Vibrant Downtown McAllen TX

McAllen has tons of nice places to shop in shopping centers and malls scattered throughout the city. But McAllen also has something you don't see that often anymore, a vibrant downtown area. In so many cities, the downtown areas dry up as the shopping centers and malls spring up with their free parking lots. Or the downtown area is saved via conversion to a business/office area rather than a shopping area.  I was told that was not the case here in McAllen.

So I set out to visit Historic Downtown McAllen on Sunday afternoon. 

It wasn't hard to find.....just look for Main St. not too far north of Hwy 83.  It's one-way going north with angle parking. I knew that angle parking in a crowded area was probably not the best place for my big F-250 longbed truck so I did a preliminary drive through to just get the flavor and see how extensive the downtown actually was.  It stretched for a number of blocks before opening out into a more residential area. I made a left turn and then another left to travel down the parallel street, more shopping.  The angle parking on this street ended after two blocks and converted to parallel parking and a wider street and I found a convenient place to pull in.....bonus, metered parking on Sunday is free. Actually it's a double bonus as you don't have to pay but you also don't have to worry about going back to feed the meter!  This is indeed an old-fashioned downtown with one story buildings. There were lots of people strolling along checking out the shops, old and young, families in tow. My friend Sue told me there were bargains to be found in the several fabric shops. Prices looked great.

This is definitely an Hispanic jewel, similar to shopping across the border in Mexico; however, there are no street vendors. Most of the stores seemed geared to the party scene.  There were many perfume stores and stores to buy quinceanera dresses, party gowns, and wedding dresses. Dresses are every color of the rainbow. I took this photo in a store before I was approached by an Asian clerk who said pictures were not allowed.  I apologized and didn't take any more inside although there were no signs anywhere.  I also noticed that a man and teenaged boy were told to wait outside (no loitering) although they were obviously with a woman and daughter who were shopping in the store.

There were also a number of stores like Michael's only these were jam-packed with merchandise for parties of every kind and artificial flowers.  Remember all the flowers in the cemetery?

There also a number of stores buying gold. On the left of this photo, you can see Boot Jack. This was one of the upscale kind of stores you would find in an expensive mall.

I tried to get photos between groups of shoppers and cars but there really were a lot of people out and about.

I sat on a bench in the shade next to La Placita, a Museum of History and Culture to do some people watching. Unfortunately, it was closed. I was joined by a mother and four of her six children while her husband and two of the oldest boys went into the perfume shop next door.  The oldest three were boys, each with their own unique haircut, and the three youngest were girls all with long hair. Two had curls. The youngest was about three and just adorable. She came over several times to get quite close and give me a big smile.  All the kids were really well behaved and polite. Most of the talk on the streets was in Spanish or Spanglish but I never heard this young family use anything but English.

This building almost looked like it was transplanted from New Orleans.  This multi-colored building next door is more typical.

I parked in front of this store which was closed. I don't imagine the young lady wearing the beautiful puffy gown on the right would ever get to sit down.

All in all, it was a fun experience and a big part of life and culture in the Rio Grande Valley. Winter Texans really are welcomed down here. Many even have little decals or signs on their cars or trucks. You will find visitors from every part of Canada and state in the U.S. that call this area home in the cold winter months up north. Some have been coming for many years, traveling in their RVs to get here. Others leave their RVs here or have park model homes in the hundreds and hundreds of RV parks.

On a parting note, the Traveling Longdogs are quite comfortable in their RV. Willy pulled a pillow down, and covered himself with a blanket, and is clearly telling me to go away, he needs a nap.

Fruits and Vegetables in the Valley

A few scenes from Citrus Valley RV Park....

My Canadian neighbors across the road have their own vegetable garden in pots. They have huge tomatoes just ripening. They are covered with clothes in this photo due to an overnight drop in temps.

There are also grapefruit and orange trees around the park. You can pick the grapefruit from the trees around the office....otherwise the fruit belongs to whoever is on the lot with the tree.

A propane truck comes around a couple of times a week. You can put out a sign if you need a fill.

Birdie and I stopped at Bell's Farm to Market the other day. They grow a lot of vegetables on the left side of the building.  There were row after row of tomato plants.

Have you ever seen a cauliflower this large?????  At $3, it had to go home with us.  We each got a gallon baggie of delicious cauliflower out of it.

Hal Linden Concert with Shirley

I had a lovely evening out with Shirley Guttenfelder-Hearne on Thursday. I met Shirley through our RVing group, the Pink FlaminGoes. She invited me to a concert with Hal Linden put on by the McAllen Community Concert Association.  As a season ticket holder, she told me that she has only been disappointed in one event put on by the association.

