December 20 to 26, 2015

Sunday ; Sunny and mild during the day, chilly in the evening. Today was our first day of a two week stint as Kofa Ko-op's "Welcome Committee".

This morning we went over to last week's "Welcome Committee" couple to pick up the Welcome Committee's golf cart and "Welcome" materials. After lunch our neighbours / friends Carol Mae and Larry came over to discuss their plans to visit Vancouver Island on their way to Alaska by ferry next summer. Mid-afternoon Joanne went to the office to get the list of today's "arrivals", so that we could visit them as the Welcome Committee.

Oh my goodness ! Eight arrivals today. Usually there are only one or two per day. We spent from 3:30 PM until 5:45 "welcoming", then rushed to be ready for the ice cream social at 6 PM where Joanne and I "hosted" the "new visitors' table".

We found out, from one of today's arrivals, that an old friend of ours, a resident of SKP Park of the Sierras near Coarsegold, California, has died. The last time we visited her, about a year ago, she was recuperating from a stroke. We knew she probably would not live much longer. And ... she didn't want to live much longer. Nevertheless, it saddens me that she's gone. Rest in peace, Diane !

After the ice cream social we returned home to the over baked lasagna waiting in the oven ... < sigh >. But ... on the upside ... WOO-HOO ... Downton Abbey !

Monday ; Sunny and mild.

This morning Joanne went out shopping by herself again. I spent the day working on maintenance chores.

Somewhat surprisingly, there were no arrivals today. So ... no "Welcome Committee" work for us today.

At 6 PM we headed for PetsMart. With Bo ! He LOOOOOVES Christmas shopping. HA HA HA ! We bought a bag of dog food and Bo's Christmas gifts. On the way back home we stopped at Albertsons to buy some fried chicken and side dishes for supper.

Astoundingly ... I have another cold ! ! ! ! ! Third in three months ! ! ! < sigh >

Tuesday ; Cloudy and mild.

We spent the morning doing routine chores. This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our weekly shift of cat cuddling and dog walking. Afterwards we did our Welcome Committee duties. One arrival today.

Joanne prepared fresh guacamole as an "amuse-bouche" for dinner. Then I cooked eggs in Crema CentroAmericana, and served them on toast. MMMMM !  I could not resist buying Crema CentroAmericana when I saw it in the grocery store recently.
I wondered how similar it would be to Crema Salvadoreña and/or Crema Mexicana.

Joanne had long phone chats today with our 94 year old Escapee friend Eilene who is back home in Oregon for the first winter in about three decades, and our neighbor / friend Jeanine back home at Riverside RV Resort near Keremeos, BC.

I am feeling really ill tonight ... with cold #3 !

Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.

Joanne went out shopping by herself again today. I did chores. AFTER the very slow, late start that I get to each day when I'm suffering from a cold. I did obedience training with Bo. Very well done, Bo, good dog ! After lunch I spent much of the afternoon slowly wrapping Christmas gifts. Have I mentioned ... ?   I HATE wrapping gifts !

Late in the afternoon we did our "Welcome Committee" duties, followed by the regular Wednesday potluck. After the potluck we had one more late arrival to visit, and spent quite awhile with them.

Christmas Eve ; Sunny and mild.

We visited with friends and neighbours today. We did our Welcome Committee duties.
I spent much of the afternoon working on my cactus gardens. OUCH !  Joanne made tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for supper, as she always does for Christmas Eve dinner. In the evening we watched two movies ; Happy Feet and one of my all time favourites, Uncle Buck. HA HA HA !

 

Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad

 

Again this morning we broke with life long family tradition, and deferred our Christmas morning waffle breakfast until tomorrow morning. After a light breakfast we went into the Arizona room to open gifts. WOO-HOO ... Bo's twelfth Christmas of opening all the gifts ; his and ours. Bo LOOOOOVES opening gifts. HA HA HA ! By the end of opening gifts he seemed to be close to adrenaline overload !

