Citizen's Academy Graduates

Hidalgo County Sheriff Dept. Citizen's Academy Graduates
Nine members of Sandpipers Resort attended the academy at the Sheriff's dept. in Hidalgo County.

The class was held for 12 weeks every Monday night 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

Some of the highlights were; visit different parts of the facility like the detention center which held 1200 inmates, 911 communications room, all the different types of vehicles for different services, K-9 demonstration on training the dogs, got to use their shooting range, ride with a deputy for 10 hours.
Lots of information how the department greatly improved with the election of Sheriff Trevino. Many of the deputies have been with the dept. 25 years and were very proud to be there.
The classes are free and are held in the fall and spring.

Anyone interested in attending should call the Sheriff Dept., there is no charge for the classes. We all were very impressed with the dept. and felt very well informed about all the improvements to keeping us safe.
The last night there was a graduation with cake and ice cream. Everyone had a choice to buy a shirt with honorary sheriff deputy printed on them.

The class had a plaque made with their picture on it to hang on the wall at the training center.

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Thanks Theresa, for the pictures and write-up. Looks like you all had an informative and interesting experience. Cool shirt, too!

May 5th! Cinco de Mayo!

May 5th

Cinco de Mayo Mexican Theme Potluck

Pavilion

*

bring:

a dish to share,

your plates,

silverware and

beverage.

A sign up sheet is in the pavilion on the metal table.

Yummy! What are you gonna bring?

More Stories "From the Road".

Update from John & Mary:

Greetings from Fort Collins,
Today we visited the New Belgium Brewery.
We were given the history of beer brewing in the owners home

and the new state of the art location in Fort Collins.
The tour lasted 11/2 hours and we were given a visual tour

of 4 tanks as beer was being made.

At each step along the way we sampled the beer............that was some 7 different beers.

The last sample tasted like a champagne beer with a peach flavor.
You can check out the NEW BELGIUM BREWERY on line for all the beers that they make.

Tomorrow morning we are off to Rawlins, Wyoming

where we are expected at the KOA. 205 E. County Road 71 Rawlins, Wy.82301

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Here at Sandpipers Jay and the Muddy Shovel Dirt Band of Merry Men have been working on the plumbing for the new pump house. The west pool fence is but a distant memory so each and ever errant water volleyball has a good chance of returning to the pool full of burrs and muck.

The play days have been reduced to four a week to ensure enough people show up...so far not a problem!

Weather has been nice. Warm, some say hot (not me) days, mild nights.

But the heat is hovering, ready to pounce.

Every day sees an RV exit towards the promise of summer visits with kids and grandkids, cooler weather, or just the lure of the open road.

Many of the frost blasted trees from this past hellacious winter have been removed or replaced, and the flowers in the butterfly garden are really looking great.

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Send me your escapades, your adventures or just your "howdies" and I'll post them here.

Close Call!

A story "From the Road" from Dale & Rinda:

We made it home but just escaped the wrath of the Mississippi tornado.

We drove past it to the west .

We were headed north on I-55 and got caught in the edge of it.

Rained like hell and tree scraps were falling out of the sky.

Dale & Rinda

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Wow, Dale, close call indeed.

Stories from the Road.

First though...from Mardi & Bob, #34...

Recycle your SMALL empty glass jars.

Bob and Mardi of #34 need small (like jelly or peanut butter) jars for pesticide,

before we leave for the season.

Just drop off cleaned out jars on the porch whenever you have some.

We are grateful.

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Now for a "road" story...

From John & Mary who are on their way to be camp workers

at a KOA in Rawlings, Wyoming for the summer.

Greetings from Fort Collins, Co,
Yesterday we drove to downtown Fort Collins to immerse ourselves in unique architecture and history. This town was established back in 1868. Rugged brick structures to elegant art deco with plenty of "ghost signs" point towards memorable past lives and livelihoods. Some shops were selling their wares from as far as Nepal, India and Tibet. A "Pashmina" shawl that I purchased in Houston for $6.00 was selling for a mere 35.00 OUCH!!!!!
For lunch we stopped at "Spoons" for a soup and sandwich. Have you ever tasted "carrot ginger bisque"? I did, it was delicious.
Our next stop was to drive through the old down town taking in the beauty of what Spring brought forth. Trees are laden with white and purple blossoms, tulips, pansies and various native blossoms. On the other hand we still needed to wear our winter jackets.
From our trailer looking west, we can see the mountains. Today we are off to Cheyenne, Wy. for the day.
More later.
Take care of each other.
Love, Mary 'n' John

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If you have any "road" stories you'd care to share, send them to Sue at zabrit@earthlink.net and I'll post them here.

VolleyBall Returns to Summer Hours.

Wednesday

Thursday

Saturday

Sunday

11:00 AM until it gets too hot or 2:30 PM, whichever comes first.

*No Women only*

*No Men only*

Just everybody have fun,

Jungle Ball rules.

AND...

Play three games, then take a quick water break, seems to work when it gets warm.

Fredericksburg...in the rain!

We are drunk on bluebonnets, beer and bratwurst!

A period of rainy drizzly weather has forced the lot of us to warm up by imbibing copious amounts of liquid refreshment as a precaution...a precaution against what exactly I'm not sure...but it sure is a good remedy against rain.

Today we all attended Trade Days for bargains galore.

