RGV Life

It's that time of year again when Winter Texans start to make their way south from the northern states. I have already had phone calls with a Winter Texan client who is getting ready to come down. I think it is fascinating that we can make friends from people who are visiting only seasonally.  Looking at the blog stats, I seem to get a peak in traffic every year. So I suppose it must be partly due to many of our friends coming back from up north.  Image generated by Gemini 1.5 Pro AI Speaking of seasons, we still have a couple of months to go before the end of hurricane season for 2024. We have been fortunate this year, compared to other parts of the USA. Although, south Texas could use the rain.  This time of year makes me happy as we finally have nights that are below 78F like we had all summer. This week we have had mornings in the 60s. While we still have hot days in the 90s, we at least get some respite in the evenings, leading to cool mornings.  Returning to RG...

When I first started RGV Life, it was tilted towards a little bit of tourism, a little bit of local news, some politics, and a lot of online exploration. It was hard work. But, it was also fun. It allowed for the exploration of new media, which included online video, podcasts, and even live streaming. Being naturally shy, RGV-Life.com opened up a lot of doors for me. It gave me a topic of conversation with others. When I would visit people, they already knew about RGV Life and welcomed me as if I were an old friend. Unfortunately, when I started the blog, I did not expect that it would become what it did. I would have put more thought into the name. It turned out that there was already an RGVLife.com without the hyphen. While our paths did not cross where people would confuse the two websites, we have different circles, it makes it difficult to say that I have things locked down in terms of name recognition. They were first. Recently, I saw that there is an RGV Life printed ...

I was just writing a post over at the MissionTexas.net blog regarding the new CEED building in Mission . They have still not completely opened up for business; but, already great things are happening there. Give the blog post a read and visit the links to the items referenced. I hope to be able to share more as their activities start to pick up speed. The gist of it is that Mission is preparing to make some great things happen for the Rio Grande Valley. The CEED building has garnered much attention from other cities in the region and throughout the state. The RGV is on the cusp of something big.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Smokin' Aces North Barbecue adding Pitmaster J.D. Davidsmeyer to their team in order to offer some of the best barbecue in the Rio Grande Valley. Yes, you can go have some drinks at the bar; but, you absolutely must have a steak while you're there. Today, we are going to focus a little bit on the Pitmaster himself, J.D. Davidsmeyer. The question is, how does one become a Pitmaster? We all fancy ourselves great barbecue makers. We all have some technique to give us fairly edible barbecue, whether it be a barbecue sauce, a marinade, a rub, smoke, or some other trick to try to make the meat taste good. Does that make us Pitmasters? No. You don't just declare yourself a Pitmaster. To be a Pitmaster, you have to win competitions, consistently. What we are talking about is the difference between puttering around the driveway with your skateboard and winning skateboarding competitions with cash prizes. It's the difference between playing 18 h...

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Smokin' Aces North at the invitation of a friend. I did not realize what a great opportunity that was. Readers of this blog know that I Forrest Gump my way around greatness. But, before we go into my latest Gump move, know that Smokin' Aces North is currently in a transition. Aces North already had the bar part of "Bar & Grill" figured out. Now, they are working on the grill part of the Bar & Grill in a big way. Smokin' Aces North wants to bring in lunch and family dining during the daylight hours. They will then transition to the bar focus after 9 pm. The menu is expanding to include many barbecue items such as the Brisket Sundae, Xtreme 1/2 pound burger, stuffed Poblano peppers, steaks, some of those really good chicken wings I tried last time, and also meals for kids. Local diners are discovering that they can stop by Aces North during their lunch break for some delicious barbecue. Some folks are also taking the fami...

I requested suggestions for interesting people in the Rio Grande Valley. Thanks to David Cruz for sharing this post on Juan Angel Gloria, Deputy Chief at McAllen Fire Department.

Yesterday after work, a friend invited me to Smokin Aces North, a bar in McAllen near 10th Street and Martin. If you're into live music by local bands, you're probably familiar with Aces. Once upon a time, there was an Aces in Mission; but, people started complaining and things got political, so the place shut down. Still, even back then, they were big into the music scene. I think that's what's important here, that there are places for local talent to perform. My buddy,  +Richie Trevino , used have a rock band a few years back. He still writes songs here and there. It's cool to see that even though he isn't performing anymore, he supports other bands when he can. It was interesting to see that some of the other people at the bar were also performers. I didn't know that there was a community of artists in the RGV until last night. Last night, Radio on Repeat was playing some cover songs. These are some young guys with good sound. The band consists o...

