Meanwhile, not far away…

Nov. 5 – McAllen, TX

McAllen is only about 35 miles from Harlingen, where we'd played just two nights prior, and from all I saw of both cities, it's essentially the same. There we were in the La Quinta Inn beside Highway 83. There was the Denny's right next door, and the IHOP a few doors down across the freeway. There was the same muggy weather, and the same municipal auditorium from a generation ago that still houses touring companies.

The difference, I suppose, was that McAllen was a little nicer, a little more comfortable, a little more convenient. There were no throngs of people at the McAllen hotel, and no bugs that I saw. The Denny's was even closer to the hotel, in fact less than ten feet away, plus it had a bar inside (I didn't go). And while there was the IHOP, there were also a handful of other choices for lunch, so it didn't have to be a half-mile walk. The muggy weather was tempered in the evening by a soothing breeze, and the auditorium was neat and quirky instead of simply old and tired; what's more, I'm told a new arts facility is planned for the town.

There was grass in McAllen, and trees. Even the freeway overpasses seemed newer. And most striking of all, my ears were unassaulted by the complaints of the Iridescent Squawking Bird. Maybe he'd stayed behind in Harlingen. Or maybe he had followed, and in so doing found nothing further to complain about.

View Larger Map

Postscript:

The city of Pharr is right next to McAllen, which allows for some fun with puns. For example, Q: "Are we in McAllen yet?" A: "No; it's not Pharr."

Q: "Which side of McAllen do you live on?" A: "The Pharr side."

I saw a sign from the freeway for a bridge to Mexico. I wonder if across the border there's a sign for "A bridge to Pharr"?

And of course, who among us has never fallen into a burning Ring of Pharr?

Okay, I think I've gone to Pharr.