More Of The Same…Fun That Is!

My last blog encouraged you to have fun and enjoy life, no matter your age…so in keeping with that theme, we have been doing our part.

Mike, the owner/developer of Retama Village, offered a tour of the area, so we decided to go along for the ride.  We boarded the safari style ATV along with 8 others and took off.  Mike took us

to the Butterfly Farm and

  down a back road.

We went to

Smuggler’s Cove where he stores

some boats.  If you like, you can rent them for a ride

on the Rio Grande.  Or, he showed us a place you

have a picnic lunch.  Maybe we will come here on the next warm day.

Yesterday we had one of those “down-days” not a lot of pre-planned activity.  Mark and I checked out a new Wall-Mart store, watched a little football, and did a little house cleaning.  Last night we all gathered at Mac and Lynette’s

for baked potatoes and salad.  Now, you can’t let those “down days” get out of control….so, before the evening was over, we made plans to go to the Don*Wes Flea Market today.  So….as planned, we met at Mac and Lynette’s around 11:30 this morning and headed out for an adventure.

First stop was to pick up some new lawn chairs that Mac ordered.  Then, there was the stop at

popcorn stand…Lynette chose Caramel Apple…I just got plain Caramel, while Rod went for the Cajun Pork Rinds.

Next stop was through the fruits and

produce.  Here I decided to bring home a new variety of

grapefruit…it has been crossed with an orange.  I will let you know how they are.  The sample was pretty juicy!

Along the way, Mark and Rod

tried to talk us into these hats….but clearly the answer was “NO”!

So….time to cross the street

to the main market area…here we looked at

rugs and

cute puppy dogs.  And, of course all that walking and looking works up an appetite.  Deb decided on

mini donuts, while Mac looked for some ice cream, and Rod

stood in line waiting and waiting for this yummy

blooming onion.  We all shared…well, that is all but

Deb and she wants NO part of an onion…no matter how good it is!

We were then off to finish our shopping…Donna, Deb and I got music CD’s for the kids, while Lynette was off shopping for a new decorative window cling.

All finished at the Flea Market…but before heading home, we wanted to make one more stop at the Mexican Bakery.  Here we found some

great little pastries and some tamales.

Now back to the RV Parks, we are snuggled in for the night.  The weather has turned a little cool and there are rain showers in our forecast, but….I bet we don’t let that stop us too much.

But, for now, we are anxiously awaiting tomorrow’s arrival of Kevin and Arlene, www.roamingwhenwecan.blogspot.com, so the fun and adventures can continue!

Enjoy The Ride…There Is No Return Ticket

Things here in the RGV are great…the weather is a little windy, but good, the friends are great, and the memories are priceless…

Today, rather than bore you with a bunch of…we went to eat here or shop there, I thought I would share this email with you that I got from a friend.

Enjoy your day whatever your age!

George Carlin's Views on  Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we  like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old,  you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.  'How  old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and  a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

  
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump  to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm  gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!

And then the  greatest day of your life! You become21. Even the words sound  like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you  turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk!  He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a  sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

 
You BECOME  21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on  the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH  50, and your dreams are gone...

But! wait!! ! You MAKE  it to 60. You didn't think you would!

 
So you BECOME  21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50, and make it  to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70!  After that, it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

 
You  get into your 80's, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT  lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into  the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST92.'

Then a  strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid  again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100  and a half!!

HOW TO STAY  YOUNG

1. Throw out  nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the  doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

 
2. Keep  only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep  learning.  Learn more  about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never  let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And  the devil's  family name  is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple  things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until  you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and  move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.  Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you  love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies,  whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it  is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond  what you can improve, get help.

 
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take  a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but  NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you  love them, at every opportunity.

 
AND, ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life  is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments  that take our breath away.

A Surprise and A Treat

Yesterday, we woke to a windy, but beautiful Sunday.  After church, we stopped by the WalMart store to get several items we needed.  Then, back to the RV Park where Mark settled in for the first of two football games.  Later, we will be going to Mac and Lynette’s for dinner.

Soon, later came, and it was time for me to get my salad put together.  With that done, we headed out to 7 Oaks.

As, we drove into the RV Park, much to my astonishment, I saw this guy walking down the street.  And, as it registered from one side of my brain to the other, I looked at Mark and said….that guy looks just like Rod.  By this time Mark had parked at Mac’s and I was out of the car….it was Rod!

Now, we have been totally harassing Rod and Deb for about a month now, that they could come here to see us on their way to San Antonio.  And, come to find out, they have been giving us every excuse known to man, why they couldn’t come here….and all the time they were planning on surprising us….and

surprising us they did.

And, we were also nicely surprised to find out they are going to stay two weeks with us before going to San Antonio!  We are so glad you guys are here!

In addition to the surprise, we also had a treat.  I know you have heard all of us say that the nice thing about this lifestyle is all the nice folks you get to meet along the way.

  And, once again, we were able to meet yet another of our RV Dreams chat-room family….

Gale and Anna.

We learned the other night that they were coming to the RGV for awhile.  Lynette and I quickly invited them to join us for dinner last night.  What a nice treat to get to add one more set of faces with names that you have known for so long!

So, along with Chuck, Kathy, Nolan and Donna, our surprise visitors and our new friends we all gathered in Mac and Lynette’s kitchen for a great dinner of

fajitas and

roasted stuffed peppers.

