South Padre Island ( PSI ) : Best Kid-friendly Destinations

Well-known as a Spring Break hot spot, many families may miss the opportunity to visit this affordable and fun location, opting for California or a more exotic vacation. What a mistake!



South Padre Island, the Jewel of Texas, is located at 26 degrees latitude near the U.S.-Mexican border in the Gulf of Mexico. The temperatures during August are in the 90s, but feel warmer with the humidity. Like elsewhere in Texas this summer, it is record-breaking HOT. Unlike most of Texas, it's perfect sand beaches and refreshing Gulf water make it a perfect escape.

What really sets SPI apart are the kid-friendly activities. Dolphins, sea turtles, kite-flying, beaches and sandcastle-building lessons filled our vacation with experiences our kids could all enjoy.

The most highly recommended dolphin watch tour is run by George and Scarlett, who also run the Dolphin Research and Sea Life Center in Port Isabel (across the bridge from SPI). You can check them out online at www.spinaturecenture.com . These are really small tours of 6 people or less, which really lets you get close to the dolphins. Even better, watching the dolphins in silence is not allowed. The more happy noise you and the kids make the better! The more interesting you are to the dolphins, the closer they will come to the boat. Bring your own snacks and drinks and be ready to be on dolphin lookout the whole time. You'll also see other marine life and lots of birds. Overall a great lesson in natural habitats and wildlife. For $25 per person, this is an affordable, fun and educational adventure for the whole family.


The Sea Turtle Inc at www.seaturtleinc.org is a highly rated sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation center. People had said you'd need over an hour to see this, but it was not crowded when we went and 30 minutes gave us plenty of time to see everything twice. Although the building is not large, the sizes and varieties of turtles, as well as the educational material was really amazing to see. The kids were especially fascinated with the little hatchlings and wanted to go look for the nesting sites next time we went to the beach. Sea Turtle Inc asks for small donations per person to visit and have a gift shop to help fund their cause.


We didn't do any kite-flying ourselves, but watched so many families successfully getting their kids flying kites that I wished we'd made time for it. The breeze at the beach was perfect and the kites went high. It was fun to watch. There are several kite-dedicated stores on the island.

I normally would not recommend any outdoor activity in this Texas heat that isn't accompanied by direct contact with shade and water, but the Laguna Madre nature walk located next to the south side of the SPI Convention Center is well worth doing...just save it for the evening. This is a short two-trail boardwalk over the marshy Laguna Madre area with lots of fish, crabs and the possibility of Alligators that my kids loved. We're nature lovers! This activity is free.

We also paid for sandcastle building lessons. This was our most expensive activity on the island as it costs $75 per hour and we did the kid-friendly two-hour lesson. With our kids ages ranging from 9 months to 9 years old it was good to see how much interest they had in learning to build with sand. The baby did not participate. Our 4 year old was very involved for about 1-1/2 hours, our 6 year old lasted for almost 2 hours and our oldest could have kept going for most of the day if she'd had the tools to continue decorating our sandcastle. There are several world-class sandcastle-builders on SPI. Amazing Walter and Sandyfeet (Lucinda) occasionally travel to competitions around the world, while Dennis prefers to stick around SPI. Dennis was wonderfully patient with all the kids (and us parents too) while he explained the techniques, equipment and secrets to building big sand structures. He let the kids choose what we would build and made sure everyone had an opportunity to participate at their comfort and ability level. You can check out his site with pictures of his lessons with links to other sand-building websites at http://sandslave.com .


Finally, any discussion of South Padre Island must include mention of it's beaches. To compare, we are used to Southern California beaches, which have a wide variety of sand: from fine to rocky to crushed shell. I think only the baby-powder fine sand at Coronado Island beats the fine sand of SPI. In addition, the Pacific is cold water, which means I only ever get in it once or twice a year in September when the water and air temperatures get warm enough for me to enjoy the beach while wet. Here in SPI, getting in the water is a pleasant must. The water is not cold, but not bath-water warm either. Although for picturesque and groomed beach appearance, California is the best, the water clarity, temperature and price in SPI beats Cali hands down.

We couldn't find many online beach recommendations, so we asked the locals. Apparently, the water on the Gulf side is prettier than the bay side. We tried out several beach access spots recommended to us.

The first recommendation took us to the restaurant/villa entrance "with the anchors". A large parking lot with free parking was nice. It had easy access to a water sprayer/foot wash and cold drinks for purchase at the restaurant (as well as bathrooms). This location had sand volleyball and shade tents for rent. It was also very popular.

Next we tried the Blue Circle (#9?) beach access off of Gulf Blvd. This spot has limited parking, but is still free. No foot washes or bathrooms here.

Then we went to the Andy Bowie County Park. Parking here costs $4 per car. There are bathrooms with a couple of showers, a small food and beach toy stand and an outdoor shower. There was also a playground, which was too hot to use. This beach was less crowded when we went, however we were there on a weekday.

