Back from the Valley

Notice our New Orleans Saints shirts that we are wearing proudly. We are back from the Rio Grande Valley. We will miss the fresh fruits and vegetables that are available there. We left Wednesday and drove to Ganado, TX which is about a hundred miles south of Houston and stayed at Shady Oaks RV Park.

That evening there were a dozen deer at the back fence of the campground, about 125 feet away from our camper.

We drove back Thursday in the rain to Livingston, TX for a visit with our daughter and her family. It was good to see the grandkids. On Friday we drove the remaining three hours to home. It had snowed during the night but was gone by the time we arrived in the afternoon. Gone are the warmer temperatures that we enjoyed in the Valley.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend upon your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take..."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Back Across the Border

It was a beautiful day today! The rain has finally quit. Everyone must have had the same idea. The parking lot near the border was nearly full when we got there. We grabbed our satellite dish from the back of the truck and headed for the border crossing. The sidewalks were full of Winter Texans and vendors out to take advantage of the nearly seventy degree weather. We headed down to Angel’s to find the street artist. We saw the crowd around him before we were able to see him. He was just finishing a vase so we waited. We showed him our dish and roughly explained what we wanted him to put in the painting. He said that it would be about an hour before he would finish it.

It was lunch time and we were hungry. We headed farther down the busy streets to try a restaurant that some friends had recommended. A couple of blocks down we found the Red Snapper Restaurant. Stairs led upstairs to the dining area.

We beat the crowd and were promptly seated. We tried the garlic shrimp and it was good.

They had a singer that entertained the guests as they ate.

Once we finished we hurried back to Angel’s in anticipation of our masterpiece. “Picasso” had already finished when we arrived. The results were different than what we expected but none the less beautiful. If we had it to do over we would have stayed to watch and help guide the results. We rushed back home carrying our new treasure. We have already had several people stop and tell us how well they like it.

Shortly after we got back our friends, Barb and John, from Alabama arrived at the RV park. It was good to see them again. We had to put the air conditioner on since the temperature was well into the seventies.

 

“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds O Lord.  …His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.”

Habakkuk 3:2-4

Rain, Rain go Away!

There are a number of flea markets here in the Rio Grande Valley. There are two in Weslaco. The Don Wes flea market is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The Mexican flea market is only open on Wednesdays and starts early and closes down after lunch as vendors pack up and leave their make-shift booths. Barb had not yet gotten to go to the Mexican flea market and she decied that we would go on Wednesday this week since it was our last chance before we head home from the valley. So yesterday was the day. We were supposed to have light rains in the morning and heavy rains after lunch. They blew the weather forecast again. We had heavy downpours overnight. Knowing that selection diminishes as the day goes by, we put on our rain boots and headed out at about 8:00. When we got there the parking lot was flooded. We went in the entrance closest to the vendors so we wouldn't have to walk far in the rain or wade very far. A man in the parking lot stopped us but he didn't speak English and we don't speak Spanish. We didn't understand each other so he waved us on in. The water was up to the floor boards of the car but we found a parking spot that was not too wet. Later we figured out that we had entered the vendors entrance. We spent about an hour looking around. As we shopped the rain subsided and more vendors braved the weather and set up as we browsed. After finding little to buy we left and proceded down to the farmers market across from Don Wes flea market. We bought more peppers, a cantaloupe, and another pineapple. It is wonderful to have fresh fruits and vegetables so readily available.

"...He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"

Matthew 6:45-46

Nuevo Progresso, Mexico

Tuesday we went back to Nuevo Progresso, Mexico. We were meeting our friends for lunch and needed to schedule dental work.

Mexican officials are making sure that this border town is safe for the thousands of Winter Texans that cross this border and shop, dine and enjoy this city.

Federal troops have a presence at the foot of the bridge as you enter the city. The streets are busy as usual and we saw no difference in the atmosphere from last year.

This street artist was an interesting sight. He looks like a silver statue. He startles some passers-by when he suddenly moves or touches them. How can he stand so still?

We both needed routine dental work. Our RV friends from Louisiana were already there that morning finishing their dental work. We made an appointment for the afternoon and then went out to eat at a local restaurant.

The view of the city from Arizona's Restaurant on the second floor added to the ambiance of our meal. Looking north we could see the International Bridge directly behind the cell tower and the Mexican check point to the left on the street below.

Looking south we could see that one of our favorite restaurants, Old Town Restaurant, is right next door. Further down the street is Mustre Dental which is the dentist of some of our friends. Much further down the street is the multi-storied Angel's building. That is where we earlier saw the silver street artist.

All of us enjoyed one of the daily specials which was two meals for $9.99. The meals were very good considering the price. We have eaten better meals in Mexico but not at that price.

Mariachi singers can be seen in the background. Later they made the rounds of the tables and serenaded the diners.
We were fascinated by this street artist last year. He uses cans of spray paint and then uses torn pieces of poster board as brushes. It is incredible to watch him as he dips his "brush" into globs of paint he sprays on his "palette" and creates his paintings on glass vases, lids of cans, and objects brought in by his customers.

Here he paints a desert mountain scene on a glass vase. We then went back to the dentist for our routine dental work in the very well equipped office of Dr. Edggar Contreras and his wife.

After our dental appointment we found that our favorite artist has just finished another masterpiece. This one is on a satellite dish for one of his customers. We plan to bring our dish later this week for him to beautify it with a personalized mountain scene. The price is only $25 to $30. How about that?

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!' "

Isaiah 52:7