Tuesday: I had a ball game on Tuesday morning and the main topic on was that we were going to recieve some real bad weather for the next 3 days. The ball game was terrible as we got slaugther by a real good team but after the game the coach announced that Thursday's game would be cancelled due to pending bad weather. I thought " give me break ", the weather was great for playing ball, how could it change so fast. Anyhow, the prediction was, that it would be cold on Tuesday evening couple with winds up to 60 MPH. Wed would be around 32 F ( 0 C ) and Thursday would have sleet, rain and possibly snow.
Boy, do they have Accu weather in this area. By Tues evening the temp dropped to about 10 C, then during the night it was even lower to 0 C . I still did not believe it would be that cold so I never bother to turn the furnance on during the night as we like it cool. At 4 AM, I awoke and it was cold. The temp in the house was 12 C so I quickly turned furnance just to thaw out.
So, Wed morning it was 0 C all day with high winds.
Wedesday: We traveled to South Padre Island on Wed to take in the Snowbirds Extravagansa which is a free Music/Comedy Show to attract us so they could show us Cdn Snowbirds what they can do for us such as health insurance , travel plans and sell memberships. Two of the acts were Ronnie Profit and Ostranack ( an accordian player) whose days have pass then both by. They were terrible. The other 4 acts were great. The show was over at 4 PM so we decided to have supper at a Seafood restaurant called Daddy's which we had visited before. Carrol and I, each had a Seafood plater of Fish and Shrimp and I had a beer , all for the price of 23.50. You sure get a lot of food at an excellent price in the USA.
Thursday: We awoke Thurs to find the same 0 C temp complete with the continous high winds. By noon , there was an announcement at our Community Hall that the Freeway in Harligen, 15 miles east was closed due to sleet and Freezing rain i the area and it was heading our way. This seems odd to us but these people do not have these condition often so they do not know how to drive accordingly and they do not have equipt to handle sleet , freezing rain or snow on the roads. By 3 PM the freezing rain arrived and has continued on into the evening along with the winds. We have , as do most occupants , a 30 foot Palm tree outside our home. The freezing rain is making the leaves/branches brittle and the wind is causing the leaves ( these are not a maple leaf ) to break off and the leaves are continuously bouncing off our roofs. I suspect we will spent a restless night , as the leaves will keep breaking off all night and keeping us awake. This weather is suppose to last until Sat so tomorrow will like be the same as today. Cheers until next time. T and C
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Fri;Sat and Sun..28,29,30
Not much activity this weekend, but we did just enough to keep busy. It seems that we have to buy something every other day. The good news is that Wal-mart, Home Depot and all other stores are only 5 mins away. We normally buy our fruit and veggies at the market which is a 10 min drive.
On Friday evening, we went to the local Legion Fish Fry with the "Shilo" Gang. We had not seen the whole Gang for 2 years so we had some catching up to do. As I menti.oned before , the Legions in TX only serve beer, water and pop (soda to the Americans ) so you can and must BYOB. The Legion provides complimentary plastic glasses and ice. I must not forget that Dance Music is also provided, for tips, by a D.J. The fish supper is only 7.00 and the place is packed by 5:30 . Trust the Seniors to find a place for good food at a reasonable price and beer is only 1.50. The legion holds about 200 people, which is a Fireman's special , since the sign says " Max capacity 145 ". However the exit doors are always locked in the OPEN posn which is a good idea since Smoking is allowed. Also, I found it odd that you can wear a hat in the Legion. I ask why this was allowed and the answer was : Have you ever tried to take a Stetson off a cowboy.... Point Taken.
Saturday: This was one of those lazy days where you B.S. with the nieghbours and do the nec houshold chores. I managed to empty a couple of beer cans while reading a book, which incidentally is the first book I have read since last winter. I did not realize I was that busy. Believe me it is not hard to find a neighbour or two who will glad sit down and share a beer.
Sunday: Oh yeh!! the day of rest, except Carroll thought it would be a good idea if we washed the windows and the vention blind. I don't like doing windows at home, never doing ones on a rental unit. However , I had to agree they needed a cleaning. I fought with the kitchen blind and managed to remove it and then I cleaned the window.
