Better Weather = More Activities!

Saturday night at the dance hall, we took in the Susan Hudson Carmen show. Although she is a singer from Branson and a country music award winner, we both felt she fell into the ‘has been’ category. Still, going to the show beats looking for something to do especially on a rainy night.

Sunday we made our way over to the Basilica at San Juan (about 45 min drive) for their service with music by the Mariachi Band. Still impressive! Service was followed by a trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant where Paul had his ‘divorced’ eggs. These are two fried eggs at opposite ends of the platter – each egg is covered with its own salsa (usually one red, one green) and the middle of the platter is a barrier of baked beans and crushed tortilla chips. You have to love spice to enjoy this breakfast (and forget about the carbs…  )

Sunday night we did make our way to the ice cream social – but we both kept the ice cream down to an almost normal amount. The on stage performer was Cindy Renee and her partner. Cindy plays the fiddle, mandolin, banjo and other instruments – and all at a rapid pace. She kept the crowd clapping for more!!!

Monday we went over to Harlingen for the “Welcome Winter Texan” exposition. Offers of a free T-Shirt for the first 1500 attendees meant the lineup outside the hall was enormous. Winter Texans / Snowbirds like to be early for anything – so add in a freebie and they are really early!! We made it in before they ran out of shirts….LOL

With the sunshine reappearing, Jane returned to her Aquacise class and our bathing suits rejoined our daily wardrobe. Paul borrowed a bike from John, so he now has his park wheels.

On Tuesday evening we attended the Pelletier Family show formerly known only as Freddie and Shelia – but with their son and his girlfriend joining them this season, a name change was in order. It is amazing what these folks can do with guitars. They play a varied genre of music and they can really make their instruments sing. Freddie and Shelia are from Saskatchewan and Clint and Thea are from Edmonton. Thea is enjoying touring with them but feels guilt about being a Snowbird at age 28.

Wednesday we took the chartered bus trip to Hildaglo to attend the Vipers basketball game at the State Farm Arena. The trip started at 1:30pm and as you boarded the bus you received – what else but a free Viper’s Winter Texan Club shirt. Guess I won’t have to do laundry as frequently if we keep going to these events! On the way to the stadium the bus took us to Pepper’s roadhouse for a meal (included in the ticket price).


Then it was onto the stadium where all five busloads of folks from the various RV parks in the valley played Bingo for prizes. We didn’t come home with the 32” TV but it was fun. The game started at 7 p.m.





The concession stands featured $1.50 beer, $1.00 popcorn or hotdogs. The Vipers beat the Maine Red Claws 130 to 80 (or something close to that score). Basketball games are fun and the on-court entertainment is a riot. The bus got us all back to the park around ten – not a bad deal for $25.00 a person!

Friday afternoon/evening was our monthly Canada Club meeting. There were about 200 Canadians at the pot luck dinner which was held in our rec hall. Lots of food, 50/50 draw, door prizes and of course free punch (both leaded and unleaded). A good time for all! Our friends Harold & Marilyn from New Brunswick arrived in the afternoon, so a group of us re-assembled at Sharon’s trailer to watch Rick's car sell at the Barrett Jackson sale in Phoenix.

Saturday we headed over to Ron Hoover’s RV for his open house. He must be one of the biggest dealers in this part of the valley and it is always fun to see his massive inventory. The Heartland rep was also on hand and said he is hoping to get one of the new Big Horn Titanium models in next month. Should be fun to see it if it arrives before we leave the valley.

On the way back home, we stopped at the Donna Flea market and Jane dropped in to see her bathing suit supplier – and yes we did come home with a suit or two!

First Week at Fun N Sun - 2010

Thursday morning January 6, we moved the Titanium from the overnight “overflow” area to our new site. Fortunately Tall Paul came by just as we were parking so he was able to help get the Titanium properly leveled on patio blocks while Jane was able to chat with Patty. Since it was sunny and warm with very little wind, we put out the awning and secured it.

