Oh, the good life, full of fun seems to be the ideal,It's the good life to be free and explore the unknown. That's living and boondocking in Mexico.
Come on in!
Although we had the Shrimporee on our radar, we like Rockport and the surrounding area much better than Port Aransas or Aransas Pass. We were at Goose Island for four days, so we spent Saturday attending both the parade and the shrimp fest. It was a bit of a drive, about 45 minutes. The parade started at 10:45. We left just in time to arrive at the second street corner of the parade, parked the car in a store parking lot on the route, jumped out and the floats started to appear. The new thing, at least for us, is parades where they throw candy. I don't know if that's new or just a Texas thing. We saw the same thing at the Alpine parade when we were there two years ago.
After, a long line of cars headed over to the event grounds for the fair. A lot of people showed up but trickled in at the beginning. We purchased tickets online, so we were able to bypass the long lines. For a Saturday, from the opening hour, it did get quite busy. I know that Saturday night is the big blowout with musical groups, dancing, shows, etc. The early afternoon was more family and us older guys!
We spent the rest of the weekend at the park walking some trails, relaxing, and preparing for our move to McAllen.
These deer are everywhere!
Anti-Meme Law In Mexico
The anti-meme law that was passed last week, dangerous for anyone who uses AI and social media to criticize the Mexican president or the Mexican government.
Article 403 Bis - It proposes imposing 1 to 5 years in prison and fines of up to 10,000 UMAs (Units of Measure and Update) on anyone who uses, reproduces, or imitates, on a commercial scale, the institutional graphic identity (logos), web domains, or official documents of government agencies.
I still have some more to post on our trip. The McAllen stay, putting the new trailer in storage, and the drive home. There were some very minor issues with the trailer that I was able to fix.
Texas has some very nice state parks. We have the annual day pass, which helps reduce the cost. We arrived here in Goose Island or Rockport, TX. Spacious, very green, quite a bit of wildlife, and well-maintained grounds and restrooms (with air conditioning). Deer are everywhere! You just look out your window, and there they are. Fishing is within walking distanc,e and many of the renters and renters have boats. We took many hikes although it was humid and 32C. Mosquitoes abound but are now on the retreat with the cooler weather.
Many fun things are nearby outside of the park as well. This is one of them: the Fulton Mansion in Rockport. It sits on the water and was built back in 1877 by George Fulton, a newspaper journalist. He married into a wealthy family and when his father-in-law passed away the couple inherited 28,000 acres of land. George was many things in his life, and he acquired nine patents. He designed the mansion, and it included new inventions, two of which he took claim to. The mansion is four stories tall and had flush toilets, heating, and a station in the basement that pumped carbide gas made from gasoline stored on the grounds away from the house. The pump required the staff to take turns everyday to wind or pull up the balasts, similar to a grandfather clock. This provided the lighting while coal-burning furnaces worked to produce heat.
George became a cattleman. Interesting because there was, at the time, no way to ship meat long distances without refrigeration. He took care of that as well. His brother and a friend created carbon dioxide gas that kept the meat cool at the slaughterhouse located on the same property. Ships would use the refrigeration method, and meat was carried as far as England. I got to thinking that George didn't like fish or seafood. Why would you raise cattle along the ocean and spend so much time and energy inventing things when the seafood was pretty much at your feet?
The grounds in front of the house facing the ocean. You can see how close the property was to shipping and fishing.
Deer are everywhere, and you really do need to drive under the 20 mph speed limit. We saw many dead deer outside of the park.
As you walk by them, they just stare at you. You talk to them and they follow you with their eyes. Move too quickly and off they sprint.
We stopped by the Texas Maritime Museum. It's not a big place, but it is worth the visit. No charge for entrance. It tells the story of the indigenous Karankawa and how they fished and worked the land before foreigners arrived. Very ingenious people who were tall and muscular. They were eventually pushed into Mexico but have resurfaced after Enrique Gonzalez published an article in a local paper about the Karankawa people. Others read the article and realized they had commonality with Enrique. They formed a group and are now 100 strong, rewriting history. Why? They were considered long extinct but had really gone into hiding. They say their physical traits are still noticeable even after mixing with Mexicans and some settlers.
I learned what a binnacle was! It houses a compass and has two globes, one on each side, made of soft metal to counteract the effects of magnetis,m giving a true reading. The tank also protects the compass from mist and humidity. These devices are still required today on cruise ships.
This museum is a good break for kids and adults from the internet, cellphones and television. It's always good to learn new things. During WWI ship building was big thing along the Gulf coast. However, steel was in demand but production was almost nil. They turned to concrete to build cargo ships. Not light weight by any means but they did the job. The hull thickness was about 10 times that of a steel plate.
