Mexican Dancers

On Tuesday we went to Garcia's in Progresso Mexico to watch the Mexican Dancers. As you can see from the picture Garcia's is quite elegant. It is definitely the nicest place I have been to  in Progresso.

The show was very reasonably priced. It cost $5.50 and that included the music, the dancers and all drinks.
Before the  dancers started their show we were entertained by a singer and a keyboard player. People could dance if they wanted so of course we did. There were many  prizes given away. Anna won a back scratcher.

When the Mexican dancers came out and started the show  we were all impressed by their costumes.

One of the dancers asked Anna to dance.





There were many different sets of dancers. Sometimes the young girls  would do a set, then other times it would be just the young men.

There were a few sets where they danced in pairs. This couple on the right were very good.

The girls costumes were very beautiful.
I tried to enlarge these pictures but my blog is being temperamental again. Perhaps you will be able to click on the picture and get it to enlarge.



When the show was over, the dancers came out to meet the people and collect tips.  We all had the opportunity to have our pictures taken with them.  For those of you who have been telling me that you want to see more pictures of me here I am.

It was another great day in Mexico. Unfortunately, it may  be our last. There was a warning in the newspaper here yesterday advising people not to go to Mexico as there has been some trouble there again. We have decided not to take any chances and stay on this side of the border.

Keep warm.

Line Dancing & Mexico

It was a very  full day today. I went to my line dancing class this morning.
We learned another new line dance today called "Blue Moon". It was a bit of a challenge at first but we eventually got it figured out. It helps greatly to have a teacher with endless patience and a good sense of humor.

We went through many of the dances we have learned so far and we are all doing well. We are doing the Waltz in this picture.

After line dancing a bunch of us from the Park went to Mexico for lunch, dancing and shopping.We met at Arriba's. The place was packed.

Arribas is a fun place to go and the food there is very good. When I walked in a fellow in the crowd  told me to go out and come back in again as I hadn't been properly greeted. So out I went and when I came back in everyone cheered. That happened everytime someone came through the door. Great enthusiam!

 Just outside of the restaurant was a fellow who did some amazing bead work. He made keychains, rings, necklaces, bracelets, bowls and numerous other items. Some of them were very attractive.  Of course, whenever you are in a restaurant in Mexico  several people come around selling jewellry. I am a soft touch and it seems I always end up buying something. It is all so ridiculously cheap.
The entertainer played "Proud to be an American", "O Canada", and the Mexican National Anthem.  Nearly everyone stood up. I sang my heart out with "O Canada".
After lunch  Patty and I went to the store where all the jewellry is $1.00. I came out with seven items.

Us girls stopped off for a rest between shops.








Later we went to the Rose Garden, met up with the guys, and listened to some music for a bit. There was a young girl there who was very sweet and full of fun. She took a liking to  George and decided to decorate him up a bit. The hat was a bit small but we all loved the jewellry. He is very good natured so he took it all well.



There were musicians who came and went while we were there.

One of our guys, Steve, took over on the keyboard for a song. His wife Patty sang.

 

As you can see the place is very small-just a space between two buildings really. However, we managed to find room to dance.

 

We finished the day off with dinner at the Red Snapper. The food was great but the servings were way too large. I brought home a doggie bag.

 

Just another fun day in Mexico.

 

Keep warm.

Smokin' in the Rio Grande

Today Anna and I went to the Rio Grande Cook Off- which is informally called "Smokin' at the Rio Grande"- at the Livestock Grounds. We picked Mark up along the way.
There were 160 teams competing for the Best Cooks. There were B-B-Q's set up all over the grounds and as it was a windy day, there was a lot of smoke.



Most of the teams dressed their area up; all in a western theme of course.

The big black object to the right is the B-B-Q.

The wood was burned in a container like this and when it was white hot, the wood was put into the bottom of the B-B-Q and the meat was then put in on the rack.

This guy is lathering up the meat with some of his special sauce.











 The people who came to the Cook-Off were the judges of all the food that was cooked.  If you wanted to be a judge-and get free food- all you had to do was go inside the building where the judging was taking place and sit down at one of the tables. Anna, Mark and I decided we would be judges- there were several tables of people who also decided to try it. The concept of free food was a big draw. The rules were explained to all of us, we were given a sheet of paper, and then the food was brought in. The people in charge would give us a numbered styrofoam container with meat and  we were to cut a slice of meat off and then rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 according to specific things such as appearance, smell, taste, tenderness, etc .  Then you passed it to the next person and they did the same. We were not allowed to discuss the food with our fellow participants. Each time you were given a new dish, you took a new fork of course. And in between each taste, you had to have a bite of cracker or pickle, and a drink of water.  It sounds like fun doesn't it? Well, it was, except for the fact that there were 19 plates and towards the end we were getting pretty full. I think I ate enough meat for the week - or longer. Anyway, it was rather fun.

