SOLD!!!!!................................................................. Fifth Wheel Trailer for Sale: 2007 Excel Model 33RSO Limited Edition

Unfortunately, due to health issues, we are having to sell our fifth wheel and settle down near Ron's doctors.  If you are interested in buying a fifth wheel trailer, you will find trailer details and contact information below the following pictures.  Click on pictures to enlarge.

Full sized hide-a-bed sofa

Table under desk pops up and extends to seat 4

Bed lifts for storage.  Full sized closet.  New queen-size mattress.

Drop down counter at each edge of counter top

TRAILER INFO:

2007 Excel Model 33RSO Limited Edition with 3 slide-outs *   

Built by Peterson Industries, Smith Center, KS

Highly rated by RV Consumer Group

* "Limited Edition" package includes:
-full fiberglass roof
-solid wood cabinets (rather than wrapped particle board)
-end table
-aluminum wheels
-hydraulic slides & front levelers
-adjustable height suspension
-LED tail lights
-convection/microwave oven
-china toilet
-box springs (queen)
- solid-surface counter tops w/sink covers
-wood slide-out flanges w/crown molding
-black tank flush
-Fantastic fan w/rain sensor

-level floor in bath/bedroom  (6'4" ceiling height)

-hide a bed sofa

Over $10,000 in added options:
-elec/hyd disc brakes
- 2 Lifeline AGM batteries size 4D (420 Ah)
-Weingard "Moving View" auto satellite dome with Dish network receiver
-custom desk/table combo and chairs (also have original pedestal table)
-Whirlpool washer & dryer
-central vac w power head
-32" flat screen TV (replaced original)
-component home theater system w/dvd, blu ray, 5 disc cd player, am-fm receiver w/amp &        surround sound (replaced original)
-hydraulic rear jacks
-dual pane tinted thermal windows
-Brazilian cherry stained maple interior
-Demco Glide-Ride pin box
-steel generator box
- replaced recliners with wall-hugger Lazy Boy recliners

- reupholstered sofa and cornices, new curtains

Goodyear G614 Tires
4/25/12
(spare 8/10)

Asking $34,900!  Current book value is $43,600 (without added options)
Base MSRP for new 33’34’ is over $100,00


Includes "rving stuff":
water hose, mascerator pump, blue boy, sunscreen & end for awning, Olympian wave catalytic heater w/quick connect, collapsable RV ladder
We took out dinette and 4 chairs and added a custom made combo desk with a flip-up dining table that seats 4.  Original pedestal table (also seats 4) and chairs are in storage and will be included in sale if desired.

More work crews

We didn't have an internet connection at the oil well, so I'm adding all of our posts now, beginning with the one for February 23rd. I added some photos to some of these entries after I got them posted, so be sure to check them out.  I'll add another post in the next week or so to cover the time since we left the oil well.
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Monday, April 2, began a new phase at the oil well.  Trucks began coming in to set up for ‘work-over’.  When the original drilling rig was pulled out, they put several cement plugs in the hole.  The work-over rig drills and cleans out the hole, including the plugs that had been added.  Next they insert electrically fired TNT charges, about 8,000 feet long, into the bottom portion of the hole.  The TNT explosion then perforates the casing and the concrete. 

Work-over rig coming in our gate

Ron logging in one of the truck drivers

More trucks coming in for work-over

This team works all night, too, so our sleep is interrupted once again.  We were told that work-over takes 2-4 days to complete, but the work continued until Thursday, April 5^th.  We were happy to be able to sleep at night once again.

Line of trucks leaving when work-over was complete

 We can vouch for the drought in Texas being over!  We’ve had a lot of rain since we’ve been here and that always means  MUD!  Lots of MUD!  We put down mats and a beach towel to protect the carpet.  A storm with high winds is especially frightening in an RV.  After rocking with the high winds in a storm a week or so ago, we were relieved that the predicted storms for yesterday went north of us.  Sadly, the storms resulted in devastating tornadoes in Dallas and northeast Texas.  We’re so thankful that we were bypassed by the storm system.  We have nowhere to go for shelter from a tornado.

