Corpus And Beyond

Our time at Ry and Jen's was wonderful thanks to our hosts. We had one of the nicest campsites yet (their backyard) with a clean warm shower room (their's) and fabulous tour guides.

The highlight of my trip was seeing Loi so enjoy herself walking barefoot along the gulf at Padre Island. This was the first time that she had seen the gulf coast and seemed to truly enjoy herself.
Peeko was a happy camper as well as he ran off leash most of the walk.
The four generationsOur tour guides also took us to the Botanical Gardens. You really needed to stay on the paths here as their were certainly poisonous snakes in the grass and maybe an alligator or two.

Jen enjoying the scenery.There were butterflies
And flowersAnd frogs...if you can see them
Dave and Ry sitting by the campfire.On this night the guys grilled T-bones....where else but in Texas do you get a family pack of T-bones for only $10.00! They were good.

Grandpa, Great Grandma and AbigailGreat Grandma and Abigail sharing a laugh. Little Abigail is the most serious, deep in thought baby I have ever met. I cannot wait to hear how she has planned her world as I am sure this is what she is doing when she furroughs her brow in thought.
And who can resist this shot.Thanks a ton to Ry and Jen. It was loads of fun and great to be able to spend time with you three.

We are now in San Antonio. Today we ventured to the Alamo. We were a bit disappointed as it is very 'touristy'. We were also not thrilled with River Walk...I know I know most would love it but we all prefer the great outdoors, flea markets and thrift stores. Speaking of which Loi and I have found a few Goodwill stores. We both scored today at 99 cent sales!

The weather has taken a turn. From 80 degrees this afternoon to a low of 39 tonight and cool tomorrow. Tomorrow we are off to the Sonora Caves and then on to New Mexico. I hope this cold front moves through quickly!

We Made It To Texas

From Hot Springs Arkansas (which is nothing to write home about) to Louisiana where we spent our first night in our suite on wheels. The weather has been chilly so much of our time has been spent in this very small, not made for four (three of us and a dog) camper. David has decided that this will be the last trip with this particular unit. We spend the night in a very nice state park (and have decided that state parks are the best), built a fire, made supper and into the camper we went to the small heater. We have been in bed by 8:30pm (nothing to do in this chilly weather) and up for the day at 6am.

From Louisiana we took back roads to our first Texas stopped. We learned a few things along the way. 1- There is absolutely no reason to take back roads in Texas as there is nothing at all to see...take the freeway and get to where you are going. There is also not a thing worth taking pictures of along the way! 2-We have found a new favorite inexpensive place to eat...The Waffle House. A bit of a greasy spoon but the food is great! 3- As stated above, state parks are our favorite places to camp.

From Louisiana to Texas. Our first state park in Texas was nice as well, but again chilly. Our second was our favorite as there was lots of wildlife to see. We looked for alligators but didn't spy a one. Finally a little something to take pictures of-
David, Peeko and I walking along the water's edge. All of a sudden Peeko lunges at his leash and I hear a hiss....I told David "Get him get him". David thought it was an alligator but Peeko had scouted out a coon who was none to happy to have been rousted!
The trees are very unique.The deer. They walk right into your campsite as I am sure they have been feed very well by campers despite the warnings to 'Not feed the wildlife'.
Here Loi is looking at a deer who is looking at her wondering what in the heck she is.
Peeko wondered what these four legged things were as well. He looked but did not bark!
All three of us decided that this is a place we would love to spend more time at if the weather were warmer.

And then off to Ryan and Jens who were surprised that we drove right to their place thanks to Trips and Streets (and Len and Kel for the wonderful gift).Ry and Jen were also kind enough to let us 'camp' in their backyard. A few pictures to share-
Little Abigail happily eatingPeeko is very happy to have two new friends to frolic with, Jr and Molly.
We will spend a couple of days here and then off to San Antonio. Stay tuned....

I've Got Lots To Say

Get ready, we've been busy and I'm sharing.....

So, we started this trip Friday. It is now Monday night and we still have not slept in our suite on wheels.

Our first stop was at Bass Pro.
This is what Christmas looks like there. The tree and the trophies
David wishing this were his next trophyWe spent three nights in Branson with our friends Mikey and Jan who were wonderful tour guides...we were busy.

You cannot go to Branson without seeing at least one show. Well we saw three of them.
Andy Williams Christmas show was first up. The lighting was wonderful and the show fun as well. Ole Andy is getting up there in age but he is still able to sing.
Andy's stageSecond up was The Presley's. Nope not Elvis but a family who puts on a very fun variety show. The best are father and son and Jan for the life of me I can't remember their names. Anyhow they were a riot. The son reminded me a bit of Erkel..anyone remember him?
The third was an illusionist and a ventriloquist. The show was 'ok' but the absolute best was the tribute that they did to all of the veterans. It brought tears to my eyes. It was centered around the raising of the US flag in Iwo Jima and at the very end the illusionist 'conjured up' an almost life sized replica of the men raising the flag. Very touching. We were not allowed cameras into the auditorium I am sorry to say but just imagine.....

We made a stop at Soji's palace (where he does his show). Our tour guides decided that the show was not worth seeing but the toilets in this place certainly were!

In the men's room
Yes that really is a pool table. I did not venture any farther but I was told that they have ice in the urinals...

The ladie's room. Loi and I could not believe it and I am sure we had our mouths open in awe the entire time.
Get a load of the sinks, all lined up with orchids on each one.
Loi in front of the fireplace that wasn't burning as Santa was coming down
Loi and I sitting by Santa, or is it Father Time-yes he was in the bathroom too!
Chrissy this one is for you. A Christmas tree in the bathroom decorated with angles
Seriously unbelievable.

