We’re excited to be going to Central Arkansas and environs to spend Christmas with family.   Friday morning, we were off about 6:46 AM, headed north towards Houston where we spent the night with cousin Lin and her husband, Tom, in Magnolia, Texas. Nestled among the trees in a wide open space, their house and home was warm and welcoming. It was great catching up on family matters, and just plain visiting.  They fed us catfish and all the fixings.

We left their great accommodations about 9:30 AM Saturday for the last leg of our trip “home” to Arkansas, arriving at Karyn’s about 5:30 PM.  Ridge and Matt were asleep, but not for long, and we hugged and kissed on Ridge for some time; he’s been a little under the weather cutting a bunch of teeth at one time. Kay was hungry for barbeque and     in Little Rock filled the bill.

Sunday was full of hustle and bustle completing pre-Christmas details, but we took time as a whole family to attend church together, meeting Ron, Kadyn, and Cheryl at Church of Rock Creek for their 4:00 PM Christmas service.  Afterwards, we ate at Copeland’s, and had a great meal.

Monday, Christmas Eve, was spent preparing lots of roasted vegetables for the Christmas meal with Matt’s family, and Matt smoked a turkey and pork tenderloin.  It was a fabulous meal, and my favorite was the kale salad and low calorie millionaire pie, both of which Karyn made, though everything else was might scrumptious. Afterward, Matt’s family opened gifts, and Ridge had a ball with a toy remote control given to him by Matt’s mother. Of course, he was the star attraction for the evening.

With rain, sleet, and snow predicted to begin about 8:00 AM, Kay rushed me out the door towards home in Norfork, Arkansas, about 6:30 AM on Tuesday, Christmas day.  The drive was uneventful, as there was hardly any traffic, and no precipitation.  On the way I thought how sad it was to spend Christmas by oneself, then decided it could be a great day—it’s all a matter of perspective.  The solitude gives me a chance to reflect on the true reason for Christmas, and the blessings Kay and I share with respect to our Christian faith, kids, grandkids, and life in general—thank you, Lord, for all this.  Everything at home was okay, though a few small limbs had blown down late last week. The house was a bit cold, but the fireplace began heating it immediately.  I turned down an invitation to have Christmas dinner with Wayne and Loretta as the pounds gained the last few days will be hard enough to take off. The left mouse key on the computer mouse pad had been sticking, and the spring finally gave way and is now lost forever, rendering the mouse pad useless; is it time for a new computer?  A USB mouse is filling the gap, but is difficult to use with the laptop computer on one’s lap. Wayne came up for a visit in the late afternoon, and the snow finally began about 5:30 PM.  Kay texted about that time to say they had lost power in Benton, AR, with freezing rain and ice still coming down after beginning about noon.  With no television and limited internet (the phone is a temporary hotspot), it was eerily quiet, and bedtime came early.

It must have snowed half the night, as there was about 6 inches on the ground Wednesday AM, with temps in the high 20s.  With all the cameras in the RGV, the IPad was employed to take a few photos to show the Canadians that we have snow in the Ozarks, too.  After a few chores, Wayne and I continued our visit over coffee.  Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet day, almost boring, though there are lots of little chores waiting to be done—it was not to be, today!

With bad weather once again predicted for the area, I opted to return to central Arkansas on Thursday, rather than Friday.  It’s amazing the mess one can make in just 2 days, and it took several hours just to clean, reorganize, pack, and lockup.  Enroute, the roads did not present a problem, except the further south I traveled, the more snow that had accumulated and the area around Batesville still had snow on one or more lanes of the highway. Near Searcy, Arkansas, a stop and visit was made with my sister and her family, before continuing on to Maumelle, Arkansas.  The number of houses and businesses without electricity was amazing.  It was reported that 200,000 were without power at one time.  Central Arkansas received 10.5 inches of snow, falling on top of sleet and freezing rain!  Kay made it back to Maumelle okay, so we were back together once again. We enjoyed playing with Ridge Thursday evening.

We awoke Friday morning to light rain, and it continued through noon.  A haircut was in order, and thank goodness the salon had electricity and was open. Friday afternoon and evening was pretty quiet, and we had a ball playing with Ridge while his parents enjoyed a date night.

Saturday was our family day, and we were successful in having everyone together for the first time in 3 years, though we were not able to get a photograph of the whole kit and caboodle.  Neither of the girls’ nor their babies had seen each other since before the babies were on the way, so it was a real treat to see them together.  Ron and Cheryl were able to come by for a couple of hours, and we sure enjoyed visiting with them, as well.  It would be an understatement to say that things were a bit chaotic.  Harper Ann had really grown since our last visit on Thanksgiving.  She was in awe of Ridge, but all the excitement was a bit too much for her.  She’s a real doll though.  Kay and I really appreciated the kids and their significant others giving up a day to spend with us. With a blended family, everyone busy with careers and other parents, one grandchild 17 years old, and the other two 14 months and 5 months, respectively, getting everyone together is proving to be an impossible endeavor.

