Days 96 & 97 - Saturday & Sunday, February 14 & 15 - Happy Valentines Day

 Our Valentines Day treat consisted of a trip to Long John Silvers for lunch. The campground had entertainers come in for a Valentines Day show and had a meal catered but at $25/head we thought it was far to expensive. We don't dance and thought the meal probably wouldn't be all that great. 

I did get in a 3 mile bicycle ride around the campground and Kathy spent some time in the Puzzle Room

Today, Sunday, Kathy went to the campground church service and then we drove up to the Cowboy Church for the service. They had extra seating set up so that they could sit 280. My guess is that at least 225 attended the service. Pastor Chris did a good job, like he normally does.

We stopped at McDonalds for lunch on the way home. Once we got home we turned on the NASCAR race. I took a nap and Kathy went over to some function at the clubhouse. Later she sat outside reading and I did a 6 mile ride around the campground.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 94 & 95 - Thursday & Friday, February 12 & 13 - Finally Went for a Motorcycle Ride

 Last Monday I mentioned the quilt ceremony for veterans. I forgot to include photos of the firetruck and flag.

From our coach

From the street when I walked the trash to the dumpster. The radio controlled car race track is in the foreground.

Another photo I forgot to include was of the parking lot during the Wednesday evening potluck dinner.

I finally dusted off my motorcycle and went for a 40 mile ride on Thursday, just wandered around. On the way home I did get on the Interstate for about 5 miles. My little 321cc Yamaha can run 70-75 mph and still have power in reserve. However, running 70 mph on the Interstate isn't fun like running 80 mph was with the 1,000cc Kawasaki Concours I used to have. (It is a LOT more fun riding Missouri's hilly, twisty back roads at 45 mph than doing 70-75 mph, in all the traffic, on the Interstate.)  

Roads/streets here in the big flat Rio Grande Valley are different. There are lots of irrigation canals and not to many bridges over them on county roads.

Today's "excitement" was defrosting the freezer so that we could continue diagnosing the problem with our ice maker. No success today. I think the next step will be to replace the solenoid valve that controls water flow to the ice maker. Actually it was more exciting when we went to Long John Silvers for lunch.

Temperatures were in the mid 80's. Today was pretty windy.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 91, 92 & 93 - Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, February 9, 10 & 11 - Slow Days

 Monday neither of us went to the Information Meeting. Kathy went over for a ceremony were 12 veterans were given quilts made by some of the ladies. She said the quilts were beautiful.

Yesterday Kathy went to the Ladies Bible Study. She said they had a good discussion. We both listened to most of the Jam Session. 

Today I led the Coed Bible Study. Bill, the guy who normally leads, was out of town. He had the lesson planned. He had LOTS of Scripture references so it took some time looking the up and reading them prior to class. We had a good discussion time.

In the afternoon I went to Spanish class. Barb, the teacher, asked if we had watched the Superbowl half time show and, if so, how much were we able to understand. One of the people said she had left it on but had not paid any attention to it. Kathy and I had switched over to the Turning Point halftime and were so disappointed in it that we turned it off. Barb had watched it and said the guys comments were crass and woke. 

I haven't paid any attention to the media coverage of the Superbowl halftime shows but wonder how anyone from Puerto could say anything bad about the US. They don't pay federal income tax nor do they pay excise tax on gasoline. About the only federal "taxes" they pay is payroll deduction for their contributions to Social Security and Medicare. Puerto Ricans pay about $5 billion a year in taxes to the US, almost all of that is into the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. They collect about $30 billion a year in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP, highway funds, grants, etc. That is almost $10,000/ year for every Puerto Rican. In just 2025 the federal government handed them $184 million from our Federal Highway Trust Fund, and they don't pay into it! 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 90 - Sunday, February 8 - No Cowboy Church Today

 We didn't go to the Cowboy Church service today. Kathy led the music for the campground church service. Last Thursday Bill, the fill in speaker while the regular Pastor is filling in at another church, asked me to read a passage of Scripture at this mornings service. With both of us at the campground service, and Kathy needing to stay until the end, we decided not to go up to the Cowboy Church service. 

It was a beautiful day. Spring is here, maybe. Today's high was a sunny 82. We sat outside for several hours. Both of us did some reading and I worked on my Spanish homework. With the nice breeze it was almost to cool setting in the shade, in shorts and a tee shirt. I did manage to get in a 6+ mile bicycle ride around the campground.

We had the TV on during the Superbowl game but weren't glued to the set. While it was on I worked on this weeks Coed Bible Study lesson. Bill normally leads the Study. When home in Albuquerque, NM he does some part time work as a Realtor. He sold a house and has to fly back this week to be there for the closing. He had already put together an outline for the lesson and asked me to lead. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 89 - Saturday, February 7 - Cowboy Church Breakfast

 This morning some folks served biscuits and gravy for another Christmas for the Children fund raiser. Kathy was going to be busy baking pies all day and didn't go help with it. I went over and picked up a 2 Go serving for her before I left.

I went up to the Cowboy Church for Men's Breakfast at the Arena. It was great. It was a little cool, 48 degrees when I first got up, with heavy dew. It was almost perfect weather for an outside breakfast. I think it was probably near the mid 50's when we started eating, a little after 8AM. Around 25 guys attended.

