Inside the Moon
2015 in Pictures A5
Fishing A7
Alamo Master Plan A13
The
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
October 15, 2015
What a strange week it’s been around our little sandbar. On Saturday a dispute between KIII and Dish meant that the Texas/Oklahoma game was blacked out, which given that the Longhorns were a 14 point underdog wasn’t that much of a disappointment, except that at halftime they were actually winning which sent many of us searching for someplace with cable. Then along about the end of the third quarter, where the beloved Horns usually find a way to shoot themselves in the foot many of us headed for the beach to only be an earwitness to the crash and burn that was sure to follow. Out on the beach a nice lady was flagging down traffic for a jump start on a dead battery. “We were listening to the Longhorn game and when it got to the part where they always collapse and the radio quit,” she said. “How much did we lose by?” “No, we won, it was strange.” “Something must have gone horribly wrong,” she said. “How can that happen!?”
Lobsters in Island canals! If that wasn’t strange enough, on Sunday we got a report from Island angler James Thompson that he caught this Florida lobster, technically a Caribbean Spiny Lobster, in the canal near the Padre Island Yacht Club.
By Dale Rankin
FREE
What About the Bridge?
As we reported in the last issue the Army Corps of Engineers has signed off on the permit for development of the land around Lake Padre and the construction of the Water Exchange Bridge which would connect Lake Padre and the Island canal system through Packery Channel to the open Gulf of Mexico. The final step in the permitting process, which has been ongoing for about two years, is approval by Texas Commission for Environmental Quality which has until Wednesday, October 21, to approve the plan. TCEQ has been involved in the planning leading up the approval by the Corps and approval is expected.
There’s a New Constable in Town!
Once that is done it clears the way for $552 million in development some of which began with the Schlitterbahn waterpark and digging of new adjacent canals in 2013. Developer Paul Schexnailder, who is the general partner of Gulf Shores Joint Ventures which is the driving force behind the development, told the Island Moon that $100 million in new residential development around Lake Padre and on the Gulf Beach near the eastern terminus of Whitecap is ready to begin once the final step of the permit is in place. The process of permitting, designing, and funding for the Water Exchange Bridge is less certain with a portion of the remaining $442 million in development hanging in the balance. City staff told the Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC) in early October that a public hearing on the design for the bridge is scheduled for January. Although SPID/Park Road 22 is a state roadway the environmental impact permitting process is driven by the city’s schedule and according to city staff the design is “90 percent complete” and was awaiting the Corps of Engineers permit. A request for an update on the project to the City Manager’s office was not provided by our Wednesday deadline but an update on the project is expected to go before the Corpus Christi City Council in the next few weeks.
After decades of neglect from law enforcement officers from the office of Precinct 4 Nueces County Constable Bobby Sherwood wasted no time showing a presence on the six miles of Gulf beach in Kleberg County last weekend.
Schlitterbahn Site
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
An analysis
Free
Bridge Site
Around The Island
Began in 1993 The permit, if approved by TCEQ as expected, is the final step in a long and arduous road to development of the land acquired by Gulf Shores in 1993, a total of about 1400 acres which includes the property around Schlitterbahn, Lake Padre which begins along the Michael J. Ellis Seawall and extends along the beach south of Whitecap to the Nueces County Park, and the Cape Summer area – the twenty-six undeveloped canals and fingertips at the end of Sea Pines. Schexnailder and Gulf Shores’ partners were instrumental in the approval by voters in 2000 of
Above are the latest drawings for the Island canal system when completed, subject to change of course. Below: The current design plans for the Park Road 22/SPID Water Exchange Bridge call for a 42-foot wide waterway dredged to eight feet deep with 14-feet of clearance from the waterline to the bottom of the bridge, and two adjacent pedestrian/cart paths. Roadway 14 ft.
Anyone who has been to Florida during the brief lobster season there knows how popular these things are as table fare but this is the first time we have heard of them in our waters. All we can say is that it was a brave man who ate the first one because tasty as they are, pretty they ain’t.
Rumble delayed but not rumble denied The plan by the Texas Department of Transportation to begin installing rumble strips on State Highway 361 between Packery Channel and Port Aransas that was scheduled for this week hit a snag due to a machinery problem but will commence next week. The work will begin Monday at Packery and move north with the road down to one lane during the daylight hours. Give yourself a little extra time if you are traveling the Island Road.
Kleberg chaos It was a bad week for the Naked Men of Kleberg. It looks like the days of the reverse Lobster Tan have come to an end for them as Constables began patrolling the six miles of beach there last weekend and didn’t waste any
Around continued on A3
Live Music A18
Weekly
Lake Padre
Issue 600
Seashore Volleyball A14
Pedestrian / Cart path
30 ft.
Pedestrian / Cart path
30 ft.
42 ft. Water Depth 8 ft.
Taste of The Island Wednesday! On Wednesday, October 21, a storm of hungry Islanders will descend on Port Royal Resort for the 28th Taste of The Island. The event, sponsored by the Padre Island Business Association, will feature offerings from 25 restaurants from Port Aransas, Padre Island and Flour Bluff. This year will mark the 28th appearance by Island Italian Restaurant the only Island establishment to participate in each year of the event’s existence. Doors open at 6:30 and the event ends at 9:30 with an auction of donated items. Parking will be at a premium but valet parking is available. Tickets are $30 in advance and $45 at the door. Silent auction items can still be donated.
the Packery Channel project, after a failed first vote two years earlier, but their original plans for development along the seawall were thrown into turmoil after citywide voters in 2006 turned down a plan to close 7200 linear feet of beach to traffic from the South Packery Jetty to the county park putting an end to a potential
Only two days after Nueces County Coastal Parks Board Chairman Charlie Zahn told the Padre Island Business Association Luncheon that an interlocal agreement had been signed between Kleberg County and Nueces County for the constable’s office to patrol the area officers were on the scene checking out the remnants of the homeless community which sprung up on the unpatrolled beach over the summer. Officers on Saturday were taking an inventory of the leavings of the “residents” who were told to leave several weeks ago and by Monday morning the trailers, campers, tents, and trash left behind were gone.
Kleberg continued on A4
Kleberg continued on A4
A Tale of Two Doggies In town for a day and already in Dog Jail but Islanders to the rescue!
