Did we mention it is still raining?  This is the 6th straight day with rain, and without sunshine.  Again, it is difficult for us to complain too much as the area has been in a sustained drought and locals are so happy with the liquid sunshine.

With all the rain, the motorhome gets lots of debris tracked on the floor, so while Kay laundered clothes, I vacuumed and mopped the motorhome.  The car is next, but with rain forecast for the next couple of days, there’s no need to hurry.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet, and allowed time for catching up on the blog and photographs.  Kay “carved” the fresh pineapple she bought yesterday at the Farmer’s Market across from Don Wes Flea Market in Donna, Texas.

Rain, again!  Kay drove to HEB, a Texas grocery chain, to pick up some groceries and hor’ dourves for tonight.

Jim and Ginny met us about 10:00 AM, and we drove east to Donna, Texas, for the Don Wes Flea Market.  The flea marked was quite subdued today due to inclement weather, and was one big mud hole.  Almost all the outside booths were closed.  However, we found several things to look at inside, and Jim bought some mirror covers for his Country Coach motorhome and Kay found a blouse she couldn’t live without.

After whiling away the morning and early afternoon at the flea market, we arrived at Fat Daddy’s about 2:00 PM for a late lunch and were not disappointed with their smoked meats.  Kay and I split a plate of brisket, sausage, and pork tenderloin with sides of beans and slaw.  Jim had a similar plate, but with ribs which looked great, and Ginny had a burger.  Fat Daddy’s was out of T-shirts, but we promised Jim we would pick one up for him later this month.  Fat Daddy’s has license plates from almost all the states in the US and provinces in Canada. Last time we were there, February 2009, he did not have one from Arkansas, but promised us he would get one.  Well, this time, he had two, and we expressed to him our delight, as well as our pleasure in eating the food.

Next, we were off to the produce market across from the Don Wes Flea Market.  Jim and Ginny bought some oranges, and Kay bought some pineapple.

Back at Bentsen Palm Village RV Park, we had a window of non-rain and made a quick trip to the state park for Jim and Ginny to get their first glimpse of a green jay.  We were fortunate to also see several Great kiskadees (Pitangus sulphuratus) and Green jays (Cyuanocorax yncas), but no Plain chachalaca (Ortalis vetula).

By the time we arrived back at the motorhome, margarita hour had begun in the clubhouse.  My, oh my, but was it ever packed.  We squeezed our way through with Italian meatballs in a barbecue sauce, and I got us a table where Kay joined me, and Jim and Ginny got margaritas.  After about an hour, it was over, and all of the meatballs, as well as the myriad of other hor’ dourves were gone.  My diet Dr. Pepper was quite good as well!  Maybe next year…

We returned to the motorhome for a farewell visit, after which Jim and Ginny left for their hotel and a return tomorrow to Rockport via South Padre Island.  We sure did have a great time with them, and it was indeed a pleasure getting to know them a bit better.  We’re hoping to see them in the Village or at a rally this spring.

After coffee, email, and breakfast, Kay began the day with a Zumba exercise class while I walked the length of the park and back, carrying the trash to the dumpster in the process.  Oh, by the way, it’s raining again, with another 5 days of rain in the forecast. 

Just after lunch, new friends and fellow Arkansas Travelers, Jim and Ginny, arrived from Rockport, Texas, where they are spending a few weeks.  Jim and Ginny are from Hot Springs Village, and we took an instant liking to them when we first met at a rally in 2010.  Jim is a retired engineer/executive from Caterpillar, and Ginny is a retired accountant. They are visiting the Rio Grande Valley for the first time.

After Jim and Ginny took a tour of Bentsen Palm Village RV Park, Retama Village, and other properties owned, developed, and managed by Mike Rhodes with the Bentsen Palm Village RV Park manager, we drove to the Riverside Club for a late lunch.  To our surprise, a live country western band was playing, and Kay and I had to dance a country waltz first thing.  Jim ordered a pork tenderloin sandwich and the others of us ordered grilled chicken salads.  I swear his pork tenderloin was larger than most plates, and looked scrumptious.  If only I weren’t on Weight Watchers… 

We drove to Westlaco after lunch to visit Jim and Cheryl and Menlo and Micky, but much to our disappointment, Menlo and Micky had returned home to East Texas.  Jim and Cheryl were a hoot, and both are looking quite young with their tan, exercise, and other activities.  They gave Jim and Ginny the lowdown on several things to do and places to see in the Valley.  We had a great visit, but didn’t stay long as their RV park was having entertainment tonight.  We then drove a short distance to Llana Grande Resort in Mercedes.  Llana Grande is an upper scale park complete with golf course, but has a lot of park models intermingled with RVs.  We then drove back to Bentsen Palm Village, deboarding Jim and Ginny for their drive back to the hotel.

