Hmmmmm.......could I possibly be getting old(er) and therefore it becomes difficult to stay up at night to write my little words of information to all of you????? It would certainly seem like it lately......as I believe this is the second time in less than a week that I have waited and rolled two days into one blog post. THIS I do NOT like!!!! And why, you might ask?? Well.....because with my damn short term memory problems, I can barely remember what occurred the day before so it makes it twice as difficult to write on the second evening, like RIGHT NOW!!!!
Sooooo, yesterday: The morning rituals completed fairly early, the 1st Lady and I dashed up the RGV to Pharr....and went square dancing for two hours. The entire morning was great fun.....and we said many, many "good-byes" to our special friends that we have known for up to two years for many of them. With the close relationships we have developed with our friends here, it is really difficult to part at the end of this winter season down here..........and in some cases, tears were shed as we said "hasta la vista" to them!!!
Returning to the resort, we then did a few things around the rv......in preparation for our departure on Monday morning. The 1st Lady did some laundry.......and then before we realized it, it was time for Happy Hour over at Doug and Diane's motorhome. Ron and Linda, our full-time rver friends from......from wherever they are at the time and that is HERE right now....
also joined us......and with some great wine, some incredible appetizers, and our close friends, we enjoyed our togetherness and laughs and discussions until the sun was setting in the west.
The evening then passed very quickly.......and soon I had fallen asleep on the sofa as I was watching the tellie. Later, I awoke.....and stumbled upstairs to bed, as the 1st Lady had already turned in for the night and was fast asleep with her book laying on her chin.....haha!!!
TODAY:.......French Roast coffee I served myself about 7:30.......carefully trying to be quiet so as to not wake her....and then at 8am, I told here the time....and soon I heard the shower running upstairs. Later after my morning rituals were completed.......she left for the Don-Wes Market and was gone about an hour. I cleaned inside TheHowserHouse, straightening up some things and doing the carpets with the sweeper......and within an hour she had returned.
As today is Diane's birthday, she had purchased one of those neat little "popcorn" tops for her ......this being her 65th birthday, a special day...even for a Canadian!!! Soon, it was time to leave with them and Ron/Linda for Pepe's on the River. We had not been out there this year......where in the hell DOES the time go?? It took about 40 minutes to get out there.......and.......
Pepe's is a great out-door watering hole, very popular with the Winter Texans as well as the locals. Under this huge thatched room are tons of chairs and tables, as well as a great dance floor with a stage for the live music which seems to always be happening there! Country Western music is the only type of music that I have heard performed there......and some of is good, and some of it is not so good.......about the same any where, right????? Today's music was just average!
The neat thing about this watering hole is that it is RIGHT on the bank of the Rio Grande River....literally!!!!!!!! You can sit anywhere in the place and watch the river flowing by, as well as the boats moving up and down the river.......which is about 75 yards wide at this point. Also, today there were a couple of personal watercraft....Skidoo's as they used to be called.....playing out on the river with great bursts of speed. Several boats waved and shouted out requests for the musician to play......and, sometimes there are even the Border Patrol boats that stop at Pepe's for lunch or snacks, but there weren't any there today. It is just a marvelous spot to spend an afternoon/early evening as the snack foods are a wee bit better than average.....a wee bit......but it is the sight of Mexico across the river that jolts you often as you realize that this is the country that is in the news sooooooooo much these days......either because of the illegal immigrants attempting to cross this very pretty river, or because of the drug cartel that is beginning to disrupt the Mexican government with their continuous murders of Mexican nationals.
Looking across the river, it is sooooo peaceful.......a small rv park on the other side of the river from Pepe's, as well as agricultural land. I often think of this area along the border....along the Rio Grande River......as the merging point for the American culture and the Mexican/Hispanic culture. It is sooooooo "in your face" as you drive through the RGV with not only the "Olive Gardens", the WalMart's, and other American businesses, but also the mom and pop cafes, the mechanical repair shops, and just the rather "run-down" places that reflect the Mexican culture. And then you see these beautiful Hispanic people, whether they be Mexican or American, trying to raise their really cute little children...their families extended with the grandparents often living with them in their homes......and you realize that this IS America......!!!!! At any point close to a border of our country you will find various cultures melding and merging with our own various American culture.........and this.....THIS is what makes America such an incredible country, an amazing place to live!!!!!! As you travel in the upper northeast part of the states, you see signs in French close to where the USA joins with Quebec, Canada. In California, you see the Asian influences everywhere.....sooooo merged with the Hispanics and other cultures/races that you realize this IS the way it should be......everywhere.
And then you have..................THE WALL. Today we drove on top of the levee as always, but NOW it is much higher, and I feel certain that it is for the infamous WALL to be erected upon......THE WALL to try to stop the illegal flow of Hispanics from pouring into our country. And, YES.....something MUST be done about this, however.......a WALL is not the answer!!! It was not the answer in Berlin, it was not the answer in France with the Maginot Line, it was not the answer in China.......a WALL is not the answer for any country to use to keep others from entering! But.....I am digressing from what I was writing...........
After a great afternoon, we rode around a bit farther to the west to see a couple of great little RV parks, but which are quite as far west from the center of the RGV as we are on the east side of the RGV.
Returning to the east, we drove to Mercedes and decided to eat once more at Mingo's Restuarant. Welllllllll..........walking inside the six of us were being seated when all of a sudden we saw our Cedar Creek RV Owners Club friends, John and Laverne (Kansas) were eating there!!!!!!
WHAT A GREAT SURPRISE!!!!!!!! They had eaten there when we had our RVG CCRVOC Breakfast last month....and I believe that may have been the last time we saw them. We had many laughs as Laverne said they were just following my suggestions from this blog about where to eat and where to go.....hahaa!!! Ahhhhh, the power of the press/blogs!!!!!!! HAHHA!! They have recently been to Elsa's in Nuevo Progreso, MX, after reading about our good times there, as well as they wanted to know just where they could purchase that great bottle of Creme de Tequila...."1921". Soooo, we told them as best as we could where we had purchased it.....as none of us have ever seen it in the states.........need a small glass of that RIGHT NOW!!!!!! We will see John and Laverne in mid-June in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the International Cedar Creek RV Owners Club Rally!!!!!!
Our dinner was good, but we were all a bit tired after three pitchers of Margaritas at out Pepe's on the River. OHHHHH, be sure you give that watering hole on the Rio Grande River a try some afternoon!!!!!!!!!!
Returning to the resort, we parted for the evening.....and the six of us have plans for a mid-morning breakfast tomorrow as Doug will be making some cinnamon rolls for everyone...and I will bring the French Roast Coffee. Sounds great already......and I even feel like a stuffed Armadillo right now!
Sooooooo, to no one's great surprise...these two days have been sooooo fun and it is just really difficult to think about leaving here on Monday morning. Hmmmmm..........however, as always........
LIFE IS JUST ABOUT AS GREAT AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
1 comment:
Wow, you've been wintering down there? Sounds wonderful, a great way to travel, etc. :-)
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