90 Years Young.....and our 100th Post!!!

Mary Alice Fitzpatrick Cameron turned 90 years old on the 6th of May.   There was a party for her the weekend prior to her birthday and some 50 folks showed up....many of them the "Fitzpatrick Clan" from the greater Boston area.   The photo in the upper right corner of the birthday cake is Mary at age 15 when she started high school (an interesting note:  my Mom never missed a day of school in 12 years!).   It's kind of fitting that this, our 100th post to the Tearoom Journal, is dedicated to Mom's big day.

Here's Mary sitting in her walker talking to folks as they come into the Grange Hall in Maine, where the party was held.  She is in very good shape with the exception of walking....she does need the walker to help her do that....but she is sharp as the proverbial tack!

Here she talks with granddaughter, Heather Cameron, on the right and Barbara and Judy on the left, part of the Massachusetts contingent that came up to help her celebrate.

Here is Mary's niece, Doris, (on the left) with her daughter, Jeannie. They made the drive over to Maine from New Hampshire.

Mary has 5 great-grandchildren.....Hanna is the youngest of the five, shown here with her Mom, Kerry.  (two nice smiles).

Here Mary enjoys some good conversation with her younger (87) brother, Richard; who led the "Fitzie contingent" up from Massachusetts.   (In 3 years maybe we will all attend a party for him?!!).

Here Mary chats it up with two of her nephews, Frankie and Hughie, along with Frankie's wife, Barbara.  (That's yet another Fitzie Group in the background).

Quite a few laughs at this table, courtesy of Uncle Richard and Frankie K.

This table is all Fitzies from Mass....except fo the fellow in the right foreground....he is a Sikolski, and is married to Kathy Fitzpatrick in the white blouse across the table.   A funny story is that Kathy and hubby just became proud grandparents of a Sikolski laddie....his name is Finnegan Sikolski....yup, Finn Sikolski, the Irish / Polish new addition!  How great is that!!!

It was a great party for Mary Alice's honor.   I should note that my sister, Joann, and her husband, Larry, worked very hard to set up tables and provide a sit down turkey dinner for all 50 guests.  Kudos to them for making the party what it was!

Here Mom and I are on her porch getting ready to go out (with Pam) for a birthday lunch at Amatos on May 6th.   (She had said to me "wear your cowboy hat"....so I did).

Postscript:  Pam and I flew to the north east for the occasion, and to visit friends "back home" as well.  We think we picked up our germs on the airplane ride....or at least I did; and then Pam got the bug from me.   We continue to convalesce in the hills north and east of San Diego....with a planned departure from the area  this Friday, May 23rd.   We thoroughly enjoyed our visit back east and send our thanks to Doctor Robin and her husband, Lee, for graciously turning their home over to us for the week.....while they enjoyed fun and sun in Florida.          Happy Birthday once again, Mary Alice!!

SO MUCH FOR PLANS......

It appears the Tearoom Journal will be on hiatus a bit longer.  The cold I had has turned into walking pneumonia so I am really under the weather at the moment.

We are spending the week at Pam's Escondido, CA timeshare; and it is a beautiful place to "convalesce".   Hope to have the blog up and running again by next week.

Tearoom Journal takes a Holiday

Hello Friends,

The tearoom journal is taking a holiday until the 10th of May.
We are flying East to visit family and to celebrate my Mom's 90th birthday on the 6th of May.

We will report on the 90th birthday in a blog when we return.  So stay happy and keep smiling.   We shall return before you know it.

Thank you all for your "readership"....our 100th post will be coming up later in May.  Imagine that!!

"MOLAR CITY"

    The border crossing at Los Algodones, Mexico (near Yuma). 

"Algodon" means cotton in Spanish.  Los Algodones (The Cottons) attests to the town's past when it was a large cotton producing area.  But no more....now it is known for is Dental Care...as well as Eye Care and cheap prescription meds.   Many Americans and Canadians who winter in nearby Yuma come here for their dental work, their eye exams and eye glasses, etc.  And while here they have a nice Mexican lunch and maybe pick up a trinket or two.

Signs for dental work are everywhere...and sometimes you even see the dentist himself handing out business cards on the sidewalk between appointments!

We came here so I could get my teeth cleaned by Dr. Eva Urena, pictured here with her assistant, Monica.  She is very competent and cleaned my teeth for...are you ready for this...$35!

The dentists here do more than just cleaning....they will fix cavities, whiten teeth, some do root canals and others (including Dr Eva) do implants.   While I was in the dental chair Pam spoke with a man from Alberta Canada in the waiting room who was sporting good looking new dentures...that had been ordered and made and fitted all the day before!  (No waiting for weeks on end for new dentures...and for considerably less "dinero" than either in the US or Canada).

Dr Eva has her offices in one of the more attractive spots we came across.....here is Pam in the courtyard with the dental offices behind and to the right.  (Who wouldn't want a courtyard like this one!!!).

So while dental work dominates the border section of Los Algodones, Pam also found a reputable eye care facility and came away with a nice pair of "prescription readers" for considerably less money.  The facility "read" her prescription from her glasses and had the new ones made while we were at lunch....total wait time less than 3 hours!

While we sat on a corner bench after lunch watching "los algodones and its world go by" we saw this cute little "chica" and her Mom.  She sure was a head turner!!

If Los Algodones has a downside it is the street vendors.  Everywhere you walk they are out there "hawking" their souvenirs.  You have to remind yourself to be patient and that "this is what they do" to get by.  Of course, many of them use their children or their older residents to make it harder for you to say no....like this woman

      Little "old lady" eating her lunch while hawking baskets.