After dinner, we enjoyed lots of laughs and oh my….all the plan making that was going on.  So, you will have to stayed tuned to see just how all that turns out.  I am sure there will be a new adventure every day.

What a great day of surprises and treats!

Party Time

Today took us on an adventure to

Music Valley to the the Chicken House Opry.  Today was Nolan’s birthday and Donna made the plans for the day.  Along with Donna and Nolan, Mac, Lynette, Mark, and I, we met Jerry and Leona in the parking lot at the Opry.   Cathy and Chuck were holding our place in the long

food line.  Once we had our food, a barbeque sandwich, beans, chips, and a drink, we found

these nice standing room only tables!  After lunch, we made our way over to the

opry house where Donna had arranged for

reserved seating.

Soon, it was

show time.  We were entertained with

singing,

funny stories from the Crazy Cajun, Charlie LeBlanc, and even a visit from

Elvis.

There was more

singing and stories

some funny ladies.

After the show, we treated Nolan to some ice cream at the Dairy Queen.  We also spent a little time just driving around looking at some of the RV Parks in the area.  Soon we were back to Seven Oaks so Donna could check on her fur kids.  We said our good nights and headed for our own park.

And, this ended…

and what a

beautiful ending it was!

Again, Happy Birthday, Nolan, thanks for sharing it with us!

What A Burger!

Today’s adventure took us to lunch at

Gonzales Burgers.  Mac and Lynette had already been here, and after hearing them talk about it, Mark has just been biding his time to go try the burgers for himself.  Well, today was the day.

They open at 10:45 and are open until 2:00 or until the meat runs out.  They grind the meat fresh every day.  Therefore, they only have a limited amount each day.  We understood that we would need to arrive early…okay…let’s see…we are 23 miles away so, that meant we needed to be headed that way by 10:30 to arrive by around 11:00.

When we arrived, Chuck and Kathy were there and saving us a table.  It seemed that we arrived just before the crowd, but by the time we got inside, to the table, and figured out what we wanted to order, the line was almost out the front door.

Once our order was placed, we waited about 20 minutes for our name to be called…and this is the

hamburger and onion rings we shared.  In fact, I only ate half of a half.  What A Burger!

The line of customers continued to be out the door for most of the time we were there.  It was crazy….I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it.  And when we left

the cook was still grilling meat and

the assembly line was just trying to keep up with the orders (all those little blue post-it notes)!

So, if you are ever at the corner of

14th and Silver in Donna, Texas, be sure to plan on a stop at Gonzales Burgers!

A Leisure Day

This day started with an early morning walk.  Mark got in about 3 miles before he decided the coffee was calling his name.  I don’t drink coffee, so I continued on for another 1/2 mile or so.

Next on the agenda was a hair cut for Mark.  So, out came the shears and in a matter of a few minutes, I had him looking good as new.

Then, once showered and cleaned up for the day, we headed out for a walk over to the clubhouse to sign up for an upcoming BBQ and check the mailbox.

By now, it was time for us to head for Seven Oaks to meet

the gang….Mac, Lynette, Nolan, and Donna.  Today, we were headed

down the Levee Road to the

Riverside Club for a late lunch/early dinner.  I enjoyed a great chicken salad, while the others chose chicken strips and pork tenderloin sandwiches.  It was all very good.

After lunch, we spent some time

just sitting out on the patio overlooking the

Rio Grande River.  Just up the river from the grill is

an RV Park that is located right on the riverside.

In a few weeks, we are looking forward to going back to the Riverside Grill with another group, some of Escapees Class of ‘07,

to take a 2 hour ride on the Riverside Dreamer boat and have lunch.

On the way back to the RV Park, we saw

this old building….hum…might be an adventure for another day.

Life Is Good

Yesterday we met up with the gang.  We had just enough time to do a little shopping and have lunch before we had to head back to Retama to meet the RV Serviceman.

We had noticed that the propane hot water was not working.  We had this problem once before and the valve was bad.  Sounds like that might be the problem again.  The service tech was right on time and confirmed that there was no gas flow.  However, he did not have a valve and would have to order one.  He will have to come back next week to replace it.

We had a problem with the gas line when we first got the motor home and Mark is going to have the serviceman check that out when he returns.  Hopefully, it is just the valve.  In the meantime, we will just use the electric hot water.

Other than a walk in the warm afternoon sun, that is about the story for yesterday.

This morning we were up early and Mark headed out for his walk while I was busy getting ready for an appointment at the hair salon.  Wow….it is so nice to go get my hair done….makes me feel like a new person. LOL

After the salon, I made a stop for a few items at Wal Mart before heading home.

Once I was back to the motor home, Mark was almost finished with his lunch, so I made myself a sandwich. I grabbed my book and headed outside to sit in the lounger to soak up a little Vitiman D.  And, that is where I stayed until time to put the chicken in the oven.

Tonight we had

a little community get together

at the home of the Pike’s.  Thanks guys for being a great host.  Once we had our food, we moved

across the street to the vacant lot…in fact we took up

two lots.  This is a great little community and everyone has been very friendly.  We stayed and visited until

it was time to light the fire and by then the mosquitoes were out and the air was too chilly for me.

What a fun evening….this is just one of the things that make this lifestyle so much fun….yes, Life Is Good!