More friends

  Back in June we traveled north in what we called the friends tour. In Illinois we visited with long time friends Mark and Sharon Hoelscher, Dr. Mark Hoelscher to be totally respectful. In Iowa we visited with Danny and Joy Carroll. Danny has been my friend since middle school. Relationships covering decades, not to be taken lightly.

 Sad to say we let life get in the way of another relationship. Mike and Cheryl Rogers, Dr. Cheryl Rogers to be totally respectful. In our years in Tyler we went to church together, raised our children together. Mike and I hunted together and enjoyed many trips to the family farm hunting, playing 42, telling tales and making memories. In 1987 when Mary was in hospital dealing with cancer, Mike did what true friends do. With out being asked or prompted he came to hospital and pulled me away to help me cope. Never forgot that act, never will. After a wonderful couple of days our joint commitment to each other is to not let life get in the way. Thanks Mike and Cheryl for a wonderful time. See you again soon!

  On to Jasper tomorrow on our way to Lake Charles. From Jasper I hope to make a 200 plus mile round trip to visit a lady I consider my second mother. Mrs Jessie Barber played a huge part of my childhood. We spoke on Christmas eve, first time in 36 years. If successful, it will be a fitting crown on the 2016 reunion tour.

  Stay tuned



on the road again...

Elvis has left the building

  Well maybe not Elvis but we have for sure. With a pocket full of money after selling our house, we have begun the next chapter in our book of life. It was a hectic six weeks of packing, downsizing  and donating. But it is done and we are back in Maggie, which feels like home. We are outside Tyler for a couple of days. Tomorrow brings a day with some old friends. Should be a fun day.

  In a previous post I indicated our stuff would not fit in our storage facility. Glad to say with the help of a big shoe horn and an industrial size jar of K-Y jelly, I was able to get it all in.

  Nice warm temperature, no rain for now so it is back to gathering rosebuds...

Why?

 Why are we in Alvord? Current temp is 26 heading to 16 in Alvord. In Edinburg it is 85 going down to a chilly 45.

  I ask again, why are we in Alvord?


  Neither of us are fans of cold weather.


Rosebuds are frozen...

Really, we tried

  Today the sad reality set in on us. Suspect we had just been in denial up till today. It ain't gonna fit. We have given away, or sold for pennies on the dollar, thousands of dollars worth of home furnishings ,  tools, you name it. Having said and done that we will need a second storage building. A second go around will be required in the future to pare down some more.

  A look ahead has us leaving Alvord on the 27th heading to Tyler. After visiting with friends and revisiting old haunts we head south. New Years eve will find us in a state park in Jasper. Then it is on to Lake Charles for three weeks. After that we begin a new chapter in our book of life.

Yes Virginia, we have downsized.

 We have fully furnished a young mans apartment. Took multiple loads to a local auction house. Made many trips, plus more to come, to a local charity. Having said that, we still have a lot of stuff. House is getting empty but storage will be wall to wall before we are done. Suspect we will end up donating to a charity in the valley.

  Excited about the future but moving sucks...

Something borrowed

 Our matching borrowed chairs and matching heating pads. For the record we own the heating pads!

Gathering aches and pains instead of rosebuds...

Still alive

  Yep, we are still alive and kicking. Ok, maybe not so much on the kicking. Turns out sitting in lawn chairs is not as much fun as you would think. Luckily our neighbors "loaned" us some chairs to sit in. Has reached the point we were fighting for the heating pad. Backs were really talking to us. Must be the lawn chairs, could not be age related .

 Still boxing and packing...

Hectic worries

   We knew it would be a busy time, but it starts to seem overwhelming. We have been back 11 days  and have disposed of most of the furniture. Some remaining pieces we take, some stay with house. Having said that the little stuff is the killer. A lot to sort thru and pack. Going to auction house today to see what all they will accept for auction, hopefully all we want to send.