Now ... for those of you who are prone to notice such things ... HA HA HA ... I cut and pasted that paragraph from last year's Christmas Day journal, and changed but one word. And it fit today as well as it did last year ! HA HA HA !

Joanne went to the clubhouse at 1 PM to make gravy for 120 people. You go, girl ! She did a great job. Especially since her gravy making partner bailed at the last minute due to illness and she had to do it by herself. I went to the clubhouse at 2:30 PM to prepare for my volunteer job as a server. And discovered that ... I was the "senior" server. I was serving Christmas dinner with four other people who had never done it before. So ...
I became the "supervisor".

And what a great job we all did ! ! ! Everybody involved, from early this morning, right up until the serving process, did an excellent job ! When we were finished serving 120 people, there were about a dozen servings remaining of turkey dark meat, turkey white meat, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, and ( Joanne's ) gravy. Just about the right amount for the invalid and ill who were unable to come to the clubhouse for Christmas dinner.

There were many, many side dishes and deserts contributed potluck style. Joanne and I hosted a "new arrivals" table because of our Welcome Committee responsibilities this week. Christmas dinner was excellent !

Afterwards Joanne and I took Bo for a long, slow walk all around the RV park, up and down each road, wishing friends and neighbours a Merry Christmas. We spent a quiet evening watching Christmas specials on TV. While drinking eggnog and eating fruit cake, of course. HA HA HA !

 
Boxing Day ( in Canada ) ; Chilly, very windy, sky obscured by blowing dust ... a desert storm !

This morning we prepared my family's traditional Christmas morning brunch ... delayed one day ... of Belgian waffles, served with a thick coating of strawberry jam and vanilla ice cream. MMMMM ! Admittedly, an acquired taste. After 41 years of marriage, Joanne has not acquired the taste. HA HA HA ! She still eats her waffles with maple syrup. Bo prefers the jam and ice cream version. HA HA HA !

This afternoon we went shopping at the Goodwill Thrift Store. Everything was 50% off today. I bought a bunch of shorts and t-shirts, the clothing items I wear the most, and wear out the most. Joanne bought ( ANOTHER ) curling iron and ( ANOTHER ) blow dryer. < shrug > Apparently one can never have enough curling irons and blow dryers. HA HA HA ! I suppose she could say the same thing about my shorts and t-shirts.

Late this afternoon Joanne did laundry and we did our daily Welcome Committee visits. Three arrivals today, including one from Nova Scotia. They’re an awful long way from home ! BUT ... they are repeat visitors, coming here every year for many years.

A few minutes ago I took Bo out for a bathroom break in the dog park. As he climbed over our back yard fence, he confronted a Roadrunner standing at the bottom of our dog park steps. Bo gave chase. The Roadrunner quickly ran around behind my cactus gardens and jumped back over the fence into our next door neighbour's yard to escape Bo, who had barely begun to move by the time the Roadrunner cleared the fence. BEEP BEEP !  HA HA HA !   They’re so fast !   Bo came limping back around the gardens with a segment of Cholla Cactus embedded in his rear leg. OUCH ! Poor Bo !
I picked him up, carried him over the fence and into our shed where I pulled the Cholla segment off his leg using a pair of pliers. Fortunately he had not stepped on the Cholla segment. It just "jumped" onto his leg as he ran by it. No, no ... Cholla segments don't really "jump". It just seems that way because they detach and stick against anything that brushes against them, no matter how lightly.



Lanoire reached 300,000 km. today.  What a great truck !

DSK

December 13 to 19, 2015

Sunday ; Sunny and warm. How nice !

We had a long, tiring, busy day of "return home" chores. Our yard is overrun with Goat's Head Cacti, a ground creeping vine type of plant with tiny buds, each with a couple of very sharp little quills, hence the name "Goat's Head". They are deadly to dogs' feet ! And the soles of our shoes. Joanne spent the entire day weeding them out of our yard. And she's only about half done !  I think our days of "no herbicide spraying" on our lot are over !

