Shuffleboarding

Rod's knee is on the mend (we hope) and his back has been good, so we have been doing some shuffleboarding lately with friends Marg, Harv, June and Whitey. It has a lot of nuances we have yet to master (years of according to the instructors lol ) but we have a lot of fun. We usually play the ladies against the men. You know what that means ladies...... It is one of the things I will miss most leaving here. That and Bingo :o)
It almost time for us to leave the park and start to make our way home, taking side trips on the way.
We have made new friends and I would like to thank all of them for sharing with us. Going siteseeing, eating out, doing things together in the park, has made our stay here a memorable one. We hope they will keep in touch in the future through emails etc. With this kind of lifesyle, you never know were you might meet again. ....till next time....

BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH ELVIS

Hi again....Last night we were invited by Linda and Al to attend a birthday party for a woman who owns a very nice small restaurant in Los Fresnos. If in the area, its a definite worthwhile stop. The name of the restaurant is on a very big chair sign.....as you can see!!

We stopped by "Little Graceland" to visit with the owner and take the tour.

Simon Vega and his wife Teresa are the very proud owners. Simon served with Elvis in Germany, and had a few interesting stories to tell us. This is the link and if you have a chance, take a look. Just google little graceland......there are a few sites to see.

Danny Lee is an Elvis impersonator and played for the birthday girl.

The food was great, plentiful, and a good time was had by all. till next time........

CANADA DAY AT ALAMO PALMS

Hi there.

This is going to be a small post with some pictures of our Canada Day lunch at the park. Park residents at Alamo Palms hold a gathering from different states etc so that people from the same area at home can get together down here...compare notes, stories, a good old fashion pot luck, and just a good time. A couple from Alberta held the Canadian one this year. It was attended by approx. 140 Canadians, most of which were from Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan and Alberta. Also, a few from Quebec and one couple from the east coast.

Dinner was very good, with a nice variety of great desserts.

There was a trivia quiz of about 8 Canadian questions for each table of 8. Our table got 6 of the eight right. Does anyone know the cranberry capital of Canada??? We know we got that one wrong lol. The Quebecers won 1st and 2nd. Congrats to them!!.

After dinner we played an elimination game of curling with frizbies (no ice :o))...Every couple playing represented a different province with a few north, south, east and west varieties. Rod and I played for northern Alberta. We lost the first round, won the second, and then lost the final round to Ontario!! The winners received this trophy of the moosehead. They were led around the hall wearing the hat. Not sure I would've won if we could lol. Fun was had by all and the turnout was incredible......we didn't realize that there were that many Canadians in the park. Man, when you add up all the parks in south Texas, its a wonder there's anybody at home. Anyhow, until next time......

LOS FRESNOS 2009 PRCA RODEO

Hi there, its been awhile since we've posted anything. We have been busy doing things around the park, taking part in things like bingo, shuffleboard, pkeno, and eating!!.
Last week we took in the Los Fresnos Rodeo with friends Marg, Harvey, Linda and Al. The cost was 12.00 per person if you got the tickets in advance or 15.00 at the gate. Parking was extra. The program started at 7pm so the 6 of us went to Brownsville for dinner.
The seats were full and the event well worth the time and money if you are down here at the right time of year. There was a carnival on the grounds as well, so if you were to go earlier in the day you partake in a total day out.
This year the rodeo was held on Feb 6,7, and 8th. The program consisted of:
"Bareback Bronc Riding", where the rider hugs the horses neck with his legs to stay on, aims to make it through and 8 second ride without falling off. The judges award up to 50 points each for the horse and rider.
"Bull Riding", is the most dangerous of all. 100 points is a perfect score, and like bronc riding the rider has to stay on for 8 seconds. It is a long time when you are watching and see how the rider is tossed about!. Its a wonder there aren't more broken backs lol.
"Team Roping" is the only time 2 cowboys compete as partners. The "header" ropes the steer's horns, and the "heeler" ropes both the front and hind legs of the steer. There is a 5 second penalty if the heeler only catches one hind leg.



In "Steer Wrestling" the cowboy (and yes, they were cute ladies) catches up to the steer, it having a head start, and jumps off his horse, grabs the horns, and wrestles the steer to the ground. The time stops when the steer is on its side and all 4 feet and pointing in the same direction.
"Saddle Bronc Riding" The rider must also stay on the horse for 8 seconds.
There were some female riders as well, who rode a figure 8 around barrels. Speed was a factor in winning. Cameras were set up to time the riders.
They also had children from a local middle school there to see who could catch the tail ribbon of tiny calves. They looked like they were having a blast. I know as a spectator it was cute to watch.
And last but not least is "The Down Roping" where the rider catches a calf and ropes 3 legs.
A big part of the rodeo show were the clowns keeping the crowd entertained while changes were set up for the next event. They were so funny!! Their job is to keep the riders safe, but they were a big, big part of the show.

There were sponsors, kind of like commercials on horseback, so 3 of the female riders rode out a few times with the flags.
All in all, the night was a huge success!!. I can't wait till next year.
... Anyhow, if you ever have the chance to see one, its worth it.
As you can see, not too many pictures.......they wouldn't stay still long enough :o) So, even though they aren't very clear, I am posting a just a few...till next time..

A bit of a holdup.

Hey there, Rod here.

Sorry we haven't put anything up on the blog in a while, but I've been somewhat waylaid.
Last Tuesday my right knee started getting a little sore. By Tuesday evening I literally couldn't bend it at all. It swelled up like I was trying to smuggle a grapefruit under my kneecap. On Thursday I finally relented and went to see a doctor.

He prescribed a horrendously powerful antibiotic, and some Vicaden (sp?) for the pain and swelling. The antibiotic started to work almost immediately, but I had a violent reaction to the Vicaden. I almost ended up at the hospital over the reaction. Fortunately, because of my acid reflux, I knew what was happening, so I just rode the reaction out. I called the doctor and he said stop taking the Vicaden and switch to a huge daily dose of Ibuprofen, which doesn't seem to bother me.

It's now a week later and I'm happy to report that it appears that the antibiotics seem to have done the trick. The doctor wants me to see an Orthopedic surgeon on the 16th. We'll see what happens between now and then. The insurance company wasn't too happy with the idea of me seeing the surgeon, but my doctor pointed out to them that I'm unable to drive (when I first saw him). It's a quandry! If I see him and he wants to mess around, it could delay our departure, but if I don't see him and my knee flairs up again, the insurance company won't touch it. Hmmmm.........?

Anyhow, we're starting to plan our trip home. We're gonna take our time coming home. We're gonna do a week in Corpus Christi (right on the Gulf), and then a week in San Marcos (near San Antonio). We wanna spend some time in the San Antonio, Austin area. We have friends down her in a georgous park, so we're gonna do a week at Sunset Point RV resort on lake LBJ. Then we're going to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for a week. That takes us to the 29th of March and we'll finally be leaving Texas. From Texas, we wanna stop at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. It's the only open pit diamond mine in North America and what you find there you keep. 1/3 of all the diamond retrieved there have been by visitors. It should be cool. Then over to Hot Springs, Arkansas for a few days. Onward to Branson, Missouri for a week to check it out. And then home from there with a 2 day stop in Indianapolis. We're heading for Green Acre RV park in Waterloo for the summer.

We have no idea what we're doing next winter yet. It's gonna be either Florida, Arizona, or back to Texas, but we'll have all summer to figure it out.

Anyhow, Mary just got up, so I'm outta here. I've got tea to make! Later guys!