Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Monday February 27, 2017-Cottonwood RV Park

What a nice day it was today. The weather has been warmer than normal this year in the valley and we have been enjoying it. Today the temps were in the upper 80's with clear skies.

Today is Stella's birthday and she had a very nice day. We found a new Chinese restaurant nearby called Kurai Chinese and Sushi so we went there with a large group of friends to celebrate her birthday. We rode with David and Donna, Dave and Nancy took their own truck and we met Ted and Donna & Mike and Linda at the restaurant. The place is very new and we found it delightful. We had a very attentive waiter that took care of everyones need for drink refills and even brought ice cream and other desserts to the table for us. They had a somewhat limited menu but the food was fresh and delicious. 

We had a nice time visiting at the table after the meal, and we all enjoyed our time together. It was good to catch up with friends.

We came back home to relax but later in the evening we got together at Dave and Nancy's place for birthday cake and ice cream. What a perfect way to end Stella's birthday than a delicious birthday cake and Blue Bell ice cream (thank you David)! 

We sat outside in the breeze, chatting and munching on the goodies for awhile before turning in. Sadly, David and Donna will be leaving in a couple of days and we'll miss them. We'll see them again at the upcoming Louisiana HOC rally in Kinder LA. and then they will travel to Alaska for the summer. Good luck on your trip!

So long.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Friday February 24, 2017-Cottonwood RV Park

We were up at an ungodly (for a retiree) hour this morning to go to the dentist. Dave had an 8AM appointment and I had an 8:30 at my dentist. This visit was to remove any remaining stitches and a general checkup of the work that had been done. Traffic was very light this early and we walked across the International bridge about 7:30, even before the beggars were out in force. 

Since we were the first ones on the list, I was soon in the chair and my checkup was done quickly. My stitches had all dissolved, so there was nothing to actually do in my mouth except to check the healing of my gums. I got an excellent report and was told to come back next Friday for a realignment, just before we are scheduled to leave.

We went to one of our favorite restaurants in Progresso, Rene's, for breakfast. The place was not as packed this early, but it soon filled up. It's hard to beat a $7 breakfast! The food is good and plentiful and it's fun to people-watch. There is a mariachi band that comes around to serenade you at your table and will sing requests at times. 

After breakfast, we meandered back to the truck and made the 25 mile drive back home. It had been a good morning and we were glad to be back home before it got too hot. Predictions are for the mid-90's today.

So long.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Wednesday February 22, 2017-Cottonwood RV Park

I am making good progress in recovering from my dental surgery. The folks at this park go out to eat for breakfast at a restaurant named Rosie's Restaurant every Wednesday morning and we went long with them today. I had a full breakfast instead of yogurt or oatmeal like I have been eating. Now to keep an eye on how much food I am eating. I like the weight that I have lost and want to keep it off.

We then went over to the Don-Wes flea market to look around. Dave had seen an oil filter wrench that he wanted and I needed to buy some water filter cartridges. Of course the first thing we saw when we walked in was a bunch of marked-down shirts for one dollar! I picked up a couple of shirts for working outside in because some of my shirts are getting discolored and need to be replaced. Remember the RV rule of one new item in-one old item out. That way, we don't overload the trailer with excess and heavy clothing. 

We returned home because it is getting pretty hot down here. I think it reached 94 today, a little hotter than I like, but not cold like much of the rest of the country! This is the reason for the popularity of the Rio Grande valley in Texas.

So long.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Friday February 10, 2017-Cottonwood RV Park

I am fast-forwarding through the events so far this month to bring you up to date. Today was my date with the dentist to have surgery on my mouth. That's kind of redundant isn't it? Where else would one go for dental surgery than a dentist? 

I followed Dr. Flores' instructions of having a nice lunch before coming in for my 2 o'clock appointment and was glad I did. We had been eating out as much as possible, trying to get in all of the foods that I love because there won't be much eating- anything- for the rest of our time here. We went to the China Sea buffet restaurant for my "last meal" and we enjoyed it. The food is fresh-made and plentiful.

I was right on time for my surgery and we got started promptly at 2. I had a woman surgeon to do my work and all went well except that she spoke little or no English. It all worked out because she basically only said "open wide, or open wider" and I understood that. There was a little pain until they got the anesthetic doses out, and then all was well. It was very tiresome, sitting with my mouth wide open for three hours but we got it done. I only felt discomfort on a couple of the teeth and I didn't even feel the four intact teeth when they were removed, but let me tell you, I was ready to be done at the end!

I was in much pain for the first two nights, but luckily I had plenty of pain killing meds and made it through the nights. I didn't even think about food, so that wasn't a problem. By Sunday I was able to get some Boost liquid down and later ate some ice cream, so I wasn't in danger of starving. I knew it was important to keep hydrated and took Amoxicilin three times a day per doctors orders and once the swelling went down and the little scratches in my mouth recovered and I was able to sleep through the night.

At least the bad part is done!

So long.