It was four o’clock in the morning Island time and there was a howling in the air. Something was amiss in the canal near Hawksnest and Three Fathoms Bank.
Islanders Jaq’d Bones and Josh Sandbach went to investigate and found a Yellow Labrador Retriever and a Hound Dog howling for their lives. Like Island dogs for decades they had found their way into the canal only to discover they could not find a way out. It is a tragic end for many an Island dog and a constant danger.
Dogs continued on A4
A little Island history
The Beginning of Island Development
Editor’s note: This the latest in a series of old photos and documents we have collected about the Island. If you have any old Island items you think our readers would be interested in please send them to us editor@islandmoon. com or post them on our Facebook page theislandmoonnewspaper.
Left: The view looking east down Whitecap in 1984. Above: The Padre Island Country Club in the early 1970s
History continued on A5
A2
October 15, 2015
Island Moon
Skip The Plastic recognizes Ron and Julie Bays as ‘Bag Heroes’
Hook 'em Horns! Jerry Lawley with Christina and Cynee Lane
When Things Go Bad…
The Bag Hero Program is a campaign to educate and encourage the use of reusable shopping bags in the Coastal Bend. We recognize community members who set a positive example by bringing reusable bags when shopping for groceries or other goods.
The Bays live on North Padre Island and enjoy the laidback coastal lifestyle. While their reasons for using reusable bags stem mostly from convenience, it also means that fewer disposable ones can end up littering the Island’s dunes and beaches.
We met our October Bag Heroes, Ron and Julie Bays, as they walked to their car after buying groceries at the H-E-B in Flour Bluff. Their reasons for bringing their own reusable shopping bags are simple and concise, “They look nice and you can pack them full without breaking like the plastic ones do. That means you can carry a lot more groceries in fewer bags.”
Clean, scenic beaches, not shorelines littered with plastic trash, are what draw people to the Island. We applaud the Bays and all others who have made the shift to a better way of bagging their purchases. For more information visit http://skiptheplastic. org or call 361-765-4445.
Nite Golf Saturday, October 24th 7:00pm Shot Gun Start 4 Person Scramble
Registration is limited to the first 60 players Fee: Members $35 + Tax Guest $45 + Tax Fees Include: Cart, Warm Up Range Balls, 2 Glow Balls, Glow Necklace, Prizes and Taco Buffet Before Play To sign up or for more information call the 10th Hole Pro Shop 361-589-4221
Upcoming Events Don't let this happen to you! Read the tide charts on A6 of every issue of the Island Moon before you drive your car into the surf. Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to get up in the morning. There he was driving along Padre Island National Seashore when the next thing he knew his car was being swallowed by the sea. We’re sure there is a story here but it is probably left better untold. All we can say is, avoid this problem if you can.
Saturday, October 24th/Schlitterbahn Spooktacular Free Admission/5:30pm to 8pm Trick or Treating, Face Painting, Magic Show, Caricature Artist, Balloon Animals Halloween Costume Contest (Ages 3 to 11) Food & Drink Specials Boogie Bahn Open/$5 admission/6pm to 10pm
October 15, 2015
Island Moon
Mike Ellis, Founder
Port Aransas Community Theater would like to announce the "Winter Season" of 2016 So, as we start our season Pact wants you to bring talent to our stage!! Pact is looking for Directors, actresses, stage mangers, set designers & builders, tech & lightening, a volunteer coordinator, concession & ticket sales, these are just a few positions that need to be filled to put a play on stage.
Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker
As you see, YOU are needed.
Advertising
WANTED NOW..Directors for the following plays!!!
Jan Park Rankin Classifieds
Last of the Red Hot Lovers
Arlene Ritley Production Manager Jeff Craft Contributing Writers
Arsenic and Old Lace Always Grand Ole Opry January Play Title: "Last of the Red Hot Lovers (Neil Simon)"
Joey Farah Andy Purvis
Dates: Jan. 8, 9, 10, 15,16,17 ,22 ,23 & 24
Devorah Fox
Dinner/Show
Mary Craft
Jan 13 limited seating
Snowman Party
Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner
Jan 19, 2016
Todd Hunter
Let's turn the A/C down, put on hats, gloves, & a scarf... MAYBE it will Snow
Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour
Hats from the Past Fashion Show
Brent Rourk
Time: 11:30 $35.00
Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers
Lunch at noon
admission
Limited seating make RSVP
Miles Merwin
Always Grand Ole Opry Forever
Jeff Dolan
Jan 29 & 39
Mary Craft
February Play
Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus) Riley P. Dog
Title: "Arsenic and Old Lace" Author: Joseph Kesselring Feb. 12, 13, 14, 19 20, 21, 26, 27 & 28 Feb. 17 Dinner/Play limited seating March we finish up our season with Always Grand Ole Opry Forever March 4, 5, 11 & 12 March 9 Dinner/Play
Publisher Dale Rankin About the Island Moon
The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher. Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses. News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.
limited seating Pact has put together another great season for your enjoyment, come and support your live theatre. Darlene Secich
Unwanted Pole Removed by City
The Island Moon Newspaper 14646 Compass, Suite 3 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper
Where to Find The Island Moon Port Aransas Lisabella’s Restaurant Pioneer RV Park
Sandpiper Condos WB Liquors Port A Arts
All Stripes Stores
A Mano
CVS
Coffee Waves
Whataburger
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Doc’s Restaurant
Spanky’sLiquor
Snoopy’s Pier
IGA Grocery Store
Isle Mail N More
Carter Pharmacy
Brooklyn Pie Co.
San Juan’s Taqueria
Ace Hardware
Wash Board Laundry Mat
Texas Star (Shell)
Port A Parks and Rec
Island Italian
Holiday Inn Jesse’s Liquor
Public Library
Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant
Chamber of Commerce
Island Tire
Duckworth Antiques
And all Moon retail advertisers
Back Porch
WB Liquor
Woody’s Sports Center
Subway
Shorty’s Place
Flour Bluff
Giggity’s
H.E.B.
