A new day and a fresh approach.
I decided to make the drive into Roma. Roma is a large town of 11,561, a population increasing every year unlike all the other towns we visit, and 98.5% of that population is hispanic.
We were underway before 9 am for the 14 mile drive to Roma.
First thing I see crossing into town is a purified water station. Now I had asked Chuck if there were any places to get drinking water. He thought there might be one and gave me vague directions. So when I saw this I jumped on it. By the time we were done with Roma hours later I had seen dozens of these purified water stations.
I had planned to make this quest for milk worthwhile and one of the things I wanted to do in town was find a car wash. Just a half a block down from getting water was a car wash, not the one I had mapped out. This will do. I pulled in and parked sideways blocking three stalls. We couldn’t fit under the roof.
That was okay, Really what I wanted to do was blast all the dirt and grit from the roller runners on this slide-out storage bin. I could barely budge it.
Cheap car wash for only $1.25 and I got it done plus some bug removal up front.
Next was a stop at a auto parts store for an upcoming project, then a walk over to the nearby Family Dollar. They had milk. Family Dollar always seems to be better than Dollar General.
Auto parts in the distance.
Clean windshield now.
I noticed in the same large parking area was a Valero station. We had a half a tank. We have a long way to go when we leave Falcon Heights. We’d have to fill up eventually upon arrival wherever we wind up. So I decided to do it here and be done with it.
Diesel was $3.68 which seemed about average for south Texas.
While it filled I looked up. Riverview Market. That is one of the stores I had pegged.
Good deal, it is right here.
Inside I heard no english being spoken. Mexican music wafted through the air. The bread selection was pitiful minimal. It looked to be all enriched white bread. No bags of salad. I picked up some small steaks. No cottage cheese except Daisy brand which I do not care for. They had milk. With just three items in my basket I felt it wasn’t worth it. I’d try someplace else. I put those three items back.
Now Roma has over twenty grocery markets. We drove on through town for seven miles. All those stores were small tiendas. There is no shortage of tortillas, frijoles, carne, pollo, tamales and such in Roma. At the edge of town was a road sign: Rio Grande City - 8 miles. Damn, eight miles more and we would be at a Walmart! I turned around and went back to...
The store was nice. I just had to realign my thinking. Just as I did back In Ajo.
After all, this is a border town.
This time I saw the bags of salad. See arrow. Maybe four to six bags. Not the big selection to choose from like I am used to seeing. I didn’t pickup those steaks though.
I did get another milk. Ever see milk in a yellow container? How could I pass that up.
And I did get a small Daisy cottage cheese.
Buck-up trooper.
On the way home we stopped at Dollar General to give the ginger cat a can of food.
He wasn’t around.
Back home I scooted underneath and took a small wire brush to the track then sprayed it all with a lubricant. Works slick now.
- comment reply -
Yes, I have questions. They euthanize millions of chickens, create an egg shortage and then all of a sudden eggs are plentiful again? How long does it take for a baby chick to mature to egg-laying size? And just where did those baby chicks come from if all the millions of chickens were eliminated?
And why was chicken meat still available all during this time? Maybe I don’t want to know the answer.