Airbnb

We spent a lot of time today checking out rental places in Kauai, using the Airbnb service. We've heard of it but haven't used it before. We had to comb through quite a few listings to narrow down our potential choices. Then we communicated with the hosts using the Airbnb messaging service. It was all very smooth. Now we're waiting to hear back from one couple, and we hope to make a reservation tomorrow.

This afternoon I went grocery shopping at Big Lots and HEB and left Ken at home. This doesn't happen often, since we usually do our shopping when we're out for another reason. I enjoyed the leisure to browse a bit.

This evening we went to Joe Saltel's dance. The first tip went extra well, and we enjoyed dancing C-1, which we know pretty well and not having to struggle to come up with the C-2 definitions. In later tips Joe managed to challenge and sometimes stump us, even with C-1. There's never a dull moment with a good caller at whatever level. Read more!

Hawaii in September

This morning we went to Randy's C-2 workshop. We did reasonably well, got some floor time, and learned some things. This afternoon we cleaned and packed up stuff on the patio (tablecloth, grill, lights).

We booked our flights from Portland to Hawaii in September. The less expensive seats were going fast. Now we have to work out where to stay and what to see and do and where to store the rig, etc.

This evening was another Community Concert: Back on Broadway (see blurb below). The ten young performers had great voices. They're really multi-talented, staging dance numbers and bringing puppets to life for a selection from Avenue Q.

Following the overwhelmingly successful tour of “On Broadway,” we are proud to announce “Back on Broadway”! In this fabulous new production, ten star-struck performers arrive in the Big Apple looking for their big break on Broadway. With their newfound book, How to Succeed on Broadway how could they possibly fail?

Celebrate the magic of the Great White Way through dazzling production numbers performed by the next generation of Broadway stars! The multi-talented cast of ten brings to life the most popular scenes and songs from the latest Broadway hits—including The Producers, Legally Blonde, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, Avenue Q, Mamma Mia! and Memphis—as well as acclaimed revivals—Anything Goes, South Pacific, Evita, Hello, Dolly! and more!

This production features fresh, original arrangements by award-winning composers and an original orchestral audio track recorded by A-team Nashville session musicians. Fully staged and costumed, the show travels with a mobile set and lighting, allowing for quick, easy set-up and minimal crew demands. 

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Another Dull Day

No, we didn't have a boring day. It was the sky that was a dull gray all day, with occasional showers. We exercised indoors again and spent some time working on our summer travel plans. We've decided to spend our entire time in Hawaii on Kauai after checking some Google reviews. Many people recommended staying on Kauai as long as possible. For us, that will be about two weeks.

This evening we went to Darryl's C-2 workshop. Jan and Steve were there, along with several other C-2 class members. We actually got to dance with Tim and Gayle. Hardy and Judy and John and Sandy were there too. We danced with John and Sandy the first tip. Sandy redirected me several times. After we got warmed up, our squares mainly did quite well, so that's a confidence booster.

Sandy brought the finished fabric cases that we asked her to make for our folding wooden chairs to protect the wood from scratching or being scratched while the chairs are stored under the bed. We put one on, and it seems to be just perfect for the job. Thanks, Sandy! Read more!

Fish Fry

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Kathy. She lives in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and has had lots of snow this winter. She still enjoys looking out at the evergreen trees in her back yard festooned with fresh snowfall.

Today was the day for the annual fish fry hosted  by Jan and Steve. During the season, Steve does the hard work of going out to fish for whiting in the bay at South Padre Island. He stashes the filets from each fishing trip in the freezer. Then in the spring, the time comes when he has enough fish. He and Jan pick a date to have the gang over.

George, Hal, Bob, Pat, Lee

The expectation is that sunny south Texas will cooperate and produce some good weather for the party. This year that didn't happen. Today was rainy and windy with a high in the low 50s. Yuck! So we had a change of venue. Hardy and Judy opened their home for the party. Steve and Jan brought over their grill and electric frying pan and set up shop in the garage with the door open.

