September Discounts

Just because school is in session doesn't mean summer is over!
I find myself with a big chunk of vacant nights -- Sept. 17-30 -- and am ready to make a deal. I will be happy to discuss reduced rates, yes but am also willing to barter. I have need of some handyman services -- the right person could pretty much pay for a nice little family vacation in a lovely seaside rental just by helping me install curtain rods, etc.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, well then let's talk!

Pirate Wedding reception held at the Sandbox Inn

There is a nice Island Breeze write up about April & Daniel's pirate wedding on the beach that also mentions the first-ever wedding reception held at the Sandbox Inn. Hope someone sends me more pictures but here are a few that I shot during the set up....

Achieving Balance

Here it is - barely the middle of July and I have already seen the first “Back to School” email slither into my spambox.This of course sends someone like me into sober reflections of time’s inevitable march forward and how do I go about making these monster mortgage payments without the wall-to-wall bookings that I have enjoyed all summer long?

The good news is that fall bookings are trickling in and I am already getting inquiries about next summer, so it appears that rentals and the associated deposit checks won’t come to a screeching halt after all. But clearly there will be nights - maybe even many nights - when the inn will be guestless. This isn’t all bad: the Saturn street Strummers like using the space for rehearsals and I love reading the paper and watching birds & butterflies from the back deck. And even cheap wine tastes better when sipped at dusk on the sunset deck - just me and Peach soaking it all in.

All the new 4-plexes springing up in my neighborhood are pretty nice I guess but I wouldn’t trade the Sandbox for all of them together because of one thing -- they don'€™t have yards! I really like being part of "€œThe Landed Gentry"€ here on SPI and as old places are torn down and rebuilt, yards like mine are going to get fewer and further between. And that is bad news for the birds and the butterflies.
Anyway. Our favorite landscaping genius - Matt Fockler - is back on the island for a limited engagement and my yard has captured his interest - lucky me! I kept my list of desired uses for this space short and sweet: art and music. I want my yard to be a great place for uke-playing and other jam sessions; house/yard concerts; sandsculpture instruction; reading/contemplation & spirited conversation, rock-stacking, sand-casting and other crafty pursuits. And someday? some sort of tree-house - outfitted with a comfy daybed and accessible from the back deck via boardwalk....
Well thatâ€'s all Matt needed to fire him up and over the past couple of weeks I have seen an amazing transformation back there -- check out this photo of the conversation/firepit that is emerging as if by magic -- and I am really excited to see what other tricks the master has up his sleeve.

Amazin' Walter is willing to give rock-balancing workshops and I hope to be his first student -- but first I need some rocks -- they don’t grow naturally here. So if you want to make a big smile cross my face next time you pay me a visit, bring me a rock! Any size, any shape. I will be ever so grateful...

Holiday Vacancy

The folks who were supposed to stay here the week of July 4th had to cancel. Let me know ASAP if you are interested... -sf

Seasonal Musings

Some folks would say that we don’t have any seasons here on South Padre Island, or that if we do they can be simplified as Early summer, Summer, Late Summer, and Next Summer. But they couldn’t be more wrong. We have lots of seasons - - way more than four. In fact, I have identified 12 distinct if sometimes overlapping seasons, starting (more or less) with the beginning of the calendar year, and this is what I call them:

Holiday
Winter Break
Spring Break/Mexican Break
Locals Break (aka “Peace-N-Quiet”)
First Wind
Turtle Days (aka “Sargassum”)
Fireworks
Dog Days
Back-To-School (aka “Where’d everybody go?”)
Biker/Sandcastle
Second Wind
Peace-N-Quiet II

Right now we are at the tail end of First Wind which is segueing into Turtle Days which very soon will be overlapping with Fireworks -- which coincides with the arrival of the Summer People. I will be seeing many of you here at the Sandbox, which is almost completely booked through Fireworks, Dog Days and much of Back-To-School.

My mortgage company should be breathing a sigh of relief right about now.

So what happens after Where’d Everybody Go?

As you may imagine -- I have some ideas.

More Than Just a Room

Some - maybe even most - folks who come to South Padre Island don’t much care where they stretch out after a long day on the beach or in the water. They’ll grab a bite at Whataburger and fall asleep on a lumpy bed with the TV remote in their hand....

If that is you, please click here.

If however you are looking for a truly unique vacation experience -- please take a closer look at the SandBox Inn:

Geek Heaven: Stay connected! WiFi is in the air but I also provide a hard-wired ethernet cable for your use. VOIP phone. Plug your iPod into the Apple HiFi and be amazed at the quality of sound that comes from that cute little white box.

Unique Diversions: Browse more stations than you will ever need on the wide-screened TV; shoot a game of pool -- no quarters needed!; gather round the piano for a group sing-along; browse the ever-growing artsy-fartsy library reading selections; take a sandcastle lesson and then practice your new skills half a block away on Neptune Circle Beach. Help yourself to beach chairs, shovels, buckets and carving tools as well as the red wagon to carry it all in.

Romantic Getaway: Honeymooners delight! Quiet, private and with brand new beds (not a lumpy mattress in the bunch - try ‘em all!) you can pop strawberries into one another’s mouths in the designer kitchen. Cuddle up with a bottle of red and watch the sunset and evening parade from Suntide II to Blackbeards from the north deck. Tres romantico!

Family Time: The Sandbox sleeps eight and is spacious enough that those 8 people will still be friends at the end of the week. Perfect for two couples and a sprinkling of kiddos.

Ecotourists: Both front and back yards are planted with showy flowers and native flora that attract a wide variety of birds and butterflies. Both decks provide excellent viewing options all day long. Ask me about birding and dolphin watch cruises and thanks for helping keep the upstairs plants watered.

Tomato-Lovers: This year’s crop is the biggest ever. Someone is going to have to help me eat these things!

Last Minute Deals (mention “May Flower Discounts” when you e-me): April 29-May 3 -- $100/night -- May 6-11 -- $120/night -- May 20-24 -- $130/night

Becoming One with My Inner Innkeeper

My job as a master sand sculptor has taken me to all kinds of fabulous beach resorts where I am often assigned a room at an upscale hotel right on the beach where the views are lovely and they never stop reminding you of it with such amenities as the $16 bagel, the $10/day wifi connection and the $3 local phone call. The grounds are immaculate, the locals kept at a distance by design, and at some point every expensive beachfront resort starts feeling like every other expensive beachfront resort.

While traveling - if time and funds allow - I like to try to squeeze in an extended visit by booking a few nights at a cabin or cottage off the beaten path, a place that will really let me experience the flavor of the community and mingle with the locals and put some distance between me and the hordes of other tourists clumping at Atlantis or the Ritz Carlton. These are the places that get written up in my website travelogues, the places I remember and dream of revisiting, the places that make me feel connected with someplace different from home.

That is the kind of place I trying to create right here at the Sandbox Inn. The kind of place that I would pay to stay in.... as opposed to the kind of place someone pays me to stay in.

I am banking on the belief that there are other folks like me looking for a place like this to stay. And so far it is working out pretty well... :)



What's New Butterflies are bustin' out all over! Jillions of tomatoes on the vine! I have undertaken my own little "median project" and just started dabbling in topiary... how odd.

Last Minute Deals (mention “spring discounts” when you e-me):

April 29-May 12 -- $115/night
May 21-24 -- $135/night