December 27 to 31, 2012; end of another year in Texas

DEC  27, Thursday, Weslaco.
Cold but as much as yesterday!  We did go up to 68*F!  Anyway, after our morning routines, we went geo-caching and found the balance of the ones we missed in Weslaco.  We were really good in that we didn’t stop for a beer at any pub (we saw two!J)  I stopped at Radio Shack too to pick up a new in line fuse holder then we came home, had a drink outside, dinner and the tube!

 

DEC  28, Friday, 
We’ve been one month already, time is flying by!  We went into town to pick up a couple things and some movies.  We had lunch at a local Pub, “The Pecker”, then came home to watch a movie.  It was cloudy most of the day with a North wind but the sun did come out at the end of the day, our high was 69*F.!  We got a new neighbour behind us from Kansas.

 

DEC  29, Saturday,
Another cold night and morning, the wind is from the North again!  Val’s friends didn’t show this morning so she didn’t do any walking.  Val made some small dog rolls then at 3 pm, we went to the Hall to celebrate a friend’s birthday.  His wife made a delicious tourtiere, the “Lac St-Jean” way and other people brought different dishes and hors d’ouevres.  It turned out to be dinner out too.  There were about 16 people present.  We even met new people.  Anyway, we had fun and lots of stories to be heard.  We got back home around 6 pm and watched a couple movies in the evening.
We learned late in the evening that our good friend, Glenda (& Terry) who is presently in Mesa, received the sad news that her dad passed away earlier.  We shared in her sadness as we knew him too as “Uncle George”, a great man who will be dearly missed.  Our thoughts are with the family.

 

DEC  30, Sunday, Weslaco
Cloudy and cool again today but the wind has switched to the South-East which means warmer air.  Val did laundry and I repaired a couple things around the house, washed the kayaks and moved them away from under the tree as the birds were messing on them.  We got a lot of new arrivals today, I’m told over 40!  We now have three new neighbours.  At 4 pm, we went over to Ed for happy hours and met a new couple, Bill and Joan.  After dinner, we watched a couple movies we picked up earlier.  We had a warm evening, it is still 65* at 11 pm.

 

DEC  31, Monday; Last day of 2012!
Cloudy, warm and windy was the last day of 2012 in Weslaco Texas!  Val went for exercises and I took Tucker for our morning jaunt.  In the afternoon, we went to town to return some movies and pick up some stuff for tonight.  At 4 pm, we went out with 8 other friends for dinner at LIN”S, a Chinese/steak buffet bar.  It was quite delicious.  We came home, watched the tube for a while, got ourselves ready for the New-Year’s dance at the hall.  We went over at 8:30 and joined our neighbours (12 of them) for a wonderful and fun-filled evening and brought the New-Year in style.  The Hall provided us with sandwiches and a variety of other small snacks around 10:30 pm.  The music was fairly good and we did lots of dancing.

December 22 to 26, 2012; Christmas in Texas

DEC  22, Saturday, Weslaco
A very windy day which began with sunshine but ended with dark clouds and mid 70’s for temperature.  This was a quiet day, I fell asleep reading my KOBO and Val went to the club house to do her puzzles.   I had to go to the bank to get some quarters as Val wanted to and did the laundry.  We had an early dinner then relaxed for the evening

 

DEC  23, Sunday, Geo-Caching in Mission
I went for a mile hike this morning then walked Tucker. (Been eating too many chocolate) then I dumped the tanks for excitement.  After our showering, we went geo-caching in Mission near Bentsen Park and found 17 of them.  I now have over 900 of them registered!  We stopped at “PEPE” but it was closed so went over to “Riverside Pub” just down the road from PEPE.  We got back around 4:30 pm and Al and Judy came over for a drink.  As we sat there chatting, a group of people came down our street singing Christmas Carols.  They stopped at our neighbour across the street then over to our place.  Tucker joined them singing!  J  It was cute watching him begging for attention.  A very nice way to end the day!  I watched Sunday night football...SF 49 vs. Seattle Sea Hawks; what a massacre!

 

DEC  24, Monday, Christmas Eve
Val went for her morning routine and after taking Tucker for his morning jaunt, I took the bike and did a couple miles around the park.  It is a very nice day but cloudy.  We went to Walmart to pick up a couple things and return a bowl had bought then on to the Post Office only to find out they were closed as of noon.  We drove to Olive Garden and had a light lunch then home.  At 3 pm, we walked over the club with Al and Judy and listen to music and dance.  We came home and sat outside with Al and Judy until dinner time.  A quiet evening at home and early to bed.

 

DEC  25, Tuesday; MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
The day was beautifully warm and sunny.  We spent the morning getting ready for our group meal then at 11:30 am, we took everything to the hall and proceeded to put everything ready for the meal.  At noon, we had a group prayer then the turkeys arrived.  Al was nominated to be the official carver.  We had a table set for the food and a table to eat, there were 10 people at our table and there must have been over 30 tables like ours all set up and decorated.  It was noisy with chatters and laughter.  After the meal, which was delicious, we had to put our tables away and clean the hall then returned home with big full bellies.  The rest of the day was relax and read.  At 4 pm, we went over to Charlie and Nancy for a drink with the rest of the group then came home for dinner.  We called the kids and my family and wished them all a great day and caught up to news.

 

DEC  26, Wednesday, Boxing Day
Which is NOT celebrated in the USA, just another day?  Yesterday was 85*F and today, we barely reached 60*!  Just amazing how fast the weather can change here but we had been warned.  Val forfeited her exercises this morning and slept in.  It was 35*F (3*C) when I got up at 7 am and beautiful blue sky. 
After a lazy morning, we decided to go to a movie and went to see “The HOBBIT”.  We enjoyed it!  Afterwards, we came home, prepared dinner which consisted of all left over from the last couple days then watched the tube.  I was in bed early!