Joanne and Dorothy

This year they prepared some fried encrusted fish, some baked, some grilled, and some grilled on planks, a new technique this year and very tasty. Oh, and some burgers for a couple of non-fish eaters. Everyone brought something for the feast.

Bob, Pat, Hardy

We were glad to see Pat feeling better. In addition to chemo, she has recently had to suffer a respiratory infection with lots of coughing. That has kept her home resting.

Dorothy, Judy, Jean, Steve, Sandy, John, George, and Jan

Hal and Jim enjoying their burgers on the porch

Jean is all packed up and ready to leave early tomorrow morning for her home in Indianapolis, so this party is another send-off for her.

We watched the first episode of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosted by one of our favorite science communicators, Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The special effects are awesome. It's a fitting successor to Carl Sagan's original Cosmos series.



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Mexico and Bon Voyage to Jean

We paid our final visit of the season to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. Jean organized the outing to celebrate before heading north on Monday (brrr). We started the party at Santiago's Spot. Tim and Gayle Sterling were first time visitors.

We moved on to the Red Snapper for lunch. Ken and I split the fried shrimp dinner again, with extra salad instead of the plain white rice that seems to be served with every meal. Harold Lee and Dorothy brought Barb Smith along. We were glad to see her out enjoying a day with friends. We were very sad when her husband Jim passed away recently. We've really enjoyed dancing with both of them.

Bob Boyink came without Pat. She is still coughing from her recent respiratory infection, but she's hoping to come to the fish fry tomorrow.

Chris and Anara are flying home from Japan tonight. They have packed a world of experiences into their one week visit with Terri and Blake and Molly in Tokyo. Shawn will certainly be glad to have them back home. Chris has been posting lots of photos on Facebook. We're looking forward to seeing the photos and hearing more of their stories when we visit this August.

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Darryl C-2 Dance

We went to Darryl's Friday afternoon C-2 dance today. There's an advanced dance in the morning and then a half hour break before the C-2 dance. We took our lunch so we could eat at noon before the 12:30 p.m. dance.

The first couple of tips were pretty discouraging, but then things got better. We definitely needed some help from the more experienced dancers, but actually we did better than some of those "experienced" folks. Darryl again had the computer set up to distribute students among the squares, so we didn't get to dance with any of our fellow students.

We did get to dance with John and Sandy, who returned from their Big Bend trip yesterday. We're hoping to hear more about their trip on Sunday at the Fish Fry, which has had a change of venue. The weather forecast of rain and cold made an indoor party sound more appealing, and Hardy and Judy opened their home.

Tomorrow we'll go to Mexico for one last time. Jean is heading north on Monday, so this weekend is a final blast for her. Tim and Gayle will join us for the first time. Read more!

The Sun Returns

We woke up this morning to overcast, but soon saw the sun breaking through. By this afternoon, the sun was shining and we saw lots of blue sky. We spent some time again today planning for our summer travels.

This evening we went to Darryl's C-1 dance. We had hoped to see Jan and Steve there, but Jean said that they had decided to go home and rest after their trip to Brownsville today. They and Jean went to a presentation on shrimping and got some great shrimp to eat.

Several people at the dance had gone to Border Fest to dance in the streets of Reynosa this morning. They reported that it was very well organized this year and they had a lot of fun.

After the dance Darryl called a C-2 star tip. We needed one person to fill our square. Darryl asked Quiz to fill in. He was a really good sport and did a great job of dancing C-2 (with some cues and a bit of pushing around)--even though he doesn't dance the level. Thanks, Quiz! Read more!

Walking Outdoors

We finally got to go outside to walk today, as the temperature actually rose above 50° and the wind abated. Not that it was actually warm, but we did see our shadows briefly once. The sun peeked through the cloud cover for only a short time, but it sure made us feel better.

Tonight we went to Joe's dance. We had five squares plus two couples. We were in more squares that struggled than usual, but we definitely had fun. We missed all our buddies. Pottingers and Walenters are still away on their Big Bend trip.

