Work

Greetings all,

I am enjoying my quiet time at the Twisted Horseshoe. Finally the weather is warm, not hot, but warm.

I have been looking for work and have applied for a variety of jobs. It is difficult to know what to look for. My last job entailed plenty of sitting and not only do I hate that, but I get a sore back. I would really like to do something physically active. However, there is not a plethora of jobs, so I will take the first reasonable job that is offered. Having said that, it has to pay enough to live on.

My biggest problem presently seems to be finding an internet signal. Alas, that is always a challenge. If I go to the library I have to pay parking and can only park for a limited time. The library in Penhold has lots of parking, but no Wi-Fi, which means I can't use my laptop where my resume and cover letters are.

I will continue on my search and hope something turns up that I like.

Take care all.

Jim's Place

Hello to you all,
I am parked at the Twisted Horseshoe; Jim's place. It is by the RD airport.....I can watch the small planes and helicopters take off. Jim hooked me up to water and sewer and that is all I need.

I have been just resting the last few days. I went through 3 time changes going east and again going west and that really seemed to take the wind out of my sails.

It is difficult to think that my adventure is about done. I could go on for a long time yet. All things worked out well and I met some wonderful people and saw many different things.

The weather has been warm and sunny, but the weatherman is predicting rain/snow tomorrow and a high of 9C, which I can live with.

I have to look for work and get back into the world of sleep, eat and work.

Home

5:53 PM 10/04/2009
I am now in North Bay, Ontario. I am rather glad to be out of Quebec. Although it is a beautiful historic province, it is nice to get news in English and to be able to read signs; any signs. I found the people there to be very friendly and helpful. It was also cold there. My old roommate, Pascal, told me it was very cold there and he is correct. I drove right through Montreal, keeping my eyes glued to the highway so didn't see much of any thing there. I also drove right through Ottawa. I would have liked to see the Parliament Building, but being Easter weekend everything is closed.

I got here on hwy 17, which in these parts is the Trans-Canada. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "shake, rattle and roll". I hope it improves as I continue.

6:05 PM 12/04/2009
The road did improve. I drove as far as I could yesterday, finally spending the night at a truck stop in Wawa (so called because of all the geese). It was a very scenic route. I saw both Lake Huron and Lake Superior. They are the bluest blue! I would call them royal blue. There were watch for moose signs all along the route. I didn't see any moose, but I saw a huge black bear on a rocky ledge by the highway. Today I drove as far as Dryden. I have been quite taken since re-entering Canada at how much forested area there is in our country.

I drove through Manitoba, stopping in Winnipeg. The one tire on my car Kaddie went flat and I was thankful that it happened in a city and not on the hwy. There was a lot of water in the ditches and some fields looked like lakes. I stayed at a truck stop for the night and it was a big mud hole, but I was tired from traveling and happy to park.

The next day I drove as far as Moose Jaw, Sask. and parked at WalMart. I had a great visit with my Uncle Mike and his wife Doreen. I drove through blizzard conditions from Moose Jaw to Swift Current. The radio was giving snow warnings for Maple Creek and I was undecided on whether to continue on or wait it out. I spoke to a couple who suggested I continue on as the snow was to last for 2 days. Presently the highway was warm and the snow was melting as it hit, but by tomorrow the roads could be iced up making travel impossible. I took their suggestion and arrived in Strathmore, which is where I sit to add to my blog.

It has been a wonderful experience and I hope I will get to do this once again, although for a shorter period of time. Thank you to all who have sent encouraging emails and comments to my blog. I will write again once I am settled.

Quebec City

Hi Everyone,

If you want to get really, really lost, go to Quebec City. I did a self tour of the old historic district. After awhile, I couldn't find my way back to where I had parked. I stopped and asked several people and showed them the map and where I was parked, but the streets run at an angle to the main street and the buildings all start to look the same.

However, it is a beautiful city. It is of course, very, very old. People have compared it to Europe and I can see the comparison.

It is still chilly here and has been raining all day without a break. I dressed warm as I found I was cold yesterday. We had some sleet last evening, but my propane is full and I was toasty warm. Tomorrow I will be heading west.

It is difficult to find your way in Quebec as all the signs are in French only. I have "cereal-box French" and can decipher some signs, but certainly not all of them. It can be rather dangerous on the highway when there is a warning sign and I don't have a clue what it says!

