The Texas Crud struck on Thursday, January 21, with a slightly sore throat, light cough, and headache.  Should have figured it out because a birding outing was scheduled for South Padre Island and we had planned to participate; but something just didn’t feel right.  Kay kept the Zycam coming every 3 hours, but it didn’t seem to help, and as the day progressed into night, it became worse and was a full blown virus by next morning.  Saturday morning, I awoke feeling pretty good and figured this malady had been conquered.  We attended Rowe High School’s production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and it was good, but a little long at 3 hours.  Saturday evening and night, the sneezing and coughing became more frequent, and a general feeling of wellness disappeared.  Sunday was a little worse, and then Monday, a check of my temperature revealed 102°, extremely high for me.  A call to and consult with former neighbor Wayne substantiated that the virus had likely turned into a bacterial infection, and Kay dug out the Z-Pac from Mexico; twelve hours later the fever broke, and in combination with the chicken vegetable soup brought over by Debbie Creagan, an RV neighbor, I was on the mend (this is the first time I have taken medicine purchased in Mexico).  Thus, for me there was no golf, no birding, no bicycling, and no butterflying, and I tired of reading and playing on the computer.
Kay, meanwhile, kept her social engagements, including cooking 3 pans of apple dumplings for the highly successful progressive dinner on Sunday.  Our area of the resort (Circle 3) was responsible for desserts, and the many desserts were all consumed.  On Monday, she shopped at Wells Clothing Store in Weslaco, her favorite store in the Valley, and on Tuesday, she attended the Magic Valley PEO group for winter Texans.  Wednesday, we drove to DonWes Flea Market to pick up “shade” screens for the hot tub area back home, Sam’s Club, and Costco.  After returning to the resort, I picked up Wayne and we drove to Harbor Freight to purchase a solar charger for the motorhome chassis battery.  Back at the RV, a repairman had come to check on the rear motorhome AC as it had ceased working.  I stood outside in the cool air, assisting the RV repairman; seems like we need a new control board.  While he was working on top of the RV, an Altimira Oriole perched in an adjacent tree and gave the repairman heck for several minutes.  The oriole’s mate joined him/her at Lorna’s hummingbird feeder, and all was well.  But for me, after all day on the run, I was exhausted, and Kay and I enjoyed a rare evening watching television—Australian and British mysteries on NETFLIX, of course!

Thursday, with temperatures near 70°, I ventured outside in the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine.  It proved to be an exciting time as an SUV full of illegals overturned near the resort and one escaped.  He ran through the field, jumped the fence into the dog run, was chased by two dogs, jumped the fence out of the dog run, stole a neighbor’s bicycle, and was off, trying to find his way out of the circles!  And, the Border Patrol was chasing on foot, ATV, SUV, and helicopter. (Photo by David Muscat)  It was just like watching the Keystone Cops—quite hilarious.  After all the activity settled, I spotted a Yellow-headed Blackbird among a block of Red-winged Blackbirds in the tree next door, alerted birding neighbor, Lorna, and got some good photos.  There’s just too much excitement for all of us old people!

With a warm day and only a slight breeze, the National Butterfly Center beckoned us, only to find a flat front tire on the bicycle—a quick change of tubes and we were off.  After paying for the yearly membership, a quick tour of the gardens revealed few butterflies, not even a Queen.  Only a skipper here and there were observed.  More warm weather sent me off chasing butterflies again a few days later, and though there were not many flying, a few skippers could be found in the sunken gardens area, and a Queen was flying in the garden in the rear of the administration building.  Photos below include various skippers, Sickle-winged Skipper (its the dark butterfly with open wings, White-checkered skipper, a Queen, and Red Admiral.

Otherwise, we are staying busy with Swedish weaving, golf, bicycling, bridge, reading, movies, visiting with old friends, and enjoying just sitting around without a lot of responsibilities!  In fact Kay is headed to an old friends’ picnic this afternoon, and tonight, more entertainment.  Life is good.

