JAN 27, Sunday, back to our routine at Snow to
Sun
Cloudy
in the morning but the sun did come out eventually; very humid and windy from
the south-east! Val did laundry and
there was lots, then we went to Costco and Walmart to shop for some wine, meat
and a few other items. I also got a SIM
card for my I-phone from AT&T and a “Pay as you go” program. Our new number is now 1-956-250-8769 but we do still have the old phone, just in case. We came home in time for Happy hour. I texted Rochelle to let her know our new
number and will call later. We can now
phone and text without having to dial an International number first. I haven’t mentioned this before but Lynden
and Charlene’s dog, Gracie, was euthanized last Friday. She had diabetes and her organs were failing
rapidly so rather than let her suffer, they had her put to sleep. It was a very emotional day for everyone.
JAN 28, Monday,
Clouds,
sun and strong winds! Val went back to
her morning routine, exercises then line dancing while I walked Tucker. Very warm, 70*F (20*C) by 8 AM. I washed the truck and had our little BBQ
propane tank filled. We went to find a
groomer for Tucker and ended up leaving at this place for $40. We had Happy Hour at the club house with Dave
& Louise, Lynden & Charlene, Sylvie and Al. We had a good time, a few dances then
everyone ended up at our place for more fun.
By 6:30 PM, everyone called it quit and we had dinner. Still very warm outside and windy! I picked up Tucker at 4 pm and he looks and
smells much better.
JAN 29, Tuesday, to Mission and Bentsen Park
Hot
and WINDY! I went for breakfast at the
clubhouse with the Kirkby’s while Val slept.
They were serving waffles and sausage.
At 10 AM, we all went to Bentsen State Park where a bird sanctuary is
situated. We walked around for quite a
while then decided it was just too hot.
It reached 92*F today. Even
Tucker had a hard time with the walk and by the time we got back to the truck,
he collapsed in the backseat. We drove
to Riverside Pub where we had a couple of beers and something to eat. We then went to Los Ebanos Ferry, a
historical site where a small ferry is situated and is pulled by hand across
the river on a rope system. The place
was quite a bit different than the last time we were here; for one thing, the
border crossing on the US side has been expanded, the bar and souvenir place
was closed but everything else was the same.
Afterwards, we came home tired and called it a day although we did have
a quick drink at H. H with Louise & Dave and Judy & Al.
JAN 30, Wednesday
Back
to cool temperature; the wind shifted to the north and temperature went from the
90*F yesterday to low 70’s today...really crazy weather but the sun is
out! Val went for her exercises then did
some Tai-Chi afterwards. I did some
blogging and banking then walked Tucker.
We learned last evening that Val’s brother-in-law, Paulo, had a heart
attack at work. He will be transferred
to Sudbury as soon as the weather improves (Northern Ontario) so our thought
are with Paulo, Dori and the family and we wish him speedy recovery.
Our
day was fairly quiet, we read, Val went to visit friends and I had a
snooze. At 4 PM, Lynden and Charlene
came over for a drink then Louise and Dave joined us along with Judy. Afterwards, we went over to the Kirkby’s for
dinner which consisted of corn beef, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and
cabbage which all of it was absolutely delicious. Afterwards we played ‘SEQUENCE” but it was no
competition so we went back to drinking and burying the girls sorrow for their
losses. We finally called it quit at 10
PM.
JAN 31, Thursday; To Progresso
I
t
was a cold night @ 46*F (7*C)! Val went
for a walk around the park with Rose-Marie, Debbie and Cookie; they are all
training for the big walk in McAllen next month. After showering we drove to Nuevo Progresso,
Dave and Louise came with us, for my appointment at the dentist at 11 AM. We had lunch down there and walked the
streets and looked at all the hardwares.
I bought two more sunscreen for the windows in the car. I also found a geocache which I had been
looking for. We came home in time for
Happy Hour at the clubhouse. Everyone
was there to say goodbye to Lyn & Charlene as they are leaving
tomorrow. It was also Bill’s birthday so
a double reason to celebrate not that a friend’s departure is a celebration but
I think you know what I mean!!! Anyway,
it ended at 4:30 PM so a few ended up at our place and at 6 PM we went to “LIN’S”,
a Chinese restaurant and a great buffet dinner.
Everyone ate too much and we all complained of sore tummy! We came home and called it a night.
JAN 21, Monday, Rio Grande Valley
Today
was laundry day! We did go to town to
shop for grocery then went to “Peckers Pub” for a late lunch. We came home and had the Kirkby’s over for HH
and for dinner. We BBQ’ed hamburgers
with potato salad which we bought earlier.
