Happy Easter

We had a delicious Easter dinner at the clubhouse with our friends Hardy and Judy and more than one hundred neighbors. The club provided ham, and the rest of the meal was potluck, with the usual wide variety of side dishes and desserts. One of the best parts is that the cleanup is quick, even though we took our own place settings.

We made some preparations for our move tomorrow. Ken added air to the duallies to support the weight of the Majestic. We did some laundry and packed up the folding chairs and tables and such. I did some more yard work, and we made arrangements to have the grass cut while we're gone.

This evening Hardy and Judy came over, and we watched Paint Your Wagon, a perennial favorite. We're very familiar with the music because we listen to the CD, but some of the dialogue and situations still seem new each time we watch the movie. Lee Marvin is just great.
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Last Bike Ride to Bentsen State Park

Today was our last bicycle outing down to the state park for this season. The round trip, including two miles each way to the park and one loop around, took 53 minutes. It was a rather warm day, but cooler in the park because the trees absorb some of the heat. I love riding in the park.

Back at Green Gate Grove, Ken looked up information about where to go to change our address on our truck and trailer registrations and on our driver licenses. I spent some more time putting in tree fertilizer spikes and raking and chopping the grass and weeds from along the shed and around the patio cover posts. My body is definitely protesting at being asked to do all the bending and twisting.

We stopped by to talk with Judy tonight when we were out for our walk. She is feeling better, but not 100%. There are suitcases around the living room. She's started packing up to leave. One big advantage of taking your home with you pretty much everywhere you go is not having to pack and unpack. The only time we use suitcases is when we fly out to visit our kids.

Speaking of kids, we've been seeing kids in the park and at the swimming pool the last couple of days. I just realized that they must be on spring break and visiting their grandparents here.
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More Work

Happy birthday to our friend, Nanci, in Olympia, WA! We hope she's having a great day.

We did some more yardwork today. Ken was putting in tree fertilizer stakes when he hurt his back, so I took over that job. It is a back breaking job, especially when the ground is very hard and dry. Even after running the sprinkler for quite a while, it wasn't easy to get those darn spikes in without crushing them. Besides, I was worried about hitting some of the many utility lines running under the property (power, water, cable, telephone). There's more to do tomorrow, but we did make some progress. We can already see the new fruit setting for next year, so that encourages us.

I spent more time working on raking and chopping the uneven areas and pulling crabgrass and weeds. Then I sprayed the area near the house with weed killer to keep things from growing back--or so I thought. It turns out that the stuff I was using (bought at a yard sale) only kills the plants you spray it on. It doesn't keep weeds from growing back.

After dinner we walked over to the hot tub to ease our aching muscles and Ken's back. He's also using his new little hot pad. He's definitely improving, and we're hoping he'll feel better tomorrow.

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Project

This morning we biked around the neighborhood and around Bentsen Grove. We stopped by to see Hardy and Judy and got a bag of grapefruit from them. We also borrowed a shovel and rake. This afternoon I tackled an area alongside the rear part of the Texas room and the shed where the previous owners had placed some sod. Unfortunately the sod created a bumpy, unsafe surface, and the grass mostly died, except for some crabgrass. It's going to be a big job to get all that area leveled and cleared, so I have a project that will take me a few days.

Tonight was the last Thursday evening Darryl dance. Next week the Thursday dance will be in the morning, and it will be at La Hacienda. We never go there without remembering our friends Bob and Doris, who used to live in this neighborhood. We had exactly four squares, so everyone got to spread out and dance. We said goodbye to John and Sandy. They'll be heading north early Sunday morning.

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A Day at South Padre Island

We picked Bob and Pat up at 8:30 this morning for a group trip to South Padre Island. John and Sandy picked up Hardy and Judy. Our first stop was actually the Valley International Airport in Harlingen to pick up Ken's tablet case that got left behind at the security line when he flew out to Vegas. That was a quick stop and we arrived as planned at the Sea Turtle Rescue Center, where we met the others. We were just in time for an invitation to feed Gerry his breakfast and have a photo op.


