Sunday, April 13 – Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sunday, April 13
Barbara: Today was another “I don’t feel well day” for me. I did get up early (6 AM) so I could watch some of the church services I enjoy on TV since it was obvious we wouldn’t be going out today. After Jim awoke, he joined me for breakfast and another service before he headed outside to work around Jean’s place.
Since I was feeling cooped up, I decided to rearrange, clean some cabinets, and fix a crock pot noodle dish which we could later share with Edith.
We were invited over to Jean’s for a cook-out with the clan to baptize her new grill, but we decided that I might still be contagious; so Jim wandered over there alone. However, it wasn’t long until he was home with a plate of food for me. He said he had been given instructions to deliver this before they ate. Even though I had asked him to not make a special trip back to Big V, I was pleased that he did, especially when I saw all the good food.
Monday, April 14
There is no doubt in my mind that this is a day I’d like to erase! Jim has been having shoulder problems for quite a while and decided that he’d better get to the doctor for it. Therefore, he left around 9:00 to do that. When he returned, it was with the news that his blood pressure is way too high and the doctor wants to do some blood work as well as schedule an MRI for the shoulder since he thinks Jim’s rotator cuff might be torn. We have been blessed with such good health that this news just kind of hit me hard. Go figure.
Then, after starting laundry at Edith’s, we took the car to the car doctor for a simple oil, lube, and filter job. We planned to walk through downtown Artesia and do some shop looking and have lunch. The shop looking was a bust since the store we wanted to look in is closed on Monday. However, we chose to eat at the Garden Café which turned out to be a very wise decision since the sandwiches were great and the view of downtown from the “garden” was very pleasant. It’s definitely a place we’ll go to again.
Knowing that we had spent plenty of time for the car to be ready, we walked back over to Guy Chevrolet only to find that the car had not been moved. I really needed to go back and put in another load of clothes, but the manager assured us that the car would be ready in 20 minutes. So…we took off walking again. (At least it was a gorgeous day for a walk!) To make a long story short, I’ll just say that the car was not ready and it was another hour before we headed over to Edith’s.
But, this little fiasco was not over! About half way between Edith’s and Guy Chevrolet, the phone rang and it was the cashier at Guy’s. They had forgotten to add the labor to the bill, and wanted us to please come back! Jim said he’d be there in a minute (one of their minutes!) and took me on to Edith’s to work on the clothes while he drove back downtown.
We had had such a fun day that we were exhausted and even though it was almost 4:00, we came home for a quick nap. However, mine wasn’t so quick, so Jim went back for the clothes about 5:10 leaving me still asleep!
When I finally awoke (about 5:25) I walked over to Nancy and Jerry’s to feed Benji since we’re dog-sitting him for a couple of days. He was terribly lonely and wasn’t a bit interested in his food; so I took him for a walk. I told him we were going to Grandma’s (which is the clan name for Jean) and he led me right there! After visiting a little with Jean, Benji and I continued our walk. Just as we were heading for his (Nancy and Jerry’s) home, I spied Jim pulling up so we changed our course and met him to help take in the laundry. Then when we finished that, both of us took Benji home and dropped by Jean’s again.
Jim got engrossed in the Red Sox baseball game with Jean so I came on home to watch Deal or No Deal. The Sox pulled the game out of the jaws of defeat so Jim was a happy camper. Finally, a good end to this day!
Tuesday, April 15
HAPPY TAX DAY AMERICA!!! Thought for the day: Did you ever notice that when you say “The IRS,” it spells “Theirs?”
Happy birthday to Jim’s Aunt Glennis in Florida!
What exciting events do I have to tell about today? Not much…Jim got up early so he could be at Dr. Khan’s office at 8:00 to get his blood pressure checked and have blood drawn for some tests. When he came home, he took a couple of the magic pills that Dr. Khan gave him yesterday and went to bed to “rest his eyes.” About three hours later he finally stumbled out of the bedroom and restarted his day.
We went into town to see Edith and take her some food that we had left over from last night, and then did some “shop-looking” at the store we wanted to visit yesterday.
Jim has wanted to do some more Puerto Rican cooking, so we stopped at Fenn’s Supermarket and picked up a few items before we headed back out to the place. I went in to visit Jean while he took the groceries to Big V and started tonight’s meal.
Jim: I decided today that I wanted to cook a chicken dish and some rice, so we stopped at the supermarket when we were in town and got some chicken breasts. When we got home, I chopped some onion and garlic and cut a potato into very thin slices; then, while I fried them in olive oil, I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and seasoned them with the Adobo seasoning. When the onions, garlic, and potatoes were done, I mixed in the chicken pieces and fried them until the outsides were cooked. When I thought everything was ready, I mixed in a package of Goya seasoning with Culantro and Achiote. When everything was heated and stirred, I added in a couple of cups of water, boiled the mixture for a few minutes, and then let it sit and simmer while I fixed the rest of the meal. With that going, I started the rice. We are still so grateful that Margarita and Maria taught us about grano mediano when we were in Puerto Rico, because it cooks up exactly the way we like it. I've never been able to cook rice this well, but now, thanks to them, it comes out perfect every time! While the rice and the meat mixture were cooking, I started on the tostones. The plantains we bought a couple of weeks ago were just right (well, one of them had turned black, so I didn't try to use it, but the other two were ripe). We found that the last time we did the plantains, we had the fire turned up too high on our burners; so, this time after I got the oil heated, I turned the burner to "low," and it was just the right amount of flame and heat. Also, I paid a lot more attention to what I was doing this time so the pieces didn't burn. Barbara bought a loaf of French bread today and sliced it up to cook in the griddle for flat bread. While I was fixing the tostones, she did the bread. As luck would have it (it had to be luck, because I don't think we could plan it this well), everything was ready at the same time. (We were going to use some sofrito we bought at the supermarket, but when I went to open it, I found that it had already been opened and probably wasn't good anymore, so I just threw it away. I think that soon I will gather everything I need for sofrito and make it myself.) We called Jean to see if she was ready to eat. She said to give her a few more minutes, and by the time we got all the pots, pans, and other containers into her house, she had the table set and we were all ready to eat. We also took some salad to eat, so we had that, the chicken dish, rice, fresh cooked plantains, and hot flat bread...Yum-Yum!!! Jean said she enjoyed it very much, and we were proud of ourselves for the way it turned out...Again, we were so grateful for the cooking lessons and tips we got from Margarita and Maria. With two or three trips back to Puerto Rico, we could almost be experts!
After we finished eating, Barbara went over to Jerry and Nancy’s house to feed Benji and take him for a walk. They came by the house so Benji could see “Grandma” for a few minutes before going back home for the night.
I gathered up some of the pots and pans and took them back to Big V, where Barbara and I did the dishes and then sat down to rest for a bit. Later, we went back over to visit Jean for a few minutes and then came home to watch a little TV before ending our day.
Mike called us this afternoon to chat a bit and let us know that he and Kelly have set a wedding date. They will be married on Sunday, October 19 in the Richmond area. Of course, there will be more information on this big event as we receive it.
Wednesday, April 16
Edith and Jim had an appointment with the banker concerning house issues related to moving to Mineola. Therefore, I chose to stay home to begin packing up all the house knick-knacks since we have to go to Carlsbad tomorrow.
Eventually, we wound up spending the whole day running around (in the car). We enjoyed visits with Edith and then later with Billee and Ernie. We also had to clean out the refrigerator and take all our perishable items over to Edith’s since the ice maker will have to be checked out tomorrow.
Later Jim went over and watched basketball and baseball a little while with Jean.
Thursday, April 17
Edith had an appointment this morning at the hospital to have some standard blood tests done in preparation for her doctor appointment next week. This took only 30 minutes which gave Jim and me plenty of time to finish closing Big V before going to Carlsbad. We had decided that Jim would drive the motor home and I’d follow in the car so we wouldn’t be stranded at the repair shop.
After leaving Big V, we decided to conjure up some old memories by going to Furr’s Cafeteria to enjoy a leisurely meal. Back in the old days, Furr’s was a name to be reckoned with in the grocery and restaurant market around West Texas and New Mexico. The food was good, but we both agreed it wasn’t the quality that it used to be.
After doing some shop-browsing, the phone finally rang letting us know that Big V was ready to go…without an ice maker…they have to order it and then we’ll have to come back…go figure! To me, it just seems logical that since they have known for 2 weeks that we were coming, they would have had a new one to put in. But…guess that’s just too logical.
Since we were only inside the store for probably 25 minutes, we were shocked when we walked out to go get Big V to find that the weather had deteriorated immensely…the wind and dirt were in cahoots and they were causing all kinds of havoc! Therefore, it did us no good to get Big V because we couldn’t travel with her! After spending about 30 minutes rocking back and forth in a vacant lot next to the repair shop, we finally decided to check into an RV Park just a few yards down the road so we could get the levelers down and quit being “seasick.”
So…here we are…cozy as two bugs in a rug while the wind (gusts up to 45-50 mph) swirls around us!
The only excitement we had this night was when we got a call from Joyce announcing that Ginger and Michael are now the proud parents of another son, Max. They were in Maryland for Michael’s sister’s wedding, but they wasted no time heading to El Paso to bring home their new son!
Friday, April 18
We spent a lazy morning with no great rush to get on the road back home. The weather is supposed to be nice today; so we decided that slow and easy was our mantra today.
We had an uneventful trip back home and then squandered the day away.
Saturday, April 19
While I did chores inside, Jim took advantage of the beautiful morning by working outside. Then we headed over to Edith’s to begin the process of packing up her belongings for her eventual move. After 3 hours of that, we decided it was time to quit for the day. Edith suggested that we go to Ruth’s and get lunch for the 3 of us (even though by then it was 2) and by K-Mart to get her prescriptions…so we did.
Then it was home to take a much needed nap! We senior citizens can really get used to that being a part of our daily activities!