All went well, we had a wonderful time and lots of laughs. I showed some of our recent trip pictures
which I think everyone enjoyed! It was a
warm day and nice for everyone. Kevin
and I went to find a hotel near here for them, he’s having a hard time sleeping
on our hide-a-bed so we ended at the Holiday Inn and got a room at a fair price
about 1 mile from here. So after our
evening together, Rochelle drove the truck to the hotel.
I
forgot to mention that while on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, a lady came
behind us and made a comment about our legs being in form and asked if were runners
or bikers! We told her we walked a lot
and did some biking and did thank her for such a nice compliment. I told Val she was flirting with me but Val
said it was in my dreams, shocks!!!
JAN 22, Tuesday, to Mexico
We
drove to Nuevo Progresso around 11:30 AM with the Kirkby’s in tow. The parking lot on this side was full and the
town was really busy. We walked the main
street and Rochelle and Kevin looked into a couple of boot store. We stopped for lunch which was really good
then Lynden and Charlene left as they were worried about Gracie (their little
dog). I had a dental appointment at 2 PM
and finally got out at 3:30. Val and the
kids joined me in the courtyard where we had beer and Pina-Colada. We crossed back into the US and came home and
had HH with the Kirbky’s. Dinner was BBQ
chicken and potatoes with a salad. In
the evening, we played a couple game of Sequence then went to the hot tub for a
soak. The kids left for their hotel around
11 PM
JAN 23, Wednesday, shopping in McAllen
After
walking Tucker, the kids arrived at 10 AM and we drove to McAllen today for a
shopping spree! Sunny and warm was our
sky which made it for a pleasant day. We
went to “Boot Jack” where Rochelle bought a pair of cowboy boots for
grand-daughter Hayley and Kevin also got himself a pair. We went to a mall nearby on 10th
St where Rochelle bought more souvenirs for the kids back home. We came home and I put back-ribs on the BBQ
right away while we had HH with the Kirby’s.
Our neighbour Al came over for a chat.
After dinner, which turned out to be very good, we played a game of
Sequence and let the girls win as we are true gentlemen!!!
JAN 24, Thursday, to Padre Island
We
awoke to fog this morning but it soon cleared and we had a very warm and sunny
day! We drove to South Padre Island
today and on the way there, we stopped at a National Memorial where the first
battle with Mexico took place over the boundaries of Texas. We then drove to Brownsville to show them
that city then continues to Port Isabel where we stopped for lunch at “DIRTY AL”, a very neat place with a nice view
of Padre Island. After lunch which was
delicious, we drove across to the Island and visited it from one end to the
other or I should say until the road ran out.
We visited a State Park at the south end, walked the beach then drove to
the North end and walked the beach there too.
It was so nice to be out there under a sunny sky and warm wind. We watched some wind surfers playing in the
inside Bay. It was time to come home so
we drove back to our Park and Kevin had the bright idea to go see a movie so
off we went to see “Zero Dark Thirty” (the story behind finding Bin Laden and
his killing). Afterwards, we stopped at
the Kirkby’s for a nightcap and eventually made it to bed. This was the kids’ last day in the valley.
JAN 25, Friday, Back to San Antonio
Sunny
and warm! The kids got here at 10:30 AM
and after washing the windows on the truck, we left for San Antonio. We took US 83 to I-35 through Rio Grande City
and Laredo. It was an interesting drive. We stopped for a late lunch in Laredo and
arrived at our hotel, the “Drury” around 5 PM; just in time to book in and have
a free Happy Hour at the hotel. Kevin
insisted on taking us to the restaurant downstairs and we had a marvellous
steak dinner and shrimps/scallops. We
had a few drinks, went over the English Pub “The Bull Dog”, had a drink there
then came home and called it a night. It
is still very warm outside.
JAN 26, Saturday, Goodbyes and back to Weslaco.
It
was cloudy and misty first thing this morning but cleared up by late
morning. After having breakfast at the
hotel (free), we packed our bags, I got the truck out of the garage, parked at
the entrance and loaded our bags.
Rochelle and Kevin left theirs at the hotel front desk. We all went to the mall so that Rochelle
could get a couple of items then we drove to the “Tower of the Americas” to see
a 4D movie call “Fly over Texas”. It was
interesting but not that impressive, thank goodness it was free although it did
cost $11 to park there. Anyway, the seat
would move as things moved in the movie and there would be real fog and mist
spit at us from above or behind; that was kind of interesting! We walked around outside where there were
some very beautiful waterfalls. We drove
to the Spanish Governor House and looked around. We drove back to the hotel where we said our
final goodbyes to the kids; hugs, kisses and some tears to see them go. They will hang around the Riverwalk until it’s
time for their departure at 7:30 PM. We
left for the Valley around 2:15 PM and took the shortest route home...4
hrs! We stopped at this little place for
a late lunch, early dinner and to finalize things, I locked my keys inside and
had to pay $55 to have it open... could have been worse I guess! I have to get a spare key and hide it outside
the truck!
