Adios Amigos

I don't have a lot of news but I have some pictures to share. So I thought I'd "blog" again.

Jay took his truck to the dealership and now has a new water pump. Ted went to lunch with the McAllen newspaper folks and I stayed behind while everyone was gone. I'm so enjoying the butterflies and hummingbirds. In the afternoon we took a walk across the bridge into Mexico. We didn't go far or stay long but had no problems.

This morning Ted, Susan and I went to the Butterfly Farm where we saw more butterflies and enjoyed the birds at the feeding station. Then we made plans to stay here until Sunday before heading to San Antonio for two nights. Ted will shoot on Monday. We tossed around many different plans and finally decided on that. Mike and Patrice stopped by this morning. They arrived last night and are taking delivery of a new Bighorn trailer today.

Our friends are taking off tomorrow. Susan and Tommy are heading home instead of Rayford to handle a family situation. Jay and Stella are going to Palacios to attend her high school reunion this weekend and will move on to Rayford at the beginning of the week. We'll see them all again soon.

Here are a few pictures that Tommy cropped and worked with the color and sharpness. I wish I had his knowledge and equipment! He was fussing because some pictures were not as crisp as they should be. I told him trying to catch a butterfly or bird sitting still isn't easy.

If you look closely you can see the grackle has the green jay by the tail.


Here is a nice picture of a green jay. They are very common in this area.


This is a better picture of one of the hummingbirds that are frequenting our feeder.


And this is my favorite. The butterfly is looking right at me. You can see his/her antennae and legs.



We'll be here alone after tomorrow morning. A handful of RVs have arrived since it is 10/1 so we're not all alone. We have spent lots of time in San Antonio, most recently over Labor Day, so I'd rather stay here for the weekend.

Maybe the frost is on the pumpkin where you are!

How Green Is My Valley

Since we are three of only four rigs in the park we've taken over the thatched pavilion in the center of the sites which form a big circle. We just leave our chairs out there. We've also taken over a site between us for our table for eating. There's also a spot to park the truck. In a few weeks this whole park will be filled but for right now it is all ours.



A cool front came through and the weather has been glorious. It's such a pretty time of year here. The butterflies and hummingbirds are flitting all over the place. I spent two days trying to get a good picture of a butterfly and this is the one I chose to keep. Tommy is helping me with my camera, resolution, size, etc.


We learned that Tommy played the photographer at the wedding in Urban Cowboy. He was called as an extra but since he spoke some lines he had to join the Actor's Guild and still receives residuals though they keep getting smaller he said. Now I have to rent it to just watch for him!

The hummingbirds are constantly around the feeder but between the glass, the sun and their speed, getting a good picture is hard. Here is one of the lovely flowers growing on a bush outside.




Sunday we enjoyed cinnamon rolls I made with our coffee out in the pavilion. At noon everyone went to watch Dallas vs. Houston and Susan and I took a ride along the levy. We passed the Border Patrol several times, saw the damage at Pepe's from the flood and viewed the river from several spots. During the night we hear helicopters patrolling the Rio Grande River that runs right behind the levy that protects this area. There has been no trouble around here but the border is porous and Mexicans continue to come anyway they can.

At 7:30 on Monday Nick arrived to start washing and waxing the rigs. It took him and two helpers over 10 hours to do all three. Nick has done ours each year since we've had one. Since we were hanging around the park anyway and it was Ted's birthday, I cooked dinner for all of us. It turned out pretty good and they especially liked my yeast rolls. I said I would make them again on the night Stella cooks dinner.

Yesterday we went to the ropa usada and ropa nuevo stores. The usada stores are used clothing in a heap. People climb all over it looking for good items, mostly for resale. Items are sold for 30 cents a pound. The nuevo stores are new clothes from overruns, distressed jobbers, clearances, etc. and are on racks on hangers. We all found something to buy but just seeing the usada stores is quite an experience.

This morning Jay is taking his truck in because something was leaking last night. Ted has lunch with the McAllen newspaper guys so we won't be doing much until this afternoon.

He has also decided to take me and the RV home on Friday and then drive to San Antonio on Sunday. He isn't shooting until Monday and doesn't want me to sit around for days waiting for him when I have so much to do at home. Either way is OK by me since he does the driving and I'm just along for the ride.

I'm watching the butterflies and hummingbirds out my window. It is all so beautiful right now in this park. Good weather is forecast for the rest of our time here.

One Easy Travel Day, Not So Good The Next

We left on time Thursday morning, making our way to Victoria. We talked to Tommy and they were about an hour in front of us. As we passed the exit where Buckee's Truck Stop is, I spotted their motorhome and tow car and voila we were traveling together. We pulled into Lazy Longhorn together, got set up and then went out for dinner.

Friday morning Ted got up first and as soon as he hit the carpet outside the bathroom door he was standing on very wet carpet. Apparently the water kept trickling into the toilet, filled the bowl and very slowly overflowed all night. I immediately threw the throw rug into the shower and used about a dozen bath towels to soak up as much as I could. In the process I jammed my little toe and you know how that hurts!

There wasn't much else to do so we closed up and got on the road. We made a stop so Tommy and Susan's dogs could go out. I knocked on their door and because their motor was running, when he opened the door the steps came out and scraped the top of my foot before I could jump out of the way. We arrived at Bentsen Palms and learned we were going to be the only people in the park. How neat! We got set up and within the hour Jay and Stella arrived.

We have a built in surge protector on our trailer and the electric would not come on - it said low voltage. So Ted had to find Don who came to put in a new breaker. Then he trimmed some branches so they wouldn't hit our slides and he lent us a Shop Vac that we used on the carpet between the bathroom door and my closet door. I set our tower fan on the first step to blow across the carpet to finish off the drying.

As soon as we had all that under control we headed to the laundry to wash the rugs and towels I had used on the floor. I have to put A&D ointment on my eyebrows for a few days. With all the perspiration waiting for the A/C, it got into my eye and burned like the dickens. I had to wash my eye repeatedly in the laundry room sink. While there it rained so hard the connections of the tin roof started leaking. We were using a rag we found to keep wiping up the floor in the laundry room. We got drenched making our way back with the clean laundry.