Once again Jim worked outside while I worked inside. Once I went out to empty the trash though, I didn’t want to stay inside. Jim suggested I go get some bubble gum to throw down the ground squirrel holes! Doesn’t that sound like a cool assignment? Anyway, I did it gleefully!
We finished up the week by doing nothing to write home about.
“If you don’t get everything you want, think of the things you don’t get that you don’t want” – Church Signs (a gift Heather and Andy gave Jim for Christmas...thanks, guys, we both enjoy and use it!)
Just hanging around in Artesia,
Jim & Barbara
Little More Time
Sunday, April 6 – Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, April 6
Barbara: We were really undecided today as to what we were going to do. I had checked out some nearby churches, but in the end, we decided it was more important to take Alexander and Abby over to Mineola so their Granny and great Aunt TJ could get to enjoy them since we didn’t know when or if they would have this opportunity again. With that goal in mind, we began preparations…diapers, sippy cups, snacks, juice, cell phones, etc. etc. Oh, yes…we need the kids! Okay, car packed and we’re off to the turtle races!
Keeping in mind that little ones do not enjoy being cooped up in a car for 2 hours, we made a playground stop at McDonald’s in Terrell so Abby and Alexander could expend some energy. With that mission accomplished, we loaded back into the car to make round 2 in the car.
In no time at all, we were pulling into TJ’s drive and were quickly letting the kids out of their car seats! What a great time Granny and TJ had watching and listening to Alexander and Abby enjoy their freedom. TJ and Jim eventually went to pick up some chicken for lunch (the kids favorite!) while I took them out for a walk to see the cows and horses down the street. Since Alexander decided he was too tired to walk, Abby and I pulled him in TJ’s red wagon. Then we went back indoors to play with Granny…
Sunday, April 6
Barbara: We were really undecided today as to what we were going to do. I had checked out some nearby churches, but in the end, we decided it was more important to take Alexander and Abby over to Mineola so their Granny and great Aunt TJ could get to enjoy them since we didn’t know when or if they would have this opportunity again. With that goal in mind, we began preparations…diapers, sippy cups, snacks, juice, cell phones, etc. etc. Oh, yes…we need the kids! Okay, car packed and we’re off to the turtle races!
Keeping in mind that little ones do not enjoy being cooped up in a car for 2 hours, we made a playground stop at McDonald’s in Terrell so Abby and Alexander could expend some energy. With that mission accomplished, we loaded back into the car to make round 2 in the car.
In no time at all, we were pulling into TJ’s drive and were quickly letting the kids out of their car seats! What a great time Granny and TJ had watching and listening to Alexander and Abby enjoy their freedom. TJ and Jim eventually went to pick up some chicken for lunch (the kids favorite!) while I took them out for a walk to see the cows and horses down the street. Since Alexander decided he was too tired to walk, Abby and I pulled him in TJ’s red wagon. Then we went back indoors to play with Granny…
After lunch while the kids watched TV in TJ’s bedroom, we adults were able to visit a little about Edith’s decision on the move to Mineola.
One of the houses we saw on Friday is a garden home which only had 2 bedrooms, but might as well be called something bigger since it has an office attached to the master bedroom. This is the home that Edith has decided to call hers.
This home also has a lovely screened in sun porch where Edith can have her morning coffee and watch the dogs roam around in the small, but lovely backyard.
This home was definitely meant for her! We all agreed on that. Now if we could just hit a magic button and have all her belongings in place and ready to live in!
Before we left, we conducted the usual photo session in order to document our special time together…
Eventually, it was time to head back to Richardson. We had mentioned to Alexander that if he slept in the car, it would count as his nap so that’s exactly what he did until we got to Terrell. However, this time we stopped at a public park that offered many opportunities for fun for both Alexander and Abby.
Once home it was time again for another meal, a little playtime, baths, story time, and finally bedtime for both them and us!
Monday, April 7
We all made a pretty lazy start to the day. Finally, it was time to hit the road to McDonald’s for lunch and playground time. A stop by Home Depot for a part for Jim to fix a broken shower was next on the agenda. While Jim fixed the shower, the kids and I played outside, inside, and all around!
Around 5 we ventured out in the wild, crazy Dallas traffic to meet Paul (Jean’s grandson) and his wife Stephanie at Double Dave’s Pizza in Grand Prairie. About a half block from our destination, we had to make a pit stop for Alexander. This turned out to be the coolest thing we did all week, because the convenience store had a life-size cut-out of Iron Man! Now how lucky could we be! Alexander was so excited about this that I asked the store clerk if we could take his picture by the stand-up cut-out. She was so kind and told we definitely could and just move it anywhere we wanted! And, we did!
With no more ado, we wound up at the restaurant where Stephanie and Paul were waiting for us.
Paul and Stephanie are expecting their first child sometime in September though one would never really know it by just looking at Stephanie!
Once we got the kids settled in with their food, I laughingly said as Jim and I were going to get ours, “We’ll be back in a week!” Never did I dream that Alexander would take me seriously, especially since the buffet line was right by our table, but he did. And, when we returned to the table, we found him in tears. Finally, with some hugs and reassurance for him, we all dug into the delicious pizza.
By the time we returned to Richardson, Abby was sound asleep and we just chose to leave her that way. Bath time didn’t seem quite so important! We would start the day tomorrow with baths.
We watched the Kansas vs. Memphis championship game with high hopes for Kansas, especially since I had picked them to win in my bracket group. With a win, I would wind up in 4th place out of 25…with a loss, I’d be 10th. As is now history, we watched with bated breath as Kansas tied the game with two seconds left! Overtime gave them the game and I found myself in a respectful 4th place in my group! Needless to say, it’s the best I’ve done since I began joining a March Madness group 3 years ago.
Tuesday, April 8
We knew today would probably be the most difficult day to keep the kids busy since they knew their parents were returning. But we began with a lot of outdoor time, which they love. Jim edged the backyard while I mowed it and the kids played on the deck. Then it was out front where I mowed one half while Jim watched the kids. However, when Jim started mowing the other half, I decided it would be better to take Abby and Alexander to the backyard where there aren’t quite so many rules!
After lunch and naps, we journeyed over to the Firewheel Mall where the kids could play and run around after we did a little shopping. Then a stop at Taco Bueno for supper to take back to the house was next on the agenda.
With a movie in the TV and plenty of toys to play with, time really flew by for them and by 7:30 Heather and Andy were walking through the door. It goes without saying that the kids latched on to them and were afraid to let go! So…after a little catching up on the job interviews and our activities with the kids, Jim and I headed over to Terrell where we had motel reservations for the night. This is where we were meeting TJ with Edith tomorrow and it seemed wiser to already be there instead of fighting through Dallas traffic tomorrow, especially since Heather and Andy would be trying to get the kids ready for school, etc.
Wednesday, April 9
Jim: TJ and Edith arrived about 9 TX time and the three of us pointed the Vibe in the westerly direction while TJ went back east. The trip was generally uneventful, although we found out after we got home that a tornado had skipped across I-20 at Abilene just after we had passed through there. The clouds looked a little funky as we were driving west of Abilene, but I didn’t think much about it. Barbara suggested that we turn on the radio and check the weather station, but I said it was just some low-swirling fog and wasn’t worth worrying about…guess God really does look after the foolish.
As we crossed over 12-mile hill east of Artesia, we saw what we thought were some dark clouds. Well, they were, but they were dark with sand and dust. A major wind and dust storm was brewing and we were headed right into the thick of it.
Around 5:30 NM time, we were pulling into Edith’s driveway where Ernie was waiting to help us unload.
Then it was home to Big V for us. The wind and dirt were blowing so hard that we elected to bring in only what was absolutely necessary for the night. We didn’t even open up the slide-outs on the right side because of the wind…just made do for the night.
There’s no place like home!
Thursday, April 10
A really do-nothing day! We slept in this morning, even with the wind howling around us. The slide-outs stayed slid in for most of the day, and it was foolish to even think of going outside and doing any work. Late in the afternoon the wind started diminishing enough that we could open the place up and bring in a few more things that we had left in the car.
Jerry called during the afternoon and asked if we wanted to go to dinner with them and then attend a magic show presentation by the Artesia Arts Council. We said that we didn’t think we were interested in the magic show, but when we found that Jean was going to dinner but not the show, we agreed to go with her to Kwan Den to try out their remodeled Chinese buffet (by the way, it was wonderful).
After dinner we came back and visited with Jean a bit before calling it a night.
Friday, April 11
We took our time getting around this morning…nothing important happening here at Big V, but later in the morning we made several stops around town to take care of business. We had some questions for Dr. Kahn, the physician that Mother sees. I am having some problems with my left shoulder, and rather than driving all the way to Liberal to see Dr. Gill, I decided to see if Dr. Kahn would take me on as a patient.
The Vibe also needed to go to the car doctor for a checkup, so we stopped at Guy Chevrolet to see about an appointment for regular service (and, no doubt, some filter changes due to all the dust and dirt storms we’ve experienced this spring).
With a doctor appointment scheduled for 9:30 Monday morning and a car appointment set for 1:00 Monday afternoon, we drove on over to Mother’s house to see how she was doing. Everything seemed to be just fine over there. She and Ernie had gone to the bank this morning and made arrangements to get the money to buy her new house in Mineola.
After leaving Mother’s house, we drove out to Roselawn Elementary School to visit Becky. She’s asked us several times to come out and see where she works as a Special Services paraprofessional.
We were pleasantly surprised to find a very bright and cheerful school building. The school nurse has recently painted murals on the walls that really brighten the place up. With a little help from the secretary, we soon found Becky and a couple of the teachers with whom she works.
After a short visit we went back to the front of the building where we had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Perez, the building principal. She didn’t have much time to visit with us as she was busy reading to three students who were in her office, but she did give us a hearty welcome and invited us to come back whenever we could.
Since Susie was coming back to Artesia to work an extra day this week, we joined the gang at Chaos for lunch and had a great meal and time to catch up on the events and activities of the last ten days or so.