I lent my very sharp machete to a new neighbour who just bought the lot across the street. The cacti on their lot are so large that he had to trim them by whackin' 'em with my machete. HA HA HA ! At 5 PM we took Bo for a walk around the dog park. At 6 PM we went to the regular weekly ice cream social where we chatted with old friends Charles and Coralee.

Monday ; Sunny, chilly, windy.

Another long, tiring day of "return home" chores. Joanne finished weeding the yard late this afternoon after two full days of working on it. Her hands look like hell !  I appreciate her efforts. Well done, dear, thank you. I spent the day doing repairs. Our Arizona room roof sustained some damage during a violent summer storm.

Tuesday ; Sunny and chilly. I guess winter has arrived in Yuma.

We got a late start to our day again. My cold is almost over but I'm suffering from fatigue and low stamina. Part of the fatigue is because I'm not sleeping well. Because all night long Joanne is coughing and hoarking and snorting and making all those other ugly throat noises that she makes when she has a cold ... < sigh >. Yes, yes ... not only have I had two colds since we left home three months ago ... I've passed both of them on to Joanne.

This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our first volunteer shift of this winter season. Our friend and neighbour Carol Mae came along. Joanne did "cat cuddling". Carol Mae and I did dog walking. At the end of our two hour "shift" we were tired.

Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Sunny and chilly, high temperature of 62º F.

This morning we headed for Los Algodones, Mexico, for dental appointments. BUT ... due to Joanne having a cold, I persuaded her to cancel her appointment today. SO ... while I went for a dental cleaning, she went for a pedicure. AND ... while I was having my teeth cleaned by a hygienist, my periodontist had to leave unexpectedly. HMPH ! SO ... my periodontal examination was postponed ! When my cleaning was completed
I rescheduled my periodontal examination and Joanne's cleaning and examination for two weeks from today.

After my dental cleaning and Joanne's pedicure were completed we went for lunch to our favourite little "restaurant" in Los Algodones. After lunch we returned to the border, eager to get some chores and errands done back in Yuma. This was our fourth time crossing from Mexico back into the United States in the last month and a half, and I have a suspicion. Our border crossings have been so fast and painless, with thinly veiled contempt by the Customs & Border Patrol agents, I suspect that they have been advised to "keep hands off" the Canadians returning to the U.S. from Mexican border / tourist towns.

Once back in Yuma we went to Pep Boys to return an item, to Lowe's to purchase an item, and finally, Albertsons to buy groceries. Once back home we took Bo for a walk around the dog park perimeter before it got dark outside. We spent the evening watching the three hour season finale of Survivor.

Thursday ; Sunny and cool. It was a long, tiring day of moving from Elsie the truck camper into Harvey the fifth wheel trailer.

This morning our neighbour / friend Carol Mae came over to show us her new "foster" puppy, a six week old ... who knows ? A cute little female, probably a Chihuahua / Terrier mix, black with a small white patch on her chest. A "tuxedo" ! Carol Mae will care for the puppy for at least a couple of weeks, until it's old enough to go back to the Humane Society and be put into the adoption kennels.

Joanne "moved" everything that needed to be removed from the truck camper into the Arizona room. I prepared the truck camper for storage. Right after lunch we drove to Kofa Ko-op's storage area and unloaded the camper off Lanoire the truck. I installed the fifth wheel hitch into the truck and we hitched up to the fifth wheel trailer. On the way back to our lot we stopped at the park's air compressor and refilled the trailer's tires with air. We got backed into our lot, then I worked on outside chores while Joanne worked on inside chores, including "moving" from the Arizona room back into the trailer. I was not quite finished with outside set up chores when darkness fell. < sigh >

Harvey the fifth wheel trailer is showing his age ! Sitting unused in the brutal summer heat here is taking its toll !