These guys are scrambling eggs and making gravy for the biscuits and gravy. I think someone made the biscuits at home the night before.

This  guy was frying bacon and keeping the tamales warm.

My breakfast. Everything was awesome. 

The arena bleachers made great tables.

A good time was had by all.

Back home we went to Logan's Roadhouse for a late lunch. It wasn't a good experience. 

Around 4PM I helped Kathy transport her 12 pies up to the clubhouse, for another Christmas for the Children fundraiser. I think they charged $3 for a slice of pie and a dip of ice cream. The assorted pieces that came home with us added up to about one pie left.

Today's high was a sunny 82. A modest breeze made it quiet comfortable to sit outside. With all the cooking and sun by mid afternoon it got a little warm in the coach, but not bad enough that we turned on the AC. As I'm writing this, at 10PM, the outside temperature is 62.

A side note. I previously mentioned Merril and Maxine, full time RV'ers who have spent the last18 (I think) winters here at Lakewood, and their truck issues. The rest of the story is, they had major engine work done 3 times between the time they left last spring and their return just after Christmas. The truck went in for the 4th major engine work as soon as they got back. At Meet and Greet I asked Merril if they had their truck back yet. He said it was back and gone in less than a day. They picked it up one day last week and headed to Brownsville. Before they got out of town Merril noticed the smell of diesel. He turned around and went to the Ford dealer. The top of the engine was wet with fuel from a leaking line. They got rid of the truck and now have a Hyundai Palisade. They aren't sure what they are going to do. Right now they plan on leaving their 5th wheel her year round, and this will be their home base. They may buy a small travel trailer and use it to go north during the hottest summer months.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 87 & 88 - Thursday & Friday, February 5 & 6 - Weather Has Improved

Yesterday's high/low was 71/44. The wind was back down to a nice breeze and the day was partly cloudy. Today's high was a mostly sunny 81. The nice breeze made it a great weather day. I rode my bicycle 5 miles doing laps around the campground. There were lots of folks sitting out on their patios, walking dogs, etc.

Yesterday Kathy did some grocery shopping. Today she is baking pies for the next Christmas for the Children fund raiser. I spent 80 minutes at Planet Fitness and then rode my bicycle 3.7 miles in the evening.

Yesterday afternoon was Meet and Greet in the clubhouse. Folks started talking about how long they have been coming to Texas for the winter. Several of the couples have been coming to this campground for 15-20 years. This is our 4th winter here.

I did wash the car this afternoon. 

We are considering, but not to seriously, buying a permanent, "park model" unit. We could come down any time we wanted, and stay as long as we wanted. We could even become Texas residents (in no income tax, no personal property tax, Texas). Driving down here in a car would be easier than in the motorhome. We burn about $900 of diesel for the round trip vs $275 worth of gasoline in the car. The cost of one night in a motel would be partially offset by the cost of at least 2 nights in campgrounds.

We went over to look at a park model unit that is probably going up for sale. The couple who own it are from Nebraska and have been spending the winters down here for almost 20 years. Their health has deteriorated to the point they don't think they will be able to come back next year. It is a functional but OLD, SMALL unit, significantly smaller than our motorhome. We passed on it because it would take way to much work to turn it into something we would find comfortable.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 84,85 & 86 - Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, February 2, 3 & 4 - More Slow Days

 Weather has been cool, for here, and windy. Cool down here means highs in the high 60's and lows in the high 50's. We are looking forward to Saturday(7th)-Friday(13th) when highs are supposed to be in the low 80's. The days are supposed to be sunny or mostly sunny.

Monday I went to the post office over in La Feria and mailed a package, then we went grocery shopping. 

Tuesday, Kathy went to the clubhouse during the Jam Session, and she spent time in the puzzle room. 

Tuesday afternoon was another Christmas for the Children fund raising snack meal, Nachos. Kathy prepared most (all?) of the food.

On Monday and Wednesday I went to the Conversational Spanish class. I'm probably averaging a half hour a day doing "homework" for the class. I doubt that I will ever be able to speak even remotely passable Spanish, and with my poor hearing I don't think I will understand much of what a person who is fluent says. I'm hoping that I will be able to read some of it and write some, by  the time we head back to MO in early April. My old brain just doesn't seem interested in retaining new things.

Kathy said they had some good discussions at her ladies Bible Study yesterday. This morning was our Coed Bible Study. We had some good discussions about the concept of the Trinity. Next weeks discussion topic is going to be Angels & Demons, that should be interesting.

It has been so windy that I haven't ridden my bicycle this week. I spent 50 minutes Monday and 40 minutes today on the campground treadmill. Tuesday I went to Planet Fitness for a 50 minute workout.

BORING!!! But I'm quite content.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 82 & 83 - Saturday & Sunday, January 31 & February 1 - Not Much Happening

 Saturday I rode some laps around the campground, 3.5 miles. Kathy spent time working on a puzzle in the Puzzle Room. Other than than we did some reading.

Sunday Kathy went to church here at the campground and then we both went up to the Cowboy Church for the service there. Attendance was down a little this morning, maybe around 175. Pastor Chris had a good message titled Ride for the Brand. You can watch the service at:

https://www.westernoutreach.org/sermonslive.html

I ask myself, "Do I ride for the brand, or just doing the minimum hoping for a paycheck?"

