todo padre: 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.