It’s Tuesday, and that means time for the Blazing Saddle Sores Bicycle and Breakfast Club ride—number 2 for me.  However, the high 40s temperature, combined with strong winds discouraged all except the most brave, or “fetched” riders of which I was one; there were 7 of us—6 men and one brave woman. (It isn’t particularly easy to take a picture over the shoulder with only one hand on the handlebar; thank goodness for photo editing!)  We rode approximately 4 miles north on Bentsen Palm Drive to Nelda’s Kitchen where the food was quite good. Fortunately, the return trip was with the wind at our backs, making for a less cold ride.

We took advantage of the cold, windy weather to hang around the motorhome, catching up on odds and ends including cataloguing and editing photos and updating the blog.  The weather was not accommodating to “palapa” time, engendering us to hunker down and enjoy the quiet evening.  Tuesday night is “cards and games” night, and we learned a new game involving pegs and cards involving lots of strategy and some luck.  I was on the winning team the first time, but had trouble comprehending the concept, but Kay understood right away and was among the best players at the table.

The wind howled all night, but it remained warm until early morning; at 7:00 AM, it was 70° at 7:00 AM, but steadily dropped to the high 50s by noon—cold by RGV standards!

Kay began a woodturning bowl-making class this morning.  She began the process of gluing various pieces walnut and maple together, and when the resulting block is finished drying, she will use a woodturning lathe and sharp turning gouges and chisels to shape the wood into bowl.  Her teacher is Paul Holmes, our next door neighbor and retired farmer from Ontario, Canada, near Detroit.  Another of our neighbors, Van Holmes, a retired veterinarian from Ontario, was making one of two wooden “rabbit” puzzles for his grandkids.

Kay must have worked up an appetite because she wanted to go to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Filled with home-style cooked vegetables, we shopped at Hobby Lobby for more craft supplies—for Kay’s Swedish weaving, and for my raised relief sign.

With temperatures in the 50s and winds gusting at 35 miles per hour, we had a quiet afternoon, and the crowd at the palapa was thin.  With no television to our liking, we viewed 3 episodes of Season 2 Downton Abbey, a great PBS series.

This morning we enjoyed our first church service in the RGV since leaving in February.  It was as if we never left, and we recognized most of the people in attendance.

After church, we drove to yet another Walmart; there are too many, and they are too convenient!

Despite a very warm day—high 80s—we rode to and around the Bentsen Palm RGV State Park, headquarters of the World Birding Center.  Note that we now wear our helmets anytime we ride bicycles.

There were not very many species of birds in easy view, but we did see some Green Jays, a couple of woodpeckers—including this Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and some chachalacas, though no Great Kiskadees or orioles.  Even the Hawk Tower, shown with Kay on the ramp, did not provide views of any hawks.

We returned in time for the palapa party at 4:00 PM, followed by a late afternoon soak in the pool and hot tub.

As evening approached I began the process of printing our 2012 Christmas newsletter, only to find the old Brother printer was having software problems.  After finally reloading the printer driver, it began working and made it through 10 copies before finally quitting for good.  It had been a great printer, and we used it over 5-years, printing thousands of copies.  We shopped for a new one, and a found a great buy at Staples, ordering it online.  It had two-day shipping, meaning we should receive it about Friday (their two days is different than our two days any way you count it). 

After our morning routine of coffee, email, and news, we went out for breakfast at Chocitas Kitchen in Palmview; this is where the Blazing Saddle Sores Bicycle and Breakfast Club rode to and ate on Tuesday morning.  From there, we drove to Walmart for a few items, including monk cloth for Kay’s upcoming Swedish weaving class, but they didn’t have the correct color.

Kay dropped me off at the motorhome, and drove to Don Wes Flea Market in Donna, TX, while I applied a copious amount of insect repellent for a visit to the National Butterfly Center (NBC)—the mosquitoes are really, really bad this year.  There were a couple of different species of butterflies than I had seen on our previous trip, and a few Great Kiskadees, making the 3-mile bicycle ride worthwhile.  We played “playing card” bingo Saturday evening, and once again I lucked out, winning one of the $0.25 rounds, for a total of $17—laundry money for the week!

Age, combined with lots of activities, is taking its toll on our memory.  Neither one of us can remember what we did this day (this is being written on Tuesday, December 11).  We know we ate breakfast (because we do this almost every day), and we are pretty sure at least one of us went to the pool and hot tub (again, we do this almost every day).  We also know it was warm, with highs in the mid-80s.  We did go to the palapa at 4:00 PM to say goodbye to two couple who were leaving for the holidays (one to Nebraska, the other to Winnipeg), and there was a good crowd to say goodbye.  Beyond that, our memory escapes us.  Normally, I will go back and look at photographs which have been catalogued by date, but there were none taken today.  So, until and/or unless we remember, this will be our record for the day!