Click on this picture to see the lovely muddy road I had to drive on to get to town.  When it dries it's rutted and as hard as concrete, with a layer of dust that flies when trucks go over it.  On some days, visibility is so bad from the dust that you have to pull over to wait for it to clear.

We’re concerned that mud may prevent us from pulling out when it comes time for us to leave.  As soon as the ground is dry we’re going to move the trailer back from the gate so it will be easier to hitch up and pull forward to leave.

We were treated to dinner three times on the week-end!  Friday the caterer brought food in for the crew at Trinidad 100, which is now located across the road from us, and they brought food to us, too!  It was similar to the meal they served us before.  We had fried chicken, shrimp, fish, fried mushrooms, baked beans and macaroni and cheese.

Our rancher and his family spent Easter weekend his lodge across the road. He and his wife had dinner delivered to us Saturday night.  She made homemade chicken enchiladas (best we’ve ever had), skillet corn bread, black beans, and homemade salsa.  Yummy!

We can’t leave our gate, so Easter Sunday was much like any other day.  We had to settle for watching Easter Mass on TV.  We were surprised again when the rancher’s wife sent over our Easter dinner!  We had salad, prime rib, mashed potatoes, squash, and dinner rolls.  We could easily get used to service like this!  

The ground was dried out enough in the afternoon that we were able to move our fifth wheel back from the gate.  We’re now in a better position to pull out on Monday.

Another work crew moved in on the 9^th.  This time it was to insert coil tubing down into a previously drilled well (the A1H site).  We were told that this procedure was sometimes done instead of work-over.  They worked day and night until they finished on the 12^th around 11:00 pm.  With no warning to us, vehicles were moving out all night long and into the next day. Ron didn’t get any sleep at all.  I eventually went to sleep so I would be ready to take over the next morning and let him go to bed.  

Luckily, Nancy and I chose to do our grocery trip to Pleasanton on Saturday, because  we were back in business again on Sunday.  Workers and equipment began arriving at 5:45 a.m.   I tended our gate while Ron filled in for the couple who are gate guards across the road.  They paid him $75 to take over their gate while they went to Pleasanton together to buy groceries.

We have had an enormous number of little white butterflies for the last three or four weeks…more than we have ever seen!  The number increased exponentially on Sunday.  Several of the incoming drivers commented that it looked like it was snowing.  The air was full of butterflies everywhere we looked.  It really did look like snowflakes!  Traffic was so slow at our neighbor’s gate on Sunday that Ron actually tried to count the number of butterflies he saw coming through the 20 foot gate. In 30 seconds he counted 120…..which in 4 hours would be 57,600!  They were all heading south.   It was like this from sun up to sun down!

The wiring crew worked two days (no nights!) and everyone was gone by Monday evening.  It was quiet again, with only a few vehicles coming in to pick up generators, tanks, and other equipment.

We had a 4 day break until a work-over crew arrived for the A1H site on Saturday.  We were puzzled, because someone had told us that the coil tubing and wiring was done instead of work-over.  I guess all we really know is that the oil drilling is a complicated process.  They only worked days, so we got to sleep at night!  They finished work on Saturday and the last of their equipment was moved out on Sunday.  We are scheduled to leave here tomorrow!!!  We hope our replacement arrives here early!!

New neighbors..and friends arrive!

Drilling was stopped temporarily until repairs could be made on the rig, so we didn’t have much traffic on the 3^rd and 4^th.  The whirring sound of a helicopter caught our attention Saturday morning.  Ron sat outside and watched it fly back and forth along the tree tops.  When talking to the ranch manager later he learned that they were netting deer, using a bazooka-like air gun that shoots a net.  The deer were then tagged and relocated.  Some were taken to breeding pens on the property. 

