Locking up and leaving for eight days

The reason we extended our stay in Mission, Texas another month was to take care of some things for Denisa's Mother. During that second month, she got her second vaccination, and should now be immune to the effects of Covid. We could also help her with packing up her house and preparing it for another six months of storage. That's a big job for a 90-year-old, and she thought it was the easiest year ever since we did most of it. We covered the windows, cleaned and stuffed the refrigerator with newspapers, turned the water and electricity off, got everything locked up . . . 

Then we were ready to be on the road in her car to take her home to Oklahoma for the summer. We passed some beautiful displays of spring wildflowers along the Texas highways, letting us know that spring is definitely in the air. But we didn't stop to take pictures. So instead, Denisa is going to sprinkle this blog with some beautiful tulip pictures she took later in Oklahoma.

We took two days making the 850-mile drive to the panhandle of Oklahoma. That includes driving through some parts of Texas where the towns are few and far between. Mark usually likes to keep the motor home's fuel tank above half-full, but he will get much lower than that on a passenger car. 

So when we pulled into the little town of Brady, we were getting pretty low on fuel. No problem, as there are several gas stations here. But the first station had plastic sacks over all their pump handles--out of gas. The second had all their pumps closed--out of gas. What is happening?!? We don't have enough fuel in the tank to make it to the next town!

After calling the other stations in town, we finally found some gasoline and we didn't care how much it cost. Talking to a local at the pumps, he said this had been going on since the ice storm when fuel trucks couldn't get down the highways to refill the tanks. Even now, someone will post on social media that they are about to run out of gas in town, and all the locals run down to top off their tanks. Then they really do run out of gas. Sheesh!

Our less traumatic stops included time in Fredericksburg for a fine German meal, and an overnight stop in Abilene. We realized that we hadn't taken a picture of Denisa's Mother in a while, so we took a picture that evening in the hotel. It's picture-worthy, because we so rarely spend a night in a hotel. We much prefer staying in our rolling hotel as we wander about the country.

While the wildflowers are blooming down south, we found a little snow along the highway as we continued north. 

It took us two weeks to travel these 850 miles down to South Texas in the motor home in January, but it only took a day and a half in the car this trip. We were traveling at lightning speed when compared to our usual standards! Once we arrived, we carried everything out of that well-packed car into Denisa's Mother's house. Since she has traveled back and forth between the tip of Texas and the panhandle of Oklahoma for 36 autumns and 36 springs, she is well practiced at this project.

We spent the next three days visiting with Mark's Mother, who lives just 15 miles from Denisa's Mother. This area was blessed with two inches of rain and a smattering of snow during those days. In a farm/ranch community that has been plagued with drought, this was indeed a blessing. We got to see two of Mark's siblings and their families on this stop so it was a great time. It's a tough job, but we even talked Mark's Mother into taking a picture before we left.

Our next stop was the Oklahoma City area, where we have more relatives to visit. It was here visiting Denisa's sister that we took all those tulip pictures on a windy spring day.

Oklahoma is enjoying beautiful spring-time weather now, and we walked through Hafer Park in Edmond, taking way too many pictures!

Oklahoma's state tree is the redbud, and they are blooming now to add a nice splash of purple to the tulip display.

That evening we visited our son and daughter-in-law, where we planned to celebrate our son's birthday.

His choice for a celebration was at "Chicken 'n' Pickle." Recently opened in this area, it's a very big complex that includes outdoor and indoor pickle ball courts . . .

and other outdoor games like bocce ball and corn hole. The "Chicken Coop" serves rotisserie chicken and other yummy items. We've visited the flagship location of this new concept developed in Kansas City in 2016. Even during a Covid year, they are expanding. This is their fourth location, with two more to open in 2021. The parking lot for this new entertainment venue in Oklahoma City was packed, with more cars wedged into parallel spots on the road. We had to drive another quarter-mile to the overflow parking. Even with all those cars parked, it never felt crowded once we were inside their giant campus, as we took this picture from the upstairs lounge.

It was a great evening with our son and daughter-in-law and her parents, celebrating Blake turning another decade older.

We visited Denisa's other sister, who took us to the airport for our return flight back to south Texas. We've flown in and out of the Oklahoma City airport many times, and we have to say that it has a curious claim-to-fame that we have never seen anywhere else. If you've visited the bathrooms in this airport, you know what we are thinking about. But you'll have to read to the end of the blog to see pictures of this curiosity. It's interesting to note that you will pass oil pump jacks as you speed down the run-way, but that's not the claim-to-fame that we are talking about.

