Island Market Marks 10 Years on SPI

Anniversaries are good, anniversaries denoting a long time are better, anniversaries marking a long time for a business especially in these troubled times are the best!

People came by whatever mode they could to help celebrate yet another successful business run on South Padre Island, TX.

How do you throw a successful celebration? 1. Pretty food servers.

2. Grilled meat is always a winner, especially when there are TWO COOKS who look like they know a thing or two about grilling.

3. Get some "cerbeza" flowing and you have a party!

Build it and they will come!

Not only were the food and drinks free but they were giving away cool prizes on top of that!

Your spin determined your prize, so you could not blame Hector, with G-Tech, if you did not get a cool cap or T-shirt.

There was lots of beer flowing. Soon people started waxing philosophical.

They say alcohol causes mood swings.

I noticed a barricade for the drinkers and wondered just how wild they expected this party to get.

My immediate thought when I saw this girl was, "Aww, no one has had the heart to tell that little cutie her puppy has died."

Then I looked closer...

Isn't that just THE cutest thing you saw today, ALL DAY? Tell the truth!

This was the man behind the bash, Hash, his lovely wife, Angie, and their son, Jameel.

Our northern guests must have thought this was REALLY paradise - sunny, almost HOT weather, great free food and flowing free beer? What else could you want?

'Cept maybe a pretty girl, too.

Kareoke was rockin to Johnny Cash; Jeff Crocker provided the music.














This event proved that we are blessed with tropical paradise down here. The temperatures were in the mid 70's and there were clear bright-blue skies with not a cloud in the sky. Meet Norma and Marvin, from South Padre Island, who are friends with Arden, Annella, Theo, and Roger from Minnesoooota. They are staying at Padre Oasis yet, when you hear that, you look around you think, "Isn't the whole island an oasis?"

With this, I, Island Princess, must sign off for the evening. I must go back to my castle and work on the next exciting event I covered here in paradise. It has to do with Hot Diggity Days.

Perfect Weather in Paradise

This is a mini-blog because there is a problem uploading the rest of the pictures but I have to post this. Today my friend said she was treating me to lunch. She chose this place:

Apparently, we weren't the only ones with that great idea.

When you sit in this dining area,

this is the view you get:

You could also sit under an umbrella towards the pool.

When these people saw me taking pictures, they said, "Hey, Island Princess! Put us on Pure Padre!" so I am.

You don't suppose these young men should've been in school, do you?

So we went to this restaurant instead with this view...

You need to consider coming down to South Texas for your next vacation and spend a fraction of what a Hawaiian vacation would cost. The weather is perfect, food is great and you may even end up on Pure Padre!

South Padre Island Kite Festival '09

The "smart" people are not feeling any of the winter cold that the rest of the north is suffering from. They are on South Padre Island enjoying the sun, sand and beauty this place has to offer.

The kites were a feast for the eye.

There were gorgeous geometrical patterns.

Of course anything shark is cool.

The usually balmy tropical weather down here made it perfect and it was perfectly windy, too.

Anybody can fly a kite, well, not Charlie Brown, but most everybody can.

Who do you think of when you see this?

???

John Haga, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had one of the nicest kites out there.

His buddy was helping his kite reach "the highest height."




















I get high with a little help from my friends.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

but the real party had gathered to watch the impressive shows















like this team of professional kite flyers who were doing fancy moves and stunts with their kites. Their kites flew in formation, followed each other into loops and danced around in the bright blue sky.

They performed their act to beautiful music that was piped out to the huge crowd of onlookers.

Kite enthusiasts were willing to share their knowledge with whomever asked.

This spinning kite was about 40 feet in diameter and could be seen from very far away.

This huge bouncing spinning wheel of color drew me like a moth is drawn to light.

People even brought their houses to the show and watched in the comfort of their own home.

Getting Ship-shape

In a sea of closing businesses, foreclosures, and record-breaking unemployment rates, it was a great pleasure to cover the celebration of a business enjoying long-standing success.

The owners, Liz and Diane, are successful because they provide great customer service and wonderful merchandise at a great price.

These beautiful candles, made by one of Liz's neighbors, are aromatic and decorative.

They offer skim boards for the beach and nice shirts so you can look stylish on the beach.

There is decor for your home with a soothing tropical theme.

I loved this shirt because it exudes a tropical relaxed feeling that says, "Relax and enjoy paradise."

There are blouses for the ladies,

VERY stylish clothes for men,

and even clothes for stylish little beachgoers.

gorgeous bikinis in every flavor,

and wild fun stripes for your fancy feet.

These summer slip-ons reminded me of delicious, cold watermelon - perfect for summer!

The cool tropical theme could even be found in gold for your ears.

Wouldn't this clock look so cool on your wall?

The turtles in this piece seem as if they are soaring through the ocean with their jeweled backs.

Everyone's favorite question here is, "Is it 5:00 yet?"

This stunning pirate ship was an eye-catcher and a sure conversation piece.

Wouldn't it be cool to take a ride on the real pirate ship we have here but to board the ship with your own hook for a hand? Ship-Shape makes your kid the coolest one on the bARRRRge!

There is even a large section of interesting, educational and fun books.

You owe it to yourself to visit this wonderful store for your outfits, toys, visors, glasses, windchimes and so much more that is not pictured here. These wonderful ladies were kind and friendly, welcoming each new customer and their regulars with a genuine smile. You could tell by the traffic in their store that they knew how to make each customer feel like they were the most important person in the store even while it had many customers. This is the truth and this is why they are celebrating 16 years in business in a time marked by economic turmoil and crisis. Connecting with your customer is the key to success in business and these ladies are proof that they are doing it right. Come feel what it is like at 5212 Padre Blvd. You'll be glad you did.

76 Degrees Today in Paradise

People are enjoying THIS, RIGHT NOW.

Did you know that there is a beautiful, tropical beach right here that you do not have to pay thousands of dollars to fly to RIGHT HERE in Texas. It is called South Padre Island and is in a tropical zone so the weather is the best there is in the United States. Many, many people from up north are down here evading the cold, ugly, horrible snow, sleet, ice, power outages and suffering. Why aren't you here in the sunshine enjoying the beach?

South Padre has two sides: the gulf side and the bay side. This is the bay side. It is calm and perfect for fishing, parasailing, jet skiing, and watching the sunset over dinner and drinks.

Imagine yourself watching a golden sunset here in the balmy tropical warmth.

This is a tropical area where the most populous tree is the palm tree. Wouldn't you expect that in paradise?

I thought I had a good birdseye view but this guy beat me. He must have had a scary view and I am sure he did his best to not look down all day. How much would someone have to offer you to try that job for half a second?