Things to do in the RGV

 

Things to do in the RGV

Rio Grande Valley To Do List

I am going to need some help with this list. Help me add to it, please. And you folks who are no longer coming down please send me an email to tell me what you most miss about the Rio Grande Valley. In no particular order...

1. South Padre Island
a. Beach walk
b. Dirty Al's
c. Pirate's Landing
d. Kite Festival
e. Port Isabel- The Shrimp boats is a comin'

2. Basilica at San Juan
http://www.sanjuanshrine.org/
Even if you are not Catholic this is worth a stop.

3. Nuevo Progreso, Mexico
Everyone has a favorite place to eat/shop so go on down and develop your own favorites.

4. Riverside- right on the Rio Grande River. Great Food and Music. A fun place to gather with friends. Located south of Mission TX

5. Ropa Usada- means used clothing in Spanish and there are several places south on 23rd street out of McAllen where bargain hunters load up with used items for pennies a pound. An experience not to be missed.

6. Los Ebanos hand-pulled Ferry. This is not a highly touted tourist attraction. You can ride the ferry across the Rio Grande by car, bicycle or on foot and then it is about a mile to the first little Mexican village. They do not cater to all the fanciful things you will find in Nuevo Progreso. They are friendly but it is Mexico at a more primitive level. English is not spoken by many. It is a whole other country.

7. Golf at several different courses all of them a bargain compared to other parts of the country.

8. Park Activities- We cannot overlook our own backyard. 

9. Santa Ana National Park- Your Golden Age Pass will get you into the park to spend several hours enjoying nature.

10. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
See Javelina and every bird known to the Rio Grande Valley.

11. The original Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen TX

12.https://www.fws.gov/refuge/laguna_atascosa/ 

Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

13. http://port-mansfield.com/ Lots of people go to Port Mansfield to see the deer and other wildlife 

14. Port of Brownsville tour

      https://islatours.com/tours/port-brownsville-tour

While playing pool

 with Butch yesterday a fellow new to the park came in and we found him to be most amiable. We told him he had chosen the best park to be in and he countered with they thought so too, maybe. He said his first encounter was with someone who was quite grumpy. I only say this because it is a shame when new folks are greeted this way. He did not share the circumstances, I assume because he isn't that kind of fellow but it should be a reminder to all of us to be kind.

Pics

 I took my camera with me intending to get couple pictures of everyone. I took a few preliminary photos and then I turned on my camera and it said "Batteries Exhausted" I did not prepare for that and it was raining so maybe next time?

Playing 65 on Thanksgiving day

Alex

Grackles like citrus

and so do Doves

Old People adventures

 😖I have composed the blog including pictures for nearly 20 years and yes, at times it has caused me to have to think and do things in a new way. My routine has been to edit my pictures and post the best ones and it was maybe a two to three-step process. BUT recently there was a large download from Microsoft and perhaps others, like Google and suddenly things were not in the same place. I have struggled with this for a while now and that is why there have not been many photos on the blog. I finally was able to decipher how to get the kinks out of the process this morning. So just for kicks and giggles and to help me remember until it is automatic I wrote the steps down. Would you believe there are now seven, yes,7 steps to do what took 2 or 3 before. I suspect I will be able to pare it down once I get used to it. So now I have vented. The next post will contain some pictures.😍

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

We will be sharing the holiday meal with some of our Trophy Garden friends and then playing some card games. I hope to take pictures but I do get sidetracked way too easily these days!

Busier Days

I get all wrapped up in my days activities down here and it seems blogging falls to the bottom of the list. I have been walking every morning at 7:30 during the week with Reenie and sometimes Lynn F.  We walk the streets of both parks, Trophy Gardens and Winter Ranch. The two parks sit side by side and have joint use of the golf course. The route we take turns out to be close to two miles. When I walk the bike trail in Jefferson it is a little over two miles so this works for me on both ends.

We have an active Covid case in the park. A mother was driven down by her daughter and her daughter will be flying back. The daughter must have a current negative test before she can board the plane. She is not vaccinated. The daughter did not pass the test. Both she and her mother have tested positive for Covid. While here they attended a wine tasting event and went to church. There have so far not been any additional cases. Fortunately, the vast majority of us are vaccinated. And most of the vaccinated have had the booster. The mother of this pair did have a vaccination but not the booster. We do have some unvaccinated among us. Management is now requesting the UNVACCINATED wear masks. I applaud them. The trouble is I suspect they will ignore the request. There is an unvaccinated couple who go into the pool hall. Only one that I know of but we will find out soon enough if they will abide by the request. Peer pressure may come into play.

On another note, one of our friends has come down with a bad cold. He has been vaccinated but has no booster. He has tested negative for covid but it brings up the question of how do you know for sure it is a cold and not Covid. Got the sniffles? Get tested! You do not know until you test. And by the way, we have not been close to our friend since he has had the cold.

Management is asking all new arrivals to self-quarantine for 5 to 7 days after arrival. This is probably what our winter will look like at least until everyone is here.

We will be spending Thanksgiving with the same folk we play cards, pool and walk with. All of our closest friends have had the vaccine and the booster.

And now for something different!

Lovey Dove

The moon last Friday night!

Blood Moon