Rescue and rehab center


Sandy and Lee tempt Gerry with romaine leaves.


Gerry is determined to get that lettuce leaf!

Swimming turtle missing flippers is being rehabilitated

Some of us had packed lunches and tried to eat on the beach, but the cold and wind drove everyone indoors. We ended up eating at Subway. Then we drove to the UTPA Coastal Studies Lab. On the way we walked along the beach and watched a ship being towed in through the channel. At the lab we watched a video, which evidently gave me (and some others in our group) an opportunity for a brief nap.


Mount Vernon being tugged

Hardy, Judy, Lee, and Pat very glad to have good jackets in this cold, breezy weather.


Hermit crab (enlarge to see alien monster)

Our final stop for the day was the South Padre Island site of the World Birding Center. It features over 4000 feet of boardwalks to protect the delicate dune meadows, salt marsh and intertidal flats. We saw lots of water birds--plus an alligator.


South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center

After all that exploration, of course we were ready for dinner. We went to the new location of Daddy's Seafood and Cajun Kitchen. Ken and I shared the blackened red snapper, which came with some delicious fried red potatoes.

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UTPA Distinguished Speaker: Madeleine Albright

The highlight of our day today was attending a talk in UTPA's Distinguished Speaker Series. The event was held in the Fieldhouse rather than the usual auditorium, so we figured we could probably get in, but just to be sure, we agreed to meet at 6:00 p.m. to stand (or sit) in line. University faculty and staff and students have priority, and door open for members of the general community at 7:20 p.m. Last fall Hardy and Judy were disappointed when they tried to attend Maya Angelou's talk, so this time they were the first in line, having arrived at 5:45 p.m. We joined them at 6:00 p.m., and John and Sandy joined us a bit later.

We had no trouble being admitted to the talk; in fact we found seats on the floor in padded chairs. The sound wasn't as good as it usually has been in the auditorium, and some of us had to strain to hear. Still, it was a special experience.

Dr. Albright's remarks were rather brief. Afterward she took questions from a lineup of students. She joked earlier that since she was no longer Secretary of State, she would actually be able to answer questions.

After the talk, Judy was interviewed by a student journalist. and the wind

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Thanks, Roy!

We biked around the nearby neighborhoods today. We stopped in at Golden Grove, which is just to the south of us, and at Bentsen Grove, which is just to the north of us, to check out their rates and availability for some friends who may be interested in staying in the RGV for a month next year.

This afternoon we went to Darryl's workshop. We had one person short of having five squares. Roy came to our rescue and danced with Don. Many dancers have already left the Valley, so we were doing well to have five squares. At the peak this season, this dance had eleven squares dancing. Darryl workshopped some novel (for us) Siamese calls.

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Clean Shed

We had our final breakfast with friends at Mi Challitas this morning, until we all return next fall. Bob and Pat were back from their cruise on Princess Cruise Line out of Galveston. It was their first cruise, and they had a good time, although Pat said she was aware of the ship’s movements all the time. In addition to Bob and Pat, we had Hardy and Judy, Steve and Jan, George, and us. We were missing Jean, but we know she is having fun.

After breakfast we walked through the state park with Judy. The spring Hawk watch is in progress. The counters stationed at the Hawk Tower said they had counted 800 already. The wind was from the north, so the birds weren't riding the thermals, making them easier to count.

We spent several hours finishing our cleanup of the shed. Ken tore down some warped pressboard shelves. We carted a couple of loads of junk to the trash. We wore face masks because lots of the trash on the floor was from mice. Now the shed looks much bigger!

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Quinta Mazatlan and More

We set out this morning with Hardy and Judy and Jan and Steve for Quinta Mazatlan. Hardy and Judy had never been there, and the rest of us wanted to visit again. Fortunately the grounds have enough trees and there was enough breeze that we didn't find ourselves too hot, despite a very hot day. We enjoyed exploring the grounds, especially seeing all the wildlife sculptures. Hardy and Steve (and I tagging along) were geocaching, and we found three on the grounds.

