It never ceases to amaze me how many people are touched by this column and how many of them aren’t even Winter Texans. A friend recently told me she felt she had “a window to my soul.” (That can give a person writer’s block in a hurry.) I write from the heart and about what’s on my mind. Sometimes it relates to Winter Texans, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Admittedly, I’m a dreamer and an optimist. I might even be a little crazy. I look back at when I started Welcome Home RGV, and I am convinced I had to have been ready to hit the funny farm. But eight years later, the crazy ideas I had back then have not only worked, they’ve stuck. I’ve made a career out of attending bingo, dances, craft sales, potluck dinners, and happy hour. Maybe I’m not crazy after all… I might just be brilliant.
The Winter Texan lifestyle is a mystery to most people in the Valley, but in all honesty, it isn’t rocket science. Winter Texans are people, too. They like to eat, drink, shop, and explore, just like everybody else. They are fascinated with the things we take for granted, like palm trees, flea markets, and Mexican culture. Think about it. Valleyites crave cold weather and are fascinated with snow.
As the Baby Boomers start their retirement journey, we are finding that they like to do things a little differently than their predecessors. They still like to dance, but they often prefer classic country or rock over ballroom or square dancing. Potluck dinners are being replaced with wine and cheese parties. RV resorts are reporting record numbers of requests for rental units rather than RV sites. The times they are a-changin’, and in the meantime, we struggle to find the right balance between what we’ve known and what is yet to come.
The one thing I see that hasn’t changed is that once our Winter Texans experience the Valley, they rarely decide to winter anywhere else. There is something truly magical about the Rio Grande Valley that captures the hearts of so many, year after year.Word of mouth is still the number one reason our winter visitors come to South Texas. If everyone who reads this column would just convince one person to give us a try, what a wonderful picture we could paint.
I’m not being optimistic here; I’m being a realist. I am speaking from the heart when I ask you to send a postcard, pick up the phone, write an email, or share a post inviting your friends and family to pay a visit to South Texas. Give them a window into the lifestyle that we all hope to have one day.
We’re just connecting the dots,
Kristi