ONE FINAL TRIP TO PROGRESO, MEXICO

Thursday, January 25 – We returned to Progreso, Mexico, this morning to finish up our dental work. The trip across the border from Mission, Texas, was as always uneventful. Our appointment wasn't until 1:00 p.m. We arrived about 10 a.m. because we wanted to do some shopping in Mexico prior to seeing the dentist. It's fun to see all the sidewalk vendors and stop in the numerous shops along the way. You never know what you'll see.

A nice way to greet visiting Americans.
 
Shopping would have to wait because the first thing we did was to get Paul a haircut. We really likes to go to Gloria’s. He says they always cut his hair just right. And speaking of right, haircuts are only $5.00.

 
Then it was off to do some shopping. There are tons of stores that have just about anything you need and don’t need.

 
Need glassware?

How about some roosters?

Pottery?

Maybe a dressed-up pig or turtle?
 
Another fun occurrence is the many sidewalk opportunities to grab a margarita or a Mexican beer. Of course this is a great place to do a little people watching or enjoy a strolling Mexican musician willing to play you a love song.

 
Mexicans have such a sense of humor.

We arrived at the dentist about ten minutes early, and Marsha was called back right on time. She received her permanent crown and a cleaning. Since we use the same dentist in this dental group, Paul had to wait his turn but was called in to have his permanent crown cemented in place soon after Marsha was finished.

We had a brief shower while in the dentist office. We remained dry, but Progreso is not really modern enough to get rid of water in the asphalt/dirt streets. Things tend to get a little muddy after an infrequent rain shower. Luckily all the sidewalks are covered so things were high and dry except when necessary to cross the streets.

With dental work completed it was time to have a little lunch. We shared an order of Lonches at Farmacia Jessica. You get a free margarita in the restaurant with any purchase in the drugstore. The Lonches were delicious, the margaritas refreshing, and the customary Mexican musician very enjoyable.

 
We rarely take photos of food, but for those who do not know what Lonches are….here you go. We got four with our order. The buns were so fresh. We highly recommend getting an order at Jessica’s. 3 margaritas + 4 Lonches = $10.

 
It was a long day in Mexico. We arrived about 10:00 a.m., and it was 2:30 p.m., so time to head back across the border and return home. Border crossing are quick in the Rio Grande Valley. We showed our passports and were ushered through customs without any problem. They didn't even check our purchases. They only asked if we were American citizens, and if we had cigarettes or alcohol to declare. Forty-five minutes later we were pulling into the RV park in Mission, Texas.

It’s always a good idea to set your emergency brakes!
 
We have a couple more social events this weekend with friends, and then we head down the road early Monday morning. We are heading to Seminole Canyon and then on to Big Bend National Park. Both are located in the very isolated area of South Texas, which has very limited cell phone or internet service, so we probably won't be posting any blogs until after we return to “civilization”  or find a hotspot at the Lodge. Funny how being “disconnected” is an unfamiliar event these days! If you have a suggestion of a “must see” or “must visit” place near Seminole Canyon or Big Bend, please pass it along. Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great time!

NUEVA PROGRESO, MEXICO PART 2

Monday, January 25, Part 2 - While are tiles were being painted by Alfonzo, we headed down to the Mercado for lunch and some famous Margaritas.

Who should we meet outside the restaurant but Jose, Alfonzo's brother. He is also extremely talented. He too paints only with spray paint, cardboard and plastic bags. Can you tell how bashful he is…LOL

Well, of course Marsha had to stop and look. Thirty-five dollars later we walked out with five more tiles and a beautiful black/white bottle to decorate the motorhome. She will be using the tiles in her baskets so we can't show you all of them. Some of our readers might receive them as a gift.

We really enjoy Arriba Restaurant and Bar.

We share a customary bowl of taco chips and a plate of Enchiladas. Of course we took part in the two for one price margaritas. Our favorite entertainer was there blaring out the tunes.

Marsha had to get into the action right away.

The margaritas must have been working their magic, because Paul got up and did the chicken dance. Yes, that is him in the blue shirt and grey hat.

We finished up our shopping and headed back to the border. We paid our 25 cents to pass through the turnstile, had our passports scanned, and returned to the USA without even a “welcome home” from the security folks.