One unexpected sight was preparations for a lavish wedding and reception. We heard a rumor that the wedding cost $80,000, and the flowers and general setup and decor, all the people scurrying around, and the music stage with electronic lighted backdrop certainly made that figure seem plausible.

Young chachalaca

Turtle sunning itself on a log

After our visit to Quinta Mazatlan, we went to Applebee's for lunch and then home for a rest.

This evening we watched one of my favorite movies, Patton. Every time we watch it, I see something new. George C. Scott does such a tremendous job of embodying a larger-than-life character.

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Ken Is Home, Luggage Not

It's a good thing I left early to go to the airport in Harlingen to pick Ken up tonight. I spent the first half hour traveling less than a mile--just like old times in LA! I never did figure out what caused the jam, but it cleared up and I got to the airport about 7:50 p.m., which is when Ken's flight was due in. However, he was off the plane by 7:30 p.m.

When I walked into the terminal baggage area, I expected to find him waiting by his suitcase. Instead I found him in a line of folks whose bags had not made it onto the plane. We waited in line quite a while because there was only one agent on duty. Fortunately, the only thing he really needs from his suitcase is his shaver, which he can live without for a day. We're hoping the suitcase will be delivered tomorrow.

This morning I got up early to defrost the fridge before the tech arrived to perform the annual preventive maintenance required by Dometic to extend the warranty for another year. Dale drove here from Alamo. He spent an hour checking everything out. The only problem he found was low propane pressure, which he adjusted easily at the regulator.

Jan and Steve stopped by. It was good to see our friends again. They left the Valley eleven days ago and went to Choke Canyon, but they drove back today to pick up some mail. They'll spend the night in their Texas room an the gang will get together tomorrow.

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Ticket Line

I got up very early this morning because I wanted to be at the Wingate Hotel by 7:00 a.m. to get in line to upgrade our Community Concert tickets. When I arrived just before 7:00 a.m., I signed in as #19 and went to sit in line. Yes, Winter Texans are smart--they don't stand in line if they can help it. We were in a meeting room, and there was coffee at the back of the room. Around 7:30 a.m., a volunteer (Mary Jane) arrived to hand out numbers, and of course I got #19. At that point we were free to go until we reassembled at 8:45 a.m.

I took advantage of the waiting time to get some exercise walking around the area, which is by La Plaza Mall and the McAllen airport. Pat arrived just before the official 9:00 a.m. start, to offer available tickets to us in number order. She said that 146 tickets were available, but some were in handicapped seating and some were single seats. Luckily when my number was called, some good seats were still available, so we are now the proud holders of aisle seats P13-14 in the center section.

This evening I rode with Hardy and Judy again to Darryl's dance. We had five squares, and several couples were talking about their plans to leave the Valley shortly.

Meanwhile, in Vegas, Ken took Jeff out for his birthday dinner to an exotic restaurant, the Marrakech Morrocan Restaurant. They enjoyed a lavish six-course meal--and lovely belly dancers.

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Almost Rainy Day

This morning the wind was blowing, and the weather app on my phone said it was raining. It did actually rain just enough to put water spots all over the truck, but not enough to help with our Texas drought.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Ken and Jeff went out to lunch with Jeff's friend Veronica.

Then they went to the Bellagio and walked through the casino gardens taking photos.

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Good News

Ken went with Jeff today to his appointment with his oncologist. The news sounds quite good: the oncologist and experts who have seen Jeff's test results all say that there is no conclusive evidence of malignancy. In fact, the "mass" discovered in Korea is an enlarged and hyperactive thymus gland. No one knows what is causing this, but it could be any number of things, including infection. Jeff will have further blood tests, and a followup PET scan in three months. If that one shows no change, then he'll continue to be followed closely over the next few years.

Jeff and Ken window shopped today at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace.

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Still Irish?