Performers flock to the Valley during the winter season to take advantage of a captive audience.  Most are good, some are great, and some not so good; many are regulars during the season.  Generally the larger parks and resorts “host” an entertainer or group each week during January and February.  Cost per ticket ranges from $6 to $10.  Our resort has hosted three groups thus far, and all were entertaining:  one was a country western band, another a rock band which we did not attend, and the last was a young family performing blue grass and southern gospel.  We also visited another park, Green Gate Grove to hear Redhead Express, and awesome group of 4 redheaded sisters (Redhead Express), and a group comprised of their 3 young brothers.  We have enjoyed them many times before here in the Valley, and while their old songs were great, their new stuff was not to our particular tastes.

The Valley is home to a Costco store, in Pharr, Texas, just a few miles from us, and it was a great relief to have their audiology tech properly adjust my hearing aids.  Seems like my left ear needed lots more volume; another visit before we leave will make sure we have a year’s worth of supplies on hand.

Each week the resort has card bingo, and Kay was the big winner last week, bringing home $89.  Another lady in our immediate group of RVers also won big, with just over $70.  

We almost always attend church on Sunday morning.  This is our fifth year attending the First United Methodist Church at Mission, and the same staff remains as when we first attended.  We really like the pastor, Rev. Bill Duke, and the music leader, Dan.  It is so comfortable to have a church home away from home.

The weather has been good for golf so far this winter, and we have played in temperatures in the 60s and 70s.  The fairways are green, and one can drive on the course.  Thus far, we have played Los Lagos in Edinburg twice, Meadow Creek near the resort twice, and Cimarron Golf Club in Mission, Texas, once. 

Kay has found a PEO group of Winter Texans, and attended their luncheon last week.  The program included an exhibition of three Citrus Festival evening gowns, all decorated with the central theme of citrus fruit.  The Valley produces a significant amount of grapefruit, oranges, and lemons.  The Valley also produces about 10 percent of the sugar cane grown in the US.   Interesting enough, irrigation is provided via a system originally constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Chuck and I continue to bicycle on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly on the “Roadrunner” Trail, but this week we rode through Meadow Creek, and a local park. 

We made our first trip of the season to the Don Wes Flea Market, accompanied by former neighbors Wayne and Loretta Bodenhamer, and despite winds reaching speeds of 50 mph, it was crowded.  There are a couple of screen makers there, and we ordered privacy screens for the hot tub area at our new house.  Despite the crowd, there were several empty stalls as there have been fewer Winter Texans than in the past.  Part of that is due to the low value of the Canadian dollar ($1.44 Canadian to $!.00 US), i.e. Canadians are paying $1.44 for each US dollar.  After the flea market we made our way to the Ranch House for the best burgers in the RGV.

This week also included a trip with birders Jerry and Karen Smith to Salaneno, a birding paradise on the banks of the Rio Grande River.  This is my favorite birding area largely because of the presence of three species of orioles, though there are many other species that visit the feeding area.  The photos below include the Altimira Oriole, Audubon’s Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Orange-crowned Warbler, Bewick’s Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and Black-crested Titmouse.

Kay and I have slept well since arriving in the Valley, and we both feel good (though the sciatica is really hurting).  I have read 13 books down here, and thus far this season has been one of the best of our 7 seasons; we’re keeping fingers crossed that warm dry weather continues.

It didn’t take long to get back in the routine of spending winter in the Rio Grande Valley.  And, the rain and cold weather upon our arrival helped as we were able to recharge our batteries.

New Year’s Day was uneventful as we stayed in the RV most of the day because of cool and wet weather.  Kay ventured out long enough to photograph the Polar Plunge, but only 4 brave souls participated; I had planned to, but had already been in the hot tub in the morning!

Saturday afternoon we ventured out to the Ranch House’s new location with Al, Sharon, Chuck, and Sue, and their burgers were just as good as always., though too much red meat for the health conscious. 

Up early Sunday morning, we attended church, and, since it’s our fifth year there, felt like home—same pastor and same music leader. 

While Kay was off to exercise Monday morning, I joined Al for golf at Los Lagos Golf Course in Edinburg, my favorite in the Valley.  The fairways were green, and the greens were fast and consistent.  We played Court Whist in the evening, though neither of us did well.

