How does South Padre beach compare to Port A's (Houston: living, zoning)

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by txtea

You can't drive on the beach in South Padre though...correct?
I do love the fact that you can still drive on the beach on North Padre..Port Aransas, Corpus, etc.

You can drive on the beach in South Padre. Driving on the beach is one of the factors that makes Texas beaches less attractive than they naturally would be: you can add noise, exhaust fumes, engine oil to all that Mississippi silt that makes the water brown, and provides nutrients to masses of seaweed that frequently washes up and the plagues of sand flies. The water temps in the summer are also far from refreshing: as high as the mid eighties in August - tepid bathwater. I did not know a beach could be ugly until I saw Port Aransas. SPI has a marginally prettier beach, but I don't think worth the extra drive. Texas beaches are great for fishing and wildlife watching, but IMO are the least scenic gulf coast beaches. The beaches on the west coast and panhandle of Florida, the gulf coast beaches of Mississippi and Alabama are generally more aesthetically pleasing, and the Yucatan beaches in Mexico too...

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

You can drive on the beach in South Padre. Driving on the beach is one of the factors that makes Texas beaches less attractive than they naturally would be: you can add noise, exhaust fumes, engine oil to all that Mississippi silt that makes the water brown, and provides nutrients to masses of seaweed that frequently washes up and the plagues of sand flies. The water temps in the summer are also far from refreshing: as high as the mid eighties in August - tepid bathwater. I did not know a beach could be ugly until I saw Port Aransas. SPI has a marginally prettier beach, but I don't think worth the extra drive. Texas beaches are great for fishing and wildlife watching, but IMO are the least scenic gulf coast beaches. The beaches on the west coast and panhandle of Florida, the gulf coast beaches of Mississippi and Alabama are generally more aesthetically pleasing, and the Yucatan beaches in Mexico too...

Almost 30 years in Texas and I still can't get over the driving on the beaches thing! It is hideous. Every single beach in Texas would be improved if driving on it wasn't allowed!

[cBach]

Call me a fan of driving on the beach. Something nice about being able to bring your truck all the way to the water and then taking out your kayak or other gear then parking your truck right on the beach.

It's one of the great things about Texas beaches if you ask me.

[mowilly]

Originally Posted by cBach

Call me a fan of driving on the beach. Something nice about being able to bring your truck all the way to the water and then taking out your kayak or other gear then parking your truck right on the beach.

It's one of the great things about Texas beaches if you ask me.

I agree. And it is a great way to ensure that public property does not become private property.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

You can drive on the beach in South Padre. Driving on the beach is one of the factors that makes Texas beaches less attractive than they naturally would be: you can add noise, exhaust fumes, engine oil to all that Mississippi silt that makes the water brown, and provides nutrients to masses of seaweed that frequently washes up and the plagues of sand flies. The water temps in the summer are also far from refreshing: as high as the mid eighties in August - tepid bathwater. I did not know a beach could be ugly until I saw Port Aransas. SPI has a marginally prettier beach, but I don't think worth the extra drive. Texas beaches are great for fishing and wildlife watching, but IMO are the least scenic gulf coast beaches. The beaches on the west coast and panhandle of Florida, the gulf coast beaches of Mississippi and Alabama are generally more aesthetically pleasing, and the Yucatan beaches in Mexico too...

Public traffic cannot drive on the beach in the city limits of South Padre Island, but can do so north of the city - If I'm not mistaken.

The only vehicular traffic we have ever seen on the beach inside the city limits of SPI were city utility trucks (as posted in my July 4th photo) once in a while. Never have seen any motorized 4 wheelers either.

But yeah, those occasional seaweed "blooms" washing up on the beach at Mustang Island really suck. In the 40 years we've been Texas "beaching", we've run into that problem twice.

Driving on the beaches at Mustang & North Padre is convenient & fun for a lot of folks. Exhaust fumes? The sea breeze blows what little there is inland.

Not all of us can afford to travel any great distance to enjoy a pristine beach, but we do enjoy what's available. More power to those who can. To each his/her own.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Not all of us can afford to travel any great distance to enjoy a pristine beach, but we do enjoy what's available. More power to those who can. To each his/her own.

Thank you, this needs to be said. We're a family of four and have kids who love the beach. Every single destination beach city costs thousands of dollars for us, especially when you factor in plane fare for four. There's no "cheap air" available since (due to kid schedules) we'd be traveling during peak times. I traveled a heckuva lot more often (especially abroad) when it was just me, or us as a couple. And we make a pretty good living too, go figure. I haven't been to SPI yet, but if it ends up being a decent enough beach and I have a good time, that's all I care about right now. It'll be great for those years when we don't want to go "all out" but still want to go somewhere. Nice that Texas has beaches that have actual blue water instead of the muddy brown filth that I had to deal with in NY.

[Trainwreck20]

'Back in the day' we would drive from Houston area down to SPI for an 'exotic' (to us kids) vacation. And it always involved a day trip to Matamoros, which at the time was a grand adventure through the open markets. Many things in life have gotten worse over time, which is a shame .

SPI is definitely worth at least one trip. Long-distance driving is soooo much easier with kids since the advent of tablets.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

'Back in the day' would would drive from Houston area down to SPI for an 'exotic' (to us kids) vacation. And it always involved a day trip to Matamoros, which at the time was a grand adventure through the open markets. Many things in life have gotten worse over time, which is a shame .

SPI is definitely worth at least one trip. Long-distance driving is soooo much easier with kids since the advent of tablets.

I have some stories about Matamoros. Went down during Spring Break in college. Was in the street and some vendors tried to sell me a hammock. This was a really high quality hammock, they asked $15. I offered $7, figuring I got a great deal.

Then, I was walking back to the border and another vendor tried to sell me yet another hammock. I said "I already have one". They said "I'll offer it for $1!" Then I realized I had been taken to the cleaners!

That being said, that hammock lasted 15 years if you can believe it, in the elements under my oak tree. It finally gave way when I was fooling around with a gal getting frisky on it and "kerplut". Total mood killer.

[txtea]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Almost 30 years in Texas and I still can't get over the driving on the beaches thing! It is hideous. Every single beach in Texas would be improved if driving on it wasn't allowed!

Improved?
The idea is to keep the beach from being developed and keep it as natural as possible. Exhaust fumes and an occasional drip of oil is still a lot cleaner than rows of hotels, condos, bars etc.
Driving on the beach is a blast. No lugging ice chests and umbrellas from a parking lot 1/4 mile away or more.

[Trainwreck20]

Yea, I have actually always kind of liked that people are allowed to drive on the beach, or at least a lot of it. It isn't that difficult to find a beach that is car-free, either.

And some years back, I was kind of entertained by a guy that had driven down to the beach ahead of a tropical storm and then lost his keys. No tow truck would attempt to access the beach. Poor truck.....