Preparing for Departure

Our time here at Palmdale is coming to an end, for now. We will be pulling up our jacks and heading west next Sunday, March 1. Brothers Ludwig and Dick are making the trip to Texas in the next couple of days and they will follow us around for a while. That should be fun. We have a deep sea fishing experience lined up for them on Thursday. Our anti-nausea prescription patches are waiting for us at Walgreens. According to our friends who have experience with this kind of thing, this will improve our chances of having an enjoyable day. They put it this way…. “we will have more time fishing and less time chumming the waters.” We are arriving early so that we can get a place at the back of the boat which is a better place for either activity.

After we return from the fishing trip, we have Irish night in the rec room. The same entertainer who was here for New Year’s Eve will provide some good dancing. Line dancers are planning to add to the show during his intermission. Hopefully we will return home in enough time and I will have the energy to participate in that. We have a full week ahead of us.

In preparation for our departure we have decided to get this rig ship-shape. For this reason, we have had to recover some of our former industriousness… not without some griping and whining, however. We paid someone to wash the thing but took on the task of hand waxing which took 2 days and 4 whine bottles of water, but it’s done. We loved all of the solid wood cabinetry until we decided that it too needs maintenance and started wiping on Liquid Gold. We are mostly done with that task. We’ve cleaned out half of the basement bays and still have some cleaning and rearranging of storage to get done. Don changed the oil on the generator and we’ll take it in for service on the way out of town. According to Don the lube and oil job will be the cost of a small car. Speaking of small cars, ours got its 10,000 mile preventive maintenance at Toyota last week. That should do it for a year or so.

Even with all of that, we still find time for regular Winter Texan activities. On Wednesday we went to Mexico with friends Peter and Peggy (known as Wisconsin to us) who are also full timers. We went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned while they did some shopping. Amazingly, the dentist found that we each needed 3 little fillings. Neither of us has had new fillings in 5 or 6 years of routine dental care. We decided to forego having our teeth drilled on and paid for the cleaning which seemed pretty good. We had a good lunch and came back with a new drum for Edie which I plan to have Ludwig deliver to her since it would cost more to ship than it is worth.

Thursday was the annual hog roast here at Palmdale. This is a benefit for a local charity that is put on by the resident’s association. They packed 200 people into the rec room and fed us some really good beans and pulled pork with coleslaw and homemade desserts. It continues to amaze me to look around a room and see such a homogeneous group of people (of European descent, over 60, married, remarried or shacking up, from the Midwest or Canada). Now I can stop commenting on that… it just goes without saying.

Also on Thursday, I finally took my bike off of the back of the camper, put some oil on the chain, inflated the tires and went for a bike ride with friends Karen and Sharon. We started at the Palo Alto Battle field and rode about 15 miles around the Resaca in Brownsville. Don was out golfing that day. Karen made one of the desserts for the hog roast, Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing. Don wants me to get the recipe. I think I need to add a tab on this blog for recipes once I learn how to add a tab.

On Friday, friends Cindy, Max and I went with the Red Hat ladies for a tour of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle - National Shrine (www.olsjbasilica.org). I had not read the brochure very well and had expected to be touring a historical relic of some kind. I was pleasantly surprised to come to a place with historical significance but still very much alive and serving the RGV community as a parish church as well as being a pilgrimage destination for Catholics all over the world. While we were on our tour, a priest started the Holy Rosary with a few worshipers in the pews while young and old people came just to say prayers in front of the statues of various saints or the statue of the Virgin. One thing that impressed me the most is the ministry the Basilica provides for blessing Migrant workers as they set out on their rounds and the fiesta they give at the end of the growing season.

I am taking a break from reading for a few days. Since I left Minnesota I’ve lost count of the books that I’ve read. I think I’ve averaged 2 or 3 a week. Most have been mystery or suspense novels though occasionally I take a break and read something from Rosamund Pilcher. The best books I’ve read include one recommended by Dick, Morgan’s Run by Colleen McCoulough, The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry, Elaine’s recommendations, The Hawk and the Dove by Penelope Wilcox, and The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morgan while I was in Minnesota. I tend to avoid non-fiction.

I designed some cards to share with friends and had our picture taken to put on it. I've added the picture to the blog.

