It took 3 hours to drive from Port Aransas to Mercedes...country side was flat for as far as we could see. We are situated about 40 miles from the Gulf and 10 miles from the Mexico border. The park (Llano Grande) is huge ... has 4 pools, nice gym, rec hall, wood working shop, pool hall, tennis courts and golf course. The weather is now in the high 60's and mid 70's. Love it! We golfed on Sunday at the park course. It's not in great shape as they had a hurricane hit this area in the summer and the course was under 5 feet of water and is still recovering. Small world...John and Sheila Smart are in the same park.