  This week is lost already. Sad duty to bury a friend tomorrow, number 4 in three months. Then Thanksgiving Thursday and all that that entails. Part of the problem is packing when we leave as we go work for three weeks before heading for the valley. Coach is big, but limited in what you can carry yet still live in it. Then comes the logistical problem of returning here to retrieve car. Return again to rent truck to haul all of the storage stuff to the valley. Just like this past September we will burn up the highway. Absolutely no way to get it done at one time. We now are shooting for leaving here right after Christmas and wander south thru east Texas or western Louisiana.


Stay tuned as the craziness continues....



too damn busy to gather rosebuds...

Sometimes it's hard

  As previously stated we are downsizing. We are doing so very willingly and excited about having less stuff. Having said that you sometimes part with things you have owned a long time. We had donated small stuff that dated from "day one" before. While today's gift to a new home did not date from "day one", it was close and held more memories than anything we own. Mary made this decision, she was the only person that could make it. After 44 years we said goodbye . It is off to provide joy to a new family.

So long old friend, been a long fun ride!!




Gathering rosebuds...

Steve and Judy's travel blog: We always meant to stop and visit

Steve and Judy's travel blog: We always meant to stop and visit

This post by Steve really sums things up nicely. We met Barry briefly in February and discussed Joey's breast cancer. Both gone so quick. Since we have been back another friend has passed away, that makes three in three months. Moral of the story is stop and visit, not just plan to stop. And proud to say we stopped an visited with Steve and Judy.


Carpe diem

Starting over

  Moved out the living, dining and bedroom furniture today. Sort of like early days of marriage, just less sex.

Carpe  diem  
   

Progress

  Maybe too much progress. Since we arrived back in Alvord last Thursday we have sold all the furniture in the house. Most of it gets removed tomorrow, the remainder goes with house except for pieces we are keeping. Will be sitting in lawn chairs and eating dinner on tv trays. But the associated worry is lessened. We even found a good home for the piano. Still need to haul small items to the auction house and move keepers to the newly rented storage building. Things are falling into place nicely so maybe this move is meant to be.





carpe diem

Waco

   We arrived on Monday, went for groceries and returned just before the skies opened up. It rained hard for some time and off and on all night. Tuesday brought rain and gloom so seemed a god day for laundry. Avoided the election returns till 10pm then ended up watching them til 1am. Boy can they slice the voting public into different groups. Half the country is happy, the other half mad. Enough said.


  We drive all over the country and always try an visit museums. Some real gems in our backyard so to speak. We visited the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame probably 30 years ago. It was well worth our return visit. Right by the Brazos, Baylor University and the new stadium. If you have never been you should.

  Next we visited a relatively new National Monument, dedicated in 2015. The Waco Mammoth National Monument was interesting. They have found the fossilized remains of 23 Columbus Mammoths. The big guy was 14ft tall at the shoulders. More information can be found HERE

 If you have ever watched HGTV's show "Fixer Upper" you are familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines. They have turned their success on that show into quite the enterprise. The umbrella name of Magnolia covers the multi faceted enterprise. We visited Magnolia Market which also has the Silos and the Silo bakery. Very busy on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Website is HERE

  Next stop is Alvord so this blog will take a hiatus for awhile.





carpe diem

Awkward talk

  Ever hado One?  How about the birds and bees talk with your Kids? Full disclosure in that I am not sure I had that one. With sex ed in school probably let them do the heavy lifting on that awkward subject.


  Over a nice meal we had what Gary described as awkward. No we were not talking about sex. We were talking about end of life.

  While driving to Arkansas for a funeral I thought what if we were both killed. What would our sons Do? Presuming that the authorities could find them. At that given time they were aware we had a house in Alvord, but not specific location. They would have had no idea that our RV was in McAllen. They would not know about insurance, investments, liabilities etc. What about will, last Wishes? Complicated Huh?


 Well the answer is we need to make sure the boys have more information. Something happens to us, look here, contact these people/companies. None of us will live forever, we all like to keep our personal business private. There comes a time when it makes sense to make our adult children more aware of our personal business. We will be doing that


  A rainy, but short trip to Waco tomorrow. There for a couple days to visit museums and all things Magnolia market and "Fixer Upper" related. Then it is busy packing, selling, disposing of a household.




