Another Week Gone By

After our "beer tasting" on Sunday, we chose to skip the "wine tasting" on Monday. I don't like beer; Ted doesn't like wine. We only did the beer thing because it preceded the pizza party!

Tuesday was Don and Trudy's annual "Brat and Sauerkraut" party that is held across from us on Dave and Karen's super site. I think 40 couples were invited. Ted helped drag tables, set up chairs and came to get our two vinyl tablecloths. In the meantime I was making German potato salad. To me potato salad is sweet/sour and served warm. Until supermarkets put in deli cases I had no idea potato salad could be cold and made with mayo!

Don and Dave tending the grill.

We sat with two couples, one from Canada and another, Dutch citizens living in Canada. They told us of needing to buy an expensive medical policy to travel outside Canada and it was unbelievable what the Dutch couple had to do to emigrate to Canada and continue to visit the US. I told them they should swim across the Rio Grande like the other 14 million people who are here. It is ludicrous to have some jumping through expensive hoops and waiting to enter and then hang a "get in free card" on our southern border.

Wednesday Ted went shooting and then we went to the premier outlets in Mercedes where I wanted to do some shopping. I found several things and bought a pair of shoes to match one outfit.

Ted had been wanting to stop to visit Bill and Marge since we were over that way. Bill worked at the Thunder Bay mill for Abitibi and we had learned from others what park they were in. We had a great visit and they are supposed to come over this way for lunch and to see our park.

Speaking of which we were all invited to a meeting yesterday and were told the park is going "condo." They expect in five years for it to be all individually owned! Considering there are 17 super sites in Retama next door that are bigger and better, but not sold,  at around the same asking price, tells me that is wishful thinking.

This is a high end park for the valley and the people here did not retire this comfortably by making poor financial choices. Besides the $45,000 asking price there are taxes, condo fees and utilities (they forgot to include insurance). They made the case from an investment standpoint saying you can't get 1% on your money now and then offered to finance at 7.9%. I said at that rate I would lend them money! All of that for a concrete strip!  The super sites with the coach houses are more.

On March 8 we have to make next year's reservation but I don't know what happens if your site gets sold or is needed for their "show and tell" program. There are approximately 30,000 sites here in the valley so I am not going to worry about it. I have the rental info for the Retama sites and we'll see what happens. We like Bill's park but we want to stay in the Mission area because of the skeet and trap club.

As it stands we will only be here one month next year with our second one in Florida because of the wedding. Who knows? Maybe we will like being back in our old stomping grounds!