La Feria and Blue Lagoons RV Parks

February 1 - 28, 2017 La Feria RV Park

March 1 - April 30, 2017 Blue Lagoons RV Park

I caught the camp crud to Hummingbird Cove RV Park so I mostly stayed to myself at this park.  I didn't get involved with their activities or use the pool. 

We had to replace 2 of our slide toppers that were damaged by the wind, so we bought screen covers for the front and side windows and wheel covers.  We also bought a screen shield that attaches to our awning, but we didn't use it since it came 2 days before we left.  It will come in handy some time!

I finally felt a little better and made some new friends a couple days before we left.

I was yelled at for taking our dogs to a vacant lot to do their business. I always pick up, but it seems I can only take them to a small strip of grass.  Since I wasn't feeling good, this was an imposition.  I will not be returning to this park as I felt very unwelcomed. 

So on we went to Blue Lagoons RV Park. It's much more friendly and welcoming.

(Aside: Rockport/Fulton was destroyed on August 26, 2017 as the category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport TX .  The park was also destroyed although everyone evacuated. We have a reservation to return for 2 months next spring and hope that by the time we arrive, things will be somewhat back to normal. It will be good to see old friends and hear their stories. My heart breaks for everyone who had to go through the pain. It's going to be months, even years, to rebuild.) 

We stayed for 2 months . Our friends Pris and Elaine stayed for a couple days at the sister park Lagoons and Peggy and Patricia also visited a couple days.

Our view, isn't it gorgeous?

One night a party broke out!

Lots off good food and drink, great company.
But that's a regular occurrence here

After swallowing my pride, I finally used the pool and hot tub.  Both were exhilarating.

We took a ride one day and these are some of the pictures I took of the area.

 Many gorgeous houses in the area.

I had a chance to visit the Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport TX.  It was a fascinating afternoon! 

We had lunch at Pops Tavern after reading about the beer cap fish murals.  We talked to the designer who made the murals but I don't remember his name.

This is a beautiful view of the RV park. It doesn't look the same, but it will be better than ever some day.

We are looking forward to returning to Blue Lagoons and seeing old friends.

Next stop, our trip north and Yellowstone National Park!

Hummingbird Cove RV Park for the Holidays and Beyond

December 1, 2016 - January 31, 2017
Hummingbird Cove RV Park
Rio Hondo TX

After our short stay in New Braunfels TX, we headed down to the Rio Grande Valley for the next couple months.  It was a time to relax and have some down time before we head out in the spring.

In the evenings, there was always a game at the clubhouse (usually cards) and they had loads of activities almost every day.  Field trips and speakers are on the agenda and potlucks were a way to meet other residents.  Once in a while there was a fish fry when there was enough fish in the freezer.  Everyone brings a dish to share and it's well attended!  

During the Christmas holidays, they sponsored a parade of golf carts. Anyone who had a cart was welcomed to participate and many folks did!

My brother flew in from Florida and spent Christmas with us.  We went on the nature tour at Laguna Altascosa and had a delicious potluck holiday dinner at the clubhouse.

These are some of the gifts I received from my daughters.

Peggy, Patricia and their husbands came down for a few days.  We went to Hugh Ramsey Nature Park in Harlingen and saw a couple Javelina from our blind! 

And we visited the county park nearby, Adolf Thomae Park. There are fishing piers as well as camping and a boat launch along the Arroyo Colorado River.  

Burning a field of sugar cane.  

It takes over a year for sugar cane to mature in the fields.  When they are ready, they post warnings to people who are hiding in the sugar cane fields.  When the wind is right, they burn the fields before harvesting. The fire burns off the leaves leaving just the stalk, reducing the amount of manual labor.

Harlingen has excellent medical facilities.  I got my new C-PAP which I had gone without for months,  Shelly had eye surgery to remove a cataract and also saw an oncologist.  There are hospitals, clinics and Dr. offices everywhere. We go to a family clinic in Rio Hondo for checkups and prescriptions.  Just so you know.  

You have to eat at Chili Willies before you leave!  A nice homey place to relax and eat to your heart's content. 

See you soon in Rockport TX!