Carpe diem

Amazing

 The greater Houston area has the ability to look trashy, even in areas where homes go for $500,000. How is that possible? Houston's lack of zoning has always been a problem. You would think the smaller, surrounding towns/cities would learn and know better. Just drove over to Katy and can confirm the trashy disease has spread. If your job transfers you to Houston, seek a new career.



unsupervised as the boss looks at quilts...

her parting words: don't do anything stupid...

Houston

 We escaped from Houston way back in 1978. Because some family members live here we have returned from time to time. Other than that I would never set foot in this county. Came up on 59 thru Sugarland into traffic nightmare. Take me back to the RGV!

  In trying to be close to Gary and reasonable distance to downtown put us on the west side. Quality RV resorts has many properties and this is the third one we have stayed in. Nice but pricey.

This Westlake RV park off of Clay road in west Houston.


  It is nearly full this evening. Ever stop to think how much money is parked here? Sure, ther are some <$20,000 trailers but also a fair number of >$300,000 class A's.


 While Mary is attending the International Quilt show, I will be fishing, or maybe watch football or probably take a nap



Oh, as if traffic was not bad enough around this place, they are closing I-45 all weekend. Major north/south freeway to be closed in downtown area.Can you say nightmare?





carpe diem

Tres Goliad

  Lived in Texas all my life and for 63 years had never been to Goliad. As you might guess it has become a regular stop. It is about 355 miles from Edinburg to Houston, easily done in a day via car. Further than I like in Maggie plus we would have made it to Houston for rush hour car wars. Never a good thing so we stopped in Goliad, half way give or take 50 miles.

  Decided to dine out at the Hanging Tree restaurant I told you about last time. Good food, friendly service you would expect in the country. Mary had chicken and dumplings which she enjoyed and brought the extra home with her. I had a 50/50 burger. Ground rib eye and bacon mixed patty. Pretty tasty with home made chips and a cold beer.


  On to Houston tomorrow for quilt show and meet up with Gary.

local beer brewed in Goliad

Edinburg wrap up

 Where did the two months go? Tomorrow we leave Edinburg and begin the long drive north, via Houston. It could probably be said we did not do everything we planned, but no complaints. First couple of weeks disrupted by doctors visits back in Mansfield. Note to self, find new urologist. Then five days were used to pay our respects to Dan and his family. No complaint about that, not going to his funeral was never an option.


 Couple of updates are probably in order. No matter your insurance you should check out free good rx card, as seen on tv. To give an example, 180 tamsulin tablets from Walmart cost me $374. Downloaded coupon from internet, for free, to use at Walgreens to buy same amount of Tamsulin. Cost $68. NO INSURANCE used either time. Savings of $306. No, I do not know what type game is being played here. But seeing as that is a 90 day supply, simple math brings you to a cost difference of $1224 per year. You do as you want but I choose not to give away my money that way. If you are my friend I will give you the shirt off my back. Pharmacies and drug companies are not in my circle of friends.


 If we were to stay in Wise county our health insurance premiums for 2017 would be $28,800. Because we have the financial ability to move our annual premium will be $11,744.88. That is a cost savings of $17,055.12. I will not bore you with the fact that the Wise county plan was/is a useless HMO. (doctors listed as providers told us they would not accept that insurance) The Hildalgo plan is a silver EPO with good coverage. Enough of health related issues. Consider it a public service as I have provided real experiences and numbers. Not the BS emanating from Washington.

 We are leaving just as the party is cranking up. Canadians and others arriving daily, place is filling up. But we are not saddened to be leaving. The fact that when we return January 22nd we are coning home softens the blow of leaving. The good folks here now will still be here then. Just restart the party for us! New home, new town, new part of the state. A lot to be excited about for us.

