Holiday Fun

Gary and Mary Ann wanted to check out Pepe's on the River, a live entertainment bar and restaurant in a very large palapa overlooking the Rio Grande. We set out at 5 p.m., Gary driving and Ken navigating. Pepe's is at the southern end of Conway St., but the last part of the route is on top of the levee. When we arrived a country western band was playing in the palapa, which was somewhat enclosed by hanging tarps. We decided to eat on the deck overlooking the river, partly for the view and partly so we could talk more easily.

We ordered margaritas and nachos supreme, which had been recommended by someone in guest services. The margaritas and the company were great, and the view of the sunset over the river was too. However, the nachos took a very long time to arrive and were rather cool when we got them. We decided to leave rather than ordering food.

We drove to Hidalgo, a town south of McAllen, which has a very large holiday light show our friends had suggested. It was easy to tell when we had arrived--the lights were dazzling.

The most unusual and attractive display was of two Chinese lions made of bottles filled with colored water.

Gary parked and we walked into the central display area in front of City Hall. A boys choir in striking costumes was performing holiday songs in Spanish, with the younger boys having lovely clear soprano voices. Tours of the displays were offered by tram and by horse drawn wagons. Mary Ann's reaction to the horses was not positive--she said that the farm animal she liked was cows, because "they make money"! We took the tram ride to see the displays and heard a commentary about the light show and the history of the town that was quite interesting. The displays were quite eclectic--including Cinderalla's coach and a group of dinosaurs along with hundreds of large "Christmas card" posters. Before we left we posed for pictures in front of the City Hall Christmas tree.

















Afterwards we were hungry and went home to fix bacon and eggs with toast and fresh pineapple and mocha cappuchino, a delightful close to an evening with friends. Gary and Mary Ann are leaving Sunday morning to go home to Kansas for Christmas, and we aren't sure if they will return before we leave January 3. If not, we hope to renew our friendship next season when we all return.