Having awakened at 4:30 AM, I called it a night pretty early. 

It’s still raining, so we are washing clothes, cleaning the RV, and reading.

Okay, time to do something even if it is wrong.  About noon, the rain decided to abate, so we rushed to guest services for a pass to the Bentsen Palm State Park, a part of the World Birding Center.  The state park is on the US/Mexico border and is the winter home of several migrating species of birds and waterfowl.  As a resident of Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort, we get a free pass to the state park. 

We began the 3-mile walk about 12:30 PM, and immediately saw birds unusual to us at the first set of feeders.  As we continued along the road, we saw other beautifully colored birds.  Here are some of the birds we saw, in the following order in the photographs:  Great kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), Plain chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) about the size of a small chicken, Green jays (Cyuanocorax yncas), and Altamira oriole (Icterus gularis).

The weeks are rolling by quickly, and today is going-to-church day again.  The particular church we decided to attend, First United Methodist Church in Mission, has 3 services:  a contemporary service at 8:00 AM, a praise and worship service at 9:00 AM, and a traditional service at 11:00 AM, with Sunday School at 10:00 AM.  We opted for the  praise and worship service.  When we arrived the parking lot was practically full, but we found a space that someone was vacating.  As we entered the foyer, we noted how packed the 8:00 AM contemporary service was, and were quite surprised.  Of course, many of the attendees, mostly of the older white variety, were Winter Texans.  The 9:00 AM service was a totally different service, with a very sparse and diverse congregation; we were among the minority as most were Hispanic with a few black attendees.  There was a lot of music, and the combination music leader and piano/keyboard player was extraordinarily good, really jazzing up some of the more traditional songs.  The message of the day was from Isaiah, and quite simple, based on the often misinterpreted word “wait” as used in the book of Isaiah, meaning to serve, e.g. WAITer, WAITress, WAIT tables, etc.  Another interesting, but ominous thing—the minister asked for prayers for his gardener’s friend who was kidnapped in Mexico, and no one has heard from the man since.  They suspect he was killed, is being held for ransom, or will be used to run drugs across the border to save his life.  Things really are worse in Mexico than we assumed.  We stopped by the coffee bar after the service, staffed by a couple from Lawton, OK, who are fellow RVers that had been coming to the Valley as Winter Texans for over 10 years, and attending this church for that long. 

The Rio Grande Valley received two inches of rain last night, and It continues to rain, with rain in the forecast for the next 7 days.  It’s hard to complain as this part of Texas is desperately in need of rain, and is still in serious a drought.

As we watched the last of the super bowl, we heard a helicopter flying the border right near us for a couple of hours.  I looked out once and could barely see its lights.  Folks down here have told us the Border Patrol flies completely dark often in an attempt to spot illegal aliens with infrared cameras.

Chef McDonald cooked our breakfast today; he sure gets around.

We drove to Donna, Texas, to the Don Wes Flea Market.  This Flea Market is by no means the largest at which we’ve shopped, but it is by far the junkiest!  There are a few good items, like Rada knives, but a lot of it is nothing but junk—I suppose that’s what real flea markets are for.  Also, one can see a cross-section of North America Texas there including Canadians from their west coast to the east coast, folks from just about every state in the USA, and a few people from Mexico.  (NOTE:  the violence in Mexico is much worse than we had imagined. Many Latinos from the US that travel to Mexico are being kidnapped and killed or kidnapped and used to carry drugs across the border to the US.  Mexican nationals, for the most part, do not travel via automobile to the US for fear of being kidnapped or killed as they travel Mexican roads and highways.  Rather, an increasing number are flying to the US for their shopping excursions as more and more small commercial flights are available.)  Back to the flea market.  Kay bought a couple of pineapples, a couple of Rada knives, and a few kitchen things.  (NOTE:  for those of you from our hometown of Bradford, Mrs. Rena Hickman used to sell Rada knives as a fundraiser for the Eastern Star, and my mom would use them until nothing much was left of the blade.)