The Rockport Harbor in front of the museum. There is a pecan shop located there, a small shack up on stilts. I asked if they sold pecan pie by the slice and she showed me what looked like a brownie for $4! What? Maybe I have lived outside of the U.S. for too long.
On our way to see the sunset one evening we came across this beautiful great blue heron. I think its a nest as the bird wouldn't move.
Is this a sunset or what? Everyday we've seen some wonderful sunrises and sunsets. Today here in Mathis, TX (we're now at the Corpus Christi Lake State Park), we were talking to a couple of women at a thrift shop. They asked where we had been and where we were headed and one of them said that the sunsets at SPI are incredible. They are but what we've discovered is that all sunsets are amazing no matter where they appear.
Our site at Goose Island. The neighbor has the same make as ours, and just two feet longer. We are on the edge of a wooded area and the deer stroll through to graze and they look at us just like we look at them. It is very quiet here.
Before leaving Goose Island we had breakfast at Tequila Jalisco. It looks fancy and fairly new. Prices were reasonable, great Mexican food, and plenty of it. I wish we had found it earlier. It's a privately owned franchise of about six restaurants all in the south Texas Gulf area.
Our best breakfast deal is Laredo Taco Factory. They are in Stripes fuel stops and they are owned by 7-Eleven Corp. They always have good breakfast deals and all the salsa and topppings you want.
Like I mentioned, we are now at the lake in Corpus Christi and headed to the Shrimporee tomorrow for the day. The weather has taken a huge turn and it's chilly, cloudy and windy. My kind of weather.
I'm not sure how many pictures we have in front of this sign as you enter SPI, but there are many. We've been going to SPI since 1984. I watched Juan perform at the high school in Port Isabel with his dance troupe.
We made it to SPI in the early afternoon. We truly enjoyed our stay at the Casa Del Valle RV Park, but it was time to move on. I had made reservations for Isla Blanca, a massive 600-space RV park on the oceanfront way in advance. Their website is a mess, and you can't make out the site maps. On the phone, the desk clerk mentioned that the park was being renovated, so they were using the overflow section in front of the park. We could still walk into the park and have access to the waterfront and beaches.
Parked at the office and signing in.
We signed in, got our spot, and headed out only to find that the row they had put us on was flooded. I drove back to the office, trailer in tow, and explained the situation. The distance from the office to the overflow section is less than 500 feet, and yet no one had been out over the weekend to check things out. Well, I got them moving. When they told me that the other sites were reserved, I asked them what was going to happen when those rvers showed up and their sites were flooded? We ended up in a semi-dry site, and within minutes, six county pickups and two SUVs with big shots showed up. They then ordered backhoes, a topographer, generators with pumps and hoses, and began working.
It ended up to be a great evening, and it gave us plenty to talk about. We went for a beach walk, had a drink, and watched a great movie. The next day we headed to Port Isabel on the other side of the bridge for breakfast at the famous Isabel's Cafe. Still good food and a fun place, but all things change with time. We did some shopping looking for things we could use in the new trailer, took pics of the lighthouse, and scouted out some garage sales and Goodwill stores (there are none).
Back at our site, we went to see the work being done on the Isla Blanca RV Park. Last September, they kicked everyone out of the park. Those owners who lingered or weren't found and notified had their rigs demolished and hauled away. The park was supposed to be ready this month, but this is where it gets worse. SPI and Cameron County rely on Spring breakers and Winter Texans. They had no place to go last winter, and it will happen again this season.
Sunset on the bay side just steps behind our rig. We've seen sunsets at five-star resorts and even better ones parked in front of a fisherman's coop in Carboneras in Tamaulipas.
This is the Isla Blanca County Park as it sits today, abandoned.
Isla Blanca County Park before, when it was alive and vibrant and filled with Rvers.
Imagine, two small towns such as SPI and Port Isabel have been drained of their income due to poor government oversight. The park stands empty with mounds of sand, unfinished plumbing, electric, pavement, and pads. The four days we were there we saw zero activity, no workers, and abandoned machinery. The Winter Texans and the semi-permanent residents account for at least 1600 people. Lost revenues for the county park alone are upward of $12,000,000 per season.
North end of South Padre Island, no people, no vehicles, just us!
As we spent the weekend there, we asked all of the businesses we went to about the current status of the park and the effects it is having on their businesses. Many small businesses have closed; people are unemployed and have moved away. If you know SPI, you remember how vibrant the main strip was at night. It is no more. Big government says that revenues have risen, while the debates say "fewer bodies, higher prices". We walked through the Holiday Inn Resort and Hotel Magaritaville and saw little to no activity.
Maxan Street Festival next to the Port Isabel lighthouse. A big crowd, family fun, and good music.