After church we drove on over to the DonWes flea market in Donna, TX to pick up a bag of grapefruit. We then went over to Moran's, in Donna, for one of their really good pizzas.

Back home I took a nap while Kathy did laundry.

The past couple of days have been cool, highs in the low/mid 60's and lows in the high 30's and low 40's. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you  and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 80 & 81 - Thursday & Friday, January 29 & 30 - Half Way

 This is close to the half way point for our time away from Missouri for the winter. I left Missouri on November 20. We plan on being back in mid April. Time passes quick.

Thursday we did a few housekeeping odds and ends and went to Meet & Greet at 4 PM. We had some good snacks and fellowship. I got to know George better. He and his wife are from Maryland. He has worked in the hospitality area most of his working life. For the past several years he has worked as a manager at a hotel that caters to Maryland tourists. He actually likes doing it. The hotel business is a little slow there this time of year so he is taking a leave of absence so that he and his wife can try RV'ing. They have a travel trailer but the first couple of weeks here they decided they liked being here and bought a park model unit that came up for sale. Lynette, his wife, has some type of Air B n B business. It won't surprise me if she ends up flying back several weeks before he is ready to go back (some time in March). 

My back seems to be back to normal but I'm a little gun shy about doing something that might screw it up again. The weather was nice Thursday, mostly sunny with a high of 78. I got in a 6.5 mile bicycle ride doing laps around the campground. It didn't seem to bother my back.

Today, Friday, we went to Golden Corral for lunch.

My first course. The Timberline Chili was good, but a little different, and not quite as good as Kathy's. The Tamale was good. The roasted jalapeno was not as hot as I expected. Actually everything was good.

Kathy's first course. She said the chicken was great. The beets only so so.

The food is good at this Golden Corral, and the prices are also good. Our bill, early bird senior citizen, was $25.

We also stopped at T Mobile where I activated an old phone I have. After Kathy left to come down here the thermostat for our "new" heating system had to be replaced. My phone was linked to the old one so that I could monitor the house temperature and humidity and change the settings from down here. I can't remotely connect to the new thermostat. I'm going to mail my old phone to Kelsey, our granddaughter. She will go over to the house, link the phone to the thermostat and mail it back to me.

I have a secondary reason for activating the old phone. With the added $25/month line we get an additional 30GB of high speed hot spot data, 90 GB total for our 3 lines. We can stream a lot of TV with 90GB. Campground WiFi would be more expensive. 

Later in the afternoon I went to Planet Fitness for the first time in weeks. 45 minutes on the treadmill and an hour on the resistance machines. Even though I took it easy on my back it was a good workout for me.

Today was a lot cooler. The high was a cloudy, windy 64 degrees, Tonight it is supposed to dip down into the low 40's. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 79 - Wednesday, January 28 - A Busy Day

 This morning at 9 we attended a Coed Bible Study, at the clubhouse. The guy who leads the discussion is a retired Pastor. He is good and so is his wife. There were 7 of us so we were all able to participate in the discussions.

Then it was back to the coach for until noon. At noon I went back to the clubhouse to checkout the Tai Chi class. It was the first one I've every attended. Lots of gentle, but very complex moves (to do it correctly). I think they meet twice a week. I'm not sure if I will try it again.

Then it was back to the coach for a while. I spent about an hour doing "homework" for Spanish Class. I'm plugging along but my old brain, and hard of hearing ears, are telling me it will take a LONG time, if ever, before I get even a rudimentary level of proficiency.

  About 2:30 I decided to ride my bicycle a couple of laps around the campground before the 3 PM class. As I went out the door I noticed the couple in the 5th wheel next to us were working on one of the bedroom slides. He had a 2x4 "post" and hydraulic jack and was jacking up the slide. I stopped to see if I could help and was there for a little over an hour. The good news is that during that time he dismantled the broken slide drive on one side of the slide, replaced the broken parts and reinstalled it. His wife ran it in and back out before I left and it seemed to back working okay. I went over to the clubhouse and sat in for the last few minutes of Spanish Class. 

Kathy spent part of the afternoon over in the kitchen getting ready for tonights potluck dinner. The dinner started at 5:00. About 40 people attended. By a little 6:30 we were back home.

I searched through Amazon Prime, Peacock, Paramont + and Netflix trying to find something to watch. I didn't find anything that looked good. I finally settled for "The Rip", because Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were in it. IMDb rated it 6.8 out of 10, I have  no idea why. If you ignore the incredible level of profanity it might be worth a 4. I don't recommend it. 

The weather was nice. The high was a mostly sunny 71.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 78 - Tuesday, January 27 - Lunch at Roosters

 The overnight low was 32 degrees. The good news is that for the next 10 nights the lows range from 37 to 55, and the highs range from 60 to 74. Six of those 10 days are supposed to be Partly Sunny or Mostly Sunny. Back to normal for the Rio Grande Valley.

At 10:00 Kathy led the Ladies Bible Study, at the clubhouse. I felt a little off all day and didn't do much.

We did get out for a quick trip to Sam's and then to Roosters for lunch.

Kathy said her chicken something was good and that she would order it again. My bistek tacos were OK but I will choose something else the next time we go there. The $5 plate of mushrooms and $1.50 bottle of Coors Light were a great deal. I managed to eat all my tacos and most of the mushrooms, which was not a good thing. I was stuffed.