It was nice to have things quieter on the weekend, but it was business as usual on Monday.  Monday through Thursday is always busy because, in addition to deliveries and the workers going in and out, salesmen come to see the ‘company man’ on those days.  Ron talked to one of the workers as he came through our gate and learned that they drilled a total of 16,411 feet.  They drilled 9,000 feet down and then it took another 1,000 feet to slowly make it turn so the pipe can bend to go the last 6,411 feet horizontally.  That’s over 3 miles of pipe!! 

It continued to be busy all during the drilling process.  Our nighttime traffic is usually a welder or someone making a delivery to the drilling site.  

We have neighbors now!  Another couple was brought in to be gate guards at the gate across the road from us, which is also part of the Stewart ranch and where the hunting lodge is located.  Sadly, our friends, Chuck and Nancy missed being assigned to that gate by only a week.  They pulled into Whitsett on the 15^th and were moved to a gate fairly close to us on the 17^th.  We can see their oil derrick from here...only a couple of miles away, but 13 miles by road...which includes the 6 miles driving on the dirt road where we are parked.  It takes 40 minutes to get to their gate. Even though we can’t all get together at the same time, it has been nice having them nearby. 

Our new neighbors across the road from our gate

 Nancy and Chuck

Nancy and I make the trip to Pleasanton together now.  I drive to their gate and pick up Nancy or I leave our truck there and ride with her.  A typical grocery shopping day takes 8 hours from the time I leave our gate until I get back!  We spend about an hour online doing banking, paying bills, etc. before we eat lunch, buy groceries and do any other errands.  It still amazes me how long it takes to get things done here.

Below are a few of the pictures we took on our walks during the time we were gate guarding.  We didn't get a picture of the javalinas, wild boars, or the rattlesnake that we saw!

Things got even busier at our gate the following week when they were doing the casing.  The casing involves putting a pipe in the middle of the hole and pouring cement between the pipe and the sidewall.  We were up all night a couple of nights, with cement trucks coming in and out.  If we had known in advance, we would have taken shifts during the night.  Instead we had to take turns sleeping the following day.

After the cementing was finished and dried, they began moving the oil rig to a new drilling site across the road.  Without knowing that they would begin moving our rig out that day, Nancy and I drove to Pleasanton to get groceries on the 21^st.  While I was gone, Ron logged 144 vehicles!  The next day was even busier, with 174 vehicles passing through our gate.  As quickly as it began, it was over.  Several of the guys came by to tell us goodbye and to tell us they enjoyed ‘working’ with us.  The last of the crew moved out before the end of the day on the 22^nd.   And suddenly it was quiet!

I didn't get a picture of the drilling rig when  it was at our site, but here it is after it was moved and set up across the road

We now have only a few vehicles coming in each day so the men can clean up the site and ready it for production.  No one comes during the night now!   Our peaceful existence will last until they begin the fracking process.  We’ve heard that the company responsible for fracking is a month or more behind schedule, so we’re hoping that won’t come to pass until after we leave. 

Ron and Chuck met in town for lunch on Wednesday.  I was happy that they both had time away from the gate.  Nancy and I get an occasional break when we make our weekly trip to Walmart for groceries.  I’m looking forward to getting back into civilization when we leave here in 3 ½ weeks. 

Friday was grocery day.  Nancy and I drove to Pleasanton and went to H.E.B. and Walmart and then to the Verizon store to see about suspending Ron’s cell phone service.  Since the phone is in Ron’s name they wouldn’t do it for me, so I got online and took care of it myself.  I wish I had thought of suspending his service a month ago! 

First two weeks at the oil well

The next morning we had a visit from Carl, the ranch manager, and he said he wanted us to move up by the gate and he wanted the gate to be closed at all times.  We found that puzzling, since there is no fence beyond the right side of the gate!  We didn’t have a phone signal, so I had to drive into town to call Larry and let him know that we had been told to move.  We needed to have a pad prepared for us at the gate and, since we don’t have a ball for our hitch with us, we needed Larry to come out and move the utility trailers for us.  Later that afternoon, someone came to see that a site was prepared for us.  He leveled the site with two loads of caliche gravel (which was more dirt that gravel) and then asked Ron to check and see if it met his approval.  It did.