Stripes @ Cotter & Station
Liquid Town
Gratitude Gift Shop Keepers Pier House Port A Glass Studio The Gaff
Whataburger on Waldron Ethyl Everly Senior Center Fire Station Police Station Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID
Padre Island Teen
by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com or @padreeyelander on twitter
By Elizabeth Clark
Hair! There has been a lot of excitement since the recent nullification of Flour Bluff's "No Colored Hair" rule; the old dress code is changing considerably to fit modern standards. The old rule stated that if a student came to school with colored or potentially distracting hair, the teacher could report them. Vibrant hair color is only becoming more and more popular and the kids have been protesting against the dress code rules for years, so finally it was removed from the High School Code of Conduct. Coloring hair is a way for the students to express their uniqueness. However, some may say that this small change in the handbook could lead to more leniency with the dress code. Between the students and the parents, they'll surely find safe middle ground. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, email me at PadreIslandTeen@ gmail.com.
Thanks Island Moon I purchased a condo here on the island three years ago but I continue to reside in San Antonio. The Island Moon Newspaper has been a great resource for learning the history of The Island while becoming informed about the current issues facing Island citizens. I've become so "addicted" to the newspaper that finding the latest issue is the first thing I do when I arrive for the weekend! I just have to find out how to get it sent to me in San Antonio. Please let me know the procedure for subscribing as well as the cost. I look forward to a long relationship with the Island Moon. As an owner of one of the Portofino condos, I am very interested in the issues surrounding the Michael J. Ellis Seawall. Reading your article about it in the October 8 issue, I now realize I may be somewhat financially responsible for maintaining the seawall. That certainly was a surprise! I am interested in reading articles which would give the history of the M.J.E. Seawall from the beginning to the present. How would I get access to archived articles? Marilyn Garland
New Advertisers
Step Back Fishing offers hosted fishing adventures in Barra de Navidad, Mexico by Islander Captain David Devlin. They offer all inclusive 3 night/4 days double occupancy at a beachfront hotel with fishing for $1650. They fish from 28’ pangas for marlin, sailfish, tuna, dorado, roosterfish and more. “Let’s Ask the Angels” offers holistic healing, card readings and guided meditation. Call 453-9009 to uplift your mind, body and spirit.
Business Briefs Island Yogurt Shoppe near Scuttlebutt’s has closed. Their shop on Alameda remains open. They will start refurbishing the HEB in Flour Bluff soon so be prepared to have trouble finding what you need. Brooklyn Pie Company has 75 cent jumbo wings all day on Wednesdays. They also have garlic twists that are not on the menu but you can just ask. Dragonfly Restaurant will officially have a new menu starting Tuesday, October 20th. Deluxe Nails is offering 10% off purchases and free wine or soft drinks. They are located next to Padre Pizzeria. Padre Island Dog Owners Group (PI DOG) is having an Island Dog Walk at Billish Park on Gypsy on Saturday, October 17th at 9 am. The Port A Old Town Festival celebrating 100 years of Farley Boats is this weekend. There will be a parade, Chapel tours, gumbo lunch, surfing contest and more. The Farley Classic Golf Tournament will be on Sunday, October 18th at Palmilla Golf Club. Check out Port Aransas Museum website for full details. Island Italian Restaurant has live music with Ruben Limas on Thursday evening, Brian Winfrey on Friday and Saturday and South Texas Grassroots on Sunday. Reservations are suggested for Sundays especially when more Winter Texans arrive. The Cinnamon Shore Fall Fest in Port A will be held on Saturday, October 17th. The tour of homes will be 10 am – 5 pm and the concert featuring Radney Foster and Mark McKinney will start at 5 pm. There will be a beer garden, face painting, food vendors and pumpkin decorating.
Editor’s note: Well, Marilyn the answer to both questions is they are works in progress, but The 55th Annual Texas Jazz Festival this your inquiries are timely because we have some weekend will feature more than 50 bands on success to report on both fronts. We’ll take them three stages starting Friday at 5:30 pm and ending Sunday at 8:30 pm. There will be arts in order. and crafts and food vendors and there is no As things currently stand it costs us $100 per entry fee. year for us to mail the paper. That seems like a lot to us for a “free” paper so we’ve been trying The 32nd Annual Pig Party at Shorty’s in to get the U.S. Postal Service to take the gun Port A will be held on Saturday, October 17th out of our ribs for a while and just this week with music starting at noon. The event was have made considerable progress. Wait a couple started to celebrate the birthday of the original of weeks and we hope to have some news that owner, Miss Rose. could lead to the Island Moon being delivered Mikel May's Beachside Bar & Grill on Bob to every mailbox on The Island and the price of Hall Pier now has an off the menu Sunday an out of town subscription dropping by several Champagne Brunch 7 am - 2 pm. They are orders of magnitude. The wheels have ground open at 11 am on weekdays and 7 am on slowly but it looks like we have made some weekends. They have live music on weekends. progress. Happy hour every day 3 – 7pm with drink and Currently you can read the latest edition which appetizer specials. is posted each Thursday on our Facebook page The 28th Annual Taste of the Island will be theislandmoonnewspaper. held at Port Royal on Wednesday, October 21st As for archived copies this week marks our 6:30 – 9:30 pm. There will be food samples 600th edition and we got ‘em all. We are from 25 of the area’s restaurants. There will currently trying to breathe some life into be live music, auctions and cash bars. Tickets our website which has been moribund and are $30 in advance and can be purchased at sucking wind since 2005. We will post all the any Island bank. If available, tickets will be back editions plus list stories by topic as soon $45 at the door. as we can get the computer dudes moving. We This is the Moon’s 600th issue with the have also been working to collect as much old first one printed in April 1996 by founder/ information, documents, and photos of The editor Mike Ellis. We went to weekly from Island as we can find to eventually place into an fortnightly in January 2012. Island museum. Thanks for reading and the nice words Marilyn, and stay tuned for developments on both counts.
North Padre
Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A
Did Ya Hear?