Friday ; Sunny and cool. We spent most of the day running shopping errands.

First stop after heading out this morning was Peanut Patch, the local peanut farm and store to buy some freshly made peanut butter. Then over to Arizona MarketPlace where I needed to buy a few hardware items at Wally's World. We bumped into one of our old acquaintances from SKP BC Okanagan Chapter 33.   Working !   I strenuously object to Canadians working illegally in the United States !

Next stop was Lowe's to return the 14" roof vent I recently purchased for our shed, and to special order the correct 12" size roof vent. We went to Rally's for lunch. As always at Rally's ... atrocious service, excellent food ! After lunch we shopped at the 99¢ Only Store, and finally ... < sigh > ... Wal-Mart.

Back at home we went to check on Carol Mae's foster puppy, then I connected and configured our satellite dish and receiver. It's a semi-annual chore I don't like doing, mostly because it usually doesn't go smoothly. Today was no exception !

For supper I barbecued marinated steaks with foil wrapped packets of potatoes, carrots and onions. MMMMM ... simple but good !

Saturday ; Sunny and mild.

Joanne went out shopping by herself this morning. I began work on removing the Arizona room's snap-on vinyl walls. By lunch time I had removed the "end" wall panels and needed help to finish removing the long "side" wall panels.

By the time I was finished lunch Joanne had returned home. I napped briefly while Joanne began our Christmas decorating. She helped me remove the Arizona room's "side" wall panels, then we worked together to complete our Christmas decorating. We took Bo for a lap around the seven acre dog park, then went out for dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant with Laszlo and Gail, our friends from Kamloops, B.C.

Every year we receive one old fashioned "snail mail" Christmas card. It arrived today.

Thank you for the Christmas card, Julie.

DSK

December 6 to 12, 2015 ; San Antonio, Texas to Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ; San Antonio to Interstate 10 mile marker 310 rest area, Texas

Sunny and warm today. Cold tonight in the West Texas desert.

Today we formed very unfavourable opinions of Texas, particularly San Antonio ;

• the store clerks are stupid !
• the drivers are rude and dangerously aggressive, especially the Hispanics and < ahem > "African Americans" ! Yes, yes, I know that sounds racist. I'm unrepentant. Don't waste your time sending me a "flame" comment.
• the highways are filthy, particularly with a lot of road kill.
• the rest areas are obnoxiously filthy ! Does no one in Texas know how to use a garbage can ? ! ?

Last night when we arrived at the Wal-Mart in San Antonio the camper's battery was near dead. This morning it was dead. Wal-Mart did not have any deep cycle RV batteries. I'm going to try to survive without replacing the camper's battery until Tuesday in El Paso, when I can buy exactly the battery I want.

While I removed the battery from the camper this morning to attempt to revive it ... I was unsuccessful ... Joanne went into Wal-Mart to buy me some cold medication. She was in there for an hour ! And came out without it ! ! ! To make a very long story short ... the clerks in Wal-Mart in San Antonio are stupid ! AND ... the U.S. government, in its infinite wisdom, has made it impossible for a Canadian ( or any other non-U.S. citizen ) to buy certain cold medications ! ! !

Keeping your Homeland Secure ... one box of Advil Cold and Sinus at a time ! ! ! ! !

Before leaving San Antonio we refilled with diesel and freshwater. We drove north through San Antonio on Interstate 35 and Interstate 10, then headed west out of the city on Interstate 10. We had lunch in a rest area. Later in the afternoon I had a brief nap in another rest area. Finally, we stopped for the night, half an hour after nightfall, at another rest area.

Today was the first of what will probably be three boring days of driving across the scruffy desert of West Texas. And it's not made any easier by how miserable this cold is making me feel !

Monday ; Interstate 10 mile marker 310 rest area to Interstate 10 mile marker 45 rest area, Texas

Sunny and warm. Another boring day of driving across the endless scruffy desert of West Texas.