After the Don Wes Flea Market, we drove to Paradise South RV Park to visit friends Jim and Cheryl from Republic, Missouri.  It sure was good to see them and visit after such a long absence; we last saw them at an RV rally in Branson in June 2011.  We caught up on kids and grandkids, and summer and fall RV trips.  We consider Jim and Cheryl to be among our favorite RVing couples, and hope to do some bluegrass festivals with them this coming year.

We departed Jim and Cheryl’s place just after the lunch hour, and drove west to Bentsen Palm Village RV Park.  Along the way, it began raining, and the temperature was dropping like a lead weight, from 84 degrees to 64 degrees in just a couple of hours.  We had a late lunch, a quiet afternoon, and watched some recorded television for the evening, though Kay did take a break for some serious girl shopping.

Cooking was the chore of the morning—I cooked breakfast outside using an electric burner (hot plate) and Kay cooked a hamburger/eggplant dish using the electric skillet.  As she was cooking, I walked the trash all the way to the end of the RV park, at least a quarter of a mile, and visited with other RVers on the way back.
After lunch, I spent a couple of hours at the pool and spa while Kay drove into Mission for a pedicure which was much less expensive than at home.  Mountain Home charges a high price on a number of items including personal care and health-related services, taking advantage of the largely blue-collar resort community.  Pedicures there are $30 compared to $25 in Little Rock and $20 here in the Rio Grande Valley, and men’s haircuts are $12 compared to $8-10 elsewhere.  Guess one has to pay for their thrills.
At 4:00 PM, Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort hosted the Link Family, a bluegrass, gospel, and evangelizing family from Lebanon, Missouri.  It was one of the best programs we’ve seen in the Valley, with some awesome talent, particularly the “kids” playing their various bluegrass instruments—mandolin, fiddle, and banjo.
At 6:00 PM, we drove to Alamo Bell RV Park in Alamo, Texas, for a dance, sharing 3 tables with our dance instructor, his wife, and other Winter Texans.  We sat next to a very nice, full-timing couple originally form the Minneapolis area, and he and I shared a common bond of being prostate cancer survivors, after having had the same kind of surgery.
It was late when we arrived back at the RV, ending another full day of activities in the Rio Grande Valley.

What to do, what to do?

Our first order of business after coffee and email was a trip to Walmart for some groceries and other necessities.  (Bentsen Palm Village RV Park is a gated park, and the gates are open only from 8 AM to 5 PM; we departed before 8 AM so had to let the gate automatically open to get out.) The Walmart was fairly new, and designed specifically with Latinos in mind, i.e. the shelves were not as tall, or at least that’s what we were told.  We hurried with our shopping as we wanted to get back for the 10:30 AM Trail Dancing lesson.  With an hour to spare, I washed the road grime and grease off the Honda, and then got ready for the dancing lesson.  We joined several other couples at the Activities Center, and once they started, I knew I was out of place.  Trail Dancing is like line dancing, but for couples who dance in unison.  I don’t like any part of line dancing (though you’d never know I have a strong opinion about this.) 

We left after the first song, but to make it up to Kay, I looked up the phone number of our former dance instructor; Kay called, and we got the particulars of where and what he would be teaching.  Bob and Linda are extraordinary teachers. Their typical class consists of 4 30-minute segments: polka, two step, waltz, and swing, all done to country music. After a quick lunch, we drove to the RV park where he was giving lessons, including the Western Cha-cha, and it was just like old times, though we had forgotten all but the most basic steps.  It didn’t take long to get back in the swing of things (get it, swing, like Texas Swing).  At this particular park, they have opted for the Cha-cha in stead of the polka, so this was a new dance for us.   Having arrived at 12:30 PM, we were ready to call it quits at 3:00 PM, with sore feet!  It was back to Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort for the pool and spa, and it was sooooo good.

After our R&R, I walked in the park while Kay rode her bicycle.  It sure is good to do things outdoors!  We sat on the patio, cooked and ate dinner, and read books to wrap up the evening.  Wow, what a great first day.