They also had a lot of crafts there. They were selling raffle tickets on a beautiful quilt  and I was so impressed I bought two. They were only $1.00 each.

The flowers you see on this quilt were actually photographs that were put onto cloth. Many of the squares were hand embroidered and each square was representative of Texas.

We met up with our friends Bob and Carol-our friends from South Padre Island.  They were  very smartly dressed  and looked like real native Texans. They are actually both from Ontario. They are just super people. Carol always knows where and when the best events are being held.

 We had a lot of fun walking around and taking in the sights. We found a place that was giving away fried dill pickles.

Yes, you heard me right. Fried dill pickles.

We all had a sample of them. They were actually quite tasty.

We had a lot of fun with some of the exhibits.


Mark and I borrowed some hats and Carol took our picture. Sometimes it can be fun just being silly.









This is what happens when you don't behave.

Anna and Mark are checking out the displays.


Take note of the carving above the B-B-Q in the background and the metal cowboys on the lower right.

There were some interesting objects at the tables. This painted skull made a great hat rack.







There was  live music of course and  I couldn't leave without having one dance.
There was also team roping going on most of the day. We never made it to that. Just too many things to do and see.

It was a great fun day with great  friends.

Keep warm.

Great Concert

Today many of us from the Park attended an afternoon concert at the Livestock grounds. The event was held inside one of the larger buildings and the place was packed.

John Sager, who was voted best male vocalist  in the Valley for 2013, opened up the concert and put on a very good show.

 Leslie Blasing, who won best female vocalist in the Valley followed with an excellent performance. She managed to get a lot of laughs out of all of us as usual. Someone said she was sick today but you would never have known it by her performance.

 Lastly, Jeff Gordon closed the show with a one hour concert that blew everyone away. I have heard Jeff sing before and I have always enjoyed his shows but today was spectacular.  At someone's request he did a Louis Armstrong impersonation and sang "What a Wonderful World". It was amazing. He also did some Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, John Conley, and Conway Twitty to name a few. He is just an extremely talented singer. Several times during the show Jeff came down among the crowd, often standing on chairs  to get closer to the entire audience.

I managed to get a picture of the three of  them together after the concert but there is also one Winter Texan in the picture.

By the way, the concert was free but they passed around the bucket for donations.

During the shows there were many audience participation acts. Everyone got into it. Below, my friend Jude is leading all of us on her team, trying to out-sing the other side of the room.

It was a great day of music and dancing.

Tomorrow we are off to South Padre Island for the weekend.

Keep warm.

Block Party

Yesterday Anna and I were invited to attend a Block Party at Snow and Sun RV Park by our friend Mark. The event consisted of music ( provided by two fellows in the neighborhood), food, lots of visiting, and plenty of wind.

I met lots of interesting people there. This lady is singing Karaoke and is from Newfoundland. She sang with all her might. The band was in the shelter but most of the rest of us sat outside.

I think it was one of the windiest days we have experienced here. The palm trees were really swaying. However, everyone  was in good spirits.













As I had never toured around this Park before Mark was kind enough to take me on a tour with a golf cart.
The Park is very self contained and has a swimming pool and hot tub, library, pool table room, gym, games rooms, and a  huge Rec Hal.  Outside there are horseshoe pits and lawn  shuffleboard. Some of the homes and yards in the Park are very impressive and are selling at very reasonable prices.

The Park also has trails along the north side of it which is like being in the country. From there, Mark pointed out the Bill Gates School across the way.    Bill Gates built this school and  covers all the expenses for its operation.To get into this school you have to have a high grade point average. They are in the process of building on to it and when they are finished it will be twice the size that it is now.





This afternoon some of us went out to Trails End for dancing. Us girls got to practice our line dancing again of course. It was 36C today, the hottest day we have had here so it was nice to be inside where it was cooler.  We returned to the Park just in time to watch a movie at the Rec Hall. It was a true story about a family that survived the Tsunami in Thailand. I left the Hall counting my many blessings.

Tomorrow I am going to Mercedes to listen to  Leslie and the fellow who won Best Male Singer of the Year Award here in the Valley sing. It should be a good show. They are supposed to sing outside but rain is in the foercast so they may have to move it indoors.

As I have said before, there is always something happening in the Valley.

Keep warm.

