February 26, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

If you have an RV and can go somewhere warm for the winter where are the popular destinations?  First, you can go to FL but it is getting expensive. Second, you can go to AZ but some people don’t like the desert.  Third, you can go to South TX near South Padre Island and the Rio Grand Valley. And some people go to MX.  All 4 choices have had their weather problems this winter.  Fl had lots of rain and was chilly.  South TX had lots of rain and was chilly.  Even the desert was rainy this winter but they had more sunshine..  Mx usually has perfect weather but they even had rain this winter.

Finally, the forecast is looking up. Looking at the upcoming temperatures, we can get outside and enjoy ourselves.  This is why we come to the Rio Grand Valley.

Fri                     Sat                   Sun                   Mon                    Tue

74° F | 45° F

74° F | 49° F

74° F | 58° F

76° F | 52° F

72° F | 52° F

Posted in TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas | Print | No Comments »

February 17, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

Orange and grapefruit picking has been taking place for a couple of months, but a large proportion of the fields look still like this.(Click on photo for panoramic view)

It won’t be long before we are treated to breezes carrying the most wonderful smell of oranges.  The cool winter has slowed the process, but usually, by mid February, oranges that have fallen off of the trees and decay on the ground produce a fabulous aroma.

Posted in TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas | Print | No Comments »

January 24, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

My cardiologist said to me, “Do you remember what you did to build up the plaque in your system?”  Following my affirmative response, he added, “Well, stop it.”

So, the week following my procedure and with out of town guests here wanting to dine out, we visited many of the wonderful contributors to my heart issues.

In Mission, Texas, we stopped at Pepe’s on the River to watch our friend Ruthi perform.

Pepe’s has some outstanding nachos.  It takes at least two people to tackle a piling order of this dish. We enjoyed an afternoon of dancing.

My favorite restaurant south of the border is Angel’s in Progreso.  They have the best salsa I’ve ever had.  The place was teaming with senior citizens. Imagine that.

Then it was off to South Padre Island and lunch at our favorite restaurant on the island, Daddy’s.   The dish called the Cowboy Joe’s is absolutely wonderful. It is a ribeye with a shrimp, spinach and 3-cheese sauce.

We also visited two fine Mexican restaurants, Costa Messa Restaurant in McAllen.  I’m not crazy about chipolte anything, but their chipolte salsa is great.  The second restaurant is Casa Del Tacos in Weslaco.  It isn’t just a house of tacos.  You’ll find a wide menu that includes homemade soups and good steaks.

Finally, we went to Donna, TX to visit Gonzales Burgers.  This place doesn’t even have a sign except the one that says “OPEN”.  You need to get there early.  People start lining up at about 10:30 AM.  Even if you are first in line, you may wait about 30 minutes for your order.  The burgers are enormous.

You can see the huge patties.  The burgers fill the over sized buns.

If that won’t clog your arteries, nothing will.

Ok, my Nutrisystems food just arrived.  Now I can work toward better health.

Posted in Mexico - Nuevo Progreso, TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas Coast, Texas, Mexico | Print | 4 Comments »

January 14, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

We had to take a short time-out.  Rick went to the hospital yesterday and was the recipient of a coronary artery stent.  It turns out that he had a 99.5% blockage in an artery.

All went well and we’ve made it back home with only one night in the hospital.

We want to thank Dr. Hugo Blake and his staff as well as the good people at the Harlingen Medical Center.

Posted in TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas | Print | 2 Comments »

January 6, 2010 by Rick and Tinka.

Here’s a little wrap-up data for our travels and blog for 2009.

The year found us on the road again.  Our goal was to work our way through the Midwest and over to New England.  Because of the rainy and relatively cool summer, we passed on the Dakotas and Minnesota.  Our 2009 Travel Map turned out to look like this.

We kicked ourselves for not getting to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont since we were so close.  Chances are that we won’t have our rig that close again.  Anyway, our combined US and Mexico for our three years of “full-timing” look a little better with the new additions.

We want to thank those who stop by to read our blog and are happy that we are having so many visitors.  We were amazed to find over 200,000 visitors found us in 2009.  The three year growth has been astounding.

2007 - 41,157      2008 - 133,433      2009 - 200,126

For 2010, we’re looking forward to another fantastic year.  It may sound a little wimpy, since the temperature at this writing is in the 70’s, but, as chilly as it is here in South Texas, we may find ourselves back in Mexico next winter.

Posted in TX Rio Grande Valley, Texas | Print | 1 Comment »