As soon as you enter the USA, there is a little ice cream store. On our first trip here with our friends, Norm and Donna, we stopped there to have some ice cream. It is a tradition of theirs to stop and have a 2 for $2 banana split. Not wanting to break tradition, we stopped and had one. There are lots of people in there. Paul was looking back to be sure I hadn't left him.

For $1 each, they give a really good banana split.

It was a wonderful day. We had great check ups, super shopping, danced with the locals and ate our way through Progreso. We will probably go back at least one more time before heading out the end of February.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

NOS VAMOS A NUEVA PROGRESO MEXICO

Monday, January 23 – We're off to Nueva Progreso, Mexico, this morning to visit the dentist. For all those who have never visited Mexico or want to, here is a quick tutorial to entering the country.

Take some quarters with you. You need one to enter the country and one to get out.



Next step is to walk across the bridge.


As you walk across, you can see the Rio Grande River that many illegals try to cross over to the USA. This is a view of the USA side.  See the wall in the background?


You also see lots of hats sticking through the fence.


If you have a large head like Paul, you can be in two countries at one time.



You are now in Mexico.


We went to this same dentist last year, Dr. de la Rosa Saenz, and was quite pleased with his service.



We both have appointments for cleaning. Marsha only needed a regular cleaning but Paul received a deep cleaning.

Everyone asks us questions liked…Does he speak good English? Is it clean? Does he take credit cards? etc.  Answers…Dr. de la Rosa was educated in the United States and lives in Mission, TX. He speaks excellent English. The place is very clean and sterile. There is plastic on everything.





He also takes credit cards, checks, and cold cash.

With a “clean” smile on our faces, we headed out to try to make a deposit in the Mexico economy. And a deposit was certainly made! Paul purchased a belt and got a hair cut that comes with a free massage…both for a mere $5.00.





Marsha found the Mexican tiles she was in search of for her basket-making hobby. Not only did she find finished tiles, but we found a family of painters that would paint scenes on tiles for her. These brothers, Jose & Alfonzo (in two different locations in Progresso), use spray paint and little bits of torn paper to complete these amazing paintings.

They are so good that we wanted to show you how they paint a tile. This Alfonzo starting one of the tiles.


He uses no brushes just cans of spray paint, pieces of cardboard and plastic bags.

He drew to cactus with the cardboard and now is using the plastic bag to make the flower beds.







He made ten for Marsha. Each one is totally different. Since several of her readers may receive one of her baskets with a tile, she only wants to show the one we are keeping.



It's unbelievable!

We will share with you the rest of our visit to Mexico in our next blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

WORK….WORK….WORK!!!!

Thursday, February 3 – Marsha is at again. She doesn’t have enough to do with her books, prayer shawls, aerobics, volunteering to help with the sock hop, etc. She now is going to make needle baskets! Yes, you read right…baskets made from pine needles. The gal across the street, Angie, is going to teach her how to make them. Angie collected all the needles when she in Rick visited Oregon, Washington and California. Angie and Marsha did the first step this morning before aerobics. They had to soak the needles for a couple of hours. They then divided up the 1,000’s of needles.

Second step is to take all the tips off each needle while they are soft, hence the reason for soaking the needles.

Before

After

Marsha worked hours to clean all those needles. She had to use a plastic knife to stripe the needles. She and Angie did order a special instrument that will help speed this process up.

She says that this is a ton more work than she expected but can’t wait to start sewing the basket together. Just so she doesn’t ask Paul to help, she can keep all the fun to herself!

Friday, February 4- WOW…look what we woke up to this morning.

Unbelievable! All the on ramps to I-83 were closed here in the Rio Grande Valley. Many areas were without electric late last night and all day today. Marsha had to work to scrap all the ice off the windows before she could head to aerobics.

Kelly called us last night and said they canceled school for today. She couldn’t believe they would do that when yesterday it wasn’t even raining. It paid off though…Houston had ice.

We were to attend a dance at another park, but they had to cancel. The park didn’t have an electric all day and were not sure when it would be turned back on.