After our usual morning routine, we finished putting everything in its traveling place, retracted the slides, unhooked the water and electricity, and retracted the leveling jacks.  Kay paid our electricity bill for 15 days—$37.  We hooked up the Honda and at just past 8:30 AM were on our way south through Corpus Christi, Kingsville, and on to Mission.  At Kingsville, we turned west for a few miles on a sparsely traveled road, and saw over 50 sandhill cranes in the ranch pastures.  Our auxiliary brake accidentally engaged on the way, and we had to come to an emergency stop and remove it since it wouldn’t quit cycling.  As we got closer to the Rio Grande Valley, traffic increased, and we took a rock to the windshield in Edinburgh, Texas; replacing motorhome windshields is a costly endeavor, about $1,100.  We’ll see if someone can’t “patch” the dime size spatter. Flexibility is the key to RVing, and things aren’t as bad as they may appear in this writing.  We have learned to just go with the flow, i.e. it is what it is.

We arrived at Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort in Mission, Texas, about 12:30 PM, finally.  We have been on their waiting list since February 2008, and finally were able to get reservations for this February when we called last April 2011.  And yes, it’s that nice of a park.  After checking in, we were led to our site, set up, and immediately turned the air conditioner on to cool down from the high 80’s temperatures.  Lunch was leftovers (seems like we have leftovers a lot).  We were then off to the pool and spa to relax our aging muscles.  Afterward, we walked through parts of the park and were amazed at the number of Canadians.  When we were through here in 2008 and 2009, about 75% of RVers were from the US.  That has now changed and about 75% are from Canada.  The poor state of the US economy is really apparent, and we are hearing that next year will likely be worse for RVers here in this park.  It’s just my opinion, but after seeing our national parks and monuments out west and seeing RVers in south Texas, “foreigners” are really taking over.  More power to them, but it’s time we get our USA house back in order!  (Kay will lecture me on this political statement.)

Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort has a calendar packed with activities ranging from outdoor activities such as birding tours, kayaking, and bicycling, to more sedate activities such as cards, karaoke, and dancing. They also have a huge woodworking shop, do wood carving and wood burning, and everything in between—we settled on karaoke tonight, and it was a hoot.  There were a couple of good singers, though none were even close to Kay.  The others would have made good entries on the Gong Show, and the more lubricated they got, the funnier they sang.  We laughed and laughed.  One guy had had his voice box removed and used his artificial voice box to sing—you’ve all seen these folks who hold an amplifying device up to a flap on their throat.  After watching these folks make a fool of themselves, we finally had to call it a night.

With respect to Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort, as Little Orphan Annie said, “I think I’m going to like it here.” 

We leave this area tomorrow, heading further south to Mission, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. 

After our requisite coffee, email, and news, Kay demanded breakfast in bed, and being the servant husband, I obliged.  We called Carolyn today back in Mountain Home to wish her a happy birthday; we sang real loud as she must be a zillion years old—poor Dick!  Happy birthday, Carolyn, and God speed on recovery from your surgery.  We love you.

Bruce and Jeannie came by for all of us to surprise to Don and Kay from Independence, Missouri.  They were not to be found, and we discovered that a close relative had passed away, and they returned home.  We were sad to miss them, but will email them. 

We then drove around looking at pricey subdivisions, RV parks, and a place to have our real final get together before Kay and I leave.  We decided on The Big Fisherman.  Their outside had some beautiful flowers along the entrance.  On Tuesday’s, they have fried chicken livers, chicken gizzards, and chicken fried steak, with all the trimmings for lunch for $2.25.  Also, their margaritas were $0.99 until 4:00 PM.  A line was already forming at 10:30 AM.

We returned at 3:00 PM, and the lines has dissipated; Ginny met us at the door and escorted us to a table where Mark, Joana, and Jim were already seated.  Bruce and Jeannie joined us a few minutes later, and Bruce played catch-up on the margaritas which were plentiful, though I stuck with just plain ol’ water—poor Jeanie just had to sit in amazement.  Kay and I ordered the grilled fish, shrimp, and crab cake, while some others ordered the $2.25 special; we are limiting our intake of fried food—arrgh!  The food was good, and those who had the “all-you-can-eat” $2.25 special said their food was good as well.  When the bill came, several had a bar bills larger than their food bill, given the $0.99 margaritas and $2.25 dinner—go figure!

Kay and I returned to finish “packing” for the trip south tomorrow.