We had a quick supper at the original Luby's where I met Shirley's friends, Peter and Christa Lee. Then we headed out to the McAllen Civic Center. I wasn't really sure what to expect from a performance by Hal Linden.  I remembered him as the Captain on Barney Miller back in the late 70's.  Who knew?

This was an amazing evening. The Civic Center was packed. The performance started with an opening medley from the seven piece band. They really set the right tone.  Then Hal Linden came out.  What I didn't realize was that Hal started his career as a classically trained clarinetist playing with big band era dance bands.  He was drafted into the Army where he entertained the troops and, when he finished his stint, he realized that his dreams of leading his own Big Band were dwindling as the band era was ending. So he enrolled in voice and drama with New York's American Theatre Wing.  He made his Broadway debut in 1957 with Judy Holliday in "Bells are Ringing".  He has been in over 20 Broadway and off-broadway shows.

So, while many remember him from Barney Miller and other TV shows, he is an outstanding clarinetist with a fantastic voice.  He put on an amazing show covering numerous eras of music.  His voice hasn't lost any of it's quality over the years. His energy level during the show was really high.  Only after the show was over and I was able to read the final paragraphs of the program did I realize the man is 83 years young.  Wow!

Thanks for a great evening Shirley and sharing a fantastic show with me.

The Parrots of 10th St in McAllen TX

Sunday night we headed down to 10th St about 5:30 PM to see the parrots. It's an amazing sight that happens in different places across the Rio Grande Valley.

They swoop in, flocks of them. There may be flocks of grackles in the same area but the grackles stay out of the parrots chosen areas. They line up on the wires and chatter loudly while they preen each others feathers.

They pair off and cuddle up.  Sometimes they even hang there upside down.

It's an amazing sight.  One site I found labled them as Red Headed Mexican Amazons sometimes also called Green Cheeked Amazons. Supposedly they are native to north east Mexico they are somewhat endangered.  At dark they head to their favorite trees where they settle on inner branches so they are hard to see. 

You will find some much better close-up pictures and some more information at http://www.texasescapes.com/KenRudine/Green-Parrots.htm.

Hmmmm........based on some further research, I think these are actually green parakeets rather than parrots. They are much smaller but have many of the same personality traits.  Very fun to see.

Rio Grande Valley Days

I haven't been to good at posting on this trip. First few days were cold as I said. Then it warmed up but was still kind of cloudy so I haven't been taking a lot of pictures.  This my site at Citrus Valley RV Park next to Birdie's Class A.

There is no one parked in the three sites between me and the back road which is nice. The park is a mixture of  various types of RVs, patio homes, and a row of larger mobiles. The place is pretty well kept up and some of the Winter Texans have put quite a bit of effort into their sites. Some of the sites may be occupied year round although most appear to be used mostly in the winter. I'm not sure the pool and hot tub had time to heat up to full use after the last polar blast but I still have hopes.  There is a big hall with lots of activities going on. One of my neighbors is one of the park officers and she brought me over a sheet listing all of the activities. They have entertainers arrive in a huge red bus on Saturday and they also have dances. There is an additional charge for the outside entertainment and the public is also invited.  They have a nice little library with lots of comfortable seating for park residents. They also have pool tables, a shuffleboard court, and a laundry. I think there is a pool tournament on Monday and a quilting group meeting on Tuesday.

Sunday Birdie and I met Sue for lunch at the 107 Cafe.  There were lots of locals there so that's a pretty good guarantee of good food.  Of course, Birdie and Sue have eaten here quite a few times so they already knew it was good.

Birdy and I had chicken fajita tacos with boracho beans and salad.  They were very good although definitely not like the grilled fajitas I am used to having. These were cooked in a reddish sauce. The homemade flour tortillas were great.  It was a beautiful day today. We made a grocery run after lunch.

I found a wet spot under my kitchen sink the day after I arrived here but it appears that the tightening I did on the connections where you can put an inline water fill did the trick. There has also been perplexing minor leak behind the toilet. I have noticed a little water about two or three times a year since I got the RV. I even had it in for warranty work about six months after I got the RV but, of course, they couldn't find anything.  There are a couple of connections but I think I may have found the spot so I tightened that too.  So far no more wet spot so I'll keep checking it.

Tomorrow may include a trip to South Padre Island......

The Sun, the Sun!

Well, my trip down to the Valley went smoothly other than very chilly weather and I had no trouble at all finding Citrus Valley RV Park, where my friend Birdie is staying. Thanks to her directions I had an easy turn from the right directly into the park. I knew where I would be parking the RV since she had already spoken to the office and they were putting me right next to her. Since there was a big event in the rally hall next to the office and cars were parked everywhere, I just went directly to the site and got backed in.