Letters to the Editor
Moon Monkeys
A3
Island water
Thanks to the City of Corpus Christi for removing an unused, unnecessary and unsightly utility pole from the corner of Cumana and Cayo Gorda. CC Utilities department left this remnant of a receiver mount pole for water meter readings, which used to be sent from our home's underground transmitters, to a receiver mounted at the top of this pole. Such receivers on poles have been obsolete, since CC changed to satellite reception for water meter readings, a few years ago. All it took to get the eyesore of an unused pole removed was a few calls to find the right person responsible; make the request appropriately, then follow up a few times politely . . . and now you see it . . . And now, we don't . . . So thanks, City of CC, for doing the right thing! Pat Richarde
Around continued from A1 time getting down to business. See the story in this issue. The good news for the rest of us is that we don’t have to carry a Buck knife to poke out our one good eye after seeing some of these guys with their squishy parts a-floppin’. Some things are better left unseen. (Note to formerly Naked Men of Kleberg: do us all a favor and buy some board shorts – forgo the Speedos and spare us some Buck knife work). So the Longhorns find their Zen, lobsters turn up in Island canals, the Naked Men of Kleberg have to put their britches back on, and the first La Posada event is a mere six weeks away. As our old friend Hunter Thompson used to say, “When the going gets weird the weird turn pro.” Say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Having lived on the Island off and on since 1996, we have seen our share of water issues. The water quality on the Island has never been great and we always have added a whole house carbon filter, softener and RO sink faucet to any house we have lived in. It removes any chlorine smell and greatly improves the water quality. However, with the recent e-coli incident, we investigated additional options. In doing so, we discovered UV sterilization which we are adding. It is a pricey solution, but one we are willing to
undertake in order to avoid another e-coli scare. Part of the requirement for a UV system is a 5 micron filter prior to sterilization. Since the whole house carbon filter only filters to 40 microns, we added the 5 micron filter as well. We added the 5 micron filter just prior to the "super-chlorination" that the city recently undertook to clean out the water lines. And just a couple of days later our 5 micron filter changed from the one on the left to the one on the right. What the heck is in our water?
A4
October 15, 2015
Island Moon
Dogs continued from A1 In this case it turned out the dogs had been Island residents for less than twenty-four hours after moving from dry West Texas and like a couple of excited teenagers who discovered their new home came with a convenient swimming hole they splashed in. But now they were in mortal trouble.
Bridge continued from A1
out and now they are happy Island dogs who know to be careful around Island canals. Many years go Island Moon founder Mike Ellis went around to neighborhoods and helped newcomers and oldcomers alike make sure each fingertip or group of lots had a ramp for dogs to get out of the canals if they fell (or jumped) in. Ramps are easy to build and when dogs are
resort development there. The vote instituted a restart of development plans which culminated two years ago in the digging of new canals on the west side of SPID and the Schlitterbahn park under a permit which Gulf Shores already had in hand.
No canals without The Bridge But in 2013 a change in leadership at the local Corps of Engineers office stalled final approval of the permitting process for the area-wide development plan which began in the 1990s. With the prior existing permit Gulf Shores was able to dig the canals on the west side of SPID as Upland Lakes but could not connect them to the saltwater canals without the area-wide permit which cleared the Corps process last week. The freshwater canals dug in conjunction with the Schlitterbahn project were halted at the SPID roadway, where it is eventually expected to cross, and within a few hundred yards of the northernmost end of existing canal system near Nemo Court. With the new permit in hand work could begin on canals around Lake Padre, which Schexnailder says should get underway by the end of 2015, meaning canals would lead up to both sides of the SPID roadway in expectance of the impending construction of the Water Exchange Bridge.
Jaq’d and Josh got busy and called the police who arrived in a hurry and soon enough the dogs were high and dry with a heck of a story to tell their dog friends back in West Texas where dogs don’t generally have a swimming hole in their back yard.
in peril they have a way of finding them; boat ramps are also good escape routes. The same for Islanders with swimming pools; make sure the dogs know where the steps are so that if they go in while their humans are away they don’t panic and exhaust themselves trying to climb out.
But what to do with them? They were friendly guys but no one in the neighborhood recognized them so off to Dog Jail they went. But Jac’d posted the story on theislandmoonnewspaper Facebook page where lost dogs often go looking for their humans and after spending a day in timeout while the Dog Jail was closed their humans, the Knebels, arrived to get them
Everything ended well and we welcome the Knebels to The Island and we gotta say one thing…you guys sure know how to make an entrance!
We still don’t know exactly how the dogs ended up in the water but Stoopid Cats are suspected.
Dale Rankin
Kleberg continued from A1
“But we are not going to dig the canals to the eastside of SPID unless we know the city is going to build the bridge,” Schexnailder said last week. And that is where things stand as of this writing.
A long time coming The impetus for the Water Exchange Bridge began in the 1990s with the approval of the first Corps permit which called for water exchange culverts under SPID to allow for water passage from Lake Padre to the canal system. The cost of the culverts at the time was estimated at about $900,000. Then in 2004 with a city bond election pending that included 42 projects citywide but nothing for The Island then District 4 City Councilman Mark Scott inserted an item for $1.4 million that, in conjunction with the estimated $900,000 for the culverts, provide a total of $2.3 million to upgrade the culverts to a bridge. Of the 43 projects approved by voters in 2004 the Water Exchange Bridge is the only one not currently completed. Nothing changed until 2011 when plans for the Schlitterbahn park became public and discussions of the bridge were revived. The cost at that point was placed at around $8.5 million and funds from then uncompleted projects from the 2004 package were shifted to the bridge project and the permitting and design processes for the bridge were kickstarted. With the formation of the Island Strategic Action Committee in 2009 city staff began providing the committee monthly updates on the bridge project and a public hearing to reveal design plans held in 2012.
Nueces County purchased the six miles of beach, and the 3680 acres from the beach to the Laguna Madre, late last year with a $1 million grant from the Ed Rachal Foundation and the grant also included funds to provide for a patrol vehicle and officer for five years with any fine money going to Kleberg County. The presence of law enforcement is expected to put an end to years of the Kleberg beach being bereft of a
law enforcement presence due to the sixty miles between the Kleberg County seat in Kingsville, and the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office, and the beach. The homeless community was the latest in a long line of nefarious activity there including nudity, underage drinking, and destruction of the dunes. It looks like those days are over.
We now have Gluten Free Pizza!