When we got back home Kathy went over to listen to the Jam Session. I took a long nap.

I've previously mentioned that there is no shortage of activities here. Below is a billboard showing some of the recurring ones.

Not all recurring activities are on the billboard. The conversational Spanish class, which now meets Monday & Wednesday afternoon, is not on it. The Tuesday morning Ladies Bible Study and the Wednesday morning Coed Bible Study is not on it. Monday and Wednesday's Tai Chi is also not on it. Those are only a few of the things not on the billboard.

Days 76 & 77 - Sunday & Monday, January 25 & 26 - Shivering

Kathy got out this morning and went over to campground church. I stayed huddled under my warm blankets 😊 Neither of us felt like going to Cowboy Church today. Sundays' high temperature was a cloudy, damp, windy 44 degrees. In the afternoon Kathy was in the clubhouse kitchen getting Chili and Potato Soup ready for the late afternoon Christmas for the Children fundraiser meal. I finished a little prep work getting ready for the overnight freezing temperatures before going over for supper.

Sunday nights overnight low was 27 degrees, it didn't make it down to the 25 degrees that had been forecast. 

Monday morning Kathy went to the 9:30 Activity Meeting. I stayed in the warm coach. I did manage to get out for the 3:00 Conversational Spanish class at the clubhouse. Around 6:30, while Kathy watched Wheel of Fortune, I went back over to the clubhouse and watched some folks play Euchre. They had 4 tables of 4 playing. After every game partners were switched between tables. Many years ago I played Euchre. I think I will go over next Monday night and see if they have an open seat.

Weatherbug says today's high was 48. It sure never felt that warm. It is only supposed to get down to 30 tonight and then no more below freezing nights in the 10 day forecast.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me. 

Days 74 & 75 - Friday & Saturday, January 23 & 24 -Getting Ready for the Cold

We haven't done a lot the past couple of days. I made trips to Sam's and Walgreens to pick up prescriptions and Kathy went to Walmart to buy a few groceries. Other than that we have stayed home.

Friday I did try polishing the headlight lenses on our coach, using baking soda. I was pleasantly surprised at with the result. They appear to be a lot clearer to me. Very little effort was necessary to get this level of improvement. I don't know how long they will stay this way if I don't put some type of clear finish on them.

Before

After

Friday was warm, but windy. The high was 84. Because of the wind I put in 50 minutes on the campground treadmill rather than riding my bicycle in the wind.

Saturday I went to the morning conversational Spanish class. I still don't think my brain will get me to the point I can speak even passable Spanish, but the class is interesting. One interesting thing is that the lady who teaches it, who is an Anglo. She has lived in the Rio Grande Valley for years. She has two adult sons who grew up down here. They speak fluent Spanish. When she told them she was going to teach a conversational Spanish class they laughed at her, telling her she can't speak Spanish. 

Today wasn't quite as windy. The high was a cloudy 79. I managed a 45 minute bicycle ride around the campground. By the time I finished the bike ride it was quite cool for my shorts and tee shirt. The wind had picked up and the temperature was in the mid 50's. At 11 PM the temperature is down to 42 degrees, on its way to an overnight low of 36, and the wind is blowing at 20 mph, with gusts of 30 mph.

After the bike ride I set up incandescent light bulbs in the wet bay and in the basement where Kathy has some quart jars of tomato juice. The bulbs will come on if the temperature in the basement drops to freezing. I also dumped the wastewater tanks and left the grey water tank valve open. I had previously filled the freshwater tank. Our 35 gallon propane tank is at 50% and we have around 100 gallons of diesel to run the generator. Most of this was just in case Texas has another major power disruption during the winter storm, like they did back in 2021 when 4.5 million homes were without power. I don't expect this storm to cause and major power disruption but taking a few precautions was easy enough to do. The lowest temperatures being forecast for our area are 29 degrees Sunday night and 31 degrees Monday night, Up in Abilene, where there are hundreds of wind turbines, it is supposed to get down to 10 tonight and 8 tomorrow night. This time of year the average temperatures in Abilene area 58/37.

I know some of you folks up north are laughing at me calling these temperatures cold but folks down here in the Rio Grande Valley just aren't used to freezing temperatures. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

 

Days 72 & 73 - Wednesday & Thursday, January 21 & 22 - WE HAVE HOT WATER!!!!

 Wednesday - Steve, from Steve's RV, was here at 9:00 and by 11:30 he and a helper had our new water heater installed, $375. I watched. There was nothing to sophisticated about  the installation, but there is no way I could have crawled in and out of the "basement" as many times as he did, and contorted myself as required to make the water connections. They seemed to work very efficiently. He had all the plumbing parts he needed to make the connections. 

PTL! It was so nice to be taking showers in our shower again. Nothing wrong with the campground showers, just nice not to have to walk 100 yards to go take a shower. 

We then went grocery shopping at Walmart. It was about the least crowded we have seen. After we got back home I regened or water softener. Kathy did multiple loads of laundry.

Kathy spent a lot of time in the campground kitchen getting some type of chicken ready to serve chicken sandwiches before the Kenny Rogers wannabe came for entertainment. He has performed here once a year every year we have been here. He seems to do a good job, although I was never a huge Kenny Rogers fan. I think I heard that 85 people paid $10 to see him. Kathy and the ladies sold 65-70 chicken sandwich meals, so it was a good fund raiser for Christmas for the Children.

