PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE

     What can we say about this beautiful barrier island just off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas... Paradise!  If you love the beach and you don't mind dry camping then this is the place for you!  It is the most peaceful and relaxing place that we have been to thus far and all for a whopping $8.00 a day, or $4.00 a day with the Golden Age Pass.  Our two weeks passed much too quickly.

     We stayed at the Malaquite Campground where there are individual campsites.  On the beach side there are sites with grills and shade structures over a concrete patio where your table sits.  On the opposite side of the road there are campsites with tables on the pavement delineated by white lines.  There are restrooms with cold showers and a fresh water faucet.  Just outside the campground is the dump station and fresh water fill station whenever you need it.  There's also camping over at the Bird Island Basin on the bay side of the island.  For the braver soul you can drive your RV right on the beach on either the North or South Beach and stay for free.

     There's plenty to do here at the beach.  Walking, jogging, biking (Yes, I said biking on the beach), fishing or taking your 4X4 for a drive on the 60 miles of coastline.  If you drive South about 20 miles you will hit Little Shell Beach, then Big Shell Beach, for those of you that like to collect various Sea Shells.  Or you can do nothing and just relax, enjoying the sun, sand and warm weather.  Notice I didn't say swimming!  Swimming is permitted at your own risk, there are no lifeguards.  However, the reason we would not venture in the water were the Portuguese Man-O-War that we saw every day washed up with the high tide.

     When we first arrived at Padre Island it was raining.  The following day was sunny, but the 4 days after that were cloudy and cool.  It was a challenge to our Solar Panel to keep our battery charged.  We had to run our generator at times to top off the battery.  Our RV was designed with only one Group 24 house battery, rated at 85 amp hours.  You can't run a whole lot with this set up, but we do manage for the most part to keep our lights, water pump, hot water heater, propane alarm and refrigerator circuit panel operating.  We don't have enough battery power or a large inverter to run heavy electronics like a TV or microwave.

     We are a "work in progress" and are evaluating all of our systems.  We certainly want to add additional batteries at some point, but would need to give up a storage compartment.  With that we would need another one or two solar panels to keep them all charged.  We thought about a wind turbine during the cloudy days, but where do we store it when not in use?  We have limited storage and are a little overweight as it is!

     Anyway, Padre Island is a NO BRAINER!  Where else can you go and stay at a beautiful beachfront facility at this price?  It is the perfect RV Winter getaway!  It is only 13 miles from town and about 20 miles to Walmart.  We will certainly visit this wonderful place again!

FP & RG