This weekend I decided to celebrate my birthday a bit early and visit South Padre Island. Although the beaches are not as nice as Destin it is a much shorter drive.
I booked the Courtyard by Marriott on the gulf coast of the island. The hotel was so new that the satellite view in Google Maps shows it as a construction site with only sand.
It was a busy hotel despite the ongoing COVID pandemic. I was able to find a parking spot in the lot near the hotel. They had an overflow lot across the street on the lagoon side of the island.
Since the hotel faces the gulf (and the East) I decided to visit the Laguna Madre Nature Trail which was practically across the street from the hotel to see the sunset over the lagoon. It turned out to be a very beautiful sunset and was very nice until shortly after sunset when the killer mosquitos arrived for dinner.
After the sunset I went to the Pirates’ Landing Restaurant for some seafood. There was a long wait to be seated, so I walked across the street to the Port Isabel Lighthouse.
As you will see in the pictures of my dinner it is mostly fried food and not very good looking. I do not recommend it for eating, however if you want to drink a pint and enjoy the view it does have a nice location.
