Another Two + weeks have passed, and we wanted to cover what we've been doing.
We left the Atlanta area on December 2nd and arrived at Victoria Palms, Donna, TX, on Thursday, December 4th. We were at Kinder, LA on Wednesday at the beautiful Coushatta Indian Casino. Casinos are a great place to stay. This one is rated as one of the top 100 casino RV parks in the country. It only cost $17 per night with all hook-ups, plus the casino has a shuttle bus that will pick you up at your RV site and take you to the casino. We did take the shuttle, but only to have dinner at one of their four restaurants.
We left the following morning and thought we would drive south of Houston somewhere and stay overnight and then drive into Donna on Friday. I have always been apprehensive about driving through Huston. Most people say the only time to drive through Huston is Sunday morning. Well, we decided to drive through anyway. We hit the outskirts about 11:30 A.M. and flew through town at 55-60 mph and didn't even run into a single traffic problem. We were so far ahead of schedule by mid-afternoon that we decided to drive on into Donna with enough time to get the RV parked while it was still light.
We felt "at home" the minute we arrived. It just felt comfortable and familiar. I guess it should, this is our 4th season at Victoria Palms.
On Friday we got all the details taken care of;special keys for the mail box, the front gate, exercise room, and billiards room.
The following week was the usual routine. A little bike riding around the park, swimming, card room, woodworking shop, and a few trips to the restaurant. We had breakfast at the restaurant on Saturday, December 12th, and then walked around the craft sale in the ballroom. That's when Connie got the call that her brother Ben, from Woodland Park, CO, had just died. Ben had Leukemia and Lung Cancer and lost his battle at 7:45 A.M. that morning. We knew Ben was "Terminal" and he had been in Hospice for the past week. We immediately went back to the RV and packed for the trip to Woodland Park.
Ben had converted to Judaism, and we thought the funeral would be real soon. As it turned out the funeral was on Tuesday. It was a nice service and the grave- side portion was very impressive. Ben was buried with military honors. At the end the casket was lowered into the grave and then everyone was invited to put three shovels of
dirt on the grave. The first shovel was put in with the blade of the shovel upside down; that represent that you didn't want to be here doing this. The next two shovels represented your respect and love for him. Obviously,a very emotional finish to the services. Ben was just 67 years old. I lost a great brother-in-law and a very dear friend. Connie lost a wonderful brother. His life ended way too soon. I have added a photo of Ben and his wife, Eileen, that we took when we were with him in September. We spent a week with him and took him back and forth to his hospital in Denver for his chemo treatments.
dirt on the grave. The first shovel was put in with the blade of the shovel upside down; that represent that you didn't want to be here doing this. The next two shovels represented your respect and love for him. Obviously,a very emotional finish to the services. Ben was just 67 years old. I lost a great brother-in-law and a very dear friend. Connie lost a wonderful brother. His life ended way too soon. I have added a photo of Ben and his wife, Eileen, that we took when we were with him in September. We spent a week with him and took him back and forth to his hospital in Denver for his chemo treatments.Wednesday we drove back to Donna, 1,300 miles each way. The weather was nice for traveling. We got back Thursday and have settled in again.
I have added a couple of photos of our site here at Victoria Palms. I especially like the TV outdoors and the Weber kettle grill that we added this year. Just finished a pork chop and burger on the grill for dinner tonight.
I'll add another post later.
Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!
