Rain in the Rio Grande Valley - what an out-of-the-ordinary event!

 61 degrees with rain at 11 am Monday.  Had just under .2" from rain overnight.  Really something -- Harlingen reports 3.5" year-to-date as average rainfall and they had recorded less than 1/2 inch as of weather forecast last night, so this is welcome.

With yesterday being Phyllis' birthday, we went with neighbors Ardell and Marian Finken from Indiana and Darlene Winslow from Michigan to The Smoking Oak, a Bar-B-Que place in Mercedes, TX for lunch.  Great food and when Darlene mentioned to the waitress that it was Phyllis' birthday, she brought out three flavors of Cobbler for us all to share!

Had not eaten there before, but now that indoor dining is open, we must go back there this fall when we return to the Valley.

Returned to Darlene's house where we played a couple games of Concentration before having Ice Cream and Chocolaty Chocolate cake and coffee.  

Phyllis received telephone call from son, Cameron, earlier in the day and then in the evening daughter Michelle did a video call.  She had sent flowers that came Saturday morning.  She also had long visit with sister, Beth.

Working at sorting all the things we need to take to Iowa to get in trailer or pickup.  Will probably start disassembling the trikes tomorrow and pack them in to the pickup as they must go in first before all the other stuff is loaded.

Our plan is to leave Friday, April 2nd, and overnight in New Braunfels, TX after getting a bite to eat at The San Antonio Pig Stand in San Antonio.  Saturday will drive to an RV Park in Bullard, TX, unhitch the trailer and drive to the Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari and return to Bullard to over-night.  Sunday will be just under a 300 mile drive to RV Park in Stratford, TX.  On Monday we will meet Rev & Mrs. Baker in Yukon, OK (Suburb of OK City) then some sites in Tulsa and finally get to Jim & Patsy Gallaway's place in Owasso, OK for the night.  They have spent several winters here in Kenwood, but both had a rough time with Covid-19 last summer and did not come down.  Tuesday we will go to both the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, OK and his Birthplace Ranch near Oolagah, OK before staying overnight at Pine Island RV Resort in Jay, OK.  Our sixth day out (Wednesday) we will see Big Brutus and the Museum there near West Mineral Springs, KIS and arrive at Harold & LaRhoda Neher's place late afternoon.  Plan to park trailer at there place so we can visit (and, no doubt, play some Pegs & Jokers) that evening and Thursday morning we will drive the final 100 miles to our place in Clarinda, IA.  My Roadtrippers App maps this out as 1,620 miles, so is some 400 miles more than a straight drive home.  But, this more relaxed way with visiting friends and places will do just fine.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Panicking when her toddler swallowing a tiny magnet; my sister, Betty, rushed him to the emergency room.  "He'll be fine," the doctor promised her. "The magnet should pass through his system in a day or two."  "How will I be sure?" she pressed.  "Well," the doctor suggested, "you could stick him on the refrigerator. When he falls off, you'll know."

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An American tourist in Dublin had been complaining a great deal about the food.
"Here," he said to the waitress holding out a piece of meat for inspection, "do you call that pig?"  "Which end of the fork are you referring to, sir?" the waitress asked sweetly.

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