Bob is home - resting, eating, relaxing... - Wed., May 25, 2016

Judge for yourself...Bob is home resting, relaxing, eating salad, working, planning our weekend trip, and napping as needed.

Doesn't he look good?

He read all your comments and good wishes while he was still at the hospital this morning. It made him feel so good. His big smile is to all of you who took the time to post. Thanks!

Bob is planning a trip for Memorial Day weekend to "the Valley." In this part of Texas "the Valley" refers to the Rio Grande Valley four hours south of us -- McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville, Mission, Edinburg and Pharr -- which runs along the banks of the Rio Grande River, the border between Mexico and the United States. We will also check out South Padre Island along the Gulf of Mexico, the second longest barrier island in the United States after Long Island in New York.

According to Wikipedia, the Rio Grande Valley is not a valley, but a delta or floodplain containing many oxbow lakes or resacas which are formed by bends in the river that later got pinched off from the river as it took a different course. Early 20th-century land developers, attempting to capitalize on unclaimed land, utilized the name "Magic Valley" to attract settlers and appeal to investors. The Rio Grande Valley is also called "El Valle," the Spanish translation of "the valley," by those who live there. The residents of the Rio Grande Valley occasionally refer to the area as "El Magico Valle del Rio Grande" ("The Magical Valley of the Rio Grande"), and simply by the initials "RGV."

In looking for a place to stay, we found the waterfront hotels/motels on South Padre Island are running $200-$330 per night. I suggested we stay at a Bed and Breakfast. We will be staying one night at the Inn at Chachalaca Bend in Los Fresnos. I am partial to B&Bs and this one mentions bird watching for which the Valley is famous. Thankfully it is not as expensive as the waterfront properties!

I am so excited to be traveling even for one night. We plan to do one Volksmarch, sightsee around RV parks in the area (the Valley is a very popular location for Winter Texans because of the mild temperatures and hundreds of very active RV parks - in fact, the population swells by over 200,000 during the winter), eat dinner in South Padre or Port Isabel, go to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, watch the fireworks show on South Padre Island Sunday night, and see what we can see in two daysl

We are so happy Bob is feeling so good.

Travel Bug out.