South Padre Island

Day Three

On day three we ate breakfast at the hotel and then headed over to the South Padre Island Adventure Park to sign up for horseback riding for the next morning. While we were there, Aaron and Amaya did the zip-lines while Evelyn and I checked out all the animals they had there.

Say hello to my little friends…aren’t they cute?!

After zip-lining we headed back to the hotel for some pool time. They have these amazing loungers around the pool. I really need one of these in my backyard.

They also have these adorable tikis scattered around the parking lot.

After Evelyn was done splashing around in the pool, we showered and headed out for dinner. This time we wanted a meal with a view, so we chose Lobo Del Mar Cafe.

We loved the Lobo Del Mar experience! I highly recommend you try this place while in SPI. We arrived around 6pm, and the place was already hopping. We had to park in the parking lot across the street. As we walked in, we noticed a live band playing, they played an array of country music and sounded amazing. We wanted to sit outside so we walked around to the dock area and was lucky enough to grab the last table. The view was gorgeous and we got to sit and watch the boats go by which my youngest enjoyed. The service was slow so it’s not a practical place to eat at if you are in a rush. We didn’t mind though, as we got to listen to good music and watch the view while we waited. The food was just ok, it’s more about the atmosphere and the drinks. Our waitress informed us that they play bagpipes at sundown and after that belly dancers perform! We didn’t stay that long as our little one was restless and ready to go, but she did have a good time dancing on the dock to the music. It was super cute watching her. Overall, if you are looking for a place to sit, have a drink while listening to live music with an amazing view. This is the place to go. 🎶

After dinner, we decided to head over to Port Isabel and tour the area. There is a gorgeous lighthouse there that is perfect for picture taking.

After walking around the lighthouse and checking out the local shops we stopped in to Davey Jones Ice cream Locker for a special treat!

This cute little ice cream shack had lots of flavors to choose from, as well as lots of fudge options to boot! It’s located just off the pier so you can sit and enjoy your ice cream while enjoying the view.

After eating our ice cream, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest for our horse adventure early the next morning! 🐴

We got up early the next morning because Amaya and I had to be at the Adventure Park at 8 AM the next morning for our morning horse ride on the beach! This was an item on my bucket list. I had always wanted to ride a horse on the beach and it was nothing short of amazing!

At 4 years old, Evelyn was too young to ride the horses so her and Aaron went geocaching around the island instead.

When we lined up to ride the horses the main guy assigned each horse to a person. My guy was Bucky! I was a little apprehensive of his name. Did he get his name from bucking? I surely hoped not! Turns out he was just fine and didn’t give me any trouble at all besides the fact that he did not like this one female horse. Every time they got near each other they would bite each other. Maybe he dumped her and she never got over it? A woman scorned you know…

Amaya’s horse was named Tabasco and he definitely lived up to his name. He didn’t listen at all to Amaya and did his own thing. He wanted to be behind this other horse and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

After everyone was situated on their horses, we headed out. There was around 20+ of us, not including the 5 ranch hands helping us out. They were super nice and helpful, and I never once felt unsafe.

We had to cross the main road and up a dune to get over to the beach. Aaron was able to take a picture of us crossing the road.

My favorite part was actually riding the horse in the water. We were allowed to take them up to their knees. That was super fun! Amaya’s horse wouldn’t go near the water, but mine didn’t mind at all. We rode for about an hour and a half. On the beach we passed lots of people fishing and everyone would wave and say hi as we passed. That was pretty neat.

I will say, make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen and tennis shoes. If you have a hat that won’t fly off wear that too, and don’t forget your sunglasses!