Gulf Coast & South Texas - Texas - page 580

( www.seaturtleinc.com ; 6617 Padre Blvd; suggested donation adult/child $3/2; 10am-4pm Tue-Sun) The late
Ila Loestcher started Sea Turtle Inc in 1977, after sea turtles had almost vanished from the
Texas coast. Today more than a dozen Kemp's ridley sea turtles are nesting again on SPI
and her organization is thriving thanks to a dedicated cadre of volunteers and benefactors.
Visits to the center are a fascinating change from SPI's commercialism; you can see
rescued turtles and learn firsthand about the slow growth of local turtle populations.

Schlitterbahn Beach Resort
( 956-772-7873; www.schlitterbahn.com ; 90 Padre Blvd; adult/child $55/44; 10am-8pm summer, shorter hours
other times, outdooor features closed Oct-Mar; ) Just north of Isla Blanca County Park, this vast
waterpark offers water slides and pools of every description, including the Seablaster. The
park now has a hotel and indoor slides.

WATER PARK

University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies Laboratory
( 956-761-2644; Isla Blanca Park; 1:30-4:30pm Mon-Fri) This working lab is open for
self-guided tours of its fish tanks and various wall displays. If you can get past its meager
utilitarian charms, you'll find lots of information about local marine life. Grapefruit-sized
conch show you how the popular fritters look while still in the water.

AQUARIUM

Activities
There are so many activities on SPI that you may be exhausted before you start.

SAND CASTLES

If you've always dreamed of having your own castle, you can build one on South Padre Island - out of sand. And
not just some humdrum, upended-bucket-and-garnished-with-a-seagull-feather affair either, but an honest-to-
goodness castle, standing about 8ft tall, with towers, moats, a keep and anything else your heart desires.
Of course, such a creation doesn't come easy - that's where a gaggle of longtime SPI residents come in.
They've carved out a lucrative living teaching people how to build vast creations that survive only until the next
dawn - or whenever the tide comes in. All you need is a shovel, a bucket and a few household tools.
Two recommended schools are Sons of the Beach ( 956-761-6222; www.sonsofthebeach.com ; lessons from
$75) and Sandy Feet ( 956-459-2928; www.sandcastleworkshops.com ; group lessons from $40). Both offer
fun-filled lessons across the island at times of your own choosing.

Fishing