Susan was going to cook but asked if we minded going out because she was tired. So we went to Furr's Buffet one of the restaurants we frequent down here. My only problem is that every time I go they never have coconut cream pie! While I was still eating my salad, Jay put down a piece of coconut cream pie and told me to remember My Daddy loves me. I so appreciated that little ray of sunshine in a rather trying day!

I slept really good, my toe and foot are OK, my eye stopped burning, the toilet has been fine ever since so today started out much better. We went to Gonzales Burgers for the best $3.95 burger you'll ever find. Stella and I split one because they are so big. Then we went to the Don-Wes flea market. Things are just gearing up so there wasn't much going on but Stella found a lady with three dogs for sale. One looks much like their departed Ralphie and in no time we had another passenger in our truck. We had to stop to buy a collar, leash and bed before coming home. He is doing real well and their female dog is doing well with her new little brother.

Ted and I went to church at 4:00. This is the church we always attend and there were a couple dogs present. Fr. Roy had his knees replaced and has to sit throughout Mass. He moved through the prayers rather quickly and we were out well before 5:00. When we got back, Tommy grilled steaks and Susan made potatoes, beans and garlic bread. We had birthday cake and ice cream for dessert since Ted, Susan and I are all celebrating our birthdays over the next week.

Once it got dark we all headed to our own rigs. I'm not sure what we're doing tomorrow. So many of the things we wanted to show Tommy & Susan are under water due to 20 inches of rain recently. No Pepe's on the River (it is now IN the river), no Riverside Club boat ride, no visit to the state park. I bet the hand pulled ferry isn't running either. We'll figure out other things to do and if not, we'll sit and visit with our very good friends.

About to Hit the Road Again

Chris is in his glory, because we're taking off again for two weeks. I hope he doesn't ever decide to get his own place due to enjoying his time here while we're gone!

Last Saturday after church we went to Chili's with Terry & Carol then spent Sunday doing nothing. I cleaned out all my files (where do people who full time in an RV put their paperwork?) and Ted watched football. I made a roast for dinner and we didn't leave the house all day.

Monday was our CWJF Provisional Project Day. Jacque picked me up, then we picked up Marika and made our way to the Junior Forum office. We had a meeting, packed up the bags for the Women's Shelter then we all went to lunch. I hadn't had Mexican since our Yucatan trip so it tasted darn good.

Dancing with the Stars AND Survivor are now on, soon to be joined by Amazing Race. For me it doesn't get any better than this. I can't explain why I enjoy most of the reality shows but with the Amazing Race it is seeing all the wonderful places in the world they travel to. I would have to stop to take pictures. I'd never win!

Yesterday Michele and I met Ann for breakfast then Michele and I went to a salon where I had my eyebrows done permanently. They look good and will be always ready so I'll save time and they'll be even!! That was not an easy feat for me. I found out one of the muscles in my forehead is stronger than the other so depending on how much that relaxed, my eyebrows would move. Oh brother. Anyway I'm pleased with them and will go back in a month to see if I need a touch up. They should be good to go for 5 years or more. I can hear my grandkids now "My Grandma got a tattoo ... two of 'em." LOL

Another Canasta group is starting and we met for the first time today. We had lots of beginners so we played more in a teaching mode. I knew about half the ladies and met several new ones. I love expanding the group of people I socialize with. Junior Forum is doing just that for me too and I'm enjoying it immensely.

We have the food out in the RV and most of our clothes. We want to be on the road between 9 and 10. We're stopping in Victoria where we'll meet Susan and Tommy. I'm sure we'll go out for dinner. Then Friday we all roll into Mission meeting up with Jay and Stella. We're staying a week. Next Friday we're all going in different directions. We head to San Antonio for the World Shoot.

It's officially fall and I hope your pumpkins, witches and ghosts are all ready for the season. Talk to you in October if not before.

A Four Legged Visitor

We picked up the RV Monday morning. The new 16 foot wheel fender is a shade darker than the rest due to sun fading. That probably explains the tire failure since the trailer was in CA, NV and AZ before we bought it. I'm sure they weren't taken care of by covering while sitting or being properly inflated at all travel times. But we have the new H tires and I hope and pray that takes care of this problem. We sent all the bills off to Goodyear.

I made it to Canasta with time to spare since Gerry got lost. I was smack dab in the middle on score so I didn't win. It's only $1 to play so you don't win much.

Tuesday Ted left for Florida. He flew to Orlando, spent the night with Kristin and took her to dinner, then traveled to The Villages the next day. I was taking care of my new medical and drug insurance to go with my Medicare and it takes some wading through stuff to get it all in place.

Before Ted returned I kept a beauty shop appointment (it didn't work!) and then met Teri for lunch. It was her thank you for bringing the goetta from Cincinnati. I introduced her to a nice restaurant out by us that she had never been to. It's nice to go somewhere besides a chain on occasion. I bought some new shoes and a scarecrow for my front porch planter. All my fall outdoor decorations are in place. It was Girls' Happy Hour at the country club so I went and had a glass of wine before coming home to see the start of "Survivor." I'm so excited all my reality shows are starting up. When Ted ordered the DVR on cable I fussed about the added monthly expense but now I love it.

While at Boerne I invited LeAnne and Jim to stay the night with us before a 6 a.m. flight since they live hours from the airport. I told them we would care for their dog Zoe too. So Thursday we were expecting them. I had a CWJF dinner and meeting to attend so they said they would come about 7:30. Ted was home and I arrived about 5 minutes after them.

The night was a riot. They went to bed early and we kept Zoe by us. I had set my alarm for 3:15 a.m. and put it in their room. At 12:30 Jim jumped up and said it was 6 o'clock because he read the hands wrong. They went back to sleep and at 2 am the airlines called to tell them their plane was on time. At 4:30 I shot out of bed fearing I had done something wrong with the clock and raced to their room. They were gone and the beds were made. I never did go back to sleep. Zoe slept cuddled next to Ted this whole time.

