Time for a Little Leaning

Last Sunday, we watched the Super Bowl in Koko. We have attended friends' Super Bowl Parties and thoroughly enjoyed our time. The resort sponsored a party in the clubhouse, complete with potluck snacks, appetizers, and a betting pool. It was well attended, and the pictures on the Park's FB page show the attendees had a good time. However, as I mentioned, we didn't go. This was one of many get-togethers the Activity Director for the Park has put together each month. To date, we have only attended a shrimp boil, and we did that one for the shrimp that we took back to Koko to eat. Why?

The Avenue

One of the attractions of Full-time RV life for many people is the opportunity to meet and make new friends from all over the country. These get-togethers are intended to support that, and some folks return year after year to winter at the same Park with many of the same people. I get this, and I would likely join right in at a different time. But frankly, most of the people in these parks are older white people. Many are proud of their military service and come from small towns and the suburbs. And, if they are like the US population, 25% - 30 % are Trump supporters. And a fair percentage of these folks are "in your face" supporters who feel totally justified in saying and doing anything to defend their leader. This has led me to keep to myself, preferring to maintain some measure of control over who I associate with by avoiding toxic people. People can believe what they want. That is none of my business. But I am not interested in engaging these folks in conversation and subjecting myself to their venom. So we enjoyed watching Kansas City and San Francisco play a great game in the safety of our home, Koko. Did I miss out? Hmmm….

 

Huisache in Bloom

We had a windy, cloudy day on Monday and decided to stick around Brownsville. After my regular morning Zoom with friends, we went to Russo's for lunch and returned to Koko for the afternoon. Marlene takes regular walks around the Park to get her 10K steps in each day. She gets to know several other campers and their pets during these walks. I am less social than her, and she enjoys these interactions. Today, I took my camera to have an excuse to avoid talking to the folks, if needed. We did not run into any of her regulars, and it was a simple and pleasant walk. But I can’t help but wonder how it would have gone if we had run into some of her park buddies?

 

Diamond-backed Watersnake

Tuesday was Mardi Gras, and we decided to celebrate with a return to the Edinburg Wetlands Center. We were there a few weeks ago and saw several new birds. We have been planning a return trip. The sunshine and low winds made this the perfect day. The rare birds did not show themselves. The trees were budding out, and seeing the critters in the shrubs was more difficult. However, we did see a few of our favorites: a Texas Diamond-backed Watersnake (pictured here), Red-eared Turtles, and a Softshell Turtle. Lizards and butterflies were also enjoying the beautiful weather. We met a young family that was enjoying the Center as well. Seeing children excited about birds, snakes, and turtles is always good. It was a lovely day that we ended at a Mom-and-Pop Mexican Restaurant in San Benito, the home of Freddy Fender. It was a good day. Here are a few of the shots from the day.

Lesser Scaup

Least Grebe

Cormorant vs. Fish

Southern Dogface

Southern Dogface redux

Butterfly Portrait

Blowing in the Wind

Texas Spiny Lizard

Cloudless Sulphur

Orange-crowned Warbler

Female Cardinal Portrait

Queen

A Small Fly

Gulf Fritillary

Curved-billed Thrasher

Great Kiskadee

Huisache Bloom

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Gulf Fritillary

A Hungry Watersnake

Red Eared Turtle

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Softshell Turtle

A very old Red Eared Turtle

Turtle Family Day at the Park

This Snake is quite a beauty!

As is the Least Grebe

Summer Tanager

Orange-crowned Warbler

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Chacalaca

White-winged Dove

Inca Dove

Stared down by a dove!

Inca Dove Portrait

Inca Dove striking a pose!

 

The rest of the week was cloudy, and we stayed in and worked on several projects. I began working on building our list of things to do and places to eat for our 2024 trip. In less than two weeks, we start our tour through the Midwest. We will drive north through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. While in Minnesota, we will walk across the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca State Park. Then, we will head back to the Texas Gulf Coast for the winter via Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas. We only book RV Parks. This ensures that we have a place to park Koko. Our activities are planned the day before from a list of places we build as we hear about opportunities. We check them off to keep a record of what we did and keep the rest as a list of things to do the next time we are in the area. We would love to hear from you if you have any favorite things to do and see in the Midwest. We will add them to the list. Some of our best restaurant experiences and places to visit have come from suggestions from our friends. Please drop us a note on FB or post a comment on the blog.

 

For the next two weeks, we will be finishing up our preparation for our 2024 trip. But one item is going to take some thought. Am I sacrificing the opportunities to meet some fascinating people who share a love for RV travel with my concern about having to deal with toxic people? The next 10 months will be challenging for us all. I could easily hide out in Koko and avoid all this, but is that the best course of action? Yep, I will sort through this before we hit the road! Your ideas and comments on this are welcome. Feel free to send me a comment, a text, an email, or a post on FB. We all need to buckle our seat belts because it will be a bumpy ride. But having you along means a great deal to us.

 

Some-times in our lives

We all have pain

We all have sorrow

 

But if we are wise

We know that there's always tomorrow

 

Lean on me

When you're not strong

And I'll be your friend

I'll help you carry on...

 

For it won't be long

Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on

(Lean on Me, by Bill Withers)

 

May we all enjoy the journey because it is all we have!

 

Bob