This morning Ken and Jeff took a vehicle to the repair shop. While it was being worked on, they walked to a nearby mall to window shop. Later they went to this Irish pub at Lake Las Vegas to eat. It's in a resort area that we walked through last year when we visited Vegas.

Here's Jeff checking out his new camera

Meanwhile, in the RGV, it was HOT today! The truck said it was 102, and I believe it. That's one of the reasons that many Winter Texans are heading north now. Our next door neighbors to the north have left.
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The Wearin' of the Green?

We were off early this morning to drive to HRL (aka Valley International Airport in Harlingen). We arrived in plenty of time to check Ken's suitcase and head out for a morning walk. It was sunny and pleasant. We walked around the campus of the Marine Military Academy, a boys' high school, where we saw the huge Iwo Jima Memorial. The museum and gift shop were not open yet.

Ken had an uneventful flight and arrived safely in Las Vegas. Jeff picked him up. Ken said that Jeff was fine, except for the green beard! He also had some green dye for Ken to get into the swing of things. They were going to Fremont Street to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I'm sure there was some green beer involved. Fortunately they were taking a cab downtown.

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Biking the Neighborhood

We did a little exploring around our new neighborhood on our bikes today, traveling back roads through mainly Hispanic areas that surround the local RV parks. We were surprised to find that the National Wildlife Refuge extends this far north. Some of the Hispanic areas are extremely poor, quite a contrast with most of the Winter Texans.

We also rode through our neighbor park, Bentsen Grove RV Resort, where we saw this creatively decorated site:

For dinner we had roasted turkey breast, seasoned with fresh herbs from Jan's herb garden. It's handy to be able to bike over and pick what we need, and it reminds us of our friends who are away for the summer.
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Tim Ploch and Robert Post

We don't usually go square dancing on Friday morning, but today we made an exception. Tim Ploch, who is one of my favorite callers, is filling in for Darryl this weekend. The Friday morning dance is an advanced dance and one that we used to attend regularly, so we got a chance to see some dancers we haven't seen for a while. After the dance we stopped at Sprouts and at Lowe's.

This evening we had tickets to the final Community Concert (courtesy of Steve and Jan--thanks!). Hardy and Judy rode with us. At the convention center, we talked in the lobby and mentioned that we would like season tickets but they seemed unavailable. Judy said we could buy general admission tickets and upgrade later to reserved seats, so that's what we did. Now I have to show up at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday at a local hotel to stand in line in hopes of getting reserved seats. Tickets that have not been renewed for next season will be sold starting at 9:00 a.m.

When the show was about to begin, we parted ways. Their tickets are in the left section with John and Sandy. Steve and Jan's are in the middle section with Hal and Dorothy. All the seats are pretty good for music, but tonight's performance was a variety/comedy show by Robert Post. He's wacko, a good juggler, and good at physical comedy.



Some of the routines were funny, but we had trouble relating because we were too far back to see the performer's face.

When we dropped Hardy and Judy off they invited us in for some Missouri white wine from Stone Hill Winery. We enjoyed the good wine and the good company.
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Did I Say More Cleaning?

Another work day today. Roberto was coming to wash and wax the rig around 11:00, so we moved everything away from it and took down the clothes drying rack from the ladder.

I worked some more on pressure washing the driveway and raking up leaves and such. Ken worked on cleaning out the shed. When Roberto showed up around noon, he had two helpers with him. They worked like beavers and got the Majestic shining. They even hand waxed it with Meguiar's Cleaner Wax. The price was extremely reasonable, too.

Tonight we danced at Darryl's with seven squares, including Tim Ploch. He's in town to fill in for Darryl while Darryl goes to the Bakersfield Fiesta this weekend. Hardy and Judy were there. Bob came without Pat. She's got severely itchy eyes--they figure it's from the pollen. Two doctor visits have not resulted in much relief, but Bob figures that when the head to Galveston for their cruise and get away from the Valley pollen, Pat will feel a whole lot better.

