South Texas

We have been comfortably settled in South Texas for a few days, seeing my brother John and his wife Anna and continuing to get Pancho in shape-or at least trying to.  BD has installed some very handy shelves, taking advantage of wasted and poorly allocated space.  What we thought was a gray tank blockage turned out to be a factory mistake, switching the gray and black output.  When you thought you were emptying the gray tank, you were actually emptying the black.  A replacement part is "on its way" and then the challenge will be finding someone to do the warranty installation.  We are finding that we are at the end of the line for warranty work since the coach wasn't bought from these dealers.  Some places are two months out.  A friend, sympathizing with my previous whiny blog, sent this as a lower tech alternative to Pancho.

South Texas is an interesting area.  It is the most southerly location in the U.S. with the exception of South Florida, and is latitude wise like Loreto, BC.  The weather is typically warm and nice in the winter, attracting migratory senior midwesterners and Canadians as well as birds.  The demographics are pretty interesting.  The permanent residents are largely Hispanic and it is not unusual to be the only Anglo in a shop or restaurant.  It would be a great place to learn and practice Spanish.  The seasonal people tend to live in Over 55 parks, some RV, some mobile homes and some stick built homes.  There are hundreds of these parks, each with different features and characteristics. We are renting an RV space in John's park but most of the homes are mobile homes.  John and Anna's home has been extensively expanded and is super comfortable.  The area is a major citrus growing center, known for fabulous grapefruit and smells heavily of citrus blossom.  I have a quart of grapefruit juice awaiting a bit of vodka for the cocktail hour.  The juice is surprisingly sweet.  Several pounds of grapefruit will feed us as we travel down the road.

John and Anna outside Pancho

I had seen an advertisement for a nearby park that has interesting plans for small homes with a patio and "RV Port."  We went to look at it and were impressed with the concept.  It provides great sun/weather protection for the rig while not traveling.

One evening we went to a nearby park for a "Patsy Cline" concert.  The clubhouse was packed with people from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and even Saskatchewan.  They clearly enjoyed the show based on the applause, but exhibited the well known midwestern reserve during the songs, reminiscent of my childhood with parents from Iowa and Minnesota.  Anna and I couldn't help but move a bit with the music.

The singer sounded exactly like Patsy Cline

Here are a couple of links to one of my all time favorite songs, the first by Patsy and then the classic version by Gogi Grant.  I prefer the latter and consider it one of my travel theme songs.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzsxlbqZ-RA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SaeWh3h8Fg

While we haven't seen my niece Christina, her husband Chris and their two kids, Maddie and Nori since October, I am periodically updated as to their doings.  A milestone is being reached, almost, as Nori learns to use a spoon.

Somehow the concept got lost

  So much better this way.  I did ask permission to use the picture, concerned that such a record on the internet might nix entry to Harvard some day but Christina did not share my worry.

John and Anna have an exuberant, black lab mix ( I think that might be redundant).  Katie, who is about 10 months old,  was dropped off in their park as a puppy and Anna heard her crying outside her porch.  Being dog lovers, they gave Katie a home, concerned that the adoption record at the local shelter was not that good.  Without a yard, it is hard for her to get exercise so John and I have been taking her and Max to the fabulous, square block dog park.  About 1/4th is for small dogs, the rest for large dogs.  Katie got frightened when she went to the large dog park and Anna got slammed by some big mastiffs, so we use the small dog park.  Katie is over the weight limit but the other small dog owners are always gracious about allowing her in.  Katie is overcoming her fear and getting great exercise.  We go early to avoid crowds.

The huge McAllen Texas dog park

John, Katie and Max

Today we head out for a few days in Port Isabel, close to Brownsville and South Padre Island.  We are staying at an ownership park, renting a spot on a lake.  With Spring break underway we are lucky to get such a choice spot.  We are staying in the general area pending our appointment near Houston on April 7 for the necessary warranty work.  A 2 1/2 week wait was the best we could do.