State park campers keep a low profile
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Don't judge all Spring Breakers by the ones you see clustered near the end of Avenue G.

There's another group farther south who tend to keep their heads down and celebrate the annual rites of spring more quietly.

Mustang Island State Park superintendent Kenneth Ragan calls them "the other Spring Breakers."

"They come to the state park because they know we close our gates at night and it's a quiet place to come for a week," he said.

Further, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department regulations preclude the kind of parties many people may associate with Spring Breakers. For instance, public consumption of alcoholic beverages is against the law in state parks.

And Ragan, who is himself a state peace officer, has two Texas game wardens on hand to help make sure those regulations are enforced.

A large factor in the decision to spend Spring Break in a state park is also the difference in cost between $4 a night for a park pass and a tent on the beach and the price of a condominium.

This week's weather may cause some to re-think the decision, however.

Wilson Morris and his friend Kim Nelson are here for the week from Denton - or at least, they were as of Sunday.

"We'll probably go in to Port Aransas later this afternoon and spend some time on the beach," Nelson said.

But forecasters were calling for rain Monday and Tuesday.

"Won't bother us," Nelson said with the resilience of youth.

Another Spring Breaking couple, this one from Austin, asked that their names not be published.

"It gets pretty hectic on the beach (outside the park)," he said.

"We may be retarded, but neither of us needs that," she agreed.

Without the parties and drinking, what's to do on Spring Break?

Nelson and Morris seemed perfectly content to kick through ankle-deep waves as they walked hand in hand along the beach.

Maybe that's what it's all about after all.