December 16 to 21, 2012; Weslaco

DEC  16, Sunday, Weslaco TX
Another day like yesterday in terms of weather, hot and humid!
We got an exciting phone call yesterday; my daughter and son-in-law are making plans to come to San Antonio for 10 days in January.  We are very excited about the prospect of entertaining them here and San Antonio.  Now I’ll be counting the days!!!!
After our morning routine, Val did puzzles at the club house and I dumped our tanks, backed up my files and pictures on the computer, ordered a new pillow that Val wants and thinks it will help her neck, then watched football.   Afterwards, we sat outside for a drink and our new neighbours; Jan and “De Wayne” came over and sat with us for a drink and a chat.  In the evening, we watched the last episode of “Survivors”, of course.  We also watched the President’s speech at the memorial for all those kids that were killed in Newton, CT....so bloody sad!  I sincerely hope the President awakes and motivates Congress to make some changes with the right to bear arms!!!

 

DEC  17, Monday, 
It rained overnight and right now it is overcast and 68*F but going up to 80*F by the afternoon.  I got propane this morning (a truck comes around the Park) and paid $19.25, not bad.  After Val’s exercise and dance lessons, we went for a drive and to find some more caches; we found one but it was destroyed!  Once home, I went over to Art’s place to check out on his new tablet but he wasn’t home so I went to the club house where happy hour was happening and I found him.  We ended up meeting new people, Mark and Joanne who are avid geo-cachers.  Art (Cookie) thinks he will have to send his tablet back as he can’t get the memory card out to replace it with a bigger storage capacity.  After HH we went home and had dinner and watched the news and read.

 

DEC  18, Tuesday, back to Mexico
Sunny and very warm today but no humidity.  We went to Nuevo Progresso to see our dentist.  Val had an adjustment that she wanted done and I just wanted a check-up.  We had a quick beer and came home.  The wind is picking up a bit making it very comfortable.  Val loaded more music on her I-Pod.  She download CD’s on the computer, chooses the song she wants then uses “I Tunes” to load it on the I-Pod.

 

DEC  19, Wednesday, Geo-Caching
Windy, hot, overcast with sunny breaks and humid, that was our day!  After our morning rituals, we went geo-caching around Weslaco.  On Business 83, we found a really good Chinese Restaurant with a cheap smorg...$6.99 for all you can eat and the food was excellent.  After lunch we continued on with our searches and ended finding a dozen more caches.  Once home, we went to the club house for hamburger, chips, ice tea for $2.50 and an ice cream sundae for $1.00.  We came home and stopped at Al for a quick drink then came home.  Oh yeah!  Almost forgot, found a Shell Station that sold diesel at $3.70 so I filled up.  Also sent e-mails with our pictures for X-MAS.

 

DEC  20, Thursday
We have a cold front coming through, dropping the temperature down to 65*F (16*C) and winds gusting to 30 MPH at times.  Exercises for Val, walks with Tucker for me then we went shopping for X-Mas groceries and stocked up on booze too.  We came home, put everything away and relaxed inside as it is just too windy outside.

 

DEC  21, Friday, First day of winter
If you want to call 75*F winter!?  And it also means that the days are gonna get longer from here on in!  Val was invited and went to a lesson on line-dancing at another park near here with a few girls from this Park.  I spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon making and baking “Tourtiere” with a recipe from Quebec.  Val went shopping with some friends and came home with egg-nogg and rum so we had to have one!  For dinner, we had cat fish and rice then watched the tube.

December 10 to 15, 2012; Weslaco, Texas

DEC  10, Monday, Weslaco,TX
I was up at 7:30 am and the wind was calm and it was still fairly warm (70*); a half hour later, the wind became very strong all of sudden and the awning banged up against the trailer.  I tried to bring it in but it wouldn’t work and that’s when I noticed a wire had cut so here I was outside in strong winds, trying to control the awning and re-connect the wire.  Allan came out and gave me hand and we finally got the awning in.  Just as I finished, the rain began, more like a drizzle and when I checked the thermometer, the temperature had dropped 10 degrees to 60*F.  WOW!!!  I also reinforced the tie-downs on the satellite dish.
At 3 pm, we went to the club house to listen to live music and danced the Happy Hour away.  Beer is $6 for a jug and entertainment cost us $2, can’t beat that!  The wind has calm down a bit and the sun is trying to shine through; it is a balmy 60*F.  I BBQ’ed pork chop for dinner with potatoes and veggies.

 

DEC  11, Tuesday,
Brrrrrrrr!  A cold day; we only reached 55*F and cloudy.  Art and Rose Marie came over for a visit this morning as we were getting ready to go to town.  He was interested in the Tablet we bought and they took with them so we loaned it to him to try out.  Debbie also came over to invite Val for a shopping spree in McAllen tomorrow and she accepted.  I set up the X-mas tree and the lights around the place.  We went to town to find a cable I needed and to take a pillow back to Costco that Val bought a couple weeks ago.  We had a delicious lunch at a local Deli then we made a stop at Walmart, filled up the truck then came home.  Walmart has this deal that you buy a gift card, use that card at the Gas Station for a fill up, you save $0.10/gallon so my diesel cost $3.72/gal.  Pretty good savings!  The average price around her is $3.84/gal.  I can refill the card anytime and re-use it for more savings.
We went to Art and Rose-Marie and Art told me he wanted a bigger screen and gave me a stick full of e-books to download.  We went to Debbie’s and her husband Al to load Val’s I-Pod with music as he has a load full of it.
We came home and had dinner then watched the tube.

