Winks Saloon in Brownsville, Texas

This is the 19th installment of the series "Top 100 Things to do in the Brownsville/South Padre Island" area. Today we feature a booming business on the outskirts of Brownsville on Highway 1421 that is quite different from anything else you can experience in South Texas. It is called Wink's in honor of the owner, Winky Garza, a true cowboy at heart.

It has impressively rustic decor.

This is the sink in the restroom.

First, it is a restaurant with excellent food.

Offering the coldest beer in town to the hottest wings has kept this place busy every day they are open.

Look at the size of those onion rings.

The neatest thing about this restaurant/bar is that on Thursday nights you can watch the calf roping that is going on outside from the coolness of the air-conditioned dining area.

The horses are beautiful.

This one belongs to Winky, the owner.

The calf roping brings out the cowgirls. From the big girls...

to the little ones.

This place is consistently packed.

It is also a saloon and a great place to go have some drinks with friends.

There is live music and even touring bands make a stop to play there. They play nothing but country music.

You can ride kind of fast here.

This is a fantastic place you must see while you are in the area. In the winter, it is packed with Winter Texans. Here is the link so you can find out how to get there.

http://www.winkssaloon.com/index.htm

Visit Little Graceland in Los Fresnos, TX

This is our 16th installment in our series, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island/Brownsville Area," a guide for the visitor for the best in this tropical area. Today our feature is "Little Graceland" in Los Fresnos, TX.

Los Fresnos is a small town on the way to South Padre Island via Hwy 100 where you'd better watch your speed or you will be sorry. This tiny little town holds a hidden gem called "Little Graceland."





The gates are replicas of the real Graceland in Tennesee.

This is a really cool sign.

Story at their website by South Padre Network here.

The Shrine in San Juan, Texas

This is the 15th installment in our series entitled, "Top 100 Things To Do in the South Padre Island/Brownsville Area," a series designed to highlight the area's most interesting and beautiful attractions.

The Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle National Shrine is located in San Juan, Texas was dedicated in 1954. Find out more of the fascinating story behind this marvel here.

The shrine serves as a symbol of hope for many pilgrims who come from all over the world.

Many miracles have been attributed to the prayers made at this amazing shrine. Pictures of the miracle room were not included here. That room has objects such as crutches no longer needed and many pictures that serve as inspiration and hope to others who are hoping for a miracle, healing, or help from the intercession of the Virgin Mary. You must see the miracle room in person.

86. Do the Anzalduas Run

This is the 14th installment of our series titled, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island/Brownsville Area." If it is a beautiful day and you want something different to do, consider doing the Anzalduas Run, don't worry there is no running involved. You can make it a whole day's event involving barbecuing or enjoying a pitcher at Pepe's on the River while watching the jet skiers zoom by.

To do the Anzalduas Run, you need to go to Mission, Tx. on Hwy 83, a beautiful city known for its citrus groves. In fact, the last week of January and early February heralds a full schedule of fun and activities and includes the Parade of Oranges.

A great place to visit is the Shary-Shivers Estate.

It was built by John Shary, known as the Father of the Texas Citrus Industry. The estate has been given to the University of Texas - Pan American and is open to the public.

Doesn't this look like the perfect subject for a painting?


















There are some very nice houses to look at on your leisurely drive.

You travel on 1016 and turn right on old Military Hwy. til you see this.

The St. Joseph and St. Peter Seminary is your marker.

In fact, here is the marker...

The trail of the Oblate Fathers is noted here as it was in Brownsville at the cathedral downtown. In 1888, seven dedicated Oblate Fathers were traveling a circuit 150 miles long and 40 miles wide offering masses in homes at more than two hundred ranches. This is an area seeped in history.

When you pass this seminary, turn right at the first road and continue. Go south on FM 494. Do not be phased by the levee. Drive over it and you will be very surprised.

There is a big county park back there. Back in the 80's, it was packed with car after car booming loud music, girls, guys, children and their pets. People used to cruise around it just passing the time. Now it is very serene and there were only 5 cars in the whole park and we went on a Sunday. You used to have to wait in line for an hour or two to get in on weekends, but there wasn't even anybody at the entrance to collect the toll. There were two county sheriff dept. cars there and two separate families enjoying the playgrounds and barbecuing. It was very quiet and peaceful. Nothing like the old days.

The Spanish moss hung from the trees like wistful tinsel.

It was a melancholic scene.

A young tyke got his line caught in the brush.

I needed this fisherman's help to convince my family of the fact that the bank they saw only feet away was in Mexico. He was a descendant of one of the original owners of the land and remembered how busy the park used to get.

He remembered the good old days when the park was busy and everybody took their families there, cooked out, met girls, met guys and had fun. The Mexican side of the park was bustling with activity with boaters, fishermen and guys just out listening to music and checking out the girls.

The park has an undeveloped area hidden over a levee. You go over the levee and follow the road to the bluffs overlooking the Rio Grande and the dam. There is no road directly on the damn because this is an international border. The Anzalduas Run includes the La Lomita Mission and Pepe's on the River.

La Lomita Mission is right next to Pepe's On the River. It is the cornerstone of Mission, Texas.

http://www.pepesontheriver.net/main.html

87. Visit the IMAS Museum in McAllen, Texas

This is the thirteenth installment of our series entitled, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island/Brownsville Area," designed to aid the visitor in getting the complete experience of this tropical area in South Texas. As we work our way up to the top things to do ON the island, if it is cold and rainy or you want to treat the kids or grandkids to an exceptional time, you might consider an afternoon in the International Museum of Arts and Sciences on the corner of Nolana and Bicentennial Blvd in McAllen.