My hitch was binding a bit when I unhooked and before I knew it, there were two gentlemen right there just sure they needed to help me out.  I wasn't in any trouble and the unhooking would have gone a little faster without the "assistance" but I kept smiling and managed to get it done the right way without hurting their feelings.  A quick trip to the office took care of sign in and paying.  Brrr, there sure wasn't any extra heat down here. The dachsies were very happy to see Birdie again and they also got a visit from Sandy, a new friend of Birdie's who also has a dachshund.

Thursday and Friday were equally cold and damp. The Traveling Longdogs were not interested in any long walks which suited me just fine because the wind was cold and biting. Thursday evening, Birdie and I picked Sandy up and met Sue, another RVing friend of mine, and Carolyn at a Mongolian Grill restaurant. Sandy and Carolyn had never been to this type of restaurant where you pick out all your
vegetables and meat and then it is cooked for you on a big grill so it was an experience. You also choose the seasonings and type of oil and sauce you would like on it.  It was delicious and the service was great too.

Friday, Birdie cooked a big pot of beans and I made cornbread.  Sue joined us for a late lunch and afternoon visit.  Sue winters in another park in Edinburg and travels the remainder of the year. Birdie is also a full-timer who considers the San Antonio area her home base with travels elsewhere anytime. The new ladies I met, Sandy and Carolyn, are both Winter Texans. Sandy has an RV here and workcamps at Citrus Valley every winter.  She has another RV up north where she spends the other half of the year.  Having family at both locations helps a lot since her husband died last spring.  Carolyn is staying at another park.  There are hundreds of RV parks down here in the Valley filled with happy Winter Texans. Of course, they would all be happier this winter if it was warmer but then so would the rest of us Texans.

Today the sun finally made an appearance and it very quickly warmed up.  The dachsies and I got in several nice walks around the park but I inconveniently forgot the camera.  We planned to do a little sightseeing this afternoon but Willy was having some sort of separation anxiety and was putting up quite a fuss so we only ran out to a store and came back to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

Willy and Gretchen will both be 11 in April but he is showing his age lately and just isn't quite himself since he is having some allergy itching problems as well. Willy better be feeling a lot less anxious about me leaving him home tomorrow!  

Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen, TX

On Tuesday morning, we headed to McAllen to Quinta Mazatlan, an historical adobe mansion and world birding center.

Quinta Mazatlan a private Spanish Revival Style mansion was constructed in 1935 by Jason Matthews as a private and rather luxurious residence, complete with a Roman tub. It is one of, if not, the largest adobe structures in Texas (10,000 sq. feet).

After a period of over 60 years and two different owners, Jason Matthews and then Frank Schultz, the house was put up for sale at an auction. Despite Quinta Mazatlan’s appeal, developers wanted to demolish the adobe home. Thanks to the citizens, the City of McAllen bought the property in 1998, and Quinta Mazatlan was saved from the bulldozer and assumed a much wider responsibility in the community. In 2006 Quinta Mazatlan opened as a “mansion with a mission” under the stewardship of the McAllen Parks and Recreation Department.

Small house just inside the entrance.

Now the 20-acre Tamaulipan Thornforest property joins other protected areas from South Padre Island in the Gulf all the way to Roma in the west under the World Birding Center (WBC) organization.  For the City of McAllen, the mansion welcomes business people and dignitaries to the area. Its Spanish architecture and extensive gardens make Quinta Mazatlan a fine reception area for all ambassadors who seek audience in McAllen, one of the largest cities in the Valley.

Quinta Mazatlan is now an urban sanctuary working to enrich people's lives by sharing knowledge about birds, plants and environmental stewardship in South Texas. Quinta Mazatlan and its WBC partners promote birding and conservation of Valley habitat, especially as it benefits numerous avian residents and neo-tropical migrants. The Valley currently has 1.2 million people on the American side (and at least 2.1 million on the Mexican side), and represents the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. The protection of woodlands and green space is an important goal for the City of McAllen and its neighbors.

Sue made arrangements for us to have a private tour of the house and grounds.  We started with a slide show given by a very dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer.

We went through the house with all the important details pointed out to us.

Then we toured the grounds around the house.

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna in addition to the house.

We saw several chachalaca doing what looked like a mating dance but I didn't get my camera out fast enough.

This sign has an interesting significance.  When Jason Matthews acquired the property, built the pool, and then the house, he wanted to ensure that he and his family and friends had privacy so he put up a sign saying "Beware of Agapanthus" counting on the fact that people would not know what that was.  It is actually a type of lily flower.

The original pool was 12 feet by 50 feet and 10 feet deep.

The Roman Tub was huge and deep.

After we finished our tour, we went to Republic of the Rio Grande for lunch.  No.....it is not a Whataburger.

Then some went to the pool, some did laundry, some napped, some walked dogs........I won't tell who did what.  We met later at the Casa Blanca in the resort for happy hour.