  Back to being a travel blog for awhile. Will update you from Goliad, Houston (I know, who cares!!), Waco and the land of HGTV's Fixer Upper and a museum or two.




carpe diem

Well that was short lived!

  Scratch that full time in RV idea, scratch that whole homeless thing.

 One of the objectives to our travels was finding that next home. Do not want the winters that come with northern states, Nor the excessive heat of the Arizona desert. Not fond of tornado alley which covers most of midwest. Calling Florida the "Sunshine state" is a misnomer. Now eliminate states with state income tax or arcane gun laws and the list of possibilities gets short.

 Well the search is over for now. I say for now because this is our third "retirement home". At any rate we have purchased a home here in the RGV. It offers a low cost of living, temperate weather and amenities we seek. We are happy, so you be happy for us. Perhaps we will see you on our travels. We are not "along the way" to anywhere so chances are you will not be "passing thru".



have to go gather some more rosebuds...

Fun and games

 I doubt any of my readers are affected by this but check it out anyway. Go to Healthcare.gov website and select button to preview plans. It will prompt you to answer questions but just press the skip button, except where it ask for your zip code. You will come to a button to view full price plans, sit down and select that option. Do not worry about HMO versus EPO, just focus on premium, which changes based on your projected income. Go thru it once or twice utilizing different different zip codes.

  What we checked was 76225 (Wise) and 78541 (Hildalgo)


 76225: BlueCross HMO $1200 per month per person (two people equals $28,800 per year) PLUS deductible


 78541 multiple provider EPO plans roughly $500 per month per person (two person family $12,000 per year) PLUS deductible


 $16,800 per year difference. And that is if you NEVER go to a doctor...


WTF???


 Anybody talks to me about how great the Affodable Care Act, otherwise know as Obama Care,. is at risk of getting punched. What a crock of crap.


 On a personal note our premiums go from roughly $13,200 in 2016 to roughly $28,880 in 2017. An increase of $15, 680, roughly 218% INCREASE  for L E S S coverage and options.

  Bye, Bye Wise county....

Changes

  For the last several years Mary and I have marveled at the changes in our lives. Seems every year some twist has occurred we did not see coming. So it should not be a shock that 2017 will continue that trend.


  We have agreed to sell our current house in Alvord. We do not have a new home to move into so I guess we are homeless. Quite the contrary we are joining friends, new and old alike, as full timers. How many days will we spend in Maggie next year? Who knows but at this point in time 365 is a pretty good guess.


 The post office may send you notice that our new address is Rainbow Drive, Livingston Texas. Rest assured we have not moved to Livingston, or anywhere near Houston. Instead we will be utilizing a mail forwarding service for RVers. They will collect our mail then forward it to us, wherever that might be.


 The brief time we are back in Alvord will be spent down sizing to the extreme. Except for a few select things, everything in the house will be sold, donated or trashed. We have no desire to pay storage on "stuff".


  No, we have not lost our minds nor are we drunk/high on narcotics or anything else. Just two, not so young kids, chasing a dream. The young generation, millennials I think they call them, are not materialistic. Let us just say we are joining them.


  Stay tuned for further developments as they occur, as the news anchor would say.




we be gathering rosebuds...

Border problem up close

 The illegal alien problem is real and growing. Don't blame it on Mexico alone as it is far from just Mexicans entering. Back when we were remodeling all the workers were Latino. However in listening to them I knew  some were from Guatemala.


 Now there is a surge in crossings by illegals. Say you are a poor Mexican looking to improve your lot in life and you are on fast frieght home. Say you are seeking asylum from violence and get a ankle bracelet and a bed. Blind jackass would know what to say when caught, and bet your ass those crossing tonight know what to say. surge is because they fear a Trump wall if he wins versus amnesty if Hillary wins. Your tax dollars at work dear friends.

Reminiscing

  Maybe this silly little blog has some value after all. Question was raised, and answered about where we were this time last year. That caused me to review post from October and November 2015. Was enjoyable to relive those memories.