Family Owned & Operated Since 1987
LIVE MUSIC Thursday Friday & Saturday
South Texas Grassroots Band Sunday 6:30 - 9:00
The Original Pizza of Padre Island The Island's oldest full-service restaurant Private Party / Meeting Room Available by Reservation
Like us on facebook for daily specials, live music and menu
Delivery on The Island after 5pm
Hours: Mon- Thurs 11 AM - 9:30 PM Fri - Sat 11 AM - 10 PM Sun 5-9:30 PM 15370 SPID (Just south of Whitecap) 949-7737 islanditalian.com
Since that time, with the completion of the other 2004 projects, the City Council has spent a portion of the funds for the bridge which cannot not be replaced with 2004 bond money; any shortfall in funding for the bridge would have to be made up with funds from other sources. Our unanswered request for information from the city included a query about the source for those funds as well as how much bond money is left available for the bridge project. Estimates on the cost of the bridge vary from the low of $8.5 million to just above $10 million. Those questions will presumably be answered in a report to the city council in the coming weeks.
Commodores/SPID intersection. Since the intersection at Commodores and South Padre Island Drive was revamped two years ago in anticipation of increased traffic due to the opening of the Schlitterbahn Waterpark complaints to the Island Strategic Action Committee have been constant. In the two years it has been opening the park has not created noticeable traffic pressure at the intersection, however, problems with the changes have prompted the City Traffic Engineering Department to begun a re-design. City staff told the ISAC in early October they are “beginning design” on plans to extend the current, very short, left turn lane from eastbound Commodores onto northbound SPID to “extend to two proper turn lanes,” as well as returning to having two right turn lanes from westbound State Highway 361 into northbound SPID. Currently the single right turn lane from SH 361 to SPID can handle between 1000 and 1100 vehicles per hour, the traffic count during peak summer hours shows about 1600 vehicles per hour descend on the single turn lane often backing up traffic more than ten miles up SH 361. Island traffic passed a dubious milestone on Labor Day 2015 when the entire roadway from the ferry landings in Port Aransas to the base of the JFK Causeway on Padre Island was one continuous traffic snarl. ISAC members told the city staff that the Commodores/SPID. “The message is received and we will report back,” was the response from the city staffer present. Beach maintenance and management. The recently hired beach manager told the ISAC he is looking at ways to revamp the practices of beach maintenance along the beach at the seawall. A new state law is expected to add about $3 million annually to funds available citywide for beach management. The beaches in Port Aransas were recently named the second best maintained in the United States and the standards and practices used there are under study for potential use on beaches in the city limits of Corpus Christi. Beach camera at seawall parking lot. Images from a camera currently in place at the parking lot on the Michael J. Ellis Seawall will be made available to the public via the internet. No firm timetable has been established but is expected to be available for public viewing by the end of October on the city’s website. Canal hurricane damage. John Metz from the Corpus Christi office of the National Weather Service will present information at the next meeting of the Padre Isles Property Owners Association on Tuesday, October 27, at 5:30 p.m. at the POA office concerning the effects of rising sea levels on the Island canal system in case of a hurricane. New development on Running Light. The Corpus Christi City Council heard and approved zoning on the first reading for a sixunit townhouse development at 14721 Running Light Drive on the east side of Lake Padre. The unit would be individually owned, and available for daily rental. Construction of the development must commence within 24 months from the date after zoning is approved by the City Council.
Send Letters to editor@islandmoon.com
The November date for letting bids on the bridge, as stated to the ISAC as recently as June 2015, will not be met since the current schedule calls for a public hearing on the bridge’s design, required before a contact can be done, in January 2016. As of this writing a firm schedule on the bridge’s construction nor a funding source has not been announced. What is certain is that with the approval of the 404 permit by the Army Corps of Engineers last week the future of Island development for the next two decades, including a planned 3600 linear-foot Beachwalk canal with retail and residential development which would pass under SPID, two marinas on Lake Padre, and development along the seawall, is squarely in the city’s hands. Sources say the next step in the process may likely be a Memorandum of Understanding between developers and the city spelling out the specific obligations of each. Stay tuned.
Other Island projects
The BACK PORCH Open at 2 pm Mon - thurs Fri-Sun + nOON-2AM Live Music
Oct. 16 The Scarecrow People Oct. 17 BACK PORCH Jerry Diaz & Hanna’s Reef Oct. 23 Randy McAllister Oct. 24 Bar Tessy Lou & Shotgun Stars Oct. 30 Stephen Chadwick
Myndfield
The
HALLOWEEN
$2.25 WackyPORCH Wednesdays! BACK ON THE WATERFRONT
132 W. Cotter St. Bar
PortA
$6.00
off any oil change!
October 15, 2015
History continued from A1
A5
Island Moon
Stuff I Heard on the Island
Island Life in the early 70s
by Dale Rankin
so far.
I know it’s too early for an End-of-the Yearer but dang, it’s been a pretty good year
A banner year for drones falling from the sky into Island backyards.
In June Tropical Storm Bill blew through with a whimper and not with a bang.
Flounder.
Then Lemonade Day came and went. Ah… lemondade…
Remembering our old pal Riley P. Dog and soaking in Hill Country pools.
In May blues legend B.B. King died at 89 and Islander David Perry caught this shot of his final run down Highway 61 in Mississippi. “Why are all these people out on the road,” David asked, “B.B.’s coming they said. It may be the only time a Bluesman got a police escort in Mississippi when he wasn’t in the back seat of a patrol car. Life imitating art.
And speaking of the Hill Country, Schlitterbahn owner Jeff Henry went to Wimberley to harvest some of the huge Cypress trees uprooted by the flooding.
Early summer winds uprooted floating cabins in the Laguna Madre.
This picture of a Hammerhead shark trolling for food in near-shore tourist-infested waters garnered more than 400,000 hits on theislandmoonnewspaper Facebook page. And unusually heavy rains actually caused flooding on Island streets, something we hadn’t seen for a while.
The Kinta S cargo ship became a permanent part of the Nearshore reef nine miles out of Packery Channel.
The July 4th beach invasion sent us all running for cover. It was a big turtle hatchling year.
But then October arrived and things returned to normal…
But a tough year for some hatchlings…
And reminded us while we’re all here.
