Monday, December 31, 2007 (DAY 4) The last day of 2007, and another busy one to boot! It’s been quite a year, and except for getting older, I don’t regret seeing it go away. Today was our first 9 AM “Activity and Business” meeting at Pine to Palm Resort Park. (See paragraph which follows for our take on Pine to Palm Resort Park). After learning what was on tap for the next few days, we ventured into Mexico, visiting churches Vicky and Larry have significantly supported. Larry’s energy is boundless, and he gives tremendously to help the churches, and especially the children of Progresso, Mexico. The church preachers have done much with little, and continue to upgrade their facilities. For us it would be little, but for them it is a lot. Progresso arid, dusty, and heavily populated, the former two in stark contrast with the Rio Grande Valley in the USA just 6 miles away. We had lunch at a really nice restaurant, Arturo’s, and the food was delicious. We crossed back across the border, with only a 5 minute wait. Our next trip to Mexico will be on foot to buy vanilla, etc. to take home. Vickie invited us to lunch on New Year’s Day, and in keeping with our southern heritage and tradition, we offered to cook black-eyed peas; Kay asked to stop at a grocery store to purchase dried peas for our own recipe. She found that they do not exist in the Rio Grande Valley, though one can find dried pintos and black beans at all the stores. She settled for canned peas, and bought celery, pepper, onion, and bacon to entice the flavor. We were also invited out for New Year’s Eve dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, and joined our ready-made friends at 7:45 PM. After a one-hour wait, we were seated, ordered off the menu, and ate—an OK place, but nothing to write home about. Both Kay and I brought food home. We adjourned to a new friend’s place for more food, games, and ushering in the New Year. We played Apples to Apples, and really had a good time. 2008 arrived, almost by surprise, we celebrated for a few minutes, and retired for the evening.
ABOUT PINE TO PALM RESORT PARK Pine to Palm Resort Park is somewhat typical of the “parks” in the Rio Grande Valley, though somewhat different in that it is owned by snowbird resident shareholders via a company named Mantex Corporation, short for Manitoba and Texas, since a majority of the “residents” are from Canada. Also, the park has very few RVs, perhaps 15 among the 400+ dwellings. Most of the park consists of older mobile homes, older travel trailers, and older park models, the originals not much bigger than our motor home, and all of which have been converted into permanent residences. These dwellings form a menagerie of houses, and residents continuously work to enlarge and improve them. Most are built to the extremities of the lot; the lots belong to the corporation. Pine to Palm is a 55+ community, but the average age is well into the 70s. Kay and I may be the youngest couple here. Folks walk and ride bicycles, there is little driving inside the park, and almost all the residents know each other. Shuffleboard, or shuffling as it is called, is really big and the courts are constantly in use. There are no minorities living in the park. Most of the residents are from Manitoba, with a few from Ontario and Saskatchewan. US residents are from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Arkansas, with a sprinkling from other states. All are friendly and speak to you as you walk or as they pass your residence. They are very active! Pine to Palm has several meeting rooms of various sizes, a commercial kitchen, swimming pool, hot tub, and library. The facilities are kept clean.