 

DEC  12, Wednesday,  Shopping day with the girls
We got up this morning to 39*F temperature but it soon went up to mid 60’s by early afternoon.  After her exercises, Val went shopping in McAllen with 3 other girls.  I am sure she will have a good time.  As for me, I worked on the computer for a while then took Tucker for his jaunt.  It is sunny today and the sun feels really nice after these last days of cloud and cold temperature. 
I picked up the mail and found a letter from the Royal Bank which I had been waiting for.  I faxed that over to our Life Insurance then came home and got our stuff ready for dinner.  Val got home around 4 pm and she said she had a great time with the girls.  We walked over to the club house and had hamburger dinner with our friends from our street.  After dinner, we went over to Al and Debbie to see if her I Pod was loaded but Al never had a chance to get around to it.  We made plans to meet tomorrow and go see “The Life of Pi” in 3D at a local theatre.  After this, we came home to watch “Survivors”

 

DEC  13, Thursday, Weslaco
After our usual morning routine of exercises and walks, we went out with Debbie and her husband Al to the local theater to see “Life of Pi” in 3D; what a strange movie!  It was interesting but slow with a twist to it.  Afterwards, we went to a local restaurant that served sushi and Japanese food.  Surprisingly, it was really good considering it was run by Mexican and not one Oriental in the place.  Once home, Kim came over to return my GPS cord and asked if I would help Carol with the computer program for Geo-Cache so I went over.  She is really into this Geo-cache.  I showed her how to create list and download them.
It was cloudy all day but it did warm up to mid 70’s

 

DEC  14, Friday,
This was a busy day!  After our morning routine, we went to McAllen to shop.  First we stopped at Costco where we bought some meat, coffee and bourbon ($12 for 1.75 liter) then on to find a Radio Shack but first we stopped at “PETER PIPER PIZZA” which is quite popular.  The pizza was quite good but the atmosphere was more for a family then regular population.  What I mean is it was quite noisy because of the arcade in the rear and long tables as in a hall.  Anyway, we did find a Radio Shack and got what we needed.  We then went to HEB and got some groceries then back home.  Traffic was heavy everywhere, you sure can tell X-Mas shopping is in full swing.  At home, after putting everything away, we went over to Ed for HH.  We had BBQ steaks for dinner and watched the tube in the evening.  Weather today was cloudy, windy and warm!

 

DEC  15, Saturday,
It was windy all night and still is.  It is humid, warm with sunny breaks between the overcast sky.  Forecast is for 85*F (26-28*C) today!  Val did laundry and we read and stuck around home all day; too hot and humid to do anything else.  We had an early dinner and at 6:30 pm, we walked over to the hall and danced the night away, sort of.  We sat with our neighbours and Kim & Carol joined us.  The musician was good and is well liked by this crowd but he only played, slow dances, waltz and some cha-cha or something like that.  At the end he finally played a couple of rock & roll songs.  By 10:15 pm, the hall is cleaned and emptied and we walked home.  Very warm still, we sat outside for a while before going in under the A/C and go to bed.

December 6 to 9, 2012; Weslaco Texas

DEC  6, Thursday, Bird watching
We did our morning routine then at 10 am, we went with Carol and Kim to the ESTURO LlANO GRANDE STATE PARK near the border here in Weslaco, 230 acres of wetland with different local birds and many varied butterflies.  There were numerous paths and we followed a couple of them ending spending over 3 hours taking pictures and watching birds.  Kim had a powerful telescope so we got to see them quite close.  We even saw a pond with a huge alligator.  We were standing by the view point observing turtles and birds and were just about to leave when he floated by.  It was quite neat to see.  There is also an arm of the Rio Grande call Llano River where one could actually kayak as it is out of the Park.  We came home around 2 pm and relaxed for a while then went over to our neighbours and had HH with Jack & Pat, Al & Judy and a new couple Charlie and Nancy. 
 

DEC  7, Friday,

Very foggy this morning, Val went for her group power walk around the Park and Tucker and I did ours.  We went back to TARGET to exchange the I-pod Nano then stopped at H.E.B for groceries.  From here, we went across the highway and checked out a RAVEN trailer made by Winnebago...very nice!  We then went to another local restaurant near our place call “Ranch Burger”.  Quite a neat and funky place with delicious hamburgers and live music and dance in the barn on Wednesday evening.  We came home and put everything away. 
I don’t remember if I mentioned this but back in November while at Casa del Sol, Val did laundry and one machine ruined the load by spilling oil on it.  We had called COINMACH on numerous occasions but they never called back.  Well, yesterday they did and refuse to make good on our claim to replace the clothes and towels we lost in that machine because the Tech never found anything wrong with the machine even though the Park manager had seen the machine and agreed it was oil from it.  I argued with the guy but no avail so after hanging up, I wrote to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU in Houston where the company HQ is situated and filed a complaint.  Today I received confirmation that BBB had written to COINMACH so now we wait.

 

DEC  8, Saturday, flea market
Another hot day!  The forecast is for rain and a cooling trend by tomorrow evening, looking forward to that.  Charlie came over to ask me if I was going to the “Men’s lunch” but I had to turn the invite down as we were going out shopping at Donna Flea Market on US 83.  We ended up buying a couple of t-shirts for both of us and a new chair for me (we needed a second one anyway).  We then drove to Best Buy where I returned my X-mas present that we bought a week ago as I am not using it and to Michaels for some wool and a needle for Val.  We came home, Val went to the club house and I put the new chair together.  We joined our friends for HH at Eddy’s place.  Another busy day!

 

DEC  9, Sunday, Weslaco
It was so warm overnight that the A/C came on quite a few times according to Val.  This morning is humid, cloudy but the sun is burning the clouds pretty fast.  This is supposed to be the hottest day of the past week before the cold front tonight.
We went back to the Donna Market to exchange a couple things but didn’t buy anything.  From here we geo-cached and found three more then came home.  Val cooked a roast for dinner with all the trimmings; it was delicious.  In the evening we watched “Amazing Race” then football so Val went upstairs to watch her program.