We left the rest area this morning and continued westbound on Interstate 10. We stopped in Fort Stockton to refill the camper's freshwater tank, refill with diesel, and buy a loaf of bread. What a scruffy desert town ! We stopped at a rest area to have lunch. We stopped again at a rest area to boondock overnight.

My cold symptoms have finally begun to lessen. I did not feel as miserable today as yesterday.

When I took Bo out for his bed time bathroom walk I met two young men from France. They were parked behind us, in an old camper van bearing Quebec license plates. They had spent the summer working in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and were now on their way to Baja California, Mexico. They wanted to chat, and ask questions about travel in Mexico. I spent about an hour and a half talking with them. When I returned into our camper, Joanne was very angry with me for spending that long outside without explaining to her where I was and why. Sorry !

Tuesday ; Interstate 10 mile marker 45 rest area, Texas to Deming, New Mexico

Sunny and mild. The camper’s battery is “hanging in there”. So ... we did not stop in El Paso to buy a new battery for the camper as previously planned.

We left the rest area this morning and continued westbound on Interstate 10. In about half an hour we reached El Paso. I stopped at Flying J to refill with fresh water and dump our waste holding tanks. A few minutes after getting back onto the Interstate the traffic ground to halt. We were in a traffic gridlock that lasted over an hour and a half due to a multi-vehicle accident a few miles ahead.

Shortly after crossing from Texas into New Mexico we stopped to refill with diesel and have lunch. We continued westbound on Interstate 10 until we reached Deming where we checked into Dream Catcher SKP RV Park. I spent a couple of hours in the clubhouse working on my laptop getting caught up on online work including posting last week's entry to my blog.

Wednesday ; Deming, New Mexico to Hot Well Dunes, Arizona

Sunny and warm.

We left Dream Catcher SKP RV Park this morning and continued heading west on Interstate 10. We crossed from New Mexico into Arizona and stopped in Bowie to have lunch ... in a cemetery parking lot. We headed north from Bowie on a wide, good condition sand road for 19 miles across the desert to Hot Well Dunes BLM ( Bureau of Land Management OR Boomers with Lots of Money ) Recreation Site.

We were told about Hot Well Dunes' hot tubs by a man from Minnesota, in the hot tub at Kenwood RV Resort in La Feria, Texas a few weeks ago. Almost a hundred years ago, while searching / drilling for oil, an underground hot aquifer was struck instead of oil. Ever since there has been a "hot well" bringing hot water to the surface for hot tubs. The BLM has developed a small unserviced campsite here, with two concrete hot tubs, and solar powered pumps bringing hot water to the surface, to the hot tubs, all day long.

We found our way here, found the hot tubs, found a campsite that we liked, and settled in ... around 3 PM. We went to soak in a hot tub for the rest of the afternoon, chatting with a Canadian woman from Saskatchewan and an American man from California. We knew the afternoon soak was over as soon as the water stopped flowing into the hot tub. It meant that the sun had set low enough that the solar powered pumps were no longer working. No more hot water being brought up from deep underground. And the existing water in the tub began to cool rapidly. HA HA HA !

I set up our little barbecue on the ramada shaded picnic table on our site to barbecue beef ribs for supper. The only thing missing from our evening was the ability to watch Survivor. I didn't think it was likely that we could receive any "over the air" signals this far out in the desert, but ... I had nothing to lose. I raised the roof top antenna, started up our generator ( because the camper's battery is too close to dead to be able to power the inverter ) and set the TV to scan. WOW ... thirteen channels ! From Tucson, which is over a hundred miles away ! But ... I guess the TV signals travel far over flat desert. It took two scans, but I found a weak CBS signal. WOO-HOO ! Survivor !

We took Bo for a fun "hide and seek" obedience session in the sand dunes surrounding us. We stood outside and watched the gorgeous desert sunset. Joanne made a salad and baked potatoes in the camper oven. I barbecued beef ribs outside. Good supper ! We ate while watching Survivor.

