Iwo Jima Monument

We went to Harlingen yesterday. We drove all over town looking at RV parks and various other stores. On the outer beltway we passed the airport. It is named the Valley International. It is just like all the other airports you have seen, with the exception that it has the Marine Military Academy on its grounds.

Also it has the Iwo Jima Monument. Or the original plaster cast version, that was used to cast the bronze monument in Washington DC. Well it is in the Arlington National Cemetery which is on the Virginia side of DC.




I copied this information from the Wikipedia as it explains more than I could retype and does it better as well.

Marine Military Academy, a private college preparatory academy located in Harlingen, Texas, offers a college preparatory curriculum for boys in grades 8-12 plus one-year of post-graduate study. The school was founded in 1965.

The academy is situated on the site of the former Harlingen Army Air Field, established in 1941. After closing, the field was re-opened in 1952 as the Harlingen Air Force Base which closed in the early 1960's. Since opening its doors as the Marine Military Academy most of the original buildings have been replaced with modern facilities.

The Iwo Jima Monument is the original full-sized creation of the renowned artist and sculptor, Dr. Felix de Weldon, and was used for the casting of the monument erected at Arlington Cemetery outside Washington, D.C. After completion of the monument this sculpture was placed in storage until the early 1980's when its creator donated it to the Academy.

We also visited the Sunshine RV Resort which is on the North end of town. It is just East of the Hwy 77 and Business 77 interchange. It is quite a convenient location, The park is older but is quite nice in some parts. The park models are nice in the newer parts, but include some from the 60's in the older areas. They date the place. Most of the spots in the North end that had 5th wheels on them were so short that the associated dually pickups were parked crossways in front of the trailers. Just too tight, but the place was full. Or mostly full. We just could not see ourselves moving to this park.

Next we drove to the Tropic Winds RV Resort. This was in the newer area North of the Airport. This was a big open field that has paved roads. Sites were a bunch wider than Llano Grande. There were no conestoga wagons in this park. It is new and so are the units parked there. It was all grass except for where you park your car. This is a concrete patio that can double as the pad under your table and lawn chair. Looking up this park in the RVParkreviews.com web site informs us that it is windy all the time and the grass under your unit gives way to mud when it rains. Uck! Also there is hardly any bath facilities as I found only 2 toilets and 2 showers in the main building for 535 sites. Wifi was not free and was instead a tengo product. You have to sign up for 3 months. 29.95 per month. We do not want to move here either.

Winter came here in earnest last night as the cold rain continued all night, We are down to 42 this morning which wouldn't be to bad in a brick and stick house but in the trailer it is cold. The propane heater ran for most of the night. The gas bottle has to be getting low but the second one is full and turned off. Our weather paradise is very winter like this morning.

On the bright side, Des Moines had 1 degree at midnight last night, so far be it from me to complain................