From Cirque de Soleil to a Western Saloon

On Friday many of our friends were in the shuffle board tournament – which ran most of the day. To congratulate those who won and console those who didn’t win, we decided to host an afternoon happy hour. With it being on the chilly side, we hosted in our Titanium – guess what – ten people fit very well! Happy hour stretched into the evening and a good time was had by all.





Saturday afternoon fourteen of us headed over to Hildago to the State Farm Arena for the Cirque de Soleil performance “Alegria”. Jane wanted to go for Valentine’s Day, so she spoke to two friends who spoke to two more – and first thing you knew Jane was voted the K street coordinator and she arranged for the tickets and then found a restaurant that would take a reservation for 14.




The Cirque show was fantastic ( sorry no photos since no cameras allowed) and the dinner at Tony Roma’s was delicious. Think Jane & Paul will have the left over ribs for Valentine’s day dinner.



On Sunday afternoon, we headed out of the park with ten of our friends to “Harley’s Country Store & Beer Garden”. It was described as “The Best Watering Hole tucked away off the beaten path in Deep South Texas”. Every Sunday Harley and the Bayview Bushriders play live music, host a donation only BBQ at unique location. More like a ramshackle Texas saloon that is filled with Winter Texans, bikers and old bikers, all who get together on the tiny dance floor for a good time.











What a hoot!. We had an absolute ball – thank goodness Jane volunteered to drive our full truck home!




Valentine’s day was a perfect day of sun and 80 degree weather. Paul did his computer club, Jane did her stretch class and aqua fit. Nice to have decent weather to allow us to be in the pool. Paul decided to work on his truck and he finished installing the Banks Speed Brake which will help in braking while towing. By the end of the afternoon he looked like a grease monkey and headed off to the community showers for a through degreasing. After dinner Jane & Paul headed over to the dance hall for the Valentines Day dance which featured the “Agency” band – one of our favorites.

Tuesday the sun hid behind the clouds, so it did not succeed in getting to the forecasted high temp. So it was a good day to do some gardening and clean up our flower beds. We went to the evening performance of the 6th annual Fun N Sun Gospel Music Festival. The performers all volunteered their time to benefit 4 local charities including the San Benito Food Bank and Shoe Bank for local children.

Wednesday started with Paul golfing and Jane going to volunteer at Toys for Tots. The Titanium Owners luncheon was held at Victoria Palms RV Resort. About 110 owners were in attendance. It was a good chance to visit with Titanium friends who are spread all over the Rio Grande Valley. One of the new Heartland Titanium toy-haulers was brought to the luncheon by a local dealer. It was fun to see one of the new models.

Thursday night Jenn will be arriving for a short visit to celebrate President’s Day weekend.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Thursday night we went to sleep with the freezing rain! Paul had disconnected the outside water hoses from the trailer. We awoke to a winter wonderland – or wasn’t that what we drove 2600 miles to escape!! Our trailer steps were so covered in ice that Paul had to get out the hammer to break off the ice.



By Friday at noon time, the sun had come out, the ice was melting, and the temperature had risen to 45 degrees F so Dave and Myrna decided to accompany us to the State Farm Arena to pick up our tickets for the Cirque de Soleil show – Alegria which we will see on February 12. Although the Expressway was supposed to be open, the barriers were still in place so traffic was backed up along the frontage road for miles. We finally found an entrance ramp where someone had pushed the barriers aside so that traffic could enter. After picking up the tickets, we headed to Camping World so Dave could buy a few things.

After supper at El Gallito, we joined 4 friends at the shuffleboard courts. Another Canadian couple joined us so that the men and women could play separately. Jane and Paul definitely need practice – will have to investigate the beginner lessons.

Late Saturday afternoon, Patty and Paul hosted a pre-cruise party so that we could meet the others couples who will be on the cruise with us. Several couples have joined the group in the last few weeks so there will be a total of 28 of us heading out of Galveston on February 27.

Sunday morning Jane woke up with another head cold so she spent a quiet day enjoying the sunshine and return to warm weather. Paul is now feeling better so he took advantage of the time to wash the truck and the front of the Titanium. We were sorry to have to miss the South Padre Island Kite Festival and the Los Fresnos Rodeo but we decided it was better to take it easy. We did get into the pool for a short swim and were glad the hot tub has been fixed.

We both went to the Ice Cream social but Paul escaped along with 90% of the others in the Rec Hall to return to the Super Bowl game. Shelley Torres West, a jazz and Christian singer from near Dallas, had an excellent voice but she performed for a very small audience. Hopefully she will return another year when there is a larger audience.

Monday evening’s entertainment called One More Time – a husband and wife musical and comedy team – was not a favourite with the audience – a large number of people left at intermission. We stuck it out hoping for the improvement that never came.

By Tuesday Jane’s cold was back with a vengeance so she decided to hibernate for two days hoping to finally get rid of it once and for all. Finally by Wednesday night she was feeling well enough to go the free concert in the Rec hall. The singers were park residents plus the granddaughter of some residents. They singers were excellent – better than some of the paid entertainment!!!

On Thursday, Jane went to the Stained Glass Workshop and started making a small piece of stained glass. Friday morning another instructor showed her how to complete the project. We are lucky to have so many activities here in the park which we can enjoy during the poor weather. Our friends even invited us back for our second shuffle board session – soon we will be pros!!

Ok so is it April fools day – or Groundhog day????