Leveling our new parking spot.  If you look carefully, you can see that the fence on the right side of the gate opening goes out to the road, turns the corner and ends.  There is no fence beyond that point!

 Wednesday was moving day.  Larry came out to relocate the utility trailers and set everything up again.  Soon we were back in business and it was just in time!  Trucks were beginning to arrive with supplies for the drilling site.

Our home site for the next 9 weeks

Our first neighbors:  Texas Longhorns and a few Santa Gertrudis cattle on the property behind where we were parked




 

Santa Gertrudis Bull

Our cell phone situation is better at this spot.  We now have an at&t voice signal  60% of the time, but no data reception.  Ron’s Verizon phone still has no signal at all.   Thank goodness we have a satellite dish or we wouldn’t be able to watch TV.

We're just less than 6 miles out on the dirt road.....a horrible, rutted, bumpy dirt road that is traveled by a large number of trucks each day.  We are parked just off of that road on a side road that leads to the drilling site.  When it's not dusty, it's muddy....the kind that makes you get taller as you walk. 

The ranch manager’s brother also helps out around the ranch.  He was nicknamed ‘Frito’ as a boy because he was always eating Fritos.  Frito told us that the owner of this ranch is an avid hunter and lives in Louisiana.  He is also a big game hunter and has made numerous hunting trips to Africa and other countries around the world..  Across the road from us, he has built a private hunting lodge that looks out on a huge lake below it. Inside are trophies of animals from hunting trips around the world. We can see the lodge from where we’re parked, but not the lake.  The owner stays in the lodge when he comes here to hunt and also makes it available to guests and rents rooms to other hunters who come to hunt on his land.

Close-up of the lodge that's on the property across from our gate

I drove to Tilden Thursday, with the hope of getting online to pay a few bills.  Although I could see a cell phone tower, I couldn’t stay online more than a minute or two at a time.  It was frustrating, to say the least, and I soon gave up. 

Ron had been using his cell phone to check the time each vehicle entered the gate, but that system didn’t work well while holding a clipboard and pen.  Friday morning I drove 40 miles to the Walmart in Pleasanton to buy a watch before they began moving the rig and equipment in that afternoon.  The trip took much longer than I expected and I knew Ron would be worried.  I couldn’t call him because I had the only working phone with me.  When I finally got back, Ron couldn’t understand what took me so long.  I was gone 4 hours!  It took 30 minutes each way to drive on the dirt road, and an hour each way to deal with the heavy truck traffic pulling in and out of drilling sites along the highway to Pleasanton.  I spent another hour at Walmart finding the watch and waiting in a long checkout line!  Crazy!   

While I was gone, Ron had heard from one of the drivers that a gate guard at another site had been hit by one of the big trucks.  He had crossed too closely in front of the truck and the driver couldn’t see him.  Luckily, he wasn’t badly injured.

Friday and Saturday were busy days, with a constant flow of traffic coming through the gate.  We found it easier for Ron to use a steno pad to collect their info and for me to transfer the information to the log sheet so it would be legible. (Ron’s handwriting isn’t the greatest). Sunday was a fairly slow day and I took over the gate while Ron got some much needed rest.  Instead of each of us taking a shift during the night, as we did when worked at the last oil well, Ron decided he could go to bed and get up to open the gate as needed.  I cover the gate during the day when he needs to catch up on sleep.  Ron has no problem getting up at night and going right back to sleep.  So far this system is working well for us.  We leave the gate open during the day and one (or both of us) sits outside or by the window with the gate in view.  The ranch manager has come through the gate many times and hasn’t commented on the gate being open.  It just doesn’t make sense to us to have to open the gate every time, especially since there is no fence on side!  However, we do keep the gate closed at night.

