Stan and Connie Spielbusch's Web Site

StanAndConnie.com

January 2001

The Rio Grande Valley

January, 2001

We're in "The Valley" for a couple months, thawing out after the frigid December in Kansas City. Nice and warm down here -- even the rainy days where it only gets to 60 degrees are nice!

We haven't done a lot of sightseeing yet, we're just relaxing and enjoying spending time with my aunt and uncle, who are staying at the same RV resort. The RV resort we're at has lots of activities right here ($2.00 music shows, Spanish lessons, games, etc.), so there's no excuse for being bored!

One thing we did do is go to South Padre Island, where we had a great meal at BlackBeard's and walked on the beach for awhile. We had a great time even though it was cloudy and foggy all day. It was fun feeding bread to the seagulls -- throw up a piece and they catch it before it even starts coming down -- sometimes several would fight for it. I got some good shots of them in mid-fight (and mid-flight).

(Click photos to enlarge)

We also stopped at the Iwo Jima monument in Harlingen. This isn't the famous bronze statue in Arlington, Virginia -- it's the original sculpture that the bronze statue was made from. It's over 100 feet high, much larger than the bronze statue -- see the tiny people in the photo. There's also a military academy there, a few artillery pieces on display, and a museum with a film about the battle of Iwo Jima. Pretty neat, it was worth the stop.

Well, back to enjoying The Valley!

Thank you for visiting our travel site. Please visit our other sites too:

Campground Master -- A tracking program for your campground or inn. Easy to use and learn, but modern and powerful. One of the most inexpensive systems, great for small campgrounds. Designed by campground owners and full-time RVers.

MysteryPhotos -- Every week a new photo is shown, which may be a close-up of something, or a section of a common object or sight. Guess what it is and you might win a prize. Lots of fun for the whole family! Free screensaver and wallpaper too.

Awesome Screen Savers -- Cool photographic screen savers of the highest quality, for Windows PC's. Download FREE Lite versions of them all. Some are created with photos from our travels, some are awesome photos from NASA. (Contact me to have a screen saver made with your own photos!)

Cottonwood Software -- My shareware business site, currently featuring File-Ex 98: a Windows 95/98 dialog enhancement tool. Great for people who work with a lot of files.

Free -n- Cool -- Tons of Freebies, Giveaways, and Cool Sites -- all in one! You'll find a large selection of free samples you can get mailed to you, free games, screen savers, internet services, etc., plus hundreds of contests of all types, and a unique "intensely cool sites" list.