No activities were planned for Tuesday, but the weather was good for a bike ride, though a little cool.  Chuck and I road the “Roadrunner” Trail comprising an almost 9 mile route, and true to form, we spotted a couple of Roadrunners.  We made our first visit to Costco, purchasing food and other items not readily available at home.  Kay visited the “beauty” shop in the afternoon and got a really short haircut; the stylist began talking about her new expected grandbaby, and clipped right through the conversation!  Tuesday night is game night here in Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort (BPVRV), and along with Al and Sharon, we played bridge. I drew good cards and had great partner fits, ending up with high score for the evening.

Wednesday was golf at Meadow Creek, my least favorite course in the Valley.  The fairways are sparsely sodded, and the greens are uneven and inconsistent, though better than last year—excuses for a bad score!  Kay, Loretta (former neighbor from Norfork), and Sharon spent the afternoon viewing the new Star Wars movie.  Back at the resort, it was “Margarita Night” though neither of us attended.

Kay and I went different directions again on Thursday.  Chuck and I bicycled the “Roadrunner” trail again—8.9 miles in 1:03 hours—and it proved to be quite fortuitous as we say two roadrunners, one javelina , and one Bobwhite Quail.  It was the first javelina and quail we’ve seen on this trail.  Kay went to the Swedish weaving class only to find out she had to remove a whole line of weaving she had done previously.  This is her fourth project, and the other three looked fantastic.  It was game night, and Sandy Muscat joined us for bridge.  With 5 players, we alternated playing hands. The cards were not so kind.

The early part of the year was spent traveling between Arkansas and the Rio Grande Valley.  Having begun the year in the Rio Grande Valley, we returned to Arkansas in late January for the birth of our 4th grandchild, Aker Elizabeth Adams.  After a quick trip back to the Valley, Kay again returned to Arkansas a couple weeks later to assist with Aker’s care.  Back in the Valley for only three weeks, we both returned to Arkansas, in mid-March, awaiting completion of the new house—much of the early part of 2015 was spent focusing on construction of the new house! It seemingly took forever—when weather was bad, no work was done, and when weather was good, no work was done.  Finally on April 27, tired of living in the motorhome for 5 months and in rental property for 6 weeks, we moved in.  So, with a new house, all new furniture and furnishings, a new local church, and a few great old friends, life’s reset button was activated, and one of the last great adventures for us began (not as glamorous as it might appear).

Shortly after our moving in to the new house, Kay’s son Ron married Cheryl Williams, and she and daughter Jordan were joyfully welcomed into the family in early May. 

More than likely exacerbated by all the moving, my back finally gave out, leaving me unable to walk or stand for any length of time.  I was diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis in early July, and began receiving spinal injections, just in time for our next “adventure”.

In early August we accomplished another “life list” item via a 22-day Viking Grand European river cruise, visiting Amsterdam, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.  We met Canadian friends Chuck and Sue Mercer in Amsterdam, and spent 22 great days in Western and Middle Europe.  Germany was our favorite country and Prague was our favorite city.  The people were friendly, and the food, wine, and beer were great; Viking was 1st class all the way.  One of the highlights of the trip was meeting Syd and Karen Graveline from Ontario, Canada, with whom we shared many meals and conversations.

Kay injured her right wrist in late summer and spent the last half of the year being treated for tendonitis.  In addition, she had minor surgery for skin cancer on each side of her nose, and was bandaged for several days, looking like she had come out on the wrong end of a fight.

For the first time in several years, Thanksgiving and Christmas were at home in Arkansas, and we got to have lots of time with the grandkids.  Speaking of kids and grandkids, our older grandson, Kaden, is a sophomore in college, studying mechanical engineering, and our new step granddaughter, Jordan, just started college, playing softball for U of A Monticello. Karyn and Matt are busy with two little ones, with Aker growing like a weed while big brother Ridge, who turned 4 in October, is maturing into a busy young lad.  Jenny and Brian are doing well, and Harper turned 3 in July—a precocious little princess.  

In between all these exciting times, we continued furnishing and decorating the house, playing golf, and taking advantage of much that Hot Springs Village offers.

We ended the year traveling back to the Rio Grande Valley, our winter home, renewing relationships with many friends there.

Over the course of the year, many of you have directly touched our lives, and for that we are grateful; we are so blessed to have lots of great folks as friends and acquaintances.