 I had mentioned my concerns relative to health care cost for 2017. Have you watched and paid attention to the news lately? Many carriers dropping out, (already knew mine was), double digit increase in premiums projected. Cost will be staggering next year, if plan even available. Affordable care act, what a misnomer! Cluster **** would be more accurate.



Still gathering rosebuds and chasing rainbows...

Failure

  First off what a great day! Last night was the first night we did not run the air conditioners. Got down to 57 and only a high of low 80's today. All my more northern readers, everybody, says big deal! Been that way for a long time. Not so down here in the tropics. The trade off for mild winters is an extension of Summer. We have been above normal but even with that the afternoon breeze makes it tolerable.


  Now, back to that failure thing alluded to in the title. We all like to brag about success, things accomplished and goals met. Only fair we acknowledge our failures, goals not met, objectives not achieved. So it is with us. Back in January goal was to spend six months in Maggie, half a year, 183 days give or take. Even though the year is not yet done, we will fall short. Have a busy schedule for last part of year so I can count the days. By years end we will have spent 139 days in Maggie, not bad but 44 days short. Escalating health care cost has me concerned for next year. Until that cost is finalized, probably late November, no projections for next year. In fact the only trip planned so far is to be in Kentucky with Ron and Maureen to view solar eclipse. While in Kentucky might as well do the Bourbon trail, visit the Shaker village, Mammoth cave etc. Even with all those stops probably just a month or so. For never haven taken a two week vacation how quickly we can dismiss a month as not being a long trip. Many would kill for that much time.


  Well that is all the news from Lake Wobegon!  (any Prairie Home Companion fans out there?)



back to gathering rosebuds...

La pharmacia

Down on the border, down Mexico way...

 Mary said I had to pass on the senoritas and even the mamacitas, girl does not have a sense of humor sometimes.

 We did get our medicines for the next few months. Serious games being played on the average person needing meds. As we have dug deeper we have learned many things to help save money. For reference, good old Walmart charged me $377 for one med. Should have cost no more than $170. Care to explain...

  There are other things to be bought while in Mexico. Care to guess our lot number here? Just wanted to decorate our little parking spot.

 We have been working hard at putting names and faces together. Bonus points if we can match site number with names and faces. While we have done pretty well we are loosing ground. New people showing up every day lately. Last several walkers or golf carts that have gone by have been unfamiliar to me. A gorgeous afternoon perfect for setting outside enjoying an adult beverage. In this case bourbon and coke.


I did mot take a camera across so the following are courtesy of Google Earth. Welcome to Nuevo Progreso Mexico

carpe diem

Back to the bayou

  Got the call yesterday to return to Lake Charles. More fun with books and young people. We will return to Alvord mid November and leave again January first. That will be an extremely busy six weeks. Not counting the normal craziness of Thanksgiving and Christmas. When our time in Lake Charles is up we head back to the valley. February finds us flying to Tampa for a cruise. We will be flying out of Harlingen and returning there. Plans call for us to be in the valley till April. We then return to North Texas to move Mary's Mom into assisted living center. Very busy six months or so coming up. Who said retirement was boring?


  On to Mexico today to procure medications. The cool front gave us some rain and pleasant weather. You really do not want to walk around Nuevo Progreso in 100 degree temps. No cerveza's and nachos today, just over and back quickly is the plan.


Out gathering rosebuds...

Here it comes!

  We have been above normal temperatures since we arrived. A cold/cool front is nearly here and we are ready for it. High 90's  today, low 80's  tomorrow.

  two weeks from today we leave. a lot to do yet....

New friends and places

  Back in June we spent two nights in Kansas. During that stay we met a couple that wintered in this area. The park in Kansas closes mid October so they head to the valley. We went over to visit them today and visit their park of choice. We prefer our location but their park is very nice. Always good to check out other places. Suddenly it feels as if we are running out of time on this visit.


Carpe diem

We have returned...

 Said McArthur to the Phillipines with the grace of God and a handful of Marines...well maybe not that dramatic.