We departed central Arkansas early Sunday morning and made the 14-hour trip back to the RGV without any mishaps or problems.  The route included Dallas, Waco, Austin, and San Antonio, and traffic this entire route was quite heavy for a Sunday.  We stopped for a late lunch at Gruene River Grill in historic Gruene, Texas, (pronounced Green) near New Braunsfel just north of San Antonio.  The Gruene River Grill sits high on a bluff overlooking the beautiful Guadalupe River.  The food was good, but not as great as the reviews in TripAdvisor.com indicated (their jalapeno crawfish chowder was excellent—among the best chowders I’ve eaten).  We finally arrived at Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort in Mission, Texas, at 6:45 PM, unpacked the car, and headed to the hot tub for a soak.  It sure felt good to be “home”.

We spent 28 grueling hours driving to and from Central Arkansas for the Christmas holiday.  We thoroughly enjoyed the grandkids, and got to spend some quality time with their parents.  But they have busy lives, lots of other commitments, and we’re getting too old for this!

We had a tough group of birders today, fighting winds gusting to at least 40 miles per hour, ushering in a major cold front.  Our trip today was a short one, to the city of Edinburg’s Scenic Wetlands and World Birding Center.  We, as a group, saw 47 species, mostly water birds, though a few other birds, like the Western King Bird shown in the photo below, survived the blowing wind to make themselves available.

Upon returning to the the RV resort, Kay and I drove to a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  It was family owned and operated with three generations present.  We were waited on by granddaughter, her mother, and her mother’s father.  The cheese enchiladas I ordered were great, though Kay’s chicken dish was not quite as good.  The friendly, family atmosphere was terrific and we’ll definitely return.

We then drove to Lowe’s to pick up some stainless steel stove bolts as one broke in our relatively new Strongback chair.  We have sung praises regarding these chairs and are very much disappointed at their durability.

Back at the resort, we began preparations for our trip home tomorrow to spend the holidays with family.

Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort is winding down, as many of the Winter Texans have left or are leaving soon to return to their domicile to spend time with family.  An observation we’ve made is that Canadians live a long, healthy life, and several of our neighbors have returned to celebrate birthdays with aged parents; one turns 100 over the holidays, and another turns 94.  These do not seem to be the exception, either.  And, without getting political, most really like their Canadian health care system.

Kay took a couple of the ladies in our circle shopping today; another observation we’ve made is that several women don’t like driving on the crowded RGV highways, and others don’t like driving the 3/4 and full ton pickup trucks or the dually they use to tow their 5th wheel trailers.

My intention was to ride to a county birding park today, but with winds forecast at 25 miles per hour gusting to 35 miles per hour, Chuck, a neighbor, and I rode to, around, and through the Bentsen-RGV State Park, for a distance of about 10 miles.  The roads were out of the wind, but there were few birds available to observe today.

We enjoyed palapa time, but only stayed an hour, and then adjourned to the activity building for margarita night.  Here’s a photo of our palapa, taken from inside our motorhome.  There are about 25 RVs in our circle, all pointed toward the palapa.  We usually have 10 to 25 people gather around most afternoons.  The activity building where the margaritas and hors d’ oeuvres were being served was crowded, too much for me, but we endured and got to know some more people just a bit better.  It will be really packed after the crowds arrive after the holidays.

Another week has rolled around again, and today was the scheduled breakfast ride of the Blazing Saddle Sores.  Chuck and Sue, neighbors in the RV resort, opted to go this morning after the long ride Chuck and I made yesterday. The first photo shows Sue riding to the restaurant, followed by a bunch of other riders.  All told, there were 22 riders, and we rode up Bentsen Palm Drive to the Taco Express.  Their breakfast tacos were good, though the service was a bit overwhelmed by the 22 of us coming in all at one time.  The ride back was a bit more difficult as the typical morning winds had begun, and faced us the entire route back to the resort.  Vehicular traffic is very considerate of bicyclists in this part of the RGV, and we see many riders along the routes we travel.

The North American Butterfly Association’s (NABA) National Butterfly Center (NBC) entices one to visit often, and it is interesting to visit every couple of days with butterflies continuing their migration this time of year. It’s amazing just how many imperfections exist among these beautiful, fluttering creatures, including broken wings, and even missing antennae as seen in the last photo. Today, there was some activity among the butterflies despite the wind, though the birds seemed to all be hunkered down.

After all the exercise and mosquito spray, the shower, pool, and hot tub felt good.

We stayed in the rest of the day, except, of course, for “palapa time”

Kay continues her bowl making class, twice a week.  She is beginning to actually “turn” the bowl on the lathe, and is making good progress.

While she was working in the wood shop, Chuck, a neighbor, and I went on a long bicycle ride including the “Roadrunner” trail, so named because Chuck and Sue have seen roadrunners on and along this trail several times while riding.  It is a fairly long trail, about 8 to 10 miles round trip, and true to its name, I saw a roadrunner immediately adjacent to the trail on our return ride.  It was the closest I had ever been to a roadrunner, and I was amazed at how colorful and pretty the bird was. After the “Roadrunner” trail, we rode to a local park and looped it’s two-mile trail.  My butt was a little sore after the approximate 15-mile ride on the small seat!