Zoe is a great dog. No barking, no chewing, I hardly know she is here. I took her for a walk through the neighborhood in the morning and she sleeps in her bed most of the day. Last night was Wind Down. Usually September is a really big crowd but numbers were down this year for some reason. It was a nice time but we came home a bit earlier than usual because of my early rising.

Ted is shooting today and Zoe is waiting for her walk. We have no plans other than church tonight at 5:00. I have a busy M-T-W before our Thursday departure so I have plenty I can do to prepare. Now Gloria is asking when Chris (her son) is coming back to stay. I'm not sure who enjoys this arrangement more - us, him or her.

Fun Weekend After All

With no plans in place, our weekend still turned out pretty nice. Rebecca came as scheduled on Friday and the house is in good shape. I did all the laundry and ironing. The yard men did their thing outside. I even put the fall wreath on the door despite the 97 degrees. We are poised to be "caught up" at home.

Ted went shooting Friday and Saturday in Conroe to practice for the Best of Texas tournament at the Houston Gun Club on Sunday. I had written SueAnne about attending the Stampin' Up open house that we try to attend every year but I had not heard from her. I was delighted to find an e-mail Saturday morning saying she was free after all and could go. I needed to meet Linda who has agreed to do the class at the HitchHiker rally so we made plans to meet up. SueAnne was stopping by her mother's close to where I needed to run an errand so we met and rode together in her car.

I asked Chris to point out Linda and I introduced myself. She told me of her plans for the class during the rally and I'm confident it will be a big hit. SueAnne and I inspected the new techniques and supplies before sitting down to make our two greeting cards. We were wondering about Mary who we normally see here and she walked in! She does social work and was not in the greatest mood but by the time we closed up the place, she was all smiles. I won a door prize again this year. SueAnne and I went to lunch afterwards and continued to catch up. By 4:00 o'clock I told her I had to get home because we were going to church at 5:00.

We were scheduled to play Canasta on Saturday so after church we stopped at Chick Filet before heading to Wayne and Pam's. She had so much food we didn't need to stop to eat beforehand. I remembered to take the goetta I had purchased in Cincinnati for Susan and Teri. They were both so excited and everyone else just didn't understand it. It's a Cincinnati German breakfast food not available anywhere else but Cincinnati that we can find ... not even in Germany!

It was a fun night and I won our $10 back by losing. I had the lowest score. We play four games, all with different partners. Two of the games my partner and I failed to complete a wild card Canasta so we lost 1000 points. Doing that two out of four times will kill your score. It was almost midnight when we got home. That's a late night for us anymore.

Ted left early Sunday for his shooting tournament and I straightened up, got dressed, had a nice long chat with my friend Jody and then went to get a necklace to go with my new blouse. I also bought supplies for my Junior Forum Project - toiletry bags for the Women's Shelter. I bought four each of toothpaste, deodorant, tampons, combs and shampoo. I already had toothbrushes at home. Each thing I do with Junior Forum is new to me so I follow their instructions to a T. They tell me I'm doing great and I've enjoyed every minute of it so far.

Ted didn't get home until very late because he had to wait for a shoot off. He came in third place. Congratulations Ted!

We are waiting on a call from Thornton's that the RV is ready. I'm playing Canasta at 1 o'clock and Ted leaves on a business trip tomorrow. If we don't get it this morning, it will have to wait until Thursday when he returns. We aren't leaving again until 9/23 and then we'll once again be back playing catch up when we return.

And Hermine Came To Call

We got lots of rain Monday afternoon and evening and on into Tuesday. However, it was nothing out of the ordinary and we did not experience the flooding and tornadoes that hit other parts of Texas. In fact, my yard looks great! Last year we had lots of dead stuff and this year everything is green. Of course we had the front planter redone so it looks extra special to me. Thanks to all of you who contacted us to be sure we were OK.

It was easy to stay in and get caught up with the bad weather and that's just what we did. We are helping the organizers of the HitchHiker Rally get some local information together. The man who has done this for years died recently and his wife and sons are trying to carry on in his absence. When we received our packet it was light on things to do and places to go. So we contacted Sherry and she graciously accepted our offer to help. I've put together a packet of local attractions along with maps on how to get there from the campground. Ted is getting a group together through the Nuwa Owner's Forum to attend the Texas Opry on Saturday night before the rally officially begins on Monday. He also has arranged for Chevy, Ford and Dodge 2011 pick ups to be brought to the campground for viewing on the day of the men's luncheon. I'm trying to get a Stampin' Up distributor to do a class for the ladies too. I don't know how this will all turn out but at least we will have tried as hard as we could.

Today I had to work a Senior Bingo and Luncheon held at Trinity Church. Junior Forum is the most organized group I've ever worked with. Everyone has a job to do and as long as they do it, it runs like clockwork. We had to set up the tables with the things that went on them - decorations, silverware, napkins, name tags, sheets to be filled out, etc. We then offered coffee or orange juice as they arrived, all 114 of them. Then we played bingo and I had to help a lady who didn't hear too well ... and she won the first game! I'm a lucky charm I guess.

After bingo they were entertained by a group of trombone players. They started off with 76 Trombones and then the fight songs of UT, Texas A&M and LSU. I think that covered 99% of the football fans in the room. When they concluded their concert we served lunch of BBQ chicken, cole slaw, chips and a brownie. I've never seen food come out, get distributed and then cleaned up so quickly. They have it down to a fine science.

I left there and went to Pappadeaux's Seafood Restaurant because my neighborhood ladies were having our monthly luncheon there. I told them I was coming but would not be eating. They had ordered but not gotten their food yet so I just had an iced tea and talked to everyone at the one end of the table. Afterwards I did some grocery shopping before coming home.

Tomorrow Rebecca is coming to clean. She is going to earn her keep because it's been a long time since the house has had a thorough cleaning like she gives it. Ted is going to the Visitor's Bureau for brochures to send along with the other stuff for the rally. After we get it all together, he'll take the packet to the post office and send it to HitchHiker International so they can get packets together to bring.