We
arrived back at Snow to Sun Resort around 6:15 PM and found our friends Dave
and Louise had arrived...they are next to us.
We had a few drinks and caught up to each other’s news then Lynden, Charlene,
Al and Judy joined us. The party got a
bit loud, I’m surprise none of the neighbours complained. We finally called it quit at midnight and
went to bed. It was a VERY busy day!
JAN 16, Wednesday, to San Antonio to meet
Rochelle & Kevin
We
were up at 7 am under a cloudy sky and cold morning, walked Tucker, got the
suitcases out and began packing after showering. I dumped the tanks, cut off the water and
furnace then we headed out after saying bye to the Kirkby’s. I fuelled at $3, 72, picked up a part at
“HOOVER” and headed west on Hwy 83 then north on Hwy 281. We stopped for lunch in Alice and arrived in
San Antonio around 3PM. We went to our
hotel, the “DRURY INN” and checked in, dropped our luggage in our room, #305
facing the “Riverwalk” then headed north to the airport. Rochelle and Kevin arrived 10 minutes early
and after hugs, we came back to the hotel, checked them in then went out on the
“Riverwalk” to find a place to have dinner.
We walked a bit afterwards, and then came back to our room for a
nightcap which lasted until 12:30 AM when we finally decided to call it a
night! It’s really great to have them
here. It was sunny all day and got to
64*F
JAN 17, Thursday, San Antonio
We
got up at 8 am, I had a shower and took Tucker for a walk then came back up and
we all went for breakfast downstairs.
Afterwards, we all walked on the “Riverwalk”, Tucker tagging along,
visited the “Alamo”, stopped at a visitor centre to get some info then decided
to go for a drink and a light lunch.
Afterwards, we decided to go for a boat ride around the
“Riverwalk”. I had to take Tucker back
to the hotel first as dogs weren’t allowed on board. We did the tour which was longer then I
remember for our last time here, stopped at an old bar dating back to 1933 then
came home and took a break before Happy Hour at 5:30 PM. We get hot snacks and 3 drinks each courtesy
of the hotel. Afterwards, we went out
for steak dinner on the Riverwalk and had a few drinks while there. From here, Rochelle wanted a nightcap so we
went to “The Esquire”, a local bar established in 1933, right at the end of
prohibition. Kevin decided we should
have tequila and a chaser and I think Rochelle had more than she could handled;
I’ve never seen my daughter having so much fun and be fun, it was so nice to
see. At one point she declared she had
it and we went home; she was very drunk!
JAN 18, Friday; San Antonio with Rochelle and
Kevin
We
were up at 9:30 AM under sunny sky and I took Tucker for his morning walk then
picked up a couple of coffees for us upstairs.
Rochelle and Kevin didn’t get moving until noon. We met them on the Riverwalk for breakfast. Rochelle was very hung over!!! No surprise there! We stuck around the neighborhood and explored
the mall, stopped at the “Rain Forest” restaurant which Val hadn’t seen before
and we had a quick bite to eat. We came
home and relaxed before Happy Hour at the Hotel.
JAN 19, Saturday; San Antonio
Sunny
with some clouds! We were downstairs for
breakfast at 9:30 AM Rochelle and Kevin
were already there. After eating and
walking Tucker, we walked to the Alamo Plaza and got tickets for the trolley
and went on a tour of the city, the Missions of which we visited one then we
visited the Guenther House in the German Quarter and the King Edwards Street. Back on the trolley for the next stop, the Market
Place where most if not all of the items are Mexican related. We had lunch here then walked back to our
hotel, about 4 blocks away. We each went
to our own rooms for a rest and freshen up.
We met back downstairs at 5:30 for Happy Hour where we drank our three
free drinks then went back up to the 7th floor where the pool is situated
and proceeded to drink beer and wine and share a few laughs. We finally went to bed around 10 pm.
JAN 20, Sunday, back to Snow to Sun RV Resort.
Breakfast,
check-out, load the truck and we were on our way by 10 AM and headed to Corpus
Christie via Hwy 37. We stopped at the Lexington
Aircraft and Rochelle, Kevin and Val went on board and had a visit while I kept
Tucker company. They returned about 1.5
hour later and we had lunch at a local restaurant near the water. We drove through the city then headed south
to Weslaco. We arrived at our site
around 6 PM, tired and glad to be here.
