Pfarr, Texas

Ms. Woods

You were most helpful

Jerry Lee

anderson13@tds.net

Pfarr, Texas

you are quite welcome -- for those who wonder about the original post - here was my answer! Enjoy your visit to tropical South Texas...

Saw you posted a question about Pharr, TX -- and

%26gt; noticed your e-mail address.....if you have not

%26gt; checked the tripadvisor site recently -- here is my

%26gt; response. And no - I am not selling anything...just a

%26gt; fellow TripAdvisor person. Enjoy and let me know if

%26gt; you have any questions.

%26gt;

%26gt;

%26gt; Jerry - you have picked one of my favorite places in

%26gt; the US! The Pharr/McAllen metro area is usually nice

%26gt; and warm in the winter (although there was the freak

%26gt; Christmas Eve storm in 2004 that dumped a couple of

%26gt; inches of snow on the Rio Grande Valley). My South

%26gt; Texas friends blamed ME for that -- I am a native

%26gt; Pennsylvanian.

%26gt; Anyway -- there are several options in the area. There

%26gt; are many ';long term'; suite motels. I kinda like the

%26gt; Country Hearth Inn and Suites. This is a chain -- but

%26gt; here is the McAllen/Pharr direct website

%26gt; http://www.chirgv.com Call direct for the best rates

%26gt; if you are staying longer than seven days.

%26gt; I usually stay there when I visit my friends and

%26gt; adopted family at Christmas -- which I am doing again

%26gt; this year -- yea! The thing I love about this place is

%26gt; it has one of the few heated pools in the area --

%26gt; think SWIMMING OUTSIDE ON NEW YEARS! They also have a

%26gt; hot breakfast and free wireless internet access.... so

%26gt; bring your trusty laptop!

%26gt; If you reserve one of the suites - they have two rooms

%26gt; -- with doors between the sleeping and living areas.

%26gt; The living room area is fairly

%26gt; tiny -- and windowless -- but if you are not spending

%26gt; a whole lot of time in the room that should not

%26gt; matter.

%26gt; Other options are Drury Inn and Drury Inn and Suites.

%26gt; Both very nice-- but a bit pricier -- and they do not

%26gt; have heated pools.

%26gt; There are wonderful restaurants in the area that span

%26gt; the universe of cuisines -- but when in Texas --

%26gt; please do BBQ or Tex-Mex! The Red Barn in McAllen has

%26gt; the BEST brisket. Check out El Pato (a local chain)

%26gt; for the most amazingly wonderful fast-food

%26gt; Tex-Mex-style (you will never set foot in Taco Bell

%26gt; again). There are Taco Bells in the area -- I never

%26gt; figured that one out, but this is a big, inclusive

%26gt; country! La Mexicana is a very nice sit-down

%26gt; restaurant with wonderful authentic Mexican and

%26gt; Tex-Mex.

%26gt; Shopping? Oh yea. All the big stores are here. I love

%26gt; Dillard%26#39;s!!!!! And going into the Target in the valley

%26gt; is a treat - you find things you would never see up

%26gt; north. H-E-B is THE grocery store chain there and it

%26gt; even trumps some of the places here in PA for variety

%26gt; and especially for fresh vegetables.

%26gt; Of course - you must go to Mexico. I prefer driving to

%26gt; Nuevo Progresso -- kinda like the vendors and the

%26gt; Canada store there.... but Reynosa is just as nice.

%26gt; Both Mexican border towns are ';walkable'; - meaning you

%26gt; can park on the US side and walk across to the Mexico

%26gt; side (after paying a small toll) but I prefer Nuevo

%26gt; Progresso.

%26gt; And, don%26#39;t forget -- South Padre Island is an easy

%26gt; drive to the east. It is a beautiful place on the Gulf

%26gt; (don%26#39;t go there during college spring break tho)

%26gt; Enjoy -- and let me know if you have any questions!

%26gt;

%26gt;