Winterfest is held every year on the island. It is an all day music festival of 5 musical groups that are playing in the Valley for the winter. Last year we went and the weather was so cold. They had it in the indoor water park at Schlitterbahn. It was still cold They had patio heaters running but it didn’t help. I usually get a pair of tickets free as its one of the perks with the job. Rick from Schlitterbahn came up and gave me my bundle of tickets to sell in the park. He is the manager or chairperson for Winterfest. As the date came closer we realized it would be warmer weather. We decided to spend the nite at Schlitterbahn. They were running a special of $59 for a nite. Great way to spend the evening. Finally the day came and the weather turned out to be beautiful. It was a little chilly but sunshine blue sky and no clouds. We met some friends their. Ron and Theresa Fisher our friends from AdventurelandS met us their, and Alice and Tom met us also. 
We enjoyed watching and listening to the bands at the Outdoor Water Park. It was a beautiful outdoor Tropical setting. We were served a Shrimp or Chicken Basket from Shrimp Haus. Then we decided to take a walk to the crossover bridge that took us to the beach on the Gulf.
This is the bridge view from the concert area. The water park of course is drained right now for the winter. We took a walk up the stairs behind the stage area to get to the bridge.
From the top of the stairs we had a great view of the Concert area. Onward we went, all 5 of us, as Tom stayed back. He can’t walk that far. We crossed over the bridge and the boardwalk extended a long distance ahead stopping at the beach with the ocean lapping on the sand…..
What a beautiful view it was. Left to Right. Alice from Maryland, Theresa and Ron from Nebraska, and Rich. Were all Eastgate folks…..lol….We headed on down the boardwalk to the Gulf. 
It was a beautiful day, a little windy and beautiful blue sky. The sand was so pretty and the sea gulls were flying around enjoying the wind and the waves.
The view up the beach to the hotels was so beautiful. The haze in the air made the hotels look so magical. People were just walking and enjoying the sun, water and the sounds of the waves lapping on the beach. Rich found a chair that someone carried down from the Water Park….lol….
Theresa snapped this picture. One of the few pictures that I allow of me…..lol….
We walked back up to the Concert This is the view from the top of the bridge over the drained Water Park. 
We went back to our seats by Tom. This was the view of Schlitterbahn Water Park from our table. We stayed for the rest of the performances. 
This is John Sager. He is a performer from Branson. Very Popular in the Valley. He is an Awesome singer and has won many Awards. The last performers were the Port Isabel Mariachi Band. They were awesome also. Wonderful musicians and singers and only High School. They played last year also. We all finally left, and stopped at the Schlitterbahn Resort to check in. Alice and Tom and us were staying the nite, and Theresa and Ron heading home. But not before we had supper together. We headed to Louie’s Backyard.
Its a really cool restaurant on the Bay side of the Island. Most everyone had the Sea Food Buffet. Of course I don’t like fish so I had Prime Rib. After a great dinner and conversation we all left.
Outside was a Catamaran taking off with a party group. The music was blaring and laughter in the air. Such a beautiful Sunset. The lights on the boat were so pretty as it went floating by. Finally we said goodbye to Theresa and Ron as they were driving back to Harlingen. Tom and Alice and us went back to the hotel to enjoy a peaceful evening in our hotel room. In the morning we headed back to Harlingen 
We have been doing crafts on Tues. This is our latest one. I’ve been trying to do things cheaply and using recycle. These are water bottle made into Whirlygigs. They are colored with permanent markers.
This is the finished product. Really easy and very cute. Great project for kids….lol
or Seniors????