Thursday - In the morning I went to Walgreens and Sam's to pick up prescriptions. Kathy did another load of laundry and then spent some time doing odds and ends cleaning up in the campground kitchen. When I got back I worked on a puzzle. After she finished we both spent time working on the puzzle.

I went over before the 4 PM get together for "Meet and Greet" and reserved our spot for 5 months next year, Nov 15- Apr 15. At Meet and Greet we all got the "scoop" about Merrill & Maxine's truck issues. They bought a new Ford Powerstroke, and a 5th wheel RV, in 2017 and started full timing in 2018. They come here for the winter months but spend the rest of the year travelling. When they left last spring they headed for Utah for a family funeral and then planned on heading further north. They didn't make it further north. They had major motor work done three times before they got back here in December. The truck is now back in the shop to get another new motor installed. Maxine told us that the last garage put the wrong Loctite on some fasteners and the current garage said that mistake increased the cost of the current motor replacement by $2,000.

After Meet and Greet we both spent some more time working on the puzzle. We got the "easy" half done but I lose interest when the remainder is all the hard stuff. I went down to the Sweat Shop (the campground fitness room) and spent 50 minutes on the treadmill.

More people are rolling in than are rolling out. The campground isn't nearly at full occupancy but its as full as we have seen it. Thankfully we have one empty site on our left, and good neighbors beyond that, and multiple empty sites on our right. We also have an empty site in front of us so Kathy can keep a better eye on things 😄.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me. 

Day 71 - Tuesday, January 20 - Back to Edinburg

I headed back  to US 281 Truck and Trailer this morning, the repaired levelling jack was in their hands. I arrived there at 8:35 and by 8:45 I was backed up to the garage and they were working on the coach.  They finished around 11:00. I parked out on the road. levelled the coach and had a long lunch, trying to make sure everything was okay. It seems to be.

Steve, the RV repairman, is supposed to be here at 9 tomorrow to install the new water heater. It is amazing that you can order an RV water heater from Amazon one morning and have it delivered to you the next morning.

The 50' roll of slide topper fabric that I ordered is supposed to be here Friday. I think I will talk to Steve to about replacing piece that is ripped, above a 13' slide. Our son Drew and I replaced a similar section on one of the slides on our Dutch Star motorhome when we were parked in his driveway in Oakland in 2012. 

I sat outside for a short while this afternoon. Our neighbors from across the street, the couple from Abilene, were walking by and stopped for a visit. They are an interesting couple.

God it good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 69 & 70 - Sunday & Monday, January 18 & 19 - Cowboy Church & Still No Hot Water

Sunday Kathy went to church at the campground but didn't feel like going up to the Cowboy Church. I didn't go to church at he campground but did go to Cowboy Church. 

When I came in the door I could tell that they were expecting a lot of people. There were 2 rows of folding chairs set up behind the regular chairs, that increases seating up to around 290.

An awards ceremony was the reason for the extra seating, although I think attendance was around 225 a couple of weeks ago. During the years the youth compete in a series of contests. The contests are geared towards "ranch" operations. The youngest age group, the kids in the front row at the left. There age group is split between kids who ride on horses that are led through the events and those who control their horse as they ride through the event.

The whole group of events is called the Buckle Series. The winner of each age category gets a belt buckle. You can see some of them in the photo below. Chris, our Pastor, is the guy on the right, wearing the cowboy hat. Tracy, his wife, is the lady at the right. One of their sons if the tall buy in the back row. One of their daughters is the little girl in the front row.

The couple in this rig pulled in Sunday afternoon. They are from Amarillo, TX. They haul the car and the side by side in the trailer. I wished I would have seen them get in the car and unload it.

Our "neighbors" in the big rigs next to us left Monday. We now again have empty spaces on both sides of us.

This morning I called Steve and told him about our water heater problems. He came over, looked at the situation and confirmed that we need a new water heater. I ordered on from Amazon, it is supposed to be here tomorrow, $700. RV stuff is expensive. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go back to Edinburgh and have the repaired jacks installed. Wednesday Steve is supposed to install the new water heater. I will be happy, Kathy will be even happier to have hot water again.

Weather has been cool for down here. Yesterday the high/low was 64/38, today's were 71/42.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me. 

Days 67 & 68 - Friday & Saturday, January 16 & 17 - Jack Not Fixed

 Friday we hung around US 281 Truck and Trailer until after noon, hoping the repaired solenoid and jack would arrive. The hydraulic repair people kept promising, just not delivering. When we left the latest promise was 3 PM Friday, which didn't leave enough time to do the work. We drove back to Lakewood/Harlingen. I have a 8:30 appointment Tuesday to get the work finished.

This morning I went to my 9:30 conversational Spanish class. Nine people attended. It is supposed to last 30 minutes, but stretched to 45 minutes. When I got home we went to Sam's so Kathy could get some onions and hot dog buns for this afternoons Christmas for the Children meal/fundraiser. She made "chili" for the chili dogs. They started serving at 4 PM, I think they sold around 60 of them.

A couple came in and started providing entertainment around 4:30. They were good. They  played C&W plus oldies, Kathy even enjoyed some of their music. Lots of people dancing to it. Maybe a dozen people out line dancing several times, only one guy in the group. Nine couples out during another song.

