One more week in Retama ! ?

Wow, it seems like we just arrived here, but is has been 4 months !  We have one more week here and then we are off to Llano Texas to party with some of our friends that we met on the Cruise in December.  We have been keeping very busy.  As I mentioned in earlier posts, we have been Mountain biking a lot.  Here are some pics from last Monday........................

Zoooooom !  Down rabbit Hole Hill !

It is way steeper than it looks and you really get flying down it !

Rest time !

Even Bren takes time to smell the roses ?  Texas Rose !

We have also been shooting our .40 Cal S&W, M&P Semi Automatic at the gun range.

Proper stance, Looks Good !

I thought I would model our target.  Pretty good shooting !

This last Thursday it was a HOT one.  We broke the local records and registered 100 Degrees !!

But, we know how to handle the heat !

Drinks by the Pool !

Today we went to the Wesleco Onion Festival.  I am sure you all have had a Bloomin' Onion or one of the other facsimiles, well this is where it was invented back in the 50's.  It seems that a farmer came up with a strain of white onion that would grow fast here in the Valley.  They even have a sweet taste to them.  There was a car show, a carnival, Stages with bands, and these Dancing Mexican Azteca Horses.............................

They were very cool.  The riders did nothing with there hands.  It was all done by adjustments in the saddle and and by squeezing there legs.  Very cool to see.

Ok, time to wrap up....................and a shameless plug............. Popeye's Chicken.  Our Friends Shannon and Debbie hooked us on this chicken when we were staying with them in Surfside Beach and we just can't shake it !  We think they put crack in the batter.  If you have never tried it and all along you thought KFC was good, try it !  Yesterdays dinner .................................

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM !!!

There is a Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.....................

More to come....................................

Party Time ! Winding down our Time at Retama Village...........................

I know the title of the last blog was "Summer", but it appears even though the temps are summer like to us, it is actually spring here.  Everything is in bloom around here from the bushes to the cactus........

Very beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful.................... our good friends Jay and Liz just had a baby boy !

Liz and Baby Westin !  Congratulations guys !!

Speaking of friends and family.........................

Dad was out on the town and stopped in to see Jenni at here new gig.  Looking good !

I was speaking with Jeff Duncan the guy who took over some of my accounts and he told me about a cool wall that they (Tepel Brothers) had done down at Wayne State.  Sent me some pics too.........................

Good job Mario, KD, and Jeff !

I do miss the daily grind of the sales gig sometimes and all the friends and customers too.  I try to keep in touch, just not the same...................................

I know I am wandering........................One of the things that we have been trying to do is get into better shape.  Ya'all (I am in Texas) know that we both love Pickle ball and we try to play for a couple of hours about 2-3 times a week.  We have a very competitive bunch that we like to play with and it is quite a work out.  Our other sport that we have really gotten back into is mountain biking.  There are some really cool trails down here and as of last Friday, we have conquered the advanced trails !  This is a real all body work out.  There is not usually a dry spot on you when you are done and you are spent !  Ever done a workout where when you are done you can not go any further = Mountain Biking ! Here is a couple of shots from Friday....................

Howard, Bren, and I.  Out of gas !!

So this is party season and we have had a few good ones.  The last one was called Tappa Hoppa (Tapa's = Small Plates, Hoppa = Hopping around the park).  We had 4 stops around the resort and each stop had a different theme and food.  There was even a Margarita cart and a Tequila Stop !  Here are some pics......................................

Good food !

Margarita Cart !!

Fresh Gulf Shrimp !! MMMMMMMMM

Shot, Shot, Shots !

MMMMMMMM !

Carli playing a dice game at one stop.................

More food !

Keith and I, siesta time !

It was a great night of fun with all of our new friends here at Retama Village !  Then came St. Patricks day ! .........................

 Cheers to the regular gang that we used to party with back in Royal Oak.  We did miss you all !

Then there was date night this last Friday night.......................

Bren and I.

Howard and his Ghost date !  Carli flew home for the week for grand baby's birthday........

I usually leave you with a funny, but this time I found this and thought I would share.............

More to come.....................................................

Summer !

Summer has arrived here at Retama Village !  We have been having temps in the upper 80's and lower 90's and there is even a 101 on the 5 day forecast.  Just like July back home !

We have been keeping very busy.  We play Pickleball 2 days a week for about 3 hours each day.  It is a good competitive group, in fact most are better than we are, but that is a good thing.  They say if you play above your head you will get better faster and it seems to be working.....  We have also been hitting the nearby Mountain Bike Trails quite often which is always a good work out.

We have been attending a lot of cool events both here at Retama Village as well as next door at the Bensten Palm resort our friends are staying at.  Here are some shots of the BP Talent show..........

The fiddle player was awesome !

And this guy was a Trace Adkins Look Alike and played "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" quite well !

At Retama we had a Leap Year Party (any reason to eat and drink I guess).  This Leap years theme was a redneck wedding and the cast went all out.  Dinner and a Show !!

Some hot mamas.  See Mini Pearl on the right !!

Pa had to give a warning speech, complete with Shotgun salvo !!

The groom got out of jail just in time !

I think the Bride is pregnant !  Dinner was awesome as well !

Another event we attended was for a local "No Kill" animal shelter.  It was a pet parade and all proceeds went to the shelter..........................

A Cheese Head !

A bumble bee, a butterfly, and a devil................

Frilly Mexican Skirt !

And my favorite, the skunk. A good time for a good cause.  Of course there was eating and drinking !

 On Friday we went to South Padre Island for the day and a Cruise / Dinner through the Port of Brownsville.......................

 

Beauty and the Beast

Beach Beauty's - Karli and Bren

Port of Brownsville boat tour.............

USS Kittyhawk Air Craft Carrier.  They scrap a lot of warships in the port.  Conning tower already gone.....

Here is a view from the back.  Those are all open rooms.  They take it apart piece by piece.  Crazy.

Here are 2 Destroyer Tenders.  The one on the left is in process of being dismantled and the one on the right is still waiting...... They say that they are sold for scrap for a penny, but the fees to transport them to Brownsville from the decommissioning in Norfolk can cast hundreds of thousands of $'s.

Side view of the one waiting.  These ships carried fuel, supply's, and Ammo for the destroyers they were tending.

Also in port was an oil rig.  This one was pulled into to be stored until gas prices go back up.  The cost of operating it was more than the profits they could make at today's prices.  After the boat tour, they had a dinner set up for us at the Shrimp House back on South Padre.  A good day !

Oh yeah cool Jeep shot !

It is hard to believe that in a little over a month we will be heading back north to Montana for the "real" summer..........................

I will leave you with a Meme that my buddy sent me................

Yeah buddy !

More to come !