Livingston Vacation 2015, Part Two

They had this picture hanging up in the condo and it really resonated with me. The beach has always been my happy place--the sand between my toes, the sound of the water crashing on the shore, picking up seashells and seaglass, and admiring the overall beauty that God has created.

We lucked out with mostly good weather while in Padre, it only rained for a short amount of time a few days during the week (usually first thing in the morning). I took this picture literally 15 minutes before it started pouring! haha

This is what I did all day, every day and this is what Jacob did:

Well, that and read. He actually brought a few books too!

We decided to go on a Dolphin Watch/Eco Tour in the middle of the week and it was great!

They dragged a fishing net behind the boat and discussed everything they caught for the Eco Tour portion and it was cool to see the creatures that are common out there. The only downside was that they didn't catch a whole lot that day.

This was a Flounder--not what I expected a Flounder to look like. I was picturing a big, puffy, yellow fish...The Little Mermaid lied to me. haha

A crab of course! What was cool though is they taught us how to tell the difference between a male and a female. This crab was actually pregnant, so they stressed the importance of not injuring it and quickly returning it to the water.

Then my favorite part of the tour--dolphin watching! I have always loved dolphins and could spend hours watching them. It was so hard to get a good action shot, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

On to Book #2 for the week....Jennifer Wiener books are great beach books!

On the last night, we decided to take a Sunset Dinner Cruise. They served us grilled shrimp, fajitas, and fruit. I devoured the shrimp--it was my absolute favorite! 

The cruise ended with a fireworks show over the bay. Perfect ending to a great week!

We met a great couple on the cruise, who were also celebrating their One Year Anniversary, so we decided to grab a few drinks after the cruise at Louie's Backyard and saw the coolest sandcastle! Also, in case you don't already know, never tell a bartender to surprise you with "something fruity" unless you want a souvenir cup half-full of 5 various liquors, a handful of cherries, and a bit of Sprite. It was surprisingly good and only $12 but soooo strong! Jacob had to help me drink it because if I finished it, I would not have been walking out of there. haha

Since Jacob drove the entire way down, I decided to be nice and offer to drive some of the way home. Not 15 minutes into the drive, I saw flashing lights in my rearview mirror and was handed a Warning for going 10 over the speed limit. In my defense, I was honestly looking for a Speed Limit sign! It's a good think he didn't catch me a 1/4 mile back when I was going 15 over the alleged Speed Limit...we'll keep that our little secret. haha

We were so bummed to come back to the real world and go back to work, but we were so happy with our decision to go to South Padre. It was a beautiful beach, and a very relaxing vacation. We will definitely visit again!