Going, Going, Gone!!

Hi all, Dianne here.  What's wrong with this picture?

We're the only ones left from our nightly happy hour group!  Much of Retama Village is emptying out as snow birds head north.  Our friends Jim and Sue are still here, but our East Mallard Drive group has already left.  It all began just a couple of days ago when Tim and Bonnie headed out for their summer in Colorado.  I missed getting their photo as they left, but yesterday Bob and Linda were next...

Pulling Out...

Hooking Up...

Hope we remember all the steps when we leave April 11...haven't had to do it since September!

Off to start their summer adventures!

Finally, this morning Jeff and Val headed north to their home in Manitoba, Canada:

If you look closely, you can spot Val and their cute dog Maggie in the Passenger Seat

Roger and I have been working hard to get ourselves ready to hit the road April 11.  We've had the motorhome carpet cleaned, cabinets cleaned out and rearranged, but there's still more work to do before we're ready to leave.  We have a wash and wax scheduled for the motor home next Friday, and we're still moving things back and forth trying to decide what to take and what to leave behind for six months.

On March 21-26  I took a short spring break to join high school girlfriends at a condo near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  We all went to school together in Frankfort, Indiana, but flew in from Chicago, Indiana, Michigan and me from Texas. Penny was our guide, since she lives there on Pompano Beach.  Some of my high school buds read our blog, so here are photos of the highlights of my trip for them:

 My friend Karen brought matching cover-ups for all of us so we could be "quintuplets" on our girls weekend.  Trouble is, we wore them so much and forgot we had them on -- you should have seen the looks we got from people who didn't know why five 62-year-old grandmothers (except Margy, she's just 62, not a grandma so far) would be acting so silly and dressed alike!  Let's just say those huge bubba mugs in the photo didn't contain water....

Then there was the happy hour at the Tiki Bar...

Matching eyewear courtesy of Nancy...

More strange looks, and more silliness...

Two of the guys from our Indiana high school, one a '68 classmate and another from the class of '65 joined us for a barbecue at the beach.  We can all proudly call ourselves Frankfort Hot Dogs (that really is the mascot name!)  Actually, Nancy (in the middle) wasn't from our school, but she might as well have been, and we consider her an honorary Frankfort Hot Dog.

Larry, Me, Karen, Nancy, Margy, Chuck, and Penny

On our final evening together we took a dinner cruise through the intracoastal waterway:

 As you can see in the photo, we came well-equipped (Penny and Margy discreetly hid their bottle).  We all had a wonderful time and it was great to see them and revert back to our high school silliness for a while.  It was kinda like the slumber parties we used to have, although we didn't stay up nearly as late as we did back in the day.

Back in Texas, one of the things Roger and I wanted to do before we hit the road was to make a quick day trip across the border to Progreso, Mexico for some cheap prescription drugs and shopping.  We managed to get over and back in under two hours, mainly because our favorite outdoor margarita bar wasn't open the day we were there.  I stocked up on Mexican vanilla and found some very heavy, colorful drinking glasses and a salsa decanter:

I think the glasses will go well with my Fiesta dishes.  I'll be leaving the Fiesta and glassware behind when we hit the road, for it will be paper and plastic for us for the next six months.

My wildlife cam took some exciting night-life photos behind our fence this month.  Here's just a sampling:

Big Ole' Coyote

Big Ole' Skunk

Since the local sugar cane fields have been harvested (good hiding places), there has been a lot of Border Patrol activity right here near our neighborhood lately.  If any of you have watched  Border Wars on the National Geographic Channel, much of the activity when they film in Texas takes place right here in the Mission/McAllen area.  We don't need to watch TV to catch the action.  Here are some shots of the Border Patrol agents searching the trench behind our place for illegals trying to pass through.  Most of us have the phone numbers for Border Patrol programmed into our cell phones to phone in any activity we might see. Believe it or not, we slept right through this activity which took place right behind our bedroom in the motor home.  Bandido didn't even wake up!

A little blurry, but you get the idea.  They must have been moving fast!

I'm sure the question in your mind is "Are you afraid to be there?"  My answer is no, not at all.  We feel only compassion for the poor souls who try to cross the river to find a better life.  Most have paid large sums of money to crooks who have taken terrible advantage of them.  The Border Patrol here is very responsive and constantly on the alert, and the illegals are routinely rounded up and sent back over the border.

Back here, the view through our back pergola shows empty patios where once was snacking and laughter and friends gathered around fire pits.  We know that we'll pick up next fall right where we left off, but today it sure is lonely on East Mallard Drive!

The pet photo of the day shows Bandido and Tequila as Jeff and Val drove past on their way north.  They seem to be saying "Where is everybody??!! 

Bye, Maggie!  See you next year!