Finally we tried Beach Access #5 off Ocean Blvd/TX100. It has an entrance fee of $8, with $4 refundable if you return your bag of trash before 7pm that day. We were excited about this one because you can drive right on the beach. This beach only has Port-a-potties and was pretty much a free-for-all when it came to parking. Although many people brought their kids here, I didn't think this was a safe environment for kids. Cars parked above the high-water line, families played at the water. and traffic drove between the two. Maybe your kids always look before they cross a street, but we saw some adults almost get creamed as they walked from their car to the water. Not how anyone's vacation should end.

Two other negative points of beautiful SPI: the snorkeling here is not kid-friendly with the only snorkeling sites at the jetties, and hand and foot protection are necessary. Also, although there are lots of food and shopping options, we found the service very poor for such a tourist-destination.

Locals also mentioned that after school starts, August 22nd, the tourist population drops and things get even cheaper.

While South Padre Island is not a kid-friendly destination for Spring Break, the rest of the year SPI is a place of memory-making magic for the whole family.




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Moving to Austin with Kids II

Once you arrive in Austin, there may be a few details to get worked out.  For example, where will you live?  Who will help you move in if you didn't hire the full service movers?  What schools will your children attend?  And other pressing questions that will create stress for you until  they are answered.

Hopefully you already have a job lined up before you get here  . . . believe me, not everyone does.  Hopefully you already have a house lined up before you get here . . . we thought we did, and then we didn't.  Hopefully you will be moving close to friends and loved ones who will help and support you in your move . . . unlike us, who have moved farther away from our families and comfort zones.

One of the bright spots in our recent moving adventure was finding an affordable moving company here in Austin.  We've used them twice so far (see the house statement above) and have been very pleased with the results both times.  Art's Trucking and Moving Co is run by old-timer Art Johnson, who has been in the trucking industry for most of his 80 years.  Although he does commercial moves, he also organizes crews of men for residential moves.  The cost is per man per hour (you need at least three men on every move to be cost efficient), but also based off the poundage of your move.  Art is very good at giving time estimates for how long it will take as long as you give him an accurate estimate of the amount of your stuff.  These guys show up on time, work hard and fast and manage to bring a cheerful energy to combat your exhaustion and stress.  I am not being compensated in any way for advertising Art or his company.  I am just completely relieved to have found a great resource in a new and slightly foreign land.  You can call to find out more from Art himself at 512-928-2361 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            512-928-2361      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Moving to Austin with Kids

Moving is hard.  Moving with kids is harder, but all the more rewarding if you do it right.

Austin, Texas has an allure for many people these days.  With our nation's economy on the rocks and families struggling to make ends meet, many people are on the move in search of greater opportunities and more affordable circumstances.  Since 1990, Austin has nearly doubled in size and is growing each year.  For more on Austin, visit Wikipedia's Austin, Texas. 


For us the decision was fairly easy.  Although we love California, the economy is bad and shows signs of getting increasingly worse...spurred on by the state governments efforts to "help".   Small business owners have little reward for increasingly high-levels of risk and responsibility in California, and so the time comes to search for greener pastures in those states that still believe in Capitalism.  (I'll save the rest of my take on interfering government strategies for political and economic blogs.)  The search for better opportunities led us to say, "okay, not here...then where?"  There are several states that met our personal requirements, but certainly taxes, climate, job opportunities, housing costs and quality education were major factors for us.  Other factors, like proximity to family and finding a familiar culture should be considered as well.  One person's take on the advantages of living in Texas.

Once the decision is made, then comes the hard part:  The Move.

Moving with Kids is a special time for the whole family, but I don't mean that in a good way.  It's stressful and intensely disruptive.  

Make it a great move in three less than simple steps:  1) Say it..."I am responsible.  I choose this." 2) Be extra patient and loving...give lots of hugs, kisses and quick special moments and 3) Give a challenge, play a game and reward yourselves.

My kids are a great help, but its still amazing how often I would pack a box, only to turn my back momentarily and return to find in unpacked.  This is especially true with toys, books and writing utensils!  We found that plastic drawers worked best for those items that tended to get used.  We packed them up, but having it in the drawers allowed the kids to still get in and out and yet repack the things away again themselves.  We also packed their clothes this way, except for those that we would actually keep on the trip out with us.  To minimize the amount of luggage we have from clothes, I packed the kids double or triple the underwear, and only one extra set each of daytime and nighttime clothes for the number of days we expected the trip to take.  This is especially helpful when things don't go quite as planned.  But with kids, when does that ever happen?  If you're coming to Austin, Texas in the summer, don't bother with sweaters, long sleeved shirts or heavy clothes of any kind...it's BLISTERING during the day and HOT at night. 

