Was it Aristotle or Bushwoods assistant head groundskeeper Karl who said

"To catch my quarry I gotta walk around in his skin for a little while.

I gotta think like him

I gotta smell like 

I gotta look like him"

I am Not sure I can think like him

Carol says she is not having me smelling any worse than I do

So I am left with going for the look.

20 miles west of Barretal in Tamaulipas Mexico, at the Estetica Yoli

I turned my look over to Imelda.

Here s what we started with

And here is what I got for my$2.80 US

Nothing like a shave and a haircut.

Soft as a baby's behind.

Guzman's got nothing on this boy!

Reverse Coyote ...... Not

Mexixo 

Tamaulipas 

Las Norias,Barrileto, Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre

We did fill out a lot of forms and spend some money but crossing the border with the Cobra gunshipwas relatively easy

We made it toMexico !

 

From Reynosa we fired down route 97 past San Fernando almost to Ciudad Victoria

On the way we stopped for some shredded meat and lunch in Las Norias.

Lunch was a giant plate of Palm flowers sautéed with veg and accompanied by beans, tortillas, and picante.

It wa something new to the tastebuds

After lunch we made some time through fields of sorghum and groves of oranges.

We stopped in Barrileto for a liter of the best just squeeze orange juice ever .

Right next door was an orange sorting operation so I shot a few more photos

We headed west toward the mountains until we got to the Quinta Tesoro de la Sierra Madre.

This will be our home foe the next few days.

More words tomorrow. A few Cuba Libres and a nice meal has done me in

Choices

Some smart weenie offered us the idea that life was all about choices.

Said Meister of wurst missed that some choices we make and some are made for us.

For example,

At Skillets diner today inWharton Texas the choice made for me was that I was old enough to have my own very special Section of the menu.

Never had my own impending humanity ever slapped me so hard in the face.

Ok enough with the pain and suffering 

Here is the photo. 

I'll have the 233 with pancakes and sausage !,

Later that day another their choice presented itself

Should we sleep in a fine hotel but eat trail mix and yogurt or should we have a couple of lattes and later eat cabrito and drink beer but sleep in a Wal mart parking lot?

Pierna and Negra Modelo por favor

Lloyd Bentsen may bash a quail but not a Chachalaca

McAllen  Texas 

82 degrees sunny and and breezy..

We cross the frontera in the morning.

But today we visited a beautiful park in Mission Texas right on the border named for the Late  Dan Quayle (no relation to the avian species) terminating senator.

A truly wonderful park where de did see a variety of birds including the not at all rare Chachalaca 

We also began our gustatory journeyi into the world of cabrito al pastor with local Mike "Mexico mike"

At a truly great place in McAllen 

Here are some bird pics.  

The afore mentioned and not so rare Chachalaca 

That Cajun is speaking Spanish!

Probably because his name is Jose and he is from Guadalajara 

But what a surprise for me when I looked under the crawfish buggy and there was Jose in all his glory

Asked him if he spoke English and he said not a lick

We spent the next 15 minute discussing the finer points of commercial craw fishing, the price of crossing the border and the upcoming US. Presidential election

In Spanish not Acadian 

All of this in a flooded rice field outside Crowley Louisiana 

Here are crawfish traps in the flooded rice fields

We had a great po boy at Mickeys in

Of all things we got to the end of the road in Johnsons Bayou Louisiana  And found of all thInge a car ferry to take us across the river. Not as big as the ferries back at home in hatteras but nice boys running it and a quick pleasant ride

Greasy NOLA

They sure like the deep fryer in the Big Easy

Fair enough, we did visit the French quarter

Fortunately we missed Mardi Gras by a week

Five minutes after we landed we had a margarita the size of Carol's head and were savoring the sights, sounds and smells that is this part of town

Lots of buskers playing the streets. Some good. Most not

These guys were fun

The old us mint had a quality satchmo exhibit and an in house live band walking us through the history of jazz

Lunchat Coops then a trip over to city park

Giant live oaks and some crazy sculpture 

Dinner with nephew Capt. Jimmy Dietz at Mandinas

Land of Faulkner

Not quite but it was Mississippi

We made it to the Mississippi Sandhill Crane Wildlife Reserve in the Coastal Savannah.

We did not see a crane of any kind but no worries

We had a great hike and the nature center is worth the visit.

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/mississippi_sandhill_crane/