“Holiday Concert” with UTRGV Mariachi Juveníl and the Ballet Folklórico

We joined our friends Jan and Steve, Jean, and Hal and Dorothy for an unusual and delightful holiday concert at the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex. this afternoon.

The concert featured music from around Mexico and included sections based on the traditional Las Posadas, the music of Jalisco, favorites like La Bamba in Mariachi style, and contemporary Christmas songs like Feliz Navidad (I Want to Wish You a Merry Christmas).

The students showed impressive talent, dedication, and showmanship. The musicians used no sheet music--they had the entire program memorized. Read more!

Tripping to Brownsville (via Harlingen)

Some of our friends have memberships in the Patron of the Arts program at UTRGV (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley). The two main campuses are in Brownsville and Edinburg, and the arts programs are held in both locations. Hardy and Judy were off on a Panama Canal cruise, so we were able to use their tickets for some of the performances while they were gone.

Today we attended Handel's Messiah at the TSC Arts Center in Brownsville along with Jan and Steve, Hal and Dorothy, Dick and Mary Ann, and Jean. (TSC=Texas Southmost College).

Our first stop was Stefano's Brooklyn Pizza in Harlingen. From our table we could watch the cooks expertly spinning large circles of dough. Besides pizza, they also serve a variety of Italian dishes.

After lunch we had some extra time and planned to view some of Harlingen's famous murals, but we got to see only a few because streets were closed for the city Christmas parade.

The performance hall was gorgeous, and we really enjoyed the program.

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Mexico

Jan wanted to pick up some medicine for her daughter, so we went to Nuevo Progreso today along with our friend Jean. At Jessica's Pharmacy, Arturo greeted us warmly. Since we had made a purchase at the pharmacy, we all got complementary margaritas. We also ordered a little antipasti plate, which was very good. It had several kinds of cheese, some crackers, cream cheese dip, olives, pepperoni, and turkey breast.

Then we went to Angel's restaurant, which is on the fourth floor and has a commanding view of the city. The ambience was very nice, with high ceilings, cloth napkins, and great service. The music was also very nice--good background  music for a day with good friends. Read more!

New McAllen Performing Arts Center Open House

We went with friends today to the community open house to introduce the brand new McAllen Performing Arts Center. It's an impressive space.

There was free entertainment throughout the day. We got to hear several songs from the Jersey Boys. The full performance is coming in February. We enjoyed it a lot, but the sound system will need some tweaking.

Principal dancers from the San Antonio Ballet performed some dances from the Nutcracker. They were fabulous, but the stage lighting for their performance was totally inadequate. Frequently they were dancing outside the lighted portion of the stage.

We went up to the Grand Terrace, aka the nosebleed section. It is so precipitously steep and far from the stage that we would not enjoy any performance from there. The Mezzanine was much more acceptable.

The consensus is that although the space is impressive, it is not well designed. Access is difficult, especially for seniors with any degree of mobility impairment. Read more!

Happy Halloween!

We left Jim Hogg Park today. So did a number of other people, and even more left yesterday at the end of the weekend. We saw lots of empty campsites this morning.

We are on our way south for the winter. Our stopover tonight is Bar M RV Park in Pleasanton, TX. We stayed here in February on our way north. We have been seeing lots of blue sky recently, but today our drive was mainly under overcast skies. This evening we saw some rather dark clouds near the horizon.

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Good Water Loop Trail

We hiked another section of the Good Water Loop Trail today. The total trail is about 27 miles, but we hiked only a short stretch from Jim Hogg Park west towards Russell Park. We turned around at the second water crossing, not wanting to take our chances crossing the stream.

The trail was very rocky, so we had to watch where we were putting our feet. We were glad we had our hiking sticks.

It leads through scrub woods, mostly junipers. We were delighted to get some good views of the lake.

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OLLI and On to Georgetown

This morning we got up early and prepared to move. But at that point, we did not hitch up as usual. Instead, we drove to the UT Austin Thompson Conference Center. Our friends Arnie and Sue who live in Austin had invited us to join them at LAMP, a program that is presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute or OLLI at UT Austin. On Thursday mornings, there are two lectures, one at 9:30 a.m. and one at 11:00 a.m.

This morning the first lecture was presented by a UT Austin Music faculty member, Dan Welcher. He talked about how composers compose, giving examples from his own experience as a composer. He is an entertaining speaker and despite being musically illiterate, I found his talk quite interesting. One of the examples he gave was of basing a composition on six Shaker songs. Another was about a string quartet he composed for the Mary Cassatt String Quartet. Aptly, it is based on one of Cassat's paintings.

The second speaker was a faculty member on the English faculty who is also affiliated with the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and the Department of American Studies. His talk was titled "Life and Death on the Border: 1910 - 1920." This era was a time of violence in the Nueces Strip, a disputed area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. The Texas Rangers and even the US Army were involved in brutal suppression of the Texas Mexicans who were land grant holders in this area. The killing of innocents was the norm of life on the border, and this shameful period has not been officially acknowledged. Gonzalez and collaborators from universities around the country mounted an exhibit at the Bullock Museum of Texas History this spring (also called "Life and Death on the Border: 1910 - 1920") which was attended by over 50,000 people.

