Getting Ship-shape

In a sea of closing businesses, foreclosures, and record-breaking unemployment rates, it was a great pleasure to cover the celebration of a business enjoying long-standing success.

The owners, Liz and Diane, are successful because they provide great customer service and wonderful merchandise at a great price.

These beautiful candles, made by one of Liz's neighbors, are aromatic and decorative.

They offer skim boards for the beach and nice shirts so you can look stylish on the beach.

There is decor for your home with a soothing tropical theme.

I loved this shirt because it exudes a tropical relaxed feeling that says, "Relax and enjoy paradise."

There are blouses for the ladies,

VERY stylish clothes for men,

and even clothes for stylish little beachgoers.

gorgeous bikinis in every flavor,

and wild fun stripes for your fancy feet.

These summer slip-ons reminded me of delicious, cold watermelon - perfect for summer!

The cool tropical theme could even be found in gold for your ears.

Wouldn't this clock look so cool on your wall?

The turtles in this piece seem as if they are soaring through the ocean with their jeweled backs.

Everyone's favorite question here is, "Is it 5:00 yet?"

This stunning pirate ship was an eye-catcher and a sure conversation piece.

Wouldn't it be cool to take a ride on the real pirate ship we have here but to board the ship with your own hook for a hand? Ship-Shape makes your kid the coolest one on the bARRRRge!

There is even a large section of interesting, educational and fun books.

You owe it to yourself to visit this wonderful store for your outfits, toys, visors, glasses, windchimes and so much more that is not pictured here. These wonderful ladies were kind and friendly, welcoming each new customer and their regulars with a genuine smile. You could tell by the traffic in their store that they knew how to make each customer feel like they were the most important person in the store even while it had many customers. This is the truth and this is why they are celebrating 16 years in business in a time marked by economic turmoil and crisis. Connecting with your customer is the key to success in business and these ladies are proof that they are doing it right. Come feel what it is like at 5212 Padre Blvd. You'll be glad you did.

76 Degrees Today in Paradise

People are enjoying THIS, RIGHT NOW.

Did you know that there is a beautiful, tropical beach right here that you do not have to pay thousands of dollars to fly to RIGHT HERE in Texas. It is called South Padre Island and is in a tropical zone so the weather is the best there is in the United States. Many, many people from up north are down here evading the cold, ugly, horrible snow, sleet, ice, power outages and suffering. Why aren't you here in the sunshine enjoying the beach?

South Padre has two sides: the gulf side and the bay side. This is the bay side. It is calm and perfect for fishing, parasailing, jet skiing, and watching the sunset over dinner and drinks.

Imagine yourself watching a golden sunset here in the balmy tropical warmth.

This is a tropical area where the most populous tree is the palm tree. Wouldn't you expect that in paradise?

I thought I had a good birdseye view but this guy beat me. He must have had a scary view and I am sure he did his best to not look down all day. How much would someone have to offer you to try that job for half a second?

South Padre Island Farmer's Market

I am so proud of the produce down here, maybe because I grew up on one of the farms here that has delightful rich-smelling soil and produces crop after crop of whatever you ask of the earth that when someone mockingly said, "Hey, check out our fresh vegetables. It's all we got down here," it bothered me. I love to cook and eat and consider both a great pleasure. As a cook, I appreciate the beauty of the produce here. Can you find a better specimen of cauliflower than these that I found yesterday?


















A diet rich in vegetables and fresh fruits helps you live longer and feel better.

Having fresh produce allows for such more variety and beauty in a menu.
This sandwich was made with fresh tomatoes, onions and spinach.

Incredible Port Isabel Chiles Rellenos/Tamales

One of the foods I HATE to make is chilles rellenos. It is right up there next to tamales on the list, "Homemade Foods My Family Will Never Get because it is too Much of a Hassle." These foods are delicious but making them is so meticulous and involved it is not a pleasure as opposed to other delicious foods that are a snap to make. Well, today I found a lovely little place in Port Isabel that makes them for you at a ridiculous $1.00 each. I will be featuring this little place in our series, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island Area," on todopadre23.blogspot.com because of this incredible offer of theirs. I couldn't believe this lady was standing there waiting for me to order her handiwork for such a low price. I HATE making them and there they were: hot, delicious, fried and full of cheese. Could you ask for anything better when you are hungry and don't want to cook?

Now it is, Friday, January the 23rd and I went back to that place to get the name of it for you. It is called the El Valle Tortilleria next to Mata's Market right on Highway 100 on the right when you are coming off of the causeway FROM South Padre Island. The beauty of this deal is you can take the chiles rellenos home and add rice, beans, salad, or whatever you wish to it and you don't have to deal with the tedious, frustrating messy details of making them yourself and for such an incredibly low price? This one is a no-brainer. You make the rice, buy beans if you have to and serve these on the side and you have a complete and completely out-of-the-ordinary meal.