Carroll grab the blind , hit with a cleaner she found under the sink and Zap.. off come the paint and blind was ruined . That put a quick stop to cleaning the blinds until we got a less aggresive cleaner. But since we ruined the blind we had to replace it so off to Home Depot we go.
Then curling started at 1 PM so we had to watch that. ... Well that was enough work for one day and beside the temp had reached 85 F so that indicated that it is a Pool day. The pool temp was 90 F so we swam ( with Noodles ) around talking to people , exchanging stories . I have not met an American yet that will accept that their country is Broke. Even today the USA Today , said that 157 Banks foreclosed (went Broke) last year and another 11 in Jan 2011. Talk about having your head in the sand.
Tonight we attended another Music show at our park. It was a couple ( Gordie and Debbie ) from Branson who travel the winter Texan circut during the winter when Branson is closed. In Branson they charge 25.00 for a 2 hour show but here it cost 5.00 for a 1 1/2 hour show so that was not a bad deal. Well Jan comes to close tomorrow so we only have 2 more months left before we head north. Cheers. T and C
On Friday evening, we went to the local Legion Fish Fry with the "Shilo" Gang. We had not seen the whole Gang for 2 years so we had some catching up to do. As I menti.oned before , the Legions in TX only serve beer, water and pop (soda to the Americans ) so you can and must BYOB. The Legion provides complimentary plastic glasses and ice. I must not forget that Dance Music is also provided, for tips, by a D.J. The fish supper is only 7.00 and the place is packed by 5:30 . Trust the Seniors to find a place for good food at a reasonable price and beer is only 1.50. The legion holds about 200 people, which is a Fireman's special , since the sign says " Max capacity 145 ". However the exit doors are always locked in the OPEN posn which is a good idea since Smoking is allowed. Also, I found it odd that you can wear a hat in the Legion. I ask why this was allowed and the answer was : Have you ever tried to take a Stetson off a cowboy.... Point Taken.
Saturday: This was one of those lazy days where you B.S. with the nieghbours and do the nec houshold chores. I managed to empty a couple of beer cans while reading a book, which incidentally is the first book I have read since last winter. I did not realize I was that busy. Believe me it is not hard to find a neighbour or two who will glad sit down and share a beer.
Sunday: Oh yeh!! the day of rest, except Carroll thought it would be a good idea if we washed the windows and the vention blind. I don't like doing windows at home, never doing ones on a rental unit. However , I had to agree they needed a cleaning. I fought with the kitchen blind and managed to remove it and then I cleaned the window.
Carroll grab the blind , hit with a cleaner she found under the sink and Zap.. off come the paint and blind was ruined . That put a quick stop to cleaning the blinds until we got a less aggresive cleaner. But since we ruined the blind we had to replace it so off to Home Depot we go.
Then curling started at 1 PM so we had to watch that. ... Well that was enough work for one day and beside the temp had reached 85 F so that indicated that it is a Pool day. The pool temp was 90 F so we swam ( with Noodles ) around talking to people , exchanging stories . I have not met an American yet that will accept that their country is Broke. Even today the USA Today , said that 157 Banks foreclosed (went Broke) last year and another 11 in Jan 2011. Talk about having your head in the sand.
Tonight we attended another Music show at our park. It was a couple ( Gordie and Debbie ) from Branson who travel the winter Texan circut during the winter when Branson is closed. In Branson they charge 25.00 for a 2 hour show but here it cost 5.00 for a 1 1/2 hour show so that was not a bad deal. Well Jan comes to close tomorrow so we only have 2 more months left before we head north. Cheers. T and C
Friday, 28 January 2011
Wed & Thurs..26 &27
Wed started out as an uneventful trip to Carroll's chiropractor but that soon changed once I hit the Freeway ( Expressway ) . We were bee...bobbing along at 65 MPH in the centre lane when I notice a grey van slowly gaining in the right lane, which is uncommon for a TexMex driver as they usually used the left lane since they assume they are qualifing for the Inndy 500. I did pay a glance at this Van due to its' spped, but I never gave it much thought until we reach an exit lane . At the very last second he must have remembered that he had to exit to the right but he was a little late and nearly missed the exit. He cut thru the "painted " blvd which are a collector for years worth of gravel, glass and any other hwy debris. As he exited i did I glanced over just in time to see the dust and debris flying as I thought he might lose control . The dust and debris arrived at our Van about 2 second later and ending up in our Van thru the right rear side window causing an explosion. Carroll screamed and i was in shock and did not know whether to " Shit , go Blind or Wind my watch ". I managed to keep control of the Van and got off at the next exit to survey the damage , misus a rear side window. I had the glass as eveidence but no suspect as he was long gone and I'm sure he did not know what had happened. After Carroll's appt we went to a Glass shop and estimate was 261.00 installed and he gave me a Friday appt. He also cover the window with an adhesive plastic called " Accident shield" at no cost, which i was greatful .
