There seems to be no shortage of visitors heading to South Texas in search of beautiful weather. Unfortunately, our friends, Roland and Karen from Tucson, were greeted by the coolest week of the winter. Daytime highs stayed in the high 60’s and low 70’s. Here they are, dressed appropriately.
The temperature wasn’t the whole story, the brisk northerly winds persisted at 15 to 25 MPH.
Even the exercising required layers of clothing.
Not all activities were dampened by the weather. We learned a new card game and played dominoes. We also made a day trip to South Padre Island to take a look at the effects of Hurricane Dolly. It appears that the island fared quite well, however, roof repairs are still underway. Some of the businesses on the strip are remodeling and others are closed. Areas of the dunes were being reconstructed. You’d love the pictures, but our camera battery died.
Beware of soft sand. I should have know from experience driving the truck on the beach in the past. This time I thought that I could turn onto the bay side and take a little bay tour. Wrong!!! Turning off the pavement, the 4000 lb. front axle sank immediately. The rear wheels didn’t even get off of the pavement. The photos below don’t look very bad, but the poor traction resulting from the light rear end of the dually kept us trapped. Thankfully a kind soul came by and gave us a little pull back onto the road. We were again grateful that we always carry a heavy tow chain. Next time we take the Jeep.
We had lunch at Dirty Al’s, which is located on the bay side just before you enter the county park on the south end of the island. The plentiful helpings were quite good and reasonably priced.
Unfortunately the Los Ebanos Ferry was still closed due to high water so we made another side trip to Nuevo Progreso, MX for lunch. Our second trip to Angel’s was as good as the first. They perhaps have the best salsa, with a side of jalepeños. Tinka had the “Shrimp – Progreso Style” and it was wonderful. It was shrimp in a light wine/cheese sauce. I don’t understand how Progreso can have a shrimp “style”, since they are 70 miles from the water, but they pulled it off.
We hadn’t really noticed this before, but it appears that Homeland Security is making some progress with the infamous “Fence.”
A friend of ours from our park, Ruthi, is an entertainer that has found quite a niche and a large following in the Valley. This is only her second year in the area and is booked nearly every day. (25 in January alone.) Entertainment in this Winter Texan Mecca is a little unique. Many of the performances are from 2:00 – 4:00 PM or some as late as 4:00 – 7:00 PM. I guess this is so the old people can get to bed early or not drive after dark. Anyway, the four of us headed over to the Mustang Lounge to watch Ruthi perform. There were about 150 people there to see the performance and dance. The larger than expected crowd overwhelmed the wait staff. We ordered some food that took about an hour to arrive. After 1 1/2 hours, Tinka’s nachos never appeared. Apparently another waiter snagged it. With the order canceled, we left with a hungry and peeved Tinka who had consumed several adult beverages in anticipation of a meal.
This mustang stands guard over the entrance to the Mustang Lounge.
Well, once Roland and Karen departed, our weather returned to the mid-80’s. For the time they were here, the weather was better back at their home in Tucson, but we were glad to get the opportunity to visit with them.