A6
Island Moon
Moon Phases
The Annual CuttySark Street Festival
October 2015
By CSM (Ret.) Harold (Butch) Smith Another, Great Cuttsark Street Festival was enjoyed by all the residents that came this year on October 11th. The Cuttysark Festival and has been a great forum for our residents to meet each year. There have been so many new homes built on the street that the festival really helps the residents get reacquainted with old neighbors and meet new ones. The food just kept coming throughout the day, and best of all, it’s mostly all homemade and tasty. Chris Friday our Grill Master kept the grill fired up and doing his thing as this year’s griller. It just does not get any better than that. We want to thank all the residents for bring a covered dish or something for the grill to share and a special thanks to Giuseppe our local street chef who made some amazing Italian dishes.
were rewarded with prizes from Cuttysark. Our DJ had the music playing all day for everyone to enjoy. Overall, I would say the day was a great success and filled with smiling faces and cheer. Our sincere appreciation goes out to our residents. We know our success is due to their gracious support and participation. A special thanks to CuttySark Scots Whiskey. CuttySark has provided some wonderful promotional gifts for the past 10 years for our residents to enjoy. Some were even shipped all the way from Scotland for us. How neat is that? I would like to thank everyone on this year’s CuttySark Committee for the great job they did at setting up and cleaning up. As we all know things like this do not just happen and a lot of
Tides of the Week Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) October 15-22, 2015
The old time picnic games like the balloon toss and Sun Flower Seed Spitting contest, which was won by Connie Harris are great and still receive cheers and laughs. The line for the balloon toss grows every year with over 20 couples. The young ones were delighted with our Moon Walk that was provided by Rob and Christi for them to enjoy the entire day. All youth entering activities such as the sack race, and the water balloon toss were rewarded with prizes. The men enjoyed playing horseshoes throughout the day and both men and women enjoyed the golf challenge; (which was won by JoAnn Smith) there might even be some PGA and LPGA hopefuls in our area. All winners
October 15, 2015
Day
High /Low
Tide Time
Height in Feet
Sunrise Moon Time Sunset
Th
15
Low
10:27 AM
0.6
7:29 AM Rise 9:41 AM
15
High
6:46 PM
2.1
7:00 PM Set 8:59 PM
F
16
Low
10:58 AM
0.5
7:30 AM Rise 10:33 AM
16
High
7:42 PM
2.1
6:59 PM Set 9:43 PM
Sa
17
Low
11:35 AM
0.5
7:30 AM Rise 11:26 AM
17
High
8:43 PM
2.1
6:58 PM Set 10:30 PM
Su
18
Low
12:18 PM
0.4
7:31 AM Rise 12:18 PM
18
High
9:46 PM
2.1
6:57 PM Set 11:21 PM
M
19
Low
1:11 PM
0.5
7:31 AM Rise 1:09 PM
19
High
10:44 PM
2.2
Tu
20
Low
2:13 PM
0.5
7:32 AM Set 12:16 AM
20
High
11:32 PM
2.1
6:55 PM Rise 1:59 PM
W
21
Low
3:28 PM
0.6
7:33 AM Set 1:14 AM
21
Moon Visible
6:55 PM Rise 2:47 PM
See you all next year sometime in October.
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extra hours are consumed setting up, tearing down, trash runs, and giving that little extra to make it special for all residents and neighbors to enjoy. THANKS; Bob & Marcy, Rob & Christi, Barbara & Giuseppe, Maybeth, Jim & Donna, Ani & Chris, Connie & Jack, Herb & Robbie, my lovely wife JoAnn and anyone I might have forgot.
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October 15, 2015
A7
Island Moon
Backwater Adventures
On the Rocks By Jay Gardner Things are moving pretty fast around here in October with so many events going on. We just had our CCA Babes on Baffin Ladies fishing tournament on Saturday, and I have to admit, I was so caught up in helping with the preparations, running it, and knocking it down that I didn’t take many pictures. Sorry folks, what a slacker. There were some really great teams showing their colors out there this year, it was awesome! There were around 81 teams, and everyone it seems caught fish. Great job to Lauren, Cody, Margaret Ehman, Judy, Valerie, Michelle, Angie, and the rest of the CCA-CC folks that helped put this event on. Special thanks to Nancy Mendietta for showing up and supporting the cause, as the tournament was renamed this year to the Hector Mendietta Memorial. When Hector introduced himself to me years ago, he explained his last name as, “you know, the things that women hate the most, MEN and DIETS”. He was such a character. Congrats to all the participants and winners, we will see you again next year.
This nice redfish was caught in the shallow flats of Baffin Bay along the North shoreline with GULP AND POPPING CORKS. Farah
Jay Mickey with a pompanooooo! limited to 550 participants, there will be almost double that with support groups and family tagging along. This tournament is a good one for local businesses as these folks show up in force, stay at local hotels, eat at the eateries, and purchase equipment like it’s going out of style. It also is great for donations to the Seashore, but we’ll talk more about that later folks.
At the same time that was going on, the pompano crew hit the beach for what seems to be the first time this year. Mickey Berry caught one of the first pompano (at least for our group) of the season, and here’s to hoping for a long and lustrous season. The red tide is still lingering on and making fishing difficult. I mean, it’s hard to catch fish when the red tide killed everything. LOL. As of this writing (LATE on Wednesday afternoon, much to the chagrin of the Moon Editors), red tide aerosols are back up to a 1 out of 10 at the Packery jetties down to south of Bob Hall Pier. Not sure about the rest of the beach, but the reports are not good.
I’m not sure what my groups plan is. We have Augs, Roadkill, and Tyler supposed to hit it together, but I’m the weak link with the red tide. I won’t stay on the beach if the aerosols are 0.5 or more. It just wrecks my eyes, ears, nose and throat. Also starts to make me feel sick to my stomach after a while. I’ve dealt with the stuff for too many years. So, we may have to bivouac at Chez Abel’s at night and just do some day fishing in the upper stretches (double points for proper spelling and usage of bivouac, thank you!). That, coupled with the high tides that are supposed to come up starting Friday night and the wind and waves coming up, makes it par for the course. Sharkathon just can’t seem to catch a break, with a perfect trifecta of bad beach conditions YET AGAIN this year. At least everyone is “warmed up” and knows what to expect. I can tell you to expect shoulder to shoulder fishing in the first couple of miles, loyal readers. LOL.