We sat for a while then went to bed but first, Rochelle and Kevin went
to enjoy the hot-tub.
JAN 10, Thursday, Weslaco
Do
I dare say it is SUNNY!? We were up
early and went for breakfast at the hall with L&C. Val went for her walk and I took Tucker for
his morning jaunt. We went to town and
returned our movies, stopped at Hoover RV for some parts which they had to
order then it was to the Post Office to mail a couple letters and home. We had a late lunch then met the Kirby’s for
a game of outside shuffle board. It was
fun and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.
After the game, which they won, we went inside to listen to the music
and had a beer. We came home, had dinner
and watched the tube
JAN 11, Friday
Sunny
with cloudy sky; lots of fog and dew this morning. Val did the laundry then we went grocery
shopping. We came home and walked over
to the Kirby’s for HH then came home. A
quiet evening then to bed under cloudy sky but very warm evening.
JAN 12, Saturday, Val’s walk across the Padre
Island bridge
We
were up by 7 am. Val left at 7:30 am
with Debbie and three others for Port Isabel, the starting point of the
race/walk. I picked up Lynden and Charlene
at 9 am and we drove to Padre Island. We
stopped in Harlingen for breakfast at McDonald then continued on to Padre
Island where everything was pretty well at a standstill. We basically crawled across the bridge (3
miles long) as the walkers/runners used the left lane and we used the right
lane. We saw Val at the crest of the
overpass for the Intra-Coastal channel and Debbie about a half mile later. The bridge was full of people and cars, it
was quite a sight! It was warm too, 80*F
and a strong wind cooling things down a bit.
On the other side, we found a parking spot and walked back to the turn
off for the runners and Val met us there.
She was quite ecstatic and we told how proud we all were of her. We drove to where the runners ended their
race and met up with Robbie, Cookie and his wife Rose-Marie. Robbie had a problem with her breathing and
we had to call in the EMT on site to provide her with oxygen. Once she stabilized, we drove over to the
“Shrimp-Hause Restaurant” down the road to meet with her husband and the rest
of the crew. We had a not so good meal,
a slow and not so good service. We left
there and the four of us went exploring the Island from one end to the
other. We drove back home, dropped off
the Kirkby’s and came home. By the way,
Tucker and Gracie were also along for the ride!
We had dinner and Val went to bed early, tired and happy.
JAN 13, Sunday
What
a change overnight; we went from the AC on to the furnace on this morning and
all day. North wind with a maximum of
60*F. Absolutely crazy!!!! And it’s supposed to be miserable like this until
at least Thursday, what a bummer! Val
had a haircut by Debbie then did the laundry.
I walked to the Kirkby’s for a visit then came home and watched
football. We had steak and lobster for
dinner, bought at Costco. At 7 pm we
went to the hall to listen to the Link’s family play music. They are from Missouri and were quite
good. We enjoyed the hour and half.
JAN 14, Monday,
Another
cold and cloudy day, barely got to 58*F!
Not much happen today, we basically stayed inside out of the cold after
our morning routine. I got our mail
today so sorted that out then we went to the Hall for Happy Hour. Came home, dinner and watched the tube. We were both in bed by 10 PM
JAN 15, Tuesday,
More
of the same for weather and a bit colder if that’s possible!!! GOOD GRIEF!!!
Val took the truck and went shopping with Charlene. I worked on paperwork, archived some and
dumped others. My neighbour Al went into
town and got me propane @$18.75. Val
returned from her shopping spree with Charlene around 5 pm, we had Happy Hours
with them then dinner and watched the tube.
To bed by 10 PM.
JAN 5, Saturday, Weslaco.
Same
as yesterday as far as weather! We went
to the club house as they were having a craft sale and we ended up buying a
couple things then had lunch there, baked potato with chili and melted
cheese...YUM! YUM! Val did the laundry
and I hung around the club house watching a couple of new board games. We went over to the Kirkby’s around 3:30 pm
and had Happy Hour with them which lasted until 6 pm. Came home, had dinner and watched a movie
JAN 6, Sunday,
FINALLY....some
SUNSHINE! Still heavy clouds but they
are breaking up and the temperature was 51*F at 8 this morning. We did go to 68*F. We went with the Kirkby’s for breakfast at I
Hop then to Donna’s Market. We walked
around and I bought a couple things and so did Lynden. We stopped at the pub for a beer then came
home. They came over for HH at 4 pm and
Al and Judy joined us. BBQ’ed pork chops
for dinner then watched the last rented movie.