Steve and Jan got up at 5:00 a.m. to get to the hospital for a 6:00 a.m. appointment this morning. Steve was scheduled for angioplasty and a possible stent. Fortunately no stent was needed, but one valve showed some weakness. Steve has an appointment next week to get the results of his echocardiogram and the options for treatment. We are glad to hear that Steve is mainly okay. Read more!

Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras! I remembered to wear purple and my beads and my purple and green and gold sparkly mask decoration. Not exactly a trip to New Orleans, but still fun.

This morning we went to Randy's C-2 workshop. We had five squares, but at first Randy was calling and dancing, until Steve arrived. He was late because he had an appointment this morning for a stress test. The dancing went reasonably well, but we were concerned about the results of the stress test. Steve is now scheduled for angioplasty and possibly a stent tomorrow morning. His heart murmur has been changed from a class one to a class two, with possible valve problems. We'll know more tomorrow after the angioplasty. We're hoping all goes well.

This evening we went to the C-2 class level dance called by Dave Heffron. We had four squares plus two couples, so it was mainly recently "graduated" students. We've been studying the definitions, and things went well yesterday at Darryl's workshop, so we expected to do reasonably well. Tonight things did not go very smoothly. Much of the time we were at a total loss or our square was hopelessly mixed up, and other squares were having as much or more difficulty. I guess any floor time is helpful, but I sure hope things get better!

It's the end of the season, and people are starting to leave for the summer. Blair and Anne will leave in the morning. We told them it's too early to go back to Canada! Tim and Gayle have decided to return to the Valley next fall. We are very glad to add them to our group of dancers!

Our friends Terry and Linda are planning an Alaska tour and cruise for August. Sounds like great fun! They were asking about routes for driving across the country to Seattle to fly to Anchorage. Read more!

Brrrr!!!

The cold front arrived just as predicted, and we woke up to a cold, rainy, overcast and generally miserable day. Fortunately the park we are at actually has an exercise room, so we could do our exercise indoors. We took turns using the treadmill and the exercise bike. While we exercised, we reviewed C-2 calls.

We also reviewed calls on the way to Darryl's C-2 workshop tonight. This marks a milestone for us: our first C-2 dance out with experienced C-2 dancers. Most of them were patient and helpful, and we actually did pretty well. We found some familiar faces and some folks we haven't danced with before. Jean was there to encourage us. I asked who she would be partnering with, and she said that even before the dance had begun, she'd already had three partners! She started out planning to dance with Dave Heffron, but Darryl wanted him to dance with Decah. Something happened with partner number two also, and she ended up dancing with Mike Hall.

We learned some rather sad news tonight. Jim Smith passed away. We had heard that he was not doing well after his surgery for lung cancer, so it was not a surprise. Jean says that he is being cremated, and Barb is not planning any services. Our thoughts are with Barb. She is such a sweet person, and we are sorry for her rather sudden loss. We danced with them only a few weeks ago.

We picked up our prescription refills at CVS on the way to the dance. You know you're getting older when your prescription receipt is almost as long as your grocery receipt! Read more!

Sunny Oscar Sunday

Today started off as a warm and windy one, but we knew it would end much colder. When I talked to Carol today, she said that the weather in Tyler had gone from the 60s to the 30s in half an hour this morning. She was looking at ice in her backyard. We won't get any ice or snow tonight, but the National Weather Service has issued an Alert! that wind chill values will fall to dangerous levels tomorrow morning and through the day. Good thing we caught some rays today!

Chris and Anara are in Tokyo visiting Terri and family and just soaking up Japanese culture and having a great time, from the photos they've posted on Facebook.

We watched our recording of Jay Leno's final show. We'll miss him. His final words were a very touching tribute to all the people who worked with him through the 22 years of his run as host of the Tonight Show.

We used our magic DVR to watch excerpts of the Oscars. I really like Ellen DeGeneres, but some of what she did tonight seemed rather pointless (ordering pizza? but a quick Google shows that some people just loved the pizza thing). We haven't seen any of the major nominated films except Captain Phillips. We would definitely like to see Twelve Years a Slave.