Anyway, here’s a picture of Kay riding on the bicycle trail bordering our resort.  Note that we NOW wear helmets anytime we ride bicycles.

Today started just like any other day, so we’ll skip the usual. After breakfast Kay and I road bicycles to the National Butterfly Center which is nearby. About one third of the ride was on on a paved bicycle path, and the remainder was on on local, light-traffic roads.  As we walked to the entry, we observed hundreds, if not thousands, of butterflies. We went inside and bought an annual family membership, entitling us to go anytime, and to take a couple of guests if we choose. We stepped back outside and more closely observed the different species of butterflies, taking a few photos along the way. We completed our ride back to Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort and Kay washed a couple loads of dark clothes; we got to try out the new ladder clothesline and it worked great, necessitating that we only use the dryer for one load saving us a whole $1.25.

After lunch and spraying with OFF again for the second time today (the mosquitoes this year are horrible and we have to spray several times a day), I returned to the national butterfly center while Kay went grocery shopping at the HEB superstore. My first stop was at the bird feeding station were I observed Great Kiskadees, Green Jay’s, a couple species of woodpeckers, and other birds which I did not (or could not) identify. Along the paths, there were thousands of butterflies in the native plant beds, and as you can see below, I was able to take a lot of photographs. There was one rare butterfly but I was unable to photograph it as it was flitting around to rapidly.

Now back to Kay and HEB. HEB is a Texas grocery chain, and has really good self-branded foods. There tortilla chips are the best we’ve ever eaten. Kay was still gone when I returned from the butterfly center, so I took a quick swim and soak in the hot tub.

In mid-afternoon the Executive Director of the National Butterfly Center gave a presentation at BPVRV Resort. Her talk was more in generalities, such as origin and mission, but she did have a couple of amateur lepidopterists (people who study butterfliers) in the audience (they live in next door in Retama Village), and they told about their own new, small butterfly garden where they have counted and photographed 100 species of butterflies.  They also told a story about a recent siting of a very rare butterfly, but we had heard the story first hand from our neighbors who were the first to spot it, but didn’t know what it was.  It was a quite interesting and humorous story, and we laughed when they talked about recognizing the siting, and the chain of phone calls back and forth across the nation among amateur and professional lepidopterists and photographers—news travels fast.

As has been said and almost all of our blog entries, at about 4:00 PM most of the neighbors together at the palapa in the center of our circle for social time.  Kay and I really like this and the strong sense of community it engenders.

We’re finally getting into a routine, with coffee, email and newspapers when we wake up, from between 5:00 and 6:00 AM to about 7:30 AM, a light breakfast, and a combination walk around the park/taking the garbage and trash out.  After that, we’re pretty much on our own for the rest of the morning.  I usually do chores, ride the bicycle, work on photos and blogs, etc.  It’s then pool and hot tub time for a couple of hours, then shopping, if necessary.  And then, we meet the neighbors at the palapa for happy hour.
The wifi here has been terrible, and unreliable.  They have a new system, and are still working the bugs out–seems to me they have a long way to go.  A few neighbors and I became so frustrated that we made arrangements to have our own private internet service–of course, the same person owns the cable/internet service that owns Bentsen Palm Village RV Park.  I personally don’t believe there’s any marketing regarding the poor service; and the park’s free wifi will be fine when all the bug get worked out.  Regardless, Kay and I bought our own service, and it will allow us to stay connected, and stream videos.  Consequently, I hung around the motorhome waiting for the installation, and the service guy was prompt and fast.  I had the modem installed in one of the basement compartments where we have access to the outside, and plug-ins, and we hard-wired our router.  We now have our own private network, just like home.

Kay was having a pedicure while all this was going on, and after the installation was completed, I finally dug the camera out and took photos of butterflies along the wall of the Bentsen Palm Village RV Park (rent your space) and Retama Village (buy your space) compound walls.

We finally ran out of groceries, or just about, necessitating a trip to “town”.  Costco and Sam’s Club are located across the street from one another in Pharr, between Mission and McAllen—about a fifteen minute drive for us.  We had been anxious to shop at Costco since last winter as they opened it just a few weeks after we left the RGV to return home.  The Pharr Costco is clean, with wide isles, and lots of good stuff.  We bought some food stuff, including salmon and steak for grilling, fruits, and paper plates and bowls (to minimize dishwashing).  At Sam’s Club, we supplemented the Costco purchases, and noted the differences in the stores.  Sam’s Club was crowded, disorganized, hand an untidy appearance, and the clerks were not the shiniest ornament on the tree, if you know what I mean.  Oh well, at least we have a choice down here.
We skipped the margarita hour, instead visiting with our neighbors in the palapa.
It was just another quiet day in the RGV.