After the program we thanked our friends and headed back to McKinney Falls to check out. Wee moved to Georgetown, which is north of Austin by about 25 miles. We are in a lovely lakefront site at Jim Hogg Park on Lake Georgetown.

We were here for six nights in 2011, but then we were in the lower loop because the upper loop was closed for electrical upgrades. We are glad they upgraded to 50 amp service in the upper loop, where we are now. Read more!

McKinney Falls State Park

We left Paris yesterday and arrived today at a state park we have visited before and really like. Our last visit was memorable because the campground was closed due to flooding. Onion Creek is usually rather sedate, but it turned into a raging torrent carrying snapped off trees downstream. Now the park has returned to normal, and we are glad to be back in Austin. We are in site #15, which was easy to back into (always a plus).

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Fun with Friends in Paris, TX

We arrived in Paris, TX, for the annual TEXPACC square dance weekend yesterday. We are camped at the Red River Valley Fair Grounds, which is where the dance is held. This evening we joined some friends at Ta Molly's Mexican Kitchen for dinner before the dance.

Seated from near to far: Jane and Jim Booth, Judy and Hardy Pottinger, Mary Ann and Dick Drake, Sue and Arnie Schaffer, Lee, Pat and Bob Boink

Ken sat out one tip, so he had time to take photos. I was dancing with a single, Wally. In our square were Hardy and Judy, Carl and Jo Beth, and Rick and Mairzy (from Tennessee).

Here is our great caller, Vic Ceder, all the way from California. Like all the callers at this weekend, he works hard to give dancers plenty of challenging fun.

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Getting Ready for Halloween

Dick and Carol have a neighbor named Walter. He's an older gentleman with a passion for decorating for the holidays, and Halloween is one of his favorites. He told us today that he has several pieces he hasn't put out yet.

Walter did not decorate for Halloween last year. He said his health was too poor. Today he said his health still isn't good, but he doesn't want to disappoint the many neighbors who have expressed appreciation for his efforts.

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Birthday Lunch

My goddaughter Debbie and her husband Robert both have birthdays in November. Dick and Carol decided to take advantage of our visit to take them out for a birthday dinner and give us a chance to visit with them. They are both very busy with work and family, so it was good to find a rare moment when they were available and the kids were all in school.

We went to FD's Grillhouse because it had been recommended to us especially for the salmon, which is one of our favorites. Reviewers on Yelp had recommended the key lime pie. (The key lime pie was definitely overrated! mainly sweet, with very little of the authentic tang.)

After lunch, Robert went home to study. Debbie came back to the house to play Big Boggle, our family tradition. Carol picked Christine up from school early, and she joined in the game. We are always delighted to have a chance to catch up with Debbie and family, although Carol keeps us posted on what's happening. For example, Christine recently had a part in her high school's performance of High School Musical (which I unfortunately missed because of illness).

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Eat Healthy Tyler

This evening Dick and Carol and Ken and I went to the Eat Healthy Tyler monthly vegan potluck. It's held at the Natural Grocers, which has a demo kitchen, and everyone brings a plant based dish to share. There's a monthly theme (but it's optional). This month it's Soups and Stews and Witches' Brews.

Carol made a lentil and black bean stew. I made a simple pumpkin soup with coconut milk. There's always lots of variety and many delicious choices. After everyone has had a chance to sample, each person gets a couple of garbanzo beans to use to vote for their favorite dishes. One of the more interesting selections this month was a colorful borscht with cashew cream. Read more!

The Great Gatsby and Roses

Carol took me to the Tyler Civic Theater for a performance of the Great Gatsby today. We went first to the Rose Garden Center to see the display of thousands of pink roses imported from Ecuador for the Rose Festival. Then we went next door to the theater.

The stage set was impressive--even including a pool onstage, and the evocation of the flapper era Jazz Age excesses was wonderful. Costuming was great. Several of the performers were really good too. We really enjoyed the exciting 1920's Charleston danced with verve. The use of an onstage narrator in Nick Carraway was not quite as successful, but overall the play was enjoyable and quite good at conveying the essence of Scott Fitzgerald's classic.

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Back at RVParksRUs in Tyler

We are back in Tyler, at a very nice park we have stayed at before. The sites are spacious because it's out in the country and used to be a mobile home park before being converted to an RV park.

We'll be spending a couple of weeks here visiting Carol and Dick and family. Unfortunately for the start of our visit I still have a miserable respiratory infection, but my laryngitis is improving.

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Cate's Cross Country Race

Cate was one of a team who represented her school, Wester Middle School, in a 1.5 mile race today. She had to qualify on Monday to be on the team. Go, Cate! Here she is with her teammates in a huddle before the race.

A large park of seventh grade girls from several middle schools competed in Cate's race. The school was thronged with students and families who had come out to watch their racers in the various events, so it was hard to find a parking space. I dropped Ken and the boys off to join Ed outside the fence to watch the start of the race. I made it back in time to watch the start of the race. The whole pack ran across the field and then followed a lead ATV on their assigned course. They came around in front of us, and then we moved to the finish line.

