Padre Island and Lake Fausse Parks

Upon reaching the Gulf of Mexico, everything began to improve.  Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the day we drove into Corpus Christie, the town closest to Padre Island, the sun was bright and warm, the windows rolled down, and I saw Mom in a tank top for the first time in a very long time!

It was wonderful to smell the beach again.  The mixture of saltwater and seaweed promised beach walks and big sticks for me to chase.  And of course I was hopeful that there were crabs here too.  I miss chasing those little ghost crabs during my twice weekly walks on Sugar Beach!

It was everything I hoped for with the exception of having to be on my leash at all times :(  Mom and Dad wore shorts and t-shirts!  There were sticks, and shells and yes, even crabs!  We walked for almost two hours and I heard Mom and Dad say that this was what they imagined the trip would be like! 

That night, the weather was sooo warm and I didn't have to wear Mom's down vest like I usually do.  Kea got to pop her top, the moon was big, bright and beautiful, and I could hear the waves lapping at the shore just a few feet behind Kea.  We weren't they only ones enjoying the night, the coyotes were happy too!  They sang and sang and sang beneath the buttery light, in that balmy, salty air!  I would have liked to join in and let the world hear how happy I was, but I didn't want to wake Dad.

Mom and Dad loved seeing what the water washed up on shore... so many examples of Nature's artistic abilities.

We would have liked to stay at Padre Island National Seashore, but big black clouds started building after our second night, and the drops began to fall as Mom and Dad took cold showers at the visitors center.  We decided to drive on in search of sunshine.

The drive was quite windy, and luckily Dad drove, because Mom doesn't do so well when Kea is getting blown all over the road by wind and passing big rigs.  We spent a few nights in WalMart parking lots, because we are allowed to stay there for free...pretty cool!  We stopped at McDonalds quite a few times to use the bathrooms and take advantage of the free wireless internet provided by at&t.  Most times Mom and Dad used the internet, it was to get directions.  Their maps aren't the right scale, and the road system is really weird.  They should let me navigate!  I could sniff out a good park! 

They finally made it to a good one, Lake Fausse State Park in Louisiana.  It is so cool that we have been here for three days now!  None of us want to leave!  We are in a protected area of natural swamp land.  There are tons of birds; cardinals, egrets, heron, woodpeckers, hawks, osprey, owls and more! 

And more importantly to me....

there are armadillos!!!! 

Oh my goodness!!!  They are EVERYWHERE and they are not afraid of me and they are so STRANGE!!!  I think I am more excited by them than I ever have been about ANYTHING in my whole life... even sticks and chicken jerky and balls!  When I go running on the trails with Mom and Dad, I try to get away from them so that I can go and get a good sniff and figure these creatures out!

Anyway, we have been exploring the swampy park, lounging in the sun, reading books, taking showers, doing laundry, watching movies and just having a relaxing, enjoyable time here!  Dad made a campfire last night that was so warm and beautiful.  We watched the play of light, heat and energy dance in the darkness.  This afternoon it started to rain, so we are inside Kea.  Dad is reading and Mom is helping me write my blog.  I am a pretty lucky dog.  I miss my friends and family.  It would be fun if we could all get together some day and go camping.  Experiences like this are so much richer when shared with the ones you love.