Things to Do in Laid-Back Harlingen, Texas

More than 400,000 passengers get off an airplane at Harlingen's Valley International Airport each year, many staying only long enough to claim their luggage, pick up their rent car and head to South Padre Island.

Nothing wrong with that if you're looking for surf, seagulls and souvenirs, but there's more to Harlingen than arrival and departure. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce lists 101 things, from posing next to a replica of the Statue of Liberty (No. 37) to trying a 46-ounce margarita at the Lone Star Restaurant (No. 54.)

This Cameron County city of 80,000 is the figurative middle grapefruit in the Rio Grand Valley's sun-drenched gift basket. SPI's on the far eastern end out in the Gulf of Mexico, McAllen's the western-most major city and Brownsville is as far south as you can get without crossing the Rio Grande.

You can either book a nice, average-priced motel room with complimentary continental breakfast in Harlingen to use as your Valley base, or you can pay a lot more for a Gulf view. Sometimes beach access is what you want, but other times economy comes to mind -- especially when it practically takes a credit union signature loan to buy a tank of gas.

After spending a few post-Spring Break days in the Valley, I left convinced that Harlingen is the best place in the area to stay if you're not into hanging upside down from a beachfront condo balcony and inhaling a cool adult beverage while talking on your cell phone to the girl in the room just below yours. (I made that up, but during Spring Break, it probably happened.)

Padre Island has the beach and salt water fishing, Brownsville has Mexico and McAllen has the most franchise eateries and retail outlets, but Harlingen is harder to typecast. Un-crowded and laid-back, this tropical city is the sort of place a Baby Boomer or Snow Bird (affectionate Valley term for visiting, retired person from up North) likes to spend time and money.

That probably explains why Harlingen has more antique stores and malls than any other Valley city, most of them in the Jackson Street District downtown. Too, the city is home to the Valley's only National Public Radio station, it has a large public library you'd expect in a much bigger city and a complex of restored historic buildings at the Rio Grande Valley Museum.

Harlingen's still close enough to the Gulf to supply fresh shrimp and fish for three good seafood restaurants. Of course, that doesn't compare to the city's 20 Mexican food places, from taquerias to mom and pop cafes to bakeries where you can get pumpkin empanadas and other Mexican pastries.

If you're overwhelmed with guilt after a good meal, head to the city's two-mile hike and bike trail. It runs along the Arroyo Colorado, the almost-river that cuts through the city.

After exercising, you can go to the Marine Military Academy and see the original model for the Battle of Iwo Jima monument, visit the Harlingen Art Forum Gallery or take a trolley to see the city's historic district and more than 30 colorful murals.

But please, if you opt for that 46-ounce margarita, make sure you have a designated driver.