Monday February 7, 2017-Cottonwood RV Park

We have arrived in the Valley and actually hit the ground running. Four of our friends are already here in our park. We began by going over to Mexico just to look around and shop for a bit. I decided to visit my dentist to let him look at my mouth and the work he has to do. I am glad that I did because he told me that he will actually do my work next Friday with  temporary set of dentures and to make a long story short, he will make me a new set of teeth but I must return in June or July after my gums have a chance to heal. This simplifies our travel plans after the Goshen rally. We will come back down here from Goshen and then just hang out for a month or so and have my cataract surgery. But its another hot summer stay in Texas...

Our friends (and President of the Owner Club, Jim and his wife Nancy) had arrived the same day that we did. Other friends, Kevin and Nelly are at the same park in Pharr TX. and Ken and Kathy are at their park, Retama Village

We spent as much time with the off-site friends as we could, going out to eat and making another trip over to Mexico, but that came after our two Heartland events, a Meet and Greet for Heartland owners at Retama Village and our annual dealer open house at the Ron Hoover dealership. Both the events went very well, with good turnouts. We had not really expected much, since we had not gotten the word out prior to the events, but it worked out very well.

We had made plans to drive down to south Padre Island for the kite festival, but as the day grew closer, we read that there is a high percentage of rain and high winds, so we cancelled the trip. 

We have a favorite restaurant that we go to when we make the trip to SPI, Dirty Al's in Port Isabel. Since we didn't get to go, we found a new location for Dirty Al's in McAllen. We decided to try it and were pleasantly surprised. The view is not as good as the location in Port Isabel, but the food was comparable. We had a very good meal with our friends and would return.

Jim and Nancy and Kevin and Nelly left over the weekend for Santo TX and the Texas Sweetheart rally there. It has recently moved from Kerrville and hope they find a good home to this rally. It was a fun time and we hope to return some day.

More fun in the valley to come. 
So L

Monday, February 6, 2017

Monday January 31, 2017-Bay Colony R Resort

I am fast-forwarding to bring you up to date on where we are and what we are doing. 

We are leaving Dickinson today, traveling to Mission by way of Victoria. It should be an easy drive with few problems with freeways for most of the way and a trip that we have made many times.

We had doctor visits with Dr. Merritt, our PCP, who checked me for my diabetes. She gave me a good bill of health but wants me to start taking a new medicine called Farsiga (sp?). I'll let you know how that goes...

We both had to go to Dr. Shalaby, our cardiologist. We took echo, carotid and other tests to keep up with our hearts. Everything went very well an we came away with good reports.

Now for the kicker...  Stella had a follow up with Dr. Milstein of the famous Eye Clinic of Texas in League City where she had had her cataract surgery done last summer. She was only in the office for a few minutes and was released. My turn. I hate drops in my eyes! Anyway, I too have cataracts and will start my treatment in August, so we'll get to spend another heat-of-the-summer in Dickinson. And we had such nice plans with Dave and Nancy for the summer. Oh well, I need to be able to see to drive, so it'll be worth it! Maybe we can still do something with them anyway.

It is not nearly as hard to leave here as it is Inks Lake, but now we'll be back here sometime in August. We'll be able to make all the local rallies and the National rally in Goshen and who knows where we'll be before returning to Dickinson.

So long.

Sunday January 22,2017-Inks Lake State park

Well, here I am again, and further behind than ever! Where shall I begin? Today was our last day at Inks Lake and as usual we had a great time meeting many new people (campers in the park and hunters participating in the deer hunts) as well as several new camp-host friends. It is really hard to leave a place that seems so much like a home but we'll be back next fall and make even more new friends and hopefully see many of our host friends again.

The deer hunts went really well and most of the hunters were successful and enjoyed themselves. I hear that there is talk of expanding both the ADA hunt and also adding another novice hunt, but that decision is made in Austin. Have to wait until next year to find out. I didn't take many photos due to rivacy concerns.

Chip and Bunky will be staying and will probably be leaving in March or April. Chip said that they may take few days to drive down to Mission to check out parks there. Rob and Vickie will be returning to Missouri but have said they will be back next year. Glyn is staying in the park for as long as he can. Mike and Gigi recently retired from the Army and will be moving to the Fort Hood area, where she has found a job.

Remember that I said that there were some problems in the park with the park policeman? Well, it seems to have settled down and there have not been any further issues, so we're hoping that this is so.

I did get into an evaluator position with Glowstep Revolution steps, thanks to our friends Tony and Erika. They sent me a set of their 25 steps, which I installed with help from my friend Chip. We love them, with their much steadier steps which do not "give" like the factory steps. We have used them while on the road traveling and they are easy to fold out and set up. The big thing is, they passed the "Stella test" and she likes them too.

We are leaving here to return to Dickinson for doctor appointments. We will have 8 appointments between us in 7 days there. Our last visit will be the morning that we leave for Mission. It should go fine and I don't anticipate any problems.  Wish us luck, please.

So long.