The crew is housed in trailers that were brought in to the drilling site.  In addition to the roughnecks, men with a variety of specialties make up the crew.  Most of the men work two weeks and are off two weeks, but there are others who work longer.  There is a day and a night company man from Chesapeake that oversee the drilling. There are two wells at the site.  A1H was drilled before we arrived and B1H is the well they are drilling now.

The at&t cell phone signal seems to come in on the wind.  One minute I have no signal and then suddenly I have 3 bars.  Saturday and Sunday night I was able to briefly get online using my phone’s hot spot… Monday I rarely had a signal at all.

Tuesday we had guests!  Our friends, Karen and Galen, drove down from San Antonio and spent the afternoon with us.  They are hoping to work at a gate sometime soon, so they got a glimpse of what it will be like.

The faces and names of the workers and truck drivers are becoming familiar to us now.  Many stop to talk to us and several have offered to pick up things for us when they go into town. 

Wednesday night was a busy one.  Ron was exhausted by the time the night was over.  I got up at 6:00 and took over the gate so he could sleep several hours without an interruption.  It continued to be busy throughout the day…one vehicle after another came through the gate.  I took another shift that evening so Ron could rest up for the night.  It turned out to be an average night, with Ron having to get up 3 times between midnight and 7:00 am.  I wake him up when I hear the bell (Ron sleeps through it) and he goes out to open the gate and log the driver in.

Friday night we had a special treat.  A caterer brought food in for the oil rig workers and brought Ron and I each a plate of food, too!  Fish, Cajun shrimp, fried breaded mushrooms, hush puppies, bbq beans, green beans, and banana pudding.   He also gave us a gallon of lemonade and a gallon of sweet tea. 

In the first 12 days we have logged in 466 vehicles.  The outgoing number of vehicles has been close to the same.  Some of the trucks will remain inside until the drilling is completed.

Waiting at Whitsett

We arrived at the holding yard in Whitsett, TX on Wednesday afternoon (Feb 15).  They were expecting us, and Lori came out to greet us when we pulled in.  She told us we were first in line to get a gate assignment and directed us to one of four full hook-up sites at the back of the lot.  After setting up we were off to Walmart to stock up on groceries.  We wanted to be prepared in case we were sent to an oil well the next day.

We checked with the office the next morning and found Jamie there doing some paperwork.  He told us it didn’t look like we’d be sent to a gate that day, so we asked if it would be okay for us to go into San Antonio to see our friends.  With permission granted, we were on our way.

Galen and Karen

 It was nice to see Karen and Galen again!  Galen suggested having lunch at Central Market and we were so glad that we did!  Central Market was already our favorite grocery store, but we didn’t realize that it also had a wonderful deli!  It was difficult to make a decision when there were so many choices there to tempt us, but we managed to narrow it down to a few things.  Now we have even more reason to visit Central Market when we’re in San Antonio.  I know it sounds crazy, but do yourself a favor and check out HEB’s Central Market when you are in San Antonio!   It’s comparable to Wegman’s in New York, but on a larger scale.  When we were in NY, I remember our then 12-year old son being so impressed with the store that he was wishing there were Wegman’s post cards so he could send them to his friends.  It’s that kind of store!  And Central Market is even better.

When we left Central Market, Karen and I wanted to go to the The Container Store, one of my favorite stores!  I had been looking for a mid-sized purse that would hold and organize everything that I need to carry with me.  Who would have thought that I would find it at The Container Store?  But I did, and I love it!   We stopped for a frozen yogurt before we went back to their RV park.  It was a great day with good friends and we hope to see them again soon.

We realized Friday that I didn’t have boots to wear when going out to open the gate on rainy and muddy days, so we had to make another trip to Pleasanton.   With that done, we had nothing to do but wait until we got our call.  The call came Sunday morning, but we turned it down because it was just a fill-in job.  It was a fill-in for gate guards that needed to leave their gate for a few days and wanted someone to cover for them.  We were afraid we would miss getting our own job if we were tied down with that one for a few days.  Good decision!  Jamie told us Monday morning (Feb 20) that he had a gate for us at a Chesapeake drilling site near Tilden.  Larry, a Gate Guard employee, would meet us there and take us to our gate.

