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19 hours ago, BillyBadAss said:

Well, this sucks. We're scheduled to come down Friday Aug7.  We booked off beach thinking we wanted to avoid crowds and could just drive until we find a spot NOT crowded. Not planning to eat out or do anything except chill at the rental house and beach. I have a wagon and bike, but any advice on which access might be less of a shit show to get in and/or park? 

 

They are all bad. And if you happen to park in the wrong place they are writing lots of tickets and towing.

My advice would be to call a cab and get dropped off and picked up right at the barricade. You shouldn’t have to go too far from there to find a little space.

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Here is what is gong to happen. We have shit the bed on the virus and ONLY if you want a bunch of sick locals will the beaches be fully open again.  I wish it wasn't so, but going to the beach mostly means... the rules don't apply!!!! Wooo HOOOO!!!!!  SO I would be Surprised if the drive on ban is not extended until after Labor day.

The days of teaching young bucks how to cull the easy pickings off the assorted identifying neons of bridesmaids at Bernies is now a sadly lost art form.  It was sort of fun in a vicarious way honestly.  But the good times are gong...  I wish like a mofo they were not, but you are a moron bar hopping or going to majority of restaurants in Port A, or Corpus.  Simply because... the rules don't apply in the tourist mind, and that makes is super dangerous for locals.

I think of all the tips that have disappeared.  I worry about some of the folks I got sort of close to in Port A and North Padre,  Without Giggitys and Shortys, and locals happy hour at Bernies with the locals, my haunts are dead.  I worry about the Karaoke guys I supported at the Dirty Bird and out at Mikel Mays, or the good folks at B-Co and Rock N Roll Sushi, which were my regular rotation on my house remodel.  I wish I could say all of the bar rat places I love will be back, but the honest truth is they will mostly be gone this time next year. A special shout out to Reed, who was the first bartender that took interest in who I was beyond by good tips. ( and Percy just cause he'd be mad)  But I worry so much about the people who have carved out a contrarian life, so that they can LIVE!!!

Just Hook it knows a lot more than me, but I know that I always have thought "the rules don't apply" at the coast.  And that is the double edged sword of commerce and disease. 

I will ALSO SAY, that people have been able to get vehicles onto the beach, just from watching the Sea Gull cam.  I imagine they come in on access 2?  All I really know is that the trout should be on the beach looking at the water from afar.

 

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21 minutes ago, horn4life said:

Here is what is gong to happen. We have shit the bed on the virus and ONLY if you want a bunch of sick locals will the beaches be fully open again.  I wish it wasn't so, but going to the beach mostly means... the rules don't apply!!!! Wooo HOOOO!!!!!  SO I would be Surprised if the drive on ban is not extended until after Labor day.

The days of teaching young bucks how to cull the easy pickings off the assorted identifying neons of bridesmaids at Bernies is now a sadly lost art form.  It was sort of fun in a vicarious way honestly.  But the good times are gong...  I wish like a mofo they were not, but you are a moron bar hopping or going to majority of restaurants in Port A, or Corpus.  Simply because... the rules don't apply in the tourist mind, and that makes is super dangerous for locals.

I think of all the tips that have disappeared.  I worry about some of the folks I got sort of close to in Port A and North Padre,  Without Giggitys and Shortys, and locals happy hour at Bernies with the locals, my haunts are dead.  I worry about the Karaoke guys I supported at the Dirty Bird and out at Mikel Mays, or the good folks at B-Co and Rock N Roll Sushi, which were my regular rotation on my house remodel.  I wish I could say all of the bar rat places I love will be back, but the honest truth is they will mostly be gone this time next year. A special shout out to Reed, who was the first bartender that took interest in who I was beyond by good tips. ( and Percy just cause he'd be mad)  But I worry so much about the people who have carved out a contrarian life, so that they can LIVE!!!