Thursday ; Hot Well Dunes to Benson, Arizona

Sunny and warm. Welcome to Arizona !

We had a late start to our day. Before leaving the Hot Well Dunes BLM Recreation Site we went for a long soak in the hot tub. We left about noon. We drove 19 miles back to Interstate 10, then continued heading west. We left the Interstate and drove through Wilcox looking for a restaurant that we had read about, but we were unable to find it. We continued on to Benson where we stopped in the parking lot of Safeway and had a very late lunch.

After lunch we refilled our five gallon water jug at a refill machine outside the store, then went inside to do some grocery shopping. After grocery shopping we went driving through town looking for cheap / reasonably priced diesel fuel. Didn't find any. I'll refill tomorrow in Tucson. Found a propane refill business and stopped to refill an empty tank. Was served by a stubborn and ignorant old man who was unable to read the label on our propane tank specifying "horizontal fill" instructions. Apparently he didn't have his reading glasses. He was unwilling to accept my instructions and was determined to fill the tank incorrectly in a vertical position. I would not allow him to do that. We ended up in a profanity filled shouting match when he suggested that I "take your tank and return to Canada".

We checked into Saguaro Co-op SKP RV Park. We selected a site in their unserviced area then took Bo for a walk in the desert surrounding the RV park. We refilled with freshwater and dumped our waste holding tanks then went to the clubhouse to get some work done online using Wi-Fi. We have our plans and map directions for tomorrow in Tucson.

Friday ; Benson to Tucson to Casa Grande, Arizona

Sunny and warm.

We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank again before leaving Saguaro Co-op SKP RV Park around 11 AM this morning. We reached Tucson less than an hour later. First stop was to refill with diesel. Next stop was ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... TRADER JOE’ S ! ! ! Our annual Christmas shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. HA HA HA ! Over a hundred bucks worth of impulse purchased exotic / gourmet foods and snacks.

Across the street from Trader Joe’s was a BMO Harris Bank. HUH ? Is that the same as BMO ( Bank of Montreal ) in Canada ? Could I access my BMO accounts and services here ? I drove across the street and went inside to find out. Well ... yes ... no ... sort of ... not really ! < rolling eyes >

We drove across the street ... again ... to a mall where there was a Beyond Bread Bakery & Restaurant. We wanted to have lunch there after reading a favourable article. After finding a parking spot ... not that easy ... I noticed that I was parked near a luggage store whose name rang a bell with me. Recently I was online checking the lifetime warranty and repair services offered by Briggs & Riley Luggage. I have a Briggs & Riley travel wash kit that is well over thirty years old. It was in need of a minor repair.
I recognized the name of the luggage shop I was parked near as an authorized repair dealer for Briggs & Riley. I went inside, had a chat with the shop owner / manager, and he offered to have his repair man fix my wash kit within an hour, while we had lunch. WOW ! How excellent is that ? ! ?

We had a very nice lunch at the bakery restaurant. When we were done we returned to the luggage store, and my wash kit was repaired. WOW ! ! ! Great ! Thank you to Rainey’s Luggage in Tucson for the immediate and excellent repair service and to Briggs & Riley for the lifetime warranty !

The luggage shop owner / manager gave us directions to our next stop ; Target. We were looking for an advertised cell phone special. The Target store that we went to in Tucson did not have it. The young woman working the cell phone department was not very knowledgeable, and not very helpful. We’ll try Target in Yuma tomorrow, probably. The advertised special expires tomorrow.

We found our way back to Interstate 10 and were out of Tucson about 4:30 PM continuing west. An hour later we arrived at RoVer’s Roost SKP RV Park in Casa Grande. By the time we got parked and took Bo for a walk, it was dark.