After lunch, we made a brief stop at Mother’s house and then came back out to Big V to get a nap. It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside, but catching a few Z’s seemed to be more important.
Barbara woke up feeling a little under the weather, so while she stayed inside and rested, I went outside to do some work around the place and try to undo some of the wind damage from the past few days.
Later I went over to visit Jean for a few minutes and convey Barbara’s regrets for not getting out tonight. Then, it was back to Big V to eat supper, watch a couple of TV shows, and then end the day.
Saturday, April 12
It was a beautiful day today…the temperatures weren’t too high, but with little or no wind, it was very pleasant to go outside and work.
Barbara fixed breakfast, but wasn’t feeling well enough to get out, so she stayed inside while I enjoyed the bright sunshine and fresh air for a few hours.
Nancy stopped by to let us know that she had done well at her 4-wheeler driving school in Roswell this morning and to give us some information we’ll need for “babysitting’ Benji next week while she and Jerry take a welcome break for a short fishing vacation.
When I did come in, she had a great lunch fixed, with enough left over to share with Jean and Mother. I delivered the food, went to Wal-Mart to pick up a propane tank for Jean, and then came back to Big V to spend the afternoon watching the Red Sox and Yankees go at it at Fenway Park.
Tonight…just put life on “cruise control” and take it easy.
“Life just gives you time and space…it’s up to you to fill it” – Unknown
Back home in Artesia,
Jim & Barbara
A Little Time in Richardson
Sunday, March 30 – Saturday, April 5, 2008
Sunday, March 30
It was great to be back in our home church at Artesia First Baptist this morning. Brother Rick is a wonderful Bible teacher/preacher and was at the top of his form this morning.
After church we came back to Big V, fixed lunch, and settled in for an afternoon of NCAA basketball, only to be sadly disappointed by the total collapse of Texas as they fell to Memphis, and disturbed by the less that stellar play of Kansas in their game with Davidson (although Davidson was a great team and put up a great fight before finally losing by only 2 points. We were just wishing that Davidson had played either North Carolina or UCLA and knocked one of them out of the tournament.
After a quick visit over at Mother’s house, we decided that we’d cook up one of the meals that we had learned from Margarita and Maria when we were in Puerto Rico earlier in the month, so we fired up the stove top and started cooking. While Barbara was cutting, frying, and smashing the plantains, I went to work on the cubed steaks that had been marinating in olive oil and Adobo seasoning since yesterday. It didn’t take long until Big V was really “stinking purty.”
Later, Barbara started cooking some rice and I added tomato sauce to the simmering steaks and onions. By the time we were finished, Big V smelled exactly like Maria and Margarita’s house did when they taught us the recipe.
We decided we’d call Jean and offer to bring everything over to her house if she hadn’t eaten yet. She said to come on over, so we took the food and a pancake griddle over to her kitchen. Margarita taught us how to take fresh rolled bread (which we didn’t have, so we substituted some buns) butter it, and close the griddle on it to make flat bread.
With everything finally in place, we sat down with Jean and enjoyed a wonderful Puerto Rican meal.
After eating and watching a little more TV, we gathered our dirty pots and pans, took them back to Big V to wash, and called it a day.
Monday, March 31
Don’t know why, other than that deep down inside we knew it needed doing, but we decided to tackle a deep cleaning of Big V today. It’s been a while since we did that last, and it took about three hours to do all that we thought needed doing. We’ve had lots of dust storms since the last cleaning, and Big V, like every structure in southeastern New Mexico, is definitely not immune to invasion by the dust and sand that blows through here.
Mother had a physical therapy appointment this afternoon at 2:30, so I left Barbara at Big V and went to town to get her. In addition to a solid workout, she had to stay late to complete a bunch of paperwork, so it was after 5:00 when I finally got home.
Jean invited us over to supper tonight. She had some Portuguese barbecued chicken and beans she had bought at the St. Anthony’s Catholic fundraiser, so we enjoyed another delicious meal at her place before returning to Big V to watch television and eventually get to bed.
Tuesday, April 1
With a trip to East Texas coming up, we decided that we’d better get the laundry taken care of today, so we took everything over to Mother’s house to wash while we did some chores for her and us. We talked it over with Mother and decided that rather than driving all day Wednesday to go to Mineola, Texas, we’d leave after lunch on Wednesday, drive as far as Sweetwater and then go on to Mineola on Thursday. Our hope was that we would miss rush hour traffic around the Dallas/Forth Worth area and not feel so beat up when we did arrive in Mineola.
After getting back to Big V and having some lunch, I decided I’d work as much of the fence lines as I could on the east side of Jean’s property. The problem with cleaning out one side of the lot is that everything else looks worse until it’s cleaned, and I wanted to remedy that problem before we left on the next trip. The weather and wind cooperated, and by 5:00 p.m. I had accomplished even more than I had expected.
Tonight we did as much packing as possible in order to be ready for travel tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 2
Happy 14th Anniversary to us!
We had every intention of sleeping in this morning, but were up and around by 5:30. We took our time moving around…I fixed pancakes, bacon, and eggs and we had a leisurely breakfast.
We decided that, as much as we’d like to join the bunch for our Wednesday Chaos luncheon, it made more sense to get away around noon, so we checked with Mother to see if she could be ready to leave by 12:30. She said it wouldn’t be a problem, so we got busy doing all the chores necessary for closing up Big V for a few days. We let Jean and Susie know that we wouldn’t be eating with them today and headed on over to Mother’s house around 12:15.
Ernie and Billee were there to help us load the car and get underway, and by 12:30 we were on U.S. 82, headed toward Hobbs and various other points on our way to Big Spring, Texas, where we got on I-20 and pointed the car east toward Sweetwater.
We arrived at the Sweetwater Super 8 Motel around 5:30 and were pleasantly surprised to find a newly remodeled structure with all the amenities one could ask for in a budget lodging (not to mention the lowest price we’ve seen in a long time. We got checked in to our rooms and then Barbara and I walked down to the street to pick up a sandwich and some cheesecake slices at Schlotzky’s, and a Burrito Supreme at Taco Bell to take back to the rooms for our dinner.
We spent the rest of the evening watching TV, working at our computers, and generally kicking back and relaxing.
Thursday, April 3
We got up early and got everything ready to go. After a good hot breakfast in the motel dining room, we were ready to roll by 8:30, far better than what we had anticipated.
With cloudy skies at the first of the trip, we just motored down I-20 through Abilene, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Terrell on our way to Mineola…not much to say about the trip…just drive, derive, and drive some more. But, with the early start, we were at T.J.’s house in Mineola at two o’clock, ready to eat the delicious meal she had prepared for us, ham, macaroni and cheese casserole, green beans, and homemade bread. Wow…what a great welcome!
At 4:15 we went to a neighbor’s house to visit, look at the layout of the house, and check out the property. We had mentioned a couple of years ago that if Mother ever considered moving to Mineola it would be great to find something in T.J.’s neighborhood, and this house is one that we singled out as a great piece of property. The folks who live here are considering selling and moving to a new place, so we thought we’d take advantage of a possible opportunity and check it out.
After we got back to T.J.’s place and unloaded the car, Barbara and I drove downtown to Legal Grounds, a local internet café/coffee shop, where we checked our email and sent out a couple of messages. From there, it was back to the house (with a brief stop at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard for Barbara and a Mocha Moolatte for Mother), where we settled in for an evening of visiting.
Friday, April 4
Wow…What was that noise!? We woke up to the sound of thunder rumbling (been a while since we’ve heard that), and rain pounding down on the roof…took us a few minutes to dig around in the memory banks and realize what was happening.
After everyone was finally up and more or less ready to face the day, T.J. fixed a great breakfast for us and we chowed down on bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, juice, and coffee…more than enough to give us a good kick start for a busy day.
At 10:00 a.m. we drove over to Century 21 to meet a realtor and begin a home tour. Over the course of the morning we saw several houses, most of which we ruled out immediately for a variety of reasons, but we did see two places that were definite possibilities. The frontrunner was a beautiful two-bedroom (but that’s not a very apt description) garden home that will take little or nothing to be ready to occupy. The second was a lovely three-bedroom sitting on a large shady lot near one of the local lakes. Now it’s down to decision time for Mother.
After seeing the last house of the day, Barbara and I went back to Legal Grounds to check email, then to Wal-Mart for a couple of purchases before returning to T.J.’s house.
We received a phone call from Heather while we were at the realtor’s office. We had planned to come back to Richardson next weekend to watch the Alexander and Abby while Heather and Andy go on a job interview; but, she received a call from the school this morning saying that next weekend won’t work for the school, and could they come this weekend instead and interview on Monday.
We quickly changed our plans so that Mother would stay with T.J. until Wednesday morning and we would go on to Richardson this evening. Heather and Andy will fly out tomorrow morning and return Tuesday evening. Luckily, we were “in the neighborhood” and were able to help them out and they were able to make reasonable travel arrangements.
We left Mineola about 4:00 p.m. and drove west on U.S. 80 to Terrell, where we stopped for a while at an outlet center to look for shoes and “other stuff.” Then, we continued on to Richardson to the kids’ house to get settled in for the night and prepare to start keeping Alexander and Abby tomorrow morning.
Saturday, April 5
“Happy Birthday today to Aunt T.J. in Mineola, Texas!
Alexander decided to start his day early…we had told him to come to our room and get us when he woke up, but we didn’t expect it to be at 5:30a.m.! We were already downstairs with him before we realized what time it was, so we got him started on a video while we checked our email, all of us trying to be quiet so we wouldn’t wake up everyone else.
Everyone eventually got up and moving around…Heather and Andy had to pack and get ready to go to the airport; and, there was all the last minute instructions and other “stuff” involved in leaving the kids with Grams and Gramps for a few days. We were pleased to find that the little ones accepted us and let Mommy and Daddy leave without any tears…they really are growing up!