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More Cleaning

We made more progress today on cleaning the canopy and screens and patio and concrete drive and pad. Of course there's tons more to do!

We went to the Peppermint Palace to dance to Jerry this afternoon. Next Wednesday will be his last of the season, but since Ken is flying out, we won't be there. Jerry will be calling at the Bakersfield Fiesta, along with Darryl. Many of our Rogues friends will be there.

Tonight we rode with Hardy and Judy to Joe's dance. We enjoyed dancing with them. It's been some time because of all their out of town trips. We missed the folks who have left for the season, including Jan and Steve and Jean. We also missed Bob and Pat today.
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Perfect Weather

Someone today made a comment that I totally agreed with: doesn't it seem strange that just as the weather here is becoming perfect (balmy days with highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 60s), people are leaving for parts north? I can tell you right now that the weather in Manitoba is not anywhere near perfect by my standards just now! Anyhow, we took advantage of the lovely weather for a soak in the hot tub and a nice relaxing time reading by the pool.

Jeff called to ask his dad if he'd be open to partying on Fremont Street on Sunday--since it will be St. Patrick's Day when he arrives in Vegas for his visit. Ken said sure, but he's not too sure that Jeff's idea and his idea of how late to stay out will exactly mesh.
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Safe Travels to Steve and Jan

This morning Steve and Jan made their final preparations to head north. Steve designed and built a clever PVC bike rack that sits atop the truck box, and they fastened their new bikes in securely. Then they hitched up their Challenger to their shiny new GMC pickup. We waved goodbye and wished them safe travels as they headed up to Choke Canyon.

We danced to Darryl this afternoon. There were eight squares on the floor. It was Jean's last dance. She will rise very early in the morning and plans to drive 900 miles tomorrow.

After the dance we stopped at Home Depot, where we bought a good leaf rake, a new toilet seat, and some tree fertilizer stakes for the citrus trees and the palm tree. Being property owners requires some work. When we got home we borrowed our neighbor Chuck's pressure washer. Chuck not only lent us the washer--he also brought over a large pail of soapy water and gave me some quick lessons in pressure washing techniques. Meanwhile Ken was applying cleaner/conditioner to the tonneau cover. It got dark before the pressure washing was done, so we have plenty of work ahead.

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Breakfast for Ten

This morning we dragged ourselves out of bed at 7:15 a.m.--but by our body clocks it was most definitely 6:15 a.m. The "spring forward" meant an hour less sleep, and we got to bed quite late last night. We had ten of us at Mi Challitas for breakfast, but that won't happen again this season. Steve and Jan will leave in the morning, and Jean heads north on Wednesday. Next weekend I'll be driving Ken to Harlingen airport for his flight to Vegas to visit Jeff.

Jean and Ken and I had one last hike in the state park. We decided on a whim to climb the hawk tower again, fully expecting to find the resaca dry as it was last time. Instead we found water in the resaca and a group of birdwatchers checking out the hawks and water birds. We didn't have binoculars or scope, so we couldn't fully appreciate the northern harrier looping lazily overhead or the mottled ducks on the water.

We stopped on the way home at Bentsen Palm to drop off our recyclables. We were very surprised to find that the recycling has been shut down. Presumably the volunteers who were running the program have left for the season. We'll have to try to find another place to take our stuff.

After the hike we rested briefly and then went to work stripping the remaining fruit from the fruit trees and painting the cut limbs.

This evening we joined Hardy and Judy and Steve and Jan at Las Margaritas for a send-off dinner. They love the place and go often. It was our first visit. Ken and I had the chile relleno which was smothered in cheese (not healthy, but delicious!). It's his favorite item on the Mexican restaurant menu. And it was nice to be getting together with some of our favorite people.

In the restaurant parking lot we all admired Steve's custom built bike rack. It's made of PVC pipe and mounted on the truck box. This morning Steve and Hardy mounted a rear camera on the truck, and yesterday they installed the ahooga horn. Steve is definitely spiffing up his new toy, uh, truck!

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