Sun shines on Spring Break
After rainy start on Monday, Tuesday
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Sun, sand, seaweed and students STAFF PHOTO BY MURRAY JUDSON Sunny skies and warm termperatures on Saturday, March 10, had Spring Breakers on the beach in droves. Cloudy, cooler and rainy weather Monday and Tuesday morning, March 12 and 13, sent them shopping. The rest of the week is expected to be partly sunny with temperatures in the mid- to upper 70s. The biggest week of Spring Break winds up this weekend, although some schools will be on break through the end of March. A little seaweed did little to deter the fun in the sun.

Despite the feeling that the weatherman might have betrayed us, at least some Port Aransas merchants and hoteliers are saying this is turning into a pretty good Spring Break.

Rainy weather on Monday and Tuesday caused gloom that Spring Break visitors, who many retailers depend on to take them into the black for the year, would go home early or, worse, cancel reservations altogether.

That hasn't been the case, said Sam Poteet, who manages several condominiums in the city.

"I've been keeping in touch with (the properties) and they're telling me that as soon as somebody checks out, somebody else checks in," Poteet said. "I think we're looking at an occupancy rate of close to 98 percent."

Bouncing breakers STAFF PHOTO BY MURRAY JUDSON Dustin Robin of Rockport, 9, and cousin Hunter Robin of Corpus Christi, 7, spent their Spring Break visiting their grandmother Trish Cartwright. Here they practice cool moves on the trampoline, taking their talent to new heights.

"There's no doubt that the two days of rain have taken a toll on business," said Mike Hall, co-owner and managing partner of the Family Center IGA food store. "But business is still very brisk and very good, and we have the chance of winding it up … to be a successful Spring Break."

Hall, who keeps meticulous figures on business trends in Port Aransas, said he's seen a "good mix" of fami- lies and college students over the first few days of the Spring Break.

"It's been a very uneventful and productive week for us so far," he said on Tuesday. "We've had very little trouble." Police Chief Sam Russell said Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers, who are in Port Aransas in numbers to reduce the incidence of driving while intoxicated, made 16 arrests on Friday, March 9; 14 arrests on Saturday, March 10; and 13 arrests on Sunday, March 11. He had no statistics past Sunday.

Total arrests on Friday evening were 36, he said. That includes not only Port Aransas officers, but Nueces County Precinct 4 Constable Bobby Sherwood's deputies as well as DPS, agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and game wardens from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

On Saturday during the day, only nine arrests were made, Russell said. However, between 8 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday, the number jumped to 42.

"For the most part, the crowds have been not bad," Russell said. "In talking to (patrol Lt. James) Stokes, he's said at night it's been somewhat lighter than past years."

"It's been a weird year," agreed Ann Bracher Vaughan, executive director of the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce-Tourist Bureau.

Vaughan said many people have come to the Chamber of Commerce looking for something to do because of the rainy weather.

"We always have bad weather during Spring Break," Vaughan laughed. "They need to change Spring Break to sometime in April."

Vaughan said a significant percentage of the people coming to the Chamber of Commerce office are new visitors who have never been to Port Aransas before.

City Manager Michael Kovacs had a different spin on the rain.

"We got a little bit more than we wanted," he said, "but that helped with driving conditions down south. It was getting a bit powdery (in the area where cars may drive), but now it's relatively smooth and packed."

Kovacs said the public works department worked over the weekend to smooth the beach.

Forecasters are calling for partly cloudy weather through Saturday with high temperatures in the low 70s.