After fixing some breakfast (we found that both children absolutely love bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast), Grams and I got the kitchen cleaned up and put back together. We played with some of the toys, watched a little TV, and then got everyone cleaned up and dressed to make our traditional drive to Wal-Mart. We had bought a doll and accessories for Abby while we were in Mineola, but it turned out to be a duplicate of what she already had, so we went to exchange it. While we were there, a couple of other items just happened to “jump” into the cart…we never have figured out how that happens.
When we were finished at Wal-Mart we went for a ride before ending up at Chick Fil-A for lunch (OK, we went for a ride because we got hopelessly lost trying to find a McDonalds that we thought was close by…what we found along the way is that there don’t seem to be any straight and/or parallel streets anywhere around here…we were “certain” we knew how to get to a McDonalds that we visited with the kids before, but we haven’t found it yet).
After arriving back at the house, we played with the new toys for a bit and then decided it was naptime. Alexander went right to sleep (no wonder, since he had waked up so early), but Abby had her second wind and did not take kindly to nap time. I went in and talked to her to try to quiet her, and Grams got her up for a few minutes and then put her back down, but nothing seemed to work, so we got her up long before Alexander woke up.
We spent a large part of the afternoon outside since it finally turned off nice and warm. Alexander wore his Spiderman outfit and Abby was satisfied to play on the swing set. We did take a timeout for a photo-op with Spidey-Alex, Spidey-Gramps, and Abby together in the backyard.
Sunday, March 30
It was great to be back in our home church at Artesia First Baptist this morning. Brother Rick is a wonderful Bible teacher/preacher and was at the top of his form this morning.
After church we came back to Big V, fixed lunch, and settled in for an afternoon of NCAA basketball, only to be sadly disappointed by the total collapse of Texas as they fell to Memphis, and disturbed by the less that stellar play of Kansas in their game with Davidson (although Davidson was a great team and put up a great fight before finally losing by only 2 points. We were just wishing that Davidson had played either North Carolina or UCLA and knocked one of them out of the tournament.
After a quick visit over at Mother’s house, we decided that we’d cook up one of the meals that we had learned from Margarita and Maria when we were in Puerto Rico earlier in the month, so we fired up the stove top and started cooking. While Barbara was cutting, frying, and smashing the plantains, I went to work on the cubed steaks that had been marinating in olive oil and Adobo seasoning since yesterday. It didn’t take long until Big V was really “stinking purty.”
Later, Barbara started cooking some rice and I added tomato sauce to the simmering steaks and onions. By the time we were finished, Big V smelled exactly like Maria and Margarita’s house did when they taught us the recipe.
We decided we’d call Jean and offer to bring everything over to her house if she hadn’t eaten yet. She said to come on over, so we took the food and a pancake griddle over to her kitchen. Margarita taught us how to take fresh rolled bread (which we didn’t have, so we substituted some buns) butter it, and close the griddle on it to make flat bread.
With everything finally in place, we sat down with Jean and enjoyed a wonderful Puerto Rican meal.
After eating and watching a little more TV, we gathered our dirty pots and pans, took them back to Big V to wash, and called it a day.
Monday, March 31
Don’t know why, other than that deep down inside we knew it needed doing, but we decided to tackle a deep cleaning of Big V today. It’s been a while since we did that last, and it took about three hours to do all that we thought needed doing. We’ve had lots of dust storms since the last cleaning, and Big V, like every structure in southeastern New Mexico, is definitely not immune to invasion by the dust and sand that blows through here.
Mother had a physical therapy appointment this afternoon at 2:30, so I left Barbara at Big V and went to town to get her. In addition to a solid workout, she had to stay late to complete a bunch of paperwork, so it was after 5:00 when I finally got home.
Jean invited us over to supper tonight. She had some Portuguese barbecued chicken and beans she had bought at the St. Anthony’s Catholic fundraiser, so we enjoyed another delicious meal at her place before returning to Big V to watch television and eventually get to bed.
Tuesday, April 1
With a trip to East Texas coming up, we decided that we’d better get the laundry taken care of today, so we took everything over to Mother’s house to wash while we did some chores for her and us. We talked it over with Mother and decided that rather than driving all day Wednesday to go to Mineola, Texas, we’d leave after lunch on Wednesday, drive as far as Sweetwater and then go on to Mineola on Thursday. Our hope was that we would miss rush hour traffic around the Dallas/Forth Worth area and not feel so beat up when we did arrive in Mineola.
After getting back to Big V and having some lunch, I decided I’d work as much of the fence lines as I could on the east side of Jean’s property. The problem with cleaning out one side of the lot is that everything else looks worse until it’s cleaned, and I wanted to remedy that problem before we left on the next trip. The weather and wind cooperated, and by 5:00 p.m. I had accomplished even more than I had expected.
Tonight we did as much packing as possible in order to be ready for travel tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 2
Happy 14th Anniversary to us!
We had every intention of sleeping in this morning, but were up and around by 5:30. We took our time moving around…I fixed pancakes, bacon, and eggs and we had a leisurely breakfast.
We decided that, as much as we’d like to join the bunch for our Wednesday Chaos luncheon, it made more sense to get away around noon, so we checked with Mother to see if she could be ready to leave by 12:30. She said it wouldn’t be a problem, so we got busy doing all the chores necessary for closing up Big V for a few days. We let Jean and Susie know that we wouldn’t be eating with them today and headed on over to Mother’s house around 12:15.
Ernie and Billee were there to help us load the car and get underway, and by 12:30 we were on U.S. 82, headed toward Hobbs and various other points on our way to Big Spring, Texas, where we got on I-20 and pointed the car east toward Sweetwater.
We arrived at the Sweetwater Super 8 Motel around 5:30 and were pleasantly surprised to find a newly remodeled structure with all the amenities one could ask for in a budget lodging (not to mention the lowest price we’ve seen in a long time. We got checked in to our rooms and then Barbara and I walked down to the street to pick up a sandwich and some cheesecake slices at Schlotzky’s, and a Burrito Supreme at Taco Bell to take back to the rooms for our dinner.
We spent the rest of the evening watching TV, working at our computers, and generally kicking back and relaxing.
Thursday, April 3
We got up early and got everything ready to go. After a good hot breakfast in the motel dining room, we were ready to roll by 8:30, far better than what we had anticipated.
With cloudy skies at the first of the trip, we just motored down I-20 through Abilene, Weatherford, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Terrell on our way to Mineola…not much to say about the trip…just drive, derive, and drive some more. But, with the early start, we were at T.J.’s house in Mineola at two o’clock, ready to eat the delicious meal she had prepared for us, ham, macaroni and cheese casserole, green beans, and homemade bread. Wow…what a great welcome!
At 4:15 we went to a neighbor’s house to visit, look at the layout of the house, and check out the property. We had mentioned a couple of years ago that if Mother ever considered moving to Mineola it would be great to find something in T.J.’s neighborhood, and this house is one that we singled out as a great piece of property. The folks who live here are considering selling and moving to a new place, so we thought we’d take advantage of a possible opportunity and check it out.
After we got back to T.J.’s place and unloaded the car, Barbara and I drove downtown to Legal Grounds, a local internet café/coffee shop, where we checked our email and sent out a couple of messages. From there, it was back to the house (with a brief stop at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard for Barbara and a Mocha Moolatte for Mother), where we settled in for an evening of visiting.
Friday, April 4
Wow…What was that noise!? We woke up to the sound of thunder rumbling (been a while since we’ve heard that), and rain pounding down on the roof…took us a few minutes to dig around in the memory banks and realize what was happening.
After everyone was finally up and more or less ready to face the day, T.J. fixed a great breakfast for us and we chowed down on bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, juice, and coffee…more than enough to give us a good kick start for a busy day.
At 10:00 a.m. we drove over to Century 21 to meet a realtor and begin a home tour. Over the course of the morning we saw several houses, most of which we ruled out immediately for a variety of reasons, but we did see two places that were definite possibilities. The frontrunner was a beautiful two-bedroom (but that’s not a very apt description) garden home that will take little or nothing to be ready to occupy. The second was a lovely three-bedroom sitting on a large shady lot near one of the local lakes. Now it’s down to decision time for Mother.
After seeing the last house of the day, Barbara and I went back to Legal Grounds to check email, then to Wal-Mart for a couple of purchases before returning to T.J.’s house.
We received a phone call from Heather while we were at the realtor’s office. We had planned to come back to Richardson next weekend to watch the Alexander and Abby while Heather and Andy go on a job interview; but, she received a call from the school this morning saying that next weekend won’t work for the school, and could they come this weekend instead and interview on Monday.
We quickly changed our plans so that Mother would stay with T.J. until Wednesday morning and we would go on to Richardson this evening. Heather and Andy will fly out tomorrow morning and return Tuesday evening. Luckily, we were “in the neighborhood” and were able to help them out and they were able to make reasonable travel arrangements.
We left Mineola about 4:00 p.m. and drove west on U.S. 80 to Terrell, where we stopped for a while at an outlet center to look for shoes and “other stuff.” Then, we continued on to Richardson to the kids’ house to get settled in for the night and prepare to start keeping Alexander and Abby tomorrow morning.
Saturday, April 5
“Happy Birthday today to Aunt T.J. in Mineola, Texas!
Alexander decided to start his day early…we had told him to come to our room and get us when he woke up, but we didn’t expect it to be at 5:30a.m.! We were already downstairs with him before we realized what time it was, so we got him started on a video while we checked our email, all of us trying to be quiet so we wouldn’t wake up everyone else.
Everyone eventually got up and moving around…Heather and Andy had to pack and get ready to go to the airport; and, there was all the last minute instructions and other “stuff” involved in leaving the kids with Grams and Gramps for a few days. We were pleased to find that the little ones accepted us and let Mommy and Daddy leave without any tears…they really are growing up!
