Sunset in PV

Sunset in PV

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

January 5 - 14, 2013 "Friends - New & Old"



Slap my hands and call me Shorty. As hard as I try and stay current on our blog, it is becoming more difficult to do with so many distractions that pop up at a moment’s notice. So, daily I must choose between doing “something”, or writing about what we’re doing. With that said, I’ll try and catch up.

We had visitors from Cheyenne, WY; our friends Tom and Trudy, with whom we try and see if our travels take us close to their place. They were accompanied by their daughter, Pam, as we introduced them to Nuevo Progreso (NP). We all had a wonderful time, and one of us had a few too many margaritas. I’m not one to name names, so I’ll just leave it, and chalk it up to the fact that they were probably just young and inexperienced with such beverages. (Click on any image to enlarge)



Every day since we arrived, CC continues with exercise classes at 8 am, now moved to 7:15 to allow for two classes each morning as more Winter Texans arrive. She has also virtually eliminated margaritas from her routine in NP when she realized that one margarita contained over 700 calories, about half of her total daily target. That also got my attention, as we are both trying to shed a few LB’s, and after some extensive research, we have both switched to a healthier alternative; gin and diet tonic, which has 130 calories and zero carbs. Since tonic water (agua aquina) is not available in NP, we must take our own. No problemo as our favorite bartender, Tony, is only too happy to oblige!

The weather has been cooler than normal, and has drastically curtailed our favorite daily activity; “pool time”. Occasionally, we bite the bullet and venture to the hot tub to relax and ease my aching back. This is an extremely difficult lifestyle we live, and is taxing the limits of my sciatica. For those of you who may be considering full timing, please take this into account before making any life changing decisions. J

Fellow blogger HeyDuke50 (http://zeetraveler.blogspot.com/) commented a few weeks ago to notify them the next time we were going to MX, and so we did. John and Sharon embarked on their full time lifestyle just a few months after we began ours, and our travels over this past summer covered many of the same places, albeit in the reverse direction. We made plans to meet them at the border and walk over the bridge into NP together. Rather than being redundant, I just realized as I’m writing this that John & Sharon already beat me to it and posted about our trip to NP. Log on to their blog and read all about it. Their rendition is much more eloquent than mine could ever hope to be. I will only add that we had a blast and when we met John & Sharon, we felt an instant connection. As my Dad would say, they are good people, and we hope to see them again on Friday. Cheers!

To further illustrate the challenging aspects of this lifestyle, last Friday morning CC and I had our day planned, only to be disrupted into total chaos by Carl & Carla, when the phoned us around 9 am and informed us that they and 4 others from South Padre were going to NP for dental appointments. We already had our daily plans made, but, sacrifice if we must, after all, what are friends for? They would reciprocate if the tables were turned. Right? Aaah….maybe not! So I tell CC, “We have to suck it up, and take one for the team.”


After lunch, a few in the group wanted to get manicures / pedicures, so we ventured southward and dropped them off as we continued to Arriba’s, located across the street from the school in Progreso Plaza. As luck would have it, it was Happy Hour, which meant 2 for 1 drink specials. I think we all agreed, the margaritas were definitely not as good as Tony’s. Pictured below, left to right, John, Sharon. CC, Carla Jack & Cindy.


I know it seems that we spend ALL of our time in MX, but that is not true. We do have a lot of fun here in the park as well. It’s just that several of our neighbors are either on the LAM or in the Federal Witness Protection Program, and wouldn’t take to kindly of us if we published their names, pictures or event accounts. Just one more reason this lifestyle is so taxing; you really got to be on your toes 24/7.

Until next time, take care and stay well………………….

Friday, January 4, 2013

January 4, 2013 - "2012 Budget"



The final numbers are in, and we did much better than last year when we were OVER budget by an average of $105 per month. This year, as the chart below shows, we were $312 per month UNDER budget, which is a net improvement of over $5,000 annually. (Click on the image to enlarge)


As you can see, we were over on some categories, and under on others. We traveled more miles in 2012 than we did in 2011, but we traveled West vs East. Campground fees are generally more the further north one travels, simply because those destinations have a shorter camping season to generate revenue. Our Entertainment expenses were down, simply because we focused on visiting as many National Parks as we could, and bought an annual parks pass. Vacation expenses were down, as we only took two mini-vacations last year. I know what you’re thinking, and even though to outsiders it looks like we are on vacation 365/24/7, this lifestyle is a lot of work; not for the faint of heart; and, we do need a break from it every now and then. Overall, I’m pleased with our efforts, and while we didn’t live extravagantly, we surely did not live like church mice either.

We have been busy watching the BCS Games, and following the Denver Broncos, fully realizing we are nearing the end of football season until next Fall. We were happy to see our OSU Cowboys roll over Purdue and the Broncos lock up home field advantage through the playoffs.

Since today is Friday, and CC’s favorite; Nuevo Progreso Day. I’m certain we will meet our friends from other parks in the RGV and have a terrible time, as usual. One of them will inevitably insist on buying us a margarita, and so as not to hurt their feelings, we will just have to accept it, and, as they twist my arm with at least 0.2 foot pounds of torque, will begrudgingly drink it. Oh, the sacrifices we make living this lifestyle. Another $2 margarita you ask? Oh what the heck, why not; every hour is Happy Hour! This one is on me.

Until next time, take care and stay well………………..