Peggy's Cove

Yesterday I had lunch at Peggy's Cove. It was very windy and cold there, but the place was very busy with tourists. The waves were crashing into the rocks and I thought that I certainly wouldn't want to live there in the winter months. It must be extremely harsh. It was a very scenic drive, lots of small fishing villages off curving roads.

I have been learning that one could spend a month or more just seeing the Maritimes. I have been doing a lot of driving and decided to head back to N.B. as N.S. was predicting freezing rain for their area and I didn't want to get caught in that. I am taking a day to get organized and tomorrow I will be heading to Quebec.

Amherst, N.S.

This is as far as I made it this evening. It is a town and I am staying overnight in the old part of the district. I have no desire to be in the new part as they have the same new stores that we have in Alberta.

It was a beautiful day....15 C. The grass is turning green and the snow is almost gone.

I wish to continue on to Halifax tomorrow. The tourist info place was closed by the time I arrived, so tomorrow I will need to get a map so as to find my way around.

Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Hello to you all,

I crossed from N.B. to P.E.I. on a 13 km. bridge.

Here I am enjoying the old part of the city. The first photo is the Confederation Chamber where it all began for us Canadians. There was a peace rally in front of the building while I was there. The second photo is what many of the downtown streets look like here in Charlottetown.

I took the Fundy Drive to get here, but it was so foggy that I couldn't see much. Also, once you get off the main highway the roads are in poor condition. I left my MH at my nephews and just drove down in my car. I am thankful I did that due to the road conditions.

It has been raining off and on all day, but it is warm. I am still appalled by Cdn. prices, as all was so cheap in S. Texas. Restaurant food is double the price! Tomorrow I will leave for Nova Scotia. The Anne of Green Gables property is closed for renovations.

Fredericton, N.B.

Hello fellow Canadians and American friends,

Today I went into Fredericton, to the old part of the city. The first photo was taken at the Legislative Building. It is a stove. I didn't realize that until I walked by and felt the heat. The second building is a museum and one of the very old buildings here. I spent a couple of hours just walking and taking photos. It is a nice day here today and I rather enjoy the cool, fresh air. On the way back I drove into Gagetown to see the army base.

It seems strange to be back in Canada. I now have to watch my speedometer in km., not miles. Also, after 7 months in the U.S. the Cdn. money looks foreign. I converted my Am. dollars today so that I am not losing 20 cents on the dollar. I saved some ones so that I can do my origami dollar bills as tips.

Some of the places I would like to visit are closed until May. I will go to P.E.I. and Nova Scotia and see what is there.

This is a sign I saw on a door:

"This is a push door. You can have it your way and pull, but this door is pretty stubborn."

New Brunswick, Canada

Klip, klop past my MH while parked at WalMart in Lancaster, Penn. This is a sight that you don't see at most WalMarts. At night they rode by with their headlamps aglow and their reflectors shining. I would be fairly nervous if I was an Amish on the highway with cars passing at high speed. I got behind a buggy a few times and had to go really slow until safe to pass.

I was getting nervous about my time in the U.S. as it seems every Canadian had a story to tell about people who over-stayed their welcome and got into hot water. I asked one older couple how the Americans knew you were late getting home. They said a red light goes off at the border and they pull you over and then you are in real trouble. I was already a month overdue. So, I flew through many states until I finally reached northern Maine.

Once I was north I saw (excuse the 4-letter word), SNOW! I only had to go through the Canadian border crossing and saw no American crossing guard at all. The Canadian asked me how long I was in the U.S. and I said, "about 6 months". He asked me if I had anything to declare and I didn't. He then asked me if I was traveling alone and I said yes. He looked at my passport and waved me through. SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HORROR STORIES.

I arrived in Oromocto, N.B. where my nephew, Chris, and his family live. Chris is in the armed forces and stationed at Gagetown. I called their number at about 2 pm. and left a message that I was at Cdn. Tire. When they got home from work they didn't check for messages until almost 10 pm. when Chris saw the light flashing on his phone. He then rushed to Cdn. Tire and so I am now parked at their place. His wife, Patti is a real sweetheart and their two children are a joy.

I am not sure how long I will be here. The week-end is supposed to be extremely warm, so let's hope that transpires.

Update for Anna

Hi, my Mom called me today and asked me to update her blog as she hasn't been able to get an internet signal in the last couple of days. It has been raining there quite a bit I guess. When she called me she was in Keene, New Hampshire. If you want to see where that is, click here.