We're playing Canasta Saturday night but have nothing else on the agenda for the weekend. Ted is making a trip to Florida for work next week and we're going to dog sit for Zoe while her Mommy & Daddy are gone. Never a dull moment in our neck of the woods. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our Inaugural Adventure

Our Labor Day trip to Boerne was the first time we pulled the new trailer with the new truck. I'm happy to report it all went well. We left early Thursday and headed the back way to pick up I-10 at Brookshire. We learned Jim and LeAnne were about an hour in front of us but scheduled to make a stop and Tom and Susan were about a half hour in front of us. They said they would hold up at the next rest area where they needed to walk the dogs. So at the Guadalupe Rest Area we all met up and sat around a picnic table for a short while. Then Leo and Shirley pulled in. We were having our own little mini-pre-rally!

We all arrived together at the Alamo Fiesta Park so there was a short back up in the office but eventually everyone made it to their site. For dinner about a dozen of us went to the Hungry Horse. It rained so hard while we were in there that we had to take our shoes off and wade across the street to our vehicles. Other than a storm in the middle of the night, that was all the rain we got. The weather was superb. No oppressive heat during the day and cool, comfortable nights for sitting outside.

On Friday LeAnne, Susan and I were driven by Jim to the PX at Fort Sam Houston. I only bought a few staple things as did Susan. But LeAnne bought a new Coach purse and shoes. We stopped at HEB to order a meat tray for that evenings "Sandwich and Snack" dinner. Most everyone had arrived by dinner and there was a big crowd. I think we had close to 70 rigs with over 150 people. We were able to visit with friends we hadn't seen in some time. The evening's entertainment was Boomer Bingo.


Saturday morning there was a potluck breakfast that we all enjoyed. All the tables were decorated for various rallies we've had in the past. Sandy (Madame Boomer) asked me to decorate for Christmas and Easter which I did. Then my job was to make sure the two tables were cleared and cleaned. I also put all the chairs back properly. With many pitching in, it made the workload less for everyone.

Unfortunately my Canon camera just wasn't working. I had been having trouble and bought a new battery but that didn't fix the problem. So in the afternoon we went to Sam's with Tommy, Bob and Dana. They bought some things but I bought only a new Sony camera that Tommy (the photographer) helped me pick out.

Our dinner Saturday evening was catered with brisket, sausage, beans, potato salad and cole slaw. Dessert was the 10th anniversary cake for all to share.



Our entertainment was a guitar player and a singer. They did lots of nice music that you could dance to but still talk to the people at your table without screaming or going deaf. Ted and I danced several times. I asked him if he remembered his waltz steps but he said he didn't think so. I don't recall a waltz being played so he was safe. I'll have to refresh his memory for our trip to Pepe's On The River in Mission at the end of the month. I can't let Waltz Across Texas go by without dancing to it.

Sunday morning was our zippy omelet breakfast. This sounds weird but it works. We were all given a quart size good quality freezer zip bag and you wrote your name on it. You broke two eggs into that bag and squished them all up. Then you added a tablespoon each of "fixins" to the egg mixture. I just put ham and cheese in mine. Press out the air, zip it up and hand it off to be cooked. Fifteen bags at a time were cooked in boiling water for 15 minutes. When your batch number was called you got your bag with a perfect omelet cooked inside. Eight batches were cooked that morning.

We left to attend church in town. When we returned we rode toward San Antonio to a pewter place that had sent coupons out to the campground. I finally found a soup tureen. I have been looking for two years. They are hard to find and the few I did find were made in China. I refused to buy them. So the trip was productive for me.

Sunday night was our potluck and dessert was a 20 foot banana split. It was actually two ten-foot gutters side by side.


It was all going great until it was time for the whipped cream and things got a little crazy. I just filled my bowl and ran for cover.


Cody was sitting next to me and coaxed Madame Boomer into giving him the whipped cream directly.



We enjoyed one last night sitting outside with everyone. Monday morning dawned very cloudy and people were leaving in droves. We got off about 10 am after making our rounds to say goodbye to those that were staying over or had not left yet. We ran into Ron and Ellen at a rest area and then made it back to the storage area just fine. We stopped to get fuel before coming home and the heavens opened. Even though Ted was under a canopy the wind was blowing so hard he got soaked. We eventually had What A Burgers for dinner to end Summer 2010.

Heading Out Again

The weather has been very hot and humid since we returned so we're spending most time indoors. I unpacked and did laundry on Saturday. Sunday after Mass we had a big breakfast and then late in the afternoon I went to the country club to attend the Newcomers Welcome Tea Social. Being an Activity Chair for bunco and the Continental Breakfast Club, I had to man two different stations. Bunco got about 8 interested members and CBC had a sheet and a half filled. Great turn out! Afterwards Ted came over and we had dinner with Vince and Susan. It was nice to have the time to get caught up. Usually we're in a crowd and it's difficult to have a conversation of any length.

I started getting things together to take to the RV on Monday and stayed close to home. Tuesday I worked a 4-hour shift at Interfaith's Hand Me Up Shop as part of my service hours for Junior Forum. Bending over for four straight hours pulling clothes from bags is hard on the back. It also gave me a headache. Near the end we stopped doing that and started tagging clothes which was a lot easier. Next time I'm signing up for a 2-hour stint.

We took most of our things out to the RV today. The fridge is on so tomorrow we'll put things in before we take off. There will be two catered meals and three group meals so I only need to take the ingredients for my dishes and not a lot else. That eliminates dragging food out and bringing it all back which happens a lot of times. Especially if you end up eating out a lot.

Chris just left his room as is and I shut the door. He'll be back down here tomorrow morning to see us off. I think Gloria and Al are enjoying him being gone but don't tell him that!

Talk to you all next week.

Almost Mexico; Real Mexico

First off, here's the new truck.



We had a decent flight to Cancun but I wish I had taken them up on the offer of First Class at a reasonable price when I had the chance. We were like sardines in the aircraft. It doesn't bother me much but poor Ted is really squished. We waited for Tom & Jeanne at a bar and had two of the most expensive margaritas ever ... about $14 each! They certainly weren't that special but you know how airport prices are.