A full day

 A busy day today. This morning before my computer class, my friend Jan showed me her  pictures and journal  of her and her husband Richard's trip to Alaska. I have thought of going there many times over the years and I must say that after reading her stories, listening to their adventures. and seeing their pictures, it is now on my Bucket List.
  This afternoon my friend George and I went touring about. After a quick pit stop at the Tourist Centre, we went to  Bougambilia's. I know I blogged a bit about this store when I first visited it back in November but it is such an interesting place that I just had go through it one more time.   We spent well over an hour there, going through all the rooms and just trying to take it all in.  My favorite room is the one with statues of children playing.

There are also many  beautiful and very interesting paintings in many of the rooms. One of the most interesting paintings has several past presidents sitting around a table in lively conversation. Kind of like a time warp as of course they did not all live in that same space of time.

Everything in each room is very unique, and well crafted. For anyone visiting this area it is definitely a must see.

We stopped at our favorite roadside market to pick up some fruit and veggies. It is a family run operation and they bring fresh stuff in from their farm everyday. Their prices are very reasonable-mucht cheaper than the grocery stores. They also have some items that you cannot find in the stores here. Today, I bought some pineapple oranges. They are supposed to be very sweet and  good for  juicing. I will try them for breakfast tomorrow.

Tonight I went to the Rec Hall for the weekly Potluck Dinner and stayed to play Bingo afterwards. Jan won nearly every Bingo. As they are leaving tomorrow she told everyone that it was their "gas money" to get out of Texas. We all had lots of laughs about that one.  We are all sad to see Jan and Richard leave as they are such a nice couple. After 50 years of marriage they are still so in love that it is just fun being around them.  It has been a real pleasure getting to know them and we said our good-byes with promises to keep in touch.

These next weeks there will be a lot of folks leaving the Park and heading either home or on to their next adventure. My friend Sally and her husband Bob are leaving soon to join some family and begin a trip to Alaska.  I will miss her terribly. With any luck, I will be able to meet up with them for a visit when they get close to Vancouver.

Keep warm.

Dinner Show

Last night 20 of us from the Park went to Alamo Palms RV Park to hear Leslie ( my favorite entertainer from South Padre Island)  sing. It was a dinner and show and the cost for both was only $7.00. The dinner consisted of a b-b-q brisket in a bun, a bag of chips, a cookie and a pop. You could bring your own drink if you wanted.

As you can see, it was very well attended.

As usual, Leslie put on a great show. Many from the Park had never heard her sing before and were amazed at her talent.  She had the entire audience captivated.

 Leslie is not only a great singer, she is also a great entertainer. She did a rendition of "Seven Spanish Angels", playing the part of both Willie Nelson and Ray Charles that brought gales of laughter from the crowd. In case any of you think I am exaggerating about her talent, let me tell you that Leslie just won Best Female Singer of the Year Award for the Rio Grande Valley.

My friend Rene ( a huge Patsy Cline fan) especially loved her as she did several Patsy Cline songs. Leslie agreed to have her picture taken with him at his request.








It was a very enjoyable evening and a very good time was had by all.

Keep warm.

History, Music and Fun

As usual I am behind on my blog.  After surviving the whole flu thing, I am really appreciating every day in a whole new way and have been busy being out and about and just enjoying life. I will try to recap the past couple of weeks.

 My good buddy George and I went to Edinburgh and went through the Museum of South Texas History. I had seen it some time back with Anna but was only too happy to go through it again as it is hard to take it all in with just one visit. Since George loves museums, it worked out perfect.
As luck would have it, they were letting people in for free that morning. Bonus!

This time I read nearly everythng there was to read.There was also a new skeleton on display.  This prehistoric fellow appears to resemble an alligator. He was over 20 feet long and didn't look like something you would want to take a swim with.


We took a break for lunch and had a fabulous seafood buffet at the Mexican Restaurant next door and then spent the rest of the afternoon working our way through the museum. It was a great day.

One day we drove over to Weslaco and spent the better part of the morning at the Visitors Centre there. The Centre has excellent staff that really know the area and there is a huge supply of pamphlets about all the things to see and do here. There are several enchanting statues of children at play along the inside entrance.

There are  free pastries and coffee there for  the Winter Texans and they also show films. We watched a film about the Sugar Cane industry which showed how the Sugar Cane is grown, harvested and stored. This area is one of the top producers of sugar in the United States, producing about 1.5 million tons a year. The sugar cane fields are burned before they are harvested to get rid of all the green leaves and make the harvesting faster and more economical. Several days before the burn, signs are posted  announcing the date and location of the burn. There is much calculation to be done before this date is set as the temperature, wind direction, and wind velocity is a big factor to consider and conditions must be just right to avoid catastrophy. Several hours before  they do the burn they drive around in trucks announcing that they are going to set the field on fire.Often illegal immigrants hide in the fields and this  gives them  time to get out. One year there were two people who did not leave the field and they were  burned to death. One hour before the fire is lit, the trucks drive around the fields again, giving one last warning. Once the fire is set, the field (generally about 40 acres),  burns in less than 20 minutes.