It being Friday, meant some kind of allowance for me to buy MORE battered and deep-fried foods (all in the name of research for you, my devoted readers, of course). I had to test the foods in order to see if they were okay, you see? The chiles rellenos were perfect! You can never gauge the heat of a pepper you get and in fact, I have been tricked before (by friends in high school) and been burned but these poblano peppers were of mild-to-medium heat and not so hot it ruined the meal.

I also had to test the tamales out for you as well, in the name of self-sacrifice. These were a bit spicy and took getting used to BUT I can't believe they are offering real, banana-leaf wrapped tamales for only a dollar there. If anyone had told me this and I had seen the size of them, I would have been like Elaine on Seinfeld and pushed you out the door with a, "Get out!" If you are drinking beer and are to the point where you don't care about heat, these would be perfect but for my tastes, they were a little hot. I like heat to be mild on foods and in salsa and not overpower the meal enough to ruin the experience. These might be perfect for you; you never know without trying something for yourself because I could be a wimp compared to you. If you are looking for authentic, cheap Mexican food, you might want to pick up some of these items on your way home from the grocery store or for a snack while you are running errands. I thought it was another gold coin in this treasure chest I call home.

Jumping for Joy Once Again!

South Padre Island Rocks!

It is that time of the year again. Winter Texans are here in droves and the weather is warm and sunny. People are strolling up and down the street both in Port Isabel and South Padre Island and the restaurants are packed again. I love this time of year.

The dolphin watch boats were booked every scheduled trip out from the Sea Ranch Marina. If you are out that way, make sure you visit Walt over at Benny's by the Bay. Everyone raves about their cinnamon rolls but I have discovered that they make huge breakfast tacos, bisquits and gravy, pancakes, French toast and even migas. The place was packed last Saturday for their awesome shrimp special. My family has quickly joined the many people who have the esteemed title "regular" there. I found out not many places serve breakfast on the island and are really good at it like Benny's is. Benny's is quite affordable, too, which is one of the top two reasons I will visit an eatery. They fulfill both requirements: good food AND a decent price. They can be found before the Sea Ranch Restaurant. Just turn into the parking lot where you see the marquis with their name and Murphy's Fishing on it and you are in for some good eating. Click here for more details: http://www.bennysbythebay.com/

I noticed Scarlet Colley's boat there too which is available for dolphin trips. Scarlet is one of the best when it comes to dolphins because she knows them by name and moods they are in. You must go visit her Dolphin Sea Life Research Center at the base of the causeway in Port Isabel. We, at Gladiator II Offshore Adventures, donated a calico crab and a baby remora eel to them for their aquariums. Their staff is so knowledgeable, it is impressive. The non-profit organization's website is here: http://www.spinaturecenter.com/

Today was a new start for this country under the leadership of President Barack Obama. It was his first day on the job. I hope that this country is able to come back from the present economic turmoil. You can help by supporting the above named businesses as they are worth every penny you spend there. They thank you for your support. (photo credit=spadre.com)

Winter Wonderland is Where?

This is just one of the many examples of the spectacular beauty you will find when you visit this part of Texas. We are close enough to the Mexican border to enjoy the great food, low cost of living, beautiful senoritas (and men), and the incredibly balmy tropical weather. While the rest of the country is suffering from DEADLY cold temperatures, our cold snap "snapped" us down to 68 degrees.

The SMART people are avoiding the harsh winter and coming down here to enjoy life.

We have spectacular sunsets.

Colorful characters you can meet.

and natural tropical beauty you probably won't find where you live.

So come on down and kick up your heels in this beautiful tropical paradise!

Pretty Plants and Fantastic Flowers

This spectacular sunset was the final golden touch to a beautiful walk I had this afternoon. I focused on the plant life around me because I had lunch with a lady who knows about the local plant life. The people I meet on South Padre Island really know their stuff. This is how much I know...










I know the red flowering plants are called "Kalanches" in Spanish and the purple ones are super hardy.



































Answer the following question to see how much you know...

Trees wear these bands because:

a) They're sexy.
b) They are too slippery for bugs to climb up the tree on.
c) White is the new black.




















There are many types of palm trees. This is the California Fan palm tree.
















This is the "Cousin It" variety of palm tree. It makes a funny sound.























This is another beautiful species with gorgeous fronds.

This next tree was one of my childhood favorites because it seems as soft as cotton.

This is a close-up of the leaves.

This next flowering plant is called a "laurel" in Spanish and "oleander" in English. People have died from making cooking utensils out of its branches. It is very poisonous. Horses eat the leaves and die.

This is the carrot plant, or have I been dieting too much?

This beautiful Hibiscus flower is the epitome of tropical beauty.

One of my many talents is that of cake decorator and this is something that reminded me of a cake's border. Boy, have I been dieting too much or what?

This beautiful plant is called "noche buena" in Spanish, I believe. If it is, it flowers at night. Its counterpart, the "dia buena" flowers in the daytime. I love the way this one spills over and "outside the box."

This plant is called the "OMG! There are red worms taking over the planet!" plant, I think.

I could be wrong... maybe.

This plant lost its leaves but kept the flowers. How nice of it.