 After enjoying high temperatures in the 60's and 70's during our last days in Oklahoma, we can't help but notice that the Texas Rio Grande Valley's forecast high for the day we returned was 98 degrees! That is too warm for these wanderers that are always chasing temperatures in the 70s. So we'll be putting in the slides and rolling down the road towards the north very soon. After eight days of visiting with family back in Oklahoma, we're anxious to be wandering God's wonders again soon--even though a tulip-filled walk in the park feels wonderous to Denisa.

You made it to the end of this blog, so you deserve to see the Oklahoma City airport's unusual bathroom option. It's the only place we have seen with toilet seats that are covered in plastic. 

The instructions on the wall tell you to press the button that rotates a fresh plastic covering over the seat for "hygienic seating." We don't remember seeing this option anywhere else. Have you? That's the kind of information you get when you follow us--wandering some rather strange wonders.

Don't take for granted the ability to walk and stand up straight

We have been blessed with health and strong bodies that enjoy walking wherever we want to go. It's so nice to take the parking place at the far end of the parking lot, knowing that we enjoy walking those extra steps. It's nice to take the stairs instead of the elevator just because we like the exercise. Ever once in a while we need to remember not to take for granted the ability to walk easily and to be able to stand up straight!

We are glad to report that with warm temperatures here in the Rio Grande Valley, we are beginning to see tiny green leaves on the citrus trees. They have turned from a sad brown color, to a happy fresh green. It looks like the two nights of 21 degrees will definitely shock the trees, but doesn't kill them.

The RV park should be filled with the heavenly scent of citrus blooms by now, but we aren't getting that this year. On close inspection, however, we found little white balls on the trees in the picture above. Those will be opening soon into those glorious-smelling blooms. We did find a few opened blossoms, and got a whiff of the sweet natural perfume. It will be interesting to see if we have any fruit next year, or if the blooms (and therefore the fruit) will just be delayed.

We are well into our second month stay here at Bentsen Grove Resort. It's nice to see that the trees canopying this resort street are back to the beautiful green we are accustomed to.

The Texas Governor has removed the state-wide mandatory mask rule, but the park is still very stern about wearing masks inside all their buildings. Most of the winter residents have now gotten their second vaccinations, and we are seeing more social gatherings outside. It's fun to recognize people from past years now that we can see their faces. We are also seeing the arrival of some residents that waited up north until they got their shots. So this second month at the resort has seemed friendlier.

The activity director at Bentsen Grove is working hard to plan activities that are outdoors and socially-distanced. We participated in the first-ever glow-stick scavenger hunt. It was an after-dark activity, and we were one of the few teams riding our bicycles in the dark, as most people have golf carts. But our speedy bikes were good for a third-place finish, as we collected 13 glow sticks that night.

We've also done another poker run. Here the local leprechauns were handing out our playing cards, as well as yummy snacks at each of the seven stops within the park. Denisa's poker hand of three aces fell just short of the money this time.

We also enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day parade with twenty decorated golf carts. Some of the carts threw candy and beads to the spectators, and some spectators served appropriately green snacks and drinks to the carts. It was the most reciprocal parade we had ever experienced.

The honorary parade marshal was our friend Patrick, who was born on St. Patrick's Day 80 years ago today. He certainly doesn't act his age!

After that resort-life update, we should get back to the title of the blog and our first paragraph. Mark is a month away from a significant birthday, and his body must have decided to start acting older in celebration of turning 60. He was having so much foot pain that he was no longer parking on the far end of the parking lot or taking the stairs. After nursing a limp on a sore foot for months, he finally made an appointment to see a podiatrist. The doctor thought his problem was a case of falling arches and a too-flexible foot. We're hoping that the prescribed shoe insoles will give him relief so we can be back on the hiking trails this summer! We know that we shouldn't take for granted the ability to walk without pain. Denisa snapped this picture at the podiatrist office of the lovely shoes available if these insoles aren't enough.

 But we really don't know if his feet are better yet, because he's been off them for a week. He doesn't know what started it, but he suddenly started having muscle spasms in his lower back. It's the kind of pain that will literally drive you to your knees, and it was impossible to stand up straight. We didn't take any pictures. But just imagine Mark hunched over, looking and moving like someone about twenty years older. Wait! Patrick is twenty years older and he is still moving great!