On the way down Loi was talking about a place to eat where they throw the rolls at you. The first supper meal was at the very same place that Loi had heard about and yes they do throw the buns at you.
Here is Jan catching one in fact.

Buns were very tasty...meal not so much.

A bit of shopping
Jan almost passed out when she found a pair of moccasins that she likes and has not been able to find elsewhere. Doesn't take much to make her happy I guess.Loi in her glory looking at earrings...she didn't buy any but did end up with a pair of moccasins herself.
Me...nothing.

Branson decorates to the nines for Christmas
I especially liked this pair of entwined trees with a bell and a sign that reads 'Let Freedom Ring'

And we made a trip to K-mart. Anyone that knows Loi knows that this made her day...and mine too. We both scored on sales. Got chewed out by David as we only have so much room to haul stuff!

The Butterfly Garden.
This was a treat, very relaxing and a photographer's wonderland. Butterflies galore. If you sit still long enough you may get lucky and have one land.
Like this fella who landed on the hand of a lady. The butterfly was as big as her hand.
Looking quite nice on the poinsettia

What species is this? It's a leaf but does resemble a butterfly I think
And Loi in the butterfly chair.I intended on posting the picture of me in the same chair that Jan took however I could not get the skinny me tool on photoshop to work.

Today was another travel day. Jen and Ry..we will get there really we will.
From Missouri we headed to Arkansas via the Smokey Mountains. Was a cloudy (and cold I might add) day but I was able to capture this shotAnd then I tripped on a rock, fell on rocks skinning both knees and my camera went flying. Thank goodness I didn't wreck it and no one saw my klutziness!

David and his copilot navigating the narrow, curvy, steep and at times a bit scary roads.
A pit stop along the way
Little Peeko waiting at the hotel window for David and I to come backTonight we are in Hot Springs in a hotel. It got too late, and was too cold to set up camp so here we are in a cheap dog friendly hotel. Tomorrow we are off to who knows where....stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving

And this little face with her outfit says it better than I could begin to.

I have spent the most wonderful three days with Julia. Kel and Len you cannot begin to realize what these three days have meant to me...thank you for entrusting me with your wonderful little girl, it has been a pleasure.

As I sat in the rocking chair feeding Julia, I watched her little nose move at every suck of the bottle, her hands wrap around the bottle and her smile as she caught me looking at her, I totally understood what another new grandma said to me. 'You cannot believe how much you can love your grand babies'. It is so true, the feeling was just so overwhelming and unexplainable. It is something to think that a person that I had a hand in bringing into this world has just helped to bring someone else into the world..someone who is quite perfect if I do say so myself! There is nothing more satisfying than having that little one recognize your voice and your face followed by the charming smile..it is awesome. In just the few days that we have been here she has changed. She has discovered her hands. They are often in her mouth or batting at a toy. She 'talks' and even laughs out loud (we have already begun grandma's secrets), she holds her head up and will soon be rolling over. She has begun to entertain herself just looking at her surroundings, playing with her hands or babbling to herself. I will bore you with words no more but I do have some pictures to share, are you surprised. And Bugs...I didn't do anymore pinching and we got along just fine!ha ha.

We ended our stay at the Leonard hotel with a yummy Thanksgiving meal thanks to Kel. She cooked up turkey with veggies, mashed potatoes, buns and the always loved raspberry cheesecake and pumpkin pie.

There goes the fist right in the mouth looking for that thumb

Wrapping her little hands around her bottle
Julia and mom relaxing-well one of them was relaxing...
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...another computer person in the family?
Len demonstrating the Wii Fit...what do you think about his yoga stance Jen?
Tomorrow we start our journey to Texas in our little bedroom on wheels.

First Day 'On The granny Job'

My 'shift' began at noon yesterday and I walked into a smiling happy baby. In a few hours time I managed to have a very unhappy crying baby! Oh the Grandma touch huh?! Julia does not like a wet or dirty diaper, gas, the hick ups or to be hungry....none of which seemed to be the trouble yesterday so she cried...and I mean CRIED for about an hour. It makes a person (especially a grandma) feel so helpless. It is one thing if she would have been just crabby but no this was the wail of 'something is not right in my world. She finally settled down and a few hours later I cleaned a very messy diaper. So I say that was the problem...not that she wanted mommy or daddy and not gramma...I refuse to believe that. However it could be true.

So this morning my shift began at 8am and this is the baby I have so far-
And a frosty sunrise over looking the field behind Len and Kel's house.

It has been a lot of years since I have woken up in the morning in this house.

The 'Suite' On Wheels

Here she is our home away from home and where we will be spending a large share of our time the month of December.


The kitchen.....
The closet....
Toilet.....oh and shower.....
Loi's bed.....Peeko and our bedroom....
What more does one need huh? Wait, this isn't for just one...we are going to fit three and a dog in this suite on wheels....interesting but fun!

We are taking a leisurely drive to Texas to visit Ry, Jen and the new grand-baby,(beware guys here we come!) followed by a leisurely drive back home again. We plan on making a few stops along the way....in Branson to spend two days with our friends Mikey and Jan. They have all kinds of plans for us including a few shows. Did I mention that David's mom will be traveling with us and Peeko as well? Tack will be staying at my friend Mary and Yoni's house. Thank you dear friends.

I will certainly blog along the way.

Before the trip I get the pleasure of spending three days with Julia while her mom and dad work this week. I can't wait...is she old enough to spoil yet???? Pictures of those three days to come as well...stay tuned.