As the only town in the county, Tilden is the county seat.  It has a court house, post office, filling station/convenience store, a school, a Mexican restaurant, and a small, privately owned grocery store.  It has become a boom town, of sort, since all of the drilling began.  A few small bars and restaurants opened in trailers and temporary buildings.  There is also a motel made up of portable buildings.  A constant stream of trucks, going to and from the drilling sites, roll through the town every day. 

We called Larry to let him know that we arrived in town and he led us out to our gate.  On the utility trailer behind him, he had the generator and 550 gallon water tank we would be using.   It was a long drive out a bumpy and dusty dirt road before we arrived at the place where we would be gate guarding…a little less than 6 miles, but it seemed like it took forever to get there.  Just beyond the gate, we saw a large gravel lot with a new metal building in the center.   Normally, we would be parked by the gate, but there wasn’t a spot prepared for us, so Larry had us park in the lot just passed the building.  While we leveled and opened slides, he set up halogen lights and placed hoses across the road that would ring a bill to alert us when vehicles were approaching.  We were to log every vehicle that passed by that point.  After we were set up, Larry left and returned later, bringing us a portable septic tank on a utility trailer. 

This is where we were first parked.  The building houses the property owner's Oil Field Instrumentation business in the front section.  You can see part of the taller building in the back.  It is used for his other business, Advanced Building Services (ABS)

ABS used these huge shipping containers from ocean-going freighters and made them into portable housing for oil field workers.  They are very nice inside.

Close-up of our first parking spot.  After we moved up by the gate, we got our exercise by walking back and forth from the gate to this tree line (again and again).  We had to keep the gate in our site.  We kept a small tablet with us so we could log anyone who drove passed us as we walked.

Last weeks at SPI

The first half of February has gone by quickly!  It’s true…time does fly when you are having fun.  Among other things, we played bingo on Monday and Thursday nights and enjoyed an occasional bike ride along the bay and the Gulf during the day.

Jacque and Christienne, our next door neighbors, left on the 2nd.  This was their first time at South Padre Island and they had originally planned to stay only a week.  They liked our friendly little neighborhood so much that they extended their stay to a month and made a reservation to come back next year! 

Jacque and Christienne (from Quebec)

We had dinner with old friends, Janet and Barry, at 'Dirty Al’s' on Friday night.  They drove down to see us from their home in Harlingen.  We have known Janet and Barry since before we began full-timing.  

The Kite Festival was on Sunday and we went for a little while that afternoon.  The threat of rain must have kept many of the kite enthusiasts away, because there weren't as many kites as there were two years ago.  We went to Larry and Sandy's afterward and visited with them and Jerry and Rosey, and Marlyn and Jeannie.  When we got home that night, we stayed up and filed our income tax return online.  It felt good to have that behind us!

Ron did some research online and found a way to stop the draft that comes in on my feet in our truck.  He spent Tuesday afternoon working on it.  Hurray! It’s fixed!  We had Charlie over for dinner Tuesday night, while Connie was away in Wyoming with her daughter and granddaughters.  He spent his bachelor week playing golf, fishing, and accepting dinner invitations from several of our neighbors/friends.

Ron got his long awaited Gonzalez burger on Wednesday!  He has dreamed about going back there all year!  There is an interesting story behind the famous eatery.  It started out as a little neighborhood grocery store in Donna, TX.  With the introduction of a huge chain store nearby, the store was facing doom.  At the same time, a nearby elementary school had an open campus for lunch and a little boy began to go to the grocery store every day to buy a sandwich, chips and a drink .  He told Berta that he didn’t like the school’s yucky cafeteria food.  When winter came, Berta refused to let him eat a cold sandwich and she insisted on cooking him a hamburger.  He loved it.  She cooked him hamburgers every day from then on.  The little boy was 7, then 15, and then 20.  Other school children began coming to the store for a burger and it gradually became Gonzalez Burgers instead of a grocery store. The restaurant remained small-scale and did not advertise.  Hurricane Beaulah destroyed the store’s sign in 1967 and, at first, they couldn’t find time to replace it but, eventually, they didn’t need it anyway.  The school closed its campus for lunch in 1981and the students stopped coming.  The clientele began to change when mechanics from nearby factories began to support the restaurant.  Berta and Enrique died in the early 1990’s and the business was passed down to Nelda, and her sisters Nora, now 52, and Victoria, now 57.  They often worked until midnight to make ends meet.

