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Fangs wrote:Hit one of those "federal agents, border patrol" checkpoints on 77 on the way back. Totally threw the guy off when he asked if I was an American citizen. Fortunately I always carry my green card on me and he didn't even ask to see my ID/CHL. (He asked if I had my visa on me, and I handed him my permanent resident card, he was done with me before I could offer any other ID)

All in all a really good trip.

Glad you had fun too.

Something interesting... Federal agents are not considered peace officers in Texas, therefore you do not have to show CHL. Although I wouldn't withhold it if I was questioned.

Thanks for all the input, I had a great time and there were no incidents.

joe817 wrote:Well I might have to retract what I said in my prior post. I don't know if you'll be going to any border towns, but DPS has issued a traveler's advisory, advising spring breaker's to avoid them:

"The Texas Department of Public Safety is urging all Texas Spring Breakers to avoid traveling to border cities in Mexico."

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_s ... 030410.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They are taking this seriously, and advise you to do the same. Stay safe and alert at all times.

I don't plan on going into Mexico, thanks for the info though

CWOOD wrote: I'm sorry,but please explain why we are going there again?

EDITED TO ADD: I don't mean to sound rude or confrontational, I guess more curious why one would want to subject themselves to that on a VACATION, for goodness sake. What ever you decide I hope you have a wonderful and refreshing time...safely.

Other than that almost-incident, I actually really enjoyed the trip. Lots of sun and some good lookin' ladies!

The drive there and back is half the fun too, at least for me.

Oh, and if anyone has never been, it's definitely worth a trip sometime. No, the water is not clear, but there are a lot of other great aspects.

As for my original question, I just want to make sure I don't accidentally walk down any certain street that is full of gang members or whatnot. Most of the city is fine, and in fact the local police are bright enough to get TONS of extra support for the spring break weeks. There are lots of LEOs down there from other agencies, and of course our friends from the DHS, ICE, and border patrol.

I am going to South Padre Island for a few days this weekend, looking for pointers.

I've been several times before, but since it seems that violence is an increasing issue in the border towns, so I would like some advice.

Are there any areas or places that I should avoid? I don't plan on going clubbing or anything, but we usually go to a few restaurants while we are there. Normally we just chill on the beach or at the condo. Are there any things to look out for in particular in South Padre? I know that some of the population down there like to cruise the streets doing generally nothing but drinking and blaring music, I try to stay away from them.

Last time I was there, there were so many people that you couldn't even drive down the street and the bridge (only way off the island) was packed. We decided to walk to the restaurant and since I thought I might have a drink or two , I decided not to carry (did bring my knife though). That would be mistake number 1

As we were walking to find a restaurant, it quickly became apparent that there were waaayy to many people just standing around and looking like they were up to no good.
We even had someone follow us for a block, but when I started walking backwards to watch them (2 of them, 3 of us), they decided to back off. My friends realized what was going on once I turned around, and asked if I was carrying (wish I could say I was)

I really wish I was carrying, and at that point I had only had my chl for a few months, so I didn't carry everywhere. I should have gone back to the hotel and strapped at that point.

I'm not doing that again! I carried everywhere else for the rest of that trip, including the beach.

Anyway, please share any comments or opinions you have on the town/subject and also, let me know about some of the good restaurants down there!



Edit to add: Also, is there anywhere down there that I can't carry (besides the normal places)? Like any laws specific to the island?