December 1 to 5, 2012; Weslaco, Texas

December  1, Saturday, Weslaco, TX
Another hot and humid day!  We had a relaxing morning, walked the park as they had a yard sale and flea market in the club house; had a sandwich while there then I walked home but Val stayed a little longer.  After lunch we went to Walmart for some groceries then went looking for a Pub.  We drove almost to La Feria and finally found one just across the Highway where we turn off to go home.  It was call Roadside House Bar & Grill, a neat place with live music as of 4 PM and food after 3 PM.  We came home, unloaded the groceries and relaxed outside before dinner. We were entertained by our neighbour across the street; she was singing and playing guitar, very good too!
This Park has a lot to offer; Happy Hour every afternoon with live music on certain days, dancing with live music every Saturday nights, friendly staff and guests, lunch and breakfast almost every day at a reasonable price, grass throughout and paved roads, a huge hall with pool, hot tub, library, sewing room, craft room and more.  The longer one stays, the cheaper it becomes...Totonaka should learn from this!  However there are not many trees for shade and being the Rio Grande Valley, it is windy most days, very warm and humid (80-85*F).  It is close to the Mexican border, shopping galore and grocery stores.  McAllen is only 15 minutes away to the West and Brownsville and Padre Island about an hour to the East.  We would come back here.

 

DEC  2, Sunday,
We were up early, 70*F at 8 AM.  Val did the laundry and I walked Tucker then puttered around BEAR and site.  I fell asleep while reading which was Ok by me.  Val spent some time at the club house doing jigsaw puzzles.  Allan and Judy came over for a drink at HH.  For dinner, Val made pasta with shrimps I bought the other day.  A quiet evening at home watching the tube

 

DEC  3, Monday,
Val went for exercises and then line dancing lessons.  I walked Tucker then read and fell asleep again.  It was quite windy today and kept things cooler somewhat; it is 84*F!  At 4 pm, I went to the club house to find Val and we ended up staying in the hall where HH was happening and live music was being played.  We came home, BBQ’ed ribs and sat outside for a while.

 

DEC  4, Tuesday, back to Nuevo Progresso
Val was up at 7 to attend a walk around the park with a bunch of other women.  I walked Tucker then drove to the dentist in Progresso where I had an adjustment done.  While there, I checked on my famous glasses and of course, he wasn’t there!!!!  I think I can kiss that $20 goodbye.  I walked to the police station to make a complaint but no one was there.  As a matter of fact the place was wide open.  I definitely would not want to spend a night in one of their cells, they were very dirty.  I came home and had a haircut then took the truck to GOODYEAR to have a wheel alignment done.  Today is really warm; 85*F and NO wind to speak of, I don’t do well in this heat.

 

DEC  5, Wednesday, Weslaco
Boy, did we get a rain storm overnight!!!  Strong wind that forced me to put the awning up, heavy rain, lighting and thunder; we had it all.  It lasted about 15-20 minutes max and ended just as suddenly as it started.  A cold front came through at the same time and it is much cooler this morning; 64*F and everything is soaked out there and it DIDN’T blow the satellite over which means I tied it down good.
Val went for her exercises first thing this morning and I went for my walk with Tucker.  In the afternoon, we went to the town of Mission, west of here, where we stayed the first time we came here.  It has grown a lot and quite a few changes.  We thought we knew where friends we met here lived but it turned out we couldn’t find it so we came home.  On the way back, we stopped at TARGET as Val wanted and bought an I-Pod Nano so that she could listen to music while exercising and doing her Tai-Chi.  When we got home, I found out it didn’t work so will have to take it back for an exchange. Today was a pleasant and comfortable day with temperature reaching 79*F.

November 29 & 30, 2012; Move to new Resort in Weslaco, TX

NOV  29, Thursday; Move to Weslaco, TX
After loading all our toys and emptying the tanks (took us about an hour), we left Casa del Sol by 10:20 am and were at SNOW to SUN RV RESORT on International Road at site 149 by 10:45 am.  This has to be the shortest drive ever!!??  We are now in WESLACO, a town next to DONNA.  After setting up and paid for three months at an average $363 per month, we had lunch and relaxed.  We met a couple of our neighbours then before we knew it, it was dinner time.  It is a warm day and we actually had rain in the evening...only lasted about 10 minutes.  I called RBC again today to find out about the close-out papers in our loan; they sure are dragging their butt on that one; it’s like pulling teeth but I need those papers to cancel our life insurance and get a refund.  We also got a package as we arrived; a replacement for my VERIZON JET PACK WIRELESS.  The old one had been acting up.

We travelled a whole 10 miles in 16 minutes

N   26* 10.714
W 097* 57.624
Alt: 50 ft

 

NOV  30, Friday, Last day of another month

Well, November ends with a beautiful sunshine and very warm; 82*F.  Val went for exercises at the club and while I did my thing on the computer, I watched dozens of people power-walking along the back road.  A lot more activities here, for sure!  In the other Park, their idea of exercises was driving around in their golf cart both in the morning and early evening!!!  Anyway, I don’t want to give it a bad rap as it was a good Park but not for us.
We went to the OUTLETS in Mercedes where we bought a new pair of runners for me and Val, IZOD golf shirts for me and Val at 70% off.  After spending all our money, we went to the Post Office to mail my old Verizon Wireless at their cost and pick up a box to mail the Rand GPS back to Camping world.  We headed south to Mexico and took some pictures and checked on my glasses only to find him not present.  That S.O.B, owes me $20. and for me it’s a matter of principle that he won’t get away with it.  After having lunch down in Progresso, we went to “THE BOOT” store to pick up a Geo-Cache but the guy didn’t know what I was talking about.  We walked back across and drove home but first stopped for a Geo-Cache that we had searched for yesterday but found it today.  At home, we joined our neighbours AL & Judy from Manitoba, Eddy & Joanne from Missouri and Ontarian Jack & Pat; a very nice and fun group and I am sure we will have lots of fun.  For dinner, we had BBQ spare ribs

November 24 to 28, 2012; Donna, Texas

NOV  24, Saturday, Donna, Texas
Man, did it pour last night and strong winds too, it blew the bikes and the satellite dish over onto the ground.  It went on for a good 2-3 hours and finally settled a bit to just a drizzle.  I have to admit the rain was good as this area really needs water.  This morning, the sky has dark clouds but no rain yet!  We went to the Open Market, where everything under the sun is sold including some RV stuff.  Val bought some vegetables and I bought nails with ring to tie down the carpets.  From here, we went to Radio shack to pick up a new satellite cable as one of them was damaged with the storm last night.  We then went to the OUTLETS in Mercedes but it was so full of cars, I really didn’t want to go in there so we came home and enjoyed the rest of the day.  For dinner, I BBQ’ed steaks and a lobster tail we bought at Costco yesterday.  It was delicious.