Meanwhile Molly was running a bit late, so she missed the finish. So did I, because I ran to the truck to get some anti-itch cream for Ed's bee sting. A bee attacked him on outside of his right eye, and it hurt like heck and was beginning to swell up.

Cate came in #60, running all the way. We were all proud of her.

After the meet we all went to the house for a pasta dinner. Cate, Ed, Molly, and I played Ingenious! Molly was talked with her mom and Kelley on the phone, and they advised her to give up right away, since Cate always wins. She definitely won this time, but was neck and neck with her dad until Molly and I blocked him. We figured it was only right to let the youngest player win....

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The Perot Museum of Nature and Science

When we woke up this morning, the kids and Ed were up and about. Ed was very glad to have coffee. Evidently the tent, especially with its downhill slant, was not the best place to sleep. He said that they had slid down in their sleeping bags and then hitched themselves back up several times. Jesse ended up sleeping in a ball in a corner. We had pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon for breakfast (sorry about burning the bacon....).

This afternoon Ed took us to the Perot. It's a great museum, and we were fascinated. We all stayed together in the Expanding Universe Hall to start. It's Jesse's favorite. Then we split up. Ken and I went to the second floor. Ed and the boys went to the play space, and Cate wandered somewhere on her own. We didn't see everything even in the spaces we visited, and there are lots more halls we didn't even go in. Wonderful museum.

After the museum we went to Mimi's for dinner. It's one of Cate's favorite places.

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Family!

Molly picked us up to go to the Spiral Diner in Oak Cliff for lunch with Kelley and Will. We had a great visit and some delicious vegan food.  It was all good, but the best part was the Turtle Brownie Sundae with the diner's feature I-Scream and spicy pecans.

Kelley is waiting to hear from the Physican Assistant programs she has applied to, but meanwhile is going to school and has almost completed two years working for a lawyer. Molly is about to start a new job at Whole Foods and has been in training for the last week. Will is enjoying being out in the field as a probation officer. We talked about the upcoming election. Fortunately we all agree "Never Trump!"

Kelley ordered a Chip and Dip Party for starters

After lunch we and Molly picked up Cate and Sam and Jesse for a campout at Loyd Park, complete with campfire and s'mores and sleeping in a tent. Our campsite is right on the lake, so Molly and the boys decided to play in the water. Cate thought reading on the shore would be more fun.

Later Ed arrived after work and we cooked hot dogs and sausages over the campfire.

Later we used the same fire for the s'mores.

Here's the view from our site across the water.

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Loyd Park

We arrived at Loyd Park on Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie, TX, today. We had a brief celebration when we crossed the Oklahoma/Texas border and saw the "Welcome to Texas" sign. That means welcome home to us, even though as full timers we say "Home is where we park it."

Grand Prairie is a suburb of Dallas near Arlington and near Mansfield, where my three youngest grandchildren and their parents live. Kelley and Molly are not too far away either. This is our first stay at Joe Pool Lake, and we are lucky to have the most desirable site, #211, right on the water.

After a day of traveling and dealing with having to get a new battery for the truck, it was great to see the kids, but also nice to settle down and listen to the crickets. Read more!

Movin' On: Ardmore, OK

Our last visit to Hidden Lake RV Resort was in May 2013. It was a memorable visit because storms and tornado warnings sent us running for their new storm shelter. This time the weather stayed sunny and clear. The park has added a new building that houses the office and an RV repair business. They've also added a large water slide to their swimming lake. This is an attractive park and we like it for an overnight, but it's very close to I-35, and the noise level is troublesome for us.

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Hike to a Nice Little Lake

The ground dried up enough today after recent rains that we were able to take a short hike to a nearby lake. The terrain here is quite a contrast to the dramatic landscapes of the high plains. Everything is green, and the trees are tall.

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Casino Stopover

Lucky Star Casino in Clinton, OK, is just off I-40 and a convenient stopover on our way. The RV parking facilities are just a large open parking lot with a couple of utility poles, each with several electrical outlets. But you can't beat free 50 amp electricity with great security patrols.

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Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum

Today we visited the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, which is located in Canyon, TX, on the campus of West Texas A & M University. It's a bit of a hodge podge, with a large section devoted to the petroleum industry. A huge old oil rig was transported and set up in a large window in front, and most of the second floor has exhibits about various aspects of petroleum drilling, refining, use, and culture. That floor also has a couple of art galleries and a large gallery of weaponry, mainly guns.

The part we most enjoyed was the group of exhibits on Life on the Plains. It examined the survival challenges various cultures had faced--water, food, shelter, clothing, transportation--and how they had met these challenges. The discussion revolved around technology, sociology, and ideology. A video highlighted these themes. The idea that conflict is part of human interaction is interwoven with stories of the Comanches driving out the Apaches and themselves being conquered by the Euro-Americans.

A rather vivid video showed the butchering of a bison and the uses to which various parts were put.

We missed a fair amount of the exhibits. They don't seem laid out in any logical manner. Our time was limited, and it was very cold in the building. When it was nearing 5 p.m., we left and went to the Imperial Taproom, a new restaurant on the town square, for dinner.

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