We made our way via the pre-arranged transportation to the Royal Islander, one of several resorts that belong to the Royal group. It was fabulous. This is the view off our balcony and from the front door. Tom & Jeanne had a king sized bedroom, bathroom, dressing area, walk in closet, kitchen, living room and dining room. We had two queen beds, a bathroom, dressing area, walk in closet and kitchen alcove. We were connected by a door. The entire unit is their time share but it can be rented as two different units if they want to use just one or the other.



We got settled in and later went to Captain's Cove for dinner. There is a shuttle that rides you around the Royal Resorts so you can avail yourselves of all the amenities of all the resorts.




Over the next four days we had coffee on the balcony in the morning, spent time at the pool and just took it easy. One day we rode the shuttle to an upscale shopping center and then walked a little further to another shopping center and had lunch at Chili's. There are very pretty amenities here. We didn't buy anything; in fact, I never bought one thing the whole week.




This is an iguana we passed on the street. They roam freely all over the place.


Tom & Jeanne had a massage on Wednesday and Ted and I did laundry for all of us because we were leaving on an overnight trip to Merida at the northwestern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula. We would be gone from the Royal Islander all day Thursday and Friday with an early Saturday morning departure from Cancun airport for all of us.

If you've been over the TX, AZ or CA borders into Mexico or vacationed in Acapulco, Cozumel or Cancun you know the American influence is strong and you are "almost in Mexico." Our 2-day trip took us into Mexico like none of us had done before.

We rode through small villages that were laced with little more than concrete block shacks here and there, some painted pastel colors. When the doors were open, I could see inside and there was little if any furniture. We were told these people sleep in hammocks hung from hooks on the wall. We stopped at Izamal called the City of Hills and located right in the middle of the Yucatán Peninsula. Izamal may be the oldest city in the Yucatán. It was conquered by the Spaniards, and the monks in their eagerness to convert the Indians to Catholicism gave the city its religious distinction. To this day, Izamal's people are very devoted to the Immaculate Virgin and the church here bears that name.

The most important thing to see here is the Franciscan convent that was built over one of the Mayan pyramids. This is also where Pope John Paul visited in 1993. His visit has been one of Izamal's claims to fame ever since, and is commemorated by a statue of the Pope in the church courtyard.




We traveled on with a stop at a fabric factory and observed mostly young men sewing the colorful clothes on sewing machines. What we have computers do running as many as 20 or 30 machines, these people still do by hand and get paid by the piece.



Our lunch stop was at Hacienda San Pedro Ochil. All I can say about the food we ate over these two days is it was not anything like what Mexican restaurants in the U.S. or even along the Americanized Mexican beaches serve. There was not a fajita, quesidilla, burrito, etc. in site. There were chips and pico de gallo (not salsa), corn tortillas (no flour ones) and lots of banana leaf wraps. I had a chicken leg and thigh, wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked in the ground. It was tasty and tender. This is the chapel; one was always in a hacienda. Ted and I in the courtyard and the open air entrance to the hacienda where the restaurant is located now.




Our next stop was the ruins at Oxmal. Just as we arrived it poured down rain and while we waited under an eave, lightning struck the top of the largest pyramid. When the rain let up we were able to tour some of the area. Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained a lot about the Mayan people and how their culture was almost destroyed by the Spaniards much like Europeans almost destroyed the culture of the American Indian.

Founded in the 6th century AD, Uxmal flourished from 700 AD to 1000 AD, when it was abandoned, leaving ruins covering an area roughly one and a half miles by 600 yards, with a few lesser constructions outside these measurements. Long after it was deserted, people still dimly recalled Uxmal as a place of great pomp and splendor, a walled city and capital of a powerful and interconnected regional state.

The Governor’s Palace, built on a huge stepped platform, was probably the residence of the most important members of the ruling class. It gives the extraordinary visual effect of movement with its rain-god masks jutting from the friezes, and the remarkable filigree formed by over 20,000 mosaics on the façade.

One can also visit the Ball Court where a game was played using the body to get an object through the circle. Feet, hands and head were not permitted.


We checked into a very nice hotel in Merida and walked to a local restaurant for another meal that I can only describe as Mexican peasant. I'm not sure what I ate but it had shredded turkey and was very dry. I added pico de gallo but that didn't make it a whole lot better.

After a good night's rest we were off to explore the city of Merida (pronounced Mare-a-duh). We stopped at the home of the founder of the city, built in 1500s and at the cathedral built about the same time. In contrast, we rode down the boulevard where very beautiful homes are mostly businesses today.




I took a picture of Tom and Jeanne at The Monument of the Flag. On the other side of the circle is the symbol of the eagle standing on a cactus with a snake in its beak as it appears on the Mexican Flag.




We had lunch at a dance hall of sorts where a band is always playing and there are singers too. It's what we would encounter on a Friday or Saturday night in a local pub but not in the middle of the day. We were told this was to be a buffet but it was more family style of lots and lots of small dishes of stuff that we didn't recognize. We all put some of it together to fill a tortilla. Just so you know I'm not making this stuff up, dessert was carrot sticks, jicama sticks and orange slices sprinkled with chili powder. Imagine our surprise when we thought it was cinnamon!

After a 3.5 hour ride back to Cancun, we opted to eat a HAMBURGER and FRENCH FRIES at a restaurant in the resort. When we took the elevator back up to the room, a fellow said they were going to release the baby turtles into the ocean at 8:00. All week I had seen turtle tracks where overnight turtles had come out of the ocean, dug holes and deposited eggs but I never saw one.

I went down to watch and was told they dig up the eggs each morning and re-deposit them away from the crowds. They are marked with the date they are laid, the mother's size and how many eggs. There are hundreds of them. When they hatch they release them back into the water. They had almost 300 to release. I was able to hold one and I got a picture but you weren't allowed to use a flash so it is done with artificial light. It was the next best thing to seeing the mother lay the eggs.