Baltimore, MD

Hello to you all,

This is my third night in Baltimore, MD. The weather has been chilly and wet so haven't really been out too much. I spent so many days in a row traveling that I have been content to sit about for awhile.

Yesterday afternoon my pen pal, Robyn, came to visit me at the RV park. It was like we have known each other forever. This afternoon she took me out to see some of the sights. We went to the U.S. Navel Base. The buildings on the grounds are beautiful. She said the streets there are usually packed with people, but due to the rain there were not too many about. We could see many out on their sailboats in the harbour. This was an old area of town and what they call the Historical Section. There were many old brick houses in the area. We then had a fabulous supper at a Greek restaurant.

Tomorrow I leave for Amish country...Lancaster, Penn. Wish me luck driving in the rain.

Kentucky

Hello to you all,

Today I drove right through Tennessee and am now in Kentucky. I didn't stop in Tenn. and drove right through Nashville. OMG! The problem is that I can't see and do everything I would like to do. Tennessee is a beautiful state and is on my "come back and explore" list. I passed many stately country mansions, both new and very old.

As you can see the trees are in bloom in Kentucky. I am parked at an RV park as I needed to do laundry and MH maintenance. My grey water was getting full and I needed a shower badly. Free parking is great, but every once in awhile you need fresh water and the like.

I am heading towards Maryland as I have a penpal there. We have been in touch for about 15 years and have never met. It will be good!

I drove for just over 7 hrs. today and am pooped, so will call it an early night.

Jeff Busby Park

Hello friends and family,

I took these photos in Kusciusko, Miss. It was a small city but had many gorgeous buildings. There were a lot of Victorian style homes. If you click on the photos they will enlarge.

Early this morning I got back on the Natchez Trace and drove a short distance to Jeff Busby Park. You are allowed to park there for 2 weeks at no charge. It is beautiful there, but has no hook-ups or dump site. Fortunately, I parked directly across from the bathrooms (no showers), so will use their facilities instead of mine.

I drove 10 miles into Ackerman to use the internet. The library is closed, but I can pick up a signal in the parking lot. There are two men in green and white striped pants working on the grounds. I believe they are from a penitentiary, so am sitting in my car with the doors locked.

I am not sure how long I will stay here. The weather in Nashville, Tenn. is wet and cold this week, so will wait for things to warm up.

Natchez Trace, Mississippi

Hello to you all,

I am following the beautiful Natchez Trace, Mississippi...going north, of course. I am staying at WalMart at Kosciusko, named after a famous Polish military leader, both abroad and in the Am. Revolution. The librarian tells me there is a monument to him across the street, so on my way out I will take photos.

I just passed through Louisiana; didn't stay there too long. The most interesting sites there are south and I am headed north. I stopped at a gas station and there was a woman talking to the cashier. I know she was speaking English, but I did not understand one word that she said.

The Natchez Trace makes for relaxing driving. No commercial vehicles, speed limit 50 mph and many places to pull over (historical sites). There are even some free overnight parking places. The weather here is absolutely lovely...cool mornings and hot days.

Yantis, Tx

Hello to you all;

I just spent a wonderful week with Wes and Jude at their lake front property in N.E. Texas. They are #1 on my list of kind, generous, hospitable people. A special thank-you to you both!!!!!
The photo was taken on their property. It was so peaceful and serene...no sounds other than the birds, of which there were many. I met some of their neighbours, ate in some funky restaurants, made friends with Pockets (their dog) and even tried my hand at the casino. Those of you who know me know that I don't gamble, but I did have fun and did come out a winner!

N.E.. Texas is beautiful; oaks, wisteria, elm, evergreens and trees I've forgotten the names of. Flowers are in bloom and trees are leafing.

I am now in Shreveport, Louisiana. I just arrived at WalMart and haven't had time to check things out or find the library. I will try to take things slowly from here on as spring weather can be rather iffy, so will check the net for the weather as I travel.

Sunday

Hello friends and family,
I leave Donna, Tx on Sunday morning. Many are leaving the park now and two more left this morning. There are many hugs and tears as friendships have been formed and saying good-bye is always difficult.

I plan to go north to Victoria, Tx and spend the night at WalMart. It will seem really strange to be on the road again. The activity directors for the park, Wes and Jude, invited me to spend some time with them at the lake in northern Texas and there is nothing I would like better, so will aim for that.