After fixing some breakfast (we found that both children absolutely love bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast), Grams and I got the kitchen cleaned up and put back together. We played with some of the toys, watched a little TV, and then got everyone cleaned up and dressed to make our traditional drive to Wal-Mart. We had bought a doll and accessories for Abby while we were in Mineola, but it turned out to be a duplicate of what she already had, so we went to exchange it. While we were there, a couple of other items just happened to “jump” into the cart…we never have figured out how that happens.
When we were finished at Wal-Mart we went for a ride before ending up at Chick Fil-A for lunch (OK, we went for a ride because we got hopelessly lost trying to find a McDonalds that we thought was close by…what we found along the way is that there don’t seem to be any straight and/or parallel streets anywhere around here…we were “certain” we knew how to get to a McDonalds that we visited with the kids before, but we haven’t found it yet).
After arriving back at the house, we played with the new toys for a bit and then decided it was naptime. Alexander went right to sleep (no wonder, since he had waked up so early), but Abby had her second wind and did not take kindly to nap time. I went in and talked to her to try to quiet her, and Grams got her up for a few minutes and then put her back down, but nothing seemed to work, so we got her up long before Alexander woke up.
We spent a large part of the afternoon outside since it finally turned off nice and warm. Alexander wore his Spiderman outfit and Abby was satisfied to play on the swing set. We did take a timeout for a photo-op with Spidey-Alex, Spidey-Gramps, and Abby together in the backyard.
Heather provided us with a nice selection of leftovers, so dinner tonight wasn’t too complicated…pork pie and beans as a main dish, and the kids enjoyed some left over chicken nuggets and fries as well.We spent the evening multi-tasking…alternately watching NCAA semi-final games (we didn’t care much about the UCLA/Memphis game, which was good, since there was a lot going on then…baths, clean up the living room, answering telephone calls, etc. Besides, if I had my way, that game would end in a tie and an investigation by someone in power would result in suspension from the tournament…in case you haven’t guessed, those two teams were squarely in my “who cares?” bracket.
We had Abby in bed and everything pretty well in shape by the time the Kansas/North Carolina game came on. Since Alexander had taken a nap in the afternoon, we let him stay up later. We got to watch the entire first half (a thing of beauty if you were a Kansas fan) and I gave him his bath during halftime.
The second half was a little scary for the KU folks. It looked as if UNC was going to have the ultimate upset, but Kansas regained control and advanced to the final game on the strength of an 18-point win…Go Jayhawks!!!
With the game safely tucked away, we went upstairs to read for a while and then called it a night.
“Basketball doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” - Anonymous
Babysitting grandchildren in Richardson, Texas,
Jim & Barbara
A Little Week of Celebrations
Sunday, March 23 – Saturday, March 29
Sunday, March 23: Easter Sunday
Happy Easter to All!!!
It was hardly the kind of day that anyone would choose if they were ordering up a day for Easter Sunday; it was cold, breezy, cloudy, and (briefly) drizzly…the kind of morning that would make one think twice about even crawling out of bed. Maybe, just maybe, we got this kind of day today so we could focus on the eternal beauty of the significance of the day, and not just the temporal beauty of the world around us.
Still, it turned out to be a full and wonderful day for us. We decided this morning that we would attend services at Artesia’s First United Methodist Church, where Jerry, Nancy, and Becky Terpening attend. They each had their own part in the service, so we sat in a Baptist pew in the back of the sanctuary and were inspired by the totality of the service, from the friendly welcomes of the ushers, the music, the scripture readings, and the lesson from the sermon; all of it took our minds off the weather outside and reminded us of why we celebrate this very special day.
When the service was over we visited a bit with Nancy and then headed back out to Big V to change clothes and get ready to eat. Jerry and Nancy invited us, along with Mother, Ernie, and Billee, to join their family for a special Easter dinner at their house. Jerry prepared stuffed pork loins, dressing, and gravy; Nancy fixed green beans and a sweet potato casserole, Becky brought her “award winning” deviled eggs, Jean baked a lemon cake, and we slaved for nearly 5 minutes to put together a tossed salad (it wouldn’t have taken quite so long to fix the salad, but I had trouble opening the plastic container of cherry tomatoes).
Sunday, March 23: Easter Sunday
Happy Easter to All!!!
It was hardly the kind of day that anyone would choose if they were ordering up a day for Easter Sunday; it was cold, breezy, cloudy, and (briefly) drizzly…the kind of morning that would make one think twice about even crawling out of bed. Maybe, just maybe, we got this kind of day today so we could focus on the eternal beauty of the significance of the day, and not just the temporal beauty of the world around us.
Still, it turned out to be a full and wonderful day for us. We decided this morning that we would attend services at Artesia’s First United Methodist Church, where Jerry, Nancy, and Becky Terpening attend. They each had their own part in the service, so we sat in a Baptist pew in the back of the sanctuary and were inspired by the totality of the service, from the friendly welcomes of the ushers, the music, the scripture readings, and the lesson from the sermon; all of it took our minds off the weather outside and reminded us of why we celebrate this very special day.
When the service was over we visited a bit with Nancy and then headed back out to Big V to change clothes and get ready to eat. Jerry and Nancy invited us, along with Mother, Ernie, and Billee, to join their family for a special Easter dinner at their house. Jerry prepared stuffed pork loins, dressing, and gravy; Nancy fixed green beans and a sweet potato casserole, Becky brought her “award winning” deviled eggs, Jean baked a lemon cake, and we slaved for nearly 5 minutes to put together a tossed salad (it wouldn’t have taken quite so long to fix the salad, but I had trouble opening the plastic container of cherry tomatoes).
Everyone arrived at Jerry and Nancy’s house about the same time…just a few minutes before everything was ready…so we had time to visit before the meal. We were also joined by Scott, the youth minister from FUMC, who has done a terrific job of organizing the church youth. Scott is originally from Slade, Texas, a small West Texas community relatively close to Lubbock; he attended South Plains College in Levelland and Texas Tech in Lubbock, places that we know, so we had a lot to talk about.
It didn’t take long before all the food was on the table and we made our way into the formal dining room (boy, does Nancy ever know how to set a table!). After we found our places and Jerry asked the blessing, we began to dig in, each of us offering a bit of conversation between bites. We won’t go into the merits of each of the dishes…will only say that it was all delicious and no one went away hungry!
By shortly after 3:00, we had Jerry and Nancy’s kitchen pretty well put back together and we all left to go back to our own homes for the afternoon
When we got back to Big V we turned on the TV to watch some more of the NCAA tournament action, but found that the Texas game, the one we wanted to see, had been completed and Texas had advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. We started watching the Oklahoma/Louisville game and even cheered for Oklahoma; Barbara, because she had picked OU in her brackets, and me, out of support for the Big XII and in deference to those Okie friends of mine who have still not converted. You know what they say, “Love the person, even if you can’t love what they stand for.” (Or something like that)
We eventually gave up on watching what turned out to be a brutal game for OU. We started to take a little nap, but decided we’d never get to sleep tonight if we did that, so we got up and Barbara worked at the computer while I went over to check on Mother and do some ironing.
Later we went over to see Jean for a few minutes and then returned to Big V to watch some TV before calling it a night.
Monday, March 24
We had every intention of getting some work done around the place this morning. Barbara was going to do some house cleaning and I was going to rake under the rest of the pecan trees, but the wind and dust got up early today so it didn’t make sense to work inside and it would be impossible to do what needed to be done outside.
Instead, I took care of some paperwork that had been piling up. The license on Big V is coming due and we voted that this year it would be much better to pay the extra dollar and renew by mail rather than drive to Lubbock and stand in line all day.
After going to town to get copies made and go by the post office, I ran by Mother’s house to see how things were going there…stuck around to finish some ironing and then returned to Big V to find that Barbara had spent her time cleaning and straightening cabinets, so it didn’t turn out to be a totally wasted morning after all.
We took a break for lunch, watched another episode of M*A*S*H, and decided to read a bit before taking a nap.
This evening we went back into town to drop off some more mail, checked in with Mother and then Ernie and Billee, came back out to visit Jean for a few minutes, and then retired to Big V to eat and watch TV for the rest of the night.
Tuesday, March 25
Happy Birthday today to Becky Terpening in Artesia!
We just piddle-paddled around Big V this morning until time to go to town and pick Mother up for her appointment at the rehab center. Barbara stayed at the house to baby-sit the puppies and do a load of laundry while I took Mother to rehab. Mother is doing very well with her physical therapy, going through a pretty strenuous one-hour plus set of exercises two days a week…she is showing much improvement in mobility since her back surgery in December.
The day started as pretty and gradually progressed to absolutely beautiful…a bright sunny sky and almost no wind. After we got home from town and had a little lunch, I decided to go outside and work around Jean’s yard while Barbara stayed inside to do some much-needed work on Big V.
Jean has fourteen large pecan trees surrounding her house. After the pecans fall and are gathered, there is a lot of “trash” left over in the yard…leaves, dead grass, pecan hulls, etc.). I decided that this year I would rake out all of the yard encircled by the trees (the equivalent of about three regular city lots) to get a fresh start on spring and some much-needed and wished for rain. I raked some of the lot south of the house before we left for Puerto Rico and finished it while Jaycie was visiting last week. Today I tackled the area east of the house and had most of it raked and the trash hauled off to the pile by late afternoon.
This evening we joined Jean, Jerry, Nancy, Becky, and Susie for Becky’s birthday dinner at Piccolino’s, a really nice Italian restaurant here in Artesia. After eating our limit, we all went to the AHS Auditorium for a concert presentation by the Artesia Concert Association.
Tonight’s concert was the Jeni Fleming Trio, a wonderful acoustic trio that works out of Bozeman, Montana. I was expecting something along the line of “elevator music with a kick,” but was very pleasantly surprised to find that they were an excellent jazz improvisation ensemble with a repertoire of old standards and new compositions all dressed up in new stylings. They did an arrangement of Amazing Grace that just knocked my socks off. If you ever have a chance to see and hear them, do it. You won’t be disappointed.