We enjoyed the experience that Molar City offers up....and we will go back when in the area to take advantage of the much cheaper prices for dental work, eye care and prescription meds (and no, you do not have to have a prescription...all but control drugs are over the counter).   Hasta Luega, Algodones!

MARFA TEXAS

Marfa is a city in the high desert of far West Texas, located between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. It is the county seat of Presidio County, and its population is about 2000.  The city was founded in the early 1880s as a railroad stop; the population increased during World War II, but the growth stalled and reversed somewhat during the late 20th century. Today, Marfa is a tourist destination and a major center for (of all things) Minimalist Art.

Like many of the towns in Texas, Marfa has a gorgeous (and imposing) County Courthouse.

Marfa's minimalist art movement began in the mid 1970's when artist Donald Judd located here from New York City.   Judd began something of a "land rush" of other artists, which began to change the complexion of Marfa's "sleepy little West Texas town" image.   We have seen bumper stickers that say "Marfa....weirder than Austin"; still another testament to its quirky nature.

We drove into the Tumble In RV Park in Marfa to find this small trailer in the center of things.  As  you can see this is the office where you "sign yourself in" and take a spot in the campground.  Payment is on the honor system right there inside the office trailer. 

Marfa has some very attractive buildings including this one to the right....the Marfa National Bank.

Marfa also has a large number of adobe homes, many of which are downright beautiful and naturally fit into the West Texas landscape.

This Quonset hut is the home of Buns and Roses, a great little breakfast and lunch place on the western fringe of Marfa.  Talk about a great breakfast.....this is one of those places.  The business is owned and operated by Bill (aka Bird) and Debbie Parrot and gets rave reviews from visitors and locals alike.  Debbie runs the place and is a very good "short order cook".   "Bird" has an auto and truck repair garage out back that includes a tow truck business.  We actually first met Bird many miles east in Del Rio Texas nearly a month earlier when we both pulled into a remote gas station for fuel.  He told us about Buns and Roses then, so we said we would stop by when we arrived in Marfa....and boy are we glad we did!

A rather "extreme" example (well, maybe not extreme to the minimalist folks) of the referenced art movement is this "shrine" some 31 miles west of Marfa in the little town of Valentine, TX.  A closer look revealed "Prada Marfa" above the awnings and inside the picture windows are Prada shoes and purses.   (As you can see this sits "in the middle of no-where").

Among other things, West Texas offers up some great Big Sky sunsets.....and we were fortunate to see many of them like this one

The end of a long day is rewarded with a glorious West Texas sunset.   Good Night, Marfa.

TEXAS FARM ROAD 170 IN PICTURES

National Geographic wrote that the 50 miles of Texas Farm Road 170 from Lajitas to Presidio is one of the top ten most scenic routs in the US.   The photo above is testament to that....and an added plus is  that the road runs alongside the Rio Grande most of the way.  Yes, that is Mexico on the other side of the river.

The road consistently seems to carve its way through mountain pass after mountain pass as we head north to Presidio.

The Texas Highway Department does an excellent job establishing picnic areas along its many roads.  Here you see three picnic tables that are inside shade providing T-Pees.  Very clever!

Another testament to why National Geographic noted FM 170 to top ten status.   You can see here how shallow the Rio Grande is as a result of Texas' 8 year drought.

                          Yet another top notch view.

Presidio is a town of about 5000 folks across the border from Ojinaga (O-Hee-Naga) or OJ as it is locally known.   Presidio's population is about 95% Mexican and Spanish is the daily language spoken.   A good place to settle for awhile if your goal is to immerse yourself in the Hispanic culture and improve your Spanish.

We stopped for lunch at the Enchanted Bean restaurant in Presidio.  It is owned and managed by two women....one Mexican and one 'gringa'...and the food and service were excellent.  And as you see from the sign, they have a good sense of humor!!

After lunch we enjoyed the 50 mile journey in reverse...and back to the motorhome at the Maverick Ranch in Lajitas.

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK.....IN PICTURES

Big Bend National Park is huge....nearly 1 million acres of rugged beauty in the very southern part of the State of Texas.   There are mountains galore every where you look....as a backdrop to the unforgiving beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert in the foreground.

Here is an example of the mountain ranges than ring Big Bend. These make up part of the Sierra Del Carmen range in Mexico.

We didn't find out exactly what these white rocks are....but they add a great contrast to the more typical dark rock of the Big Bend.

April is a great month to visit the deserts in the US as this photo of the Prickly Pear Cactus attest....there are many examples of beautiful flora throughout the desert.

As we approach the very southern reaches of the park, the view ahead is of the Del Carmen range, with the Santa Elena Canyon in the center cut.   The Rio Grande, which is known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico, made this dramatic cut in the mountains over the millennium, creating the 1500 foot high canyon walls.

Here is a closer look at Santa Elena Canyon....and yes, I was knee deep in the Rio Grande river when taking the photo.  If only the river had more water in it....we could have kayaked up into the Canyon.   Maybe next time!!

A view of the Del Carmen range in the background taken from the Castolon Outpost near the very southern part of Big Bend.

As the sign notes, the Panther Junction headquarters of Big Bend Park is 21 miles east...but our route was west to Lajitas, via Study Butte and Terlingua.   Our visit to the park was over several days...but our best day was our visit with John and Alison before they had to depart back to England.   Big Bend is out of the way....one really has to want to go there...and we're glad we did.