1999 NPC South Padre Island (Intro)
By Jabber


Well, coming down here this weekend (a scant two weeks after the USA), I was
thinking about not doing a review.  After all, this is a minor show, there
can't be anything interesting, can there?  

I didn't come all the way down to South Padre for the caliber of this show
(an unknown and presumably not that great), but rather 1) It's a good excuse
to see a beach I've not seen before (and have wanted to), and 2) It's a good
excuse for me and a friend of mine to spend some quality time and a brief
vacation, and 3) It was a sure bet that the resident celebrity of the Valley
(Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, Harlingen, and Brownsville)), Trish Swander of
Harlingen, would be there.

So this was supposed to be a more relaxing weekend, not the picture taking
and review-writing maniac I've been of late.  The Host Hotel was the Bahia
Mar Hotel and Resort on the Gulf.  Ah, nice, relaxing, romantic...  As I
said before, best laid plans of mice and men - thrown in the garbage. :-)

The venue was the South Padre Island Convention Center, looking all beachy
and bright (but NOT in Miami Vice-ish colors - this is Texas after all).
Seeing row and row of Mexican restaurant co-existing peacefully with the
usual plethora of Seafood restaurants you normally are accustomed to seeing
in any seaside resort area?  I was liking this, bigtime.  

Onward...

-jabber