Rest, Hydrate, Recoup, Repeat

We’ve never needed a long stay as bad as when we dragged ourselves into our winter spot, in the dark, last Friday night. This is our third winter in Brownsville, the very southern Tip o’ Texas, and our second in this RV resort, Jetstream Tropical Trails. It’s a new campground plopped on top of former farmland (as is all development down here in the Rio Grande Valley) which means it’s flat and treeless. Not our kind of place, but it has its benefits.

There’s a drainage, resaca-like pond right behind us, which is why we picked this site. There are jack rabbits in the stubbly grasses and a Northern Harrier hunting near the water.

Yesterday, as I was sitting outside the trailer (we still haven’t set anything up yet, but I dragged one sandy chair from the truck) I watched the harrier as it rode a strong headwind exactly so it hovered in place about ten feet up, watching the ground below and listening with its wide face. Even here there’s something beautiful to see.

The park staff (and there are too few to take care of all these needy Winter Texans from the Midwest) have added to the landscaping on the grounds here and there.

It’s perking up, in an unnaturally symmetric way, but still, green is green. I’ve never once seen anyone sitting out in these lounge areas, although I did it myself last year with my ukulele girls. I hear they’re coming back after Christmas!

The pool is still gorgeous.

And, because we’re here early in the season, it’s nicely vacant. Do I look like a gray-haired sexy lady or what? So funny. I’m keeping this picture!

Here’s the gorgeous-estous part of the park to me. I can walk (when my knee gets right, long story on that) to the spacious showers and clean, working laundry room. Thanks to my golf-cart rental, so far I’ve done five, count them, five loads of laundry, and I have at least two more before I’m caught up. I think the last time I washed items down at the bottom of the priority list was in July, five months ago!

Right now we’re catching our breath. Tracy’s supposedly resting his back, and I’m counting down the days until I can get my knee fixed (three). Once we’re both mobile again, we’re setting to our winter plans: Tracy to fix the kazillion little things on the trailer that need it (like resealing the door, replacing the radio antenna, taking the hitch to get sanded and painted, on and on really) and I’m taking every damned bin in the trailer out and sorting through stuff we’ve had packed for going on five years and throwing stuff away. Oh yeah, wash the trailer, inside and out. And eat good food, visit Mexico, peruse the giant flea market, time it right to see the roosting rare parrots. So much to look forward to this winter.

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