A quick soak in the pool and hot tub was just the ticket, and Kay washed and dried clothes while we were in the pool.

I spent the afternoon and evening editing photos and catching up on this blog.

We attend First United Methodist Church in Mission during our stay in the RGV, and really like the pastor; he plays drums in the praise band and also sings in the Christmas choir.  There are 3 services, and we attend the Praise and Worship service at 9:00 AM along with about 50 other faithfuls, mostly Winter Texans. This morning the choir presented a Christmas cantata, One Small Child, and did a great job.  Though small in numbers, their voices were on key, blended well, and were loud enough to be heard.

After a quick trip to Walmart, we returned to the resort, had a quick bite to eat, and rode bicycles to the Bentsen Palm RGV State Park.  There were not too many birds flying, but we enjoyed the bicycle ride nevertheless.

Back at the resort, the pool and hot tub beckoned us, and the warm temperature made the soak even more delightful.

In the evening, we carried our lawn chairs to the Activity Center to watch Darling Companion.  This movie, is about a older couple in an overactive lifestyle, their adult children and a rescued dog; it has lots of star power, is somewhat of a “chick” flick, but very enjoyable.

Life is beginning to settle down, but there are still too many things to do, causing one to have to choose—sort of like a kid in a candy store, except we’re now adults!

Card bingo tonight attracted one of the largest crowds ever.  Several residents of Retama Village, an adjacent and sister resort to Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort, attended.  Kay squeaked out a win in the nickle round; that means one or the other of us has won at least one time each night. The photo on the left, taken by one of the resort’s winter Texans, is of our first night of bingo, December 1, and Kay is pictured on the right side of the photo with her back to the camera.

The weather in the RGV has warmed nicely, with highs in the low 80s, perfect for pool time. We don’t where time goes, but it seems to fly by.  We depart for a short visit home just a week from today.

With highs in the mid-80s, we spent a couple of hours at the pool and hot tub, and it sure eases the muscle aches and joint pains from lots of activities combined with age.

This afternoon, the resort hosted a wine tasting party; the premise is for participants to bring a bottle of wine from their state or province, and an hors d’oeuvre.  The wine tasting was better attended than we expected, and there were quite a few sweet white wines compared to dry whites and reds which I prefer; this surprised us, but folks seem to be drinking what they like instead of what is traditional—good for them!  We took a sweet, sparkling white wine from Post Familie Vineyards in Altus, Arkansas, which we visited in October, and it went quickly, as did Kay’s hors d’oeuvre of cream cheese covered with pepper sauce.

We finished the day by watching a few more episodes of Downton Abbey.

A group of 20 hardy bird watchers departed the resort at 7:30 AM this morning, driving to Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas, about 35 miles east of where we’re spending the winter.  This is one of the RGV’s best birding areas, and the staff and volunteers do a great job of feeding birds and making the bird watching experience a great one.  Jerry and Karen Smith were our leaders.  Jerry, shown in the plaid long-sleeved shirt in the top photo, is a retired biologist having worked for the St. Paul District, US Army Corps of Engineers; in addition, he is a world-class birder. I was not as overwhelmed on this trip as the one last year, and though I did not know the names of most of the birds, I at least was able to view them and note their calls and unique appearance—for the most part!  This park has a significant amount of wetlands, and consequently has lots of ducks and shore birds.  Among my favorites were the whistling ducks, all three species of teal, the anhinga which is also known as a water turkey or snake bird (look carefully at it’s photo below and see the ‘gator to the lower left), the vermillion flycatcher, common pauraque (see if you can find the two of them in the last photo) and the yellow-crowned night heron.  All told, 78 species were identified.


By afternoon, temperatures had warmed sufficiently for a soak in the pool and hot tub to ease all the aches and pains of the morning’s long walk.
Though it was “games and cards” night, we enjoyed a quiet evening watching season 2 episodes of Downton Abbey.
A link to the web photo album of this winter’s Texas trip can be found at the following link:  https://picasaweb.google.com/DunnGoneTravels/WinterTexans20122013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCID41uiC4OrOGw&feat=directlink

It was still cool from the strong cold front that moved in a couple of days ago.  Everyone sort of hunkered down this morning, and the resort grounds were pretty quiet.

The day began warming just before noon, so I sprayed liberally with Repel insect repellent—it  seems to have the least odor of those we’ve tried—and picked up a pass to the Bentsen RGV State Park (World Birding Center); butterflies were everywhere, though birds were scarce.  For some reason this park staff chooses only to feed early in the morning, and consequently the birds leave the feeding areas after that.  The park administrators complain that they don’t have enough money to feed more often.  At the Green Jay feeding station, there were Green Jays, Red-winged black birds, and Great Kiskadees.

After riding back to the resort and turning in the park pass, I rode to the National Butterfly Center; there were few visitors. The bird feeding area was rather inactive, yielding only a Golden-fronted woodpecker, a couple of Green Jays, and a couple of Great Kiskadees. The butterflies were inactive as well, though some allowed themselves to be seen and photographed.

A link to our web photo album of our stay in Texas this winter can be found at the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/DunnGoneTravels/WinterTexans20122013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCID41uiC4OrOGw&feat=directlink