After the concert we returned to Jerry and Nancy’s house for dessert and to watch Becky open her birthday presents before we all returned to our own abodes for the night.
Wednesday, March 26
After our late night activities, we just took our time getting around this morning. We had several bits of business that needed our attention…getting our tax return in the mail, catching up on snail mail and email, and generally straightening up the place.
We joined the clan at Chaos for our regular Wednesday luncheon and then went back to Big V for the afternoon where Barbara worked inside and I went out to finish raking and hauling trash around Jean’s yard.
Jerry and Nancy invited us over to their house for a hamburger cookout tonight, so we offered to go to the store to pick up some hamburger buns and chips for our contribution. The meal, as always, was wonderful and we had a great time visiting with everyone and playing a rousing game of Fact or Crap.
Since we all had a busy day scheduled for tomorrow, we shut down the party at a fairly reasonable hour and returned to our respective homes for the night.
Thursday, March 27
Happy Birthday to Jean Terpening in Artesia!!!
Who knows why, but we both woke up at 4:00 this morning…just can’t seem to get our days and nights regulated lately.
We continued the week of birthday celebrations by joining Jean, Jerry, Nancy, Becky, and Susie for a drive up to Ruidoso. It was a beautiful day (a little cool up in the mountains, but not so much that we couldn‘t enjoy being outside for a bit). We played for a bit at the Apache Travel Center just outside Ruidoso and then had a wonderful lunch there (best food in the Ruidoso area at prices that are really amazing for the quantity and quality).
We went up to the Inn of the Mountain Gods for a couple of hours to play and then started the trip back to Artesia, stopping in Roswell to buy some pizzas at Papa Murphy’s to take home for our evening meal.
Back at Artesia we all went to Jerry and Nancy’s house to visit some more, eat pizza and salad, and watch Jean open her presents.
Soon, the celebrations were over and it was time for Susie to return to Hobbs after her three-day visit in Artesia, and for Becky to go home and make final preparations for her drive to Knox City and Benjamin, Texas, to visit with her sister, brother-in-law, and nephews for the weekend. Jean went back to her house and we returned to Big V, leaving Jerry and Nancy to enjoy the peace and quiet of their home for the night.
We stayed up to watch Louisville upset Tennessee and UCLA dispatch Western Kentucky in the night games of the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and then decided that enough was enough and went to bed.
Friday, March 28
Happy Anniversary to daughter Whitney and son-in-law Jim Farnham in Lenexa, Kansas!!!
Mother had another rehab session this morning, so we didn’t start any projects before we went to town to pick her up.
Barbara stayed at the house to take care of the puppies and do a couple of loads of laundry while I took Mother to her workout. She had another good session and is continuing to show improvement in her mobility and leg strength.
After getting back to the house, Barbara and I took Mother’s grocery list to Fenn’s Supermarket and got the things she needed as well as a few things we wanted to try. It’s taking some shopping around for us, but we’re about to get everything we need to try one of Margarita and Maria’s recipes from Puerto Rico.
The laundry was completed by the time we got back to the house, so we folded Mother’s things and put them away, fed the puppies and her, and gathered our clean clothes and took them back to Big V where we had lunch and watched another episode of M*A*S*H.
It was a pretty nice afternoon out, so I tackled some chores around Jean’s place…put up a new windsock that we gave her for her birthday yesterday and patched a leaky water hose around one of the pecan trees…Also took care of some necessary plumbing chores around Big V. Meanwhile, Nancy and Benjy came over while I was working outside and visited with Barbara.
I decided to fire up the motorcycle and ride into town to check on Mother and the puppies. Ernie came over and we got to visit for a few minutes…still no word on his job application in Shreveport, but they had told him during his interview that it might take several weeks for the HR people to complete their part of the job.
When I got back to Big V, I found Barbara playing Susie Homemaker in the kitchen; she had some cake layers baking in the convection oven. It’s been a while since she baked a round cake, and she was just in the mood to give it a try.
We settled in for a night of NCAA basketball to see who would advance to the Elite Eight on Sunday. Luckily, we had favorite teams in tonight’s games and enjoyed watching Davidson upset Wisconsin, Texas thrash Stanford, and Kansas destroy Villanova…just couldn’t get interested in the Memphis / Michigan State game…one of those “who cares” games as far as we were concerned. In any case, it makes for a couple of really interesting match-ups to see who advances to the Final Four.
Saturday, March 29
There’s not a whole lot to be said for this day. We slept in until about 8:00, something unusual for us. We caught up on our internet reading and email and then Barbara fixed breakfast. Around noon we took some cake over to Mother’s house to share with her and Ernie and Billee, and then returned to Big V.
While Barbara worked on our lunch, I went out to do some more raking and trash hauling…finally finished everything around Jean’s house and started in on the area between the fence line and Eastwind Road. The wind started getting up, but luckily it was from the southwest and I was raking toward the northeast, so I got a bit of a break from that.
After breaking for lunch, I went back outside to try to finish the section I had started. Nancy and Benjy came by for a few minutes and visited with Barbara. Jean got home around 4:00, so I helped unload bag of birdseed for her and then put Little Red and the tools away and called it an official day.
Barbara: Tonight…Watched a couple of basketball games. I needed Xavier to beat UCLA (didn’t happen) and Louisville to beat North Carolina (also didn’t happen) so I could move up in the standings in the bracket contest I’m in. (Right now I’m 9th out of 25…not so bad for someone who doesn’t watch much basketball…I didn’t pick either UCLA or North Carolina…just want them to lose so some of the others will drop in the bracket…not very nice of me, I suppose. I want Kansas and Texas (go, Big 12) to meet in the finals, though Davidson is a pretty neat team.)
On the really bright side for today, we received pictures of Alexander and Abby from Andy and Heather today. Utilizing a grandparents’ prerogative, we decided have decided to share a couple of them with you here.
Top left (bottom collage): Alexander and Aunt Heather (Andy’s sister) dyeing Eater eggs
Barbara: Another blessing that we've had this week is that my brother-in-law, Cal, is doing well at home. It's just going to take time for him to have more strength. Also, sister Nancy reported that so far all tests have come back negative; so it appears her blood pressure is the only thing acting goofy and it can be regulated. More tests will be done on Monday, but we're praying that they too come out well. Again, thanks to all who have remembered them in prayer.
I know that today is Sunday, the 30th, and we aren't writing about Sunday; but as I work on the blog, I have to ask...what happened to Texas?????? The one time I root for them they don't do well... how sad. :(
“Any American boy can become a basketball star if he grows up, up, up.” – Bill Vaughn
Windblown in Artesia,
Jim & Barbara
A Little Time in Artesia
Monday, March 17 – Saturday, March 22
Monday, March 17
It was nice to take it easy this morning and just enjoy being home. We finally wandered out to visit Edith before heading to Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries. While we were at the store, Cathey called and said that she and Jimmy had decided that Jaycie could come stay a couple of days with us since she was on spring break. Therefore, we agreed to meet at Plains around 3:00 Texas time.
So…it was quickly home to put everything away and then hit the road.
By the time we arrived back in Artesia, it was time to check up on Edith and let Jaycie say hello to her before heading out to Big V.
Jaycie wanted to go out and do some more work on her “city,” but quickly discovered that even though the early morning sun was shining brightly, light didn’t translate into heat, and it was just too cool to be outside yet. So, we busied ourselves with getting everything ready for the day’s activities. Time flew by quickly, and we soon had to load everything into the Vibe and head into town.
After Jim took Granny to her second rehab visit and Jaycie and I did one more load of laundry, we had to leave Artesia to meet Jimmy and Cathey at the Dairy Queen in Plains, Texas, a point about halfway between Artesia and Lubbock. It was time for her to return to her family.
Friday, March 21
Nothing of interest to report except…March Madness began last night so I’ll talk about it! Paul, Jean’s grandson, sent out emails asking people if they wanted to join his fantasy basketball group. Jim declined, but I decided I’d do it again this year. However, this year, I was determined that I would do some serious thinking and researching…so I did. Now, I ask what good that did when every top seed that played in Tampa lost yesterday. Anyway…I was holding my own and was in the top 10 of our group, even after being let down by UConn and Drake.
Jim: I’ve never cared about the brackets for the tournament; I just enjoy watching the games until my handful of favorites get eliminated and the tournament gets into the “who cares” brackets. That doesn’t usually take very long, but maybe I’ll still have someone at least advance to the Sweet Sixteen if Kansas can hold it together.
Saturday, March 22
Jim: While going through the pantry yesterday we found a quart jar of a bean and spice mix that had been given to us as a Christmas present. We decided that this would be a good day to do some serious cooking, so we broke out the mix, added in brown sugar, diced onion, a couple of pounds of browned hamburger, diced tomatoes, and tomato juice, and fired up the range to get everything cooking. It didn’t take long for Big V to start “stinking purty!” After bringing everything to a good boil, we transferred the mix to a slow cooker and let it go for the rest of the day.
One of the downsides of Big V is that cooking or baking in such a small space can overpower the senses after a while, but today was so beautiful and warm outside that we were able to open the door, windows, and roof vents and just enjoy the nice weather and the aroma of food cooking.
While I had fully intended to enjoy the beautiful weather by going outside and working on Jean’s place, the siren call of March Madness soon attracted both of us to the TV and we settled in to see what would happen next.
What happened over the next 4 hours was that two more of my teams disappeared from the tournament when Duke and Kansas State found novel ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
After a great ride of about an hour and a half, I returned to Big V to watch Kansas take on UNLV, ever mindful of the fact that the Jayhawks can burn ever so brightly during the regular season, but tend to get snuffed out during the tournament. However, they did manage to win big this evening, so I’ll have at least one team left to cheer for in the Sweet Sixteen next week.
