day.  That may be for the 4 place carts - I have no need for one.  I see the use of a 2 or 4 place cart on our island, for going to and from the carbage or the mailboxes.  That is why I have a little $350 electric scooter... I have never had the desire to own a golf cart.  To me, it is like admitting that you are too old to walk the 6 blocks to the garbage.  And I truly don't get the fun of driving around this small island for "happy hour."  That's not to say that I don't think others should do it - recreate however you want, as long as it doesn't impact others.

"Um, the abomination?"  Geeze, keep your shirt on.  Well, you ladies do whatever you want with your shirt.  In the past year or so, the beach shops have started renting Slingshots.  No, not the thing Dennis the Menace carried in his back pocket.  A Slingshot is a 3-wheel conveyance made by Polaris (yes, the same company that makes Indian motorcycles, UTVs, and snowmobiles).  Some motorcyclists think these are an abomination...

I would not be in that group.  I think the Slingshot is quite interesting: recreational, like a motorcycle; a steering wheel, like a car.  In some states, they are licensed as a motorcycle, and if helmets are required in that state, you have to wear one when you drive (not ride) this.  Nothing particularly practical about them - no top, so you aren't going to use it as a commuter or for daily driving.  No doors.  It doesn't lean like a motorcycle.  Still, there is something kinda of hooligan about this conveyance to me.  We had talked about renting one in the Black Hills, but the motorcycle riding is just to good to give up any of that time.

The rentals on these things here on SPI has been higher than for a golf cart.  I don't seem them out on the road often, and the places renting them don't seem to have empty spots on their lot, where a Slingshot has been rented.  Just like with motorcycling, no "fun" roads here (I have to assume that the Slingshot would be more fun on a twisty road)... so instead of renting a 2-seat conveyance like this, most people go for an 8 or 10 seat golf cart.  To me, that would be about as much fun as renting a short school bus.  But, the "party crowd" that comes to the island seems to enjoy driving around, honking at other golf carts, raising a glass, and hooting at members of the opposite sex (or however one identifies oneself).  I can absolutely guarantee you that there is no golfing being done with these island rental golf carts.

And now (finally!) the abomination: it is less money to split a Slingshot rental 4 ways instead of two, so someone started making 4 seat Slingshots for the rental market.  And, if that wasn't abomination enough, now there are 6-seat Slingshots...

These are not made by (nor sanctioned by) Polaris.  Someone is doing a "chop job" on these.  I would question the integrity of the build, if you were using one of these the way the Polaris engineers imagined people would be using an actual Slingshot.

Looks like all the fun and practicality of a 6-seat Miata.  And this, my friends, is an abomination.  It is interesting to me what passes for vacation entertainment... when a large family or a group of friends goes on vacation together, a different kind of mentality takes over... you do things you wouldn't do at home... and the individual IQ drops 20 points (or more) as the crowd mentality comes out.

"Hey, that looks like fun..."