I did several blogs the first year we came here. So, I won't be doing a lot this year. But, I do want to cover a few things.
First of all, we are staying at Tropic Winds in Harlingen, TX. It is an Encore Park and Encore Parks are part of the same system as Thousand Trails (TT). If you know anything about Thousand Trails, there are probably hundreds of different kinds of memberships. Our particular membership includes this Encore park, so it is a no-brainer for us to stay here. It is the newest of the Encore Parks in The Valley. This place has SO many activities going on everyday. If you are bored or don't have anything to do, it is your fault. With our TT membership, we can stay in a park for 3 weeks and then we have to leave for a week before we can come back to the same park. We have stayed at a RV park close to Brownsville named Riverbend in the years past. This year we are going to mid-valley and will stay at another Encore Park named Victoria Palms for a week. Mid-valley is the area around Weslaco/Donna/McAllen. This area is more crowded, but it has every store you could want and many restaurants. But, it also has more traffic and more crowds. It will be interesting to see how we like being in the hustle and bustle.
Most of the people here come from the midwest area of the country. It is an easier trip to come straight down to Texas than to try to drive to Florida or Arizona. There seems to not be as many people here as in years past. I'm not sure what the cause. Mr. W and I have discussed it and have several thoughts on it. One - The age of those that have been coming for years has reached OLD. Many cannot travel any longer, are in poor health, or have passed away. Two - We aren't sure if people our age have the desire to come south for the winter. I think people are working longer these days and not retiring as young as some years ago. Many of these people from the midwest were farmers and I think there are not as many farmers as in years past. Three - People were scared to come here because of "The Caravan" of people headed to the US border. I have no idea if reasons one and two are legit. They are just speculation on our part. I do know number three is a real reason because I have had several people from Minnesota tell me of their friends that didn't come because of that and that they didn't feel safe being here. The Border Patrol and the local police do a great job to try and make everyone feel safe. The whole valley bases a lot of their economy on Winter Texans. I hope the number of people picks up next year.
OK, on to some fun news. We met a great couple in 2014 when we were in Galveston for a month. They are from Maine, but LOVE Texas. You gotta love anyone who loves the Lone Star State! Norm (pronounced Naum by Donna) and Donna are so much fun! They are our favorite Maine-iacs! Believe me when I say they put us to shame. I don't believe they know how to sit still. They get up everyday and GO! They see everything there is to see at every place they visit. They know as much about Texas as we native Texans know. I tell people all the time that Norm and Donna tell people they are from Maine and have family in Maine, but they are really Texans.
Well, guess who is in The Valley? Norm and Donna! We knew we had to get together, so we invited them over for burgers last Saturday. They are traveling with their friends Loreen and Guy, who equally delightful and they came too. What fun. We ate and talked and ate and talked some more. Before long, it was time for them to leave and I hated to see them leave. Now, don't tell Norm, but we are planning to visit Maine later this year. Norm won't believe it because we had planned to visit before now and haven't. But, Mr. W is already making plans. But, let's surprise Norm. It was so good to see them.
 |
| Donna, Norm, Loreen and Guy |
 |
| Our favorite Maine-iacs! |
No comments:
Post a Comment