We were up before 4:00 am for our ride to the airport for a 7 a.m. flight. This time I paid the upgrade fee and we flew first class. We had a great ride home with no wait at Immigration or Customs and were home a little after 10 a.m.

Next trip - Boerne, TX for the Texas Boomers 10th Anniversary Labor Day Rally. Talk to you then!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can

I've switched children's books to The Little Engine That Could. We have had to set the alarm all week for 7 a.m. to accomplish everything we needed to get done before we leave tomorrow morning. I saw Chris watering his folks' lawn and when I asked if he was ready to come back he said he certainly was. I'm just as ready to get on that plane to Cancun.

I was dealing with things at home like the plumber who installed a new thermocoupler on our hot water heater; it took two electricians 1.5 hours to determine a lightening strike across the street knocked out a circuit breaker and they fixed it, our cable was restored to what I wanted, the pest control fellow came back to do the inside plus I had to work at a NAM (Northeast Assistance Ministry) back to school shot blitz clinic one day, deliver Meals on Wheels one day and attend a Junior Forum meeting today.

In the midst of all of this, Ted bought a new truck - 2010 Champagne colored F350 Super Duty diesel dually. I drove it home from Ted's brother's house. It has such power that I was doing 60 without realizing it. I immediately slowed down. Ted also had the hitch moved and the plug put in. Then he sold our old tires and wheels and delivered them to Conroe. Lots of running around.

I canceled the old toll road EZ Tag and ordered a new one for the new truck, changed the insurance from the old truck to the new one. In the meantime, Ted made an overnight trip to Austin for work.

We'll be gone a week and I have no idea if I'll have access to a computer so just think of me on the white sand or in the turquoise water. If anything breaks, I'm calling the front desk.

Fortunately, Unfortunately

I feel like I'm starring in the book "Fortunately, Unfortunately" that Kristin wrote in grade school. It mentioned something good that happened and then something bad.

We got the new tire put on the RV and put it away. That was good. Also Gwen did not charge us a late check out fee for hanging around until 3 pm on Thursday. The day before Ted had rolled onto his cell phone in his pants pocket while under the RV. It broke in half so we had to go to Verizon and get a new one. His glass lens all of a sudden came out of his glasses so it was off to Wal-Mart to get that fixed.

Things were good at home and I started in on all the mail that had accumulated. Most of it goes into the trash but there were some things to tend to. My license plate is up for renewal, I had a sympathy card to send as well as two packages needed to go to the post office. I did all the laundry and packed for Mexico as I got it finished. I was feeling pretty good by Friday evening.

Saturday we tied up loose ends around the house then went to church at 5 o'clock with Terry & Carol. Kathy brought my new Junior Forum uniform shirts and one of them has a big stain on it. We all went out to eat and they came back for a little while afterwards. We had a couple things to give them that I had forgotten to take with me to church. That night I sent an e-mail to the lady about my stained uniform shirt.

I decided Sunday to call Comcast and get the cable boosted back up to its normal level. I had them set it back to basic while we were gone. Sounds simple, right? I told them we wanted the three local channels and Fox News. Beyond that I didn't much care what the line-up was. After three hours and three different customer service reps I had over 600 channels, free HBO and NO Fox News. Someone is coming out Wednesday to take a look.

The uniform lady wrote that she would get my shirt replaced and I didn't need to bring it back. So I decided to wash it. The Shout lightened it but it didn't come out. It said no chlorine bleach but I took a white cloth, wet it, dipped it in bleach and dabbed gently. I think I got it out!!

This morning while shaving Ted said the water was only warm and not hot. So I went up into the attic and the pilot light was out on the hot water heater. Ted went up to light it but it wouldn't stay lit. We have no idea when it went out. It's been so hot out that the water was pleasant for showers. The plumber is coming tomorrow.

Ted received a call from Planet Ford and the truck they called him about in May when we had already traveled to Arkansas was still available and they were ready to deal. He left to go down there. I had to wait for Rose to come pick up some deviled eggs I made for a funeral at church. I can't help tomorrow because I'm working at an immunization clinic doing a shot blitz getting kids ready for school. A storm blew up and lightning hit our neighbor's tree across the street and knocked a breaker out that covers our garage, hobby room and laundry. The electrician came right away.

Planet Ford was not ready to deal and Ted came home empty handed. I told him maybe with all that is going wrong, today was not a good day to buy a new truck.

The new H tires did arrive at Thornton's in Magnolia so Ted drove the trailer out so they can put them on. He asked Terry to ride with him tomorrow to pick it back up. He can do everything himself except back it in to our spot. He can't tell exactly when he is at the line to stop. So Terry will do my job and signal when he is at the yellow line. The new parts won't be in from NuWa for at least 10 days so we'll take the RV to Boerne with a cracked fender panel and get it fixed afterwards.

Ted has to wait tomorrow for the plumber to fix the hot water heater and then he is leaving for Austin. I'm hanging around Wednesday for the cable guy. Thursday I'm helping Judy deliver Meals on Wheels. There is a big meeting for Junior Forum on Friday and we leave Saturday at noon for Cancun.

Don't ever say things couldn't be worse. They certainly can. Now if I can just keep the locusts from destroying the crops I think things will be OK.

All's Well That Didn't End Well

We left Burleson close to 1:00 and made our way to Madisonville for one more stop at a dealer. From there we continued south on I-45. At Exit 116 in Huntsville KAPOW, a blow out on the trailer. This is our third one with Goodyear G614 tires. When this happens the wheel well fender gets torn up and has to be replaced.

As fate would have it we were stuck on the x-way in front of a Pilot Truck Stop and across the highway from a Shell Truck Stop but Good Sam sent a wrecker from Centerville, some 50 miles away. Thank goodness we could go into Wendy's at the Pilot to get out of the 104 degree heat. After an hour, the spare was on the trailer and we continued the remaining 40 miles to Rayford.