While Mark was in such back pain, we were glad that we were still hanging out at the resort, rather than some scenic new spot where we couldn't enjoy the new scenery. Mark has tried everything that anyone recommended. That would include wearing a back brace,

ice packs, pain-relieving patches, rubbing ointments, stretches, and every back pain pill we could find. It was a long week! Finally, after six days the spasms retreated and he is once again the tall guy that doesn't take for granted the ability to stand up straight. It reminds us that being able to walk and move painlessly is a great blessing, and a necessity for the way we wander God's wonders. We shouldn't take our blessings for granted!

Our plans are cast in Jello

Our original plan for this winter was to spend one month at Bentsen Grove Resort in the Rio Grande Valley, then fly for our grandbaby-sitting gig in Kansas City. Upon our return, we were planning to start up the motor home and head west. Instead of making our plans in stone, our plans are often cast in Jello. In fact, Covid has brought us an entire year of Jello plans. So instead of hitting the road, we have signed up for another month of resort life. That allowed us to take Denisa's Mother for her second Covid shot. Now we feel better about her protection from Covid, even though we are too young to get shots for ourselves here in Texas.

This extra month will also mean that we will be around long enough to drive her and her car back home in Oklahoma. We plan to stay there for a week so we can visit our Oklahoma relatives. When we fly back to south Texas from Oklahoma City, we will then make more Jello-like plans to continue west in the motor home. So for now, we are enjoying another month of pickleball and dancing while wearing masks.

After being away for eight days, we came back to see the longer term-effects of February's deep freezing temperatures. The always-green orange tree beside our motor home is always-brown for the first time.

A bike ride down the green shaded path towards the state park is now a collection of dead tropical plants.

We're accustomed to cactus that grow year-round for so many years that they become cactus trees. But this old cactus has met its match with the winter of 2021.

We've never seen this valley look so brown, and it was certainly a sad storm for the vegetation. But the bird and bug populations have also taken a serious hit. Butterflies and birds migrate here, and suddenly their food sources are gone. We have never seen so many red-winged black birds in our front yard, foraging for any bits of food.

People are leaving out bowls of sugar water for the bees, and are having to refill them several times each day. All the pollen-producing plants froze with those 21-degree temperatures. Around here, you can plant any house-plant in the ground, and it grows to gigantic proportions. People plant their Christmas poinsettias in the yard, and in a couple years they have a poinsettia tree. Those cute little spruce Christmas trees that grow in four-inch pots become huge trees with year-round sunshine. But it looks like all those house-plant-trees died with the freeze. We have lost some beautiful examples of horticulture in our park!

So for now, we are enjoying another month of sunshine and warm weather. We've done some bike riding on the nice trails around Mission, Texas.

This trail takes us along one of the irrigation canals, and it's often a good place to spot water fowl.

When Mark is biking by himself, he'll often go off-roading on the narrow trails that wind through the cactus and mesquite. With Denisa's reputation for bike wrecks, it's probably best that she doesn't bike on trails when crashing would result in so many cactus punctures to her tires and body.

Since we are only a few miles from the Mexico border, our rides often take us right to the border wall.

We're not sure why there are sections of the wall that are missing, or why it abruptly stops in places. Our local news is filled with images of people pouring over the border in these spots, and rafting or swimming over the Rio Grande River. The Border Patrol pickups are a constant reminder that the area is being patrolled, but this area is dealing with the chaos of open borders.

The average temperature for this time of year is in the upper 70's, and we've had many days over 80 degrees. So even though our plans are made in Jello, our Jello is beginning to melt in this heat. We are ready to make plans to head west and north soon.

A Lucky Day of Flying!

We certainly prefer our form of travel in a motor home, where we never have to pack a suitcase to visit scenic places. But occasionally we need to fly someplace. Our trip to Kansas City to babysit was our first flight since the pandemic began. We can report that the airports are busy, and the flights are full. Masks are required in all airports and on all airplanes. So there's no break from that mask from the time you arrive an hour before your departure until you leave your final airport. That's a long eight hours for us today! It gave us an opportunity to appreciate all those people that have to wear masks every day all day for their jobs. While planes are supposed to be sanitized between flights, each passenger is handed a pre-packaged sanitized wipe to scrub down their space. Only sealed beverages were available on our flights, and we didn't even get those little bags of peanuts.

We got a text message that our second flight today was over-booked, so we weren't surprised when they asked for three volunteers to give up their seats. Because our schedule is flexible, we were first to the counter to accept the $500 flight vouchers in exchange for our seats. They booked us for the next flight and we were very happy for that deal. What a lucky day of flying!