Saturday we ventured into Harlingen for the ‘Shop Hop’ – a tour of small local shops that were having open houses while raising money for Loaves and Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley which is a non-profit agency that offers the homeless and needy a place to go to restart their lives in a caring and supportive environment. It was a great opportunity to see some of the local antique stores and clothing boutiques that are housed in historic buildings and which form part of Harlingen’s urban renewal project.

At night we went over to the Dance Hall for a performance by “Gold Wing Express” also called “Three Indians and the Little White Man. Originally from Oklahoma, the group now resides in Branson, Missouri and is touring (in their Prevost bus) the Rio Grande Valley for the first time. The group consists of a father and his three sons who are half Creek Indian. Their music performance consists of bluegrass, country and gospel music interspersed with comedy.

Sunday and Monday were slow days as we enjoyed the sun and the park pool. We wanted to take advantage of the sun and water while it was still warm. We had heard of the artic cold that was heading our way. Of course, we didn’t miss Sunday evening’s Ice Cream social.


Tuesday we headed over to Padre Island for the Canadian Snowbirds Association’s Extravaganza – a combo vender show and a musical entertainment show.





We ran into our Fun N Sun neighbors so we all headed over to Pier 19 for an enjoyable lunch.




In the afternoon Paul went back to the doctor for a follow-up visit. He is recuperating very well and should be his old self in a few days. There is a cold snap coming tonight – so Golf is cancelled for Wednesday morning due to the weather. As a precaution, we disconnected our outside hoses to protect the systems.

Ok so is it April fools day – or Groundhog Day???? Wednesday we woke up to ZERO Celsius (or 32 F). Of course we ran out of propane around 5:00 am, so Paul had to make the quick tank switch-over in the dark. Wednesday was also Western Day in the park, so we broke out all our western gear and took part in the activities – which fortunately are being held indoors! Jane opted for her Australian leather jacket and hat since it kept her warm!!! The benefit of the day was the San Benito Boys and Girls club so we were happy to purchase raffle tickets and even happier when we won some prizes. We plan to wait a few weeks, however, before we use the South Padre Island boat cruise tickets when hopefully we will return to warmer weather.

We know we won’t get much sympathy from those of you suffering with lots of snow and cold up north but really, 28 degrees F with freezing drizzle is hardly what we bargained for. This is what we are experiencing today (Thursday) so we cancelled our trip to Camping World in Mission. We are not sure what kind of equipment the Texas road division has in this area, but parts of the main highway closed this morning due to ice. Guess the one pickup they own ran out of road salt…..??

Is there a doctor in the park??

Here is a picture of our site at Fun N Sun.



Sunday evening’s musical entertainment was The Ball Family Singers, who come from Abilene, Texas. During the summer and fall, they host chuck wagon suppers with Western entertainment on their Ball Ranch and in the winter they tour the Rio Grande Valley. We certainly enjoyed their renditions of old cowboy songs.

Monday morning after stretch class, Marg, Myrna and Jane headed off to a Tupperware party hosted by the park and given by a local distributor. Although Jane has never been a huge buyer of Tupperware, she finds it works well to keep cereal and crackers fresh in the RV - as long as it fits in the pantry. The party even included lunch so the girls were happy.

The San Benito Chamber of Commerce hosted a Welcome Back Winter Texans event here at Fun N Sun on Monday evening. Chamber members set up displays and donated many prizes (no we didn’t win anything). They also sponsored the evening’s entertainment – Walter Plant who performs Gospel and Country music using 4 keyboards. He is a great entertainer and we were glad to be able to see him once again here in the Valley.

On Tuesday morning Jane decided to try Line Dance class which was fun but a little more advanced than she had hoped. She did learn that there is a beginners class earlier in the morning which she will have to attend if she hopes to progress. Late in the afternoon Jane went to yoga class where they played a tape that the teacher had made before she returned to her home in Alaska in December. It was fun although it would have been preferable to have had the teacher there.

Wednesday morning Paul decided to skip golf since he was battling a bad chest cold. Jane went off to Toys for Tots where they had a large turnout of new people. Even though Jane is hardly an expert in making lap robes for the local nursing homes, she was recruited to show several French Canadian women how to lay out the squares that make the front of the robes. Unfortunately she does not know any sewing terms in French so there was lots of pantomime.

The highlight of the week was Wednesday evening’s 50’s – 60’s bash sponsored by the CRABS (Conservative Retired Adult Bikers) which featured the music of the Agency Band that we really enjoyed. Supper consisted of root beer floats and then hot dogs, chips and popcorn.


Myrna and Jane entered the hula hoop contest but were quickly eliminated. We danced right until the band ended and they were ready to close the dance hall – our McGowan Lake friends know that never happens during the summer but the dances at the lake don’t end at 10:30 p.m.!!!



Paul tried his hand at a Harley. Ah memories of his old college days. The park's CRABs are really an active group in the park, sponsoring events like tonight's dance.

By Thursday, Paul was not feeling too well so we had a really slow day. Friday morning he decided that he needed to see a doctor although he wasn’t keen to figure out how to find one and make our way through the travel insurance system. Fortunately getting insurance approval was straightforward and he found a very nice doctor at the local San Benito Medical clinic. He was diagnosed with a bronchial infection, left the clinic with 2 prescriptions plus a puffer and instructions to return for a follow-up visit on Tuesday afternoon. The doctor had put him on a breathing machine for 15 minutes which started to help his breathing immediately so he was able to join Jane at the Heartfelt Café and gift shop for a late lunch. We also explored the local library which was right next door and used the photocopy machine for the medical receipts.

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