Weather Alert........Weather Alert..........

Bougainvillea grows year-round here.
These photos were all taken inside the R V park
we're living in.

I've really been spoiled by the flowers here.

This is pink oleander.

When I first saw this tree I thought one of the fronds was dead, but the yellow

foliage is really a flower. I'd never seen a palm tree bloom before,

and wasn't sure it was a flower until I saw all the bees.

Not all flowers do well here but some really flourish.

I'd never seen Bird of Paradise actually growing out doors.

I don't have any idea what this is, but it's fabulous.

A Crown of Thorns in bloom.

I'm showing all these flowers because we have a freeze warning tomorrow night!

The weather is the opening story on all the news casts, and the main item of conversation

with all the park residents. They are predicting three nights in a row of below freezing

temperatures, and a chance of icy highways a short distance to the north.

Today is January 31st, and people who rented for the month are leaving.

There are empty spots here and there, looking like missing teeth, but

some of the evacuees are rethinking hitting the road.

I met a couple from Dallas who may stay over a few days because -

as they told me - "They's a Blue Norther comin' " and they said it

with awe and reverence.

Oh Canada!

Our freinds Joe and Barbara are leaving early Monday, so a little get-together

happened this evening. Joe is on the right in the above photo, wearing an orange shirt

and singing with a Canadian guitarist. A Canadian onlooker is on the left.

Everyone is wearing a cowboy hat.

Barb, Joe's wife and Mexican tour guide extroidinaire.

The audience, part shown here, was made up largely of
Canadians. Note that all of them are wearing cowboy hats
and clutching drinks. They tell me liquor is very expensive in Canada,
so they need to drink while in Texas.



The Canadian in the orange T shirt (wearing a cowboy hat)
is holding a spray bottle filled with what is supposedly a potion
given to him by an Indian (from a Canadian tribe). This potion will repel
evil spirits but encourage good spirits to hang around.
The Canadian in the white cowboy hat, named Borjn, is explaning all this to us
four Americans (no cowboy hats).

John (on the extreme left), Candy and Jake are learning about
potions, evil spirits etc. etc., and realizing we haven't had nearly enough to drink.
Clearly we need cowboy hats.

Joe really is a very good singer. We assumed he'd sang with

a band sometime in his past but he denies it.

We hate to see them leave next week but plan to

visit them in Wisconsin this summer.

We are considering buying cowboy hats as we plan to

go to Canada also, and want to look like natives.

Viva Mexico!

Meet Barb and Joe ------- our tour guides to Mexico.

We had been leery about crossing the border because of the warring drug cartels,

but Barb and Joe had been to New Progresso many times. They looked like they were sane,

so John and I with the neighbors Candy and Jake took off for the border!

The main street in New Progresso, Mexico.

The streets are lined with vendors selling sterling silver jewelry,

sunglasses, and "designer purses".

Miguel was singing in a bakery. There was a language problem,

because he didn't understand "Softer, sing softer."

There are two main businesses in New Progresso; Dentists and Pharmacies.

Both advertise heavily in the United States, and we were met by Mr.Tooth

as soon as we crossed the bridge into Mexico.

John, Jake, Candy, Joe and Barb in the bar of a souvenir shop.

This is the way to shop! You have a drink or two then wander

up and down the aisles perusing their merchandise!
John is the designated driver and therefore immune to the

sales pitches.

Barb and I checking out the silver and pottery (and Margaritas),

with John looking over our shoulders. I told John many times how lucky he was

that we now live in an R V. The glassware is beautiful, and if we had room for it .....

The same store had fabulous saddles my niece and sister-in law would have loved,

including a white ostrich-skin one with matching chaps.

John and I at the border, mid-Rio Grande.

When most people go in to Mexico they park on the American side,

and walk over the river. Most auto insurance isn't valid in Mexico and it's

an easy walk over.
We plan to go back Friday, braving shoe-shine boys and pickpockets.

To be continued...................

Top Ten List

I have a Top Ten list of the things that surprised me most

about the Rio Grande Valley. Some of the items aren't really unusual,

but the numbers are so high I had to include them.

#10

The R V parks are everywhere! Everywhere! I thought I had combed the Internet

and knew what was available here but I only found about 25% of the newer parks - and the older places aren't even on the Internet. They rely on repeat

business and have no need to advertise. We have been here two months and I just saw another hidden park two miles away for the first time.

The population of the valley increases by 350,000 in the winter months,

and most are in the R V parks.

#9

The H E B grocery stores. I've written about this company before but had no idea

how huge this chain is. There are no other super markets in south Texas. Walmart

is the only other place to buy groceries.

H E B is the tenth largest privately owned company in the United States, and it exists only in Texas and northern Mexico

#8

The Dollar Store, Family Dollar and Dollar General are major retailers here.You can find two of the stores side by side in some areas.

#7



Texicans LOVE Church's Chicken!

# 6


O K, if 350,000 people come here every winter, a certain percentage will decide to stay here.
If they stay here it stands to reason that some of them are going to need help eventually.
Voila! A LOT of adult day care.


# 5



There are many, many bakeries here. Two other bakeries are in sight from where I took this photo. There are also tons of donut shops, and the bakery department at H E B is huge. The bakeries make tortillas, both corn and flour, which are staples here.


# 4


I expected to see license plates from all over the United States and Canada here,
but I was stunned the first time I saw a plate from Mexico. Duh! It's seven miles away!
(I was trying to find one for a photo when I decided it wasn't a good idea to cruise parking lots with a camera taking shots of license plates.)


# 3

There are a lot of flower shops here.

Three more florists are on this block.

I thought this was a culture that gave flowers for many occasions,

then I noticed that some of the floral arrangements in the windows were silk.

When I saw the cemeteries I understood. They decorate the graves here year round,

and they are beautiful. Even very small, old graveyards are loaded with flowers.



# 2

Water kiosks are on every other block. There is a water dispenser in two areas of our

R V park. For 25 cents you can fill a gallon container with filtered drinking water,

or get a gallon container of ice.

and finally!

the

# 1

Thing that surprised me in the Rio Grande Valley!!!!!

Seriously?

Seriously!

We are 7 miles from Mexico!

There are taquerias on every block!

Taco Bell! Are you kidding me?

The Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen

This is the original statue-----------honestly------------ of the Marines raising the American flag over Iwo Jima. It's located on the grounds of a military school in Harlingen Texas, about 20 miles from our campground.

This is the plaster model used to make the casts

for the Marine Memorial in Arlington Cemetery.
Yes, plaster! and No, I don't know how they take care of it.

The young Marine in the front of the statue was Harlon Block from Weslaco,

a town just west of Mercedes. He was killed just six days after the flag raising

and is buried here.



The base of the Memorial is 10 feet tall and each Marine is 32 feet tall.

The top of the flagpole is over 100 feet tall.

This is the kind of Howitzer that John fired in Viet Nam.

(I mistakenly called it a cannon and was corrected)

It's a 105 mm , and was used to support Marine Infantry. When the Infantry

moved they pulled the gun after, changing locations often. Six guns make up a battery

with 5-6 men on each gun. It could be packed up and moved in a hurry,

with each gun having a 2 1/2 ton truck assigned to it. That truck pulled the gun and carried the ammo, the men and all their gear.

See the two arms coming together at the hitch?
Those arms were spread apart for firing. When the first round was fired

a man would stand on each arm and the shovel-like device

at the base would be driven in the ground, setting the gun.

I learned a lot about Howitzers today.

I had a good lecturer.

1-1-11

Happy New Years Day!