The photo is a dancer in Progreso, Mexico. They put on quite a show! I will definitely miss going there. Cactus Jack and I had a great time going from lounge to lounge and dancing the evenings away. After the great Mexican music I have a hard time with the country sounds you hear at the dances in the valley.

I will attempt to keep up my blog as computer signal access allows. I am getting a bit homesick for Canada, but definitely too cold there to be heading home. Who knows what adventure is around the corner!

Wish me luck on the road y'all.

Monterrey/Saltillo, Mexio

Greetings my friends:

We just returned from 3 days and 2 nights in Monterrey/Saltillo, Mexico. It was a wonderful experience. We had only been to Mexican border towns, never to a Mexican city. We were very surprised at how modern and beautiful the cities are. The old 17 century buildings are mixed in with the new modern architecture. The new buildings are a work of art in themselves. The main streets are at least 3 lanes in each direction and well paved and demarcated. It was a good time to travel as the trees are in bloom as well as the cactuses.

The first day out was extremely hot. Our tour guide, Abel, said it had reached 110F. The next day was perfect and the third day had a somewhat chilly wind blowing, but was still nice. We visited new structures as well as the old city. Our bus driver, JoseLuis, was extremely proficient at turning down narrow, narrow streets with parking on both sides. A couple of times we all gave him applause for making, what looked to us, an impossible turn.

The first photo is a close-up of the cathedral in Saltillo. The detail is incredible. Everywhere are monuments; statues of some Mexican general, president, hero, etc. The parks are well treed, beautifully tended and flowered. The second photo is of the governor's palace in the heart of Monterrey. It is on a huge plaza with many statues and a park.

We also went to Horse Tail Falls, which is high in the mountains and surrounded with a beautiful park where families can picnic and enjoy the scenery. We stayed at a very nice hotel in Monterrey, walking distance to shopping and night life.

Things were more expensive in the cities than in the border towns. There are many huge factories there, which employ the Mexicans. We were told that most factory workers make $1/hr. but are striving to have that increased to $2/hr. For such low wages, a huge percentage of the vehicles were new. We saw rows and rows of the pigeon, chicken and turkey houses that my guide on the border trip had explained. Our guide explained many things to us, from important dates in Mexican history to how squatters eventually own their property. He had two years of post-secondary education to become a tour guide over 30 years ago. Now, he said, you need 4 years of post-secondary to become a tour guide. He had a great sense of humour and told us several jokes, which were very funny with his accent.

All in all it was indeed a trip to remember!

La Gloria, Texas

Hola amigos,

We've been extremely busy as of late. On Saturday the owners of my RV park hosted a barbeque as an appreciation day. There were two different entertainers...one before the meal and one after. In the evening we went to La Escondidas, as we had been invited to a birthday party there.

This afternoon we went to see bloodless bullfights in La Gloria. There were 3 matadores and 1 matadora. Lupita Lopez is one of the world's 5 female matadoras. She was grace personified. After each of the matadores performed the judges would ask the audience to wave their hats or hankies to relay whether the matador should get the prize of one bull ear, two ears, or two bull ears and a tail (all fake). Lupita won the top prize. The custumes were gorgeous, and there were a few near misses.

Ending the performance was a Mexican performer on his dancing horse. He called himself El Guapo (Handsome). He sang while riding and had his horse do tricks.

It was an event worth seeing.

Spring is here

Greetings Y'all,
Cactus Jack has arrived in South Texas and you see him here looking "cool" and having a drink by the ocean on South Padre Island. We went to Boomerang Billies to see Leslie perform. We scooted out of there leaving enough time to get ready for the evening's dance at an RV park in Weslaco. Today we went to Pepe's on the River and danced again, so tonight we are both tired. Pepe's was absolutely packed!

Spring has arrived and today I saw many shrubs in full bloom and they were gorgeous. We had a bit of rain today which is great as it has been very dusty here as of late.

We will be very busy as I would like Jack to see the many sites of Southern Texas and parts of Mexico.

Hope you are all well and happy.

Dancers

Hola,

Another day in Progreso to finish the dental work. Finally finished!!!! Our friend, Carol, took Gab and I to a restaurant/gift store called Garcia's and also called the Canada Store. It cost us each $5.50 to enter. For that price you got unlimited pina coladas, margaritas or tequila sunrise. They had a live band and dancing for part of the time. For the second part a company of dancers performed for us. They were fantastic! The male's dancing reminded me a lot of the riverdance. It began at four and was over by 6 pm.

