Category: South Padre Parade

Life on the Boardwalk: Big Padre’s Last Meals of the Year

By Javier Gonzalez Naturalist Educator SPI Birding and Nature Center Special to the Parade The fall season is here, the weather is getting cooler, and Big Padre, our captive 12.6 foot rescued nuisance gator, will likely be having his last brisket meals (no BBQ sauce) of the year this month as he goes into brumation …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/10/11/life-on-the-boardwalk-big-padres-last-meals-of-the-year/

Perfect planting season is upon us

R. Lewis J&R Landscaping Special to the Parade October is one of my favorite gardening months of the year.   The “To-Do” list of gardening activities for October is a long list of fun things to do outside in the garden, and the weather is a little more comfortable as well. September rains have helped our …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/10/01/perfect-planting-season-is-upon-us/

Beach Bar Beat: Padre Island Brewing Company

  By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Padre Island Brewing Company can lay claim to several instances of doing something before it was “cool,” or, in other words, a mainstream, normal facet of life.  The lone brewing company on South Padre Island, Padre Island Brewing Company has been making beer in its large in-house tanks since 1995, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/09/01/beach-bar-beat-padre-island-brewing-company/

Rio History: A Cure for the Dreaded “Writers Blah!”

By Steve Hathcock steve@southpadreislandtv.tv Clouds were feathering along high up where the blue was so intense it…Nah, that won’t work…I was doomed…I had picked up a bad case of the dreaded “Writers Blah!”  My article was due for the Parade Magazine and I was so out of ideas that I could not even think of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/09/01/rio-history-a-cure-for-the-dreaded-writers-blah/

Leading the Way: Jared Hockema, City Manager of Port Isabel

Interview by Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com The South Padre Parade virtually interviewed Jared Hockema, City Manager of Port Isabel, to learn about his administrative role in the coastal community several thousand call home. Want to see a local leader featured in the Parade? Email editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com with your suggestions.    What is the city manager’s role in …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/09/01/leading-the-way-jared-hockema-city-manager-of-port-isabel/

Rockin Restaurant Review: Causeway, now a Bar & Grill

By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Causeway Cafe returned after several weeks of closure, with a name, menu and design change.  In the downtime, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott closed in-room dining at restaurants for several weeks, Causeway’s owners and staff remodeled the space nestled just to the right of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway, enclosed their …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/08/01/rockin-restaurant-review-causeway-now-a-bar-grill/

Life on the Boardwalk: Shorebirds Coming Through!

  By Javier Gonzalez Naturalist Educator SPI Birding and Nature Center Special to the Parade The month of August brings the official start of fall migration through our wetlands. Although most of the colorful songbirds that are favorites among birders will not be migrating through in number until September and October, shorebird species like sandpipers …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/08/01/life-on-the-boardwalk-shorebirds-coming-through/

Rio History: A Brief History of the Queen

  By Steve Hathcock Special to the PRESS The idea of connecting Padre Island to the mainland had been floated for over 25 years before the following notice appeared in the November 16, 1925 issue of The Galveston Daily News: D.E. Colp, member of the state park board, announced plans for a scenic beach drive …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/rio-history-a-brief-history-of-the-queen/

Life on the Boardwalk: July Scene on the Wetlands

  By Javier Gonzalez Naturalist Educator SPI Birding and Nature Center Special to the Parade The warm weather and waters are catalysts for an explosion of life along the boardwalk during the summer months. July is a remarkably interesting month in our wetlands. It brings a peak of productivity in the salt marsh, which is …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/life-on-the-boardwalk-july-scene-on-the-wetlands/

Beach Bar Beat: Frank at Louie’s Backyard

By Gaige Davila editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com The Beach Bar Beat is back, in celebration of the old and new at the Port Isabel-South Padre Press and the new South Padre Parade.  For this month’s Beat, I’ve returned to a bar that was formative in my teen upbringing, interviewing Frank Oyervidez, who I befriended several years ago when …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2020/07/01/beach-bar-beat-frank-at-louies-backyard/