Will and Jacks Burger Shack

I talked to my Wisconsin neighbor, Peter and learned that his daily routine includes writing every day. I’ve been informed that people who are truly writers have discipline about their writing and write every day. So far I have not become a true writer, I guess because I can’t bring myself to make it part of my everyday routine. Peter has a blog, too, ppazucha.wordpress.com. His is open to search engines so I’m sure he won’t mind if I put his blog address here on my blog. So far, I haven’t read his blog but maybe since I am at my computer, I will check it out and see what real writers write about.

Here at Palmdale, days follow days. I keep track of the day of the week depending on what activity is happening that day. Monday is pot luck, Tuesday line dancing, Thursday 500 and so on. Last week was chilly and rainy and people were a little cross. We finally got some sunny days beginning last Friday so the general mood is more upbeat. We have less than 3 weeks until we leave here. I have mixed feelings. We’ve made some friends here and have enjoyed the soft life of the Winter Texan. I will miss this place when we leave. However, I’m excited to start moving again and see more places that I’ve never been to. Don has gone fishing for the second day in a row out on the gulf. Yesterday, he stepped out lower than he intended at the same time a big wave came up and filled his new waders. He spent the rest of the excursion soaking in salt water though he wasn’t pickled when he came home. We do have some fresh fish in the refrigerator for dinner tonight.

Peggy and Greg very generously gave us some gift certificates for Christmas. One was for a Dolphin Watch cruise out on the bay and the other was for Will and Jack’s Burger Shack & Beer Garden. Sunday we went with friends Ray and Cindy on a very windy and sunny boat ride to see some dolphins. I like boat rides and any reason is good enough for me. We cruised the bay between South Padre Island and Port Isabel and did see some dolphins who came to swim with our boat for a while. After the boat ride, we went to Will and Jacks who pride themselves on having the best hamburgers in South Texas. The hamburgers were good  and the venue was very unique. They advertise their business hours, ”We’re open every day about 11 am. Occasionally as early as 10:30, but some days as late as 11:30. We’re closed about 8:30 or 9:00 pm. Occasionally as early as 6 or 7, but sometimes as late as 11 or 12. Some afternoons we aren't here at all, especially when the weather is bad. Lately, we've been here just about all the time.” The front of the building appears to be indeed a shack with weathered boards and faded out signs. When we arrived, a young woman who was sitting at a table on the sidewalk visiting with friends, got up and welcomed us to the restaurant. She led us through the open door out of the bright sunshine into a small dark room that has a counter behind,which, is the kitchen. I explained that we had a gift certificate and she enveloped me with a big hug and said she was glad that we came. It took a minute for our eyes to adjust. There was no seating in this building but we were directed out the back door, also open, to outdoor seating behind which is another building with indoor seating. We never saw the interior of that building. Next to that were some larger tables made of plywood circles painted in bright primary colors, and we sat at one of those. Once we had stabilized the table with wadded up napkins, it worked pretty well.  Around to the side of the shack and open to the back are several small shops selling a variety of jewelry, beads, rocks, etc.  Those buildings had doors on the front out towards the street. There appear to be no boundaries between one business and the other. The buildings all appear to be ramshackle and run down though the merchandise looked fine. Palm trees provided some shade and splashes of sunshine gave the place a nice ambience. The young man who waited on us was from Chaska, Minnesota and he stated that he would rather be in Chaska though he appeared to be acclimated to the culture of the Burger Shack. Service was laid back and minimal. We had to ask for the napkins (paper towels) and condiments. Speaking of condiments, the mustard bottle had a loose lid and fortunately when Ray shook it up he put it down by his side and most of the mustard went on the floor though Don got a smattering on his pants and socks. When our waiter brought the check, he handed it to Don and just stood there. Don asked him if we paid him. The young man stood there and Don set the check on the table. The waiter then picked up the check and said that he couldn't just leave the check until he got the money because he had to make sure all the checks and the money matched. So he stood there while Don and Ray figured out what we needed to pay that wasn't covered by the gift certificate. As we were leaving, I noticed a small building with a window and a sign stating that it was a hot dog stand. There were not many customers around but then it was early, before 5:00…definitely business hours.

Don gave me some feedback that he thought this post was a complaint about the experience. I want to clarify that far from being negative, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. We were windblown from our boat ride and were able to relax in the outdoor seating that was sheltered from the wind. We were hungry and thoroughly enjoyed the food and drink at Will and Jacks. We enjoyed much laughter this day and wouldn't change anything. Thank you Peggy and Greg.