Its been two weeks since my last post as I’ve settled into a routine much like when I’m at home.And really that is my comfort zone.As I’ve said all along since starting to blog two years ago,that when I’m travelling and have something to blog about,then I’ll put in an entry.
Now technically you could say that I am travelling….Well sort of, so when I get off my butt here and do something that I might think interesting,then I’ll make an entry.Many bloggers are happy telling of what they do all day including what they had for breakfast,every day…That's really not my style,although I am guilty of just that in the past,and will probably slip up and do it in the future.
My daily routine for the past 2 weeks is just relaxing and catching up with all the DVR recordings from my satellite TV that have been building up over the past 2 months,besides some days have been so hot that sitting inside with the air conditioner on and watching TV has been the norm.
The rest of the time has been spent driving around and getting used to the general area and finding the shopping/service spots that are close and easy to get to,for example the closest Super Wal-Mart is 9 minutes away and the closest H.E.B. Supermarket is 6 minutes,so things are (driving) close.(The H.E.B. has my favourite Mexican fruit yogurt,”Lala” peach with big chunks of fresh peaches.) And in between all of this are many Laundromat choices,big bright and almost empty,in fact the other day I was the last one leaving at 1030am,a far cry from my Yuma experiences where the Laundromats seemed to be a rat race by that hour.(Or do I need to check my armpits?)
And another nice thing is that the park is located on the outskirts of the city,where it is quiet enough that I hear the coyotes and roosters,even heard a donkey bray one morning,made me miss old Mexico.So the point of my rambling is that getting on the 83 Expressway,which is down the road a few blocks,gets me across several of the valleys cities,really fast or just as quickly to local spots.
Last January when I was here for 10 days,the local driving terrified me as I couldn't figure out all the one way frontage roads running beside an elevated expressway,then getting mixed up with the difference between U turn and left turn lanes as they passed under the expressway overpasses.This got me in big trouble back then when I found myself facing down on coming traffic going the wrong way after coming out of a gas station.So this time I was determined to figure it all out…And have… Now I love it.
On the nicer days I get out and do a little birding in our little parks own preserve.Still enjoying the Green Jays and Cardinals.
And even some of the visitors come right into my site beside the trailer,like the Pyrrhuloxia below.
The Northern Mockingbird(on Right) acts like part of a street gang,chasing all the others away,but sure makes up for it with their beautiful singing.It seems every afternoon on nice days,one will be up above my trailer singing away for the longest time.I would like to record it but there’s too much traffic noise here.
Last week I was treated to a 2 day visit from a fellow blogger who is on my side bar under the handle of (Croft’s Mexico).I’ve been following his blog for many years,so when he put a message in my comments section that he wanted to drop in and meet me,as they were passing through,I was thrilled as I had wanted to meet them.
Norma and Croft from Vancouver Island.
They are great people….We couldn't even find anything to argue about and that’s one of my strong points….I love arguing,It seemed that we just agreed on every topic whether it be politics or Mexico travel.We had happy hours and morning coffee visits and I really enjoyed having someone to talk to for a change,since I tend to be a bit of a loner.Even though we do have a park full of friendly people,I do stick to myself,its the old boondocker in me.Having Norma and Croft visit was more like old friend's because after reading his blog over the years,I felt like I knew them well……..Its a blogger thing I guess.
They had a bit of a sugar ant problem for the 2 days that they were here,as did I upon arriving, but after 2 weeks I had all my ants trained to leave me alone and go invade someone else…..That being said,I sent about 50 of them off to visit Norma and Croft and they hitched a ride with them to Brownsville,leaving me less to contend with.
Here they are heading out for Brownsville.Hope to meet up again soon.
So its back to my usual daily routine of my morning exercise jog/walks and 3 times weekly weight workouts with my fancy Ironmaster (quick change) dumbbells.I love these,so easy to travel with. They are shaped for travel with the square plates.My tail gate makes a good table for setting up.
One last thing I wanted to mention was that I picked this area instead of Arizona because of it’s more tropical,less desert, climate, as its on an east/west line with Miami Florida with much the same climate,in fact just down a few sites from me, I found growing, a fairly healthy looking bunch of banana’s up against the side of a 5th wheel.I’ve never seen them growing this healthy this far north,usually in Mexico you would travel almost to Mazatlan to see them,much further south….Although is it really that much further south,I believe we are also on an east/west line with Los Mochis Mexico.And I’ve never been to Florida,so maybe they grow all over,in that State…….There I go rambling again.
They even call the highway 83 through the valley as the “Texas Tropical Trail”.
I have 2 weather gadgets on my desktop,one for Yuma and one for Mission/McAllen and am able to compare temperatures every morning when I boot up,and so far this area has been much warmer,especially the overnights,some by more than 20 degrees f.(Coastal climate vs.desert.) I guess.
This was one of the reasons for picking this spot along with getting away from trailer rocking desert winds and DUST!……..Just a nice change and a new experience for the old guy.
On a final note I’m not knocking Yuma or Arizona as a whole…I love the place….just wanted to experience something different……And I also love comparative statistics as you have probably guessed by now.
