More Texas Stuff

A new year is almost here so I thought I better get all the 2023 info on the books.  As you know I have been taking classes in beading at the resort.  As the projects progress, I get better and better and am inventing things all on my own!  Every class teaches you a new technique so I will continue to go until we leave here.  I am sure I will give away all this stuff so when I see you all just ask for some fabulous jewelery!!

We are still exploring disc golf courses and they are super boring here for me.  Wide open spaces with some unusual vegetation and lots of red ants!!  Sometimes I go but only if I feel the need to get my ankles bit up and itch for days!! 

I think this is a desert Christmas tree that someone forgot to water!!  Looks like a slight fire hazard!!

This here was where I walked at the disc golf course.  Nice, shaded path around the wide-open field where Dick played in the sun and dam near sweat to death.

We headed to South Padre Island for a couple of days and stayed in a cheesy hotel right on the beach.  Had a blast watching the rocket launch!  The ground shook and the noise was super loud. Super awesome.  We had fun waling the beach everyday people watching. We plan on going back in February when our friend come to visit for a week.  We rented a whole house so no cheesy hotel next time.  I love cheese and cheesy is always fun.  

Sunsets were awesome!

Beerfest on the island was fun but the southern people just do not know good beer!  Some was decent but for the most part.....blah.

Back to reality at the resort and Thanksgiving was packed.  Tons of people and tons of food.  I don't know if I ever want to make that kind of meal again.  It would maybe kill me.  Life has sure become super simplified in the kitchen, and I love it.  Now this certainly doesn't mean we are getting skinny.  Hell no!!  The opposite.  I have no idea what is going on maybe it old age spread but we are more active than ever but gaining and not losing. Oh well, feel great, having fun and doc says we are healthy.  What more could we ask for.

Decorated for Christmas.  Took all of 5 minutes!  Love it!

Funky free and tiny flowers. 

A children's group came to the resort and preformed You're a good man Charley Brown!  It was so adorable and fun.  These kids had some real talent, and we had a great time. They perform all over the valley for free spreading the word of God along with the Charley Brown story!! 

 

My Christmas bracelet!!

We went to a drive through light show on a choo choo train after we went to the Chocolate factory in Heldago, TX.  So amazing for a tiny town.  It was HUGE.  Best light show I have every driven through.  We went with a bunch of folks from the resort and visited a large bee too.  The chocolate factory was all hand made. Ground the beans and molded.  They have quite the tourist business.  All dark chocolate and we all got to make our own bars.  Mine had coconut, almonds and Tejin in it.  Spicy delishousness.  Dick labeled his bar DIRT because he thinks dark chocolate tastes like dirt.  Lucky for me.  I love it and more for me!!

Love that we can swim year-round.  We go often.  Our house is planted right behind this building behind us, so it is super close to swim and hot tub.

I have started to fold paper.  Like I need another hobby!!!  I had a sign-up sheet at the activities center and about 12 people came to my class and learned a few things.  I failed as a teacher, but we had a bunch of laughs and some pretty weird looking things come out of this class.  I will try again with but this time the class will be called Fun with Tape!  Yes...there is something wrong with me!! 

Packer Bracelet! It is double sided and is all green and gold on the other side!

We went to the Legion bar up the road for dinner because someone said it was good and we came upon the town parade.  I love parades almost as much as I love zoos!!  It was a great parade for such a tiny town and we loved watching the little kids getting excited for all the floats and Santa!  The mayor even handed out bags of candy and we are not just talking little bags.  Maybe that is where my spare tire came from!!  The bags had lemons in them to.  

We have found some pretty amazing places to eat down here as well.  This was the New York Deli and the sandwiches were as big as the ones you get in New York and just as delicious!!

We attended an ugly sweater murder mystery party and walked home with all these trophies!   Last trophy I won was for bowling when I was pregnant with Charley.  Anyhow we won for my 

ugliest sweater. Dick won for the best acting for the murder victim, and I also won for my acting abilities by getting most people to vote for me as the murderer!!  I didn't do it!!  Fun was had!!

We went to the zoo in Brownville Tx, and it was amazing as is every zoo.  Again, we saw so many things that we never saw at other zoos and had fun watching the very active animals.  The snakes were moving and the monkeys were making all kinds of noises we have never heard before.  We will hit up a zoo wherever we go and will never be disappointed.  There was an awesome park across the street that had a bunch of tiny houses.  A village of cuteness.  Each house had scenes inside and were amazing.

2023 has come to an end for this blog and it was an amazing year.  We met all kinds of cool people and saw all kinds of cool things.  I almost died a bunch of times, but I backed off posting those because I thought you may be fearing for my life along with me and I don't want to stress my friends and family. 