New Braunfels TX for Thanksgiving

November 20 -  December 1, 2016
River Ranch RV Park, New Braunfels TX

Well we left Mufreesboro AR just in time before it got cold and headed down to New Braunfels TX for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It's a nice little park and we were right on the river, however we were under 2 roads so it was noisy!  Eventually we got used to it.

While we were there, we visited Landa Park on the Comal River.  The air was crisp and it had the clearest water I'd ever seen!

Peggy, Patricia and I visited Gruene TX - what a lovely town!  They boast the oldest dance hall in Texas and The Gristmill Restaurant sits high above the Guadalupe River.  

Went to Naegelin's Bakery - mmmm!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends then headed down to Hummingbird Cove near Rio Hondo and Harlingen TX.  We've been wintering at various RV parks in the Rio Grande Valley where the winter is mild (and the livin' is easy).

See you there!

She Touched My Heart

Occasionally I will veer off the path and post something totally unrelated.  I remembered this post from 2007 on LiveJournal (which I don't use anymore).  I post it because I don't want to forget how grateful I am to be living this life.  She would be 81 now if still living and I still think about Olive occasionally to remind myself to be grateful for everything I have.

September 29th, 2007

She touched my heart

12:53 am

I do home visits for my job a few times a year, and last week I spent 3 days in the Catskills. Everyone has an interesting story, but some of them are just unforgettable.

One of my clients lives so far out in the country, I couldn't see her house from the road. I had to park on the road and literally climb down to her house deep in the woods.

She is 71 years old.
She has no running water. She goes down to the creek for water and buys water for drinking and cooking.
Most of her electric outlets don't work, so she just doesn't use them.
She heats with a wood stove and in the winter the temperature never goes above 55. She scavenges wood all winter and closes off the upstairs. The state only pays for some of her wood.
There's a tree on her property about to fall on her house and no one wants to do anything about it. She can't afford to have it cut down.
Her house is damp and full of mold and she has to clean it constantly.
Her son & daughter live out west.
Wild animals come up to her house, so she can't let her cats out, ever.
Her stove is broken, so she uses a hotplate.
The door to her fridge fell off one night, but she put it back on.
She needs to go up on her roof to fix it, but she has enough sense not to do it herself.
She has no phone, not even a cell.
Her mailbox is at the top of the hill on the road.

You think she has it bad?

She doesn't. She won't hear of moving. She said when she leaves, it will be in a black bag. As hard as living is for her, she loves her home because growing up, she never had any roots and moved 15 times before she was 8 (depression years). She helped build this house with her ex-husband, has built a greenhouse herself on the side of the house and has a gorgeous collection of green growing things. She has a patio full of pots and flowers everywhere. She has 3 feral cats who love her. She has more energy than I do. She's not afraid (well, a little because of the tree that might fall on her house).

I want to adopt her.

It's also amazing that she survives on about $700/mo. I really wish I could contact a local church or agency to go out and help fix up the place for her. I felt like hugging her when I left. I'll be checking on her remotely, though. Someday when I retire, I want to live in the woods like her, but on level ground with a 4WD with a plow.

I also visited a house with 10 people, various friends and relatives, dad in jail, and about to foreclose on their home. She'll be ok though, I'm pretty sure.

I see a lot, and as bad as I think my situation is, I always feel grateful. It kind of puts things in perspective for me.

Her name is Olive, how cool is that? She's as feisty and cranky as anything, yet had a great sense of humor and smile. I want to buy her an LifeAlert. I'm frightened that something will happen and no one will know. Off-duty, I'd love to visit her again.

I've been doing this for almost 30 years mostly in an office, and the home visits for the past 3 years, which have been the most fulfilling years of my career. I often see people taking advantage of the system, but I understand they're doing whatever they need to do to survive. I see a lot of disabled people trying to make a go of it and some who don't.

And here is this 71 YO lady who should be enjoying her retirement years, living hand to mouth and loving her life! Who needs a million bucks!

Tags: elderly, poverty, strength

• Current Location: New York NY
• Current Music: Brian Crain
• Current Mood:  melancholy