FORE! GOLFING IN THE RGV!
This week features Adobe Wells Golf Course in McAllen.
UPCOMING EVENTS!
Check out this week’s listings of what’s happening in the RGV!
www.welcomehomergv.com • • January 31, 2018 RECIPE •CONNECTION! Executive Chef Bettina Tolin shares a recipe made with bleu cheese!
Welcome Home See details on page 10.
See calendar starting on page 29.
VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 15 • January 31, 2018
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Try this recipe on page 45.
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WINTER TEXAN
• • • your official connection to the rio grande valley • • •
Split Rail RV Park & Resort Celebrates 40th Anniversary Special to Welcome Home RGV
The
onIthen just a few days, I will be heading adventure of a lifetime with 172 of
you! I am so excited to share a vacation with so many on the 2nd Annual Cruise with Kristi...that’s ME! Group travel is truly the way to go, and it has changed the way I feel about vacationing. It’s so much more fun going with friends and friends of friends. By the time we get back, we will all be good friends with great memories. I’ve packed a little. Luckily, most things fit. They may not by the time we get back, but I’m okay with that! That will be the sign of a great time. I look forward to reporting (some of) our shenanigans. After all, some of what happens on a cruise, stays on the cruise. I have no doubt that before we even get home, we’ll already be planning the 3rd Annual Cruise with Kristi. I hope you can join us! While we’re cruising along, we hope those of you who couldn’t join us this year will go to Meet the Welcome Home Winter Texan Columnists Night at Tony Roma’s February 8. We are so grateful for the columnists who add their special touches to our paper each week, and we know you will enjoy meeting them in person! Two of our WHRGV behind-the-scenes team members will be there, too--Jenny Carpenter, who is our talented graphic designer, and Chris Ardis, our editor. I know there will be stories to tell and new, creative ideas hatched that night. You can read more about the event in this issue and in next week’s issue. Be sure to watch for more details on our website and Facebook pages, too. I’m happy to know that while we’re out “shenaniganing,” you will be doing the same right here in the Rio Grande Valley. • We’re just connecting the dots,
Kristi
2017-2018 Winter Texan season marked the 40th year since Split Rail opened to Winter Texans looking for a fun-filled community of friends escaping the cold winters in the North. The celebration took place on the Resort’s longstanding annual FUNDAY in early January. The festivities kicked off with complimentary coffee and donuts from the Resident Association, followed by the colorful and entertaining “Parade of States,” where residents proudly march throughout the Resort. After everyone enjoyed a variety of fun games, all residents were invited to enjoy a fully catered BBQ lunch compliments of Split Rail. While enjoying cake and coffee after lunch, the Resort’s king and queen were crowned for being very active in the Resort, volunteering at events, and just GREAT folks to call friends! It’s a proud 38-year tradition that recognizes amazing people every year, and it’s just fun having “royalty” living in the Resort! Overall, it was an incredible day of sunny, clear skies, delicious food, friendship, laughter, and fun, ending with one amazing South-Texas sunset. Located in Mission, Split Rail has seen the Rio Grande Valley grow tremendously from its more laidback atmosphere back in the late 1970s. While Mexico and South Padre Island are still big attractions that draw Winter Texans to the Valley, we believe it’s the deep friendships that are formed each winter season by residents that keep them returning year after year. The Resort offers abundant activities for everyone, plus there are so many fun things to do and explore across the
entire Valley (and of course the mild weather makes wintering in the Rio Grande Valley so incredible). Before the Resort was built, the land was an orange grove that was no longer producing fruit. The owners, Joe and Maria Polonski, saw this underutilized land as an opportunity
to develop it into a thriving retirement community. After Joe retired from a long-honored career in the military and in civil service, relocating the family to Texas from Chicago just a couple of years earlier, he saw how developing Split Rail would fit well into his and Maria’s plans of being “semi-retired.” Once the doors officially opened in October of 1978, they knew they had something really special, and the community filled up quickly with retired couples from all over the northern U.S. and Canada. Back then it was more RVers staying for only the winter months, but over the years, Split Rail saw many of its residents establish permanent residences. It truly became an extended family of wonderful people coming to the Valley year after year. In fact. close to 80 percent of the people in the Resort now maintain a home year=round and typically travel home only during the late spring and summer months. SPLIT RAIL CELEBRATES 40 YEARS CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 >>
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR 2017-2018 SEASON SPONSORS