Hello My Padre Island Baby

My wife loves the beach, and one thing I promised when we bought the Airstream was that we'd do some beach camping. In fact, I'd almost say that, after showing her pictures of people beach-camping in their Airstreams, that's the one thing that persuaded her to allow me to buy one.

Well, it took me almost two years to make good on my promise, but this past weekend we FINALLY made it to the beach. The romantic images I'd shown her of setting up directly on the sand, right next to the water, left it so that she would settle for nothing less than boondocking at Padre Island National Seashore.

We left early Friday morning, and made it to the coast around noon. I decided to take the back highways rather than the Interstate-- it took a bit longer, but the drive was much more scenic, and seemed to pass by quicker.



We arrived to find the place nearly deserted, and set up camp without any neighbors for a quarter mile in either direction.


The view from our curbside bedroom window:


And then it was time to play!








And, time to relax.


Dylan was worn out after spending the day on the beach.


So was McKenzie.

A little bit after sunrise.





It was windy, no need to use the A/C all weekend long.


Based on advice regarding beach camping received from member Boondocker on the AirForums, we were well-equipped to handle a few of the challenges with parking a 4,000 lb rig directly on the sand, and camping there. First, to keep Catarina's wheels from becoming embedded in the sand over time, I parked the Airstream on top of wooden planks.


Then, to minimize the tracking of sand into the Airstream, we placed a pan of water at the doorstep for feet-dipping prior to entry. It worked well to reduce the amount of sand tracked into the coach.

Those were a couple of great tips, Boondocker!

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Goodbye, Padre Island.