We both watched as much of the Texas A&M/UCLA game as CBS would show us (part of the game in Big V and part at Jean’s house). I’m certainly not a fan of the Aggies, but I’ll pull for almost any team (even Oklahoma, although I’d “sooner” not have that known) against one of the “Left Coast” schools. A&M gave us some really exciting moments, but in the end, they too, departed from the tournament.
After all that excitement, there wasn’t much left to do but get the kitchen cleaned up (i.e. get the aroma of the chili and beans that had been cooking all day out of Big V) and call it a day so we could get rested up for Easter Sunday activities.
“The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play “drop the handkerchief.” – James Naismith, creator of basketball
Enjoying family and friends in Artesia,
Jim & Barbara
Monday, March 17
It was nice to take it easy this morning and just enjoy being home. We finally wandered out to visit Edith before heading to Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries. While we were at the store, Cathey called and said that she and Jimmy had decided that Jaycie could come stay a couple of days with us since she was on spring break. Therefore, we agreed to meet at Plains around 3:00 Texas time.
So…it was quickly home to put everything away and then hit the road.
By the time we arrived back in Artesia, it was time to check up on Edith and let Jaycie say hello to her before heading out to Big V.
While Jim and I were squaring everything away at home, Jaycie decided that she wanted to gather some of the pecans still left on the ground over at Jean’s. When she finally came in, she took the time to count how many she gathered…170!
Jim then took her out to ride around the neighborhood in Little Red. It didn’t take long for her to talk him into letting her do some driving on her own.
Jim then took her out to ride around the neighborhood in Little Red. It didn’t take long for her to talk him into letting her do some driving on her own.
When Jean got home from work, we walked over to give her the pecans Jaycie had picked up.
After supper, we began watching Cheaper by the Dozen 2. However, as is often the case, Jaycie wound up falling asleep and Jim and I finishing the movie alone. We are always amazed at how much we enjoy the movies she brings with her. About the only time we watch a movie is when we have the grandkids. Go figure.
Tuesday, March 18
Since today was Edith’s rehab appointment, Jim took her while Jaycie and I stayed over at Granny’s to do laundry. By the time they returned, we were finished with our chore and the three of us went to Chaos to meet the Terpening/Francis clan for our usual “Wednesday” lunch. (Susie had something to do tomorrow and came over today instead.)
After taking care of some errands, including surprising Jaycie with a stop at Hallmark to pick out a Webkinz, Jim drove us out to Castleberry Road (I didn’t even know there was such a thing) to show us where his family lived on a farm for a while when he and his brothers were quite young.
Jim and I were tickled that the Webkinz Jaycie had chosen to “adopt” was a bulldog. Since Artesia is Bulldog country, this seemed quite fitting. We were amazed with her power of observation when we asked what she was going to name it. She reminded us that on the way to Big V, we pass that water tower and it says, “Artesia, Home of Champions”. So…she has named her bulldog Champion.
While I was fixing supper, the two of them took another spin in Little Red. And, then we settled down for the night to watch another movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but even after teaching 37 years, I have never read or seen this story! But, you guessed it…while Jaycie slept, Jim and I finished the movie and enjoyed it.
Wednesday, March 19
While Jim did some raking over by the pecan trees, Jaycie began making a “rock city” in the dirt. As she explained it, at home in Lubbock she uses colored chalk to write on the sidewalks and since she didn’t have chalk and we don’t have a sidewalk, she decided to use a rock and build her city in the dirt! Every street in her city had the ending “berry” since Gramps took her to Castleberry Road yesterday. For instance, her house was on Ancientberry…to get there I had to find Cranberry, turn on Royalberry, and then wind up on Ancientberry…It was quite a city! In fact, she worked so long off and on that it eventually wound up being 110 feet by 80 feet! (I measured it!)
I did interrupt her city building to accompany me over to Granny’s to deliver some food and do a few other things, but once we returned home…it was back to the city life for her!
After supper, we began watching Cheaper by the Dozen 2. However, as is often the case, Jaycie wound up falling asleep and Jim and I finishing the movie alone. We are always amazed at how much we enjoy the movies she brings with her. About the only time we watch a movie is when we have the grandkids. Go figure.
Tuesday, March 18
Since today was Edith’s rehab appointment, Jim took her while Jaycie and I stayed over at Granny’s to do laundry. By the time they returned, we were finished with our chore and the three of us went to Chaos to meet the Terpening/Francis clan for our usual “Wednesday” lunch. (Susie had something to do tomorrow and came over today instead.)
After taking care of some errands, including surprising Jaycie with a stop at Hallmark to pick out a Webkinz, Jim drove us out to Castleberry Road (I didn’t even know there was such a thing) to show us where his family lived on a farm for a while when he and his brothers were quite young.
Jim and I were tickled that the Webkinz Jaycie had chosen to “adopt” was a bulldog. Since Artesia is Bulldog country, this seemed quite fitting. We were amazed with her power of observation when we asked what she was going to name it. She reminded us that on the way to Big V, we pass that water tower and it says, “Artesia, Home of Champions”. So…she has named her bulldog Champion.
While I was fixing supper, the two of them took another spin in Little Red. And, then we settled down for the night to watch another movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but even after teaching 37 years, I have never read or seen this story! But, you guessed it…while Jaycie slept, Jim and I finished the movie and enjoyed it.
Wednesday, March 19
While Jim did some raking over by the pecan trees, Jaycie began making a “rock city” in the dirt. As she explained it, at home in Lubbock she uses colored chalk to write on the sidewalks and since she didn’t have chalk and we don’t have a sidewalk, she decided to use a rock and build her city in the dirt! Every street in her city had the ending “berry” since Gramps took her to Castleberry Road yesterday. For instance, her house was on Ancientberry…to get there I had to find Cranberry, turn on Royalberry, and then wind up on Ancientberry…It was quite a city! In fact, she worked so long off and on that it eventually wound up being 110 feet by 80 feet! (I measured it!)
I did interrupt her city building to accompany me over to Granny’s to deliver some food and do a few other things, but once we returned home…it was back to the city life for her!
After another ride on Little Red, we went out to supper with Jean to La Fonda.
Thursday, March 20
Thursday, March 20
Jaycie wanted to go out and do some more work on her “city,” but quickly discovered that even though the early morning sun was shining brightly, light didn’t translate into heat, and it was just too cool to be outside yet. So, we busied ourselves with getting everything ready for the day’s activities. Time flew by quickly, and we soon had to load everything into the Vibe and head into town.
After Jim took Granny to her second rehab visit and Jaycie and I did one more load of laundry, we had to leave Artesia to meet Jimmy and Cathey at the Dairy Queen in Plains, Texas, a point about halfway between Artesia and Lubbock. It was time for her to return to her family.
Friday, March 21
Nothing of interest to report except…March Madness began last night so I’ll talk about it! Paul, Jean’s grandson, sent out emails asking people if they wanted to join his fantasy basketball group. Jim declined, but I decided I’d do it again this year. However, this year, I was determined that I would do some serious thinking and researching…so I did. Now, I ask what good that did when every top seed that played in Tampa lost yesterday. Anyway…I was holding my own and was in the top 10 of our group, even after being let down by UConn and Drake.
Jim: I’ve never cared about the brackets for the tournament; I just enjoy watching the games until my handful of favorites get eliminated and the tournament gets into the “who cares” brackets. That doesn’t usually take very long, but maybe I’ll still have someone at least advance to the Sweet Sixteen if Kansas can hold it together.
Saturday, March 22
Jim: While going through the pantry yesterday we found a quart jar of a bean and spice mix that had been given to us as a Christmas present. We decided that this would be a good day to do some serious cooking, so we broke out the mix, added in brown sugar, diced onion, a couple of pounds of browned hamburger, diced tomatoes, and tomato juice, and fired up the range to get everything cooking. It didn’t take long for Big V to start “stinking purty!” After bringing everything to a good boil, we transferred the mix to a slow cooker and let it go for the rest of the day.
One of the downsides of Big V is that cooking or baking in such a small space can overpower the senses after a while, but today was so beautiful and warm outside that we were able to open the door, windows, and roof vents and just enjoy the nice weather and the aroma of food cooking.
While I had fully intended to enjoy the beautiful weather by going outside and working on Jean’s place, the siren call of March Madness soon attracted both of us to the TV and we settled in to see what would happen next.
What happened over the next 4 hours was that two more of my teams disappeared from the tournament when Duke and Kansas State found novel ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
With Stanford and Marquette coming up next (one of the “who cares?” match-ups as far as I was concerned), I decided to get the motorcycle out of the barn and take advantage of the good weather for a ride since I could while Barbara worked on the journal and photos for this week.
After a great ride of about an hour and a half, I returned to Big V to watch Kansas take on UNLV, ever mindful of the fact that the Jayhawks can burn ever so brightly during the regular season, but tend to get snuffed out during the tournament. However, they did manage to win big this evening, so I’ll have at least one team left to cheer for in the Sweet Sixteen next week.
We both watched as much of the Texas A&M/UCLA game as CBS would show us (part of the game in Big V and part at Jean’s house). I’m certainly not a fan of the Aggies, but I’ll pull for almost any team (even Oklahoma, although I’d “sooner” not have that known) against one of the “Left Coast” schools. A&M gave us some really exciting moments, but in the end, they too, departed from the tournament.
After all that excitement, there wasn’t much left to do but get the kitchen cleaned up (i.e. get the aroma of the chili and beans that had been cooking all day out of Big V) and call it a day so we could get rested up for Easter Sunday activities.
