After a little over a month spent in Hondo, just west of San Antonio, we were back on the road to our southernmost destination this winter, Brownsville. Ron met a guy when we were in Duluth who said he had stayed in Breeze Lake RV Park and "it ain't one of those fancy places, but the people are great"...and that is the truth! The park is in need of a little fixing - but the Canadian "winter Texans" are a hoot. About 40% of the park residents are Canadian, with a number of Midwesterners too. We have been to a couple of dances in the club house, drinks on the patio all over the park (sometimes everyone just sets their chairs up in the middle of the street for happy hour). There are dinners, exercise classes, art classes, plus lots of excursions for sight seeing in the Rio Grande Valley.
Our first stop was old town Brownsville, which is literally a stone's throw from Matamoros, Mexico.
The Historic Brownsville Museum is located in the old Southern Pacific Depot building.
It is a beautifully restored building with Spanish colonial architecture built in 1928.
The inside of the depot has also been restored. It has displays of old furniture, household items, replicas of clothing worn "back in the day".
This bed was as large as our king sized bed!
I love the terracotta tiles & of course, the detail on the doors & windows.
Gotta love this drinking fountain!
One of the things we liked best was the exhibit breaking down the history of Brownsville - from the Coahuiltecans to the Spanish to the earthen fort (yes, earthen!) of Fort Brown, formerly Fort Texas, established in 1845. Brownsville has had many battles fought on its soil, including the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.
This exhibit explained that Brownsville has actually had 7 flags - Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederacy & the United States.
And for a few months in 1840, the Republic of the Rio Grande.
The prized possession of the Museum is a Baldwin wood-burning narrow gauge locomotive - housed in its own building.
It is quite something to see- smaller than I would have expected.
Check out that cow catcher!
From the museum we walked downtown. It is very Mexican, with some familiar store names thrown in. Just north of downtown was a cathedral that I wanted to see.
Immaculate Conception Cathedral was built in 1856 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hard to believe that most of the exterior is original - including the 36 stained glass windows.
The vaulted ceiling is lined with gold leaf, and the bronze chandeliers were imported from Paris in the late 19th century.
A beautiful tomb on the grounds.
We tried to go through the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, but it was closed for installation of its next exhibit, but we excited to find a Farmers Market nearby.
We've been enjoying the mostly beautiful weather, but trying to blow a little warmth your way!
