Texas 2021:
Day 5 - South Padre Island

	Tuesday, January 26, 2021: We awoke to a spooky thick fog.
	We made noodle cups for breakfast, ...
	... and harvested a few mushrooms from Annette Fungicello ...
	... to add to the noodles. Yummy!
	Annette looked a little thinner after the harvest.
	It was pretty clear to all of the space fans that there would not be a test launch today due to the fog.
	We brought some banana bread from home, which was a nice treat.
	We spent a leisurely day surfing and relaxing.
	We got some new neighbors in the next spot late the night before. They came and went often by truck so we're pretty sure they drove to the restroom instead of walking.
	Across the road from us was this huge rig that had its own deck. For real, a sundeck!
	With the test launch definitely cancelled for the day, we decided to head out of camp for a bit. We drove to El Chilango Taqueria to pick up some lunch to go.
	We may have drastically underestimated the size of the five taco plate we purchased, thinking it would be enough for both of us. Fortunately, Tom likes beans so he ate the bean-and-hot dogs on the side.
	We drove up the main road of South Padre Island. It's probably a hopping tourist town in warmer non-pandemic times, ...
	... but it was pretty deserted now.
	We went to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, which was the only activity we were comfortable doing.
	There was a sand castle at the entrance, the first of several that we saw around town. It is part of the South Padre Island Sand Sculpture Trail.
	The Birding Center consists of boardwalks that cover the marshes.
	Off we go!
	We passed the juvenile alligator pond, ...
	... and the pond housing Big Padre, the very large alligator.
	The sun was trying unsuccessfully to burn through the haze of fog.
	Stations along the boardwalk contained bird identification displays.
	Signs by the handrails did the same.
	Here's a great blue heron.
	We saw lots of tiny hermit crabs in the shallow water.
	This is a snowy egret.
	It was great fun watching the schools of mullet thrashing about in the water anytime a large bird got too close to them.
	It was beautiful along the water's edge and there were so many birds to see.
	Here's a roseate spoonbill grooming himself.
	Here's another snowy egret.
	This handsome guy is a tricolored heron.
	Farther down another boardwalk, there were several interesting birds ...
	... such as these American coots ...
	... and this black-crowned night heron (or "the world's biggest sparrow" as Tom dubbed him).
	In this area, we saw black-bellied whistling ducks (we swear we aren't making up these names!) with a snowy egret in the background.
	Here's a better look at the black-bellied whistling ducks, ...
	... and here's a closeup of one.
	This colorful guy is a common galinule.
	This green heron was inching along the water's edge ...
	... and snapped up some small fish out of the water while we watched.
	This is the rarely-photographed Long-legged Debicus. It's always fun to get a picture of our feet on a glass floor window.
	We enjoyed one last covered viewing station before heading back to the parking lot, ...
	... where we got to gaze upon the top of The Ocho.
	Next, we decided to head north on the island. Beyond the tourist shops and tourist beaches, we discovered empty sand dunes so we pulled over.
	... and took a short walk ...
	... to a deserted stretch of beach.
	Hello, ocean!
	Of course, we had to put our feet in it. For land-locked Midwesterners, it is a big treat to feel the ocean.
	There's Tom ...
	... and there's Debbie hodling her arms out.
	We tracked entirely too much sand into The Ocho, but that's what vaccuums at home are for.
	We headed back south again, ...
	... where the spooky fog hung over everything.
	We spotted another sand castle, ...
	... and then a whole tentful of them as we were leaving Dairy Queen with a pair of Blizzards. We figured out a trick to storing the leftover Blizzards in our little RV freezer horizontally, so we could enjoy more later.
	Later on, we opened the bottle of Elmaro Rosa, which we miraculously thought to bring during our 45-minute race to pack a few days earlier. We had our awning out for the first time, which was nice, ...
	... but then we moved the party outside to enjoy the weather even more.
	Sunset was basically a foggy shade of pale orange.
	Debbie picked out some instant custard for dessert while Tom took on the cooking duties for the evening.
	We harvested more from Annette Fungicello ...
	... and added fresh mushrooms to our freeze-dried beef stroganoff dinner. Delicious!
	Before bed, we enjoyed a viewing of our very favorite move, "That Thing You Do!" Day 6 >