Well , that little incident managed to while away the morning. But we had another supper to attend that night. These dam parties never seem to quit. Tonight was German Night with Happy Hour beginning at 4.00 PM; supper at 5:00 PM and dancing from 6:30 to 9;00 PM.
I thinkSeniors have to be in bed by 9:30 PM so the can get up at 6:30 AM and stand out side our house talking in loud voice, just to annoy people. The menu was pretty good with ample food. It consisted of Brats ( 2nd helpings were encouraged ) potatoes and SaeurKrut , accompanied with a jello salad and a huge piece of Black forest cake. There was a 5 piece band for the dancers.
Thursday : This is Ball Game day and today i had a double header , due to previous "Rainout " game so that took care of the morning. The afternoon was spend doing "nothing". Carroll wanted to help me but I refused her assistance as she might " bugger " it up.
In the evening we took in another Musical show. This time by John Rex Reeves who is a nephew of Jimmy Reeves as you C&W fan will remember as a famous musician from the 50's and 60's. I think Jimmy Reeves had 70 # 1 Hits before he died in a plane crash. John Rex Reeves is a Branson entertainer but does the winter Texan circut in the winter when Branson is closed, as do many of the Branson entertainers. cheers. T and C
Well , that little incident managed to while away the morning. But we had another supper to attend that night. These dam parties never seem to quit. Tonight was German Night with Happy Hour beginning at 4.00 PM; supper at 5:00 PM and dancing from 6:30 to 9;00 PM.
I thinkSeniors have to be in bed by 9:30 PM so the can get up at 6:30 AM and stand out side our house talking in loud voice, just to annoy people. The menu was pretty good with ample food. It consisted of Brats ( 2nd helpings were encouraged ) potatoes and SaeurKrut , accompanied with a jello salad and a huge piece of Black forest cake. There was a 5 piece band for the dancers.
Thursday : This is Ball Game day and today i had a double header , due to previous "Rainout " game so that took care of the morning. The afternoon was spend doing "nothing". Carroll wanted to help me but I refused her assistance as she might " bugger " it up.
In the evening we took in another Musical show. This time by John Rex Reeves who is a nephew of Jimmy Reeves as you C&W fan will remember as a famous musician from the 50's and 60's. I think Jimmy Reeves had 70 # 1 Hits before he died in a plane crash. John Rex Reeves is a Branson entertainer but does the winter Texan circut in the winter when Branson is closed, as do many of the Branson entertainers. cheers. T and C
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
23 Jan to 25 Jan; SMT
On Sunday we had breakfast with the Nahachesky's and the Turcotte's at a local restaurant and we bitched and complained because the coffee was weak and the toast was like a brick and crumbled when we went cut it . So the local "haunt" is off our list. As i have said before , I have been there twice "first and last ".
Then Carroll and I headed for the local Flea market even thought we did not need much. We mainly went to get a price on making a Banner for our Ball Team. The market covers about 5 arces , with about 1/3 under covers. It sells everything from clothes, jewery , the latest "miricale" gadgets , boat tours, fruit and vegetables and enough Junk to last a life time. I had to ask where to find the Banner Maker. After asking several people I finally found " Ernie " the Banner maker. He already had 3 customers ahead of us so i ask the lady ahead of me how long he takes for each customer. she said; apparently forever, so i took his phone number and left. I never was good at lining up for anything which may have something to do with my 30 yrs in the Military.
Sunday was a slow day but i did keep an eye on the football games. You really can tell who is winning by the "shouts and hollering " of the neighbours as these folks really get into it, much like the Roughrider fans in Sask. There are lots of Packer and Steeler Flags throughout the park.
