That Wandering Freedom

 

Sunset at Tropical Trails RV Park

I begin my second year of this blog this week and remember these words from last year when I started sharing our wanderings each week.

“I want to clarify what I mean when discussing wandering as a lifestyle. The dictionary defines wanderlust as” itchy feet, a very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.” It comes from the 20th Century German word wanderlust, meaning “taking pleasure in roaming about.” Wandering emphasizes the space between where we are and where we intend to be. It is all about the in-between, the places where dreams emerge and grow. Wandering is living on the edge of time that offers surprise, wonder, and awe. It is all about the unknown, the mystery that surrounds us every moment. When we are wanderlusting, the destination and direction are not as important as the adventure of the day. We were ready to let wanderlust take the lead in our lives.” 

From "Our Full-time Wandering: Part One," posted on 2/7/2023

These words are as true today as they were a year ago. We continue to wander through our itinerary. This wandering provides us a relaxed pace for living our retirement lives with relative freedom from the tyranny of schedules and calendars. We make choices based on the moment's circumstances within the range of options our longer-term choices allow. All in all, we count ourselves very fortunate to be able to live this way, knowing that circumstances will change and there will come a time when we must (or want) to leave the road. We are both delighted that you have chosen to spend some time with us on this journey. I hope you have enjoyed these little notes from around the country and that you will keep reading and be part of this grand adventure.

Despite a week of decent weather, we have not been very busy. Our energy to get up and go must have taken a break.

The Rio Grande

We drove down to Sabal Palm Sanctuary on the Mexico Border on Sunday. We were here several years ago with friends and saw several birds. But the resacas were dry this year, and the berries and seeds had already been eaten. We saw very few birds. However, we had a nice walk in the woods. If you are wondering how close we were to the border, Marlene is looking into Mexico across the Rio Grande. Did we feel safe? Absolutely! This area has been bi-national for hundreds of years. In fact, the only reason that the border became an issue was when Mexico began outlawing slavery in the 1820s. Many Anglo Plantation Owners who immigrated to Tejas with Stephen F. Austin brought their slaves with them and started pushing for the US to annex Texas to protect their “property rights.” Yep, they feared that a Southern Underground Railroad would start up. They established a border founded on slaveholding to preserve their way of life. But the people on both sides of the border, both Hispanic and Anglo, continued to move back and forth and continue to have a sense of two-nation national life. They are bound by the ties of family, generations of friendships, and shared business interests. But the invisible monument to racism that is our Southern Border continues to exist in the hearts and minds of people who live far, far away from here. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon walking along the very peaceful Rio Grande at Sabal Palm Sanctuary.

The Rabb Plantation House at Sabal Palm Sanctuary

 

Turkey Vulture

American Snout

Collared Peccary

The trail at Sabal Palm Sanctuary

Hanging Moss

The rest of the week was a time for kicking back and living the quiet life in a most agreeable place. On Monday, we chose to hang out at Koko and smoke a set of pork ribs while enjoying a nice day. We met a friend for lunch on Tuesday. Michael and I were in Boy Scout Troop 118 in the 1960s and had not seen each other in over 50 years. I ran into him on FB several years ago and learned he is a Financial Advisor, so we have been in contact via Zoom and phone for business. But this was the first time we sat down and discussed family and old times. Wednesday and Thursday were chill and chores days. One chore, changing the water filter in Koko, turned into an all-day project. It felt like I was back in our house! Friday was another day to catch up with an old friend, Diana, from my days at Hospice Compassus in Houston. Diana was hired to be the second Bereavement Coordinator for our office, and I helped her learn the system we were using for bereavement care. A few months after I was hired as a Chaplain at Vantage Hospice, Diana left, and we lost contact. It was great to visit with her and catch up over those lost 10 years.

Pork Ribs and a Smoked Sweet Potato

Michael and I

Diana, Marlene, and I

The Water Channel at the Old Pumphouse

After lunch with Diana, we drove down to Old Hidalgo Pumphouse on the Rio Grande. We were here several years ago with some friends and were impressed with the birds in the shrubs and trees. However, this time, the shrubs have mostly died. The few bird feeders that remain are empty. The fountains are either fouled with algae or dry. The birds have found other digs. From the days when the river flowed just outside the building, the Old Pumphouse provided irrigation water for the orchards and truck farms in the area.

After the river changed course in the 1930s, they dug a supply ditch that kept the pumphouse going for a few decades, but it ceased operation in the 1980s. The old buildings and equipment we saw on our first trip are preserved as a museum. The staff was preparing for a meeting, so we could not walk through the exhibits on this trip. I chalked this one up to a pleasant, short stroll along the border, and we headed back to Brownsville. (I took a total of four pictures on Friday.)

Pretty Good Eats!

On Saturday, we bought tickets for a Shrimp Boil at the RV Park with 50/50 Margaritas at noon. Anticipating shrimp for lunch, we discovered that the shrimp would be ready at 2:00 PM, and the two hours before were set aside for drinking margaritas and listening to 60s and 70s pop music from a woman with a boom box. The 50/50 margaritas were not lower alcohol drinks. Instead, they referred to half the proceeds paying for the drinks and the other half going into a jackpot that would be won by a draw from the tickets at the end of the day. Apparently, this is part of the Winter Texan experience. I am not a very good Winter Texan since none of this appealed to me. We grabbed our plates, like many others, and headed back to our rig. The food was good! But, as I have mentioned before, I am not that social. Oh well, life goes on!

I realize that none of this is terribly exciting for the reader. Many of you may not understand the choices we made this week. Nor was it something we imagined for our life on the road two years ago. But over the last 17 months, this has become part of our wandering life. We can choose to be as active or as lazy as we want. We can choose the climate (if not the weather) and location. We can participate in social gatherings or not. “When we are wanderlusting, the destination and direction are not as important as the adventure of the day.” And our opportunity to choose our adventures (or lack thereof) is the real lynchpin to our life on the road. We can decide how active or lazy we want to be. We continue “…to let wanderlust take the lead in our lives.”

Please hang with us as we finish our last three and a half weeks here in the Valley. We have several more birding sites to explore on the West end of the Valley and will likely revisit a few on this side. I have completed our plan for 2025 and will start booking some of the more difficult-to-get reservations in the next few weeks. We are also building out our options for the 2024 trip. In short, as we conclude our winter stay here in South Texas, I look forward to new adventures. Our second year touring the Midwest promises to be as enjoyable as the first, and I look forward to sharing it with you.

Stay tuned, my friends; the adventure continues!

 

Bob