Friday morning Jane got into the pool for her first aquacise class of the season. The pool has been nicely refinished and it was a perfect temperature. Friday night we went to the Texas country dance where we did more visiting with our friends than dancing – we really need to take two-step dance lessons.

Saturday & Sunday were warm sunny days but Jane spent them stuck in the 5th wheel with a horrible cold. She was really disappointed to have to miss Judy & Rick’s Nova Scotia fish fry dinner and the Sunday ice cream social. By Monday she was out and about once again trying to enjoy the weather before the cold front moved into the valley.

We almost lost the awning on Monday night despite all the straps and braces Paul had used to secure it – the wind gusts were just so strong. So Wednesday he drilled some holes in the concrete to secure the awning poles and we will now hope for the best. We haven’t been too impressed by the 43 degree temperature and the cold “north” wind which has been blowing for 3 days.

Tuesday night we went over to the dance hall for a night of outstanding entertainment and high energy music featuring the “Red Head Express” - an amazing family from Alaska. Now that’s a long way to come for a show!!

Wednesday night we said goodbye to our friends Judy & Rick who have headed off to sell their 1957 Desoto convertible at the Barrett Jackson sale in Phoenix. Check out Rick's RV pulling the car trailer http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Rick

We really enjoyed a Thursday morning presentation about how Sugar Cane is harvested and processed here in the Valley. We learned about why the sugar cane fields are burned prior to harvesting the cane and other interesting information about sugar cane as a crop.

Thursday night we were surprised when the power went off around 9 pm. We quickly found our candles and were glad that our furnace and fridge run on propane. The power came on at 3:00 in the morning – all of a sudden we awoke to hear the TV and see the lights on. Apparently there were problems with two poles in the park – the one near Patty and Paul’s actually burned and had to be replaced.

Friday we went to the All Valley RV show in Mercedes - just to do something different since we are getting tired of the cold grey weather. On the way home we stopped at the Outlet Mall to check things out.

We then went to see Patti and Paul’s new 5th wheel – it is really lovely with a great big kitchen with lots of storage and a huge bedroom closet that made Jane really envious. The four of us then headed off to a small Mexican restaurant in San Benito where we enjoyed the local entertainer.

Guess you could call this a slow week from the RGV. The weather is supposed to clear, so participating in more park activities will resume.

Florida to Texas Roadtrip – Part 2

After a leisurely breakfast, while packing up – our drinking water hose snapped at the campground faucet – so I got a second shower…. LOL Well the good news is that Houston has a really BIG Camping World (as if I needed an excuse!)

We drove through Houston over to the west side of town. As we approached the Houston West RV Park, the rain started. It was still daylight – but a bit on the wet side. Set-up went very quickly as the site was level. Once done we were off to Camping World for a new hose – not sure why it took two bags to carry home one hose…..humm. Then we headed for what we thought was the nearby Costco. On Google maps it looked close, but 20 miles later (in the now pouring rain) – it did not seem that close. We did purchase some great looking steaks (since good steak is hard to find in the valley – you wouldn’t think we are in Texas). We also added a few other items to our fridge.

Jane wanted to do some other shopping at the Katy Mills Mall – same owners as the Sawgrass Mills Mall that Amy took us to in Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately for her and fortunately for me, the mall closed at 9:00 pm and we finished dinner at 8:45 so we headed back to the RV park.

On Wednesday January 5, we to drive straight to our winter home at Fun N Sun rather than stopping to set up once again. Along the way we found several eating establishments which might qualify for our version of Diners, Drive-ins and dives. Tony’s Family Restaurant in Sealy, Texas advertised the exactly what we needed – truck and rv parking – as well as a hearty breakfast filled with lots of carbs and protein – 3 eggs, bacon or sausage, grits or hash browns and biscuits or toast. What more could we ask for only $4.95.