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Graduation!

Today was our final C-2 class with Darryl. We celebrated with a thank you presentation to our caller/teacher, Darryl Lipscomb. Of course, we haven't actually "graduated" in the sense that we now know it all! Instead, we've been invited to attend C-2 workshops and dances, to get floor time and learn some of the calls that we have only been exposed to.

We did some shopping on the way home and walked for an hour, and the day was gone. We watched a Nature program about the Crested Black Macaque, a critically endangered species only found in Indonesia. They are definitely appealing characters with a very complex society. Read more!

Diamonds Are Forever

The McAllen Community Concert this evening was a performance by the Diamonds. The group started in Toronto, Canada, way back in the 50s and has been around in one form or another ever since. The current incarnation does not include any of the original members, but Gary Owens, the baritone, has been with the group since 1974.

The entire audience was wowed by the performance. We thought it was the most entertaining show we've attended in the Community Concert series. The showmanship, great voices and musicians, and most of all the classic 50s rock and roll were a delight.

This morning we got up early and went to pick our Majestic up from Bert Ogden. We had spent the night in our Texas room, and it's apparent that we need to improve the hide-a-bed mattress  so our guests will be more comfortable, but overall the Texas room worked out well as a place to stay.

The refrigerator preventive maintenance is done for another year, and the propane pressure was adjusted. We wanted to get moved in at our new site in time to attend a 10:00 a.m. presentation by a USDA representative on the problem of citrus greening.

We have three citrus trees, and we're in the quarantine zone, so we wanted to know if there's any way to tell if a tree is infected. More importantly, we wanted some guidance on how to protect our trees. We have our work cut out for us. Read more!

Big Move

Well, we made a big move today, in one sense. We folded up our Majestic and towed it out of Green Gate Grove Lot 333 for the first time since we set up here on November 8, 2013. In another sense, it was a very small move indeed: only five miles, to Bert Ogden RV Services.

We got ready for the move by packing an overnight bag and moving into our Texas room. Our guests have stayed in it, but this will be the first night we've ever spent here. It's pretty handy, actually, rather like a motel room, minus the maid service.

We had our final C-2 class with Randy this afternoon. He taught several calls. Actually, we felt more like we were exposed to several new calls. We still have one more class with Darryl this Saturday, and we hope he'll go over those calls again. Then we'll be looking for floor time. Both Randy and Darryl have invited us to attend their C-2 workshops, so we'll start that next week. One advantage there is that the more experienced C-2 dancers will also be in our squares, which usually helps, though not always.

Tomorrow morning we'll pick up our home and move on to the next park, the next adventure.

The weather today was mild, and tomorrow Ken will be happy: the forecast is for sunny weather with a high of 84°. Read more!

Winter, Again?

Well, the high today was 69°. Sounds like a nice day, until you realize that it might have been that warm before you woke up, but the rest of the day went downhill. Most of the day it was very windy, cold, and rainy. Just the kind of day for packing up to move an RV after sitting in one place for almost four months--not! We ended up going to the mall to do our walking today.

This evening we went to Joe Saltel's C-1 dance, one of our favorites. We started with four squares, but ended the evening with five squares. Some of the dancers were having difficulties, but we enjoyed the evening, as always. Joe's mom runs the check in table. She is so sweet. He still has his iPad set up to show off his new granddaughter.

Tomorrow is moving day. We have to get up early to have the rig at Bert Ogden's by 10:00 a.m.

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Making Progress

We're making progress. Today we worked on some of our preparations to take the rig to Bert Ogden this Thursday. Ken put air in the truck tires. That involves crawling on the ground, so he will do the Majestic tires tomorrow so as not to stress his back too much. I worked on organizing the boxes in the cargo area.

We're also making progress in learning C-2, but it's the two steps forward, one step back variety. Dave Heffron isn't in the Valley this week, so Darryl called the C-2 workshop/dance tonight. We had four squares exactly, which worked out well. Hardy and Judy and John and Sandy showed up to support us, along with other C-2 dancers. We'll be joining them soon at workshops and dances. That sounds both exciting and terrifying. Read more!