In the afternoon we had the Meakins over for a beer/wine and to firm up our schedule for the coming week.
Monday: Temp was 7 C at 7 AM but jumped to 27 C by noon. Before I forget, gas is between 2.86 and 3.06 and diesel is 3.29 to a high of 3.39.
Monday , Wed and Fri always start with a trip to the Chiropractor for Carroll by 9:30. Since it is a 1/2 hour trip , that pretty well gets rid of the morning. We got home in time for the Mon lunch served in the Rec Centre. Hamburger, hotdogs, desert at a cost of 1.00 each. Hey! we senior, we always look for a bargin.
The afternoon was a little boring until Carroll remembered that she needed to get something at the local "Outlet" mall. We spent about 2 hours there until Carroll's knee got sore. I picked up a $50.00 golf shirt for 15.00 so the store are discounting their prices a bit.
Tuesday: Game Day: Temp 10 C at 7 AM and it is overcast and foggy. I thought, for sure we would not play ball but we did and we had to play a double headed to make up for the rainouts. For the first 3 inning it was cool, dam cool, so cool i had to wear my jacket. Then in the 4 th inning the Sun came out and it was a great day to play ball with the temp in the low 70's. Not only that, but we won our first game of the year. However, that does not belittle the fact that some of our "player" and I use the word loosely, did not know what to do when there was call by the umpire;" infield fly, the batter is out". The ball dropped without a catch but our guy on 2 nd stay on 2nd; the guy on 1 st was 20 ft off the base and stood there until he was tagged and then argue the ball was dead. I was coaching on 3rd and I can't recall exactly what i said but it was not complimentary. I did notice that when someone makes a mistake they try to avoid me in the dugout. Surely, they must want my help. ha
We played a 2 nd game and it was " Bad News Bears " all over again. OH well, i do get some exercise.
After supper we took in the David Church show at a local high school additorium that seats about 1600. Can you imagine that all the high school have these large adatorium. The David Church show lasted 3 hours was a tribute to Hank williams for the 1 st hour and other songs after that. I had never heard of him before tonight, but apparently he has a show in Branson and he does a weekly TV show in the south. He is worth the price of the admission.
That's it for now but Wed will have a little more excitment. It is something that can only happen to us. cheers. t and c
Then Carroll and I headed for the local Flea market even thought we did not need much. We mainly went to get a price on making a Banner for our Ball Team. The market covers about 5 arces , with about 1/3 under covers. It sells everything from clothes, jewery , the latest "miricale" gadgets , boat tours, fruit and vegetables and enough Junk to last a life time. I had to ask where to find the Banner Maker. After asking several people I finally found " Ernie " the Banner maker. He already had 3 customers ahead of us so i ask the lady ahead of me how long he takes for each customer. she said; apparently forever, so i took his phone number and left. I never was good at lining up for anything which may have something to do with my 30 yrs in the Military.
Sunday was a slow day but i did keep an eye on the football games. You really can tell who is winning by the "shouts and hollering " of the neighbours as these folks really get into it, much like the Roughrider fans in Sask. There are lots of Packer and Steeler Flags throughout the park.
In the afternoon we had the Meakins over for a beer/wine and to firm up our schedule for the coming week.
Monday: Temp was 7 C at 7 AM but jumped to 27 C by noon. Before I forget, gas is between 2.86 and 3.06 and diesel is 3.29 to a high of 3.39.
Monday , Wed and Fri always start with a trip to the Chiropractor for Carroll by 9:30. Since it is a 1/2 hour trip , that pretty well gets rid of the morning. We got home in time for the Mon lunch served in the Rec Centre. Hamburger, hotdogs, desert at a cost of 1.00 each. Hey! we senior, we always look for a bargin.
The afternoon was a little boring until Carroll remembered that she needed to get something at the local "Outlet" mall. We spent about 2 hours there until Carroll's knee got sore. I picked up a $50.00 golf shirt for 15.00 so the store are discounting their prices a bit.
