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