February 16, 2019. Today we visited Quinta Mazatlan, one of the largest remaining adobe homes built in the state of Texas. The mansion was built in 1935 by Jason and Marcia Matthews. The estate consists of the Cottage, Hootch, and MainHouse. They were all built of adobe bricks, formed and dried (cured) near the McAllen airport. Most of the construction was done by Mexican brick layers and Mr. Mathews. The Cottage and Hootch were built first and contained 3,325 sq.ft of living area. The Hootch was Mr. Matthews’ hide-away. When he needed solitude, he would shimmy up a rope ladder and pull the ladder up with him 😄. The Main House which has 6,739 sq.ft. of living area was built last. The Mathews lived there for 30 years.
There are several legends associated with the house. One is that aluminum zinc sulfate paint was added inside and outside to prevent radar waves from penetrating the walls (weird!). Also, the back corridor of the house is called Cedar Hall.  Legend has it that the beams are made of Lebanese cedar. These beams were supposedly a gift from the King of  Lebanon to Mr. Matthews who fought alongside of Lawrence of Arabia in the War of Independence from the Turks.
Another interesting feature of the estate was the 1,450 sq.ft. Greenhouse. This was the headquarters for many of Mr. Matthews’ agricultural research and experiments, including the study of hydroponics. The U.S. Army used his highly effective hydroponic mixture to grow produce for the soldiers during WWII!  He was way ahead of his time!  I really love all the historical legends and facts of these old houses!
After the Matthews passed away, the estate was purchased for $24,000 by socialite and citrus mogul, Frank and Marilyn Schultz, in 1965. In 1985 the State of Texas awarded Quinta Mazatlan a Historical Marker for being a designated place of heritage. The Schultzes spent a year restoring the estate and lived there until Mrs. Schultz death in 1991. Mr. Schultz then put the property up for public auction. The city of  McAllen purchased the estate for $1.4 million.
Quinta Mazatlan is now a McAllen wing  of the World Birding Center, with nature trails, and a new children’ Discovery Center, birds, tropical and native trees, flowers, and plants. It is considered an urban sanctuary whose mission is to “connect people  to the history, beauty, and wonder of our natural world.

February 16, 2019. Beach Day!  It was such a beautiful day, sunny and 94 degrees, that we decided to drive over to South Padre Island. Jax loves the beach as well. He loves to chase the seagulls and jump in the waves. We had lunch at Clayton’s Beach Bar and Grill. They allow dogs on their deck so he was able to join us. Then we drove down to Beach Access Road #5 where we could drive onto the beach. We parked there, kicked off our shoes and hit the sand. I love walking on the beach and this was a perfect day for it.

February 14, 2019. Today we went alligator hunting at Alligator Lake. We found one basking in the sun across the pond from us. He was a monster!

But the best creatures we saw were the beautiful water birds called Yellow-Crowned Night Herons. There were some cute little sanderlings, too. Yes we have recently become amateur “birders”.  Key word here is amateurs. How could we not when we are living in the middle of the World Birding Center?

We hiked for awhile in the morning and then had lunch at a cute little Mexican place called Nana’s.

Then, because the day was so beautiful, we went back and hiked for another hour. On the way back to our park we stopped in Weslaco and visited some friends from Girard, Dick and Betty Peak. We had a nice time chatting with them.  We planned to get together with them again soon. Nice days in South Texas!

February 9, 2019. South Texas has such crazy weather!  Last Thursday it was 90 degrees and sunny. Friday it was 49 degrees and rainy. Back in the mid 70s today. I call it yo-yo weather. In spite of the crazy weather we still have fun. Thursday evening we attended another musical performance at the clubhouse. This time the performer was a local guy, DJ, who performs all over the Valley. He played for 2 hours straight! He played songs from the Eagles, Neil Diamond. Eddie Rabbit, George Strait, etc.  He had a great voice and it was an enjoyable evening.

On Friday we attended the annual Pet Parade fundraiser for the local animal rescue facility. They had an auction and bake sale as well as the parade of dogs. We entered Jax and called him Senor Jax with a Mexican serape and sombrero. He was very cute, but he didn’t win the contest. In spite of the cloudy cold weather, it was fun and we raised $5000 for the shelter.

February 5, 2019. This morning we went to the clubhouse for breakfast and to listen to a Border Patrol agent share the latest information about the Border situation. It was a fascinating and informative presentation. This agent is from the McAllen station. It is one of eight stations in this sector. One of the most startling facts that he shared was the number of apprehensions from just this station. It averages 500-800 apprehensions every 24 hours.  The last 24 hr. period yielded 660!  There are so many that the Border Patrol has had to contract with a transportation company to transfer the captured illegals to the ICE stations.  When asked about the Wall he said that he could not voice his opinion. However, he told us that the three things that Border Patrol wants are, more infrastructure (a barrier), more technology, and more personnel. They are spread too thin.  When asked if things were better where there are barriers in place, he said yes, for two reasons.  One is that it slowed up the smuggling traffic and gave the BP more time to respond.  Two, the illegals usually moved on to someplace where there wasn’t a barrier. He said that a Wall, by itself, will not stop 100% of the trafficking, but, along with more technology and more personnel, it will certainly slow it down.  Another interesting misconception he wanted to straighten out is that the military (meaning National Guard) is here to help with protection and apprehensions.  That is not true. They are not allowed, by law, to do that.  What they are here for is to help clear land near the border, repair vehicles and machinery, watch the cameras and monitors,etc. This frees up the BP agents to have more time to work on protection and apprehensions. He said not to believe anything the media tells you.  They make it sound like the National Guard comes charging in here, armed and ready for action, capturing illegals and criminals.  Just not true. Another misconception is about the National Butterfly Center being destroyed by the Wall. Again, not true.  The NBC is divided into two parts separated by a stream. The front part is the developed part where the actual Center is.  The back part, on the other side of the stream, is undeveloped and not used by the NBC, even though they own it.  That is where the Wall will go.  It will not destroy the Butterfly Center as the media reports.  And guess what ? Butterflies can fly over a Wall and so can birds. It will not prevent migration. Well, there was more, but that covers most of what the agent shared with us. As I said, it was very interesting.
       
                                   This picture was take out the back window of our camper.

February 4, 2019. Today was a good day for a hike. It was 85 degrees, partly sunny, and a nice breeze. We left Jax at the groomers and drove to Estero Llano Grande State Park. This park is a 230 acre wetlands area that is perfect for attracting many species of birds.  It consists of a shallow lake,  woodlands, and thorn forest. There is a wildlife viewing deck, boardwalks, an observation deck, and over 5 miles of trails.  Since the weather has stayed so warm, many flowers have continued to bloom. The ones we saw today were beautiful. We also saw a variety of water birds and listened to a wildlife expert share facts about them. The only downside of the day was the mosquito population. The wet, warm weather has brought them out again.  Otherwise it was a great day.

February 1, 2019. Well, we had a little excitement in the park yesterday.  Thirteen illegals came into the park chased by Border Patrol. The illegals were trying to hide under Rvs and in the laundry rooms, etc.  but the Border Patrol had horses, motorcycles, and dogs.  They eventually rounded them all up and took them away.  Such a sad situation. Next Tuesday we are going to another meeting with the Border Patrol. They come into the park periodically to update us on the situation here since we are within a mile of the border.
On the upside, we attended the Friday night entertainment again.  This time it was PianoMan. He was a really cute young man from Springfield, Mo. and he recognized Pop’s Pitt State hat.  He played all kinds of music from Kenny Chesney to Elton John, Elvis Presley, The Eagles, Michael Buble, James Taylor, Ed Sheeran, and many more. Really fun evening!