 

NOV  25, Sunday, Grey Cup
The day began overcast but the sun did come out later in the morning!  It was sunny and hot for the rest of the day.  How about them Argos, hey!????  What a game!  Too bad Calgary didn’t get it but the best won and that’s that.

 

NOV  26, Monday, back to Mexico
After walking Tucker, we went back to Nuevo Progresso to the Optical shop where I found out the guy wasn’t there and when the girl phoned him, he told mayana!!!  We went to the dentist where Val had her teeth checked and then I took an exam for a new top plate.  He advised me to have two teeth removed at the lower back and after some soul searching (I am sooooo afraid of extractions, seriously), I decided to go ahead so we made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.  We came home after having a couple of free cerveza and stopped for some groceries.  We had a very warm evening tonight so we sat outside for a while.

 

NOV  27, Tuesday, Dentist again
I took the truck back to JOE’s REPAIR SHOP to stop the alarm ringing as soon as the door opens which he hooked up wrong in the first place.  He drove me home and I helped Val transporting the laundry to the laundry room.  We got the truck back about an hour later, I think he just disconnected a fuse!???  Anyway, we got the wash done, I brushed my teeth and we went back to Mexico.  I came home with two less teeth and still no prescription glasses; this guy always a reason for not having the right color on the glass.  I gave him until Friday then that’s it!  The dentist was superb.  Anyone going to Nuevo Progresso, I strongly recommend DR Ruben Pena at Pena Reyna Dental Care.  They are just across the bridge, across the street where there is a small plaza and the best Pina Colada and Margaritas.  I paid $381 for a new denture and two extractions, can you believe it!?  Considering I paid $225 for one extraction in Quebec, this is a REAL BARGAIN!!!
We came home and got another parcel in the mail...my new Rand RV GPS, an early X-mas present!  Because of new extractions, I was limited in soft food so we had Craft Dinner for dinner, not the best but good enough for me.  I swallowed a couple of Advils and another Anti-Biotic pill.  This was a stressful day for me (dentist do that to me) so didn’t much in the evening.  Tomorrow is a new day!

 

NOV  28, Wednesday,
Sunny and a balmy 75*F!  The Texans call this cold here in the Valley but for us, it’s just perfect.  We went to Costco in McAllen and bought a new updated Garmin Nuvi.  I decided, after trying it out in the truck, to return the Magellan as it is too big and cumbersome and much too complicated.  It has a 7” screen compared to 5” with the Garmin.  After this, we went for lunch at Red Robin then drove back to Donna and chased a few geo-caches.  We found one out of 6; not our best day!  We watched  “Survivors” after dinner.

November 18 to 23, 2012, Donna Texas

NOV  18, Sunday, Donna Texas
Cloudy with sunny period and very warm...it got to 78*F (24*C)!  First thing this morning, after taking Tucker for his morning constitution, I went into Donna and had the truck washed for $15, can’t beat it!  They did a great job and even shined the tires and all the chrome.  The garage next door was advertising brakes re & re for real cheap and it so happened that the owner was there so after talking with him I made an appointment for tomorrow morning.  My brakes have been whining when I put them on and I figured it was time since the last time was January 29.  I came home and found Val in the library working on a puzzle so I dragged her away to make us lunch; aren’t I thoughtful?  In the afternoon, she went for a walk around the Park and I put the BBQ out, set up the table and the satellite.  Val gave me a hand with the signal when she got back so now we have Canadian channels.  We had a roast dinner then watched some good Canadian programming

 

NOV  19, Monday
Weather:  About the same as yesterday except a bit warmer!  It’s supposed to be the same all week with temperature reaching 85*F (28*) with some rain by Wednesday but in these parts of the country, rain means maybe a half hour of drizzle if you are lucky!
I took the truck out to have the brakes re & re and came home 2.5 hrs later, all done!  I made a bunch of calls to the bank, WHR, and a guy to wash BEAR.  We then went to Weslaco shopping at the OUTLETS and ended up buying a pair of hiking boots for me and two nice cool (as in cooler rather than warm) golf shirts and Val bought 2 pairs of sandals and some health pills.  We stopped at a couple of RV places to look at trailers then came home, had a drink, dinner and watched the tube.

 

NOV  20, Tuesday,
Already 70*F at 8 AM!  I took the truck to a tranny repair shop to get the transmission stick shift on the steering column fix as it has been acting up lately and is so loose that I can’t get it down to first.  They drove me back and then I had an outfit come out and wash “BEAR” and the front waxed for $80.  Val did the laundry while all this was going on.  I also got the hitch receiver welded solid so that there will be no more movement/bouncing of the bikes while travelling; that was $20.  Val found about a whole load of laundry stained by oil from the washing machine.  We complained to the office and we got hold of the machine owners as the machines are leased and they will reimburse us the cost of all the clothing we lost; approx. $220.00 worth.  That included a new shirt I had just bought yesterday!  The BEAST finally came home and $120 later and a solid & fix gear shift.  We went to Walmart to pick up some items Val needs for Thanks-giving dinner as we are part of a group of 12 people.  The Resort is providing the turkey and the hall but each group has to cook and provide varied dishes, so Val was assigned to make a vegetable dish. 