Just Hook it knows a lot more than me, but I know that I always have thought "the rules don't apply" at the coast.  And that is the double edged sword of commerce and disease. 

I will ALSO SAY, that people have been able to get vehicles onto the beach, just from watching the Sea Gull cam.  I imagine they come in on access 2?  All I really know is that the trout should be on the beach looking at the water from afar.

 

Man there’s a lot to unpack there. I’ll get back to it later or tomorrow. Just glad you like Reid. She’s a sweetheart and thankfully her scooter accident didn’t mess up her face.

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2 hours ago, horn4life said:

Here is what is gong to happen. We have shit the bed on the virus and ONLY if you want a bunch of sick locals will the beaches be fully open again.  I wish it wasn't so, but going to the beach mostly means... the rules don't apply!!!! Wooo HOOOO!!!!!  SO I would be Surprised if the drive on ban is not extended until after Labor day.

The days of teaching young bucks how to cull the easy pickings off the assorted identifying neons of bridesmaids at Bernies is now a sadly lost art form.  It was sort of fun in a vicarious way honestly.  But the good times are gong...  I wish like a mofo they were not, but you are a moron bar hopping or going to majority of restaurants in Port A, or Corpus.  Simply because... the rules don't apply in the tourist mind, and that makes is super dangerous for locals.

I think of all the tips that have disappeared.  I worry about some of the folks I got sort of close to in Port A and North Padre,  Without Giggitys and Shortys, and locals happy hour at Bernies with the locals, my haunts are dead.  I worry about the Karaoke guys I supported at the Dirty Bird and out at Mikel Mays, or the good folks at B-Co and Rock N Roll Sushi, which were my regular rotation on my house remodel.  I wish I could say all of the bar rat places I love will be back, but the honest truth is they will mostly be gone this time next year. A special shout out to Reed, who was the first bartender that took interest in who I was beyond by good tips. ( and Percy just cause he'd be mad)  But I worry so much about the people who have carved out a contrarian life, so that they can LIVE!!!

Just Hook it knows a lot more than me, but I know that I always have thought "the rules don't apply" at the coast.  And that is the double edged sword of commerce and disease. 

I will ALSO SAY, that people have been able to get vehicles onto the beach, just from watching the Sea Gull cam.  I imagine they come in on access 2?  All I really know is that the trout should be on the beach looking at the water from afar.

 

Ok I’ve got more time now. It’s counterintuitive but tourists coming down here didn’t spread covid. Locally. We’ve been through spring break, May when the beaches were packed, Memorial Day and 4th of July. I still don’t know anyone that has gotten sick from any of that. The only people that I know that have gotten sick are bartenders living in Corpus and people that traveled.

There is no way the vehicle ban gets extended past Aug17. I could see them doing a Labor Day weekend ban.

Your haunts aren’t dead. I don’t go to Bernie’s anymore because reasons, but Gig’s and Shorty’s are fine other than the fact they will be losing their leases. Gig’s first, I believe in October but Shorty’s  has about 2 years to go and then will likely be moved. Somewhere. It won’t be the same obviously.

You are not wrong about the “rules don’t apply”attitude on the beach. It’s just not a problem. Those people may be spreading covid but they tend to take it home and do it somewhere else. Access 2  is also closed, like everything here. The vehicles on the beach are disabled/handicapped plates or placards and they’ve cracked down severely on that abuse. But it was never about beach access anyway the local judge was just trying to do something to reduce the number of tourists. It worked. Unfortunately for us and her once the first few tourists brought it here it spread on its own in the community. She could shut down I-37 and it wouldn’t help. That’s all i’ll Say about that.

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8 hours ago, justhookit said:

Man there’s a lot to unpack there. I’ll get back to it later or tomorrow. Just glad you like Reid. She’s a sweetheart and thankfully her scooter accident didn’t mess up her face.