 After a whirlwind 1700 plus miles round trip we are back in the valley. It was sad to lay our friend to rest, but an honor for us to be there. I know it meant a lot to Rhonda. A burial with full military honors, including rifle salute an bugler playing taps will move you to tears. Now life must go on and so it shall. We have made so many trips back to the metro mess it has not been a relaxing stay. We will focus on the remaining three weeks then head to Houston. We will spend the winter down here coming back in January after our Lake Charles assignment. We now have our own spot here so do not have to make reservations and can come anytime. Is it our future home? Could be, time will tell. Several things we would like to visit and show you in the coming weeks. No promises but will do our best.


 Take time to smell the roses...





"...gather ye rosebuds while ye may..."

Great weekend.

  Our friends from San Antonio, Tom and Diane, came for a long weekend visit. They got home from 9 days in Russia on Thursday and drove here on Friday. We had three plus days of fun, food, and fellowship. They had a great time and are planning a return visit.


 Tomorrow we make a long sad journey. We head to Fayetteville Arkansas to bury our dear friend and traveling buddy, Dan Lange. We will return to the valley to finish our stay here after the services. More touring to come upon our return.




carpe diem

Decision justification

  A lot of people think we are crazy, most do not understand. We see that as their problem. Perhaps you have read the quotation on the main page, about life not escaping us. That is the point, the reason behind everything.

 We left Decatur on August 12th, not yet two months. In that short space of time two friends have passed away. They passed with dreams unfulfilled, plans not seen to completion. That may happen to us, but not without a fight. The untimely deaths of Ron Rather and Dan Lange solidify our determination. If you find joy in work then by all means work. Do what brings you happiness, not what others want you to do. Not going to be the richest kid on the block, but will not be under a bridge in a box either. Now is the time make memories. Time to take the road less traveled, time to see what is around that bend in the road

  RIP Dan. We never got back to that beach on the Yucatan my friend. When Mary and I get there, rest assured that a toast, or two, will be raised in your honor.



Carpe diem

Whew...

 A year ago this date we were in Florida. We then moved up the coast to South Carolina. The path that hurricane Matthew is forecasted to take. Once again, we HAD reservations to be there again this year. It was only because we found this place that we are not there again


  What to call it it? If you are retired is it a vacation? Just a trip I suppose. At any rate we took a quick get away from our ongoing get away. Mary wanted to stay on the beach and we had not been to Corpus Christie in years. So load up the jeep and away we go.


 We had toured the Lexington before so passed by this time. If you have not, you should.

 We decided to circle the bay which brought us to Aransas Pass and the ferry. I had not been on a car ferry in decades, the last time being on the Lynchburg crossing ferry near San Jacinto.

  A lot of history around Aransas Pass.

  These sea turtles were eating the grass/algae/growth on the rocks. While this photo shows one, there were four that I counted.

  Our hotel facing the gulf.

 A pretty girl I found on the beach...

  Sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico

a great day to be alive...





go out and sieze the day, it could be your last

Decisions, decisions

 How thirsty are You? One of many things we have found here but not back in NTX. Sometimes you just want a little and those are perfect. The rv frig in the old coach did not have room for beer. This one is a full size residential frig so stocking up is no problem. Those tortillas are just habit forming. Corn taste but flexibility of flour, love them.Once again something not found before.

  Life is good here in the RGV...

  The silver fox who keeps me company. She finally let it grow out and I love it. She was not in mood for photography this Morning!

Living the good life.

Technology

 So when we were here in February Mary's laptop bit the dust. Went to Best Buy and got her a new one. Now my tablet has gone stupid. Probably just the battery but that cost nearly as much as new tablet. Off to Best Buy again so I can get new tablet. Stayed with Android as I like it an am comfortable. Hope we do not have to buy new technology every trip down here.

  You may recall we had plans to return to Poinciana Florida this year. While we loved where we were, we hated the traffic outside the resort. Not so here. Main streets are laid out in square mile grid pattern. Easy to get from here to where you need to be. Everything you could need or want in McAllen.