 

NOV  21, Wednesday, Nuevo Progresso, Mexico
Today we decided to go to Nuevo Progresso in Mexico to investigate dentists and get prescription sunglasses for me.  We parked at the border, paid $2.00 for the day and walked across the International Bridge after having to pay .50 cents there and .25 cents back, as it is a toll bridge for both pedestrians and autos.  As we crossed into Mexico and while still on the bridge, we heard and saw people below begging for money; pretty sad!  On the other side, the town is laid out so that the main street is full of shops but also mainly dentist, hundreds of them!  I found a place for my glasses and got a decent pair for $80 and that included tint, UV protection and unbreakable glass.  From here, we went to investigate some dentist.  The first one had a good price and Val seemed happy so we went to a second one for more estimate.  She went in for an exam and ended up getting a whole package so we spent the whole afternoon there.  She said afterwards that she really liked the guy and his answers and good vibes from the place.  She is usually up on that so I accepted it.  The upper side of it was the dentist paid for all the beer or drinks we wanted.  His office was situated in a courtyard near the bridge with a bar set up for tourist as it was just at the entrance to the USA Customs and as part of his service, he paid for all the drinks we wanted to take.  Unfortunately, we had to drive home so we didn’t take as many as we wanted...Did he plan that or what!???  Anyway, we got home around 5 pm after crossing and paying an extra $4 on a 40 oz bottle of Bourbon I bought in Mexico for $18.  The line up was minimal.  After dinner, we watched “Survivors” then it was early to bed.  We have to go back on Monday for Val’s stuff and I want to get my teeth cleaned too.

 

NOV  22, Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving USA
Sunny and warm again, not as many clouds in the sky today!  This was a relaxing day as everything is closed due to the holiday.  We read, I fixed a couple of minor things in the rig and Val did the green beans casserole for the dinner.  At 1:30 pm, we walked to the club house and at 2 pm, we had our Thanks-Giving dinner.  There were 12 people at our table out of 18 and we had quite a spread.  Each table group had another table where every dish that each group brought were laid out and served from.  I have to say it was delicious and our group was very friendly and talkative.  One couple had were from Nebraska and made a delicious mashed squash which they had picked from their home garden before coming down.  For dessert, there was pumpkin pie and pecan pie of which I had a small piece...YUM, YUM!!!
By 3:30, everything was over, the hall pretty well all cleaned and everyone went their own ways.  We came home and I watched football for the rest of the afternoon and Val some movie on the other TV.  The sky has clouded over but it still very warm...86*F

 

NOV  23, Black Friday
It was cloudy and windy (light) all day; actually we had a few drops in the afternoon but nothing to run for.  We went to Pharr to shop for “Black Friday” which was a nightmare in terms of traffic and people.  We stopped at Costco for a couple items and bought a Samsung tablet which was on sale.  We then went to Best Buy where I bought an electronic game and Val pulled me out before I did anymore damage.  The crowd in there was unbelievable, wall to wall and most were Hispanic.  A lot of the cars in the parking lot were from Mexico.  We had lunch at Red Robin then I stopped at Radio Shack to get a part for my lamp but didn’t have any success.  We came home to find our mail had arrived so I went through that.  We had dinner and relaxed.  It is a pleasant evening outside.

November 13 to 17, 2012; Aransas to Donna, Texas

NOV  13, Tuesday, Aransas
Cloudy and 55*F this morning; I was up at 7 AM to shower and walk Tucker so that I can take him for his haircut.  Hopefully he won’t act up like he did before but not holding my breath on that one; he is getting worse and worse even with me.  I had forgotten how many burs there are on the ground down here and Tucker seems to pick up everyone of them as soon as he steps on the grass and with his yelping and snipping, it is quite a job to remove them.
Well here we are, 4 pm and Tucker was good and finally had his haircut!!  We did some geo-caching earlier but it started to rain so we gave up on that and went trailer shopping; actually just looking at them.  Of course, we ended buying items we needed.  The rain stopped then began again so we gave up and came home but first a must stop at a Rockport pub for a beer.  We came home, downloaded pictures from the camera, watched the tube and had dinner.  This has been the most miserable day yet as far as weather is concern and we also got some sad news from our friends Al and Brenda.  Daisy, their dog, a Golden retriever, passed away today.  Daisy was a good friend of Tucker and they both got along really well.  She will be dearly missed!

 

NOV  14, Wednesday, Last day in Aransas
Cool and cloudy was our morning @ 55* F!  We geo-cached around Aransas then headed for Port Aransas, Mustang Island and Padre Island and picked up a few more geo-caches.  On our right was the Intracoastal waters and on our left, the Gulf of Mexico.  It was beautiful even though it was cloudy and cool (66*F).  We had lunch at “Fins” in Port Aransas where we had to take a ferry to get to, Port Aransas that is!  We did take a side road and go to the beach but the tide was high and we almost got stuck so turned around.  On the beach, we could see the oil rigs in the gulf; kind of strange and out of place in such a beautiful area!  Anyway, we continued south and eventually arrived in Corpus Christi where I stopped at a “Best Buy” to ask a question about my WIFI hook-up with Verizon and Val’s Kindle.  After he showed me how to do it, we looked at some tablets and GPS then came home via Hwy 35.  For dinner, we had BBQ steaks, salad and potatoes then watched “Survivors”.  Tomorrow, we head for the Rio Grande Valley.

 

NOV  15, Thursday, to Donna, Texas
We left Aransas around 9:30 am and headed south west on 35, through Corpus Christi on 181 & 43 and 6, eventually headed straight south on Hwy 77.  We stopped Kingsville for breakfast at “Subways” (we have come to enjoy their breakfast sandwich).  We continued on and finally arrived in Donna off Hwy 83 in the Rio Grande Valley.  It feels like déjà-vu!  We set up in Casa del Sol for two weeks.  This is an ACN/AOR campground and we want to try it for a couple weeks to see if we like it.  Our mail is also coming this way!  At 3:30 pm, there was a wagon that came through selling fresh and cheap vegetables and we got a few things.  Supper then relax by the tube!!!  We are here in this park for two weeks and the valley for the next 3 months, at least!

