The trip from South Padre Island to Mission, Texas, began with some teeth-clenching driving; we had to drive through some very windy conditions, with sustained winds around 25 mph with higher gusts. If you’ve ever driven a car in windy conditions, you know how the wind can push the car a bit as the wind gusts. Well, try doing that in an RV!! It got us to thinking about how windy it would have to be for us to decide to get off the road altogether (most RV forums say gusts of 55 mph, but we think 35 mph is more likely for us).
We made it safely to our new campground, which was our first 55+ adult RV resort, Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort. We loved it from the moment we drove in. The reception desk gave us an activities calendar, with an activity scheduled for an hour after we arrived – a Margarita Happy Hour at the Clubhouse and a food truck with brisket and pulled-pork sandwiches!
The people were so welcoming; and as unfamiliar faces, everyone could pick us out as newcomers. We immediate met Ellie, the activities (unofficial chairperson?) and she continued to take care of us and remind us of upcoming events all week (we already have plans to meet again down the road). The following day, there was a happy hour at the pool with more drinking (the first two days were warm, but it turned cooler later in our stay); and Pat took advantage of the “Christmas Cookie Exchange” (Pat baked two dozen cookies and then everyone who went to the exchange got to take home two of every cookie that was brought to the exchange).
The resort is located next to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park on the Mexican border. On Friday, we used a resort perk of free bikes and a free pass to the State Park; our first State Park visit while full-time RV traveling! The state park is one and the same as the World Birding Center. There were many beautiful birds in the park, but the exotic Green Jay was the most beautiful to us. Neither of us had ridden bikes in decades, but true to the saying, you don’t forget how to! We rode our bikes around the State Park, stopping at various points where there were bird feeders or lookout towers to see the birds that live in the park.
That night, we were entertained in the Clubhouse by Cookin’, a hired musical act that included a female singer and her ex-husband (LOL) on the synthesizer.
Saturday was Bingo night, and Tim won the first game! There were about 48 people playing and the game was a dime ante, so $4.80 was his prize! On Monday, we took an Uber into town to get haircuts. We had to pick up some prescriptions from Walgreens and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant nearby called Theresitas; some of the best Mexican food we have ever tasted! On Tuesday, we bought fresh vegetables from a truck that comes to the resort once per week.
During our stay, we got our RV ready for the upcoming freeze by sanitizing and re-filling the freshwater tank in the RV. This was necessary because we were cautious about connecting to city water at our upcoming campground since the hose would likely freeze (temperatures are expected to drop to the mid-teens), so we will have to use our freshwater tank instead. There is an “electric blanket” around all of the holding tanks. In order to sanitize the freshwater tank, we also had to find the water heater turn-off valve, which we finally found in an unlikely place (under the bed). We also put together our new gas grill, and “re-engineered” the propane line to connect directly to the RV with great help in the resort woodshop from some of the residents. We didn’t try grilling on it yet, but we did get our new table for the grill while we were at the campground and will grill as soon as the weather gets warmer.
Review of Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort in Mission, Texas
Filled with palm trees, Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort is beautiful and peaceful. The spots on either side of us were empty, so we felt that we had a lot of privacy. We were located close to the Clubhouse, so it was easy to take advantage of the activities there. The activities committee offered multiple activities, meals/snacks, games or crafts each day. This was our first 55+ RV campground (there are many across the U.S.) and we really loved it. It was comforting to be with people around our own age, and these people loved a good party as much as we do. As mentioned before, the resort offers free bikes for riding to the State Park or on a trail that goes around the campground and adjacent neighborhoods. The campground also has pickle ball courts, pool tables set up outdoors, and horseshoes. The pool is heated and there is a hot tub located next to the pool. The campground also has a crafts room and a wood shop for people to find new hobbies or keep up with old ones. The reception area offers some snacks and drinks to purchase, but these are limited. The laundry room was nice and was located adjacent to the campground bathrooms and showers, which were clean and conveniently located. It is also a unique campground because it is located next to the Rio Grande Valley State Park, and we were able to easily visit there. It was fairly easy to get an Uber into town (about a 15-minute wait for the Uber and a 15-minute drive to town). The only drawback to the resort was that the trash area was a good hike to the back of the campground and there was no courtesy pickup of trash. This was easy to look past though, as there was so much to enjoy at the campground. We will definitely be back again and probably for a longer stay.
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