rio transit?

So my muffler is dragging for the second time since "Fast & Fair" put it on my truck, and of course I have to be at the Brownsville airport bright and early tomorrow morning. It is going to cost $50 to take a cab -- ouch. So great, I'll take Rio Transit which runs from Port Isabel for $2.00 --right? I found several schedules posted online but NOWHERE can I find where in Port Isabel you catch the damn thing. There is an 800 number for more info but -- of course -- no answer.

Why on earth is this info so hard to find???!!!! I would think both the town and the airport would have this on their websites....

Stupid stupid stupid.

Update: I was able to enlist the aid of handyguy JC Hammond who trussed that muffler to the truck and though my truck isn't going to be able to sneak up on anybody I reckon it will get me to the airport.

It looks like I can expect highs in the mid 80's in Martha's Vineyard -- which is where I will be sandcastling this week.

Cool.

the $4300 trashcan

Sure its pricey, but how long would it really take for this solar-powered self-composting trash bin to pay for itself in labor costs alone?

Imagine South Padre in the summer with no overflowing trash bins....
:)

Link

red tide meeting July 11

RED TIDE MEETING
This looks intersting.
(I will be out of town but would love a report from anyone who decides to go.)


Hosted by

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Tuesday, July 11, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
600 Padre Blvd., Visitors Center

Representatives from TPWD and NOAA will be on hand to educate the community regarding Red Tide and the bulletins they issue during an outbreak. Each entity will also explain their role in addressing Red Tide.

A Question and Answer session will follow their presentation.

Please contact Meridith Byrd, HAB Studies Facilitator, Texas Parks and Wildlife at 512-912-7068 to let her know if you will be attending the meeting

New Butterfly Garden

Great article in the Herald this morning about the butterfly garden that Shane Wilson and his crew are going to create in my neighborhood (corner of Gulf and Saturn.) This vacant beachfront lot is too small to build on and as I understand it the person who donated it to the town attached a lot of stipulations on what could not be done with it (no parking, no construction, etc.) so I have long hoped that somebody would come along and make it pretty.

Well it looks like my wish is going to come true. Shane is soliciting help and plants from residents and while I will be out of town on the 15th, I will see if I can at least come up with a plant or two and - assuming this garden will be an ongoing project - pledge to put in some shovel time on some future date.

I think this is a fabulous use of this property and urge the local butterfly lovers to jump in and lend a hand if at all possible. Good luck, Shane - can't wait to see what you do with that choice spot!

Link

A Life Well-Spent

Wags is tired. Too tired to eat. Too tired to walk and almost too tired to drink water. When he does manage to get a few drops down it wants to come right back up.

I have spend much of this 4th of July cradling him in my arms and telling him what a good dog he is. But I have also found some comfort in going through old photos of that old puppy with the people and animals he most enjoyed hanging with. Sadly, I can find no photos of him with Amazin' Walter or Raybo - both of whom I am confident would appear on Wags' list of favorite people. Anyway, I have created a slideshow of my favorite Wags photos... some of which are in semi-sorta chronological order.

I did this for me. But you can see it too, if you like. Right here.

Link

Still a Hero

A couple weeks back Wags and I were walking on the beach....
I say "walking" but it is more of an aimless wandering involving multiple longish periods of just standing around.

Anyway, on this particular day there was a young Asian family taking in some sun at beach access #16. They had a toddler who was very unhappy.... screaming and kicking his feet and nothing the parents tried would placate him.

I had plenty of time to observe this while Wags was not moving, and I was even probably guilty of thinking to myself that this was not such a great place to be stuck with the immovable object that Wags can become. But eventually my old puppy wakes up again, lurching himself directly at the child and his mother. Since he is pretty much totally deaf, I don't think he was attracted to the noise -- the screaming baby was not even on his radar.

But boy oh boy was he on that baby's radar. That kid focused in on Wags and the tantrum came to a dead halt. No more crying, no more flailing -- just young child and old dog eyeball to eyeball. First the kid is merely astonished. Then comes utter delight. The mother flashes me the warmest of smiles --

"Bow Wow! Bow Wow!"

We all laugh and chant along...

Bow Wow! Bow Wow!

Tequila Frogs Gets Mean

There we were, enjoying some great acoustic tunes at Palm St. Pier, courtesy of Raybo, Matt and Jack Hartwell. then Connie the manager gets on the mic to tell everyone they have to move their cars. It seems the Tequila Frog folks own the Palm St. Pier parking lot... which is kinda weird. And they suddenly decided at about 10 last night to reclaim it. Not that they needed it, mind you. The place was basically dead, while PSP was having a pretty good night.

County constables and other official types showed up, prepared to tow. I had a chat with the gent representing TF and he told me that the PSP parking lot was going to be utilized as a VIP parking lot for the locals.

So by a raise of hands: how many of you locals are waiting in line to get in Tequila Frogs?

Yup. That's about what I thought.

I hazard a guess that a lot more locals frequent PSP than TF, but that is just a guess. Anyway, if the TF folks own the property then they have a right to do with it what they like. But couldn't they have given the PSP some advance warning so they could put up signs directing their patrons to their off-site parking lot? After the constables left, PSP had to post an employee out there for the rest of the evening warning folks they would get towed if they parked there.

Any way you look at it, Tequila Frogs handled things badly, and after last night you couldn't pay me enough to go there.

Eyesore in my neighborhood

Erickson Construction is not being a good neighbor here on east saturn. They have trashed the two lots adjacent to the one they are building on - wiping out most of the native vegetation and leaving barren ugliness behind.

I have waited in vain for them to clean up this ugly eyesore but it would seem that they need someone to push them to do so. I hope somebody will. Soon.