WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING IN TEXAS ?????

I sometimes wonder.  "What am I doing here??"   If I was choosing my ideal place to retire, first, it wouldn't have Tex-Mex food.    I have a very sensitive Anglo constitution and can't handle spicy food.  Second, I was raised on 40's, 50's and 60s and Big Band music, so I really don't like country music.  I always tease my friends who are country fans.  "What do you get when you play your country music backwards?" "You get your wife back, you get your car back, you get your dog back".  And last  but not least, the other thing my ideal retirement place would not have, is guns.  So, what the hell am I doing retired down here in Texas. 

Well, I'll tell you, it's like this.  I have found more things to like about Texas, than the things I don't like.  The people I've met have been warm, welcoming and wonderfully friendly and always ready to party. 

I love dancing and down here in the Rio Grande Valley there is a dance on every corner almost every night of the week.  So, the music is a little country, so what, as long as it's got a good beat and you can dance to it, it suits me just fine. 

There is also the weather.  The weather down in Texas, while we are here, ranges from cool days of in the low 70s to hot days in the high 90s.  You can't beat that. 








And last but not least is the cost of living.  Everything down here is so much cheaper than at home.  Groceries, entertainment, booze, restaurants.  You name it, it's cheaper in Texas and  there is no sales tax on most things. 

Plus, I've never seen a single gun, in all the years we have been coming down here each winter. 

 

 

SO THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING HERE IN TEXAS.

AN OVERNIGHT IN SAN ANTONIO

The five of us got together again this morning and lingered over Breakfast at IHOP before we parted ways and Carol, Rick and Mark continued on to Corpus Christie.  And we returned to our little Paradise Park winter home. 

It was a very nice drive from McAllen to San Antonio and back again.  It will sure be nice when they finish all those interchanges.  We are becoming more and more familiar with that route as the years go on.  The wild flowers are starting to bloom in the ditches and road sides again. 

Traffic was light and it was clear sailing there and back. 

So, we are home here in Texas safe and sound, so now it's time to decide when we are going to pack up and head north again, all the way home. 

 

BUT THAT'S TO THINK OF ANOTHER DAY. 

 



SIGHT SEEING IN SAN ANTONIO

Tuesday morning we took off for an overnight trip to San Antonio, to meet up with my Cousin Carol and her family.  We both booked into a downtown Motel and had a great visit.  We visited together for some time, then went sight seeing and out for dinner. 

We arrived at the Riverwalk at sunset and started looking for a restaurant for dinner.  There are so many restaurants to choose from, it is hard to decide. 

The San Antonio Riverwalk is one of my all time favorite tourist attractions.  It is lined with hotels, shops, boutiques, restaurants, cafes and bars on both sides of the river.   

The architecture is stunning and unique at every turn. 

Around every bend there is something different view to see.  Our Riverwalk at home, is booooring.  It goes on and on, same, same, same.  But not this, every business front facing the river is unique. 

We found an Irish Pub, we thought we might like, so we went in and ordered a drink, but as we perused the menu a couple of us couldn't find something we liked, so, we finished our drinks and moved on to find somewhere else to eat. 

."Then we found "IT".  "IT", was "Dirty Dick's Last Resort", it was hilarious.  The place is a mess, the staff are trained to be rude to the patrons, they yell at you "What d ya want".  They throw the napkin wrapped cutlery on the table, and say, "Get it yourself".  If you try to ask a question, while she is giving you her spiel about the menu, she hollers "Shut Up, I'm talking".   She had us in stitches.  They had live "Jimmy Buffet" type music blaring through the place.   They give each person a long strip of white paper, that we assumed was a place mat, but NO, your food comes in a stainless steel bucket, which you have to dump onto that paper to eat it. 

Then to top it all off, once they have dumped your food at you, they hand make each person a large white paper hat.  Not only do they make you wear this ridiculous hat, but these hats all have rude things written on them.  Mine said "As seen on Golden Girls gone wild".  Carol's said "When Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, he was flying my apartment key".  And some of them were so crude I can't even repeat them here.  But, everyone walks proudly out along the Riverwalk wearing them, with everyone stopping and asking to read your hat.  Which you proudly display, because you survived Dirty Dicks. 

It was so dark by the time we came out after dinner I couldn't really get any good pictures of the Riverwalk at night.  It was beautifully lighted, but I didn't have my good camera with me with the proper settings to take pictures into bright lights.  I only managed to get this one because I didn't include any of the lights in it.  Oh, well, maybe next time.  And there will be a "next time". 

I did manage to get this one of a beautifully lit horse drawn cart, as we were waiting to hail a cab and go back to the Motel.  Once back at the Motel, we talked and talked, till midnight. 

 

 

ALL IN ALL THERE WAS A GOOD TIME HAD BY ALL

 

 

 

PARADISE PARK STREET PARTY

Today we had a street party in Paradise Park. 

Two of the Carports facing the open lawn area in the center of the park, were used, for shelter.  One to shelter the entertainers, and the other to shelter the array of pot luck food. 

The largest tree in our park is in the middle of the center lawn area.  It was a prime spot for getting out of the sun as the temperature went to 100F today. 

 The entertainers were "The Coins", a couple that live in the park and entertain locally. 











And of course there was dancing in the street.

The line for the food was especially long, but certainly worth the wait.  Everyone out did themselves with the food. 

Then the hi-lite of the afternoon was when Mike, Marnie and Denny entertained us with their special demonstration of how to dance to "Wooly Bully". 

 

 

 

 

 

PARADISE PARKS STREET PARTY WAS A HUGE SUCCESS.

 

 

 

 

MY ANNUAL ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY

St. Patrick's Day has come and gone for another year. 

My annual party went very well. 

We had a great turn out and a lot of fun.  

We couldn't have asked for better weather. In fact a little more shade would have been a relief in mid afternoon.   

The "Irish Car Bombs" proved popular again this year.

Thanks again to everyone that brought snacks. 

So that was it for this year. 

 

 

THE 4TH ANNUAL ST. PATRICK'S PARTY IS COMING UP NEXT YEAR, SAME TIME SAME PLACE.  HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE. 

 

 

 

PARADISE PARK ST.PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

These are a few pictures that I took of our park's annual Golf Cart, St. Patrick's Day Parade. 

 

 

 

 

AFTER SEEING ALL THE DOGS IN THE PARADE I THINK WE WILL ENTER SEA-ENNA NEXT YEAR. 

 

 

BEER & BRATS PARK FAIR

Today was the parks Annual Beer & Brats Fair.  A bratwurst on a bun (with or without sauerkraut), a bag of chips and a beer combo is the menu du jour. 

It's one of the parks real fun activities, a chance to mingle and a fund raiser for the park. 

There were all kinds of games and fun to get involved in.  From silly bean bag toss, to serious shuffle board. 

 There was even a dunk tank, which of course was one of the most popular money makers of the day.  Everyone is always willing to part with some money to see someone hit the water. 

 

 

SO THAT WAS OUR PARK FAIR .