Late Thursday evening, after everything was off and I was setting reading, I heard the water pump come on very briefly. It kept doing it every minute or so. I check all the faucets for one that was dripping but all of them seemed OK. Friday morning we turned the pump back as we were making breakfast and it was doing the same thing. I went out and saw that water was dripping (big drip) out of the basement bay next to the water heater. I think the water heater is original. 18 years for a RV water heater is probably a good service life. I was able to shut off a bypass valve, stopping the leak, but no hot water. 

This afternoon I unloaded the basement bay next to the water heater, in hopes that I could replace it. After crawling in the basement and starting the dismantling to get at the water heater connections I realized that there was no way I could contort myself enough to get at the water and electrical connections to remove it. Monday I will call a local RV guy. He replaced one of our AC units several years ago and last year showed me how to get to pump/compressor for our Sleep Number bed.

I took a cold shower last night. It seemed better than walking over to the clubhouse for a shower. Tonight I'm walking to the clubhouse.😊

Weather is cool here today. Yesterday the high was 78, today the high was a cloudy, damp 64. We got a very brief, very light shower this morning; hardly enough to wet the asphalt. It's 58 at 9 PM.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 66 - Thursday, January 15 - Museum of South Texas History

 When we were in Edinburg yesterday we drove by the Museum of South Texas History. It looked interesting so today I went to check it out.  Kathy stayed at the coach, to much  walking for her.

From where we are parked at US 281 Truck and Trailer we get on a frontage road and have to go a couple of miles north before we can cross the highway and head back south. I have no idea what the purpose of all this "digging" is. Note the water in the ditch along the bottom. The "walls" where they are digging are 12-15' tall.

South end of the museum. The building with the windows is the old jail. Note the bumped out "tower" on the right, and the 2nd story window. More on that later.

North end and entry area.

The entry area from the second floor.

The first plaque at the start of the museum. I appreciated their "In the beginning" and reference to the Bible.

The hangman's room on the 2nd floor. The covered over "window" in the far wall is the one I mentioned in the above photo. Because hanging people drew such an unruly crowd this jail was built with a "hanging room." The white on the floor is a metal plate that is hinged. When the hangman tripped the latch the plate drops away and the person drops through the floor, into the 1st floor room below. The first floor room has an exterior double door to ease rolling a coffin through it. 

The museum was a worthwhile stop. I spent about 3 hours touring it.

Then I went over to the World of Chicago and had a Mike Ditka chili dog. It was good, but not great. The onion rings were better.

Hopefully they will get the repairs on our coach finished tomorrow and we can get back to Lakewood/Harlingen.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 65 - Wednesday, January 14 - Off to Edinburg, TX for Repairs

 We left the campground at 6:30 AM, arrived at US 281 Truck & Trailer Repair in Edinburg, TX at 7:20 AM. They are working on our two faulty levelling jacks. Mid afternoon they sent them off to a hydraulic place for repairs. The repairs won't be done until late tomorrow afternoon. Current plans are to stay here, parked on the road/street, for two nights.

We arrived at sunrise, a few minutes before they opened. There is LOTS of this heavy duty  fence all over the place around here.

Looking from the entrance gate.

From the other side, where we were parked for repairs.

Looking through our windshield.

There is lots of interesting stuff to look at. I  wonder how old these tractors are.

Interesting old pickup. Someone has already changed out the rear end.

I wonder how long the old flathead well remain in it.

One of the things they do here is "stretch" the frames on semi tractors. These look like salvaged frame sections waiting to be used.

I wonder what this will turn out  to be.

I hope you  can make out the panel of toggle switches on the dash.

This place is out in the country. We drove over to a restaurant about 10 miles away, for lunch. I don't know what the soup was, it came with the meal. Beans, pork side meat and other stuff in it. It was pretty spicy, and good.

Kathy's Bistek tacos were disappointing. My hamburger was different. A thin hamburger patty, a slice of some type of lunch meat, cheese and lots of other stuff on it. It was okay, but I wouldn't order one again. The fries were great. $21 total.

Then we drove another 6 miles to the HEB grocery. For some reason it reminded me of grocery stores in California. Maybe because it seemed so light and airy.

Back out on the street, parked and waiting for parts.

The folks here are great. Miguel, the mechanic, said we could come to his house for the night. Gabriela, the office lady who I think is connected to the ownership, told me she lives just a couple of miles away. She gave me her personal cell number so that I could call her if we had any problems.

I wonder if they think we are concerned because we aren't that far from a jail/prison complex, we aren't. We are parked on the Pennzoil Loop, straight down from the blue dot marking US 281 Truck and Trailer.

The jail and prison complexes are off on the right.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 63 & 64 - Monday & Tuesday, January 12 & 13 - Errands & Lunch

 We wondered if Monday's Informational Meeting was going to be exciting, it wasn't. The entertainment, Sunday's singer, was a pay to attend event. Some discounted tickets were sold in advance. Those who bought tickets at the "door" were supposed to pay full price. The Campground Activity Director was supposed to be here to collect tickets/cash at the door, she didn't show up. Tickets weren't collected and no one paid at the door. There must have been a back room meeting before the 9:30 Informational Meeting. An announcement was made stating that there was a hiccup and that everyone who paid for a ticket would get a refund.  I went over, got a cup of coffee and a donut before the meeting started. I visited a little while eating my donut and then I went to the Puzzle Room until the meeting was over.