Yesterday, my family and I went out to South Padre Island to cool off. The Rio Grande Valley has had weather in the 90s until these past couple weeks, which are the dog days of summer, or as you will hear called around here, "la canicula". If there ever was a time to go spend some time at the beach, it is now. You have probably heard of people in New York City who have lived there all their lives and never visited the Statue of Liberty, or any of the famous attractions. Living there, they can go any time they choose, so they don't go. I think it's the same here in South Texas with South Padre Island. Our family does not go and take advantage of this great attraction very often. It's there. We could go any time. In fact, we have typically gone to the beach at South Padre Island during the off season, closer to November. The weather is still warm and the water is still warm. More importantly, we do not have to deal with the traffic. On the way to the beach d...

I was shocked to see the temperature reach 100 degrees the other day. Shocked I say! The run of 90 degree weather we have enjoyed up to now has run out. Back are the days of 100 degrees. I had hoped we would make it through the full summer in the 90s. That would be so nice. So, what now? Well, there are some things you can do: Visit your local municipal pool for some swimming Visit your library during the hot hours. Have some quiet "me time".  Go shopping The movies have always been a good way to escape the heat. Hit the matinees. Go outdoors. Since you're going to be hot and sweaty anyway, go do some outdoor stuff. At least you'll have something to show for your perspiration. Go to South Padre Island. Sharks be damned. They can't bite everybody. You have good odds of keeping even numbers of limbs. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Do you have any ideas?

I realize that this is a bit last-minute; but, it is important. A few days ago, I was contacted by  +Karine Aigner  regarding a campaign to save Camp Lula Sams , which is 85.7 acres of land formerly used by the Girl Scouts. The property is now up for sale, which prompted a campaign to raise money to save it.  The important thing to know about Camp Lula Sams is that it is one of those properties that is home to all manner of wildlife and flora that appeals to nature lovers, photographers, and the occasional biology nerd.  You can keep up with the campaign by liking their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/savecamplulasams . Important Date: There is a fundraiser dinner on May 16. Yes, that is in 2 days. Tickets are $40 each. Obviously, the more tickets are sold, the more money there is to save Camp Lula Sams. Below are the details of the event. Another Important Date Being chock-full of helpfulness, I should also inform you that  f...

Lately, I have been using the  +Waze  app more and more to get around here in the Rio Grande Valley. Granted, the RGV is not quite San Antonio or Houston in terms of traffic. Still, there are areas that get congested during different times of day, which makes it frustrating at times. In case you are not familiar with Waze, it is a mobile app that calculates the fastest route between your current location and your destination. Waze does this by tracking data sent by users like myself. Their servers recognize patterns and figure out the best route to take based on data sent from others users. If traffic slows down on your route, Waze will even reroute you to a better path. Normally, you would use GPS to find places you have never visited. Waze can help you find locations like any old GPS; however, Waze is useful even when you know exactly where you are going because it is watching traffic ahead of you. For example, in the mornings and afternoons, streets near schools get c...

We are in the best time of year for the Rio Grande Valley in terms of temperature. Mornings are cool, days are warm and evenings are pleasant. This is the sort of weather that inspires one to go out for a walk to enjoy the glory of the outdoors, whether it is rural or in town. Obviously, not all is perfect with this time of year. Allergies run rampant for those who suffer them. On my part, I get leaky eyes; whereas, others in my family get the whole stuffy face and headache with their allergies. We have discovered that air purifiers are a tremendous help. Not only do the  allergy sufferers in my home sleep better, they wake up in a better mood. Coming back to the weather this time of year, I love it because the heat is not oppressive during the day like it is in summer. Summer days start off sweaty. I would say humid and hot; but, that's not how it feels. As soon as you step outside into the day, you start to sweat like a cheese with your patina of moisture, even in the morni...

Spring is almost in the air.  We are seeing blooms around the RGV.

You could learn a great deal if you have to travel between South Padre Island and Roma. I don't imagine many of us make the full drive; but many of us drive somewhere in between. Recently my work requires driving from McAllen to Rio Grande City or McAllen to Raymondville. These aren't the longest drives in the world. However, if you fire up audio books or podcasts, you can learn some things. There have been plenty of people to recommend Automobile University over the years. The idea started back in the day when you could buy a book on cassette. That later evolved to books on CD. Today's technology allows you to purchase and download an audio book in seconds. Thus, you can learn all manner of things if you put the effort into it. Personally, I use Audible for my audio books because of its tie-in with Amazon. But, there are plenty of other places where you can download some books, such as Audiobooks.com, Google Play, iTunes, and Librivox among others. If you are not int...

