SPI'S BIG BREAK

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - Thousands of spring breakers lined Padre Boulevard and packed the shops during Texas Week, despite a bad economy.

On Saturday, vacationers browsed through racks of bathing suits, tested beer bongs and pulled handfuls of party beads and souvenir key chains off the counter display at Que Padre.

Louisville, Ky., resident Ben Shirrell said he had spent about $200 dollars since his arrival on Wednesday.

"This is the best Spring Break I've ever been on," he said. "We've just been chillin' and drinkin' all day. One of my friends came last year. We looked it up on You Tube and said, ‘This looks crazy. Let's go.'"

The Que Padre store owner, who said he is known only as Mr. Auzoulay, said Spring Break is one of the times of year he looks forward to. And this year was no exception.

This Texas Week, he said, yielded a profitable amount of customers.

"There are more people on the Island and more money; more money, more headaches," he said jokingly.

As the weather got better, so did Texas Week business on the Island, storeowners said.

Padre Boulevard and the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge hosted their share of traffic jams, and spring breakers crowded the beaches and walked the boulevard.

During this year of economic woes and hurricane recovery, some merchants are reporting that business has been pretty good, all things considered.

Feldman's Liquor employee Page Gray stood outside with a security guard and turned away a group of 20-something-year-old men attempting to run inside the store.

"It's definitely picked up the last couple of days since this week is Texas Week," Gray said as one of the men yelled that they would be back next year. "We bring in extra personnel from out of town for this season."

Phil Calo, who operates fishing boats and the Black Dragon pirate ship docked in Port Isabel, said March has been good for his businesses.
"This has been one of our best Spring Breaks," he said.

He added that occupancy rates may be down for the younger set, but that there are a lot of families here.

"We're staying busy both with the fishing trips and the pirate ship," he said.

Bill Donohue, manager and part owner of the Isla Grand Resort, said Spring Break is "going OK." He said the economy has had the most impact on tourism business.

"But overall, Texas Week has been good," Donohue said. "I'd say we're at over 90 percent occupancy right now."

He said he doesn't have high hopes for the remaining weeks of Spring Break, but expects to see a strong Semana Santa, or Holy Week, business. The bookings for that holiday are a little slower than expected so far, but he thinks they will pick up soon.

Prairie View A&M student Angel Johnson, 20, said she had not spent much during her weeklong stay on the Island. But the economy wasn't to blame for her frugal spending habits.

"Not including our room, I've only spent about $50," she said. "Every store I go to has the same stuff."

Not everybody agreed that business this year was good.

"There are less people," Coast to Coast Beachwear employee Yessica Anglada said. "It's really slow. The store will be without customers for an hour or an hour and a half sometimes. It used to be that it was packed every five minutes. It's probably the economy."

However, money was no object for Harlingen residents Brenda Muñiz and Jacob Ortiz, who said the Island was the place to be during Texas Week.

"We come out here and rent a condo," Muñiz said. "We come out here every year. We like to party, and the drinking."

For more Spring Break photos, click on: http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/break_48470___article.html/pics_spring.html