We Have a Visitor!

Flat Stanley arrived at our house today, at approximately 1:00 p.m. It was arranged by Emily Cramer, that he would come to Brownsville, for a visit of about two weeks or so.
Good thing he arrived today, as we are leaving tomorrow morning for San Antonio, Texas!

        Welcome to Brownsville, Texas

We needed to go out, to do a few errands this afternoon, so Flat Stanley went with us. Grandpa Joe held his hand, so he wouldn't blow away, as they both posed in front of this Brownsville collage.  
(Double click on the picture to see the colorful; historical mural.)

      
        The Adventures Start for Flat Stanley!
He is open to doing anything and going anywhere. Good thing, because you just never know where we are off to! As you can see, in this picture, Flat Stanley has his bag packed and is ready for an early departure.
 
Happy Thanksgiving, from the three of us. We all have so much to be thankful for.
Blessings to our families and friends!
 
I won't be blogging for a few days. Tune in again
after the weekend.

Where The Rio Grande Meets The Gulf of Mexico

We have been looking forward to seeing the mouth of the Rio Grande. The tide has to be out, to make it down the beach and get to the mouth of the river. We've tried it a couple of times, with no success. Yesterday was our day! We went with friends, that know how to get around the beach. Boca Chica Beach is not developed at all. Just sand, seaweed, scrub brush, water and openness! Lovely!
We drove through the sandy driveway and onto the beach itself. To my delight, there were two Black Skimmers dining on the bugs near the water.
If you double click on the pictures they will enlarge, click back arrow to return.

Continuing on, we came to the end of the beach and met the Rio Grande.

There were several men fishing, on the other side of the river. The other side being Mexico. As you can see, in the photos, the river is not wide. We were standing on the US side, looking over at the fishermen on the Mexican side.

Very interesting---no fence here!  Of course, there is a check-point on the

road back! We ventured to the other end of Boca Chica Beach. Driving down the beach to the other end, we saw many dead fish, leftover from the Red Tide. At the end of the beach, you can look over to South Padre Island, the area where Dolphin Cove is.

This lighthouse is on the Mexican side of the river/meeting the Gulf of Mexico.

The bottom right picture, is the check-point, where we declare we are from the US, on the way back to Brownsville.
The people that patrol the check-point are always very friendly. We have stopped to talk to them several times, asking questions about the area and purpose of the check-point at the beach.

Sunset at Dolphin Cove

Sunset at Dolphin Cove ~~~ South Padre Island, Texas  ~~~ Wish You Were Here

 

How Fast Can I Run?

              Palo Alto ~ one more time

As Joe never finished reading about the US/Mexican war, at Palo Alto, we returned to the Center. He continued where he left off and I headed out to the trails. The trails, made for people to walk through the battlefields, were inviting to me, to view the birds and small animals.



Canons set on the grounds, from both sides; flags marking out the areas where the Mexicans and US were posted, are the main features, on the trails.

Signs, with reenactment pictures of the war are also sprinkled here and there. The blue canon is for real, it's one of the vibrant color Mexicans so love.

My excitement of the day came as soon as I walked a short ways down the trail.



There in front of me was an animal!

Sharing the same path, I continued walking taking pictures as I followed this animal, as big as a large dog. I figured it was either an ocelot, bobcat, or mountain lion. Remembering ocelots are only in Laguna Atascosa, that left two choices. When it stopped, I stopped, continuing with the pictures. It finally turned around and looked at me. I thought, "How fast can I run?" Deciding not fast enough, I turned around, catching a glimpse behind me now and then, headed back to the center. The rangers looked at my pictures and identified it, as a bobcat. They knew they were out there, seeing their scat, but no one had ever sighted one before! I was very excited, waiting to tell Joe--he was in watching a video about the war. After I settled down we returned to the trails, for him to read, and for me to scan the acres and acres for more animals. I did see three Nilgai (imported here from India, for exotic hunting, size of an antelope), but not close enough for a picture. 

Enjoy this treasured picture of "My Bobcat"!

Crossing the River and Watching One Develop

It looked like rain, but we decided to venture into Progreso, Mexico. Came to the border bridge; weather was holding out. Greeting us was this sign. A nice welcome into Mexico.
Really want our business, huh?


Continuing across the bridge you can stand with one foot in the USA and one foot in Mexico. Second sign indicates the boundaries.

      Below-----the Rio Grande.             

The bridge is, of course, built over the Rio Grande.
Yes, you could walk through the water, thus, the Border Fence and constant border patrol. 
The fence is in the background. If 
you double click on the picture it 
will enlarge so you can see it. Just
click back arrow to return. Or in some
cases the picture enlarges in a 
separate window, then just click out
of it.

The weather turned. It started to rain--hard. We saw this street dog, above, running around, scrounging for food. The raining came pounding down, we found shelter under the roof of an empty street vendor's cart. The dog found shelter under the bus. After awhile he just laid down and waited out the rain. We stood close to the food cart, trying to stay dry. They are redoing the street, where we were, and it soon faded from being a street to being an ankle deep, muddy river.

When it let up enough we made our way over to the local casino. Waiting out the rain we played their one cent machines. We played all afternoon on ten dollars! We were dry, having fun playing penny machines, that gave bonus after bonus; contributing to the Mexican economy!

A rainy day that turned out lucky. What more could you ask for?

Here Everything's Better

Crossing over the border bridge, back into the US, Joe spotted this store. Not that he wanted to go into it, but that it had his daughter's name--with the same spelling. Ceci-- for you!       CECI'S FASHIONS

Upon closer examination we discovered it to be a shop of very fancy dresses. Needless to say we did not venture into Ceci's Fashions. Thought we'd leave it to the young girls looking for prom dresses, becoming bridesmaids, or having their quincenera celebration.(Becoming of age party - at 15yrs.old.)

The store we frequent, is HEB. This is a fantastic store!

HEB stands for Here Everything's Better--Now. It has been around for 104 yrs.

The chain was started by Charles C. and Florence Butt. The original name being: CC Butt Grocery Store. Howard E. Butt took over the family business, in 1919. His motto being, "He profits most who serves best."

Name change: Howard E. Butt Grocery--HEB---Here Everything's Better

The HEB we shop at has many services, beyond groceries. When entering the store you walk into what looks like a cooking show. There are two chefs creating wonderful soups, meats, sushi, and more. The deli smells delightful, and people are sitting at the counter engaging in wonderful meals. The bakery must be a city block long, with tempting delights abounding. Joe has tried the eclairs and tells me they are delicious. The grocery part of the store goes on and on, entering then into the liquor store, the wine department, the pharmacy, etc. etc. I bought a vegetable chopper there the other day to help me in cutting up veggies for salsa. Hope it works! Dicing those tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro is a hand-wrenching task!

If you happen upon Texas, stop and explore HEB.

No snow--No ice---Just GREENS

Golfing in the winter. 

No big, fuzzy mittens. No warming the golf balls. 

No layers of clothing. No waiting until the frost has cleared. No stocking cap. Not having to wear long underwear!  

Golfing in Brownsville, TX. Priceless!

Well, not really priceless--but only $14 to walk, and for anyone that knows Joe---he will walk. We took a few shots at the course where Joe golfs. Look at that green grass!