Festival of Lights

We returned to Hidalgo for the annual Festival of Lights tonight, with Gary and Mary Ann. This time we had tickets for the dinner, and we were hoping for some Mexican delicacy, but the dinner turned out to be roast beef in gravy with mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans, and what we assumed was once a roll (but which had been flattened), and a cookie, with choice of coffee and sweet tea. We appreciated the hot coffee, since it turned out that the dinner was held outside, and the weather was damp and chilly.

Lee, Mary Ann, and Gary wait for dinner

Lots of lights

After dinner a smooth voiced singer entertained us with songs from the Sinatra canon. He was followed by the Estudiantina Guadalupana Potosi, a Mexican male choral group with members ranging from small boys to the leader, the gray haired accordian player and leader of the group. Then we headed to the trolley for a tour of the lights, an impressive display that grows each year.

Group leader plays a mean accordian

One of the boys singing his heart out. They all dressed in the fancy costumes

This morning we did some shopping for the kids in one of the families adopted by the park for Christmas. We wanted to avoid toys with lots of small parts and ones that require batteries, and of course we had a budget. That made it really tough to find gifts. We ended up with a couple of soccer balls, a Nerf football, and a View-Master, along with some toothbrushes and toothpaste. We'll donate some cash too. We figure the park manager and the families will have a better idea what they can use.

We enjoyed dancing to Jerry Story again this afternoon. Jim and Jane brought their photos and postcards from the Central America cruise. One photo was of Jane swooping along a zipline having a blast. They told us they had booked the cruise for a song on Vacationstogo.com, which advertizes last minute deals. Of course they had to drive to New Orleans to catch the ship.