I stopped by our new place to take some outdoor pictures that I had not done yet. Oddly enough I had not even looked at the outside. If we tick off all the things one would want in a park model in South Texas this place has them all. Metal roof, hardly any grass, shade shutters, large protected deck, storage room, washer and dryer, propane furnace, central AC, covered carport, and golf cart parking. We did not have to cave on even one of our wants for this one.
We have purchased a park model in Trophy Gardens. Lot #670. We will not have possession until April 1st but that is okay. We have our home called a MoHo. We are entertaining the idea of selling it. The logistics of all this are a bit mindboggling at times. I know it will all shake out as it should. It always does. I have a few pictures of our new place. We are excited and pleased with our choice. There will be more pictures in the days to come. We do not want to be a pest to the current resident.
Turning on that Brooker charm...😀This is the deck.
We have been looking at places to buy. May have found one yesterday. Still mulling it over. There are a gazillion things to think about because for us this would be a big change of lifestyle.
We are taking a second look at the place today. Ironically it is in an area of the park that has been a big fat NO for us. If we do say yes we will be in the market for a golf cart, another big fat NO in the past. It is far enough away from all we aspire to that a golf cart makes sense. Closer to the golf course, further from the pool hall. And sometimes you need to get somewhere in a hurry.
So many things to think about!!
Stay tuned, Our next big adventure may be on the horizon.
We full-timed for 10 years and we are sometimes asked questions about the prospect. And it is true some people are suited for it and others definitely not. That is why I decided to post this quiz. How do you stack up?
7 of the best personality traits for full-time RVing (and a quiz: Is full-timing right for you?)
https://www.rvtravel.com/personality-traits-full-time-rving-1030/
I will be meeting up with Renie for our morning walk. The produce cart will be here at 9:00 and I plan to load up with some fresh produce, saving a trip to the grocery store. Our schedules are getting busier by the minute. Butch has another massage appt this morning. I am going over to our sister park, Winter Ranch, and inviting them to our Trivia Night. I have permission from our management. They have new management over there and the feeling between the two parks is a breath of fresh air...
Back from our walk...
We looked at the place next door to us yesterday. It is a park model with an add-on room and a small deck. I never thought I would see a place with too much storage, but this place has too much storage! We are thinking on it but not too hard.
$3 worth of produce. These are the days, my friends!
We went to South Padre yesterday with friends Renie and Alex. It was a fun day all the way around! We stopped at a small restaurant in Los Fresnos that Alex had noticed in the Winter Texan. Texi Mexi was the name of the place. Very small and we missed seeing it the first time so had to swing back around. Butch and I ordered the Zapate Taco for $10 and you might think that is way too much to pay for a taco, but trust me it was enough for 3 people and very tasty. We would be in favor of stopping there again and we were sure glad we had decided to share one taco.
Then it was off to the island and finding a gate to stop at and we chose gate 9 because they have portapotties and a nice padded path to the beach. Alex and Renie had brought along beach chairs and an umbrella. We didn't because we usually just walk the beach and leave but after having the chairs and umbrella and sitting in the shade and watching people for an hour or so I am thinking of buying a beach umbrella. It was a most pleasant way to spend some time.
We then went to Laguna Bob's for supper. Another great place to eat but as I look back over the years we have never had a bad meal on South Padre Island.
I took lots of pictures and here are what I consider the best.
They were giving sand-sculpting lessons on the beach. Actually, he was making a YouTube video.
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| Do you think they will stay long? |
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| Butch and Alex |
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| Fun at the Beach |
Daily: Renie and I walk every morning at 7:30AM and we walk nearly every street in both parks, Trophy Gardens and Winter Ranch. The parks are owned by the same outfit and one blends into the other. We walk for an hour and I know from experience that proves to be about 2 miles.
Butch stops into the pool hall at 1:00 PM to see if there are some players and there usually are. He cannot do that on Monday or Tuesday because those are reserved for the women players and we usually fill 3 tables.
