Technically our contract as Workampers is over, but we still are working, well Rich is….lol….  We are still here for a few more days, so why not. lol.  But last Thur. was a beautiful day and everything is so slow now, we took the day off and went to Brownsville.  Now if you look at the map, and find Brownsville, you will see the channel from the Gulf is called the Port of Brownsville.  It is where the salvage and ripping apart of the ships is located.  The highway on the north side is #48 and takes you to Port Isabel and Padre Island.  On the south side of the channel almost to Mexico is #4.  It dead ends after 20 miles into the Gulf of Mexico.  It is a desolate but beautiful drive.  So this was our exploration for the day.

We took the south route out of Brownsville, #4, also known as Boca Chica Highway. We passed a checkpoint but only have to stop on the way back.  Later I realized we were just a short distance from Mexico border.  Like probably a half a mile or less in spots.  As we drove down this road we could see the Port of Brownsville ship yards in the distance.  Such beautiful scenery.  With all the rain, the palm trees, grasses, and cactus are so green and healthy.  The land was full of greenery and also marshy.  As we made our way out we passed a small town called Boca Chica Village.  We would explore it later.  Two miles later we came upon sand dunes…..and then a sign the said………..”Pavement Ends”……….and it did…..lol

We drove through the sand dunes and the pavement ended, right into the Gulf of Mexico.   What a beautiful sight.  This is also Boca Chica State Park.  It is full of sand dunes and miles and miles of beautiful sand beach’s.  The County of Cameron had their city dump truck and endloader there.  They were pushing the sand back into the water.

The waves and tide bring the sand in and cover the road.  We drove past them and onto the beach and parked.  Several cars and trucks passed us as we sat their and drove down the beach into oblivion.  I got out and walked a little.  The water was a little cold but the sand was so smooth and pristine.  Just untouched.  The sound of the waves lapping the beach and the birds flying overhead was just so peaceful and beautiful.

Everytime you made prints, the waves came in and covered them up.  All the birds were flying and landing on the beach and enjoying the sun and the wind.  After a few minutes we noticed the waves were coming up higher and higher.  Rich was afraid the truck might get stuck…..lol….so we turned around and left.  So back we go to explore everything we passed on the way in.  First stop ……Boca Chica Village…..

It is the only sign of civilization in sight.  Its only off the highway about 2 blocks.  We drove in and made the left turn and this is what we seen.   A deteriorating road with 32 ranch style houses, some in good shape, but most also falling apart.  Each house had huge plastic drums of potable water.  The road had a Boulevard in the middle with palm trees, sago palms and cactus.

Upon checking the history of this little town, I found that it was built in 1967 by John Caputa, a Chicagoan property developer, and was initially aimed at working class Polish migrants.^[3] Shortly after building a community of 32 ranch-style houses, and naming it Kennedy Shores, the settlement was devastated by Hurricane Beulah later that year, which destroyed the restaurant and public utility systems. Electricity was restored, but many of the homes did not have potable water even decades later.

In 1975, local resident Stanley Piotrowicz was voted in as town mayor, who renamed the village Kopernik Shores after Nicolaus Copernicus, and attempted to have the village recognised as an incorporated community, but this was denied. In 1990 and 2000, the population was 26 people.

As of 2008, only 6 people were permanently living in the village.  Today, only 2 families live their full time.  The rest are a mix of 13 renters and Winter Texans.  As we went to drive out of town, their was this beautiful Shrine on the corner sunk into a corner of planted overgrown long needle soft evergreen trees.

It was constructed with concrete and stone with bottles, colored glass pieces, and shells pressed in to decorate.

The  statue of Christ was in the middle with old colorful weathered flowers surrounding it.  So beautiful. Back to the highway we went.  This area is also full of history.  We passed several historical markers.  This area was where some of the last battles were fought of the Civil War with the Blue and the Gray.  The battlegrounds look just as desolate as they did back in the Civil War Days.

As we drove on there were several miles of cleared land.  Cleared of all trees, cactus’s and grass’s.  This is were they are building SpaceX.  SpaceX, started by billionaire and PayPal founder Elon Musk, is building the spaceport over 50 acres of privately-owned land at the end of Texas Highway 4 and be launch-ready in about two years. The complex, which will include a rocket launch site, launch command center and ground tracking station, will do up to 12 launches a year.  Right now it is only permited to do cargo launch’s.  The owner has hopes that someday they will do manned launches.