In the afternoon my back was feeling decent so I spent 90 minutes at Planet Fitness. I stayed away from the leg press machine. No ill effects.

The other "excitement" for the day was the Monday afternoon visit by the "Veggie Man". He drives through the campground blowing his horn before parking at the clubhouse and opening up his trailer. We bought grapefruit, bananas & green onions.

Today/Tuesday I had an 8AM appointment in McAllen, to get my right hearing aid back, after repairs. I had to leave the campground by 7:15 so it was an early morning.

When I got back home we went to La Playa for lunch, it was the first time we have eaten there. I had a Chimichanga. I'm not sure what Kathy had. Both our meals were really good. We will go there again.

We also straightened out some prescription problems; Kathy's with Walgreen's and mine with Sam's. 

We went over to today's Jam Session. I stayed for the first hour. Kathy stayed was over there for several hours. I'm sure she wasn't in awe listening to the music. When I left she was visiting with a couple of ladies. 

In the evening I got in a leisurely 30 minute bicycle ride around the campground, 2.9 miles.

The weather has been cool, highs in the mid 60's, lows in the low 50's.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 61 & 62 - Saturday & Sunday, January 10 & 11 - Spanish Lesson

 The most interesting thing that happened Saturday was that I attended a half hour conversational Spanish class that just started. The lady leading it has spent 30 years in the Valley, on and off. It is very informal. She has a Power Point presentation. Each slide has some Spanish phrases in Spanish, then English and then the phonetic pronunciation of the Spanish phrase. She gives out copies of the file so that those who want can print out the information. She plans on the class running through late March or maybe mid-April.

The first phonetic spelling is from class, the second is from an online English/Spanish dictionary.

Bienvenido - Welcome – bee n vin need doe – byehm beh nee doh

Aqui se habla espanol –  Here we speak Spanish (Spanish spoken here) -ah key say ob la s pan yol – ah kee seh ah blah ehs pah nyohl

Hola – hello – o la

Buenos Dias – good morning – when ose dee us – bweh nohs dee ahs

The above is from 1 1/2 of the 7 slides from the first class.

My back was back to about 90% so in the afternoon I did 20 minutes on the campground treadmill. The day was cool and windy. The high was 70 degrees at midnight Friday night. By mid day it was in the low 60's. The wind was blowing 15-20 mph with gusts of 25-30 mph. We pulled in the slide with the ripped slide topper.

Sunday was different for us. After services the Cowboy Church was holding the final Buckle Series contests for the youth. The regular campground Pastor and his wife were back in Kansas for a week. The retired Pastor who led our coed Bible study last week was scheduled to preach at the campground. Kathy was leading the music. They were doing songs that I really like. I had planned on listening to Bill preach here and then going to the Cowboy Church and staying to watch the kids, it is great fun watching them sort cattle, barrel race, etc.  Kathy put pork roasts on to cook at 6:30 AM and needed to tend to them during the day. Also, she was not interested in sitting out on open bleachers watching the kids on a cold windy day. The high for the day was forecast to be a cloudy, windy, 59 degrees. I intended on going to the Cowboy Church service and staying for the event. I got up around 7 AM and didn't fell well. I felt better and went to the 9:30 AM campground service but did not go to the Cowboy Church.

 Kathy stayed after church to tend the roasts, came home for lunch and then went back to the clubhouse. We had a football game on the TV and did some reading. I spent a little time looking at the Spanish slides on my computer. A little before 4 PM I went back to the clubhouse for the Christmas for the Children fund raiser. A pulled pork sandwich, a bag of chips, desert and a drink for $7.  They served 40-50 people from 4:00-5:45. A singer came in and provided entertainment from 6-8. He sang mostly older country & western. By older I mean I knew at least some of the words to every song he sang, and I don't know any country and western singers newer than George Strait/Alan Jackson/Vince Gill/Garth Brooks/Josh Turner. His voice reminded me of Josh Turner when he sang Long Black Train. Kathy even liked him. We stayed for the first hour. He had quite a few old folks out dancing. I counted 12 ladies out on the floor line dancing during one song.

By the way. Bill delivered a very good message, about prayer. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 59 & 60 - Thursday & Friday, January 8 & 9 - Nothing Exciting

 Nothing exciting to report. The high temperatures have been mostly sunny mid to upper 80's, unseasonably warm for this time of year. This time of year the normal temperatures are highs of 70 and lows of 53. Thursday was windy enough that we pulled in our big slide for the day. The wind was really  rocking the coach.

Thursday my back felt back to 90% so I did 40 minutes of walking on the campground treadmill, no issues.

Meet & Greet was at 4PM at the clubhouse. Snacks and a time of fellowship, especially for new folks. One new couple came. They had just pulled in around noon. They are a just retired couple from Massachusetts and are relatively new RV'ers. They have a travel trailer. This is their first big trip. They seem nice.

