March 1 - 7, 2011 "Vegas Night and Smokin' on the Rio"

Wow, time sure does fly; especially when you’re having fun. One more week here in Weslaco, and we’re on the road again. Hopefully, the weather north of here will be warming by then, as it is always a difficult task predicting when, exactly, Winter is over, and Spring has begun. Coupled with the rising cost of gasoline, has our travel plans in a quandary. It is our hopes that we leave here, head across the Gulf coast to Florida, (eating as much fresh seafood as humanly possible…..”What oil spill?”), and up the East Coast, seeing all there is, and on to Niagara Falls (Canada). CC has never been to New Orleans, Washington DC (Smithsonian), New York City, or Niagara Falls; she has led a very “sheltered life”……poor thing. (OK, now in unison…..aaahhhhh isn’t she mistreated?)

There is ALWAYS something going on here at Country Sunshine, most of which involves food and/or adult beverages. “Vegas Night” was an eclectic mix of Ropa Fashions and craziness. It was the topic of conversation for over a week amongst the pool “bobbers”. CC and I had no idea what to expect, as the majority of the participants were somewhat secretive about their “Jockey Uniforms”. (Click on images to enlarge)

OK, here is how it works. Participants dress up in a wide variety of costumes and ride a wooden horse through a column of taped squares on the floor. Six “Jockeys” per heat, line up at the starting line. The first of two dice are rolled to determine which “Jockey” will advance in lanes 1-6. The second dice is rolled to determine how many spaces the rider will advance, from 1 to 6 spaces. The winners of the heats make it to the semi-finals, and those winners advance to the finals. The mood for this evening could best be described as “Mucho Jocularity”.

For those of you that have not been to the RGV (Rio Grande Valley), upon arrival one of the first things you might notice is the overall majority of “healthy(?)” people, as it appears there is no malnutrition or descendants of “Twiggy” living here; the locals are a very “well rounded” Hispanic culture. Eating is not a necessity here, it is an event as witnessed by “”Smokin’ on the Rio” Texas State Bar-B-Que cook off in nearby Mercedes this past weekend, with 129 entries vying for the $10,000 first place prize money. We sampled far more than our $5 entry fee would buy at any restaurant, as this was easily the best $5 we’ve ever spent for good “Q”. Contestants with big towable rigs or smaller castered ones, everyone had a good time, and we left fully stuffed.

Next stop, we are moving to South Padre Island for Spring Break Week. Since CC and I never took a trip to the beach for Spring Break during our college days, it is on our "Bucket List", and it was a natural choice considering we are so close.

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