Apart from some great beach walks, we also attended the Maxan Street Fair on Saturday night. It was a blast with free live music, food booths, amusement rides for kids, and more.
Out on the pier, people were catching mostly channel bass.
Waiting around to see what their take on the catch would be!
A huge tourist attraction is the Pirate's Landing pirate's ship that gives rides and fun out on the bay.
Fantastic sunsets on the bay!
That afternoon we scoped out our big meal out at the beach and decided on Pirate's Landing, which is on the big pier on the Port Isabel side of the bridge. Pretty cool place to walk around and watch people catch some really big fish. No alcohol is allowed on the piers, and it is a very family-oriented place. Everyone throwing in a line, chewing the fat in English and Spanish, tourists walking about and feeling the wonderful end-of-summer breezes.
Parked at our site on Goose Island. What a huge difference from an RV park. A lot of space, greenery, wildlife such as deer and javali walking past your site, and most of all, the peace and quiet. We had some good stargazing last night.
We left Sunday morning after our last walk on the beach and we are now at Goose Island State Park. As we rolled into Rockport and Fulton, we noticed one thing. A lot of RV parks look more like RV sales lots and parking lots. Here at the state park, it is a whole other world, and I am glad we made this decision to do some state parks.
The best gas price at home when we left, only to find out the Fullok stations have now been suspended due to an investigation.
The trip to the border was not what we expected. We knew we would be in the rain, but it was nasty. There was fog, constant rain, and drizzle, much like winter. We saw one accident on the mountain crossing at Mamulique. A semi hit the brakes too hard and skidded to one side. No major damage, but they had the road blocked. Soon the rain came to an end, and we made our way to the Colombia Bridge via La Gloria. So far, that is one of the best roads in and out of Mexico.
At the bridge, there were four cars in front of us. The border agent asked for our passports and visas and then waved us through. We declared two bottles of vodka, but there is no tax audit building at that bridge. We got a break.
We headed for the RV. The lot owner met us and said there was no need for him to meet us anymore. He trusted us and gave us the pass to the lock box, and the key is inside. We just need to let him know of our comings and goings
Off we went to Casa Blanca State Park in Alamo, TX, for the night. It was pretty warm in the afternoon, but come nightfall, it cooled down to about 20C. Windows open, I had to cover up around 3 a.m. Glorious sleeping weather. The roof air, as always, is way too big, too cold, and too noisy. However, it's good to have in this weather.
Up at six this time, sleeping in for a change. We watched our usual news program from Mexico, picked up the taco meal deal at the Stripes Valero station, and headed out for McAllen. The drive was uneventful except for a few minor construction detours. We drove through the middle of nowhere via Oilton, Bruni, Hebbronville, and Falfurrias. We hit one inspection at Oilton, but the guys were very friendly. No one else around, so we chatted for a few minutes.
The railroad that runs through these towns was established in 1881. Oilton is so small now that they pulled out the last police officer just last week. An Italian immigrant, Antonio Mateo Bruni, established this route and later owned a large ranch in the area.
The fuel gauge on the SUV is much different, and I need to keep an eye on it. The computer serves us well and is chock full of information, but I need to study up on it a bit more. We were down to less than a quarter tank when we stopped just north of the RVG in Edinburg to fill up. New gauge creates a learning curve.
We pulled into Casa Del Valle in Alamo right on schedule. We set up, are enjoying a beer and a snack, and deciding what to fix for dinner. The park is still empty except for a few full-timers. Snowbirds may come, but I doubt many will arrive from Canada. We'll take advantage of the small gym, swimming pool, and jacuzzi before heading to South Padre Island or Mustang Island on Thursday.
A lot of empty spaces, although it is still very early for the winter season. Many come after Thanksgiving.
The RV park is suffering the effects of the issues with the U.S. and Canada. They had fewer Canadians last year, and this year more have canceled. The RGV is feeling the effects of fewer Winter Texans and fuel prices as well. The park is now under new ownership. We've stayed here many times in the past,t and we like it. They maintain it and keep doing updates. I can see why so many older people prefer a place like this. It's very safe; they have group activities and a lot of amenities. For less than $500 a month in space rent, you can't beat that versus a residential-style retirement home with your own apartment, three meals a day, etc. And that can run over $4000 a month.
Two interesting stories coming up in the next post. One is about the disaster here at the Isla Blanca County Park (we're in South Padre Island now), and the other is about the RV dealer and what happens when you have a cash deal. So stay tuned. We are enjoying the beach here and our old stomping grounds, but are looking forward to getting into the state parks on our route.
The time is finally here. For me, it is a long-awaited trip. We'll be heading out for the Gulf Coast on Monday. First stop will be Laredo, Texas, to pick up theRVv and spend the night at Casa Blanca State Park. This will probably be our ritual every time we want to RV in the U.S. A stop at our mailbox first to pick up some things we have ordered and then a rest for the night.
