Tuesday, November 20, 2012

This and that… A Rant…

The Big Dig 003

A follow up on the spaghetti squash… we made half the squash into spaghetti and then the next day for lunch I scraped out the other half to make another dish. I added some olive oil to a pan and sautéed onions till caramelized. Then I added about 1.5 tablespoons of butter, some oregano, some basil, some garlic powder, salt and pepper. Once the butter was melted I added the leftover cold squash and some fresh spinach and stirred till squash was heated and the spinach became wilted. Now I personally thought this was a pretty good dish but Sharon preferred the spaghetti sauce on top.. …. So we may not have it again but I thought I'd share the second recipe with those of you that like it since I thought the second dish was great.

Bentsen Birds 047The Big Dig 006

Another follow up… you may have noticed in our last blog a picture of a picnic table in it (above left). Well… one of the park volunteers came by to inform us that he was going to have to take away our picnic table as only premium sites have tables. He said our having a table "created quite a stir".   I said, "well, geeeezzzz, we can't have that now, can we? ". He said he'd come by later withThe Big Dig 007 his truck later so as to give us time to take our table cover and other stuff off.  This little event just added to the negative energy we have felt since our arrival at this park.

Upon our arrival the picnic table was situated on the patio of our site amongst vegetation so overgrown that half the patio pad was covered. Fortunately I had some pruning shears. After reading the rules that enhancing one's site is encouraged and appreciated I carefully pruned the bushes leaving most of its foliage and height as to provide flowers for the butterflies and to allow for screening between our site and the one next door. If you look again at the site photo in our previous blog you will see this screening and the pretty yellow flowers… Well, a crew came by and completely hacked down most of our screening and ALL of the flowers so now all we have is a small hedge of leafy stubs (above right). Removal also revealed a big water leak and sink hole so now our water has been turned off and a crew is digging a massive hole while trying to discover the source of the leak.....sigh... 

imageWe chose this park for its location as it is right next to the state park where we could enjoy some hiking, biking, bird watching, and butterflying. But we also chose the Rio Grande Valley for some socializing and had heard such great things about this park.. Well, we certainly have not had a good start here at Bentsen Palm Village… We originally planned to have Thanksgiving here but we got an invite to return to Laredo and have Thanksgiving with our friends there. Thanks Beth and Eduardo for a timely invite…

With all the hubbub and Sharon's emotions brimming, we think it best to have Thanksgiving in Laredo with our friends and then come back to the park and have a do over here. Our attitudes certainly need adjusting…We know its all small stuff but unfortunately it is cumulative and added up to this rant… fortunately writing is cathartic so now we both feel better about venting and can now put this behind us…

We hope everyone out there has a fantastic Thanksgiving with your friends and/or family…

19 comments:

  1. Sometimes it's the small things, isn't it? I don't blame you for being upset, I would be too.

    I hope your attitude adjustment works, if not try a martini! Happy Thanksgiving.

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  2. What a rabble rouser you are. Trying to get away with a picnic table in a lower class site. :)

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  3. Hmm not a good start to your stay in the valley, hope it improves for you.

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  4. Thanks for the information. That place is definitely not for me. Have fun elsewhere.

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  5. Sorry you aren't enjoying BPV. I will tell you that they whack the vegetation all the way down routinely. Ours was like that when we arrived, and now you can't even tell it was done, it grows back so quickly (and it does look better). They explained to us that if they don't do it, it gets woody and way overgrown. I'm surprised your site hadn't already been done before you arrived -- they've been working on it since before we arrived in late Sept. They should have checked your site and removed the table before they rented it out. I hope you have a good Thanksgiving and a better experience on your return!

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    1. Really, picnic tables are extra??? and you agree with that??

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    2. My wife's comment was meant to be a positive one for the people who placed the original post. We will not involve ourselves in an email argument. We truly hope the authors of the blog have a better experience during the remainder of their stay. It is a great park with friendly people (with or without picnic tables.)

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  6. Good luck with the attitude adjustment. Sometimes it's just not possible after adding up all the little things. That's the nice thing about a home on wheels. When you've had enough, you can leave. Hope your Thanksgiving is happy.

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  7. We have never stayed at that park. We do know the people there right now who are going to be in charge of the activities. They stayed there last year and really enjoyed the place.
    We really like the RGV area. Of course I think it has a ton to do with the park we are in and the people. We enjoy Leisure Valley. The people are so friendly and there are tons of activities.
    Hope things get straighten around there and you can enjoy your stay.

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  8. It is interesting how different parks give off totally different energy.

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  9. Big or small ... it doesn't matter when it's cumulative ... it has the same effect. Smart to get away for an attitude adjustment. Hopefully when you return you'll feel better about the place.

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  10. What's the big deal about a picnic table - good grief! - and why in the world would the other people complain that you had one? What's that got to do with them? People should mind their own business, I'd be upset too. If you're going to be there for two months, you should buy a used, crummy looking inexpensive folding table and put it out with a huge plant on it that you can enjoy. Kind of an "in your face" to the other "tabled" people. Opps, I'm being passive-agressive. :)

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  11. Oh boy.
    See now, this would be my biggest "fear" of booking into any place for more than about a day or two.
    Here's hoping things improve.
    But you know, the internet is a funny thing. I'd also be ranting and raving in as many places as I could.
    I mean, if I were looking for a park in the area, and happened to come across a somewhat terse but factual review of one of the ones I was considering, I'd probably give it a pass. Just because you know, you can't fix "stupid"?
    Not that I'd want to tell you what to do with your internet connection or anything.
    Yes... that's a hint.

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  12. Sounds to me that they should be supplying the picnic tables at every site. As someone already mentioned at least your home is on wheels and if you don't like where you are you can always move on. I am sure that there are just as many places as good as the one you are at or even better. Enjoy you Thanksgiving in Laredo.

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  13. Oh my, I'm so sorry about it all!!! Please don't despair. We should have gone butterflying...nothing really great has been reported yet. Happy Thanksgiving with your friends. Carolyn

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  14. "premium picnic tables" that is just crazy. I have a small RV, no basement storage - I don't carry a table and chairs around with me. And the people that paid extra needed to squeal on you? They need to get a life. Did they offer to let you move to another site while they worked on the water problem? Frustrating!

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    1. Nope...no offers. Tomorrow will be day three of the poor crew chasing the leak.

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  15. Oh, Dang ... I sure hate when things don't start off all that great.

    But, please give it a second chance because it is a great park with some wonderful folks who will be arriving shortly !!

    Sure wish we could have met you when you were in Arizona, but missed you by a couple of days ...

    Take care, and Happy Thanksgiving ... TnT

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  16. Wow I'm surprised that they would not care more about your feelings in all this and the bad publicity they are getting. Sounds like you aren't the ones who need the attitude adjustment.

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