It’s been a warm one here in South Texas, but it looks like Winter Texans are bringing some of that cool weather with them as they arrive in the Valley.
This past weekend we saw our first cold front of the season and had some nice, cool days to enjoy outdoor activities. Of course, in south Texas, we enjoy our outdoors year-round, even in the heat of summer.
As usual, the Valley is a different place without you. We are happy to see you coming back home.
As the new editor of the Winter Texan Times, I myself, miss you and all that you bring to the Valley. In all of the years I have spent in this office I have made some great friendships and hold dear many memories of the Winter Texans that come through our office doors. I look forward to a great year getting to know even more Winter Texan friends.
During a recent trip to San Antonio, I saw no less than 30 Winter Texans heading south. I only counted vehicles that were pulling a home though, so who knows how many more drivers may have been Winter Texans. I encountered two Winter Texan couples at one rest stop. One couple was out with their cameras and binoculars enjoying the butterfly migration and searching for birds in the trees.
Last week, my husband and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Scalisi’s Chicago Style Pizza and More in Pharr. There we encountered two other Winter Texan couples. (By the way – their food is delicious.)
As we have been gearing up for the season, we have been meeting park managers, city leaders, and area chambers and visitor bureaus. We can tell you they have great plans for this year!
Every other year the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley conducts the Winter Texan Survey with the support of the Winter Texan Times. The information gathered in this survey is vital to helping your communities and businesses that serve the needs of Winter Texans understand the Winter Texan resident and how important you are to our communities. Keep an eye out for that later this year and make sure you fill out your survey.
If you have a great story idea, we love new suggestions. Send us your ideas to news@wintertexantimes.com. Some types of stories we may be interested in could be profile pieces, unique activities or events in your community, how is your park involved in local charity work, or any of the myriad of great human interest stories we stumble across all the time in our Winter Texan parks.
As you can see from this issue, there are already a lot of events happening all around for you to enjoy. Take a look at our Parks Calendar and our Events Calendar inside.
We here at the Winter Texan Times hope you found your way safely to your south Texas home and enjoy your stay with us this season.
Love y’all,
Carina A. Brunson