On down the road, we finally came back to the checkpoint.  The 2 Border Patrol agents stood on each side, and asked pleasantly but professionally questions as to where we had been, and where we were from.   I thought they might check the back of the truck as it was covered, but they didn’t.  So on we went, back into Brownsville.  We got on #48 which follows the Port on the north side and ends up in Port Isabel, by South Padre Island.  We passed the shipyards, where the ships were being scrapped, and next went to the Shrimp boat basin.  We had been in this basin full of shimp boats when we were on the Boat Tour.  It had a much better view from the boat.   On land it was much harder to see.  We did find a public access point were they sold shrimp, so we drove in and walked around.

The first boat I seen was Captain Bligh.  Rather Humorous I thought.

The water was so clear.  Right now is off season, their was a lot of maintenance going on…….We drove the rest of the way to Port Isabel, which was around 15 miles.  We passed many lagoons, water inlets and sand areas.  Some places, their were screens along the side of the road to keep the blowing sand off the road……Rich said it reminded him of the Salt Flats of Utah.

After we arrived at Port Isabel, we headed home for the 45 min. drive.    We had been invited to Deb and Ricks, the Park Managers, for Happy Hour at 4……..So we made it in time and enjoyed a beautiful evening under their carport, visiting with several neighbors watching the sun go down………

Now this is the way to end a day………This Is Retirement…………..lol….. 

Can’t believe that winter is almost over. Its almost April 1. That means we’ve been away from the family for over 4 months.  Its gone by so fast.  We have done so much down here.  Never hardly a dull moment.  We have so many stories to tell.  lol.  Many stories that we can NOT tell on this blog.  hahaha….yes….all the gossip of the campground.   We’ve been like one big family.  Many many good times.   And of course the little family bickering.  lol.  But everyone is departing Friends.  The beauty is that the ones, who are don’t fit in as well, will move on to a different park, next year.   The happy family members will come back next fall and all the newbies will come, and it will start over again.  lol.  We will be back next year as Workampers.

This experience has been tremendously a wonderful one.  I was talking with Rich the other day, and we both realized that it is almost impossible to explain what retirement has been like down here.  It is another totally different way of life.  So different than the everyday hustle and bustle of the working slob.   lol.  Sorry about that description.  But that was how I use to feel, and I’m sure many people still feel that way.  You are a working slob devoted to putting all your money into supporting your house and car and everyday life.  Let me tell you, There is Wonderful Better Life in Retirement.  We have had an Awesome Wonderful Winter down here in Southern Texas.  It is the vacation that is never ending.  If you think you can’t ever afford it, you can.  Living is cheap down here, and anyone should be able to figure out how to make it work financially.  Don’t ever say never.

We have been living at A10 on Albatross Lane.  lol.  But soon we will pack all this up and leave.  We have added a sun screen while we were here.  If you notice we have a maroon colored one and the top is a dark brown.  lol.  Well, I ordered it to short.  The top piece is inserted into the roller bar and stays. Then the bottom is zipped on.   I assumed the top piece was going to be a 2 foot section….NOT….I ordered a 6 foot awning to zip into it.  Well the zipper piece was about 4 inches long.  THEN I reread the ordering directions.  Didn’t want to send back to California, so we went to the local flea market.  Don-Wes, and ordered the 2 foot section.  No Maroon so we went with the dark brown.  Now the zipper part stays on and you just zip off the bottom and roll the top part away with the awning …so easy…Now of course we have our colorful blue mat from before, and just look at those window shades….lol…What an eyesore….I call them ….Baby Shit…..Rich found out something really cool to do.  Look at the door and side window shades….They are gray matching the coach.   Well did you know you can spray paint them?….haha…Yes.   Lay them down on the ground and spray them…..So 3 or 4 cans more of Rustoleum Gray and we will have matching front window shades…..lol…. a savings of over $300.

Spring has sprung.  All the trees and flowers are starting to bloom.  I took a tour on my bicycle the other day taking pictures.  This is Bougainvillea.  Up north it is grown just as a house plant and very sensitive.  Down here it is everywhere.  It grows wildly and is so beautiful right now.  It seems like everyone has at least one bush in their yard.  Its just full of clusters and clusters of flowers.

Now this is called an Orchid Tree……It just full of beautiful lavender blooms….

This is the neighbors Banana Tree.  The Bloom on the bottom and the clump of bananas haven’t seem to change in 4 months….lol..

This bush, I have know idea what it is…It is really a cool bush.  The flowers are the daintiest little trumpet shape.  Their about an inch long.  The foliage also is narrow and long….Their is several in the park and one at Dairy Queen.

This is called a Bottle Brush Tree….The blooms are so beautiful.  I think we might have them back home.  It is a pretty tall tree but I hear it is bad for allergy’s.