It is extremely windy this evening so hope we don't blow away!

Gabrielle

Buenos dias mis amigos,

These are photos of Gab in Mexico. She was surprised at the size of the pinatas, so I had to take her pic with one. There are many stores in Mexico and here in the valley that are party stores and sell a variety of pinatas and huge bags of candy to fill them with. Mexicans like to celebrate whenever possible, whether it is a birthday, anniversary or whatever.

We went into a cantina for a margarita and there was a man all dressed and painted in silver. He would walk around acting like a robot and you could have your picture taken with him for a dollar. Anyway to make a buck!

We were there most of the day and you do get weary of the hawkers trying to sell you their wares. You cannot walk down the street without each and every merchant trying to get your attention. Add to that the dentists, hairdressers, etc and it is non-stop. But, it was an experience for her and she was able to find some gifts for friends back home.

On Sunday we plan to go to South Padre Island for the day. Today is a rest day!

Aloe Farm

Greetings all,

Yesterday Gabrielle and I went with our park to Mercedes, Tx to the Aloe King Farm. It was extremely interesting. The top photo is an aloe vera field. They have about 40 acres planted in aloe. When the outer leaves get big they cut them off and sell them by the leaf....a dollar a leaf. Our guide showed us how to fillet an aloe leaf so as to just have the slippery white stuff inside the leaf. Some of the leaves are filleted and sent to factories to be made into aloe vera products, such as cosmetics and lotions. The aloe plants have suckers and these are cut and sent out as young plants. They sent 70,000 of these young plants to Uganda. Aloe plants are extremely hardy except when it comes to cold. Temperatures just above freezing will kill the plants. No pest will attack the aloe plant. They do have blossoms, but no one knows why. The blossoms do not go to seed, so they seem to serve no purpose.

They also grow citrus fruits, papaya and avocado on this farm, mostly for their own use.

J.R. Sigrist and his wife own the farm. She is 86 and he is 87 years old. He is also known as "The Sandman" as he does sand art. They collect different colored sand from all over the world. He was explaining that there is no blue sand, but there is sand of all the other colours. Green sand is becoming difficult to find. We watched as he made a bottle of his sand art. He packs the sand so tightly that even if you roll the bottle the artwork stays intact. He then seals each bottle with wax before putting on the lid. It was something to watch!

His wife runs the gift store and does a presentation on the history of the farm. She was a pure delight!

It was a great day.

Bo Rivers

Greetings from Donna, Tx.,

This evening we had live entertainment at our park. The artist is Bo Rivers and he was fantastic. You can find him on the Internet. He sang some Willy Nelson and songs from the 50's and 60's. There is a lot of talent here in Southern Texas.

My daughter, Gabrielle, is coming for a visit on Feb. 1st, and I am very excited about seeing her. I haven't seen my children live since September and I miss them lots. We do talk on Skype and MSN and web cam each other, but it is nice to be able to give them a hug and get one in return.

Tomorrow I go back to Progreso, Mex. for my final dental work. So glad that will be over with.

Hope you all are keeping well and happy, and warm.

Pepe's

Buenos dias,

I had company from Alberta for 3 days. My friend, Doug, from Red Deer was passing this way and stopped to visit. It is always nice to see someone from home. Of course, one wants them to see as much as possible while they are here so one day we went to South Padre Island and then to Progeso, Mex. We also got together with friends and had a great time.

Yesterday we went to Pepe's in Mission, Tx. That is Pepe's in the photo. It is on the Rio Grande River....the river that separates the U.S. from Mexico. They have live music there on the week-ends, so we ate and danced and visited. At one point some folks there were attempting to hit golf balls from the U.S. side of the Rio Grande to the Mexican side.

A couple from Quebec was part of our group. In many places in Mex. you cannot put toilet paper in the toilet as their sewer system cannot handle it. So he said that he just puts his in his cowboy hat and raised his hat to show us all the paper. Of course, he was just kidding around, but it was pretty funny.

I know I will find it difficult when it is time to leave in March, as I have made such good friends here and the people in my RV park are so kind and friendly. At least it is easy to keep in contact with email.

A cold front has moved in so for a couple of days the temperatures will be cooler here. It is only 22C in my MH with all the windows open. Guess I will have to trade my sandals in for socks and sneakers today.