Yeah - I sold my place in Flour Bluff last Fall and saw a blurb in the Island Moon about the accident.  I texted a pool playing builder buddy from the Pelican as I was mainly concerned about a head injury that might be a permanent disability.  I remember the first time I saw her NOT wearing a ball cap and I didn't recognize her.  I knew the combination of big medical bills and income loss due to covid was going to be brutal so I popped her a check in the mail ( after some lobbying for her to take it) to try and do some small part to lessen the blow. 

I was guessing that the trucks I saw on the beach might have been handicapped vehicles.  Normally I would say no way they extend past the 17th, but with schools not truly requiring folks to shut down summertime, I am not as sure.  A Labor Day ban is a certainty, IMHO. 

It's funny that most of my life I have always gone to Port A.  Remodeling that house in Flour Bluff really made me fall in love with PINS.  The water clarity and more natural steeper sandbar contours and markedly fewer people are a large part of why I bought a travel trailer.  My understanding from the Island Moon is that the the dunes got pushed back 50 feet or so on PINS so that may make it easier for me to find a place to tuck in and spend a week beachfront.  IF they ever get the place open again, as sounds like clean up will be a bitch and the new national Seashore management is trying to make some dumb ass decisions on funding, and access.

I forgot about Kody's for the cook your own fish.  But heck I have to order the Garlic Fish every time I go, so that's probably why I forgot.  Thanks for the first hand info from the Island Just Hook It!  Tight lines!!!  I dream of hearing my drag sing once again....

 

 

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57 minutes ago, horn4life said:

Yeah - I sold my place in Flour Bluff last Fall and saw a blurb in the Island Moon about the accident.  I texted a pool playing builder buddy from the Pelican as I was mainly concerned about a head injury that might be a permanent disability.  I remember the first time I saw her NOT wearing a ball cap and I didn't recognize her.  I knew the combination of big medical bills and income loss due to covid was going to be brutal so I popped her a check in the mail ( after some lobbying for her to take it) to try and do some small part to lessen the blow. 

I was guessing that the trucks I saw on the beach might have been handicapped vehicles.  Normally I would say no way they extend past the 17th, but with schools not truly requiring folks to shut down summertime, I am not as sure.  A Labor Day ban is a certainty, IMHO. 

It's funny that most of my life I have always gone to Port A.  Remodeling that house in Flour Bluff really made me fall in love with PINS.  The water clarity and more natural steeper sandbar contours and markedly fewer people are a large part of why I bought a travel trailer.  My understanding from the Island Moon is that the the dunes got pushed back 50 feet or so on PINS so that may make it easier for me to find a place to tuck in and spend a week beachfront.  IF they ever get the place open again, as sounds like clean up will be a bitch and the new national Seashore management is trying to make some dumb ass decisions on funding, and access.

I forgot about Kody's for the cook your own fish.  But heck I have to order the Garlic Fish every time I go, so that's probably why I forgot.  Thanks for the first hand info from the Island Just Hook It!  Tight lines!!!  I dream of hearing my drag sing once again....

 

 

Ha. I’m pretty positive I wouldn’t recognize her without the cap and short cutoffs. Does she bring her dog Mogli to Pelican? Love the dog but he pissed on a jacket of mine. Reid says he was marking his territory. I told her to shut up and give me another beer. Long story. I’m friends with her bosses and I know they will do what they can to help and keep her around.

I’m with you on PINS. We are lucky to have a place like that so close. Unfortunately you need 4wd to really enjoy it and I don’t have that right now, but friends do. My best shore fishing trips ever have been down there, including one of the times we drove all the way down to the Mansfield jetty and caught reds, tarpon,kingfish, and jacks until our arms were falling off. Cool place.

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On 8/4/2020 at 7:34 AM, horn4life said:

Yeah - I sold my place in Flour Bluff last Fall and saw a blurb in the Island Moon about the accident.  I texted a pool playing builder buddy from the Pelican as I was mainly concerned about a head injury that might be a permanent disability.  I remember the first time I saw her NOT wearing a ball cap and I didn't recognize her.  I knew the combination of big medical bills and income loss due to covid was going to be brutal so I popped her a check in the mail ( after some lobbying for her to take it) to try and do some small part to lessen the blow. 

