We pulled in after dark Monday night.

As the sun rose on Tuesday morning,

we decided to walk on the beach
here at Mustang Island State Park

and take it all in.

Sophia in the backpack ready to rollShe was excited!
She loves adventure.

Really loves the beach.

The sunrise was amazing, colorful.
The beach...not so much.

They had "red tide" here last week.
It's still around.
No swimming.
Tons of dead fish washed up on the beach.

We took it as an opportunity to look

to see what was out there, and now lies here.
ID the dead creatures.

It was smelly, but interesting to see.

Face in the clouds.

Ghost crab

I saw hidden beauty in the oats,

the wildflowers in the dunes,

and the critters that scampered about.

Even in the worst of places there is something
that will make you pause and enjoy it

if you let it.

Sad thing, the beach was so trashy,
Sophia never felt the sand.
We couldn't let her down to crawl or walk.
Between the dead fish and trash...
it just sucked.

She did see the gulls and the pelicans

swooping around.
She pointed and yelled, "ooh".

I'm a glass half full person...

but this was a test.

I had to dig deep.

I wish the folks around here would

get mad... and put a stop to this nonsense.

It's an amazing place, that some

jackass trashed.

I say form a mob and go get 'em...

before it's too late.