When I went inside the trailer I could smell burned rubber. Ted looked under the trailer and there was shaved rubber everywhere. The bracket that held the mudflap must have been bent, gouged the spare on the inside removing the edge of the tire an inch wide and an inch deep. How we made it home is beyond me. The bracket and mud flap were both missing at this point.

It took some phone calls, e-mails, advice, etc. to decide what to do. We couldn't go anywhere on that tire and now had no spare. In the end we ordered a new tire from Goodyear that didn't arrive until 1:30 on Thursday afternoon. Ted picked it up and Milstead came to put it on so we could put the trailer away. The guy said he had never seen such a thing.

In the meantime Ted has ordered four new H rated tires and new wheels (these tires are bigger). They will be delivered to Thornton RV Repair on Monday. We'll take the trailer out there for Elmer to put them on. At the same time he'll assess what he needs from Nu-Wa to repair the fender damage and whatever else he finds underneath.

Ted has a claim once again with Goodyear. The first time we had a blow out they gave us a new tire and paid to have the trailer fixed. The second time they gave us all new tires and paid to have the trailer fixed. I know they will pay for the new tire we bought that we'll keep as a spare since everyone said that would work OK in an emergency with the new H tires but I'm not sure if they'll give us anything back on the new H tires ($2250 for tires and wheels). They'll pay to get the trailer fixed too.

Ted is now having conversations with the engineers at Nu-Wa on their recommended tire pressure. He feels they post too high a psi for the heat in the summertime. His friend Greg from Haulin' HitchHikers has the same trailer and now has H rated tires so they are putting their heads together on the best psi, especially in summer.

Ted was complaining to Elmer at Thornton about the Goodyear tires. They have stood behind them every time but this is getting old. Elmer said it's not just Goodyear. He said he sees every tire manufacturer and every type of RV rig in his shop with the same thing. He said it happens to all of them and he hasn't seen anymore Goodyear than any other kind. I guess it's just a hazard of the road.

So with everything under control we went to Mario's for dinner. They have long brass handles on their door. One was wrapped with a rag so you could open the door. Of course Ted had to touch the other handle and found out quickly why the rag was on the other one. We both had not one, but two, frozen margaritas before dinner. We earned them!

My 400th Post!

My niece Jill keeps track of her posts and told me where to look. So I'm celebrating this one.

We were delayed leaving Guthrie because Ted found a sheet metal screw in the truck tire. I'm sure we picked it up at Nu-Wa's service bay. So he unhitched and went in to get it fixed. Then we moved on to Thackerville on the OK/TX border to Winstar Casino. They've put in an awesome campground with huge sites. There's no shade yet but everything else is terrific. AND ... we got our night free because they found me in their computer. We were both given new cards to use in the casino.

We had to drive into Gainesville, TX to go to church. Then we ate dinner at Toby Keith's Grill in the casino. Afterwards we played for a couple hours and left with $20 extra so it was a profitable day and night.

Sunday we moved to Burleson then spent three hours at Sam's getting two new tires put on the truck. Ted found small slits on the outside of the tires and he isn't one to chance anything with tires. They prorated the tires and gave us $70 and $80 off the new tires. We came home and jumped in the pool. It wasn't very refreshing because the water was in the 90s.

Ted drove to Plano to Dow Jones for a meeting on Monday. I went to get my nails done and he found a truck at a dealership. It was black and had been stolen off the lot and then found. The bed was beat all to h*ll. Ted really doesn't want black and who knows what else they damaged while driving so we decided not to get it even though there was probably a big bargain to be had.

Ted is at the Fort Worth paper this morning and I'm battening down the hatches. We'll leave when he returns. I think there's a stop at another dealership on the way home. I'm getting used to this. We've stopped in dealerships from Texas to Michigan and now back. Then we're going into Rayford to empty and clean the trailer before we put it away.

Chris is going to lose his happy home for about 10 days until we leave for Cancun. Then he is coming back. He sort of has his own guest room and leaves his clothes so he can go back and forth between his parents and our house with great ease. We're glad to have him as a housesitter.

Next stop home!

Still Love Nu-Wa, Manufacturer of HitchHiker

Don't miss my post previous to this one on Kansas City. If it is not visible, click Older Post at the bottom. This post will be of most interest to our RVing friends but read along anyway if you want. We arrived in Chanute early enough to take the RV to the factory for a couple hours on Thursday which shortened our time on Friday. We spent the night in the Santa Fe park about a half mile from there for free. Two nights free, $10 a night after that for up to 15 days. It's usually filled with Nu-Wa products but anyone can use it.

We were back at the factory at 7 a.m. Once unhitched we went to do our laundry then returned to the Customer Service Lounge where we met Mike Mitchell who is the owner of Nu-Wa. Ted has corresponded with him on the Owners Forum but this was his first time to meet him in person. Such a nice fellow. He said he would see us at the rally in October.

At 10:30 our rig was ready. When Ted asked for the bill he was told it was all done under warranty because we hadn't owned the rig for a year. It was never titled to anyone but the Vacation Station dealer who ordered it, but it is two years old. Needless to say we were once again impressed with the service Nu-Wa provides.

We had a list of about 15 items. A few were just us needing to understand the bells and whistles, others were minor cosmetic things and a couple items were replaced with new components.

We headed out and drove to Guthrie, OK. We're a day ahead of schedule since we didn't need to spend a second night in Chanute so we're moving on to Thackerville on the TX/OK border today and will spend the night at the Winstar Casino campground. They have a promotion this summer - first night free with your gambling card. We just have to find our card among the MANY we have from all our travels. We'll do church at 4:00, have dinner and MAYBE give back the money we don't spend on our camping fee.

I've been keeping track this year again and we came in at a little over $24 on average for nightly camping fees. This hasn't changed since we started being gone all summer five years ago. We could have spent another two weeks in Cincinnati for free (15 days costs the same as one month) and another two days in Lake Linden (5 days costs the same as 7) for a lower average but our schedule didn't permit it. We spent $3.05 for diesel one time in the U.P. of Michigan but other than that it was always under $3.00. We'll be gone 77 days and have gone probably about 5,000 miles. That's way short of the 11,000 miles we did last year! But it's been fun and I'm already looking at our route for next year. If all goes as planned, we're heading to the Pacific Northwest.

