Dancing with Jerry Story

I started out our time in the Valley by going for a walk this morning, twice around the park, which is almost two miles. It was a bit brisk, but I enjoyed seeing all the rigs and just touching base with the place again. I also took my earphones and listened to Morning Edition on OPB (Portland's NPR station) while I walked, using the A Online Radio app on my Droid. It may be a few days before I have a chance to walk again. Tomorrow we'll leave early to drive to Harlingen for Ken's appointment with Dr. Six about his back, and the weather forecast looks rather dismal the next few days.

After breakfast, Ken looked out our back window and spotted a lovely little bird sitting on the fence. It had a bright red head and rosy chest with brown back and wings. As usual, I couldn't find it in my bird book, but even unidentified, it was exciting to see.

This afternoon we went to the Peppermint Palace (nickname of the dance hall at the El Valle del Sol RV Resort--so called because it is painted with red and white stripes. That's where Jerry Story calls during the winter season. On Thursday afternoons at 2 p.m., he has an A-2 all hash dance that we enjoy. We had some mild trepidation, since we haven't danced in nearly nine months, but except for the usual expected glitches, we did fine. Jerry is such an exuberant caller that everyone smiles, even when we're messing up. His choreography is always fresh and surprising.

The nicest part is that we are returning dancers this year, unlike last year when we were newbies. We got to reconnect with several of our old friends. Bob and Doris Reece greeted us like long-lost friends--which is how we feel about them too. Bob and Pat Boyink have just recently returned to the Valley too, and they told us about some of their adventures in Utah this summer, when they tried out fulltiming for three months. They were glad to get back to their house here.

Ken hooked up the local cable this evening, so now we have both local programming and our DirecTV. He also put our our rope lights. We're looking forward to spending some time in one location for a while, so we're trying to set everything up to suit us. The next day without rain I'll put our PVC clothes drying rack out on our rear ladder.