South Padre Island

A nice place down near Mexico.
Here's the first set of photos from our
recent trip to the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Seagulls, Waves, and Seaweed




An Offering


My Favorite Time
I sunburn too easily, so early evening is when
the beach starts being fun for me. The light was
great for the seagulls, then it's time to work
with longer exposures as darkness creeps in.

Sunset-Laguna Madre


Moon Over The Gulf




Shifting Sands
The dunes march across the narrow island, only to
disappear into the waters of the Laguna Madre.
It's difficult for life to cling to the moving sand hills,
like these flowering railroad ivy that seem to surf across
the surface.


When the sand threatens to cover P100, the only road
north out of town, there's earthmoving equipment ready
to clear the lanes.


After only a few more miles, there's no way to stay ahead of
the game and no more civilization, so why bother?


Shrimp Boats
By noon the fishing boats are done for the day.
These were docked at Port Isabel, on the mainland
just across the bridge from South Padre Island.
People work over here, and play over there.




Texas Longhorns
Here are a pair I found on South Padre, at
the horse rental corrals.

Mission San Jose

Here are a few more from my favorite mission.
These were taken on April 2, 2005.
While I was there the bells began to ring at an odd time, and didn't stop.
That's how I found out that
Pope John Paul II had just passed away.

Father's Day

I needed inside help to access this particular plane.
Had we been spotted there's a good chance that some interrogation
would have ruined our afternoon.
But bagging this shot on Father's Day was worth taking the chance.

The McNay Art Museum

A popular place among photographers, there were
quite a few of us working the various spots on the
grounds; some posing kids, others shooting the
sculptures.
I'm sure it's nice inside, too. I just never made it
that far.

The main entrance:


A newer part of the building:


The Fountain:


Traditional Sculpture:


Modern Sculpture of a man running up the wall:


Cracked Column:

The Riverwalk At Night

Both of these feature the Augusta Street bridge.
This is on the north end of the river, where there's no
restaurants or bars. It's a nice place to sit on
a bench and sweat buckets.

At sunset:



A long exposure, half an hour later:

Walkin' Around Boerne

St. Peter's Catholic Church:





"Rustic"
A boarded-up old barn window I found.
(Note the booze bottle stashed on the sill).




"Southeast Wind"



"Folk Art"
This is a closeup of a life-sized piece of
folk art on a sidewalk.
A boy and girl look on as their puppy goes for
a drink.
I liked the real running water.
It was hot, and I wanted some.


"Horses In The Streets"
Actually, an old carousel horse that was for sale
at a booth during Market Days.

My Backyard Buddy

This green anole lives just outside my back door.
I visit with him daily, and spray some water drops
onto poinsettia leaves for him to drink.
I think it's the same one from last year, just
bigger. A real stud. Last year he killed two
bumblebees. Not to eat them; I think they just
pissed him off. He earned my respect that day.
Hope a bird doesn't eat him.

Spurs Lane

When the Spurs built their new state-of-the-art practice
facility, they had to make a brand new street to get there.
I wonder how long it took to come up with the name?
Just a reminder that tonight is Game 1 of the
NBA Championship Finals.
San Antonio vs the Detroit Pistons, the last two NBA
champs are going to slug it out, East against West.
(North against South is more accurate, but that's not how
the NBA is divided.)
Got Beer?

It's Train Photo Time Again

This old bridge crosses Cibolo Creek just north of
Nacogdoches and Evans Roads. If you're in South Texas or
linked here from RRF, you know why I'm praying "Please Don't Derail"
as I shot this.

River Traffic Signal

When your waterway is downtown, you need to control
traffic the downtown way: With a signal!

Observe Much?

I took this photo a while ago but didn't know what the deal was with
this building that's near the Municipal Auditorium.
Still don't know any history, but the observatory on
top is cool.
Tonight I walked past the street entrance and discovered
that it's now a lawyer's office.
And that there actually IS a telescope in the mini-observatory, but it's
the crappy kind you can buy at WalMart for 79 bucks.
Further proof that lawyers are often very stupid.

End Of An Era

The Tower of the Americas is now closed for the next year.
It will get a complete restoration, top to bottom.
Landry's Restaurants of Houston got the new contract to operate
the Tower. It had been run by the same people since it opened
in 1968, but I guess the new folks from out of town made
the city an offer it couldn't refuse.