The Flounder are running!
But it’s for a good cause, so get out there and show your support. You can also come out to the Briscoe King Pavilion on Sunday afternoon and check out the weigh-in and see what a production it is. In addition, you do not have to enter the tournament to show up and purchase raffle tickets (although you need to do so by around noon). The raffle prizes for Sharkathon are many and great. Come on out and check it out. Drop me an email at tarponchaser@mail. com Hang on tight, it’s going to be a fast ride through the rest of the month, and I’ll see you On the Rocks.
What’s really Not good (besides all the fish dying) is that this weekend is the alternative date for the Sharkathon fishing tournament that will be held down on the Seashore Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. By the time this gets in your hot little hands, the shark racks will be popping up all over the Island, and there will be a contingent at HEB and Super Stripes for the next couple of days. While the tournament is
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A8
October 15, 2015
Island Moon
SPORTS Charles O. Finley, Baseball Team Owner Who Challenged Traditions
Spanning the Globe By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon
By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: I remember well the first time Peggy & I met “Charlie O” (Charles O. Finley); it was at an NCAA Football Rules Committee meeting in Kansas City. He was there trying to get the committee to change the rules regarding the stripes on the football. The following is so that you will get to know him, possibly one of the greatest promotors of all time. PT couldn’t carry Charlie’s jock. In a later issue of The Moon, I will relate to you how it was associated with Charlie O. Charles O. Finley, the contentious and colorful former owner of the Oakland A's who challenged baseball tradition by championing changes like bright-colored uniforms and the designated hitter, died in 1996 at the age of 77. From the time he purchased the Athletics in 1960, when they were situated in Kansas City, MO, to the time he sold them as a declining franchise in Oakland, CA after the 1980 season, Finley not only fought with everyone from commissioner to groundskeeper, but also constantly pressed for innovations in a sport that had hardly changed in a half-century.
middle initial came to stand for "owner." Every detail had to be cleared through him. He changed managers and general managers with bewildering speed, got into lawsuits with former employees, antagonized the baseball establishment. But attendance remained low for a team that never had a winning season, and after continual threats to move, Finley packed up for Oakland. While he made money there, the attendance was never much higher than in Kansas City. Bitter salary struggles, especially with Jackson and Vida Blue, helped solidify the image of conflict that surrounded a team so unorthodox that it even employed a track sprinter, Herb Washington, as a designated runner for the 1974 season.
That voice was crisp, like the wind blowing off of Lake Michigan in winter, and eloquent, like your grandfather telling stories on the back porch. Those eyes were honest and sensitive, and you always believed what he was telling you. If he appeared happy, then so were you; and when he had bad news to report, you felt sad and took it personally. He made you care about who won or lost. He always spoke into the camera, as if he were talking to you and only you. What he may have done better than anyone else was capture the moment. This ability to convey to the viewer, from a reporter’s eye, the
Finley found a manager, Dick Williams, who finally brought his developing stars to first place (1971) and two World Series triumphs (1972 and 1973). But when Williams quit, and tried to move to the Yankees, Finley stopped him with legal action, then allowed him to become manager of the California Angels a few months later.
Real life intrudes
Charlie O. Finley He dabbled in other sports briefly, purchasing the Oakland Golden Seals of the National Hockey League in 1970 and the Memphis Pros (later the Tams) of the American Basketball Association in 1972. But it was in baseball that he bucked tradition.
Williams said: "At the time, there was friction and all that. But you forget about that. I'll remember all the innovations and that if a player got injured and I needed one, the next day I'd have two or three to choose from. He wanted to win."
Some of his ideas were considered silly, such as an orange-colored baseball. But others, like the designated hitter and night games in the World Series, became fixtures.
In 1974, the A's won their third straight World Series, this time under Manager Alvin Dark, whom Finley had fired before. But in the course of that season, Finley failed to carry out the exact terms of his contract with Hunter, who had become baseball's best pitcher, and an arbitrator made Hunter a free agent. Hunter signed a five-year deal with the Yankees, and Finley embarked on another long lawsuit.
After seven woeful years in Kansas City, Finley moved the franchise to Oakland for the 1968 season and built the dominant team in the early 1970's, a thickly mustached and heavily sideburned squad that won three straight World Series from 1972-74, in spite of bickering among the owner, players and managers. Three members of those teams: Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, were signed by Finley and are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But all three, as well as many teammates, were lost by Finley after the era of free agency dawned in the mid-70's. Recalling those championship seasons, Catfish Hunter said of Finley, "He was the type of owner who knew a lot about baseball and knew how to get great players and win; he was 10 to 20 years ahead of his time." Reggie Jackson said that Finley "was a tough guy," who had taught him "a lot about demanding excellence, and that helped mold my career." Charles Oscar Finley was born on Feb. 22, 1918, in Ensley, AL, near Birmingham. His father and grandfather were steelworkers. At 13, he worked as a bat boy for the Birmingham minor league team. At 18, he worked in the steel mills in Gary, IN.
The fortunes of Finley began to dip in 1975 when the A's won the American League Western Division crown again, but were beaten in three straight games by Boston in the playoffs. Shortly after, Finley fired Dark as manager. But his real problems arose with the decision of a Federal judge to uphold an arbitration ruling of Peter Seitz that opened the door for free agency in baseball. Realizing that he might lose all of his unsigned stars at the end of the 1976 season, he traded Jackson and Ken Holtzman to Baltimore, then sold Blue to the Yankees and Joe Rudi and Fingers to the Red Sox. But four days later, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the sales and ordered the players back to the A's, saying, "The deals were inconsistent with the best interests of baseball." Finley, enraged, called the commissioner "the village idiot" and filed a damage suit, challenging whether the commissioner had the power to cancel a sale of players. He lost the case in court.
in Baltimore until 1950, and then moved to New York to join CBS TV. With this move came a new show and a new name. Jim McKay would now be the host of a new sports show called The Real McKay. By 1961, McKay was at the top of his game and joined ABC to host ABC’s Wide World of Sports, for the next 40 years. McKay would also cover 12 Olympic Games, many Triple Crown horse races, numerous U.S. and British Opens in golf, and become the longtime voice of the Indianapolis 500. Golf and horse racing were his passions, and he owned and bred many horses on his farm in Monkton, Maryland. I think he liked the history attached to these two sports. McKay was the founder of the Maryland Million Day, a series of twelve races used to promote the horse breeding industry in the state of Maryland. It is now second only to the Preakness.