I was guessing that the trucks I saw on the beach might have been handicapped vehicles.  Normally I would say no way they extend past the 17th, but with schools not truly requiring folks to shut down summertime, I am not as sure.  A Labor Day ban is a certainty, IMHO. 

It's funny that most of my life I have always gone to Port A.  Remodeling that house in Flour Bluff really made me fall in love with PINS.  The water clarity and more natural steeper sandbar contours and markedly fewer people are a large part of why I bought a travel trailer.  My understanding from the Island Moon is that the the dunes got pushed back 50 feet or so on PINS so that may make it easier for me to find a place to tuck in and spend a week beachfront.  IF they ever get the place open again, as sounds like clean up will be a bitch and the new national Seashore management is trying to make some dumb ass decisions on funding, and access.

I forgot about Kody's for the cook your own fish.  But heck I have to order the Garlic Fish every time I go, so that's probably why I forgot.  Thanks for the first hand info from the Island Just Hook It!  Tight lines!!!  I dream of hearing my drag sing once again....

 

 

Love me some Kody's.

Great onion rings too.

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2 hours ago, Hate said:

Kody’s food was terrific, but the smell of cigarettes was overwhelming to me

I think the Mold has given it a good fight...

The best thing about Kody's is when you are with a large group (in a land and time far, far away...) You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table.  Some folks tend to tip a LOT less than I do and it pisses me off when I am usually the guy settling the tab up within the group. But yep smoking is and has always been almost a certainty at ANY coast.  I tell people if you want to look young simply move to the beach.  If you haven't been sitting at the end of a dock smoking cigarettes and pounding tall boys for 30 years, you do sort of look young by comparison! 😉

Just Hook It- yeah she does bring Mowgli in sometimes.  That is the biggest mellowest dog I have ever been around.  Reid like a lot of folks have multiple gigs.  I think she was working at Shorty's, Burger Co, Pelican and Mud Bugs along with some nurse? or elder care?  Almost everyone I met had more than one gig.  I also really liked a big old boy named "Peaches" who used to work security at Pelican, and then was at Giggity's doing bar back?  Last I talked to him he was going to be a Mr. Fixit for some rental company.  He was sweet but there was definitely a little crazy sprinkled in there.  i hope he is OK, as well.

Damn just looked as the surfcams at seagull and they finally got PINS malaquite beach cam up again too.  Surf is flat and blue green... damnit.

 

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Staying in Port A.  I might bring a bike and drop everything off, then drive back to rental and bike back to beach. Looks like it would be about a mile ride or so. 

I’m in the same boat as you. Going down on the 7th for a long weekend. I was planning to take the fold up wagon and load that thing up and make a spot, then drop off the family and find some place to park. I was hoping they would at least allow golf carts but that didn’t happen.
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If trends continue, I fully expect a new ban over Labor Day weekend...
 
And while I think the masks are dumb as shit and mostly useless (I don't want to turn this thread into a Rona thread so, please, people don't do that), if it will get things back to normal quicker I'll suck it up for now (not just wandering around outside not near people though). And I'd do restaurants at 50% indoors if they can do the 6 ft thing (what's the difference between 6 ft in Walmart and 6 ft at Fins?). Other than that, I'm with you on the plan.
6 feet is for when you're walking past someone. The distance should be larger for people who are seated and in proximity for a chunk of time.
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26 minutes ago, utee05 said:


I’m in the same boat as you. Going down on the 7th for a long weekend. I was planning to take the fold up wagon and load that thing up and make a spot, then drop off the family and find some place to park. I was hoping they would at least allow golf carts but that didn’t happen.

