My alarm clock woke me up this morning at 6 o'clock and staring out my bedroom window I thought I saw a very faint bit of red on the horizon towards the beach. I took this is a good sign for a decent sunrise, hurriedly dressed, and scampered down to the beach. Well it wasn't actually a scamper it was more like a slow mosey while muttering to myself about how I should still be in bed.

 I got to the beach about 6:10, I set up my tripod, stared at the horizon and saw nothing but blackness which was a bad sign because by now there should be a  bit of lightness in the sky. I continued to stare for another five minutes until I finally had to admit that even though It was too dark to see anything, there had to be thick clouds on the horizon not allowing any sunlight through.

It appears that the faint redness I saw on the horizon looking out my bedroom window was probably my bloodshot eyes from getting up so early, and in reality I was going to be standing there in complete darkness until the sun got high enough to lighten things up a little bit through the clouds. But instead of being disappointed that I didn't get any pictures of a sunrise I decided I would take a few pictures of a cloudy morning as if I had planned it all along.

                            theboondork

It was a nice day today but I slept through the sunrise so I didn't get any pictures, I'll try again tomorrow.

I when out on the pier yesterday and walked around taking a few pictures. I don't go out on the pier every day, there's no need to. I don't have the right equipment to fish, my tackle being way to light, especially if I had to hoist a decent sized fish over the handrail. So I mostly go out on the pier to see what's going on, and absorb a little of the local ambience.
A lot of the local ambience consists of the smell of dead fish and old bait, so it's very easy to absorb the ambience and a lot harder to wash it off.

The pier was packed with people, I guess because it was a beautiful day, and a Saturday. There was enough people lined up along both sides of the pier that you had to be careful walking between them that some careless caster didn't plant a hook in you.

I think fishing from a pier is as much about family, and camaraderie, as actually catching a fish. Everybody's having a good time, the little kids are running around having fun, people helping out complete strangers with any bait or extra tackle they need, folks lending a hand if you need help getting a fish up on the pier, it's like people come here to have fun with their friends or family and maybe catch a fish in the process.... I like that.

                                    theboondork

I made a decision to spend another week here at Padre Balli campground so I moseyed on over to the office yesterday afternoon and re-upped. There's only about five of us here at the old campground, and approximately the same number at the new campground, so there's plenty of empty space. So even though there's a two-week limit at this County Park, last time I was here I stayed for a month so I guess this time of year they don't have a problem with crowds or people that want to overstay their limit.

I grudgingly dragged myself out of bed at 6 o'clock this morning to take a sunrise picture knowing there was a pretty good chance it was going to be too cloudy for the sun to make an appearance on the horizon...And I was right. But I took a couple of snapshots, just so I didn't get out of bed at that ungodly hour for no reason at all, and to quote Jimmy Buffett "I cruised on back home".

I'm not sure why but I've felt very lazy since I've been here on Padre island. There are a few things I was thinking about doing when I got here but so far the only thing I've done is take some pictures. I attribute this problem to the extreme humidity. I'm okay early in the morning, walking on the beach and stuff like that, but as soon as things warm up I start sweating like a hog and don't feel like doing anything except sitting in my easy chair.

 Not that I mind sitting in my easy chair, I am in fact quite good at it and consider it one of the few disciplines that I've managed to master, and Its not as easy as you think, most people only master the physical aspects of sitting in an easy chair, which involves sitting until you don't feel like sitting anymore. But to become a Jedi master of the easy chair like myself you have to be able to control the mental aspects of relaxing in an easy chair and that requires years of practice.

The hardest thing for most people to overcome is the guilt. Because most people feel guilty for spending more than a few minutes in their easy chair. "Oh it's okay to sit down and rest" they say to themselves, before I get out and build another barn, or take the engine out of the family car, or run a marathon. But sitting in my easy chair any longer than five minutes is only acceptable if my back is broken or to rest up before I go cut 40 acres of jungle with my pocket knife.

It's difficult to overcome the guilt, but its the only way to attain complete relaxation. Relaxation so deep you have to be told your chair is on fire and your response is, "go away and don't bother me again until I'M on fire",
don't expect to achieve that level of relaxation overnight, but once you can call yourself a Jedi Master of the easy chair you will know the true meaning of relaxation.

                                 theboondork