The close of if this one is amazing..  It is so delicate.  If you brush against it the little petals cling to your clothes.

This was a bush that someone had in their yard.  So many beautiful flowers and plants.  It has been raining so much, the grass and plants are so green.  The roads in the park were refinished several years ago, but unfortunately, they weren’t constructed with drainage in mind.  When it rains the rain just sits in big pools on the surface.  Now they are developing pot holes all over and breaking up.  This mass exodus of the Winter Texans and the big motor homes are sure not helping.   The owner from Arizona will be coming later this month or next.  I’m sure he will be checking it out and making some decisions on repairs.   The weather is changing down here in the winter and not for the better.  Everyone says the last 3 years have been getting worse.  So weather times are changing.  Even up north.  More and more snow and cold weather……………….

Two more of our Illinois friends leaving this morning.  Many more are leaving this weekend and slowly heading north…..So many empty pads now…..

So what can we expect next winter…………….Stay Tuned…………..

.

If you have never been to Rio Grande Valley in the winter, you have no idea, what the Winter Texans mean to this area.  The Winter Texans are an industry to Texas.  Every winter over 100,000 northerners come down to the valley to escape the winters up north.  A large percentage come from Canada.  They bring in over $7,000,000. to the economy.  Everything revolves around the Winter Texans.   They hold many festivals, here and in the Mexican border towns, to welcome everyone.  Their is a Winter Texan newspaper that is published from late Oct to April 1, mainly for the soul purpose of advertising all RV Parks and activities, including entertainment schedules and bands.  Quite an industry.  Harlingen is one of the cheapest cities to live in the U.S.  That is so true.  If you want to get internet service, all you have to pay through Time Warner is $15 a month.  You can of course add cable TV also and still have a cheap pkg.  They don’t require contracts.  They cater to the Winter Texans.   Now that is unheard of up north.   Everything needs a contract, or deposit.  Its no wonder so many people retire to the RGV.

Now it is the end of the season and its time to say “Good Bye”.   Our good friends and neighbors, Cici and Larry left last Sunday morning early.  They packed up the 5th wheel and headed to Arkansas to visit their son and family…..Their daughter in law was expecting their 4th grand child and they made it in time to witness their New Little Miracle….A NEW LITTLE GRANDAUGHTER…..Congrats to all…..

They packed up and hooked up the night before as they wanted to get an early start in the morning.  So we went to eat at one of our favorites steak houses…..The Longhorn Cattle Company…..Its in San Benito, Texas.  The home of Freddy Fender.   It’s really only about  20 minutes from us. Its really neat inside.

As we were sitting their admiring the décor.  We were showing Larry how the windows were really garage doors that open to let the fresh air in, we noticed this guy who really looked like Colonel Sanders sitting their….lol…Cici and I started to chuckle.  Now its rather hard to tell, but his pure white mustache was so long, we wondered how he was eating his chicken without getting his hair caught in every bite of the chicken….lol….but he just kept eating away, and with every bite his mustache kept bobbing up and down….lol…It was a fun time, but sad cause this was our last evening together….

Larry is such a card.  Such an entertainer at times.   He always makes you laugh.  We have done so many things with them.  But Larry always had to drive ….lol…We only have a little Ford Ranger….We went to McAllen to the Festival of Lights Parade at Christmas…..We’ve, been to Padre Island many times.   Cici and I have done lots of things together, here in the Park as well as shopping.  We are so missing you guys already.

Roberta, our permanent resident neighbor, came over to say goodbye to Cici , Larry, and Jill, their dog.   She is an animal lover.  Our wonderful neighbor, who is eager to babysit pets….She loves all nature.  We now have 3 empty pads next to us.  In the next 2 weeks, many, many more will be leaving.  By mid April most of them will be gone home.  Their are about 100 people who do stay here year around.  We are considered one of the smaller parks.  At our peak, we could have close to 600 residents living here….It is amazing actually how many parks are here in the Valley….They are everywhere….I will have to do a blog on that subject.  Its a whole different world down here in the bottom corner of Texas…..

Weather is starting to get warmer….70s and low 80s are now normal, but still so much rain.   Our streets don’t have the drainage we have back home, so the water pools on the streets in the park.  This is the season that  all the plants and bushes are flowering .  The orange and grapefruit trees will be producing fruit again.  Everything smells so wonderful.

But when the fruit is ready to pick…..WE WILL BE GONE TOO…….