There's not a lot of good options. The beach was packed last Saturday - it was 4 to 5 canopies deep in North Padre. It was less crowded on Friday and Sunday. So I would definitely avoid Saturday. 

Some thoughts...

Maybe try some of the city streets in Port Aransas like Sandcastle Dr. But I've heard the police are ticketing on streets. 

The streets at North Padre are closer to the beach. The Windward parking lot is very close.

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Can't remember where I ran into her I want to say Burger Co, but seems like she had just broken it off with her boyfriend and was ready to get lit.

Think we may hop down for a Sunday through Wednesday trip.  I have a buddy going down for his birthday in North Padre, so might just go there.  Wish they had PINS open, looks like they are at the 5 dumpster filling stage at Malaquite beach from their cam.

 

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On 8/5/2020 at 3:26 PM, elfenix said:
On 8/1/2020 at 12:41 PM, Ag with kids said:
If trends continue, I fully expect a new ban over Labor Day weekend...
 
And while I think the masks are dumb as shit and mostly useless (I don't want to turn this thread into a Rona thread so, please, people don't do that), if it will get things back to normal quicker I'll suck it up for now (not just wandering around outside not near people though). And I'd do restaurants at 50% indoors if they can do the 6 ft thing (what's the difference between 6 ft in Walmart and 6 ft at Fins?). Other than that, I'm with you on the plan.

6 feet is for when you're walking past someone. The distance should be larger for people who are seated and in proximity for a chunk of time.

That's not what the CDC says

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html#:~:text=Social distancing%2C also called “physical,both indoor and outdoor spaces.

COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact (within about 6 feet) for a prolonged period.

But, let's please not turn this into a Rona thread...

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Here now. Love port a, but holy shit ive never seen a dirtier beach in my life.

 

im assuming the hurricane kicked up most of this but the water has a fuck ton of floating trash in it, and there is a good 15-20 feet of straight trash (tiny bits of chopped up plastic and scraps that looked like it went through a wood chipper) between the beautiful dry soft sand and the water

 

Disappointed, but the kids dont seem to care, so whatever.

 

also, beaches arent crowded but they are busy. Looking from L to R in the field of view that i can see... i count maybe 30-40 cars and another 10-20 golf carts right now. Bring a disabled placard if u wanna drive on the beach. Cops are driving up and down and ticketing people. For reference, we got a house at Palmilla Beach and are staying there, so the rest of the island may be different

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9 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Here now. Love port a, but holy shit ive never seen a dirtier beach in my life.

 

im assuming the hurricane kicked up most of this but the water has a fuck ton of floating trash in it, and there is a good 15-20 feet of straight trash (tiny bits of chopped up plastic and scraps that looked like it went through a wood chipper) between the beautiful dry soft sand and the water

 

Disappointed, but the kids dont seem to care, so whatever.

 

also, beaches arent crowded but they are busy. Looking from L to R in the field of view that i can see... i count maybe 30-40 cars and another 10-20 golf carts right now. Bring a disabled placard if u wanna drive on the beach. Cops are driving up and down and ticketing people. For reference, we got a house at Palmilla Beach and are staying there, so the rest of the island may be different

Port A has never been what I would call a pretty beach but occasionally the blue/green water pushes all the way in and it’s nice. The trash you are seeing is mostly from Hurricane Hanna but we already had some from the tropical storm that hit LA. Pretty much all the trash in the water is storm related and then a tiny amount is tourists that can’t put the effort into cleaning up after themselves. You’ll see that mostly on the beach. Enjoy.

 

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@Ag with kidssounds like the city of port a decided to ignore Canales citing among other things an unwillingness to do more overtime for our police department. There may have been a lawsuit filed but I’m not sure on that yet. If y’all on North Padre don’t follow suit this week and weekend will be so crowded it will make 4th of July look dead.

