R-V There Yet?

We’ve had some interesting weather.  In general it has been great.  Many days in the 80’s, however, about 2 days a week we get a cold front through and the temperature drops considerably.  This is unlike our experience last year in Mexico where every day was beautiful with a high around 85 and lows around 65.  The wind also blows about 20 MPH most of the time when the sun is out here in South Texas.  The flag in the photo below is usually standing out straight in one direction or another.

The other day we were playing petanque (a French game kind of like boccie ball) when the temperature went from 82 degrees to 50 degrees in a matter of 2 minutes.

As mentioned in an earlier entry, time finally arrived when one of our recliners approached the unusable status that all recliners finally reach.  You might guess that it was Rick’s.   Anyway, we  replaced both chairs from a merchant at the flea market with some nice wall-huggers.

We’ll give the one usable chair away but we needed to get rid of the bad one.  So off to the dump we went.  We scaled what must be the highest point in the valley, the Hidalgo County landfill.  It is amazing how much plastic gets tossed out.  They have installed fences just to catch the bags as they blow around.

From up on top of the landfill, we had a nice view of the orange grove below.  I’m not sure that I want fruit with this run-off.

The citrus trees are really full and picking is in high gear.  We’ve seen both orange and grapefruit trees.  Below are some Texas Ruby Red’s.

Back in the Valley Again! (That might make a good song title.)Monday, December 1st, we arrived in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, about 10 miles north of the Mexican border.

On a beautiful day and with one of my smoothest “back-in” moves, we settled in.

Nearly all of the 90 sites here are filled for the winter and the others will be filled within a couple of weeks.

We found a flea market on Hwy 83 business, between the towns of Weslaco and Donna, that is filled with vendors that cater to RV’ers.

They have a nice indoor area with various craft and RV type shops.

We were in the market for new recliners for the Montana.  There is one guy that specializes in RV furniture.  We found two well built (and heavily discounted) chairs that were ideal for our needs.  The problem with most chairs is the width.  They must fit at the back of the living room and clear the two slides that come in from both sides of the trailer.

On Wednesday we were out driving around and decided to have lunch at a place called PePe’s on the River in Mission, TX.  When we saw the place, we were reminded of all of the palapa restaurants that we enjoyed in Mexico last winter.

The palapa covered a large area where a live band was getting ready to perform from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.  I guess Winter Texans get an early start (and finish) on their dancing.  On weekends the live band plays at night.  This is a shot of the area under the palapa.

Pepe’s also has a dining room away from the band and a porch overlooking the Rio Grande.

Across the river is Mexico.  The river is a lot calmer looking here than when we saw it in New Mexico last spring.

Next door to Pepe’s is the La Lomita Mission Chapel. (That makes sense, considering this is Mission, TX.)  On the property is a chapel that is still used for special occasions. The original chapel, built in 1865, has been rebuilt or restored at least two times. It was relocated at this present site in 1899.

The weather has been pretty good.  Most days so far have been near 80 degrees F, but one day we only saw the low 60’s.  Unlike our experience in Mexico, the nights get a little cooler here.  Some of that can be chalked up to being 70 miles from the Gulf of Mexico.  If we were closer, the temps would remain up at night, however, the daytime highs would be a little cooler.

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