Tuesday: Game Day: Temp 10 C at 7 AM and it is overcast and foggy. I thought, for sure we would not play ball but we did and we had to play a double headed to make up for the rainouts. For the first 3 inning it was cool, dam cool, so cool i had to wear my jacket. Then in the 4 th inning the Sun came out and it was a great day to play ball with the temp in the low 70's. Not only that, but we won our first game of the year. However, that does not belittle the fact that some of our "player" and I use the word loosely, did not know what to do when there was call by the umpire;" infield fly, the batter is out". The ball dropped without a catch but our guy on 2 nd stay on 2nd; the guy on 1 st was 20 ft off the base and stood there until he was tagged and then argue the ball was dead. I was coaching on 3rd and I can't recall exactly what i said but it was not complimentary. I did notice that when someone makes a mistake they try to avoid me in the dugout. Surely, they must want my help. ha
We played a 2 nd game and it was " Bad News Bears " all over again. OH well, i do get some exercise.
After supper we took in the David Church show at a local high school additorium that seats about 1600. Can you imagine that all the high school have these large adatorium. The David Church show lasted 3 hours was a tribute to Hank williams for the 1 st hour and other songs after that. I had never heard of him before tonight, but apparently he has a show in Branson and he does a weekly TV show in the south. He is worth the price of the admission.
That's it for now but Wed will have a little more excitment. It is something that can only happen to us. cheers. t and c
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Saturday 21 Jan
Temp was 4 C at 7 AM. Your dam right the furnance was on, but by 9 AM it was 17 C and by 10 AM it was Tee shirt weather.
Today I had to return to MX to the Dentist to get my Permanent Crown installed. We invited Al and Elanie Dempsey to accompany us and to enjoy the " Sights and Sound " of the small MX town/city of Progresso where we winter Texas visit ocassionally, like every 2 weeks.
My appointment was for approxi 12:30 but we were early so i dropped into the office and he took me right away. Twenty min later I was on my way.
The cost of the Crown was 130.00 but I had to pay 1/2 on Friday and the other 1/2 today. I had to snicker about paying 1/2 on Friday... like I'm going to leave town with a temporary filing. Anyhow I got my reciept for my insurance company as they will be " Tickled Pink" to pay their half of 130.00 rather than 1/2 of a 1000.00 of which it would have cost in Canada.
While I was in the Dental chair Carroll took Elanie to Angie's to have their nails done. Elanie had a Pedicure and a Manicure at a cost of 16.00 plus a 2.00 tip of course. Al spent the time walking the streets, taking in all the Vendors trying to "Passively " sell you there wares. The streets were pretty much crowded with Winter Texas possibly because the weather was nice and that it was a saturday.
After the girls were finished with their nails we did a little shopping where Al picked up a bottle of Bailey's for 18.95 which he could have gotten for 18.00 at the Duty Free. Then we headed for Gracia's resturaunt which is located in the " Canada " store for Lunch. The Canada store is basically a Dept that store that sells mostly what i call " Mexican Junk " . It also has an overpriced liquour section, a Pharmacy ( spelt Farmacy ) and clean washrooms which they call
" Bano's " . We went to the 2nd floor resturant and this place could easier seat 200 people but today there was about 50 Winter Texans having lunch. The waiters are on you like a "fly on honey" as soon as you enter so he ask where I would like to sit. I said a window by the ocean would be nice. I'm not sure if he thought I was being funny or crazy since the Gulf of MX was 1 1/2 hour away. We are ordered drink which was 2 beers, a Pina Coloa and a Margaretia. We all ordered Shrimp stuffed with Crab meat and it comes with Rice, Mash potaoes . It also came with soup or salad. The bill was 48.00 which was reasonable for lunch and a drink for 4 people.
We ( actually the girls ) decided that we would leave Progresso and head for the Outlet Mall near our Park as Elanie was interested in shopping for her G/kids and Carroll just happens to know where those stores were located, as if we have never been there before.
However, you can not leave progresso without going thru the Duty Free store just in case there are some bargins. I picked up a bottle a liqueur called Disaronna which one of friends recommened. Crown Royal was still 2 L for 36.00 so I will pick that up another day. I only take 2 bottles at a time because i don't like being ask questions by Customs. Al picked up a bottle of a Liqueur make from a wild fruit tree in Africa. The Customs people were in a good mood today as they did not ask any questions and in fact they chaistize us ( in a joking manner ) for not stepping up to the counter quick enough. Our officer , Joking said he was going home if we did not move faster.