This week has been a fairly busy week.  Monday at the office we had to get the invitations out for our Appreciation Dinner for today (sunday).  The owner in Arizona had decided to treat all the residents to a dinner.  Our property managers were cooking, delivering and serving the meal.  The managers here, Debbie and Rick, only had to plan, organize and have the hall ready for the food when they came.  So last Monday we had to print over 300 invitations and stuff them all in the mail boxes.   All the residents had to sign up at the activity office for the early sitting….11:30….or the later sitting…..1:30…..   All of the employees and the Workampers were required to work with the setting up of the tables and serving the meal.   So we new it would be a busy weekend.

Also on Saturday, yesterday, was also the craft sale.  I wanted to have a table and display my bricks.  So all week I have been busy finishing the ones I had started.  I ended up with around 12 of them. I also experimented with putting gems around 2 clay flowerpot rims and grouted them.  They turned out really nice.  Friday the wind started up and became stronger and stronger.  The wind was over 30 miles an hour sustained, with gust over 40.   We have had a 12 x 12 awning by the trailer.  It has blown over so many times.   We keep putting it back up.  the frame around the top was so bent out of shape, Rich got 2 lengths of PVC pipe to support it.  It has been strapped down on all 4 corners.  All my craft stuff has been under the canopy along with my tables.   Well Friday nite it finally bite the dust…..Hahaha….Its last Hurrah…..I came home from the store and 1 leg had been twisted off of the frame….I put it back and readjusted the straps.  Several hours later 2 legs gave out…..Now it was barely standing on 2 legs…..So at last we let it rest…..lol….Down it came….Its life is at an end….Oh Well…

So Saturday morning I climbed under to get the rest of my bricks out and found that 2 had hit the concrete.   One survived but the other has some shattered pieces.   Now I will have to do some repair work.  So I brought all my bricks up to the hall for the craft sale and had a good time….I sold 4.  That is really pretty good as the sale was only for 2 hours.

We also had a display table of the Eastgate Woodcarvers.  We had a Woodcarvers Show in town several weeks ago, and our club entered 4 items and we all won Blue Ribbons…..EVEN ME…..lol….Imagine that.

I had made a set of intertwining hearts….In the Picture you can see the block of wood I started with and then the finished hearts.

These Cowboy Boot Earring are made by one of our seasoned Woodcarver “Willy” Williams.

This cross is a very interesting piece.  Such intricate carving to accomplish this.

Heres some other items carved by Barb….I love her Duck Pond, and her paint brushes

So today is Sunday and it was the Appreciation Dinner.  I had wanted to decorate as no one seems to do much of that.   What is the cheapest thing to do?   Of Course Balloons.   lol…….  Debbie bought a big bag of balloons to blow up.  I blew most of them up at home and brought 2 huge garbage bags filled up with balloons on the golf cart up to the hall.  Lynn the Activity girl, met me at the office at 9 so we could get them ready.   We tied them in clusters of 2 apiece to a piece of  yarn to make streamers.   Church was in the hall till 10 am. so after they were done we put balloons at all the windows, at the serving window …..in the entry way….inside and out….lol…..Looked rather nice….Well the Dinner went well……It went off like clock work…..We served Sloppy Joes, Baked Beans, pickles, chips, and cake.  In between the 2 sittings, we had to wash down the tables and set up silverware and cake again.  We served over 300 people….We had the Karaoke couple from the park playing music and singing.. ..Everyone had a good time.    We all cleaned up, put the tables and chairs back in place. and was home before 4:30…..But so so tired  After it was all over, I realized, I didn’t even take any pictures….I was to busy.  Darn………So tomorrow we have the DAY OFF………….YEaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….

So that was our week…..lol…

We were in a Restaurant last week and seen this Beautiful Table and Flower Arrangement….I thought it was just so SO BEAUTIFUL…..

 

Something you don’t see up North……………..

 

Today, Rich and I went with Cici and Larry, back to Padre Island again.  This time we are going to take a 4 hour boat ride down to Brownsville, to the Boat Scrapping Yard.  We have been hearing all about this boat ride and about the Navy boats in the yards for Scrapping.  The aircraft carrier that just arrived in January, was the USS. Constellation.

We arrived around 11:15….Their was this cute little shop in Port Isabel with all kinds of Wooden Pelicans outside.  Cici needed one…lol…”YES  needed one”….for the latest craft project.  We stopped and us girls went in…lol…Cici found a really cute Pelican and I found some Bamboo wind chimes really cheap.   I needed some more.  I have nice neighbors. They like chimes….lol…at least so far…. We arrived at the boat dock around 11:45.  We bought our tickets and finally boarded our boat.

