Second Week of March

My sister , Pat and husband Henry, from Dorchester , ON ( near London for those who do know the area) arrived at 10:30 AM on Mar 9 for a weeks vacation. This was great for both of us as , we have not seen them for 2 years and they had never been to Texas in the winter and of course it is a good break from their weather. They were quite surprised when the stepped of the plane to find very hot, humid weather. I tried to explain that this was the kind of " crap " had to put up with all winter but they did not seem to have much sympathy for us, nor did I expect any. The rest of the day was wasted by going to the pool, sucking a few cool ones at Happy Hour and then a late supper.

10 Feb: This day was spend just across the border in Mexico in a small town called Progresso. This small town has about 5 blocks of shopping , mainly for us "Winter Texans ". It also has more Dentist, Pharmsist, Beauty shops and barber shops than you can imagine. It is a very safe town as the Drug Cartel does not venture into this area, probably for several reasons. First the town is not a Drug Haven, also the Army is well entrenched on the Mexico side of the Border and the US Customs do a very thorough inspection of all vehicles.
While in Progresso , Carroll convinced Pat to have a Pedicure and Manacure at her preferred Beauty shop. This procedure takes about 1 1/2 hours so Henry and I did some widow shopping and then we checked our one of my favourite Bars, mostly to check out the tempature of the Beer. Beer cost 1.50 in MX. After the ladies were done with there fingers and toes , the four of us checked out most of the stores and small sidewalk shops. Pat and Henry found the small shops interesting because many of them only sell one or two items such as Purse ( Gucci and Coach of course ) DVD's and music CD for 3 for 10.00. Of course they are pirated at that price. Don't even ask if I bought any because the answer is " No Comment ". After shopping for about another hour we decided to check out the restruants for a late lunch/ early supper.
We went to the Red snapper resturant on the advise of friends but not only was there a 15 min wait, which does not suite my personality but the band was too loud and they thought they would give me the table located 5 feet from band. So I shot that idea down fairly quick and we headed to another favourite resturant called Gracias. It is located upstairs in the ( wait for it ) Canada Store. I have no idea why it is called that. Anyhow , this place seats about 100 and the service is great. The waiters are dressed in Tuxcedos and the beer is cold and the prices are reasonable. Shrimp stuffed with crab or a 4 oz bacon wrapped Steak cost 10.00.
On the down side; I dropped into the Duty Free store to pick up my usual two litres of Crown Royal and believe it or not, they were sold out. Dam Americans, they should drink their own whisky. ha ha. The customs agent ask me twice if I had any booze as I guess it did think i would come home empty handed. Anyhow, Henry and I will slip over to MX on Tues and pick up my Quota.

11 Feb: One of our friends in our "Sister" park , Country Sunshine, organized a Birthday Party for all those with a Birthday in March. It actual was a street party and last year it was attended by over 100 people so we decided not to attend even thought I qualified. I have had enough birthdays over my lifetime so a party along with several other old cronies would not have enhanced my enthusiasum. Besides, our Ball Team had a Team Supper that evening so there is only so many parties a guy can attend.