I worked in the clubhouse on my computer for an hour or so, then Joanne joined me and we watched the finale of Amazing Race on the TV in the clubhouse. Afterwards we returned to the camper for a late, light supper. A few drops of rain fell ... rare event in Casa Grande ... while we were having supper.

Saturday ; Casa Grande to Yuma, Arizona

Cloudy and chilly in Casa Grande in the morning. Sunny and warm in Yuma in the afternoon. WELCOME HOME !

This morning we refilled with fresh water and left RoVer's Roost SKP RV Park about
11 AM. We returned to Interstate 8 and continued west. Around noon we stopped in Gila Bend to dump our waste holding tanks at Holt Shell. AND ... around 1 PM we stopped at ... < insert drum roll here > ... DATELAND ! FOR DATE SHAKES ! ! !

Bo was VERY pleased to have a date shake for lunch. HA HA HA ! So were we !

We arrived in The Foothills, on the eastern edge of Yuma around 3 PM. We refilled with diesel at Fry's and continued home to Kofa Ko-op, arriving about 3:30 PM. We got settled in our site, then friends began stopping by to say hello and chat. We visited with our friend Carol Mae, whom we haven't seen since spring 2014, until it was dark.

DSK

November 29 to December 5, 2015 ; La Feria to San Antonio, Texas

Sunday ; Cloudy and chilly. SO ... a lazy day ! Read and napped this afternoon. Went to the pool and hot tub late in the afternoon. Went to the ice cream social at supper time.

Monday ; McAllen, Alamo, and La Feria

Cloudy and cold with a bit of intermittent drizzle.

Late this morning we headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to McAllen, to SAS Shoes, to exchange the sandals I bought on Black Friday for a different size. Then we drove up and down N.10th St. checking out three barbecue restaurants. We chose Lone Star BBQ for lunch. It was very good, although not cheap.

Next was Wal-Mart in Alamo. After Wal-Martin', while I loaded our purchases into the truck, Joanne quickly shopped for an item at Dollar Tree, then we refilled with diesel at Murphy U.S.A. Fuel Bar. Back to La Feria where we refilled our five gallon water jug before returning "home" to Kenwood RV Resort. As usual, we spent the late part of the afternoon in the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne.

Tuesday ; Brownsville and Harlingen

Cloudy, chilly, drizzle ... again.

I began to feel ill this morning, and it worsened as the day progressed. As I type this at midnight, I'm fairly certain I have a cold ... again !

We got up earlier than usual so that we could leave at 9:45 AM with Bill and Lynne, in their car, to the Mexico border crossing at Brownsville, for a tour of the historic site of Fort Brown. There was nothing there, except for a National Park Ranger who met us there at 11 AM, beside the dual campuses of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas Southernmost College, on the banks of the Rio Grande River, at the southernmost point of the United States. The site of the fort is now an abandoned golf course. The park ranger met us there ( by pre-arrangement by Bill ) to give us a history lesson on Fort Brown, significant in the Texas - Mexico war of the mid 1800's. History lessons on old forts is not really my "cup of tea", especially when nothing remains except an abandoned golf course.

Afterwards we drove to the north side of Brownsville to Palo Alto National Park, another Texas-Mexico war site. This site, staffed by the ranger who met us at Fort Brown, has a Visitor Center with some interesting historical displays. We watched a video on the Texas-Mexico war, then had our picnic lunch on the outdoor patio. BRRRRR !

On the way back home we stopped in Harlingen to buy some dog food at PetsMart. Once back home I went to bed and slept for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.

Wednesday ; Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico ... and Weslaco, Texas

Cloudy and mild.

Left home at 11 AM, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Mexico. After crossing the border we walked through Nuevo Progreso to El Salon, the beauty salon where
I noticed men having pedicures on our previous two visits to Nuevo Progreso. I had my hair cut and my beard trimmed by Andres, then had a pedicure done by Lizeth. WOW ! ! !   It was GREAT ! ! !   First pedicure of my life. Won't be the last !   While that was going on Bill got a haircut. Joanne and Lynne went browsing.