Relaxing by my tree as I write to you all and reflecting on our amazing lives and hope yours are as amazing as ours and you all have a happy new year.  I look forward to more adventures and writing them for you all to read about.

San Antonio-RGV

Our last days in San Antonio were pretty cool.  The eclipse 

 day was pretty cloudy, but we got a picture of it peaking through.

We Played some disc golf after with Dicks sister Barb and Son Jonathan. This was an ankle twister course.  Rock everywhere!!  

Why or Y??

Barbs neighbor gave her a bunch of crafty stuff and lucky for me Barb is not a crafty person, so my stock got replenished with all kinds of thing I didn't have.  I painted the inside of these ornaments and left them for her as a thank you.  It was a fun project that I never attempted, and they turned out pretty cool.  I didn't' want them to be all Christmas colory so she could leave them out in a basket all year,

We arrived in Harlengen and headed straight for pizza a beer.  This place had some interesting art for sale and the Pizza was dang good!!  It wasn't a brewery but it had a bunch of microbrews on tab so we were happy campers!!

The resort was pretty empty when we arrived so walking around was a bit boring, but we have been faithfully walking every day.  I may never be skinny again, but it feels good to be more active.  We got in super lazy mode for the last year.  It's easy to do and not easy to undo.

The pool area is right across from our camper.  Totally cool!  We went hot tubbing for the full moon.  They don't howl at the moon like they do in Arizonia, so we had to find something to do!  It was a pretty night, and the moon looks pretty awesome with the palms.  We got in before the clouds rolled in and got out right before they covered the moon.  Awesome way to spend an evening. With cocktails of course!

Y

We have lived some places that have definitely had some beautiful sunsets and were not sure if Texas was going to be awesome or not.  It has not disappointed us yet!

Close to the Mexican border again this year so.....Here we come Tequila!!  Brought back only one bottle but I am sure we will go back numerous times to eat drink and be merry!!!

Living by some pretty awesome looking vegetation again so you will certainly see some of that in my posts while here. 

Here we are living the dream!!!  Not to exciting of a camp site but we are happy and that is all that matters.  There are a variety of homes in this park.  RV's, Park models, & Mobile homes.  We totally feel like we are in Wisconsin here because there are so many packer backers here.  Not just fans of the Pack but past and present Wisconsin residents.  Kind of cool to talk to people from your home town or places you have been or visited.

HARLINGEN is the town we are living.  The Rio Grand Valley (RGV) has many towns and hundreds of resorts for Winter Texans.  DO NOT call them snowbirds.  You will certainly get yelled at!!

We went on a walk in an awesome park with lots of trails, pond and birding blinds. Plenty of places to get lost. We were almost viciously attacked by this wild boar.  So cool to see one alive finally.  We have seen them dead on the side of the road but never alive.  It really could have given two shits that we were there taking way to may pictures and it was in no way scary but I could have almost died!!!!

Swamp in the park with lots of turtles! They had so much slime on them that we almost didn't see them. 

Somehow, I got involved in a beading class at the park, Every Wednesday at 12:30 I show up and they force me to make another piece of jewelry!! I DONT EVEN WEAR THAT MUCH SO WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!!???  Well like everything else I make; I will find someone to give it to!!  

I got a smart watch and I for sure thought this was going to be smarter than me and guess what.......

IT IS!  I am having fun playing with my new toy, but it must not work properly because it has not counted enough steps for me to get in shape!!!!

This is my exciting work area where I get to talk to people and sell tickets to the dances, dinners, special events and we get to run 50/50s for park meeting and happy hour.  The activity department is a hopping place and here are very active 55 plus people here.  I think thus far it is more 70 plus but most people have not arrived yet.  Most will come after Thanksgiving and Christmas so they can spend it with family.  

Not a big Poker group yet but Dick is back in the swing of cards again.  We have also played more pool than we ever have.  I think there are 10 tables here as well as a shuffleboard table we playing as well.

Hole in the wall place with amazing fish fry!!!

These do not look like biscuits, but they are amazing.  Look up butter swim biscuits on Google for the recipe.  I used 1/2 cup less buttermilk.  Try them!! So easy and so good!

Dick played in a disc golf glow tournament, and I guess this guy decked out his cart in glow stuff and he thought it was cool.  I didn't ask him but he sent me the picture so that is what it must be.  Maybe I should talk to him!!😂

We are heading to South Padre Island this weekend for a beer & wing fest.  There is also a space X launch scheduled and we are got free tickets to a shrimp boil from our boss lady.  We rented a hotel for a couple days to explore the island.  Should be a good time.