We were really far back in line, so we just stayed on the main floor instead of going to the top.  It really was the best place to be cause we was able to watch our chef cook our dinner.  The sky was cloudy but it was still a pretty day.  Seen a dolphin but they weren’t very active.  As we cruised towards Brownsville, the cook started the dinner.  In the middle of the boat, he had a propane turkey fryer.  He filled it with water, then put in a huge spice packet.  He added the juice of at least 3 lemons.

Once the water started boiling he put in 5 large ziplock bags of sliced potatoes and some onions.  Later he floated 4 huge bags of corn, and then 4 huge bags of sliced up Brats, then he put everything separately in large stainless serving pans.  After he took out the potatoes, he dumped in huge bags of shrimp and boiled them….

All of this was being done as we cruised through the Port area.

Check out this plate….Potatoes, Brats, Corn, Bun, and Huge Shrimp…We had all the trimmings….seafood sauce or ketchup…whatever needed…and               All the drinks you wanted during the trip…… soda, water or beer….”Lots of beer”..

As we were heading down the channel towards Brownsville the first thing we came upon was the Shrimp Boat Basin….Port of Brownsville is the Shrimp Capital of the world.  The Basin holds around 250 shrimp boats and neighboring Port Isabel has 200 boats.

Most boats are out to sea for 50 to 60 days at a time during peak fishing season.  A boat holds 10,000-20,000 galloons of diesel fuel.  One of the boats in the picture had sunk and was tied to the one next to it.  lol.  Many of them had fallen into derelict stages.   You could see parts of the harbor that were taken care of and parts that was falling apart with time.  We left the basin and went on down to the shipyard.

They looked like huge ships in the distance, like………….. Ghost Ships…………..  But as you cruised closer, you could see they were just huge rusted, empty hulls of steel.  Some still in one piece, many being dismantled and ripped apart piece by piece from bow to stern.  We passed 2 old cruise ships, 1 half ripped apart already. So so sad.  I looked to see if I could find out the names of them but couldn’t, but can you imagine all the good times the people had on them.  The music , the food and the gaiety that rang through their halls.   And above all, if they could talk………The ports that they had visited.

Some cargo ships, but the most impressive was the 3 aircraft carriers.

This is a close up of one of the carriers as it is being ripped apart.  You can see the interior doors that use to hustle and bustle with officers.  It is so sad that these vast ships cannot be saved somehow.  Their is so much history that has happened on these decks.   So many men have lost their lives and so many still live to remember the times on board.  Do a look up on Google on these 3 carriers and you will see some of the events in history that they served in.  Just amazing.

The Port of Brownsville is home to five of the nations largest Ship-breaking companies.  Navy officials recently awarded the nation’s largest ship-breaking contract to a Brownsville company, commissioned to dismantle the USS Constellation which just arrived in January of this year .  This is the third big military ship-breaking contract to come to the port this year.

The USS Forrestal, the U.S. Navy’s first supercarrier, arrived in Brownsville in February 2014, and  The USS Saratoga, a Lexington-class aircraft carrier, arrived on September 12th 2014. 

When the ships are taken out of commission, they are stripped down of all mechanics and valuables .   They have to be towed to Brownsville and arrive as just a shell of steel.  The companys strip anything else that may be of value and sell it.  They have an Ebay site as well as a local store.  The steel is cut up and recycled to be used again.  There are many more ships in navel graveyards waiting for this same last trip of Death………

He took us all around the ships and then headed back up the channel.

The channel is 17 miles long with a depth of 42 feet.  It is also the largest oil platform production site in America.

We cruised on back up to Port Isabel and cruised around their oil platform.

This platform has been towed in from the ocean for repairs.  The ship is now obsolete and is not used anymore.  It is being stored their for only $6000 a month.  The guide said its been their for around 7 years.  lol  Must be pocket change for them.

 

Then we entered an area where the beautiful homes were located on coves.  Each home had a dock at its back door…..Now how awesome is that…and Expensive?….lol….Finally we headed across the bay to Padre Island.

He made one more stop.  Cruised into the boat channel under the large span of the Causeway Bridge.  Two days after 9/11, a barge hit the bridge and took out a span…..It was kept low profile as it was a bad time in the country and it might be thought of as another attack….but it just was an awful accident. They had the bridge repaired with in several months.

Finally we headed back to Dock.  What a GREAT AFTERNOON it had been.  We didn’t have a very good seat to hear the guide on the PA system.  Actually I don’t think anyone did.   Something they need to fix.   We missed a lot of the details, but never the less. I took 118 photos….wow…Its hard to narrow them done to just a few.

 

Great Trip.        Great Food.       Wonderful Crew.      Good Company.