Again the lowest gas in the nation and Happy Halloween

 

Again the Rio Grande Valley has the lowest gas in the nation. People in other parts of this great country are still paying over 3 dollars a gallon in some places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were in Harlingen trying to get a Halloween costume for our daughter where I was again hit by the “Worst Mom in the World” syndrome. This syndrome is common among parents who are first-timers and discover that if you wait too long to get something you may deem yourself a loser in the parent game. It has happened to me twice at Easter time when I could not for the life of me find an Easter basket in the whole town of Brownsville, apparently I had waited too long and the good parents went and bought them all from all the stores in all the town. I said to myself, “Well, I learned my lesson.” Then it happened to me again the very next year.

 

This time it has happened again but on Halloween. All Walmarts, the specialty Halloween shops, Kmart and Targets are dangerously low on Halloween costumes and I am afraid that if you have not bought yours yet for your little one you are going to be doing the crafty make-your-own this year. I was searching for butterfly wings and was disappointed store after store in town after town in this beautiful valley then only after purchasing a replacement headband that had little ears on it, (I figured she could be a kitty if we painted whiskers on her) did I have the blessed luck to look in a shopping cart of mismatched and miscellaneous items where I found the elusive wings. I almost cried from relief and I said, “Thank you, God,” at least ten times thanking Him for the wings and for the bottles that a girl gave me that will allow me to do my art project for the upcoming Mercado on South Padre Island. I did my first bottle already and it looks AWESOME!

  This guy was smart and got his costume early.

A Museum Trip Worth the Drive

My job as a writer for the South Padre Network took me to the far reaches of the Rio Grande Valley today and I thought it was so ironic to see the following flower, known as the bird of paradise, a paradigm of exotic and rare beauty…

in the front of a common fast-food restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a testament to the beauty of this area.

An exotic flower like that… in front of a Burger King. Will the wonders never cease?

apparently not…

not in this lifetime…

 

This is my daughter playing on a kettle drum at the museum we visited today.

It had incredible works of art. For example, this was a Chinese PAPER cutout. 

 

 

 

. You would not believe how tiny the details were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This box was incredibly detailed and inlaid with ivory.

 

There was a great array of mosaics all over the museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This flower reminded me of the tropical beauty we have in the area.

Each one of these differently colored pieces of wood, when touched, produced a different sound.

The sound is triggered by the heat in your hand.

The NASA exhibit was cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The screen was a ball that had different images projected onto it.

 

 

 

 

These images were spinning around.

 

 

 

The fast blinking colors were hypnotizing in the dark room.

The images were shot by two projectors.

 

 

In another room were housed incredible pieces from private collections.

 

 You cannot see how the mother-of-pearl inlay reflected the light iridescently.

If I lived in the area I would visit the museum on a regular basis because they offered classes in many mediums and had many intriguing exhibitions. This museum was the IMAS in McAllen on Nolana and Bicentennial, quite a drive, but well worth it.

Cheapest Gas in the Nation

The mention of bargain hunting in a conversation today on South Padre Island reminded me that I had not posted these last photos I wanted to post. These were taken two days ago. It cost $53.00 to fill up four 5-gallon gas cans PLUS the car, where it used to cost just that to fill up the car when this gas price fiasco first started. I also heard on the news that this was the cheapest gas in the nation.

The cheapest gas in the nation can be found in Harlingen across from the Olive Garden. It is in front of Walmart and right on the corner by expressway 77/83.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet I just drove by the Stripes in Port Isabel and the gas was $2.45/gallon and in Laguna Heights it was $2.75/gal. I must have skipped that day in math class ’cause it just don’t add up.