We travelled 179 miles in 3 hrs and 20 minutes @ an average 54 MPH

N   26* 10.819
W 098* 04.853
Alt: 88 Ft

 

NOV  16, Friday, Donna
Our first day and we had rain overnight and it is cloudy now and for the rest of the day; at least it is a warm day, 70*F!  We took Tucker for a walk around the Park then stopped at the club house to check it out.  I paid our site in full, $240 for 14 nights.  We went to check out a few campgrounds we found on line and through brochures.  We narrowed it down to two: either Casa del Valle in Alamo or Snow to Sun in Weslaco, both part of Sun RV Resorts and both nearby.  We will check them out again tomorrow, there is a difference of $170 total between the two but Alamo has cement pads which we like AND Tai-Chi exercises which Val really likes!!!  On the way back, we found this neat Bar & Grill in Weslaco called Burrows.  We had a late lunch and a couple beers then came home.  We had a couple light drizzles throughout the day but nothing to ruin the day.  After some discussions, we both agree that we do not want to stay in this Park for the winter.  It is too dusty, lacks grass and the patio is a small cement square pad

 

NOV  17, Saturday,
Cloudy again, as a matter of fact, the forecast is for the same all week!  Boring!!  Today is yard sale throughout the Park so after showering, we went to check it out.  There were a lot of people with stuff out and also a lot of looky-looks and buyers, mostly Mexicans; we bought three books and Val bought a pair of ¾ pants.  Afterwards, we went to visit Victoria Palm RV Park, a luxurious park at US$1629 for three months all inclusive except power.  It was a really nice park but too rich for us.  We went back to SNOW TO SUN Resort and after driving around and more discussion, we chose a site, paid our deposit and made reservations for 3 months starting November 29; our cost will be US$1099 total (US$366/mth).  From here, we went for lunch at Olive Gardens and then went to HEB and Walmart to shop for groceries.  We came home and put everything away then relaxed before cooking dinner.  The sun did come through finally in the latter part of the afternoon which made it very pleasant.  I am sure glad we are not acclimatized to the heat here as everyone is complaining how cold it is (72*F) and here we are in short sleeve and shorts; we really stand out from the locals.

November 10 to 12, 2012; Austin to Aransas Texas

NOV  10, Saturday, to San Antonio, Texas
We had a lazy morning taking our time getting dress and packing.  We were gonna go for breakfast at the club house but we missed out.  We were on I-35 by 10:40 AM heading south and wouldn’t you know it, we have a strong head wind; good thing we don’t have far to go.  As we were nearing San Antonio, there was an accident on 35 North and the traffic was backed up for at least 6 miles if not more; glad we are headed south!  We finally turned south-west on 410 then I-37 to our Park.
We arrived at Braunig Lake RV Resort at 12:15 PM and it is cloudy and very warm, 80*F!  We paid $47 for two nights under “Passport America” and set up in site F12.  This is another very beautiful park, near the Highway but quiet and close to San Antonio.  We are here for two days; it is warm, windy and cloudy.

We travelled 81 miles in one hour and 40 minutes @ an average 50MPH due to strong head wind.

N  29* 17.137
W 098* 23.545
Alt: 577 Ft

 

NOV  11, Sunday, Remembrance Day in San Antonio
Sunny, cloudy, warm and windy again!  After a lazy morning and a walk with Tucker, we drove to San Antonio for a visit of the “River Walk”.  We love this part of San Antonio, we walked by the Alamo and it was busy as usual.  Parking cost us $10 for the day which is pretty average.  We stopped for lunch on the Walk and went into the Avilla Village but most of the shops were closed; we had the same problem last time we were here.  The day was gorgeous and not too hot.  There were lots of people around, being a Sunday and there was a run in the neighborhood too which brought a lot of those people down to the Walk.  It was time to go home so I entered HEB in Miss Daisy and she took us to the HEB headquarter, here in San Antonio.  I tried one more time and this time, she took us to a real grocery store so that I could pick up milk, chips for my snacks and wine for Val.  We came home and met a couple neighbours...why does it always happen when you are about to leave!???  Tomorrow we head for Aransas Pass and Corpus Christie.  I posted more pictures on Picasa.

 

NOV  12, Monday, to Aransas Pass, Texas near Corpus Christie
We left by 9:20 AM, fuelled at a nearby Shell @ $3.85 then headed south on I-37.  Thank goodness, we had the wind behind us as it was blowing quite hard.  There is a cold front coming through keeping the temperature around 48*F in the morning and 64*F in the afternoon.  We turned East on 188 south of Mathis  and eventually reached our camp site @ Southern Oaks RV & Golf Resort in Aransas.  It is a brand new resort and they are still working on the golf course but there are 5 holes open out of nine and the driving range with free balls.  We arrived at 12:30 PM, paid $52.50 for 3 nights (Passport America) and set up at site 505 on a cement pad with grass as a front yard and full hook-up but you do have to pay extra for WIFI and cable.  The club house is also brand new with an exercise room, a huge dining/dance hall and a kitchen, laundry room, library, a games room and TV room.  The owners are also new and are hoping to make this a success.  I would say they are off to a good start, too bad the owners of our Resort at home are not as keen!!!  Anyhow, I made a couple searches on the Net including a grooming place and got a haircut for Tucker for tomorrow morning; hopefully he won’t play his silly whiny  game and let the poor girl cut his hair.  I also found an RV place to get a couple things to fix the problem with my water pump.  We were told by our neighbours that everyone meets under the trees across the way for Happy Hour, we will be sure to attend tomorrow.  Oh yeah, I also downloaded a bunch of caches to find in the next couple days.  Let the fun begin, we are here for 3 nights

We travelled 146 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes @ an average 53 MPH

N  27* 55.840’
W 097* 09.444
Alt: 15 ft

November 6 to 9, 2012: Lake whitney to Austin, Texas

NOV  6, Tuesday, Lake Whitney, Texas
I took the truck to the garage first thing this morning and they gave me a ride back.  I posted the blog and pictures while Val did the laundry.  It’s another sunny and warm day; 76*F!  We’ve decided to leave tomorrow instead of Thursday and made reservations at a campsite near the city.  We are going to Austin, the Capital of Texas.  I greased the axles on the trailer and the slides mechanisms.  We got our truck back by 4 pm; they changed the heater core, refilled the A/C, did an oil change and changed the synthetic oil in the rear end.  We are good for a few more miles and hopefully, the heater problem has been fixed for good.