We had lunch at Red Snapper. Good, but ... not as good as Arturro's. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town, browsing, and ... buying chocolate bars. HA HA HA ! Bill and Lynne bought Mexican chocolate and candy filled Christmas stockings for their grandchildren. Apparently ... Santa bought four ... count 'em, FOUR ... boxes of Nugs Crujientes chocolate bars for Joanne ! HA HA HA !

On the way back home we stopped at the farmer's market in Weslaco to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables. Once back home at Kenwood RV Resort we went to the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne until it was time for supper and Survivor.

Thursday ; La Feria, McAllen, and Hidalgo

Sunny ... finally ... and mild. Day three of my cold. Not feeling well !

I had a lazy morning and afternoon, doing some simple chores, reading and napping. Joanne was busy, doing laundry in the morning and giving Bo a bath in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon we drove into La Feria to buy some milk at the grocery store in town, and then we went to Family Dollar to check out an advertised special. Yes, yes,
I wanted it, so ... Santa will be bringing it to me for Christmas.

At suppertime we headed east on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to McAllen. First stop was H-E-B to buy some bolillos ( sandwich buns ). Then we went for dinner at Furr's Fresh Buffet, a large Texas based chain restaurant. It was very good. Not cheap. After supper we drove south to Hidalgo, a border crossing town at the "upper" / west end of the Rio Grande Valley, to attend their annual "Festival Of Lights". As we arrived in Hidalgo we saw a panaderia that was open late, so ... HA HA HA ... of course we stocked up on pan dulce.

For Joanne, Hidalgo's Festival Of Lights was the highlight of our month in the Rio Grande Valley. We watched a local high school's Grupo Folklorico perform Mexican folk dances and "Christmas ballet". Then we took a tram tour of the astounding Christmas light displays all around Hidalgo, estimated to be over three million Christmas lights ! It was great ! However ... by the time the tram tour ended at 9 PM, I was feeling very worn out and ill. We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort about 10 PM.

Friday ; Edinburg

Sunny and warm.

Today we prepared for departure tomorrow. I settled our electricity billing at the park office. We mounted Elsie the camper back onto Lanoire the truck. I made a series of phone calls to doctors back in British Columbia. None of those calls went well. Very frustrating.

Late in the afternoon we left Kenwood RV Resort, heading west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2, then north on Hwy. 281 to Edinburg. We stopped at H-E-B to buy some groceries, then bought some chicken for dinner across the street at Church's Chicken. Our plan was to have supper in the camper once we were in the parking lot of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus Performing Arts Complex where we were going to attend a Mariachi Orchestra Concert. Didn't make it ! ! !   How disappointing !

Before we reached the cross street leading to the University we encountered road closures due to a parade. We tried to found our way around the road closures / detours, but we just got entangled in traffic gridlock. In the dark. In an unfamiliar area. After half an hour or so we gave up. < sigh > We found our way back to the parking lot of H-E-B.
I raised the camper's TV antenna, plugged the TV into the inverter, and we ate our chicken dinners while watching Amazing Race.

We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort at 9 PM.

Saturday ; La Feria to San Antonio, Texas

Sunny and warm.

This morning we prepared for departure, said our "goodbyes" to Bill, Lynne, and Windsor, and departed Kenwood RV Resort at 11 AM. We headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to Edinburg, then north on Hwy. 281 / Interstate 69C. We stopped for lunch at a highway rest area. Hwy. 281 / Interstate 69C ended / merged with Interstate 37. We arrived at San Antonio a few minutes after dark and found our way to a
Wal-Mart where we boondocked overnight. After supper in the camper we went
Wal-Martin'. On a Saturday night. With the entire population of San Antonio out Christmas shopping. At this Wal-Mart ! < sigh >

DSK