Then their world changed when,  about 8 years ago, a Winter Texas had a tire pop on his bicycle as he was riding down the street.  He stopped to use a pay phone across from the tiny restaurant and noticed people crowding into the building.   He was the first Winter Texas to patronize Gonzalez Burgers.  He went back and told his neighbors about it, and they told their friends, and the word continued to spread.  There building still doesn't have a sign and they don't advertise.  There is no need for it.  Winter Texans, along with some locals, are there waiting for them to open each day.  It’s not unusual for the line to run along the counter, out the door, and along the street.  The massive hamburgers are well-worth the wait!  The burgers are HUGE, so it’s something you will want to share.  Share an order of onion rings (also huge) and you will be full all day!  Mmmmm, good!

Gonzalez Burgers restaurant - We were there when they opened at 10:45

Now THAT'S a burger!!!

After lunch, we had time to walk around Don Wes flea market for a little while before we were due at Janet and Barry’s house for dinner.  They bought a lovely home just outside of Harlingen when they stopped RVing full-time, and recently bought a small motorhome to  use for road trips. Janet made a delicious meal and we had a nice evening visiting with them.

Janet and Barry

Della is one of my co-workers at Dollywood.  She and her husband, Jerry, spend the winters in their park model home at an RV park in Harlingen.  They drove down to have dinner with us at El Papas on Friday night.  It felt strange to see her somewhere other than Pigeon Forge!

Jerry, Della, (from Tennessee) and Ron and I at 'El Papas'

Saturday was the Faith, Family, and Freedom Concert at Bibleville, in Alamo, TX.  We rode there with Connie and Charlie to see the Lindley Creek (Greer family) band, the Link Family, and the Lindsey Family perform.  It was a wonderful concert and we were all happy that we went.

Connie and Charlie (from Missouri)

We went our for lunch with Barb and Bob after church on Sunday.  It was nice to have that time with them before we left South Padre Island.   

Barbara and Bob (from Mississippi)

Afterward, we did a little shopping in Harlingen and then went to play card bingo with our friends at Tropic Winds RV Park.  This was the last time we would see them for at least a year, so we said our good-byes when we left to go back to the island.

Joel made an ice cream cake and we all celebrated Eddie and Rita’s birthdays at happy hour on Monday.  Rita brought a cake, too, so we had no shortage of sweets. 

Joel and Carol (from Michigan)

Rita and Eddie (from Ontario)

 Here are pictures of a few more of our SPI neighbors and friends:

Ed and Judy have been coming down to SPI every winter for 18 years.  (from Missouri)

Elaine and Marlin (from Illinois)

Réal and Celine (from Quebec)

Ron’s cough was not improving so we spent ALL day on Valentine’s Day at the VA clinic in Harlingen.  We wanted to get it taken care of before we headed out to an oil well.  He was diagnosed with sinusitis and pharyngitis and the doctor changed his allergy medication.  The meds he had been taking obviously weren’t working.  It was late, so we didn’t have the nice Valentine dinner that we had planned.  Instead we had a quick dinner at a Chinese Buffet and headed home.  Oh, well.  It’s more important for Ron to get better.  We can have our special evening on another day.

We left SPI the next morning, after saying good-bye and getting hugs from all of our friends.  We promised Connie and Charlie that we will visit them next summer at their home in Missouri.  We’ll see everyone else on our next trip to south Texas.  This is a picture of friends who showed up to see us off.

Réal, Celine, Charlie, Connie, Carol, Joel, Bob, and Barbara