Bus Tour

Today we went on a one day bus tour. We visited 3 Mexican cities: Metamoros, Progreso, and Reynosa. We had a really good tour guide and he explained various things to us as we traveled. For instance, Mexico produces 3 kinds of alcohol. There is tequila, mezcal and pulque. All 3 of these spirits are made from the agave plant. Mezcal is often bottled with a worm (larvae) in it. The purpose of the worm is to add flavor to the drink. The maguey worm is found on the agave plant and is considered a delicacy in Mexico and is often found on restaurant menus throughout Mexico. Pulque is a white liquid that apparently tastes a lot like beer. It is purported to be an aphrodisiac, but loses its potency within 24 hours. Our tour guide said he took a group out and gave them each a small glass of pulque. They were supposed to go to see the pyramids after that, but they all wanted to skip the pyramids and go to their hotel rooms.

As we were traveling through the Mexican countryside, he pointed out several rows of small white houses. There were 3 sizes: the pigeon, the chicken and the turkey. These small white houses are built by the Mexican government for low income people. The only requirement is that you have to be employed. They range from $20,000 to $35,000 depending on the size. This includes the lot. This house becomes the property of the purchaser and they have to pay it off in 12-14 years. They are free to sell their house if they wish.

All Mexicans who complete high school, after passing an entrance exam, are allowed to attend a Mexican university for free. They have both public and private universities.

They have only one gas station in Mexico called Pemex. The price of gas is not posted at the station as everyone knows it is $2/gal.

The painting on the bottom is a 3 dimensional painting that was in a cantina in Metamoros where some of us stopped for a margarita. The photo on the top was taken in a church in Reynosa. The church was build in the 16oo's.

All in all I had a great day and learned many things.

Ropa Usada

Buenos dias mis amigos,

Yesterday a group of us ladies went to the ropa usada outlets. As near as I can figure, that means used clothing. There was a string of such stores. The clothing arrives in those huge bails that you see in the photo. The bails are opened and dumped in big piles on the floor. When the piles spread too far, the forklift comes and scoops them back into a pile again. Some of the items are used and some still have the tags on them. You sort through the clothes and as you can see you often climb to the top of the pile to search. You buy items by the pound. One store had a 30 cent a pound pile and a 60 cent a pound pile. At another store it was 20 cents a pound.

Some of the customers must have been there for awhile as they were leaning against piles, fast asleep.

John Wayne and Paula Cravens

Greetings from a Winter Texan,

This evening in our rec hall we had John Wayne and his wife Paula Cravens. John is an author and has written books about The Duke and has also authored other western books. His real name is Ermal Williamson. He is also an actor. He impersonates John Wayne in a Coors commercial and has been on the Golden Girls and done some movies. You can find him on the internet.

Last evening my friends Carol and Bill and myself went out to La Escondida, which is loosely translated, the hide-away. Here they differentiate between liquor and beer. Apparently a liquor license is very expensive, so some bars only serve beer. However, you can bring your own liquor to the bar and ask for a set-up. A set-up is a bucket of ice, a glass, pop, lemon and perhaps salt. When Carol whipped out her container of liquor I said, "you can't bring that in here!" but you can. Different isn't it?

McAllen, Texas

Hello,

Yesterday a group of us went to McAllen, pop. 130,000. We wanted to see the International Museum of Art and Science. One room was called "Icons" and had 10 large scale stained glass windows. They were from a private collection that had once been in St. Paul's Episcopal church in Albany, New York in 1914. They were absolutely beautiful.

Another room had this huge globe that you see in the photo. The narrator explained various weather phenomena and while he did so the globe would change to reflect the topic. It was a really neat affect.

They had a room of torture instruments, but it was closed yesterday. There were also art displays of paintings, carvings and sculptures. All in all it was worth seeing.

We had lunch at a smorg restaurant and there was a large variety of foods and it was all good.

Donna

Hola mis amigos
This is pretty much what it looks like at my park. Today is a bit cooler, in the 50's, but tomorrow it is to be back up in the 70's. Temperatures here can vary quite a bit day to day. All last week we were in the high 80's.

Today we had a jam at our park. One of my guitar strings was broken I discovered once I got to the rec hall, but they put my name on the list to sing. I was extremely nervous, but sang anyway. There were 2 banjo players, a bass guitarist, 4 guitarists and multiple singers. Add to that those who came to listen and there were quite a few of us. It was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I am going to McAllen with a couple from the park. We are going to the museum so later this week I will share photos.

Keep warm, especially those of you in the frozen north.