 

NOV  7, Wednesday, to Austin, Texas
We were on the road by 9:20 AM and stopped at the Post Office to mail a couple birthday cards then drove back on Hwy 22 to I-35 south.  There is a lot of construction between Hillsboro and Waco so it was a bit slow.  We arrived in Austin, the Capital of Texas and finally stopped at our RV resort, Lone Star Carefree Resort off exit 227.  This is one beautiful park and I am amazed it is covered by Passport America.  It is very luxurious and set back from the Interstate so that we hear very little of the freeway.  We are surrounded by everything one can wish for; outlets, Costco, Best Buy and a lot more, ALL nearby our resort.  After setting(13:30 PM), we went to Walmart, picked a few things and stopped at Pet Smart to make an appointment for Tucker’s haircut.  We returned home, put everything away and went out to “Texas Roadhouse” restaurant for dinner.  It is warm outside right now at 8 PM (75*F) as we have a drink, and no one is complaining!  By the way, the A/C is working just fine!

We travelled 164 miles in 3hrs @ 53 MPH. 

N  30* 11.101’
W 097* 46.281’
Alt: 668 ft

 

NOV  8, Thursday, Austin
Sunny and warm (80*F) although we had fog earlier!  I took Tucker to Pet Smart for his 10 am appointment, dropped him off and came back home.  I was home about 5 minutes when Pet Smart called saying they couldn’t handle Tucker as he was yelping loudly and snipping at them!!?  I couldn’t believe it, they said they would not cut him and to come and pick him up!!!  What a place, what a crazy thing to happen!!!  Anyway, I brought him home and we went to Costco to pick up a few things and dropped them off at the house along with Tucker.  We went to town for a visit of the Capital Buildings and the Texas Museum.  We parked nearby and walked to the Capital Building and the museum.  The Capital was very impressive and beautiful.  The outside is like Washington Capitol but on a much smaller scale; as for the museum, it was also impressive but we only had time to visit the first floor of three.  Of course the drive back meant driving in rush hour which was busy as any big city.  We got home and had a glass of wine before dinner and watched the tube in the evening.  As we drove in, we saw this jeep all decorated in funky stuff (see pictures).  It’s still very warm outside.

 

NOV  9, Friday, Austin
Sunny and warm again!  After walking Tucker, I phoned our dealership in Kamloops inquiring about a few things then we went to Austin, back to the museum and watched the latest James Bond movie, “Sky Fall” in the I-MAX theatre.  After the movie which was pretty good, we drove on 6^th street, famous for its bars, clubs and music.  We came home by 5 PM, dinner then TV.  Tomorrow we move to San Antonio!  I made reservations for a park in Corpus Christi.

November 3 to 5, 2012; Lake Whitney, Dallas & Ft Worth, Texas

NOV  3, Saturday, Louisiana to Dallas, Texas
Whereas Mississippi and Louisiana have Virginia climbing vines and Spanish moss, Texas has the Mesquite trees.  We were on the road by 9:15 am after a horrible night; I say this because we were right besides railway tracks and a train came by at least 4 times during the night and blew its whistle and it sounded like it was coming right through our bedroom!  Anyway, back on I-20 to Texas where we stopped at the Info Centre to gather some pamphlets on things to do in Dallas then we headed West on Hwy 80 but first we stopped for fuel at Flying J for $3.83.  I got off the Interstate as we enjoy seeing more of the country side and the small towns which we did.  The country side was mainly flat with lots of farms and cattle ranches.  We also saw some oil pumps along the way.  In Wills Point, near Dallas, we got back on I-20 and stopped at another Flying J, $3.93.  We turned south on I-35 and got off at exit 370, Hillsboro, and headed north on 22 to Whitney Lake and our resort, and ROD member so it doesn’t cost us anything.  We set up and are now relaxing (4:30 PM).  We are here for 5 nights.  We did have a bit of hard time to find this place due to poor signage.

We travelled 275 miles in 5.5 hrs @ an average 50 MPH

N  31* 59.814’
W 097* 21.066’
Alt: 637 ft

 

NOV  4, Sunday, Whitney Lake, Texas
We set our clocks back one hour this morning; we are now on Standard Central Time!  A beautiful warm sunny day!  I continued setting up our stuff than we decided to explore the nearby town and Hillsboro which is a bit bigger and has Outlets stores which we explored but didn’t find anything of interest so we went to Walmart and got some needed groceries and had a bite at Subway.  Valerie was looking for specific sandals and food for Tucker so we drove 30 miles to WACO, a much bigger city.  Its claim to fame is the Texas Ranger museum and the religious group that committed suicide by burning their compound and the FBI accused of being partly the cause.  Anyway, we did find food for Tucker and a new harness but NO sandals!  We came home and I BBQ’ed steaks then we watched the tube

 

NOV  5, Monday, to Dallas
First thing I did was drive to Whitney and find a garage to get my A/C fixed.  The guy looked at it and found that the heat core needs to be replaced; I made an appointment for tomorrow.
I came home and we all drove to Ft Worth to visit the famous Stockyard which dates back to the early 1800’s.  We walked around and took some pictures, Tucker loved the walk too.  Fort Worth was much bigger than I thought and the stockyard was interesting although not as big as the one in Oklahoma.  We took I-30 to Dallas and visited Grassy Knoll and Elm Street where JF Kennedy was shot.  It was interesting and there were guys there with books and pictures still claiming that it was a conspiracy.  We visited the museum on the sixth floor of the Texas Library where Oswald shot the President.  We also walked to the memorial in his honor and I must admit, we were not impressed.  We also saw a cabin with a claim to be the first US Postal office in Dallas.  It was time to get back home.  We stopped at a small bar, “The Rebels Bar” and had dinner and a couple beers.