Friday we went to a different Chinese place for lunch, they had a buffet. I like it Kathy not so much. Actually when I east at a Chinese buffet all they need is decent Egg Drop soup, fried rice and some type of breaded fish, to make me happy. Kathy likes a lot more variety. We had put the big slide back out Friday morning. When we pulled in to park behind the coach we saw that the Texas wind had finally started ripping the 17 year old slide topper. I got the ladder out and put some duct tape on the rip, but I doubt it will hold. Drew, our son who lives in Oakland, and I replaced the fabric in one of the slide toppers on our Dutch Star, in the spring of 2012. I'm no where near in good enough shape to replace this one. I will ask around the campground to see if someone can recommend someone to replace the fabric on all the toppers.

As I walked around the coach the two couples who have the tag axle Entegra's next to us were out. We visited and they went through a list of all the problems they were having since they left Delaware. (I saw a "new" Anthem model, with 756 miles on it, on sale for $570k, sticker was $815.) Makes the cost of maintaining our coach seem much more palatable. ($500k@5%/12=$2,083 monthly interest on loan)

 Theirs are the two coaches on the left.

Friday my back felt back to at least 95% so in the afternoon I went to Planet Fitness. I now know it was the leg presses that caused my back problem. I had been doing 20 reps each at 160#, 180# & 200# on both the back extension and leg press devices, with no problems until a week or so ago. This time I was being careful and did 20 reps of back extension at 80# and 20 more at 100#, no problems. Later in the routine I did 20 leg presses at 120#, my back did not like that. I "paid for " those Friday evening.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

 

Day 58 - Wednesday, January 7 - Bible Study

This morning we went to a coed Bible Study class that just started. We meet at the clubhouse. Nine people attended. We had a good discussion.

Back home Kathy started cooking up hamburger to use making Nachos for a Christmas for the Children fund raiser. At 1:30 I helped here get the meat, chips, cheese, etc. over to the clubhouse. She stayed there, I  came back home. At 2:30 I went back over and got in line to buy Nachos. They served 69 people. A singer came in to provide entertainment from 3-5. He sang mostly country & western but threw in a few oldies from the 60's. By 5 we were back home with the leftovers unloaded.

It was foggy here this morning. I think we had some brief, very light rain showers. Todays high was a mostly sunny 83 degrees..

God is good. I pray that He blesses you  and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 56 & 57 - Monday & Tuesday, January 5 & 6 - Hearing the Spirit & Campground Dinner

 Monday - I forgot to include a photo of the Delawder family with my last post. Dad, the Barney Fife impersonator, daughter & Mom. He doesn't look a lot like Barney but he sure has the voice and mannerisms perfected.

Kathy wasn't feeling well so I went to the Monday morning Information Meeting, nothing exciting. It was a nice day but neither of us felt like doing much. In the early afternoon one of the maintenance guys knocked on the door and asked me to move our car so that someone could pull in next to us. I moved it, but wasn't happy about it. I noticed a big Class A had pulled in a couple of sites down from us. After I moved the car a similar looking one shoehorned himself in next to us.

I was fussing and fuming because there are a LOT of empty sites and this guy had to squeeze in next to us. Even though my back was still hurting I went to Planet Fitness for a half hour just to burn off some energy. While I was gone Kathy was sitting outside. She talked to the lady in the coach. She learned that the coaches are owned by brothers on their was from Delaware to the Grand Canyon. They will be here two weeks. I was still sputtering and mentioned that I wouldn't be talking to them, or if I did I wouldn't be very pleasant (I was really throwing a childish tantrum). By then it was to late to go to the front office but I told Kathy I planned on being there first thing Tuesday morning to pitch a fit (I didn't actually say pitch a fit, but that is what I intended on doing.)

Tuesday/today - This morning, while Kathy was at Ladies Bible Study, I read my daily devotional and read some more of a Francis Chan book on the Holy Spirit. BANG! I got hit right between the eyes. Some people doubt that God still talks to us, I'm sure that He sometimes "talks" to me. This morning was one of those times. Nothing I read addressed my childishness but I believe reading and thinking about the Holy Spirit put my spirit more in touch with Him.  I know that God watches over Christians, I know that nothing in our lives is to small for Him care about. I know He works for what is best for us. Sadly I to often forget that I know some of this. 

Sitting in our coach the thought came to me that the coach next us might be there for a reason. I claim to be a Christian. God's light is supposed to shine through me. With my attitude what type of light were the couple next door going to see in me, not God's light. Then I remembered our neighbors when we lived in Niantic, IL. They were an wonderful, downhome, Christian couple. Jesus just oozed out of them. They were a significant part of my accepting the Lord as my Savior. They didn't know a stranger. I thought, "What would Sunny & Francis do in this situation?" The answer was they would  already know the people in the coach and probably invited them for coffee. My attitude got a major adjustment.

I did go to the office and politely asked why they put someone so close to us. I received a reasonable explanation and an apology for them having to do so.

I haven't had time for a significant conversation with these folks yet but did say hello to the guy while he was busy adding several gallons of DEF to his tank, and I was carrying groceries into our coach. I will make it a point to strike up a conversation when I see him.

This morning we went grocery shopping, hitting both Sam's and Walmart. At 4 PM the campground hosted a "Welcome Back" meal for those of us who have returnees. There were around 100 people there. When we got back home we sat outside and enjoyed the evening.

Shortly after I took the photo our neighbors on the other side, who lived in Maryland prior to retirement and moving to Vichy, MO, were walking by. They  stopped, sat down and we visited for an hour or so.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you. He has blessed me.