Then we headed for the Outlet Mall to hunt for bargins for the Dempseys. Carroll is not in the buying mood " YET", so i did not have anythings to carry. We finished shopping around 4 PM and we dropped Al Dempseys off at their Hotel and invited them for supper at 6 PM . After supper we polished off 1/2 of Al's Liqueur drink made from the African wild fruit. I think it packs a wallop but I must buy a bottle of it to " retest " its' punch. The Dempseys are leaving on Monday and heading for Plam Springs. We had a great visit and hope we can get together again , as they do go thru Med Hat to visit a daughter and family in Winnipeg. Cheers. T and C
Today I had to return to MX to the Dentist to get my Permanent Crown installed. We invited Al and Elanie Dempsey to accompany us and to enjoy the " Sights and Sound " of the small MX town/city of Progresso where we winter Texas visit ocassionally, like every 2 weeks.
My appointment was for approxi 12:30 but we were early so i dropped into the office and he took me right away. Twenty min later I was on my way.
The cost of the Crown was 130.00 but I had to pay 1/2 on Friday and the other 1/2 today. I had to snicker about paying 1/2 on Friday... like I'm going to leave town with a temporary filing. Anyhow I got my reciept for my insurance company as they will be " Tickled Pink" to pay their half of 130.00 rather than 1/2 of a 1000.00 of which it would have cost in Canada.
While I was in the Dental chair Carroll took Elanie to Angie's to have their nails done. Elanie had a Pedicure and a Manicure at a cost of 16.00 plus a 2.00 tip of course. Al spent the time walking the streets, taking in all the Vendors trying to "Passively " sell you there wares. The streets were pretty much crowded with Winter Texas possibly because the weather was nice and that it was a saturday.
After the girls were finished with their nails we did a little shopping where Al picked up a bottle of Bailey's for 18.95 which he could have gotten for 18.00 at the Duty Free. Then we headed for Gracia's resturaunt which is located in the " Canada " store for Lunch. The Canada store is basically a Dept that store that sells mostly what i call " Mexican Junk " . It also has an overpriced liquour section, a Pharmacy ( spelt Farmacy ) and clean washrooms which they call
" Bano's " . We went to the 2nd floor resturant and this place could easier seat 200 people but today there was about 50 Winter Texans having lunch. The waiters are on you like a "fly on honey" as soon as you enter so he ask where I would like to sit. I said a window by the ocean would be nice. I'm not sure if he thought I was being funny or crazy since the Gulf of MX was 1 1/2 hour away. We are ordered drink which was 2 beers, a Pina Coloa and a Margaretia. We all ordered Shrimp stuffed with Crab meat and it comes with Rice, Mash potaoes . It also came with soup or salad. The bill was 48.00 which was reasonable for lunch and a drink for 4 people.
We ( actually the girls ) decided that we would leave Progresso and head for the Outlet Mall near our Park as Elanie was interested in shopping for her G/kids and Carroll just happens to know where those stores were located, as if we have never been there before.
However, you can not leave progresso without going thru the Duty Free store just in case there are some bargins. I picked up a bottle a liqueur called Disaronna which one of friends recommened. Crown Royal was still 2 L for 36.00 so I will pick that up another day. I only take 2 bottles at a time because i don't like being ask questions by Customs. Al picked up a bottle of a Liqueur make from a wild fruit tree in Africa. The Customs people were in a good mood today as they did not ask any questions and in fact they chaistize us ( in a joking manner ) for not stepping up to the counter quick enough. Our officer , Joking said he was going home if we did not move faster.
Then we headed for the Outlet Mall to hunt for bargins for the Dempseys. Carroll is not in the buying mood " YET", so i did not have anythings to carry. We finished shopping around 4 PM and we dropped Al Dempseys off at their Hotel and invited them for supper at 6 PM . After supper we polished off 1/2 of Al's Liqueur drink made from the African wild fruit. I think it packs a wallop but I must buy a bottle of it to " retest " its' punch. The Dempseys are leaving on Monday and heading for Plam Springs. We had a great visit and hope we can get together again , as they do go thru Med Hat to visit a daughter and family in Winnipeg. Cheers. T and C
Saturday, 22 January 2011
21 Jan 2011
Today was another active day in Southern TX. The temp finally got to 70 F but the day was too cool to sit outside as there was a cool wind blowing. Yes, it was blue Jeans and a sweater.