Late in the afternoon, just south of Corpus Christi, we were finally able to have a meal at Joe Cotten’s BBQ which looks like a saloon right out of the wild west. We have had a challenge trying to eat at Joe’s - on the first trip we didn’t realize until we had passed it that they had a very large parking lot that would accommodate the RV. On the second trip, they closed early because of the extreme cold weather and a major football game and the third trip was on a Sunday when they are always closed. So today we were in luck. At 3 p.m., we were surprised to see 5 waiters in the restaurant but then realized there was a steady stream of customers arriving. We each ordered a sandwich which came served on a placemat rather than a plate so what we couldn’t finish, we just wrapped up and put in our fridge. The table next to us ordered platters – 3 meats and sides – also served on placemats. No credit cards or cheques, just large portions of Texas brisket, pork (not Carolina style pulled pork), sausage or ribs. It was definitely a fun place to try.

To view pictures of our campsites and this portion of our trip click on
http://picasaweb.google.com/pjkralik/Texas Roadtrip 2011

Florida to Texas Roadtrip – Part 1

New Year’s night was spent at the Ocala Sun RV Resort. It is a well kept medium sized park located south of Ocala with nice level pull-through sites and very friendly staff and is just off I-75 with free wi-fi and cable. It is also a Passport America park. Great stop.

Sunday night found us driving into Biloxi, Mississippi – a city whose mainstay is casinos. This reminded us of driving into Atlantic City in the dark and seeing all the casinos nicely lit and reaching for the sky. We stayed at the Cajun RV Park. Arriving after dark, we were greeted by the security and shown to a pull thru site. Free wi-fi and cable were also available. This park is right across the street from the beach. Since the temperature had dropped into the 30’s we did not take advantage of the white sand and surf.

In the morning we decided to drive along route 90 which follows the beach. We drove thru Biloxi, Gulfport and up into Bay St. Louis. It was interesting to see the pristine beach on the left and many empty properties on the right. The bare foundations and stone steps were the only clues that a house once stood on the property. Hurricane Katrina visited in 2005, but the effects are still evident today.

We headed towards Kinder, Louisiana – but first, Jane found us a detour via the Tanger Outlets in Gonzales LA. In Kinder, we settled into the Coushattta Casino’s RV resort (called Red Shoes Luxury RV resort) and caught the shuttle to the casino for dinner – which is nothing to rave about (in fact overpriced and very disappointing). We limited our losses at the casino to just a few dollars and headed back to the Titanium. The rv park is great – with paved sites and patios with picnic tables. A bonus for setting up since we again arrived in the dark. We are getting good at this evening setup thing!

Tomorrow morning we are heading off to Houston to do a bit of shopping and stocking up at Costco before we head south to the Valley.

Happy New Year !!

Our Christmas cruise on Holland America’s MS Westerdam with the girls was perhaps the start of a new family tradition. Well maybe not every year – but we really did have a marvelous time – in spite of the ship’s rocking and rolling in the waves. This ship being a tad smaller, did have its problem keeping stable – Just ask Jane who made sure the Gravol and sea calm pills were close to her…. LOL

Our week took us to Turks and Caicos, St. Thomas, San Juan PR, and Half Moon Cay Bahamas. It was fun to explore new ports – and we really enjoyed the beaches. All of us came back with a much better tans! When we returned to Fort Lauderdale on Friday (New Year’s Eve) we had another sunny day relaxing by the hotel’s pool. After an early dinner at a local Greek restaurant, we had to pack it in well before midnight, since the girls were leaving on a 6:40 am flight. When Jane and I returned from the airport to the hotel around 6:15 a.m. we met a couple just returning from a party.

So after saying goodbye to the girls, we slowly packed up and headed to Ft. Myers where our Titanium was in storage. Once we hitched up and checked all systems we headed north and tonight we are outside Ocala, FL at a nice RV park. Tomorrow we continue our journey towards Texas.