Jackie and the Talent show!

Here in Texas I have reconnected with one of my old loves, dancing.  When I was somewhere between four and five I started taking dancing lessons and continued until I was about 17.  I LOVED to dance and cannot imagine how much money my Mom and Dad spent on lessons and costumes.  I actually wanted to be a dancer at one time until I realized that I was not built to be a dancer...long legs are a must and constant practice. So I gave up my dreams of being a dancer and went on to wanting to be an airline stewardess (now called a flight attendant, I am showing my age).
SO, when I found out that I could taking clogging lessons here at Victoria Palms, I was overjoyed.  After just 50 years, I could start again.....:-)
I began taking lessons Jan. 2nd and have been going twice a week.  I cannot tell you what a workout it is....three hours of hard work and two Aleve when I get home...the legs are aching, but it is so much fun I would do it every day if I could.  I just hope that I can continue when I leave here.  The gals and guys in the class are so much fun and it has been so good for me.  I don't know if this clip will play or not on Blogger, if not, you can see the picture and get the idea. (If I can I will send you a link for the clip).  The Talent Show had a huge turnout and the audience really enjoyed the cloggers.  Not only is it good for the body, it is good for the soul to dance.

ONE OF THE MANY REASONS I LOVE CAMPING

Of all of the things that I love about camping, the people are the best part.  We have met some very fun and interesting people here and I learn so much from them.  The couple at the top have a little two pound dog named Tigger...who terrorizes the other dogs on the street.  Their arrival here was hysterical.  They pulled up in a huge, and I mean huge motor coach, and did I say it was huge?  Behind it they were pulling a trailer that was as long as the motorhome, I swear.  Once they lowered the door of the trailer off came two bikes, and really souped up and gorgeous Harley three-wheeler, and then a Jeep SUV.  It was hysterical...they know how to travel in style!  They are from Denver.

The couple in the pink and yellow are from Texas and he is a rancher.  He recently raised 100,000 turkeys a year, free-range and sold them to Campbells soup...how sad.  He also raises cattle and is a real cowboy.  He told us about roping a stray bear the the State Police were having a hard time catching.

Every few days one of the workampers on the block puts out an orange cone in front of their camper.  This means that there is a happy hour and almost everyone on the street shows up with their chairs and a snack.  We have made some really great relationships and have many stories to tell.  Especially the ones that have been camping for a long time.  We will all be going our separate ways at the end of March.  We do a lot together including going to movies, out to eat, or to various things to see around the Rio Grande Valley.  The guys are going on a deep sea fishing trip in a week or so.

I don't know who the cowboy is in the bottom picture....I picked him up today when I went to Mexico.....

Next post is of Jackie performing in the Victoria Palms talent show...stay tuned!

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

 Hello!  after a long hiatus, I thought that I would crank the blog back up.  I had not had much feedback about my postings so I got discouraged that no one was reading them!  I have recently heard from some friends wondering what happened (thinking I was probably kidnapped and taken to Mexico!), so I was happy to know that there actually was an audience so I am back!
I am going to be sharing some more pictures of our adventures.  We are LOVING it here and cannot believe that our time here is half over.  We leave here on April 2 and will head toward the Mid-Atlantic and head down the coast toward South Carolina.  We have had such fun here and have made so many new friends we will hate to leave but miss the old friends that we have back home. 
The first two pictures are of some of the nice motor homes here (neither of these is ours)..I love the one pulled by the diesel truck and towing a small electric car!  There are about 1,000 lots here so there are campers of all shapes and sizes.
About 1/2 of the people here are from Canada and the others mostly from the mid-west with a smattering for other states in the East and West.  We are the only people here that we know of from South Carolina.
I hope you like the picture of Barklee begging for some of my food with his camping shirt on.  He has made SO many doggie friends here and he continues to be the favorite doggie on the block.  Everyone loves Barklee.
The final picture is of one of the true gems that we found here.  I think that I told you earlier about Cowboy Church.  The pastor is a true cowboy and everyone loves him.  He has a ranch about 10 miles from here and raises horses.  He has a church on the ranch that is part of the Western Outreach Cowboy Church organization.  He comes here to Victoria Palms and conducts a service on Sunday mornings.  There are hundreds in attendance each Sunday and many people that do not ordinarily attend church will come come hear him.  He is a lot of fun but still delivers a powerful message each week.  We are so lucky to have him here.  We got to spend Christmas Eve on the ranch with a service around a campfire and sang Christmas carols with a cowboy band that even included a harmonica.  It was warm and breezy and I will cherish that memory for a long time.
Well, at the risk of being too long winded I will sign off and will keep you posted as to our adventures as we go. I have named this year my Year of Learning and I am anxious to tell you all about that!
God Bless,
Jackie