Off to Costco

We cleaned up the patio this morning and had another walk-thru practice session with our friends. Our angels, John and Sandy and Hardy and Judy, patiently helped us with some of the more recent and problematic calls (like the Cross and Wheel family). Thanks to all for the help.

At noon we met Judy and Sandy at Costco. Judy used her card to get us in and included our order with hers. I'm always happy to get to Costco, especially since they carry La Brea Wholegrain bread, our favorite. We also use the Kirkland enteric coated fish oil capsules. Costco carries several other products we really like and at good prices.

After Costco, we went to Tropic Valley Acres for Darryl's dance. We had time to eat our pb&j's and bananas for lunch before the dance started. We had nine squares. Darryl spent a fair amount of time workshopping various counter rotates. The floor seemed to have the most trouble with quarter tag and three quarter tag formations.

It was warm and humid today. It actually showered a couple of times this morning, leading to puddles on the patio. Read more!

King Ranch

Our friend Jan organized a trip to visit the King Ranch and King Ranch Museum in Kingsville, TX. That's about 120 miles from Mission and just south of Corpus Christi. Over the years I've heard a lot about the legendary King Ranch, but I really didn't know much about it.

We started our Sunday as usual at breakfast with friends, but this time we were joined by some extras: John and Sandy and Jim and Pat and Hal and Dorothy. They joined Hardy and Judy, Jean, Steve and Sandy, and us on the trip to Kingsville. Our group of 15 carpooled and arrived at the King Ranch Visitor Center in plenty of time for our 12:30 p.m. tour. We were on a tour bus that held 25 passengers, so our group took up most of the bus. Our tour guide, Miguel, was an interesting character and kept up a lively stream of information and anecdotes.

We learned a lot about the history of the ranch and got to see some of the cattle, horses, birds, and other wildlife. The ranch keeps a few longhorns as exhibits, but actually raises Santa Gertrudis cattle, a breed developed on the ranch. The ranch also profits from royalties on the King Ranch Ford pickups, sales of pecans and grains they raise, the sale of thoroughbred horses, and mineral leases. Their brand is the famous running W.

After the tour we went to the museum in town. The museum is rather small but did include a few highlights, like the customized 1949 Buick hunting car with built in rifle holders and lots of saddles from around the world.

By the time we left the museum, everyone was hungry. Our first choices of restaurants were closed, so we ended up at the Sirloin Stockade, a small buffet restaurant. After the meal, Jan and Steve brought out an anniversary cake to celebrate Hal and Dorothy's 52nd anniversary, and Sandy presented a card she had designed that all of us had signed.

When we got home, Jean joined Ken and me for a walk around the park. We stopped at the park library, where Jean found several Stuart Woods books to borrow.

Chris is in Chicago on a business trip. He had his laptop and iPad stolen from his hotel room at the Hyatt. You would think the Hyatt would have better security than that. Read more!

C-2 and Work

We had another C-2 class with Darryl today. He announced that next week's class will be the last Saturday class. Then we'll be on our own. No, just kidding! After that we will be encouraged to attend Darryl's regular C-2 workshop on Monday evenings and his C-2 dance on Friday afternoons. During the workshop on Mondays he will work on the calls we haven't learned yet, saying that all the C-2 dancers will benefit from some practice with these calls/concepts.



After class we came home and went to work. Ken cleaned the rest of the dead limbs and leaves out of the pruned trees. We washed down the buildings and used the pressure washer to clean some of the concrete. I cleaned out the cargo bay and started to reorganize it. Whew! Still more to do, but we've made progress. Read more!

Day Off

No dancing on Friday, so we hung out in the sun and did some shopping. We went to two Academy Sports stores looking for clearance buys. Yesterday Jean was wearing a new Columbia shirt of the kind I really like and said she found it at Academy on a great clearance sale. Unfortunately we didn't find anything that suited us. I asked about mosquito head nets too--no joy, so I'll have to do some more online research I guess.

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