We realized we hadn't taken a family vacation - even a short one - away from San Antonio since we arrived last summer. So last weekend we piled into the fam van and trucked down to the Gulf Coast and spent two nights on North Padre Island.
It took about three hours to get there, but it was such an easy drive - almost all of it through the Texas countryside - that it really was a relaxing trip. Anything is better than 3 hours on I-95 - which is how long it's taken us to get through NYC at times. But I digress...
We stayed at the Holiday Inn on North Padre Island. The location was awesome - right on the beach. We could walk out of the hotel, through the pool, and down onto the beach. Unfortunately, the ridiculous room rate was clearly for the premium of staying on the beach, and not for the amenities. This was a $75/night hotel charging a $150 beach premium. It just wasn't worth it. I thought I was getting something special for the family when I saw the price, and since we hadn't been anywhere in a long time, I was willing to pay it. But my daughters promptly labeled the hotel "a dump". Needless to say, we won't be staying there again. Beach access is easy, so if you're willing to put up with some minor transportation inconvenience, you can get a lot more hotel value staying somewhere else.
Nonetheless, we were there for the beach, not the hotel. And the beach was wonderful. Not too crowded, clean, and the water was about 90 degrees!
I really liked North Padre. We've already planned another trip back to Corpus Christi later in the summer (staying at a different hotel), and we'll certainly do some more exploring there.
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