  Mary downloaded an app to help us learn Spanish. I am pretty good at translating written Spanish, not so good with the rapid fire spoken version.


 Remember my post about new food and tamales? Lest you think plain old tamales, take a look at the menu

I was going to quit doing this blog but Mary wants me to continue.  If I do not post for a couple of days it is because there is nothing suitable to post.




Carpet diem

Viva Mexico!

 Along with two other couples we ventured into Mexico, more specifically Nuevo Progresso. It looks like you would expect a poor border town to look, crowded dilapidated and the streets dirty. We did stop and eat and have drinks at a couple of places that were nice. This town exist to serve the dental and pharmaceutical needs of Texans, winter or otherwise. Medicines can be acquired, except hard narcotics like Vicodin etc. Everything else is available, no prescription required, price negotiable. Dental work, by US trained dentist, can be obtained if you need it. Of course there were many street vendors hawking merchandise or pedicures, manicures, just darn near anything.

  To be sure, the border towns of Reynosa or Matamoros, just upriver and downstream from Progresso, are tough places. I am told the Federales are stationed just outside of town to help keep it quiet. Of course you never know if they are friend or foe. At any rate we acquired some medicines and will venture back across to obtain some more, and probably a cold cervesa or two as well.




carpe diem

Hunter education

  It is dove season in Texas. What does that mean to those non hunters? It means that the fields are full of hunters. We are surrounded on three sides by fields and weekends are quite noisy. Interesting fact is while we have Border Patrol, Sheriff and DPS cars EVERYWHERE, seems to be a lack of game wardens. A point of information for you is that shotguns must be plugged to a three shot capacity. Some of our local shooters obviously have pulled out their plugs. If you missed on the first three, you are just wasting the next two. Been several years since I was in the fields scaring doves but brings back good memories.


  Raining today but have plans for tomorrow. We will go across the border into Nuevo Progresso with two other couples. One will have some dental work, we will buy some pharmaceuticals along with lunch. Progresso is deemed relatively safe compared to other border towns. None the less take only the minimum and park on US side.

Dr's, trees, museum, SPI and more

 Hang on to your hats kiddos, we have a lot to cover.


  First off if you have paid attention you are aware we we made the drive from Edinburg to Mansfield and back twice in the last two weeks. About 480 miles one way so no small deal. While I did not get the "see you next year" I wanted, i did get a six month pass. Biopsy avoided so play on!

 The tree on the space beside us had issues and had to be removed. Tree trimmers did great but I confess to some anxious moments.

We visited some sites in Port Isabel, one being the old light house. Not near as nice as the one on St. Simons but nice none the less.

  Of course we had to visit the Museum nearby!

  This museum was small and in need of some upkeep. However you never know the treasures one might find in small museums. While I lament the slaughter of animals to harvest ivory, this exhibit was amazing. I apologize for the photos but I was shooting thru thick glass and focal points were challenging.

 This area has a long maritime history so a good part of museum dedicated to all things nautical. Pardon me as we interject a little bathroom humor.

Never again complain about cheap bathroom tissue!


 Now across the causeway to South Padre Island, I must say we were a little disappointed in SPI on the whole. After the sugar sand of the Emerald coast of Florida, and a magical stay on Amelia Island, South Padre was a let down. Water very clear and we saw no evidence of the red tide plaguing the area. The developed area was not what we expected. Maybe if we come back at spring break when the beaches are full of spring breakers...A bunch of bikini wearing girls gone wild might change my opinion!

  Between Edinburg and SPI lies the town of Harlingen. It is home to the Marine Military Academy. Which in turn is home to this moving memorial. Be sure and read the plaque in between.

 I think that about catches you up. A cold drink to anyone who notices anything different in these photos..It has been toasty but nice breeze keeps it tolerable, Rain in forecast starting Monday but we can deal with that. Our friends Tom and Diane are flying to Russia to meet their son's new in-laws. They get home in time to drive down and spend 4 days with us. probably will have to wake them up....



as always, carpe diem