We'll be heading to South Padre Island and then hitting state parks along the coast. We may have to backtrack to Port Aransas for the Annual Shimperee Fest in October. I purchased the state park pass so that we have full hookups. We'll be shopping for our power station or solar setup. We're still undecided on which to choose. If anyone is using a power station such as a Jackery, Bluetti, or a Pecron, drop some information in the comments section.
We've had quite a bit of good news the last couple of weeks. As you know, we finished the tiling on the roof terrace in San Miguel de Allende. While we were gone, we noticed via cameras that the pool was losing a considerable amount of water. We have had leaks over the years (don't ever have a pool; they all leak eventually). Over the years, we have had the pool plumbing replaced; the light was suspect at one time, etc.
We hired a company that specifically looks for pool leaks. I was a bit skeptical but decided that we needed to do something. It's a father and son team, and they really put on a show. Scuba gear, pressure tanks, gauges, and all the extras. After thre hours, they showed us the two spots where it was leaking. He did a temporary patch that he guarantees for one year. From there, we will decide what t do. In the end, each morning it is refreshing (no pun intended) to wake up to see no movement in the water level.
A little Mexican news update that will likely be in the history books soon:
AMLO frequently criticized business groups, labeling them as part of a "neoliberal" establishment that concentrated wealth while neglecting workers. He made the decision to create what we call "faroanic" projects that to this day have yet to yield any profitability; Tren Maya, AIFA (new airport or what we refer to as a warehouse), Tren Interoceanico (built to compete with the Panama Canal), Dos Bocas (refinery that has constant explosions and fires and produces very little), his IMSSBienestar that has drained the national healthcare system leaving it without cancer treatments for children, medicines, and supplies.
To build and manage these projects he bypassed local civilian police (who are highly susceptible to cartel bribery) and handing the airport, the railway, and their respective security perimeters exclusively over to the Mexican Military (SEDENA), AMLO effectively insulated his crown-jewel infrastructure projects. Whether that military footprint was intended to genuinely suppress cartel violence or simply to guarantee that federal/military revenue streams went undisturbed remains the ultimate debate surrounding his leg.acy
While he publicly justified infrastructure projects as "national security," his broader security strategy, famously dubbed "Abrazos, no balazos" (Hugs, not bullets), drew heavy criticism as a non-confrontational policy that let cartels expand their territorial control unchecked.
Hundreds of videos and reels are popping up all over the country of checkpoints along Mexico's highways. Fake police, cloned patrol vehicles, government officials working along side them, are robbing people of their goods and money. They are checking people's wallets and purses and taking half or more of the cash they have. At the checkpoint in San Robert, along highway 57 south of Saltillo, if you don't pay they begin to dismantle your vehicle. No pay, you can reassemble it yourself. There are now small shops popping up there to help people do the work. Talk about full circle.
We finally had a free day on Sunday. The worker comes late but always shows up and works his butt off. Saturday, he said he would arrive on Monday to finish up and be here by 8:30. Well, he showed up after 10:30. In the north, guys like to make money, and when they say 8:30, they are there. They may have tacos firs,t but they always show up on time. Anyway, some odds and ends tomorr,ow and we can say mission completed.
Here are a few pics of before and after. We still need a perg,ola and we have some solar guys coming for an estimate for the solar roof. BTW, I went to the CFE (electric company) and filed a claim for the refrigerator. I still need some docum,entslet's lets see how that goes.
I was checking on a site cAllTrailsTrails. It has maps and "directions". I've used it before but end up complefrustratedrated. It's good for getting an idea about what is ,around but that's about it. In other words, it's a starting point. I found a hike in Alcocer, a small town about 10 km from our house. It's behind the telesecundaria. What is a telesecundaria? It is a small school in a rural area where classes are transmittsatellite,atelite and instead of a teacher, a local person or a student teacher acts as a tutor.
We found it via Google Maps and parked on the side of the school. It's rated as a moderate hike, but we found it to be a bit more difficul,t at least in the initial climb. Wcompareded the first part with Cerro de la Silla in Monterre,y which we have climbed three times.
This is a stock photo of Cerro de la Silla.
We started off and up. A steep climb considering we are already at 6200 feet. It takes some good lungs to do it. It was early morni,ng and the air was crisp and the skies clear and clean.
Cardo Azul or Sea Holly
NÃspero or Loquat
San Miguel off in the distance
Project complete, and no,w when we return for Christmas we can enjoy morning coffee and great sunrises over San Miguel de Allende and a view of the famous Parroquia. We're ready to head back home to Monterrey to prepare for our Gulf Coast RV trip. Can't wait!!!
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