Relaxed, but full, Weekend

After our trip to the beach on Friday, we didn’t have too much else planned for the weekend.  It had gotten pretty windy on Saturday, but still sunny and warm, so we decided to check out one of the local Flea Markets.  We also needed to put a care package together for Nick, so figured we’d go ahead and pick up his cowboy boots to put in the same box.  We’ve looked at quite a few, but had decided on a pair we saw back before Christmas, in Mercedes.

The Don-Wes Flea Market is on the border between the valley towns of Donna and Weslaco, and a fairly small flea market, but nice.  We got there around noon, so we started out with getting a quesadilla for lunch.  They have a little cafe, with live entertainment, and decent food.  We met a couple from Mission (formerly from Wisconsin) and shared a table with them while we all enjoyed our lunch.

The inside area is pretty typical, but I did find a booth selling fabric and quilting supplies (that’s a new one!) . . , didn’t buy anything, though.  I was looking for flannel, and she didn’t have any.  We did pick up a cool swiss vegetable grater, though!

The outside area was fun, with lots of interesting collections!

Nice looking produce

We went in a couple of booths that were just jam-packed full of stuff!  Almost anything you could possibly want was sure to be in there!

Tools

Toys

Even ice skates, or a Sherriff’s Badge!

We found this little shop that sold their own nuts, dried fruits, seasoned pistachios, and chocolates . . . we spent a bunch of $$ in there . . . lots of treats for Nick’s care package!

You should have been there Danny – we found a whole flamingo family for you!!

There’s an ice cream shop at the flea market, too – Blue Bell Ice Cream – so we had a cone as we left.  Mmm . . .

The boot shop was just down Business 83 in Mercedes, and we got there about a half hour before they closed.  We picked out the boots we wanted, and they darkened the heels and soles for us as we waited.  They had been left natural, but we thought they would look better brown.

While the guys in the shop took care of that, we chatted with the saleswoman, and another woman who turned out to be the owner’s daughter.

It’s a good-sized family-owned shop, still run by the father, who had started out as a bootmaker in Mexico, then came to Texas and worked for a local bootmaker before opening his own shop in 1972.  Now they make custom-ordered boots and exotic leather boots in this shop (see that huge snake skin above!?!), and have a small factory in Mexico that makes the rest of their boots – the father still buys all the leathers used in the boots, and every pair of boots is made to his specification.  The factory exclusively makes their boots, and you can’t buy them anywhere else.

We liked the shop, the personal service, and the boots are very nice quality!

Nicolas got them this week, and he said they fit perfectly, and were very comfortable.  He likes them!

On Sunday, we went to church and grocery shopping, and then just hung out at the RV.  Tom visited with some of the neighbors, and I sat in the sun and read on my Kindle.  A nice, relaxing day!

Monday was the Martin Luther King holiday, and I didn’t have to work.  There was a Winter Texan Appreciation Fiesta in Harlingen, and Tom wanted to check it out, so we took a drive up there after lunch.  It was pretty much a disappointment (mostly local businesses catering to older people that spend the whole winter down here – not us!)

There was a Mariachi Band,

but we only listened for a couple minutes (too loud!)

There was a SMALL car show, too, but that only took a few minutes to walk through!

This was a pretty cool truck!!

We were done there quick, so we stopped at Walmart on the way home to pick up a few things, then went back to the RV to enjoy the sunny afternoon.

Monday night was the Lunar Eclipse, and we joined a few others outside after 11pm to watch the progression.

My pictures weren’t great (I was having a hard time keeping the camera steady), and we were freezing (it was in the 40s that night!) . . . so we didn’t stay out long enough to watch it go really red.

Not a bad way to wrap up a nice weekend!