Monday:
Butch had a get-acquainted visit with Dr. Liezet Cepeda M.D. at the UT Health System of South Texas. UT is the University of Texas. We have been very happy with the care he has received from them in March of 2019 and February of 2020. We hope to skip this year in needing their services.
Tuesday: I played pool with the women from 1-3. Had a great time and I was happy with how I played. That doesn't always happen but it did Tuesday.
Wednesday: Butch and I looked at some places for sale in the park and I will talk more about that later.
In the afternoon Butch had an appointment at the Massage College with Karina, one of the instructors. I stayed in the car and read a book and we followed up with a Costco trip. Two of my current favorites at Costco right now are Sweet Potato Chips and Sweet Cherries (frozen). The sweet potato chips are about as good as you can get for Keto. There are two ingredients- sweet potatoes and canola oil. The cherries are naturally sweet and no added sugar is needed. They are one ingredient! Sweet Cherries. Love them with some whipped cream on top.
Thursday: Butch played golf with Paul and then Pool with the guys. I cleaned house on a little deeper level than I normally do.
Today we looked at another place that may be possible in the future. The current owner is not well.
Whatever we buy will have to be considered a bargain. If you know us at all you know that. Truth be known, we are unsure about just how serious we are! But we wanted to get a feel for the market and also decide what we wanted, a mobile, a mini mobile, or a park model. We have got that nailed down a bit thinking that a park model makes the most sense for us.
Today I am attempting to get caught up on laundry. We are toying with the idea of going to South Padre tomorrow and walk on the beach. Always a fun time and we have not been there for two years!
The older I get it seems the longer it takes me to get things done. Recently the gal who does bits and pieces, from Churdan Iowa by the way, had a glitch with her computer and lost all of her email addresses. She has asked me to help her with her dilemma so I am doing more posting than I really like on Facebook and www.trophygardens.blogspot.com. Betsie is still writing entries for the blog. She then sends them to me and I post them. She had 500 people to who she sent emails for bits and pieces. She lost them all. Her email was a juno account and they told her they could not retrieve them for her. I would not have that problem with gmail. Juno has been around for a very long time. Maybe she needs to change?
Fun Sunday afternoon in the pool hall. We had ten teams sign up and each team played nine games. One of our teams was doing really good and won eight out of the nine games played --- they were team Renie Stinson & Butch Brooker... The next big winner was Wilma Weeks & Alex Stinson with six wins... We had three teams winning five of their games played - they were teams Lynn LaFavre & Willie Pruys and Mikie Patrick & Paul Kelleher and team Donna Hanke & Bob Nance. Sign up sheet is up for next Sunday, December 5th and the start time is at 1:00 p.m. Come join us for a good time.
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.
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
😖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.😍
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!
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| Blood Moon |
So yesterday was my first doctor appointment to make sure I have an MD to call my own when we are making our home in the RGV. Butch has his appointment on the 30th. My enlarged bile duct is in good hands with Dr. Liezet Cepeda MD. We had a nice discussion and I like her. She is young and knowledgeable. She will be referring me to a GI doc and will be notifying me of the details when she has them. Butch's appointment with her will be on the 30th.
The first responders in this park have everyone fill out a medical information sheet, place it in a red envelope and leave it in an easy-to-find spot in case of emergency. They suggest on your refrigerator. In the motorhome, we have it on the visor. They also advise making a copy and putting it in the glove compartment of your vehicle. I have found it to be a very good thing to have. I have taken mine with me whenever I have a medical appointment and they are always grateful to get it. It speeds up the process of getting to the doctor. Have you ever sat in a waiting room, filling out many sheets of paper, forgetting many things that might be important, and wishing you could skip that part? Butch usually has me do it. But having that sheet of paper makes it very easy for all concerned.
I have been trying to get a useable form to put on here so all could have a copy if they want it. So far I haven't been able to. A recent Microsoft update is playing havoc with my computer...at least I think that is what is happening.
Email me and I will send you a copy of the form in a PDF. My solution to the problem!
in the Spring...
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ―