Jim McKay dramatic world of sports, would require him to travel over 4 ½ million miles and send him on assignment to 40 different countries. From cliff diving to badminton, demolition derby to soap box derby, for forty years he and ABC allowed us to experience sports on a global basis. He took us to places we had never seen before and showed us sports we knew nothing about. He was the first person I ever heard use the word “agony.” As a young boy, I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew it wasn’t good. Before the days of ESPN, he was the heartbeat of sports in this country. Pioneer may be an understatement. Founding father of sports broadcast television is more suitable.
The Real McKay He was born James Kenneth McManus on September 24, 1921. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania would be his birth place, but he would always call Maryland home. Jim attended Loyola Blakefield High School and in 1943, received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola College in Maryland. He then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Jim returned home to become a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. In 1947, as luck would have it, the Sun started its own TV station and Jim’s voice would be the first ever heard on television in Baltimore. Jim could be heard three hours each weekday on a show dubbed “The Sports Parade.” He remained
Jim McKay will always be known for the way he handled the tragic news from the 1972 Munich Olympics. Palestinian terrorists had kidnapped eleven Israeli athletes as hostages, during the games. The horrific results, which ended in their deaths, were described this way by McKay: “When I was a kid my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were eleven hostages; two were killed in their room yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They are all gone.” Nothing more needed to be said. I was puzzled when I found out while doing research for this piece that ABC executive Roone Arledge had thought about using the outspoken and controversial Howard Cosell to anchor the hostage coverage. I can’t imagine Cosell being better than Jim McKay. It’s obvious that Roone made the right choice. McKay’s work spawned many broadcasters that still work today. Bob Costas, Al Michaels, and Jim Nantz are just a few. McKay won numerous awards for his work including two Emmys and the George Polk Award for his coverage of the 1972 Olympics and 12 Emmys overall. In 1988, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Later, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. I miss Jim McKay. You know, it’s funny. Jim McKay never called a World Series game or a Super Bowl, yet he will be remembered as the greatest broadcast television announcer of them all. Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. Please visit www.purvisbooks. com for all the latest info on his books or to listen to the new radio podcast. Andy’s books are available online and can be found in the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Andy can be contacted at purvis.andy@mygrande.net. Also listen to sports talk radio on Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session from 6-8 PM on Sportsradiocc.com 1230 AM, 96.1 FM and 103.3 FM. The home of the Houston Astros.
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He studied engineering in college at night and played considerable semipro baseball. In 1941, he married Shirley McCartney. They had seven children and eventually divorced. During World War II, he was rejected for military service because of an ulcer, went to work in an ordnance plant and started selling insurance. When the war ended, he turned to insurance full time. But late in 1946, at the age of 28, he developed tuberculosis and spent the next 18 months in a sanitarium at Crown Point, IN. By the time he recovered, he had devised a blueprint for a group insurance plan for doctors. By 1954, he had his own company, several million dollars and an intense desire to buy a major league baseball team. But he did not get one until March 1960, when he bought the Kansas City Athletics, the old Connie Mack franchise that had moved from Philadelphia after the 1954 season. His eight years in Kansas City were stormy. His promotional ideas were ingenious: the colorful green and gold uniforms, the sheep grazing on the grassy slope behind the right-field fence, the mechanical rabbit that popped up behind home plate with a supply of new baseballs for the umpire and the team mascot, a mule named Charlie O. As he established his one-man regime, his
"I think Charlie will be remembered probably as a maverick," Kuhn told The Associated Press. "Charlie was Charlie. He didn't like people telling him what to do. He liked to do his thing, his own way." Besides the court case, Finley lost most of his championship team and the A's limped along for most of the 1977 season. By 1979, when the Athletics finished 54-108, attendance was down to 306,763. After two attempts to move the franchise to Denver fell through, Finley sold the team to the Haas family for $12.7 million and dropped from the baseball scene. Some of his innovations, however, had taken hold. Many teams wore bright uniforms. World Series games were played at night, starting in 1971. And since 1974, the American League has used a designated hitter instead of letting the pitcher bat. Dotson’s Other Note: Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk article are greatly appreciated, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 5-8 P.M.* or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com *Please note the time changes for the Benchwarmers broadcasts.
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October 15, 2015
A9
Island Moon
Moon Over Tokyo! Janice Minter, Broker/Owner
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Editor’s note: Laura Lee took the Island Moon to Tokyo this week. She files this report: By Laura Lee Tokyo, a city that's quite possibly larger underground than above, and undisputedly one of the most unique places in the world, there is most certainly no other place like it. Tokyo can be as rustic or high class as you want or need it to be, from your choice of squat toilet, regular toilet or choose the fancy bidet all in the same airport bathroom but there is no guarantee of soap or paper to dry your hands. Some toilets open for you automatically, some don't have lids. Some stalls play water fall sounds and tweeting birds on entry, and are ingeniously equipped with sanitizing spray to clean the seat. One thing is sure, you never know what you’re going to get.
As diverse as the bathrooms are, so is the munching. Eat a freshly prepared clam off the street for a couple hundred yen ($2) or spend the evening on the 52nd floor and have dinner for Oh, $600,000 or so yen ($575.00). Whether your into black sand beaches or super animated colorful costumed people, drunken partying in dark tiny little four seater bars with four foot high doors you have to duck down to get in, or strolling down streets that are so brightly illuminated that it never gets dark, whatever you want or need to find is somewhere in Tokyo, unless you want to dry your hands.
Island Creations
So definitely visit, but count on getting lost, don't count on communicating, and trust me, don't plan anything except your room, just fly by the seat of your pants, take with you gobs of money, a huge appetite, tons of patience, and don't forget your handkerchief! We are in Yogyakarta Indonesia now and head to Bali in the morning, hope this finds you and finds you well!
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A10
Island Moon
October 15, 2015