We loaded our bicycles this morning about 7:30 and headed to Bentsen RGV Park to ride. It was rough today. I thought yesterday I was tired once we finished, but today I had to stop at 3 miles and rest a bit before going on. The wind was at least as strong as yesterday, if not more so, so we were bucking it half of the ride. What I didn't realize when we left, but soon did into the ride, my muscles were sore from yesterday's ride. It was too late to turn around since we were half way in. At three miles we stopped at a bird blind and I did get a couple of pictures of the green jay.
 |
| Green bird with dark head in the middle of the picture is the Green Jay. It is a beautiful bird. |
Of those, this was the only one good enough to include and it's not a great picture. After we set awhile I was able to complete the last mile fine - except that last uphill from the park to the parking lot. I really struggled on those last two or three pedals to make it to the top but I did it! My legs were a shaking. No pain, no gain, they say!
After we returned home, had our breakfast, showers, and did a few chores we left to run a couple of errands, and a couple of fun things.
When Hoot and Helen took us to Old McAllen last Sunday we first drove by an old seminary building and down to the entrance to Anzalduas Park. I wanted to go back so I could get some pictures and to drive through the park. It is free to enter the park Mon-Fri, but there is a fee on the weekends.
This partial structure is an old Catholic seminary. Here is an article I found about Juan Diego Academy & the Old Seminary.
 |
| The remains of this old seminary really caught my attention. I love old buildings and learning the history behind them. |
 |
| Entrance to Juan Diego Academy - Catholic School where the old seminary structure resides. |
When we took the Riverboat Tour a few weeks ago we floated by Anzalduas Park which is adjacent to Anzalduas Dam on the US side of the Rio Grande River. Here are a few pictures we took as we drove through the park.
 |
| We are in the US Anzalduas Park. Looking to the left across the water is Mexico. |
 |
| Anzalduas Park - a very large park with lots of open space. |
 |
| The park in Mexico - across the Rio Grande River. |
 |
| Anzalduas Dam |
As we left the park we headed to Walmart - seems to be our place of choice lately - as much as we visit it. Today we were going for bike helmets and I am looking for a new silverware tray. The one I bought 4 years ago does not have full sides for each of the sections, so the silverware is always sliding into the adjoining compartments. I decided it was something I wanted to change if I could, however they did not have anything the size I needed - 9" or less. I'll keep looking. Today was the first time I used any of the funds I've accumulated in my Walmart Savings Catcher. After I reset my password so I could get into my account - it was very simple to use.
Our next stop was at Pep Boys to talk to them about tires for Bentley. As I mentioned yesterday we need to get new ones before we leave here. Dean found out from David (thank you) he can order the tires through a company that will deliver them to Pep Boys. Once they are there, Dean will take two tires off, take them to Pep Boys, they will put the new ones on the rims. Once he puts the new ones on Bentley, he'll do the same with the other two tires. We'll get that set up on Monday. Dean said we will not be leaving here until it is done! Hopefully, they will get it completed within the next 30 days!!
By now we were hungry and while we thought about heading back home to eat, we knew we wanted to make another stop so rather than make another trip back, we found Taco Palenque (what we were looking for yesterday) and decided to try it out. Dean had two Casero tacos (refried beans, rice and premium sirloin); and I had two crispy tacos (ground beef, lettuce, tomato and cheese). They have a salsa bar and all the chips you can eat. We really enjoyed both the tacos and the chips, and I was in love with the salsa bar. They had a wonderful avocado creme sauce that was amazing. We were quite full when we left for right at $10 for both of us. Thanks to Helen for this tip!
We visited Old McAllen with Hoot and Helen last Sunday but I wanted to check out a couple of other places - Casa Kevin which had a huge variety of things (and Helen highly recommended), and another place that was like a party store (mostly kid's party products) along with lots of other stuff - flowers, stuffed animals, housing goods, tools, etc. We didn't buy anything but enjoyed looking. I saw a few things I will probably go back for before we leave.
 |
| These stores are just packed with all kinds of things to buy from tools to makeup; from shoes to prom dresses; and it's all cheap! I saw a few things I'll probably purchase before we leave. For anyone wanting to have a themed birthday party for a child, this would be a great area to pick up paper products. |
Our last stop before heading home was at the National Butterfly Park, which is not far from our RV park at all. It was about 4:30 when we arrived and it closes at 5:00, but we did get information that will be useful when we come back to visit. Right now they do not have a lot of butterflies due to the cooler weather this winter, but there are a number of birds. They feed the birds at 8:30 and 1:30 each day. A few birds that are in the area now, and somewhat unique include the Rufus Hummingbird, Painted Bunting and the Western Bluebird (which we have at home in the spring-summer months). I hope we might have the opportunity to see all three of these while we are here. We will return once my camera arrives.
From the butterfly park, we headed home. I asked Dean to stop at the park office to pick up the weekly Winter Texan papers. They both list all the activities scheduled for the upcoming week, along with several articles detailing special activities, featuring places to eat, etc. I noticed the Winter Texan TIMES is advertising a special edition they will publish in March. It is to "let your friends back home know about all the fun times they can have in the Rio Grande Valley". So, for those of you following the blog, who might be interested, let me know and I'll pick some up and bring back to share at the spring rallies. The rest of our evening was pretty laid back, watching more of the Olympics, reading and studying the new Atlas.
I pray each of you have had a wonderful day! I love hearing from you, so don't hesitate to say hello or make a comment.
Look up "spinning" for bike riding. Teaches you how to use the gears but you may already know this. Basically, spinning is selection of a gear where you maintain the same required effort while peddling. Kind of a constant peddling rather than times of easy and hard. Glad you guys are getting the exercise. Karen and I are both spending too much time indoors during this winter. Siting around on the couch gets to be a habit. We are expecting 50 degree weather here today and 60 tomorrow. Figure we might get outside and cut some firewood, maybe working on cutting out some bushes.
ReplyDelete