2013-11-24 Grey Cup Party

Who would have thought that we would have been wearing our winter jackets in Texas to watch the 2013 Grey Cup game . . . but it was the only way to keep warm on November 24. Dave and Myrna along with their relatives Diane and Curtis, all ardent Saskatchewan Rough Rider fans, hosted 12 us for a fun party. We had a TV outside for the true Canucks and one inside for those who wanted a break from the cold. The food was delicious as were the Jello shooters (green, yellow and chocolate).

                 

Early November 2013 events

As soon as November started, the park activities resumed and we were back at Aqua stretch class, Computer club, Golf, Toys for Tots, Dance class, the Friday night Country dances, and Jane’s volunteer work at the Fred Booth elementary school. She worked at the Scholastic book fair running the cash register.

We also went on “field trips” to the Don Wes Flea Market (Jane needed new bathing suits), to Costco and to Market Days in both Harlingen & San Benito. It was fun to explore these areas before too many Winter Texans arrive and the venues get crowded.

This year we were here early enough to go to the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival and their free session – what we called Introduction to Birding for Dummies. The exhibits were interesting especially to see the price of the binoculars they were selling!!

Doug & Sue arrived on November 10 and parked their new Redwood on a site just two streets away from us. Later that week Myrna & Dave hosted us along with Doug & Sue and Sandra and Dave to an early Thanksgiving dinner. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and the warmth of the propane campfire.

           


The next night was the Canadian club pot luck where we visited with friends we hadn’t seen since April. Saturday night’s 60’s and 70’s dance with DJ Noe had the theme of Opening Day at Deer camp – there was certainly a lot of camouflage clothing being worn that night.


         


Jane loves the flowers here in the RGV – especially when the sun is shining. But what a difference a few hours can make. On Friday the 22nd, we headed out in shorts and sandals to a Margarita party hosted by one of the local Rehab / Skilled nursing centers. The rain started coming really hard shortly after we arrived so Doug, Sue, Paul and Jane were the only 4 Winter Texans at the party with enough food and margaritas for 60 people. We sang some Karoke, had some snacks, met some of the staff and had a great time. We went home with all the door prizes and promised that we would help publicize their next event here at Fun N Sun so that there would be a better turnout.



   


By the time we returned to the park, many of the streets were flooded and they decided to cancel the Friday night dance – only the second time in a number of years. We had over 5 inches of rain in the next several days in San Benito and Harlingen but that was not enough to completely end the drought. How amazing!! We quickly went from shorts and sandals to heavy shoes and sweat shirts under our rain jackets!!



 

2013-10-29 Fun N Sun - first week!

It was a good thing we were able to get set up quickly because there were lots of activities during our first week at Fun N Sun. Wednesday October 30, we went to a park-sponsored Halloween party complete with prizes for the best costumes (we didn’t dress-up), hot dogs and chips, and a local DJ with music for dancing.

On Halloween morning we had to buy candy so that we could attend the annual Halloween party for the children from Sunny Glen Children’s home which was held in our Dance Hall. The children, teen moms and all the house parents came dressed in costume and got to trick-or-treat throughout the hall. We could see how generous all the Fun N Sun residents are because most of the children were dragging their bags back to their tables. One resident even made balloon animals for each child.

     

November 1st was the flag raising ceremony to open the park and also the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Stanley Boulevard. The Stanley’s were the original park developers and owners.

     


After church on Sunday we headed to Port Isabel for their annual Shrimp Festival – a new event for us since we have never arrived here so early. The Port Isabel and South Padre Island restaurants sell sample size portions of the best dishes all made with Gulf shrimp. We joined friends Denny, Mary, Tim and Joan for an afternoon of fun eating and listening to the Agency band.


Late in the afternoon, we headed back to St. Joseph’s church for their annual fall festival and a meal of Mexican food. Paul even won a cake at the cake walk so Monday evening we celebrated a belated birthday for him with our K street friends.

Since the weather was so beautiful when we arrived, Jane started aquacise right away on October 29 and we went to the first Texas Country Dance on November 1. Paul’s computer club and Jane’s Toys for Tots also started during the week November 4 and we got to meet the new park manager at the Tuesday morning Koffee Klatch. Jane even made a trip to Fred Booth elementary school to shelve books for a while.

Friday November 8th saw us head to Harlingen to attend a session about birding and binoculars for dummies at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. We then perused the trade show booths but soon realized that we were a long way from buying $2000 binoculars or registering for a birding trip in Belize or Panama. Maybe in about 10 years we will be ready – not.

2013-10-28 King Ranch, Kingsville, TX

Monday morning we left Gateway and headed south the Kingsville to tour the King Ranch –larger than the state of Rhode Island and one of the largest privately owned ranches in the world. The bus trip around the ranch was a fascinating historical tour and the movies in the King Ranch museum in Kingsville filled in any details that our tour guide missed. Tourists only get to view the King family residence from the tour bus but the movie shows the lovely furnishing in this 32 room home.




We learned that the King Ranch Corporation not only raises beef cattle and quarter horses in Texas but is the largest producer of orange juice in Florida. They also raise cotton and other crops, are involved with publishing, own a John Deere dealership and have a large wildlife management and hunting operation on their lands south of Kingsville stretching almost to the RGV.


                   

Of course the day wouldn’t be complete without lunch in Kingsville – we stopped at the Cherry Tree Tea Room. The main street in Kingsville reminded us of a typical western town like many we have seen on our trips through Texas.

       

We then headed south arriving at Fun N Sun around 5:30 pm. We were able to get the Titanium set up on our site before dark and then join Dave & Myrna for dinner. Our 2 and a ½ weeks of traveling was done and we are parked for the winter.

Bay St. Louis, MS

We left the Atlanta area on October 24 and headed to the Gulf of Mexico area of Mississippi staying at the Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis RV park for 3 nights. It is a nice quiet campground with a decent casino and buffet. We also visited the Silver Slipper Casino for their all-you-can eat crab buffet and to check out their campground. It is right on the sand overlooking the Gulf - a possibility for another trip.

   

While in the area, Jane couldn’t resist the call of the Gulfport Premium outlets on the pretext of starting her Christmas shopping. On Saturday, we drove to Biloxi for lunch at the Margaritaville Casino. We then went to the Hard Rock Casino to pick up free t-shirts. Paul also received a coupon for a free buffet since his birthday is in October – too bad we had just eaten lunch.




Our next stop was the Bay St. Louis Bay Bridge Festival – an outdoor music festival right on the water sponsored by local businesses. We enjoyed listening to the music and admiring the old houses in the area. We headed back to the RV park early to prepare the rig for an early departure on Sunday morning – going through Houston on a Sunday is a great idea!

     

Sunday night we stayed at the Gateway to the Gulf RV park – a very convenient and friendly park right off the highway.