Another Snowbird Christmas

We are starting to get the hang of the whole snowbird Christmas routine. It will never be easy, but we get through it and have some fun along the way. This year was decidedly more social than ever before. Sitting here stuffed and exhausted on Christmas night I realize it ended up being a three-day event, with a little burp on Tuesday morning when we both worked for the park till Noon.

We have seen golf cart parades in other parks, but here at Llano Grande, they took it to a new level. They were more like floats than golf carts. We had never seen anything like it. The party started at the Events Center where over twenty decorated carts lined up and people could walk around voting. Some participants were vying for votes in the form of shots as we walked around and checked them out. After an hour-long parade through the park they gathered again at the Rec Hall at our end of the park and continued the party and awarded prizes from the voting. We congregated at our friends down on the corner to watch the parade go by and got so busy visiting with other volunteers we had just met that evening we missed the award ceremony. Realizing we had reveled through dinner time we broke up around 9 pm grabbed a quick late bite to eat and headed to bed so we could get up and report to work at 7 am the next morning.

Parade Winners

Runner Up

After our busy Christmas Eve morning with the park, we continued the festivities with Will and Judy at the home we were invited to on Thanksgiving. This time Paul and Cindy joined us, and we basked in the warm afternoon at the home of Kelly and Linda and much of their family. We marvel at the warm, welcoming way of Texans. Complete strangers will invite us into their homes as tagalongs from a mutual friend and make us feel like we’ve known them for years. It has happened that way all three winters we have been in Texas. The people here are most definitely the main draw for us to return to Texas.  After spending the afternoon at Kelly and Linda’s we headed back home to exchange gifts ourselves.

Kelly and Linda's place. Our wonderful hosts are at my left in the photo

Not a bad setting for a Christmas gathering. 

Somewhere along the way on Monday night we organized a Christmas morning communal breakfast with work camping friends here.  John and Cathy had plans to come over from Laguna Atascosa and spend Christmas with us as well. We awoke on Christmas morning to 60 degrees and brilliant sunshine. Hosting the breakfast was a welcome distraction to help us work through the yearly Christmas morning funk that we both find ourselves in. Face time with the kids and grandkids, lots of texting pictures back and forth is a double-edged sword. It makes us happy to see them and talk to them but depresses us at the same time. 10 of us enjoyed a huge potluck style feast, talked about our video chats with grandkids that morning, the angst about being away during the holidays and took calls and texts from family and friends. We disbanded around Noon. But it didn’t end there…

Christmas Brunch with friends 

Last year in Florida, our friends from Maine helped me connect with their neighbors and long-time friends, who are avid birders and spend their winters in Texas. They arrived last week and called me. I told them about our plans to check out the Butterfly Center near them and invited them to join us.  a Today we met them and spent a couple of hours getting to know each other as we shared our favorite hobby. I was in heaven with John, Cathy, and Judy and Marlin all very experienced birders on my flanks to explore the area. The wildlife viewing was mediocre, but the company was awesome. I saw a few butterflies that were new to me, and plan to return in March when the flowers are peaking, and the butterflies will be much more plentiful. It was a nice introduction both the Judy and Marlin as well as that area of Texas for birding and butterflying.

Me with my new friend Judith

John and Champ goofing around

Laviana White Skipper

Zebra Heliconian

This was our first snowbird Christmas that didn’t involve a park potluck. As far as Christmases go it was a very memorable one for us. No matter what we do in future years, something tells me, Christmas 2019 will be a memorable one.

Merry Christmas from Champ and Britt

Until Next Time….