Three Weeks In The Rio Grande Valley

After a very wonderful, active week with our kids and grandkids on South Padre Island, Betty & I have moved – temporarily – to a much quieter 55 + community of mainly “winter Texans”: Canadians and folks from northern states who escape the chillier winter weather for a few months of warmth in the Rio Grande Valley.

The temperature is starting to climb into the 90s, so almost time to move on…

The Rio Grande Valley includes the cities of Brownsville, Harlingen, Weslaco, Pharr, McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, San Juan, and Rio Grande City, which are all located close to the Rio Grande River that forms the border between Texas and Mexico.

Our site – 2415 Double Eagle Dr. – in Hidden Valley Ranch (yes, that’s really the name!) contains a large, flat cement parking area with water, sewer, and 50 amp power. We didn’t have access to the casita, on the same property. But the porch was nice for our bbq, and to keep our bikes out of the sun and rain. The L-shaped structure provided a shady spot to sit and chat; for Betty to sew socks; and for us to listen to audio books.

Good friends from our summer home at Town & Country – Pat and Gordie – have a winter spot in Mission, Texas, and arranged for us to stay at their park for a few weeks. We have been fortunate to also connect with a number of other folks from Town and Country to catch up on their news and compare the many RV parks in the valley.

While here we have been able to cross into Mexico a number of times, stocking up on medications for me, and accessing cheaper, good quality dental care for Betty.

A “before” pic of one of our slide toppers which has been battered by the winds in the past few years. We already had them replaced twice, but the vinyl fabric just wasn’t up to the task.

A shop at a local flea market supplied and installed a new awning for our motorhome, replacing the one damaged by high winds as we left Magnolia Beach. They were able to re-use the acrylic fabric from our old awning to make three good quality toppers for our slide-outs.

Our new replacement toppers were made from our old acrylic awning, and are expected to last much longer. They are a colour match to our new awning.

New awning and toppers were expertly installed at our current site. It couldn’t have been more convenient!

A custom mattress manufacturer in North Carolina made a new mattress for our motorhome – to our exact specifications – and had it delivered to us in Mission within a week.

FedEx delivered the custom made mattress to our site in the park, within a week of ordering. It was shrink-wrapped to fit in this box, but expanded to full size when we opened it.

Betty checked out the new mattress as soon as it was installed. Looking forward to some restful sleeps!

We have shopped at the local Costco while here (sorry you couldn’t join us Valerie), and picked up ingredients for some great meals, pillows for our new bed, and a slow-cooker to replace the one we left at the house on South Padre Island…

We couldn’t resist the bottle of “Steak and potatoes” Cabernet Sauvignon, to go with our steak and potatoes. Btw, we are big fans of the local Texas russet potatoes, I’m sure our daughter Lisa would approve. lol

Pat and Gordie have been helpful in a number of ways, including acclimatizing us to the local night life and introducing us to their friends.

We visited Buchanans Music Hall for some local country flavour. The performers sang a song for us, requested by Pat.

Pat and Betty were joined by Pat’s friend Shirley for a fun night out.

I left my stetson at home, but Gordie came well prepared.

Gordie & Pat tore up the dance floor with some fancy two-steppin”.

Our three weeks here are almost over. As we prepare to head further west to Arizona, it has been a great time for Betty and me to get a flavour of what the Rio Grande Valley has to offer. If you have an opportunity, we highly recommend a visit to this fascinating part of the continent.

Cheers!

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