Signs of Spring in the RGV We have had some warm days in the 2014-2015 winter. Here we are mid-February. It is likely Spring will roll in, except for Spring Break. For some reason the weather likes to hit us with a cold front for Spring Break. Peach blossoms Blooming Aloe

I woke up this morning and felt the morning air much cooler than during our summers. It seems that Fall has finally come around to the Rio Grande Valley. I remember days when we still had 100 degree weather in October. I'm not longing for those days to come back, mind you. I am perfectly happy having Fall weather in the Fall than later in December. Of course, this makes me wonder, with Fall coming so early to the Rio Grande Valley this year, if Winter will be colder than usual. Hopefully the weather remains temperate in its chill as it was in its heat this year. I think that cooler weather gives us opportunity to wear more interesting clothes that we do not have opportunity to use the rest of the year, such as jackets, sweaters, scarves, and hats. I do see people walking around with beanies in the summer heat. Fools. Cooler weather also makes it pleasant to be outdoors during the daytime rather than having to wait until the evening. I think I will enjoy the Winter of 2014.

It seems like it has been raining for weeks in the Rio Grande Valley. The weather forecasts have almost exclusively hovered around something like: Chance of Showers. High 90. Low 75.  There have been a few days here and there where temperatures have climbed up to 100 degrees, but they have been very few compared to other years when it has been 100 F through October. It's as if all the rain that we have not had these many years has suddenly decided to pay back its debt. Out of curiosity, I looked up the Falcon Reservoir level, which is often used as an indicator of drought conditions. Despite all the rain we have been receiving, the Falcon Lake level is still about 30 ft below capacity. In fact, we are below 2010 and 2011 levels at the same time of year. But, we are above 2012 and 2013 levels by a few feet. We seem to be somewhat following seasonal variability, in terms of lake level. In short, not quite drought, but not quite in breathe easy territory. So, what has been the...

This morning, my oldest and I took the Valley Metro bus from Mission to McAllen. I was headed to 10th and Trenton; she was headed to +The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) . I thought I had blogged about riding the bus before; but, I don't see any evidence. It must have been put on  +Google+  or on Facebook somewhere. This must have been about 2 or 3 years back when I worked in Edinburg. The result of the previous bus riding was that I couldn't do it long-term. I was spending way too much time doing nothing during the ride, and it takes 2 hours to get from Mission to Edinburg without changing buses. The Valley Metro bus meanders through Mission, goes to the McAllen bus depot, then meanders through Pharr before ending up in Edinburg. The return trip involves equal meandering. I tried using that time to do work, read, or whatever; but, batteries only get you so far. My batteries would be drained by the time I got to work. In addition, it was eating up my data plan...

Today seemed a particularly crazy day in the news here in the Rio Grande Valley. Let's start off with the first day of school. Today, parents, children, and the community at large scrambled around like ants after their hill is kicked over. Police everywhere watching trouble spots where people get gnarled up dropping off their kids, and watching for dummies talking on their phone (or texting) through school zones. So, the craziness started with people trying to readjust to the school routine. Then, apparently, Weslaco's water was contaminated overnight because of too much demand. Their water processing could not keep up. I don't know exactly what that means, perhaps something with backflows where water is sucked back into the water lines, thus making the quality questionable. Who knows? In any case, the whole city had to lay off tap water. The schools had to order bottled water. Restaurants shut down. Dogs and cats...never mind. The City of Weslaco issued a notice overni...

Just yesterday, while thinking about the heat and the possibility of rain, it occurred to me that there have been no tropical storms nor hurricanes this year. 2013 was a very slow year with only two hurricanes and fourteen tropical storms. Nothing major. So, how is this year looking? First, I discovered that Hurricane Season officially starts on June 1 and ends September 30. This means that it has been only about three weeks since the season started. Thus, not enough time for these random events to cook something up. However, given that we had an unusually long winter, and that such storms love heat energy, it may be possible that we will have another slow year. The predictions by people who keep stats say that we should have 5 hurricanes this year, with 2 major ones hitting land. And we should have about 10 tropical storms. If you do the numbers, that gets us up to the letter J in storm names. Given the history of storms, we can likely expect both the Yucatan and Caribbean isl...