Every Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM, a group of bicyclists from Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort—they call themselves the Blazing Saddle Sores Bicycle Club—ride 3 to 5 miles to a restaurant for breakfast, and return.  The resort (and Bentsen Palm Development as a whole) has over 10 miles of bicycle trails on or adjacent to the property, and the city of Mission has many more, facilitating this weekly breakfast ride.  Kay and I had never ridden with the group before, and I didn’t know quite what to expect this morning when meeting up with the group at the front gate; Kay opted not to go as she is still recovering from the bicycle accident on Sunday.  I may have been the youngest among the 8 men and 5 women riders.  At 8:30 AM the wind is usually not a factor, and the ride was conducted at a comfortable pace—not too fast, and not too slow.  I rode towards the back of the group, with two riders and a tail gunner behind me, as seen in the first photo.  Our ride was about 4.5 miles each way, and we followed the bicycle trails where possible, but did have to ride about 1.5 miles in traffic on the side of the roadway.  Breakfast was at a small Mexican restaurant, and was good and cheap.  My breakfast of eggs and ham, refried beans, tortillas, and coffee was less than $5.00, including a $1.00 tip.  On our return, shown in the photo on the left, the wind had picked up, and made pedaling more difficult, particularly since I had moved towards the front of queue and didn’t have but one person blocking the wind.  It’s not an easy chore taking a picture behind you while riding a 21-speed bicycle along a city highway!  The ride back was a bit more loose, as here was no particular objective except to get back to the RV resort. A good soak in the hot tub and pool afterward sure felt great, and eliminated most aches and pains, though my thigh muscles did tighten up in the afternoon.
The fruit and vegetable truck/trailer came as scheduled at 2:30 PM, and we bought 3 limes (for salsa), a head of cabbage, and 2 pineapples already “peeled” and cored. Kay sang a couple of songs at the jam session followed by a visit to the hairdresser, while I worked on our Christmas newsletter.
As is usual, we met at the palapa for a couple of hours to socialize with the neighbors, and had a pretty quiet rest of the evening.

After our coffee, email, and morning walk, we decorated for Christmas, hanging a wreath on the inside of the front windshield, complete with lights, etc.  We even have a plug in the headliner.  We also ran lighted garland along the bottom of the windshield to complete the look.  Perhaps I can get a night photo!

After a brisk morning walk and a scrambled egg sandwich, I set to work making an RV ladder clothes line and a bicycle stand, both out of PVC.  We saw these being used extensively this past winter here in the RGV, and pulled a similar design off the internet.  We bought the materials at home, and cut the PVC in our shop a couple of days before we left.  The rear of our coach is bathed in sun most of the day, and the ladder clothes line will be quite effective, especially for towels and swimsuits.  And with the wind blowing here, particularly in the afternoons, the bike stand will keep the bicycles upright, without constantly blowing over. Last year it was a chore finding a dry place, out of the wind, to “park” Kay’s bicycle, and oftentimes it would be in the middle of our access to the patio.  We’re anxious to see how this particular design will work as it’s different than most of those used down here.

As usual, we joined in the conversation at the palapa shortly after 4:00 PM.  The mosquitos have been especially bad this year, and we dug out the Thermocells and after about 5 minutes, the area was clear of those pesky insects.

We were invited to breakfast today at Furr’s, and rode with Paul and Lorna, our next door neighbors.  Furr’s formerly was a cafeteria where one would go through the line selecting a salad, meat, sides, bread, and drink, much like Franke’s in central Arkansas.  Recently, however, Furr’s has gone to buffet style service similar to Golden Corral.  Anyway, the food was plentiful and good.  I had salad, scrambled eggs, yogurt, and granola—a buffet is wasted on me right now.

We returned early enough to hand wash the RV and car.  Neither was very dirty, but we wanted clean windows and removal of all the bugs before they baked on in the Texas heat.

After we finished, I headed for the hot tub to offset any aches and pains from the wash job, and Kay remained back at the motorhome for a nap.  After a half hour or so, she was getting on her bicycle to bring me a key to motorhome, and fell flat on her face on the left side.  She busted her eyebrow and had a huge bruise and swelling below the left eye. Fortunately, our neighbors saw the accident and were there to assist—one is a retired fire fighter and another is a retired veterinarian.  They insisted she go to the emergency room.  We quickly drove to the Mission regional medical facility ER. The doctor asked what happened, then asked if she was wearing a helmet.  When she responded negatively, he asked her why and she responded that it messed up her hair. We were really impressed with the quality of medical treatment from top to bottom.  It was thorough and quick, considering the circumstances.  Financial arrangements for payment was their last priority!  Fortunately for us, the hospital is not far from our resort.  After cleaning the wounds, they did a brain scan and Kay does have one!  Seriously, she escaped with no concussions or broken bones.  They glued the eyebrow cut closed, and gave instructions to use an ice bag periodically to keep the swelling down.  Obviously, we spent a quiet evening in the coach. We’ll both wear our bicycle helmets from now on.