It is now June 1986 and the summer was hot… we decide to go down to South Padre on the gulf coast for a weekend and to test it out ahead of my 15 year old nieces trip later in the summer.. As usual I kept my parents up to date with my weekly letter home. I do have some photos of that trip somewhere but with 12 moves since then.. don’t ask me which box they are in!! Here is a modern day one from Pixabay.com…
Dear M & D..
We got home from South Padre…to find a letter from you and from Diana… thank you for catching up with all your news.
We had a wonderful weekend and were very pleasantly surprised by our beach house. I must admit I was expecting a shack on the beach but in fact it was a two storey, double garage, two bed and bath private house. The living room was as big as our appartment, and a balcony with a great view of the sea. We had sunshine the whole time and we spent most of in on the beach and in the water, surfing on rafts…
The seafood was amazing in the two restaurants that we ate in and the prawns (shrimp here as you know) were as big as lobsters.. The only draw back was the 7 hour drive there and back, but I took along our trivia pursuit box of questions and we swapped driving every couple of hours and became quiz master.. David won of course.. I never was much good at science but entertainment is usually mine! We love living in the complex but we did notice the difference being in a detached house 50 yards from the nearest neighbour… very quiet….
The weather was very hot up to the last week or so but we are getting into hurricane season in the next few weeks and there has been a some very heavy rain and flooding already. None have touched down in Houston for the last couple of years but there are warnings out at the moment. There are lines at the supermarket for the basics although I tend to keep a stock in the larder just in case with bottled water etc. I would be quite happy not to experience one and hopefully we will get away with it again this year.
I am back down to a size sixteen again which is pleasing.. it takes effort… and have upped my aerobics to two classes a week and I can usually make it through the hour without keeling over. I am also playing water volley ball twice a week and tennis at least once with Debby. Swimming an hour a day is a good way to ease the muscles and I love having the pool to myself most of the afternoon as everyone is usually at work.. Except for my flight attendant friends who regale me with tales of life in the sky… they don’t get paid enough.
The latest group activity is line dancing and we have found a great country and western dance bar where we have been a couple of times.. David is not keen but I go with the gang when he is away. I am not allowed to dance with strangers.. and if a cowboy should approach me and ask me, two or three of my guardians step forward and tell them ‘She’s married’..I will never get the Texas two step mastered at this rate!
We are moving ahead with plans for Emma’s visit. Debby’s students are around the same age so she is organising some of them to accompany us on days out. They are all looking forward to meeting her and have been restrained from coming to the airport with us to meet her. Our friends here in the appartments have also started issuing invitations and about 20 of us will be going to Pappasitos to introduce her to fajitas…I promise to take lots of photographs to send to you.
We have so many air miles racked up that we need to spend before we come back to the UK, so I am going to come home in October if that is okay with you for a week to see everyone, just in case our contract is extended into the middle of next year.. We are also going to us them up in conjunction with loyalty points we have with Marriott and having never been to Barbados that is our next port of call in September.
It is time for the fortnightly phone call this Sunday so will catch you up on everything else then.
love from us both.
S & D.
©Sally Cronin 2019.
Thanks for dropping in and if you are interested in reading the other letters from 1985 they are here: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/letters-from-america-1985-1987/
Great memories, Sally. The prawns are huge! The swimming, volley ball, and dancing were great activities. I love playing card games! ❤
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I couldn’t work because of my visa restrictions so it was perfect break for me and it meant that often I could travel with David and saw much of America that way.. ♥
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Yes, I know what it meant. I had H1 status as a student so I worked part time before getting my “green card.” ❤
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Hi Sally.
How neat that you’re putting letters up onto your blog in this way.
This was just the perfect post to share onto a FB page I help manage called Recovering The Self a Journal of Hope and Healing.
I enjoyed reading it very much. A nice break after all the blogging I’ve been doing this evening.
My clients all seemed to submit all at once.
LOL.
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Thanks Patty I have enjoyed sharing them.. only another six months to go but it has been bringing back happy memories.. hugsxx
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I think it’s a wonderful way to remember things and to preserve them.
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Great memories, Sally. I’m impressed that you have saved letters from 1986. Did you ever get those line dances down?
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Thanks Pete.. actually my father saved them and when he died in 1996 my mother found them in a file with my name on it, and he had left a note.. ‘publish these one day’ it has taken me a while.. and whilst I don’t think there is a book in them.. I have enjoyed sharing on the blog…
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Another lovely letter, packed with interesting information about his life.
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Thanks Robbie…hugsxx
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Once again, I have enjoyed your letters back home. How thoughtful of your dad to have saved them for you. You certainly made the most of your time in the US.
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Glad you enjoyed Darlene.. It is certainly bringing back the smaller details that you tend to forget.. like stepping back in time..♥
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How heart-warming that your dad saved all your interesting letters,Sally. Great to relive old memories…. Hugs xx
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Thanks Joy.. the minute details are lost over the years and doing the series has reminded me of things forgotten… hugsx♥
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How lovely to look back and great that your dad saved them all and here was me thinking how organised you are…haha…Lovely snapshots of life back then…Hugs xxx
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Thanks Carol.. I did organise them into a drawer for the last 20 odd years!! lol..hugs♥
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Far more than i ever did and wish i had… Foresight is a wonderful thing… Hugs xx
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♥
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Sally, your letters home are always fun and uplifting to read. I’m sure your parents loved reading about your adventures here in the U.S. I have lived in Texas for almost 34 years and have yet to visit South Padre. The closest I’ve come was Corpus Christie several years ago. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to S.P. Thanks for sharing your memories!
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Thank you Lyn… you were in Texas when we lived there then.. loved South Padre.. but anywhere near the sea is good… btw.. I noticed a new review for A Mighty Chieftain the other day and it is in Monday’s update.. but seems to have dropped off your author page… xxx
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Loved learning about your hey days Sal! I almost got to South Padre Island once, but plans got foiled. Seems like a fun place to visit. ❤ xx
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It was fabulous and my friend Debbie and I took my niece down there for a girl’s weekend during her visit.. she had a blast..♥♥
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I can imagine! When I was single I had made a friend while on holiday in Mexico, she was single and lived in Chicago. I used to fly there a few times a year to stay with her and paint the town. So much fun. Somehow we lost contact after she moved to South Padre Island, where I thought our escapades would continue. 🙂 xx Bummer, she must have found a new pal to hang out with lol 🙂 x
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What a shame.. wonder if she is still there… ♥
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I know. Goes back to people that come in to our lives for seasons not reasons ❤
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♥♥
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Those prawns were to die for! You were incredibly active with tennis and swimming and aerobics – makes me quite breathless. I’m glad I’m not the only one who has photos stashed away somewhere! One day, we’ll get them all dug out.
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I am glad that I made the most of it Mary.. when we came back in 1987 we hit the deck running and were working long days and commuting into London and this seemed like a dream… and yes those prawns were amazing and have never found the same since.. and they are so expensive over here…♥
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And quite small!
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A super letter, Sally. That seven-hour drive to South Padre is a killer. We use to live five hours away and never did it. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks John.. I guess we were still in exploring mode and it was worth it… loved that place. xxx
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XXX
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Wonderful letter, Sally. I can’t wait to read about Emma’s visit!
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Thanks Jennie.. it was a riot… ♥
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Looking forward to it! 🙂
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Another great Installment of your American adventure sally Pxx
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Thank you Paul…hugsxx
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