Then we headed to Luckenbach to look for Waylon, Willie and the boys.Even though we were all smiles and laughter we were mourning the loss of Kalie, John & Sue's yellow lab. Thursday morning they had to put her down and it has been a sad time for all of us.

Most of us will be returning to Sandpipers this weekend.

John & Mary are headed off towards their summer gig up North, but by Sunday the rest of us should be home.

Fredericksburg

We arrived in Fredericksburg Tuesday afternoon, right after Bill & Annie, and schmoozed all afternoon, drinking wine and catching up with Sandpiper happenings.Wednesday, trying to beat the forecasted rain,

we did a wildflower loop drive near the town of Willow.

Wow! So gorgeous I can hardly describe it.

Bluebonnets of course, but also every other color and kind of wildflowers imaginable.Creeks and ravines and meadows and cliffs covered, blanketed, SMOTHERED in wildflowers!We posed. We ooohed and awwwed! Pictures just don't convey the grandeur.

Jim & Bill in front of a field of poppies. Yes, Poppies, just like in the Wizard of Oz!

By Wed. afternoon Sue R. and John & Sue arrived and we "visited" some more.

"Visited"...read drank wine in excess.

Tomorrow more rain expected, but we don't care! It is GREAT visiting with friends.

Love it!

DeAnza Springs

Hello Peeps!

We are on the road again, heading towards a reunion in Fredericksburg, TX. with a bunch of SanPeeps to do the wildflower/wine tasting/Trade Days touristy stuff that makes the Hill Country so much fun.

We loved our month long visit with daughter Melinda in her Santa Ana home,

despite her working her poor old parents near to death.

It was very satisfying to see her yard shape up and her house become more organized.

Plus Disney and a three day trip through Santa Ynez wine country were true highlights.

Last night and tonight we are stopping at DeAnza Springs, a really lovely clothing optional resort some 70 miles east of San Diego, just off I-8.

Check out their web site for great pictures. http://www.deanzasprings.com

We'll be back home after Fredericksburg...Sunday, April 18th.

Love 'ya!

Sue & Jim Z

Huge Plant and Easter Bunnies

Gary & Lisette have been following the explosive growth of this Century plant...in front of Ross's lot. Up to 23 feet and still growing! ****************

Sandpeeps at play....

Easter dinner was quite a feast with Robert and his crew in the kitchen. Jay and Karen provided hams and residents created yummy side dishes.
We have some beautiful perennial and annual plants to beautiful the
butterfly garden .

Garden News

I hope everyone has recovered from my April Fool's joke?!

And not too many coronaries occurred...

Be forewarned...April 1st comes around every year!

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News from the Garden Ladies....

A good number of the plantings are coming up and we have received many of the
flowers (mostly perennials) from the Easter centerpieces.

There will be a get-together for the garden club ladies

(and anyone else who wants some fresh air & exercise, or just wants to help)

on Thurs. and Fri. morning at 9 am,

to spruce up the garden.

You should bring planting spades and weed pulling tools

if you have them.

Many thanks, Sandy.

Calling All Gals Luncheon

From Pam:

Calling All Gals lunch from this past Thursday.
Thirteen gals answered the call to eat lunch at the Vintage Tea Room.

We sat among vintage treasures.....
and tried on vintage hats. It was a case of different hats for different gals
with a few onlookers to the Easter parade.

Defibrillator Collection.

Ian & Terry are leaving on Sunday so just wanted to give

an update on the defibrillator collection.

To date we have collected $1177, which is over 60% of the monies

needed to purchase a defibrillator for the resort.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far,

including those who donated the proceeds of the yard sale last month,

and those who are not at the resort, but as far away as Florida!

We hope to reach our goal next fall so we can purchase a unit

and get it in place for the next winter season.

We have some ideas in this regard which we will share with you in the fall,

but if you haven't had a chance to make your donation yet,

or if you have some ideas on how we can reach the goal,

please contact Terry (info in the directory).

Terry #502 will be away for the summer,

but donations towards the defibrillator for the park can be made to Darby at #3.

Adopt-A-Family Quilts

From John & Mary #5:

At the April 1st Fun Buzz we conducted a drawing for the quilt donated by Bernie.

The proceeds go to the Adopt-a-family program.

These funds will be used to help local families at Christmas time 2010.

The holder of the winning ticket was Sandy at Lot 414.

Here is a photo of the lucky winner with her prize.Doesn't she look delighted!!??




We also showed off the quilts that were made this year by the SPR Quilting Queens.

Beautiful job, ladies!

Thanks Mary, John & especially Bernie!

Recreational Fee Program

In an effort to help control increasing costs a new recreational fee program will be implemented by Oct 1st. Residents may purchase a variety of recreational programs that best meet their needs.

The following monthly packages will be offered:

• Pool/Spa
• Tennis
• Petanque
• Water Volleyball
• Evening Programs (may include dances and other events utilizing the pavilion facilities)

To help residents achieve the most out of their recreational costs, we will offer a series of subscription tiers:

• Basic - choose one recreational program for a low rate of $10/month or $100 annually
• Bronze - choose two programs for a low rate of $15/month or $150 annually
• Silver - choose three programs for a low rate of $18/monthly or $180 annually
• Gold - all recreational programs for a low rate of $20/monthly or $200 annually

Offering these programs helps ensure residents are only paying for the entertaimment that meets their needs. Entertainment cards will be issued documenting the appropriate program for your subscription. To obtain more information on these programs please see Karen at the Office or contact Jon at lot 221.

April Fool's!!