More Island Fun

In our travels, I have from time to time mentioned that there are Belt Sander Races in Port Aransas (Mustang Island) TX. Sometimes I think my comment is not believed. Well, here is picture proof of it.

 

 

The race circuit is in the back yard of The Gaff, a bar and pizza joint on Beach Street in Port Aransas. The track is 75' long and has two lanes for side by side racing of competitor's belt sanders. See, you can't make stuff like this up out of thin air. I'm guessing there were 200 to 300 spectators.

When the race official activates the light bar, it goes from red to yellow, to green. On green, the belt sanders are sent on their way to the finish line.

This is great redneck-type fun and some participants really get into it.

The guy in blue is the driver for Team Viagra 2. Their motto is "Go Hard, Or Go Home". Note that these belt sanders are not exactly like your father's belt sander.

And with all the spring winds we've had on Mustang Island the kite fliers have been out in big numbers. Like the belt sanders, these kites are not your cheapie throw-aways. It's said the difference between boys and men is the price of the mens' toys. So true.

The big crush of spring break visitors is now over. This is a view of the beach at Pioneer Park, where we are staying, on Saturday at the end of the first week of spring break. Traffic was moving slowly, to say the least.

 

We'll be leaving Mustang Island on/about April 7.

Still Enjoying Mustang Island

Our two months on Mustang Island is now down to about two weeks. It's been a great time, in spite of February being less than stellar weather. Lots of wind, some rain, and some cloudy days, but still t-shirt and shorts weather for the most part and far better than spending winter just about anyplace else in the country. One of the wonderful things about the island is that there is always something going on. I'll post a number of photos from some of the events we have attended while here.

Mardi Gras parade in Port Aransas. A good excuse for people to act crazy (and drink too much).

That's not your ordinary kind of hood ornament. It's one of the souped-up  Belt Sander  Racers. This event takes place every two weeks in one of the local drinking/eating establishments. You have to see it to believe it. Stuff like this you can't just make up.

Would you, or would you let your daughter, ride in a parade like this?

More of the same.

I don't know what it is with the bead necklaces, but it seems to be an important part of Mardi Gras.

Pat adding to her collection of beads.

And this is not all of them. Pat says our Grandgirls will ultimately get all the beads.

Son Steve came for a week. One of our day trips was to the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.

Pat making her way through one of the passageways on the Lexington.

Steve playing tourist.

A nutria, swimming below the boardwalk at the Birding/Wildlife Refuge.

Part of the Oysterfest Parade in Fulton TX.

After the parade, we went to Charlotte Plummer's for lunch.

Pat's arm stamp at Oysterfest.

One of the vendors at Oysterfest. This is Jimmie N. Luckey, who specializes in fishing jewelry. He has an Ebay store, if you are interested. Jimmies Fishing Jewelry.

We are suckers for the funnel cake. Oil oozes out of our pores for days afterwards.

Molly, Pat, and Annie on the beach at Port Aransas.

Our house sign had faded and peeled so I repainted it and added extra signs for Molly and Annie.

Our last big event is Spring Break. It's still on-going, so I'll do another post about that later.