87. Visit the IMAS Museum in McAllen, Texas.

Salome receives the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter.

This work was called the American Mona Lisa.

There were artifacts from all over the world.

Inlaid ivory box with intricate details you cannot see without being there in person.

A Zulu shield that was made of skin hung on the wall among the other artifacts.

This teak dining room set had mother-of-pearl inlaid in it.



































These were Chinese PAPER cutouts



















You had to be there to see how miniscule the details were.

This display was from Mexico.

There was a display sponsored by NASA

that shot the coolest images on a spherical screen.

The spherical screen hung in midair.

There was a great children's section.

Each piece of wood you touched produced a different sound.

It was triggered by the heat in your hand.

These are just a few of the animals there.

There were many mosaics there.

There was an exhibition on torture devices.

This belt resulted in infections and gangrene.

The Iron Maiden caused a slow, painful death.

The spiked chair.

This was used to dislocate limbs.

Man's inhumanity to man throughout the ages was apalling.

Many of these cages were commonly displayed outside of town halls and other public places to show that you should not question authority or you would be hung naked in one of these until the elements and then scavenger birds picked your bones clean.

This sword, from a private collection, was used for beheadings.

The adjacent room housed a brighter exhibition featuring spectacular works of art.

Layers upon layers of color danced inside glass.

The colors swirled inside the panes of glass.

You cannot see the miniscule brush strokes that are visible in person.

The baptism of Jesus Christ.

The colors in the glass shone through with the light in an amazing fashion.

The crown's jewels were glowing rocks of glass.











I could not transfer their luminescence onto film for you.

You must see this in person to fully appreciate its beauty.

Layer upon layer of luminescense.

My favorites were the deep azures and iridescent jewels.

The gift shop has many interesting and unique items for sale.

-+*

88. Explore Brownsville's Haunted History

This is the twelfth installment in a series titled, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island/Brownsville Area," designed to aid the visitor in getting the complete experience of this historical area of South Texas.



Brownsville is a town seeped in rich history. You can tell how old the town is by some of the architecture of its buildings, for example, the cathedral in the city's downtown area...

or by the magnificent houses in the old part of town.

but would you be willing to experience Brownsville's HAUNTED history?

88. Experience Brownsville's HAUNTED history

Everyone knows that if you want to get the socks scared off you, you can go out to the old Palo Alto Battlefield and attempt to spend the night out there with all those ghosts, or take a terrifying walk in the old city cemetary in the center of town. An eerie tale of a Brownsville haunted office building on Wildrose Lane was even published years ago in Reader's Digest. Most Brownsville residents who have attended the college that sits on the grounds of old Fort Brown, though, know of something else, something that lurks within the hallowed halls of this old infantry fort and hearing strange tales of soldiers, apparitions and strange feelings as they walk through these old halls and age-old buildings.

The University of Texas at Brownsville campus sits on the grounds of old Fort Brown.

Texas Southmost College is now part of the UT system.

The grounds are lush and beautiful... in the bright sunshine.

There is even a brige now that spans across to the old

Resaca Club.

This marker tells of how the fort was named for Major Jacob Brown who died in 1846 while defending the post.

Another plaque tells of a warplane.

Then you start to see where the stories come from.

This plaque tells of the hospital annex. Many men died of yellow fever.

Here we go...




This says Morgue and Linen Storage.

and it gets worse...

This building was for the dead.

They say the spirit of a little boy haunts the old morgue now.

old Gorgas hall

Your heels on the wooden walkway take you back in time as you walk along these buildings and see brick that is older than many generations of your family.

I dared not go up those stairs and take a peek inside the open door.

This door was anything BUT inviting, thank you.

Could you see yourself strolling along these old buildings at night?

Sure, it's okay in the bright sunshine.

Everyone talks real big in the bright light.

If this were evening would you enter through these open doors?

We spoke with Mr. John Hawthorne, Manager of Special Collections for the University of Texas - Brownsville, who kindly agreed to meet with us in the middle of a bright afternoon.

He is a very knowledgeable man. I liked him immediately but it did not help my nerves that he said we were in "Ghost Central" where most of the apparitions appeared.

He spoke of apparitions of ghosts seen by staff and students and I wondered who would have the guts to work in the old morgue. Many men died of yellow fever and their souls are sure to be haunting the old buildings where they died.

Then John pointed out an old tree behind him.

He said it was called the "ghost tree" and I wondered what tales it could tell.

How many men died on its boughs?
Does only time separate us and them?

Is that all? Only time? And even then who can put a limit on time?

Is life forever? Is love forever? Are souls forever?

Are they still with us?

We thanked John for his time and bid him farewell. As I walked away, I looked back at the "ghost tree" and thought of how many men had hung on those boughs and how their unfulfilled souls may still possibly roam these grounds looking for closure or justice.















They say you can hear them at night in these halls, their boots clunking on the wooden floor.

Would you walk these halls at night?




The college and its haunted grounds can be found at the end of International Highway near the bridge going to Matamoros from Brownsville, Texas.

89. Experience Sandcastle Days

Editor's Note: This is the eleventh installment of a series entitled, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island/Brownsville Area," intended to aid the visitor in getting the full experience of the region. Today's feature is only featured at #89 because it is occurring now. The top 100 are subjective and are in no particular order as all are equal in importance and beauty.

89. Experience Sandcastle Days 2008

Sandcastle Days are held annually. These are images from last year. You will be amazed at what some masters of sand can sculpt.

Sandcastle Days '08 continue tomorrow, October 17th thru Sunday the 19th.

My daughter and I created this masterpiece. I call it, "Stupid Flanders."

This year the fun will be at Isla Blanca park. You need to go.

For more information, click here: http://www.sandcastledays.com/