Our day started with a 9:30 Chiropractor appt for Carroll which usually chews up 2 hours out of our day. The trip is about a 1/2 hour drive to McAllen ( pronounced Mac Allen by the locals ) but mostly on the freeway which they call the Expressway.
Actually it is a 40 Mile long "Race Track" without the curves that connects about 20 small towns and cities with a larger city at each end. I actual get a snicker at the speed and the weaving in an out of the drivers.
If I have not already mentioned it, this area of TX is mainly of Hipanic background albeit born in USA. It seems that Hispanics , ( both men and women ) while driving, have to be in front of you and they will often pass at a high speed and then cut in front of you to make the exit that they just about missed. The Expressway is 3 lanes wide with very long decelorator lanes and very long runup lanes which I find an excellent idea as you can either enter or exit at a high speed so you can melt into the traffic safely. However, it doesn't pay to be too cautious when you exit to the collector lanes ( they too are 3 lanes wide ) as they will practically run up your rear end because they do not slow down coming off the Expressway. But , as crazy as it seems, there are not many accidents and I have never seen any Road Rage.
Today we had a Happy Hour as Al and Elanie Dempsey from Chillwack , BC dropped in for a visit. They are touring around the USA so they are staying in our area for a few days, as they have other friends in the area. Al was my boss in Shilo, MT from 77 to 81. Our boys knew each other and played hockey together. I also coached his son in hockey. Like 99.9 % of the kids I coached, he did not make the NHL either.
We also invited Larry and Holly Nahachesky and Les and Alma Turcotte to join us for happy Hour. Nahachewsky's were teachers who lived on the base at Shilo and whose boys played hockey and went to school with the Dempseys' . Les Turcotte worked in the Const Engr section at Shilo and was our Concrete Man. Alam was also a teacher at Shilo. Dempseys had not seen the Nahas or the Turcottes since 81 so it was a great "Gab Session " just to relate story and to find our where some mutual friends live now.
Well that took care of Friday. Tomorrow it is off to MX to the Dentist to get my Crown. cheers. T and C
Our day started with a 9:30 Chiropractor appt for Carroll which usually chews up 2 hours out of our day. The trip is about a 1/2 hour drive to McAllen ( pronounced Mac Allen by the locals ) but mostly on the freeway which they call the Expressway.
Actually it is a 40 Mile long "Race Track" without the curves that connects about 20 small towns and cities with a larger city at each end. I actual get a snicker at the speed and the weaving in an out of the drivers.
If I have not already mentioned it, this area of TX is mainly of Hipanic background albeit born in USA. It seems that Hispanics , ( both men and women ) while driving, have to be in front of you and they will often pass at a high speed and then cut in front of you to make the exit that they just about missed. The Expressway is 3 lanes wide with very long decelorator lanes and very long runup lanes which I find an excellent idea as you can either enter or exit at a high speed so you can melt into the traffic safely. However, it doesn't pay to be too cautious when you exit to the collector lanes ( they too are 3 lanes wide ) as they will practically run up your rear end because they do not slow down coming off the Expressway. But , as crazy as it seems, there are not many accidents and I have never seen any Road Rage.
Today we had a Happy Hour as Al and Elanie Dempsey from Chillwack , BC dropped in for a visit. They are touring around the USA so they are staying in our area for a few days, as they have other friends in the area. Al was my boss in Shilo, MT from 77 to 81. Our boys knew each other and played hockey together. I also coached his son in hockey. Like 99.9 % of the kids I coached, he did not make the NHL either.
We also invited Larry and Holly Nahachesky and Les and Alma Turcotte to join us for happy Hour. Nahachewsky's were teachers who lived on the base at Shilo and whose boys played hockey and went to school with the Dempseys' . Les Turcotte worked in the Const Engr section at Shilo and was our Concrete Man. Alam was also a teacher at Shilo. Dempseys had not seen the Nahas or the Turcottes since 81 so it was a great "Gab Session " just to relate story and to find our where some mutual friends live now.
Well that took care of Friday. Tomorrow it is off to MX to the Dentist to get my Crown. cheers. T and C
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