Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

From San Antonio, we headed south. We had a few days to spare before having to be at the southern tip of Texas, so we camped along the beach at Padre Island National Seashore. This barrier island seashore is 70 miles long, and we were delighted with the opportunity to drive on the beach (we've never done that before). Water currents in the Gulf of Mexico tend to lead right to this stretch of beach, so there are plenty of shells to find, but also a lot of sea trash as well.
We were also pleased to be allowed to collect seashells at this national park. We had fun searching the beach at every low tide, and also learned to identify several of the varieties. The Visitor Center had examples of most of the common shells, as well as 'sea beans' (any seed which floats over the oceans, including things like coconuts; these seeds can migrate all the way from Africa.) Padre Island is composed of three habitats: the beach, the grasslands, and the dunes. We saw all three of these in our explorations of the island.
We also learned that Padre Island is one of the major nesting grounds for the endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle. Unfortunately, nesting season doesn't occur until April.
We had a wonderful few days camping at Padre Island. We were in the campground about 100 metres from the beach. We noticed that some people parked their motorhomes right on the beach for camping; I guess that excitement will have to wait until next time.
For the past four days, we have been in Mission, Texas, preparing for our 6-week tour to the Yucatan area of Mexico. We got our travellers' visas and vehicle permits. And, over the past few days we have been meeting new arrivals who will be a part of our tour group. We are looking forward to an educational.