Kansas City Here I Come

We drove to Lake Jacoma Campground in Jackson County, Missouri, southwest of Kansas City on Sunday. When I called from Columbia to make a reservation the gal told me Site 30 was available and it’s the best site in the park. She is right! We have a huge, huge “yard” overlooking the lake with big old oak trees providing shade all day. Since we’re here Monday-Thursday the park is sparsely populated. We’ve had deer, raccoons and wild turkeys in our “yard” in the evening. Brian and Lisa came for dinner Sunday and we had a really good visit. We’ve had people for dinner a fair amount this trip.




Monday we drove to the Jesse James Family Farm in Kearney, MO. I learned a lot about the guerilla warfare that went on in Missouri as much as 10 years before the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act opened the territory for settlement. The decision on slavery was left to popular sovereignty. If Kansas became a free state, slavery in Missouri was doomed. Northern Abolitionists attempted to populate the area and control the vote. This brought savage violence to the region. This sign tells a lot about the bitterness and resentment that built up in Jesse James as a youngster. His stepfather survived the hanging.


Later on during Jesse and Frank’s crime spree, Pinkerton Security personnel threw a bomb into the James’ home in the middle of the night. His mother lost half of her arm and his 9 year old half-brother Arthur was killed and neither James son was at home.


This is the original James home and the second picture is a “kit” of two rooms that was added on after Jesse James’ death. He was shot in the back of the head while hanging a picture in his home by acquaintances that he trusted. They thought they would be hailed as heroes but instead within 10 years they were both dead - one from suicide and one was killed by a fellow “who wanted to kill the man who killed Jesse James!” The third picture shows the original logs that are under the renovation done in recent years.




This is a duplicate of Jesse’s original tombstone in the yard. It says he was “murdered by a traitor and coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.” The original was chipped at by souvenir hunters until it is in 3 pieces and is in the museum on site. He was moved to the family plot in Mt. Olivet cemetery to be by his wife, mother, stepfather and half-brother. If you look closely you can see where the A M and S in JAMES have been chipped by souvenir hunters.



On Tuesday we went downtown to the Hallmark Visitors Center. We didn’t know exactly what to expect but ended up very pleased. Hallmark is 100 years old this year. There was a timeline by decade of Hallmark items displayed against a backdrop of world events and social trends including newspaper clippings and period toys. Many Presidential Christmas cards, beginning with Ike in 1953, have been produced by Hallmark and are also displayed.

Mr. J. C. Hall received a Christmas tree from employees for the last 17 years of his life. Each tree has been saved and is on display.



To celebrate their centennial, 250 creative employees accepted the challenge to take a plain white resin crown and decorate it.




And everyone will recognize Maxine!


We saw a movie featuring the creative writers, sculptors, artists, etc. A small area demonstrated die cut, foil imprinting, etc. Hallmark Hall of Fame TV programs and television ads were featured as well. It was all exceptionally well done. We were able to make a couple bows and were given greeting cards and postcards on our departure.

I learned there is still a Hall’s Department store; that the name Hallmark was adopted to include Mr. Hall’s name and the word “mark” as used by silversmiths to mark their work; wrapping paper was “discovered” when the Hall’s store ran out of plain brown wrapping paper and they used the printed sheets normally cut up to line the inside of greeting card envelopes. Also, Winston Churchill was an artist and several of his paintings have been used on Hallmark cards. An original given to Mr. Hall by Mr. Churchill hung in Hall’s office above the mantel and is on display in the Visitor’s Center.

From there we went to the Money Museum in the Federal Reserve Bank. We had to give them our driver’s license and walk through a metal detector. We watched them count and wrap money to be sent to the vault. Robotic fork trucks move the pallets of money. Ted took this picture of $101 million. It costs almost $25,000 to produce this many $100 bills.


There was a gallery of presidents displayed with each coin that was used during their administration. There were sets of the state quarters, the presidential quarters and you could buy a Yellowstone National Park quarter. I’m not familiar with that set but perhaps they are being minted now too. We saw a movie on the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank and how it works. There were many displays of money and explanation of the banking system. On our way out we were both given bags of chopped up money that would be worth $165 if not in a zillion pieces!

We are under a heat advisory here in Kansas City and our truck said 106 while we drove back to the campground. We sure are happy we have two air conditions on the new RV. We’ve been comfortable and I’m sure the shade from the trees has certainly helped.

For our last day in Kansas City we chose to visit the Steamboat Arabia. In September 1856, this medium-sized steamboat hit a snag (a tree trunk buried in mud at an angle) about five miles outside Kansas City. She sunk in minutes with 200 tons of frontier supplies in her hold. The only fatality was a mule whose remains are on exhibit.

In 1988, five men located the ship 45 feet under the ground of a farm about a half mile from the river. It had changed course over the years. Buried for 132 years, the excavation uncovered a time capsule of remarkably preserved 1856 items of every description. We had a historic talk first and then saw a movie giving us the background and then the story of the excavation.

This is a picture of the Arabia and the second is a picture of the excavation.




The original paddlewheel with new wooden planks installed.




The Arabia’s anchor.



The boilers that were recovered intact.



The “snag” pulled from the hull. Hitting this caused the sinking.


Tools on display. Most have not changed – saws, hammers, planes, knives, scissors, etc.




Dishes, kitchen gadgets, bottles (some with food that is still preserved), keys




Thimbles, hat pins, perfume, buttons, beads.


Very little gold and jewelry was recovered.




It was mind boggling and our docent was excellent. Her enthusiasm was contagious. We were glad we chose to visit this museum.

We came home to have dinner then took a ride to Panera Bread to check e-mail. I sure like my I-Pod Touch for such situations.

We leave tomorrow for Chanute. We’ll spend Thursday night at the Santa Fe campground in Chanute so we can be at the factory at 7 a.m. Friday morning. We’ll decide about our departure from there once we know the time the RV will be done.