Our Last 4 Days at Victoria Palms :(

   So...Wed morning we had breakfast, John took a walk while I got cleaned up and got ready for Min It To Win It at 1:00 in the ballroom.  John cleaned up when he got back.  While he was dumping the tanks he spotted an unwelcome guest in the compartment...a brown recluse spider!! 

John named him, "Spidee Webster"

So we rode down to the office to let them know and, hopefully get someone to spray.  While we were there we mentioned Min It To Win It and the gal in the office told us it was cancelled due to the activity director being sick.  Ah, shucks!  So, being ready with no place to go, I went shopping.  John wanted to wash and wax Harvey anyway, so seemed like a good plan.  But, first, we rode over to Tammi and Rich's place to ask if they wanted to get together tonight to play the board game they talked about.  We met Doc, their Yorkie, and finalized our plans for 7pm. 

Tammi, Rich and Doc

I got back from my shopping excursion at about 6pm.  Yes, I did put a bit of a dent in my checkbook.  I MUST get rid of some of the stuff in my closet when we get home!  John had supper ready, grilled shrimp and pineapple and rice-a-roni.  It was yummy!  Then we headed over to Rich and Tammi's.  When we got there another couple was there that Rich and Tammi invited.  He was retired Army.  He and John had a great time talking.  (Can you tell I forgot the couple's names.  That's happening more and more lately...what's up with that?)The permanent double wide unit Rich and Tammi bought and re-did is absolutely gorgeous.  It's like something right out of one of those fixer upper shows!  The name of the game we played was "Joker" and it was very similar to Sorry and the marble game we play, but with quite a few more number combos and special moves.  It's played on a "Social Security" game board.  I didn't catch on as fast as John did.  We had such a fun evening!  Sure wish we would have met them sooner!

Tammi and Rich did a wonderful job re-doing their
double wide they bought last spring.  It has 3
bedrooms, 2 baths, a beautiful kitchen with an island and sit up bar,
 a living room and dining room, a big deck on the left,
and a big "shop" area on the right. 
 

 

I never heard of this game until we got to VP.

   Thursday morning we played our last Bocce Ball match.  If I do say so myself, I had 4 of the best shots ever.  Even 1 of the guys I was playing against said he NEVER saw 4 shots that good.  Wish the rest of the match had gone that well.  We sure do like that game!  We had a bite for lunch and then I went to bean bag toss and John went to the pool for water volleyball.  When I got back I made some red pepper dip for the Tailgate Party in the Cactus Club parking lot.  They were providing hamburgers, chips and dessert.  And there was live music and dancing afterward.  We had no idea how full it would get.  It was to start at 5:00.  We got there just before 4:30 and there were already about 200 people there with their chairs all set up!  Another 200 showed up by the end of the evening.

Quite a crowd, huh?!?

 

 

The Cactus Club crew serving the meals.

   It was a fun evening.  Leslie sang again.  She is so good and can sing almost anything.  She should go on The Voice!  We left about 8:30 and played 3 games of 5 Crowns when we got back.  We are now at 20-21 with John in the lead.  I'm not worried!!  We were in bed by 11:00.
   Friday morning John went to play pickleball at 8:30 and I went to my last choir practice at 9:00.  I made French toast for breakfast when John got back at 11:00.  Then we made a trip to another CG called Llano Grande just a few miles down the road.  We had heard that it is even nicer than Victoria Palms, so we needed to check it out.  Well...it was nice, but we like VP better.  LG just didn't exude the warmth that VP does.  And...they don't have bocce ball!!  Then we stopped at Walmart for a few groceries.  I decided to take back the sewing machine I bought because I just didn't like it.  So I texted Claudia to see if she wanted to ride along with me to JoAnn's in Pharr and maybe do a little shopping.  (Maybe...come on!!)  She wanted to go, so I picked her up at 1:30 and off we went.  Bless his heart, John did laundry while I was gone.  Claudia and I had a good time at Beall's, Ross, and TJ Maxx.  We got back about 7pm.  John grilled some chicken for supper and we had big salads.  We played 5 Crowns again.  We are now tied at 22-22.  In case you're wondering...we are a bit competitive.
   Saturday, John played pickleball while I cleaned up a bit in Harvey.  Then we took a trip to Home Depot to get a specific nut we needed that fell off a pin that goes thru the arm of the awning.  It sure was hot out today!  As a matter of fact the temperature reading on the VP sign said 90 degrees.

Here's proof.  When we drove by here about an
 hour later it said 97!!

 

This is our thermometer before we left for that late lunch.
It is in the sun without the awning out, but it was very hot!!

  We thought we ought to have one more authentic Mexican meal before we leave the Rio Grande Valley, so we asked one of the check out guys at HD for a recommendation.  Then we went to HEB to get cookies for the coffee hour at church tomorrow and the flea market behind the CG to get pineapples and covers for Harvey's windshield wipers and mirrors. 

There is a very large inside area complete with Amish treats!

There is an eating area with live music behind this stand.

We dropped all our stuff off at Harvey and then went to the office to settle up in preparation for our departure tomorrow.  They had a few more Mexican restaurant recommendations for us.  So, we chose one of them and had a late lunch.  Remember how hot I said it was.  Well... the VP sign now said 97 degrees!  The food at El Rancho Grande was great!  We both brought enough home to have another meal.  We played a few games of 5 Crowns (we are now 23-24) when we got back.  Then John took a nap and I rode down to the library to work on a puzzle. I lost track of time and didn't get back until 7:45.  John had done a lot of prep work for leaving tomorrow, so I kicked in gear and did my stuff, too.  We turned in about 11:00.
   Sunday morning we had our ceremonial departure day cereal for breakfast and then I went to church to sing with the choir for the last time.  John stayed behind to do final departure prep work.  I had tears in my eyes when we sang the benediction number, "May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You."  There's a line that ends with, "till we meet again," and I almost lost it!!  I went back to Harvey, changed clothes, we hooked up the Jeep and we left VP at 10:45.  Bonnie called just as we pulled out of the CG.  We chatted for about a half hour.  All is well with them. 
    We plan on travelling about 6 hrs. today to a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Waco.  So, if all goes well, with stops along the way, we should be there by 7:00 or so.