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1 hour ago, justhookit said:

@Ag with kidssounds like the city of port a decided to ignore Canales citing among other things an unwillingness to do more overtime for our police department. There may have been a lawsuit filed but I’m not sure on that yet. If y’all on North Padre don’t follow suit this week and weekend will be so crowded it will make 4th of July look dead.

I may go drive out and check it in a bit.  As far as I know, we're still on vehicle lockdown.  But, y'all at least have the excuse that you have your own PD.  We're still part of CC and mainland CC only cares about us for the insane amount of taxes we send them...

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2 hours ago, justhookit said:

@Ag with kidssounds like the city of port a decided to ignore Canales citing among other things an unwillingness to do more overtime for our police department. There may have been a lawsuit filed but I’m not sure on that yet. If y’all on North Padre don’t follow suit this week and weekend will be so crowded it will make 4th of July look dead.

Well, just drove out to Whitecap.  Cars parked on it from Windward to the beach and they've still got barricades up.

Oh well...

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Going to be an interesting week. They can’t let Port A be the only beach in the area open. We will end up with 1/2 of Corpus and 1/4 of San Antonio  and Austin here. The beach is also still extremely messed up from Hanna. I watched 3 or 4 cars get stuck in the sand in about 15 minutes at access rd1. Our mayor is an idiot and he may have created more problems than we already had. Saying we don’t have the money for overtime is a joke.

There also seems to be no guidance yet about overnight parking for rv’s , camping in tents, or the curfew. I’m expecting a shitshow of epic proportions.

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3 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Going to be an interesting week. They can’t let Port A be the only beach in the area open. We will end up with 1/2 of Corpus and 1/4 of San Antonio  and Austin here. The beach is also still extremely messed up from Hanna. I watched 3 or 4 cars get stuck in the sand in about 15 minutes at access rd1. Our mayor is an idiot and he may have created more problems than we already had. Saying we don’t have the money for overtime is a joke.

There also seems to be no guidance yet about overnight parking for rv’s , camping in tents, or the curfew. I’m expecting a shitshow of epic proportions.

Also known as... 2020.

 

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On 8/8/2020 at 9:56 AM, GreenspointTexas said:

Yeah last time i was here (june 2019) it was gorgeous. No trash in site and very crowded. Just suprised me, thats all. 
 

Took the golf cart into town last night, every bar and restaurant was packed to the gills with lines out front

You still here? It’s getting ready to be really bad.

Those restaurant lines have been that way for a few months now. They are trying. I just don’t go. No bars are open.

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1 minute ago, justhookit said:

You still here? It’s getting ready to be really bad.

Those restaurant lines have been that way for a few months now. They are trying. I just don’t go. No bars are open.

Left today. Water yesterday was insanely clear. Like absolutely fucking gorgeous. 
 

Did takeout from Crazy Cajun last night (the boil was delicious), and it was completely full with a 1 hr wait at 545. Crazy indeed

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10 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Left today. Water yesterday was insanely clear. Like absolutely fucking gorgeous. 
 

Did takeout from Crazy Cajun last night (the boil was delicious), and it was completely full with a 1 hr wait at 545. Crazy indeed

You picked it up from the tailgate scene there? Ballgame. In case you don’t die and survive to come back I know you like beer so Gaff has a few decent ones on tap right now and they will do it to go. So does MacDaddy’s but I don’t know about the to go part with them.

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12 hours ago, justhookit said:

You picked it up from the tailgate scene there? Ballgame. In case you don’t die and survive to come back I know you like beer so Gaff has a few decent ones on tap right now and they will do it to go. So does MacDaddy’s but I don’t know about the to go part with them.

The also have surprisingly decent pizza...

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Well so far, the sand is there in piles ready to be pushed down to block vehicles but they aren’t actually doing it. I’m thinking this is a political/control issue between the city of Port A and the county and both sides may be willing to see what happens this weekend. The closure to vehicles is set to expire Aug17 so maybe everyone is just willing to let it happen.  Or more likely nobody has any clue what to do.

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