The first time we spent a few hours on the beach. The kids really love going to the beach! It was Eulee's first time and she had a blast. She loved touching the sand and feeling the waves. Luckily she didn't eat any of the sand.
Then the next hour was dedicated to jumping the waves....
...or lying in the waves!
After that, they got braver and braver and kept going further out into the sea to a sandbar.
Unfortunately, we had to leave because we were trying to go visit Sea Turtle Inc. (a sea turtle rescue center) before they closed. We all wished we could have stayed longer. But....
Sea Turtle Inc. was AH-mazing! Sea turtles usually come to shore when they are hurt or sick. This non-profit group brings the turtle back to their "hospital," treats the turtle, then releases it if it's ok. It was so sad to see some of the turtles with parts of their flippers missing...either from a predator bite or from getting entangled in nets or garbage. There were also baby turtles there who "got lost" after they were hatched. This place has 4 out of the 5 species of sea turtles in its center. The Hawksbill turtles were my favorites. They seem to be the "friendliest" because they would always come to the surface for a look-see if they saw people nearby. AND they have the most beautiful shells I have ever laid eyes on....just gorgeous.
After this visit we knew we had to go back to show Ah-Gong all the turtles since he's such a turtle fan!
Our next visit toward South Padre was to Port Isabel. We visited the Sealife Nature Center. This place was pretty awesome as well. There was a big touch tank where kids could hold hermit crabs, sea stars, and starfish.
They also had the most interesting sealife...horseshoe crabs, stingrays, puffer fish, seahorse, and a toad fish known as Oscar the Grouch. Way cute, right?
Ah-Gong and Ah-Ma met us after this and we took them to Sea Turtle Inc. They were amazed and couldn't believe that they never even knew this place existed!
Our third and final trip out was to go on a dolphin tour. I never knew that South Padre had so many dolphins, so I was skeptical about the tour. But after reading all the great reviews on Tripadvisor, we decided we should give it a try. It was phenomenal! Really and truly phenomenal. The owner, S (also knows as the Dolphin Whisperer), took us out on her little pontoon boat. She only ever takes 6 people out at the most. My mom kept Eulee for us so it was just 5 of us that day.
Let me tell ya...I really thought the title Dolphin Whisperer was so odd before I got on this pontoon...but this lady is the real deal. I hate to admit it, but I really think she can somehow communicate with these dolphins. She's been studying and interacting with them from afar for 18 years now and she really knows where to find them. Plus, they know her so well that they swim up to her boat. They really really love her. She doesn't try to touch them or feed them or hurt them. She just watches and adores them. I also didn't realize how much dolphins react to human voices. Whenever they would swim nearby, we had to cheer and yell to encourage them. And it really worked!
But S, who is extremely earthy, was yelling things like, "I love you! I love dolphins! You are important!" It was corny and sweet at the same time. B said that it definitely made him uncomfortable. =)
We probably saw 30 different dolphins that day. And they were about 4 feet from the kids' faces. It was crazy!
Some even showed their bellies...it was an unforgettable day. Plus, the kids loved the pontoon ride on the ocean waves. They were in heaven!
Then to top it all off, she took us to see 2 little sea turtles. Honestly, one of the best days ever. We'll definitely be going back on that dolphin tour the next time we're at South Padre.
What a great end-of-summer getaway!
Unfortunately, we had to leave because we were trying to go visit Sea Turtle Inc. (a sea turtle rescue center) before they closed. We all wished we could have stayed longer. But....Sea Turtle Inc. was AH-mazing! Sea turtles usually come to shore when they are hurt or sick. This non-profit group brings the turtle back to their "hospital," treats the turtle, then releases it if it's ok. It was so sad to see some of the turtles with parts of their flippers missing...either from a predator bite or from getting entangled in nets or garbage. There were also baby turtles there who "got lost" after they were hatched. This place has 4 out of the 5 species of sea turtles in its center. The Hawksbill turtles were my favorites. They seem to be the "friendliest" because they would always come to the surface for a look-see if they saw people nearby. AND they have the most beautiful shells I have ever laid eyes on....just gorgeous.
Our next visit toward South Padre was to Port Isabel. We visited the Sealife Nature Center. This place was pretty awesome as well. There was a big touch tank where kids could hold hermit crabs, sea stars, and starfish.
Ah-Gong and Ah-Ma met us after this and we took them to Sea Turtle Inc. They were amazed and couldn't believe that they never even knew this place existed!
Our third and final trip out was to go on a dolphin tour. I never knew that South Padre had so many dolphins, so I was skeptical about the tour. But after reading all the great reviews on Tripadvisor, we decided we should give it a try. It was phenomenal! Really and truly phenomenal. The owner, S (also knows as the Dolphin Whisperer), took us out on her little pontoon boat. She only ever takes 6 people out at the most. My mom kept Eulee for us so it was just 5 of us that day.
What a great end-of-summer getaway!
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