Another thing to mention is that IMO the kitchen is the toughest room in the house.  It takes forever to pack and its one of those rooms that has to wait til the last minute.  Instead of waiting this time around, I started packing the kitchen right away, but packed a small plastic drawer with kitchen tools I use daily:  a can opener, a knife, scissors, a pen, one set of utensils, a measuring cup and spoons, hot pads and a tupperware container.  This way, I could start packing up my dishes and use paper and plastic, yet still function at a basic level in my kitchen.

I also always pack one special stuffed animal/toy with our luggage, because anything irreplaceable must stay with us rather than going with the moving truck.  This is also true of any documentation you can't easily look up or replace (ID, immunization records, passports, important account information, school records and birth/marriage certificates.)

Kids are reactive creatures and often reflect our adult stress back to us in the form of tantrums, melt downs and out-of-character behaviors.  For me the hardest part of moving is being patient and understanding of my kids.  I am responsible for the decision, execution and results of this move.  It's a heavy burden, but I can't take it out on my kids.  We found it helpful to reward ourselves by getting out of the house for a fun activity or reward after accomplishing one or two goals.  Of course, when Moving-Day gets close, that's not really as possible, but even a short outing worked wonders for all of us.

I like to be organized and even downloaded an App for my phone called Moving Van.  It allowed me to make virtual boxes by listing items, taking pictures and making notes.  This app wasn't entirely successful, as it didn't do everything it promised, but it was still worth using.  Having pictures of the packed boxes with a general listing of what was in it was very helpful on the unpacking side of our move.  The only improvement I would make would be to be even more detailed on exactly what items are in the box.  There is nothing so frustrating as being unable to find that necessary kitchen utensil or phone or the tools when you need them.  It's amazing how much stuff gets lost during a move...some of it never to be found!

Most people decide to spend the money and hire a full-service moving company.  This is very expensive.  Some people don't want the hassle of a DIY move, especially with the added struggle of moving with kids, and some don't know that there is any other choice.  This is especially true when moving out-of-state. 

After talking to a nation-wide, full-service mover, the expense for us was prohibitive.  We then turned to a you-pack-it-type of company.  This is a moving company who offers a truck and driver at nearly half the cost of a full-service company, but still offers the full-range of services at additional cost.  This is a good option if you need to save money, yet want to choose additional full-service options to make it easier on yourself. 

Even this wasn't quite what we were looking for.  Luckily, a friend put us in touch with a former truck-driver who gave us the insider tips we needed to save the most money on our out-of-state move.  Most national moving companies have their own trucks, but lately, states like California have had so many people leaving and so few relocations coming in, that the moving companies must get their trucks from other trucking companies. 

One of these trucking companies that the national moving companies use is called Broadway Express (see link http://www.broadwayexpress.net/ ).  For a fraction of the cost, you can hire your own truck and driver.  Broadway, and other trucking companies have their own rules about things, so be sure to ask for details.  If you choose this option you will need to make the other arrangements for moving as well. 

You can save by packing, loading and wrapping your things yourself.  These are all things that full-service movers can do for you, but no one cares about your things the way you do.  By packing things yourself, you know your move better.  By wrapping your furniture, you protect it better.  Wrapping furniture sounds like a great and difficult task, but it is very simple.  To do it yourself, rent furniture blankets for a one-way move from a company like U-Haul or Penske (call around because some locations offer this and some don't...), buy furniture stretch wrap and handles (for an example on what I mean by this try this link ) , and wrap it yourself (a stretch wrapped furniture example).  All your wooden, textile and glass furniture should be wrapped.  Even your washer and dryer can be protected this way.   Other packing tips. 

And last, after packing, everything will have to be loaded onto the truck.  You can do this yourself with the help of a few friends, or you can hire a professional to pack it for you, or pack it yourself and hire some lifting help.  Either way, the savings in comparison to a full-service move is astounding.  Anyway you do it, you should seriously consider buying insurance to cover the cost of replacing your damaged items.  Many movers carry basic insurance that pays cents per pound on damaged items.  This means that if your very expensive flat-screen TV breaks, they will weigh it and pay you far less than it would ever cost you to re-purchase it.  Wheather you hire movers or DIY, additional insurance is necessary if you want to be able to replace damaged items.

Finally, once it is all finally on the truck and the truck pulls away you can relax...or in our case start the long drive.  But even this provides opportunities for fun.  Take the time to enjoy the journey, go for a swim, see a great sight, play a game or sing a song together.  Learn about the destination and get excited about this new chapter!  Plan fun activities that you'll do together at your new location and then do them as you accomplish your moving in goals.  Moving can be a bonding family experience that brings your relationships closer, or a divisive time of stress and agony.  Make it great in three less than simple steps:  1) Say it..."I am responsible.  I choose this." 2) Be extra patient and loving...give lots of hugs, kisses and quick special moments and 3) Give a challenge, play a game and reward yourselves. Moving is hard.  Moving with kids is harder, but all the more rewarding if you do it right.