So several Saturdays ago, we spent the day looking for a nice black frig that would fit. We went to Conns, here in town and checked. Found one fairly reasonable. We decided to ride down to Brownsville also to check out Best Buy. They had one also but not deliverable for several weeks. We went back to Conns. Now we were set to order it, but they were going to charge us $75 delivery charge as it was coming from McAllen. Even if they dropped it at the store, still the charge. That just set the price over the one in Brownsville. So we were discouraged, and home we went. Then the light went on….HOME DEPOT…..Now we knew that. lol….We went out and found one and ordered it. Now how hard was that. One week and it would be delivered FREE…..and less money than the others. So the following week Rich prepared the frig for take out. Several days before delivery, Rich took out all the food and pulled our frig out. We have another frig outside. Now their it sat in the Living room…. lol…It was almost to big to go out the door. So now for several days it sat their. He put his recliner in the middle of the floor, so he could see TV. lol..
Finally the nite before, Rich took off the screen and part of the main door assembly and we Pushed…..Pushed….Pulled….Pulled….Turn it a fraction….Pick it up, Let it down….and finally SHOVE IT OUT….It made it out the door. We did tear a piece of the dash, but it was out. We started measuring and got out the paper work….
In the meantime we went to “Winterfest” at Schlitterbahn Water Park, on South Padre Island. It is an all day music festival with different entertainers every 45 min.
They were all the entertainers that come to the Rio Grande Valley for the winter entertainment at all the parks. They usually have a circuit and perform a different park almost every nite. Our entertainment in Eastgate , is on Friday nite. Many come from Branson Mo. Some are closer. Many are from 
Another GREAT singer is John Sager, Also from Branson. He was a wonderful singer and full of energy. He is scheduled to come to our park next season. Also a guy named Greg ?…..Already forgot.
He used to sing at the Play Boy Club years ago. He was an Elvis impersonator and some others. Once his voice was warmed up, he could really belt out a song. Very Powerful. The very last performance was the local High School.
They had a Mariachi Band. These kids were so talented. They sang and played their traditional music. It was Awesome. It was a fun day, but it was cold. They moved it inside by the indoor water park at Schlitterbahn, but it was still a very chilly day.
The best part was, all the gift shop items was 50% off…….Wow….That’s my price. I bought a Tie-dyed zipper sweatshirt for $12.50.
Several visors for $2.50 each. Another pull over sweatshirt and Rich bought sweatpants and t-shirt, all for $10 each…..Great Day for bargains. The best part was, our tickets were complimentary, as I was given some to sell for the park, therefore mine were free. Some of the perks of this job.
He made shelves top to bottom and we have clear plastic containers that are wide enough for cans. Each one will slide out so we can see what is in the container. Now he just has to make a door for it. It will solve our can storage problem of them all jumbled together under the sink. Finally the big day came. We got the call. The frig was on the way. I had to go to the office, but that’s ok. I really didn’t want to be their. I knew it would be a very tight fit, and I wouldn’t be any help. I just knew their would be a few choice words said….lol….So our friend Ken came over. They took off the screen door again, and after some other adjustments they began. Rich said it was an extremely tight fit through to door. They pushed…pulled….brought it back out twice. They problem is, as the frig goes through the door, the dash comes out and you have to turn it to clear the dash. Finally after time, and some more small rips in the dash and a dent in the wood, it was in…..Now it had to fit in the new opening….Bingo….Fit like a Glove….Rich had to do some minor adjustments to the ceiling light, as the freezer door hit it, but it all worked out….I came home that day, Hoping it was in. I was worried that we might still have to take out a window to take it through…..I looked outside…..Nothing….No sign of the frig, or the box. Good Deal….It was In…and …It looks Marvelous, and
Of course by that time my phone died. lol We did see a huge gator sunning himself. (Pic #2) I thought he was fake but Cici said she seen it move. Thought she was seeing things but finally…..She was right….He yawned….Later after we walked out, Rich and Larry had talked to someone, and we found out, that was the big daddy gator. If we had taked the walkway around to the other side, we would have found the mom and 5 babys. She had hatched 35, but daddy was hungry I guess. They have him separated now. This is a great place to go back to and just walk the boardwalk. We also forgot our binoculars. We did see many birds and butterflies.
.............''AND LET THE FUN BEGIN''................. 