A Slow Day

Today Teri has a cold so we slow down for a day or two.

Vultures drying their wings on the water Tower.

Blue is 3 months old today.

Road Trip to Carrizo Springs

Today we drove to Carrizo Springs. We will stop a few days here and get the fridge fixed. The fridge does not want to work on propane.

Blue is a great traveller. He slept the 3 hour trip.

The drought in Texas is now over and the ground is green.

The view from the RV park of the water tower at sunset

The motorhome ran very smooth again today over roads that would rival any secondary Saskatchewan highway.

The Motorhome is Ready !!@!!!

All the parts have arrived!!!!!! The motorhome was ready by 3 PM and we are heading North at 4 PM.

But first, Blue is learning how to play fetch. Teri has been training Blue the last 2 days and Blue learns fast.

We arrived in Freer about 6:30PM at sunset. The motorhome ride was smoother than it has ever been. The folks at Freightliner did a great job and I thank them.

Drive in the country 20 miles north.

Today we drove to a wildlife refuge 20 miles north of our location.

We drove through lots of fields.

Then off the the wildlife reserve.

We saw some wild turkeys (NO PIC) and some white storks (too far away) but got some exercise and got out of the motel room.

Stuck in the Hotel Room

A quiet day in the hotel room

Trip to Mission, Tx.

At about noon we arrived at Mission Texas.

First stop is the ‘Tom Landry Muriel’.

Then we toured the Mission Museum.

One of the collections is the Citrus Parade Dresses

Teri fell in LOVE with the Parade Float Dresses

Warning Historical Content!

 

Texas Citrus Fiesta

History of the Citrus Fiesta

The citrus industry in the Rio Grande Valley was still young when Paul Ord and the Young Men’s Business League introduced the first Texas Citrus Fiesta in Mission in December 1932. They saw the celebration as a way to spread the word about the bountiful winter harvest of grapefruits and oranges from the lush, subtropical Rio Grande Valley. The theme of that first fiesta, held outdoors against the background of the citrus-bearing trees, was “Coronation and Pageant of Citrus.” John H. Shary, considered the father of the Texas citrus industry, reigned over the one-day celebration. It started with a half-hour concert and ended with the coronation of King Citrus and Queen Citrianna. This became a tradition of “royalty,” with a citrus industry leader chosen as king and a queen chosen from Rio Grande Valley “duchesses,” each representing a community and its product or industry.

The second fiesta did not take place until 1934 because of damage caused by a hurricane in 1933. Other than during World War II, the fiesta has been held annually. In the 1930s, Fox Movietone News enjoyed showing the Valley’s lovely ladies in bathing suits in a swimming pool full of floating grapefruits while the rest of the nation was in a deep freeze. The fiesta still takes delight in showing off the lovely ladies and handsome lads at the coronation of King Citrus and Queen Citrianna. Coronation is now held indoors amidst the flourish of herald trumpets during the last week of January. Since 1932, the fiesta has presented its Product Costume Style Show where exquisite costumes made of citrus and other local Valley products are exhibited. Through the years, and with modern technology, the costumes have become intricate works of fold art using Valley citrus, fruits, vegetables and foliage that have been pulverized, dehydrated, blended and microwaved. These costumes have been featured in National Geographic, Southern Living and Texas Monthly magazines, and at shows from Kansas City to Washington, D.C.

The museum also has a war memorial, school history, old doctor office/hospital/pharmacy of the area.

Then we went back to Freightliner and found out we need a yoke for the motorhome.

Back to the hotel for the weekend. The parts should arrive in the late AM on Monday.

Waiting for Our Motorhome to be Fixed.

We have to wait around today for our motorhome so first stop in the Jukebox Museum in McAllen, Tx. This is a very old repair shop in an old area of McAllen. They had Jukeboxes that played 78’s, 45’s and CD’s. I was impressed with the dusty collection.

Smitty’s

The Jukebox Museum

The Front entrance.

Deeper

Deepest

And the other side

I enjoy these dusty collections that you can touch.

We went inside the museum/repair shop to look around. The museum pieces are up on the second level with typewriter written descriptions from the late 80’s early 90’s

Here is the 1940’s design Wurlitzer model 800

 

This is part of the collection.

We spent 1/2 an hour but quite enjoyed this quirky place. The lady on duty said the museum is moving to a better location and they do not have a repair person so this is no longer an active business.

I am sure the place will lose all the quirky charm but the machines will look better in a new location.

Motorhome Gets an Oil Change

Today we started up the motorhome to get an oil change early in the morning and there was a terrible racket. I shut the motorhome off and phoned for a mobile repair to check and see if the motorhome is safe to move.

At noon the mobile repair said the air-conditioning belt was squealing but it was OK to move.

At 1:30 we arrive at Freightliner in Pharr, Tx. (22 Miles).

We got the oil replaced and then found that the u-joint was in bad shape and needed replacing and the serpentine belt was the wrong size and threaded wrong.

Freightliner needed to overnight some parts. Freightliner would not let us live in the motorhome overnight in their yard so off to a motel room about 2 miles away.

 

Another Dog Park Day with Blue

Blue meets Later. Blue is not quite big enough to run the this lab pup be he sure trys.

Blue is all wet from running with Later.

Our site in Llano Grande Lake Resort

Trip to Port Isabel and Padre Island.

Today we went sightseeing to Port Isabel to see Point Isabel Lighthouse.

Our first stop was a tourist trap. This store specialized in sea shells and then had a regular section of everything else.

Then off to Point Isabel Lighthouse

This is the view from the top of the lighthouse. That is South Padre Island in the distance.

Around the lighthouse there are many food and drink places, a pier with lots of sightseeing trips and fishing.

Also there are a few photo opportunities with pirates. 

We are only 3 miles from the Gulf of Mexico on South Padre Island, so, off we go.

Afternoon at the Dog Park