L&C went to the club house to watch a movie there.
JAN 7, Monday,
Sunny,
well until early afternoon when it clouded over but a warm day at 70*F. Morning routine then to Weslaco to return
some movies and pick up new ones. I
fuelled the truck at $3.79 and picked up some sewer treatment liquid for our
toilet. At 3 pm, we went to the rec hall
for HH and to listen to music and catch a few dances. Kirkby’s joined us then we went to their
place afterwards for a nightcap then home for dinner. Watched a couple movies then to bed!
JAN 8, Tuesday
We
had a wind storm overnight, rain early this morning and thunder; now the sky is
clearing! Crazy, crazy weather! I called BC to have our mail forwarded and I
had some wine ordered for when we get home then I went for a walk around the
park with Tucker and a bike ride afterwards.
We went to the Kirby’s for HH then to have dinner and watch a couple
movies. The evening ended in more rain
and winds
JAN 9, Wednesday
We
were supposed to have winds to 50 MPH but they didn’t materialized. It rained all morning and part of the
afternoon but eventually stopped and the sun did come out at the end. We got a surprise phone call from our friends Dennis and Ruth from Gateway who are presently in FLorida and thinking of coming through this way in February. At 5:30 pm, we went out with the Kirby’s to
the Elk Hall for spaghetti, salad, garlic bread for $5.95 each. We came home and had a nightcap then watched
the comedy award.
2013 JANUARY 1, Tuesday, Weslaco Texas
We
went over to Ed’s site after the party last night and had a night cap with the
crew. We went to bed, finally, around
1:30 am under a cloudy sky and very warm night.
We woke up this morning with a cold wind from the north and RAIN!!! J They had been forecasting this for the past
three days and we finally got it! We
watched the Rose Bowl Parade then Val went to the club house while I watched
football, both the Capital Bowl in Florida and the Rose Bowl in California
later.
JAN 2, Wednesday, to Edinburg (HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROCHELLE)
Cloudy,
cold and raining! We were up at 7 am,
showered, walked Tucker and left at 8:15 with friends Marc and Joanne for
Edinburgh. We went to “WATABURGER”(like
a McDonald) for a meeting of Geo-Cachers.
There were about 20-25 of us and the organizer has us exchange little
things and distributed travel-bug to whoever wanted one and cache it. Of course, we did get a couple. It was fun and we met new people. The idea to this is to put a face on the
names we always find on logs when we find a cache. We had free coffee for the two hours we were
there. The organizer to this event was a
lady who came from Austin but used to live here. After the meeting, we went to find caches but
gave up after two as it was just too wet and cold (48*F; 9*C). We came home and the two of us walked to the
club house as Val wanted to watch/learn a new Chinese board game; I left a few
minutes into it...not my type of game!
JAN 3, Thursday
Another
cold and wet night but it has stopped raining now, just cloudy and 46*F, 8*C at
10 am. Val didn’t go for her walk as no
one was willing to brave this cold morning and I took Tucker our jaunt;
everything is wet and muddy! We drove to
Weslaco to return a movie and picked up a few more, then it was Walmart for
some groceries. We drove to Costco where
we bought a new Samsung Blue Ray Player as our old one is acting up. We looked around for the new KOBO-GLO but no
luck, I think I am going to buy it on line.
We came home and put the groceries away and replace the old Sony
Blue-Ray player for the new one. We had
dinner then watched a new movie. It
never got above 49*F today due to a north wind.
We ran out of propane in the evening and I had to borrow a tank from a
neighbour; I don’t understand how this happened but I’ll have to keep a closer
watch, especially in cold temperature!
JAN 4, Friday, Kirkby’s arrive!
Weather
wise; same as yesterday! The propane
truck came around 11 am and I filled both our tanks and the one I borrowed from
our neighbour, all for $52. We bought some
vegetables from the guy that comes around our park twice a week and went to
town to return a movie. Upon our return
Val decided to go to the club house to do some puzzles. Everyone I meet is complaining about the
weather but not much we can do about it.
Later, Val went to the club house and I was sitting at home reading when
there was a knock at our door and...Hold and behold...our friends from home,
the Kirkby’s had arrived. We went over
to the hall where Charlene surprised Val and we stayed for the Happy Hour. Afterwards, we drove to the Palm Hotel and RV
Park, had dinner there, all you can eat fish and chips and salads and a few other
things. The place was packed and we had
a marvellous full dinner then came home for a nightcap. We said goodnight and made plans to meet
again tomorrow.