At least once a week many from the Park  we go out to Trails End to do some serious dancing. I have been taking line dance classes for awhile now and I can do several different line dances without tripping over my feet. It is a lot of fun. I will try to get some pictures of our line dancing group and put on my blog soon. Of course we do lots of ordinary dancing too.


We also get together regulary in the Park for singing, dancing and visiting.













A few of us got together the other night at Steve and Patty's place and I even got my guitar out and played and sang a few tunes. Everyone pitched in for background music. We had Steve on the accordion, Rene and Patty on shakers, and  Anna on spoons.  George played a squeaky toy that actually belonged to Patty's dog. It was a bit out of tune but it was all in good fun. What a band!




Last Friday, four of us took in the Rio Grande Music Festival. It cost $8.00 each for the day. There was a large building divided in two that had a stage in each part  and also an area for crafts. There  were also 3 tents outside so there were 5 stages altogether with entertainment going non-stop. All the entertainers donated there performances and the money went to raise money for Music programs for children in the Valley. We spent the day going back and forth from one stage to the other. The highlight of the day  was a band called the Roger Kenaston Band. They were an amazingly talented  family band.  They are going to be playing in the Valley for the next couple of weeks or so and I plan to go to see them again.

Saturday was Appreciation Day here at the Park. The owners of the Park provided us all with a b-b-q chicken and sausage meal with all the trimmings. It was held along the side of the Rec Hall where there is a nice space for both eating and dancing.

We had Mexican hot chocolate (delicious), with  cake and cookies for dessert. They brought a two piece band in to entertain us, so after the meal most of us did some dancing.

Last Sunday, WhataBurger held a  pancake breakfast to help raise money for  children's camps. Of course anything for kids I love to support so I went and  ate my share of pancakes. 

It seems there is always something happening  here in the Valley.

Keep warm. 

Gladys Porter Zoo

Today many of us from the Park went to Brownsville to visit the Gladys Porter Zoo. We carpooled and went down in four vehicles. Anna and I caught a ride with George. It was great fun.

 

This alligator put up quite a fight but I came out on top. Okay, so he was a bit stiff.



Wrestling an Alligator

I am not a big fan of Zoo's but I must say this one is definitely one of the better one's I have visited. There was a very wide variety of animals and birds and the surroundings were very nice.

 

There were streams running throughout the zoo, and lots of trees.

 

 

There were also a few waterfalls

and ponds. Most of the ponds had a very wide variety of ducks, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The big animal sites were wide open.

 

 

 

 

 

 The show stealer was a baby gorilla. She was just a week old and cute as a button. Her mother had refused to have anything to do with her when she was born so the zoo staff are looking after her until she is old enough to join a gorilla family.

 

 



Another enclosure had a gorilla family and the youngest one was particularly adorable.

 

 

It was fun watching her crazy antics. It was like watching a 2 year old at play. When she finally wore herself out she climbed on mom's back for a ride.

 

One of the most unusual sights was this Double Waffled Cassowary.

This bird has extremely sharp dagger-like claws on the inner toe of each foot and has been know to kill New Guinea natives by kicking and slashing them. On the top of its head is a horn like protrusion which is supposed to help them travel through thick forest.

 There was a lot of information given at each site. I thought it interesting that the  giant tortoises( weighing up to 600 lbs),  now exist in only two places: the Galapagos Islands and  Seychelles and adjacent islands in the Indian Ocean. As late as the 1800's they were taken from the Galapagos islands- sometimes from 200 to 700 at a time- by those on ships passing through the area. They were  used as a source of  fresh meat. This greatly decreased their numbers.

 While touring the zoo we came across a building that was set up with tourist information. I met a very nice  fellow dressed as a Mexican Soldier during the time of the war between the U.S. and Mexico. We had  an interesting discussion about the different battles involving Mexico  and  he demonstrated how the rifle he was holding was loaded with gun powder and fired. It is quite a process.

My picture of the day was taken when we were nearly finished our tour of the zoo.

 How would you like to get a drink of water up a neck that long?

We stopped at San Benito on the way home and had a very good dinner at the same Mexican restaurant we had eaten at when we visited the Freddie Fender Museum.

It was a wonderful sunny day with a temperature of 31C.  We definitely got our exercise and it sure was fun.

Keep warm.