The gate clerk couldn't get the third volunteer, so they upped the ante. No one volunteered for $700, and the clerk assured us that our vouchers would go up to the same amount it took to get that third seat. So we were delighted when the last seat wasn't cleared until the offer went up to $1,000! 

We had to wait to be sure that everyone showed up to fill all the seats, and then they completed the paper-work for our free United Airlines credit. What a lucky flight day! We sat in the airport for an extra hour and a half until the next United flight to McAllen, and now we have $2,000 in free flights over the next couple years! As an added bonus, we also got seated in an emergency exit row with all that extra leg room!

So we still prefer traveling in our motor home and not having to pack suitcases. But over the next year, we will be flying the friendly skies of United for at least $2,000 worth of flights. What a lucky day of flying!

A Week of being Gram and Grand-dude

When we first dreamed about names that our grandchildren would call us, we came up with very traditional "Gram" and "Grandad." But several months ago, our two-year-old granddaughter called Mark Grand-dude. When everyone laughed at her new name, she kept repeating it. So it looks like Mark has officially been renamed. 

We recently flew to Kansas City to do some baby-sitting while our son and daughter-in-law went snow skiing. Because of the winter weather delaying our arrival by four days, we also changed our departure so we could stay for eight days. We're soaking in good grandbaby time for a week of grandparenting!

Eli is now four months old, and he doesn't even look like the same baby we saw the last time we were here two months ago! Denisa thinks he's as pretty as the Gerber baby. Grand-dude pointed out that he is handsome--not pretty.

Carter is two-and-a-half years old, and she really doesn't like us taking pictures of her. When we point the camera her way, we usually get, "No photos please!" from her. At least she's polite about her dislike for taking pictures. But we occasionally get a sneaky picture when she's busy with a cooking project with Gram.

She's especially good with the clean up duties when we are finished making something like a cheesecake.

Arriving late because of all the weather delays, we only had the two of them by ourselves for one day. That one day made us appreciate how tiring it is to be responsible for two little ones. It's been a long time since we had two children this age. Eli might look innocent enough, but he needs continuous bottle-feedings and diaper changes (and he is an expert at soaking us when we are trying to get a new diaper in place). All this can wear out a couple of old wanderers. Hats off to their parents for keeping up with this schedule all the time!

The rest of the week we helped with child care, and concentrated on getting lots of snuggles and having fun. We had a couple days of nice weather, so we enjoyed the park. Now with two grandchildren we each have one to swing. Double the fun!

Even though it's a warm day here, they still have remnants of last week's snow storm.

They've had a cold winter in the Kansas City area, as evidenced by their back yard pond that is still frozen. While it was thawing, we could see something's foot prints that walked all the way across on the ice.

On the warmest day of our stay, we took Eli for his first trip to the zoo. He looks a little worried about his big sister's ability to drive the animal safari jeep in the welcome center. The orangutan in the front seat seems happy, but all the back seat passengers look worried.

We visited the real orangutans, and took a group photo by the statue out front.

We haven't been to the zoo in a while, and Kansas City has a good one! We spent a nice afternoon with the elephants,

and the reptiles (and their corresponding statues).

Kansas City has a very nice indoor penguin exhibit, and it was lunch time at the penguin display.

Carter got to see the larger emperor penguins up close as they swam up to the glass. Her reaction to this close-up view was, "He almost poked me!"

When entering the Australia exhibit, we had to walk through an additional gate. That's because the kangaroos are not fenced in. It was fun seeing them hop down the same trail where we were walking.

We've been taking lots of pictures of birds on our hikes in south Texas, so it was fun to get a few bird photos at the zoo.

It's even more fun to get pictures of our granddaughter talking to the colorful lorikeets.

Their zoo pass includes free rides on the carousel, but Carter is still working up her courage to ride on those wild animals that go round and round.

We walked all the way to Africa, only to find that Gram's favorite animals--the giraffes--don't come out until it is 70 degrees by noon. That's not going to happen any time soon in Kansas City, so we made the very long walk back towards the entrance. We got in over four miles today--most of it while Grand-dude was carrying one of our grandchildren. To honor his tired arms, we include a picture taken in the shadow of Grand-dude's favorite animal--the polar bear.

The week of grandparenting flew by, and we're always sad when it's time to leave our children and grandchildren. It was a week of good quality time with this precious family. 

While we love hiking in scenic areas, we also are blessed to get to spend time with some special family members during our life on the road. Our granddaughter got a new motor home toy while we were visiting. She's practicing with it for the time when she'll get to travel with Gram and Grand-dude in our motor home!