Saturday, February 5 - We came to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas to get away from old man winter......... Well, he found us! Dag Blast It....it sure has been cold the last three days. Thank goodness it's starting to warm up and should be back in the mid-70's today. This is all because Pittsburgh and Green Bay came to Dallas for the Super Bowl. Texas wanted to make them feel at home by having snow and ice.....JEESH!

In the morning, we went to Don Wes Flea Market in Donna, TX. The Flea Market is a typical one. We did purchase several things for the MH.

Yes, that is Paul spending some of our hard-earned money.

Just about anything you can want!

Ended up being an AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL day. Paul played some Pickleball and Marsha enjoyed the sun.

Tonight we went to the Activity Center for a country dance with Sipes. The group was fairly good.

We went with a group of friends. Angie and Rick lived across the street from us. We had a wonderful time with all.

We got to try out our Country dancing that we learned the last two weeks at our lessons. We burned up that dance floor!!!!

Monday, February 7 – Back to Mexico!!! We are back in Progreso, MX today for Marsha's dental work. She has some crown work to be started.

Dr. de la Rosa Sanez and Marsha

Marsha was in the dental chair from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The dentist did the preparation work and installed temporary crowns. She was very happy with the service. She said, “Believe it or not, he didn’t ask me a ton of questions while working in my mouth. He talked to his assistants (all in Spanish) and let me just hold my mouth open.”  She'll return next Tuesday for the permanent crowns and to conclude her dental work.

While at the dentist, Paul wonder around town. He did get a hair cut right next door to Marsha’s dentist office. It was a WHOPPING $5.00….that included a back massage too!!

Marsha was ready to do some shopping after her appointment. So, we headed out searching for the items on our “list”. First stop was lunch at the Red Snapper. They have two for one margaritas and delicious Mexican dishes. They also had entertainment for enjoyment during lunch.

Looking down the street from the balcony of the restaurant.

Then we strolled among the shops looking for a table cloth and a table runner for the counter top. We found both after a little “dealing” with the merchant....you are expected to bicker a little bit on the price. If you ask for too low of a price, the merchant simple will tell you he can't go that low and offer his “best” price.

Bella enjoying our new purchases.

We also purchased some gifts for some special people and continued on searching for cowboy boots. We each found a pair that will be great when we head to the Texas dance and honky tonks.

If you have never been to Mexico, here is a sure sign that you are there.

 

Around 3:30 p.m., we called it a day, paid our 25¢ to cross the boarder, passed easily through the Checkpoint showing our passports and telling the officer what we purchased (no alcohol, meds or tobacco). After a short walk across the Bridge (Rio Grand River), we decided not to get the 50¢ banana splits at the North end of the Bridge. We jumped in our car for the 40 minute ride home.

Tuesday, February 8 – Clean-up Day! Yep, we have a slight mess on our hands, and today we are going to give a shot at cleaning it up. Several days ago, Paul, while doing some routine maintenance, decided to clean some corrosion off the battery terminals. After spraying the area well with a water/baking soda mixture, he hosed off the batteries carefully and then sprayed down the driveway. Well an hour or so later, when the water dried....HORRORS!!!!

Norm's driveway had a rust colored stain where the water had been. Paul first thought it was from Iron in the water, but after talking with Norm, learned it was from the acid washed off the batteries......OH MY GOSH!

Sunday, after church, we tested several cleaning solutions obtained off the internet. After scrubbing for hours on our hands and knees, we found CLR got the best results using a wire brush and scrubbing like mad. We scrubbed for about four hours until our poor surgically repaired backs cried out “UNCLE.” Many people stopped and offered support and ideas. We were told that with the hot sun by the end of summer it will all disappear. Well, we just aren’t going to wait that long.

Today, we moved the motor home to the other side of the drive and are tackling the remaining stain.

We scrubbed and scrubbed on our hands and knees using wire brushes and CLR for another four hours. Some people walked by and thought we were nuts! We kept hearing over and over…just let it be, it will go away. We thought…you better just go away!

This is the second, and third times in some areas, we went over the stained area. Any more scrubbing and we'll need back surgery again. I guess, it's as good as it's going to get.....at least until the bleaching of the summer sun. Hopefully by this time next year, it will be good as new.

We moved the MH back to its spot and set up again. We put boards and old rugs under the battery compartment area hoping we don't have any additional staining. Whew.....that was a BIG job!!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!