HEE HAW

We have seen our first rodeo!!! Rio Grande Valley is holding is annual Livestock Show in Mercedes (about 30 minutes) from here and we could not pass up the opportunity to enjoy some junk food, since it always includes a carnival. We went together with two other couples from our community and had a blast. We have been to Livestock shows in New Jersey, but the bulls down here are sure bigger then the ones in New Jersey.

After checking out the livestock, including some poor sheep that just had been shaved for a competition, we enjoyed some good carnival food. After watching a chain saw artist carving some need stuff out of wood, it was time for the rodeo. It lasted about two hours and included a lot more then I thought. First were the bucking broncos, which is really more dangerous then it looks like on TV. Those horses are pretty unhappy with their riders and really try to throw them off. Next came a presentation on horses by an all girls troop of various formations.

To me the best thing was the little kids riding the sheep. There was one kid that would not let go, so the clown had to literally lift the kid of the running sheep. It was just to cute. Next came various ways of roping cattle. All in all a good time was had by all.

Update

It has been a while since I have posted, but we are still keeping busy here in Mission, TX. The coach house is pretty much done, Doug installed two shelves over the washer and dryer for me and we sealed the grout after some of our neighbors mentioned that they were doing it. I had not idea that it needed to be done, but now it is. We have started going through the rig to decide what will stay here (like the Christmas decorations) and what we will haul around with us.

We finally got the whole rig washed and waxed, which took us three days. Luckily, you are only supposed to do that three times a year. The rest of the time you just wipe it down when it is dirty. So much for not having to clean again ;-). We bought a "creeper" and Doug now rolls around under the rig to greasing things and replacing the shocks.

But is has not all been work. Middle of last month we took a tour with some of the people of our park and went to see historic Rio Grande City.


A little trolley took us around various parts of the town to see the highlights. One of them was an old fort that has been converted to a middle school, but some of the history is still being kept alive.


And of course, being in the south, there are a lot of churches and a replica of the "Our Lady of Lourdes".

Even though a lot of parts of the town are starting to fall apart on the outside, we were amazed to see some the inner courtyards these buildings have.


We have also gone to Corpus Christi to see the gulf coast and check out the aquarium. They did have a very nice dolphin show.


We have had a great time here. The only slight drawback is the wind that seems to rarely ever stop and and at time is so strong that garden furniture, bicycles and trash cans are being blown over. We have met some really nice people here and really enjoy our "Happy Hour" every day for a hour. The park is slowly emptying out as people start their trips for this year. We probably will be heading back out in the middle of April and will make our way to New Mexico and wherever the wind blows us.