“The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play “drop the handkerchief.” – James Naismith, creator of basketball
Enjoying family and friends in Artesia,
Jim & Barbara
Another Little Visit in Houston and San Antonio
Tuesday, March 11 – Sunday, March 16
Tuesday, March 11
Sisters’ updates:
Last week we spent time just trying to get our thoughts and travels in Puerto Rico down; and, as many of you noticed and wrote about, we didn’t update you on my brother-in-law, Cal. His surgery was long and tedious with the doctors not giving much optimism with the outcome. We kept in daily contact with Carol and found that the stomach virus had hit her shortly after Cal’s surgery which meant she was banned from his hospital room. The only thing we could do is pray and we did that fervently! However, even we were surprised with the quickness of the power of prayer as by the time we were preparing to leave Puerto Rico, Cal had been dismissed from the hospital and Carol was feeling well.
Wow! What a blessing! In fact, when Cal went for his follow-up visits this week with the 3 doctors who were involved in his treatment, they each told him in their own way they hadn’t expected to see him again. I asked Carol if she told the doctors they just hadn’t counted on the power of prayers! We thank each of you who prayed for Carol and Cal during this difficult time. Of course, Cal still has health issues, but he is back at home where he wants to be.
And, on top of the concern for Carol and Cal, when I called my sister Nancy one day while in Puerto Rico, we found that she was also having health issues. Her blood pressure had gotten dangerously high and she spent 5 ½ hours in the emergency room trying to get it to lower. I just can’t trust my sisters out of my sight! So…it was pray and call…that’s all I could do. They are doing tests on Nancy now to try to find out what’s going on…so would appreciate prayers for her that they can find out what’s causing this problem.
It took Owen a little while to warm up to us, but in no time we were included in his play with his bowling and fishing sets. Then he decided he’d ask Jim and me if we wanted to go to the park with him. The park is just a short stroll from his Grammie’s and Grandpa’s house. So…we 5 adults followed as he led us to the playground. We must have looked like the Pied Piper’s parade!
After the visit with Ginger, a former teacher and now stay-at-home mom, and Owen (Michael, who works for Continental was not off yet), Joyce and Jim began preparations for supper with Jim working on pinto beans and Joyce the roast and trimmings. I’m not exactly sure what Gary and I did…maybe offer moral support?
After supper, we dug out the dominoes and taught Joyce and Gary how to play dominoes the way Margarita taught us. Unfortunately, Joyce and I were worn out from the cooking and washing clothes and were soundly beaten by the guys. They just weren’t as tired as we were. (As my mother-in-law, Edith, always says, “When you’re looking for an excuse, any old one will do!)
Wednesday, March 12
We had decided that today we would all travel over to St. Charles, Louisiana and stay overnight at L’auberge du lac, a really nice resort that Joyce and Gary have gone to with their family. Since they had a free room, we played like the old TV show Three’s Company and bunked together.
The highlight of the evening was the buffet downstairs which offered crawfish and other goodies. It was definitely the one time I needed the camera and didn’t have it! Jim and Gary started with a plate piled high with crawfish and corn on the cob. Their next trip to the buffet found them returning with platters soaring to a peak with crawfish. Joyce and I were in awe when they returned for refills a third time! It was unbelievable!
Thursday, March 13
After rotating shower times, we finally were ready to head back to Houston only stopping at a Sonic down the road for breakfast.
Once we returned home, April, their oldest daughter, called to say that she and daughter Riley (7 months old) were on their way over. April and her husband Brian are lawyers there in Houston so we weren’t certain we would even get to see April. Brian was still working and not able to come. However, just getting to see April and Riley was a treat!
(I just noticed that I put the same photo of the 4 of us in both collages, but…oh, well…can’t be perfect all the time!)
Tonight’s menu was enchiladas and refried beans before we hit the dominoes again.
This time Joyce and I were refreshed and rested so the score reflected that! In fact, we had taken such a commanding lead that the guys called it a night before we reached 500! They were just too tired to continue since they had installed a ceiling fan earlier in the day in an upstairs bedroom. When you’re looking for an excuse, etc. etc….
Friday, March 14
Once up and at it, Jim and I packed up to hit the road for our journey to San Antonio. It wasn’t nearly as hard to leave Joyce and Gary this time since we know that our paths will cross again soon. With both couples being retired, we have been blessed with 4 visits in the last 8 or 9 months! That is awesome when you consider we were lucky to see each other once every year or two in the past.
Holly, their youngest daughter, called to say she was really ill and didn’t think we’d want to see her in that condition…we agreed! So…we’ll just have to come back so we can visit with her!
We called Jim’s cousin Robbie in Seguin, but we never connected with him; so it was just a straight shot on into San Antonio to visit son John and his family. Once there, we found that Carol was already home from work and John had gone to pick up their grandson Rhett whose family has moved back to San Antonio. Yea! This meant that we’d get to play with him as well as visit John, Carol, and Randi.
While we settled in, Carol left to pick up Randi and a friend Geoffrey from school. Geoffrey was coming home with them to meet us (don’t think that was really the primary reason for his visit, what do you think?).
What a great night we had just visiting, eating, and watching movies as well as watching Rhett in action! Rhett, who turned 1 in January, is a bundle of energy and one of the happiest toddlers we’ve seen!
Since Randi is now on spring break, we offered to take her home with us for a while; but, shock of all shocks, she really wasn’t interested in leaving her friends for that long. Plus, she’s going to have a job interview at the gym to work there during the summer. It’s kind of sad that when she was of the age to come visit us, we were busy working…but…that is a part of life, I suppose.
Saturday, March 15
After Carol served us a big breakfast, she, Randi, Rhett, and I wandered out to do some shopping. After all, it’s not often that we get to see Randi or Rhett, and it was necessary to do a little spoiling. That is an important privilege of being great-grandparents!
This filled the morning quite well and by the time we returned home, it was time for another meal before going out to see the new home John and Carol are building. We were surprised to see how much progress had been made since our last visit.
Once again it was time for another meal, which just happened to be Jim’s spaghetti…Carol had called while we were in Houston for the ingredients he needed, since Randi had said that she wanted some of Gramps’ spaghetti and meat sauce.
Carols’ mother, Anna, came over this evening to join the group and have supper with us. It’s been a while since we got to see Anna, so it was nice to have time to get caught up.
Randi wasn’t feeling well and the rest of us were pretty tired so we called it an evening pretty early compared to last night.
Sunday, March 16
It was necessary for us to be in Artesia today since Ernie and Billee were leaving Monday for a job interview in Louisiana and we’d need to be around in case Edith needed anything. And, with today being Palm Sunday and the kids needing to get ready for church, Jim and I left San Antonio around 9:00 a.m.
What can one say about the trip from San Antonio to Artesia, except that it’s l-o-n-g! At least, we were able to drive 80 mph along a major stretch of I-10 from Kerrville to Fort Stockton, shaving off a pretty good chunk of time.
To break the monotony of the trip, I decided to call our kids and wish them a happy Palm Sunday although I wasn’t very successful in reaching any of them. However, when we were entering Carlsbad, Mike returned our call.
I told him we called to wish him a happy Palm Sunday, he said, "Oh, that's what you call today." I was so confused! I said, "Yes, it's Palm Sunday." His reply was, "We
ll, I call it engaged Sunday." Silly me, I thought it must be something his church does that I didn't understand...now how dense was that????
Tuesday, March 11
Sisters’ updates:
Last week we spent time just trying to get our thoughts and travels in Puerto Rico down; and, as many of you noticed and wrote about, we didn’t update you on my brother-in-law, Cal. His surgery was long and tedious with the doctors not giving much optimism with the outcome. We kept in daily contact with Carol and found that the stomach virus had hit her shortly after Cal’s surgery which meant she was banned from his hospital room. The only thing we could do is pray and we did that fervently! However, even we were surprised with the quickness of the power of prayer as by the time we were preparing to leave Puerto Rico, Cal had been dismissed from the hospital and Carol was feeling well.
Wow! What a blessing! In fact, when Cal went for his follow-up visits this week with the 3 doctors who were involved in his treatment, they each told him in their own way they hadn’t expected to see him again. I asked Carol if she told the doctors they just hadn’t counted on the power of prayers! We thank each of you who prayed for Carol and Cal during this difficult time. Of course, Cal still has health issues, but he is back at home where he wants to be.
And, on top of the concern for Carol and Cal, when I called my sister Nancy one day while in Puerto Rico, we found that she was also having health issues. Her blood pressure had gotten dangerously high and she spent 5 ½ hours in the emergency room trying to get it to lower. I just can’t trust my sisters out of my sight! So…it was pray and call…that’s all I could do. They are doing tests on Nancy now to try to find out what’s going on…so would appreciate prayers for her that they can find out what’s causing this problem.
Happy Anniversary to Jim's brother Ernie and his wife Billee!
Happy Birthday to Jim's cousin, Darren!
This morning began with the swishing and sloshing of Joyce and Gary’s washing machine as Jim and I needed to get clothes washed. It was a very leisurely morning with breakfast visits and just relaxing with good friends.
This afternoon, Jim and I were thrilled when Ginger, Joyce and Gary’s middle daughter, and her son Owen came for a visit. Owen is just a little younger than our grandson Alexander, which made us ache to see Alexander and Abby.
It took Owen a little while to warm up to us, but in no time we were included in his play with his bowling and fishing sets. Then he decided he’d ask Jim and me if we wanted to go to the park with him. The park is just a short stroll from his Grammie’s and Grandpa’s house. So…we 5 adults followed as he led us to the playground. We must have looked like the Pied Piper’s parade!After the visit with Ginger, a former teacher and now stay-at-home mom, and Owen (Michael, who works for Continental was not off yet), Joyce and Jim began preparations for supper with Jim working on pinto beans and Joyce the roast and trimmings. I’m not exactly sure what Gary and I did…maybe offer moral support?
After supper, we dug out the dominoes and taught Joyce and Gary how to play dominoes the way Margarita taught us. Unfortunately, Joyce and I were worn out from the cooking and washing clothes and were soundly beaten by the guys. They just weren’t as tired as we were. (As my mother-in-law, Edith, always says, “When you’re looking for an excuse, any old one will do!)
Wednesday, March 12
We had decided that today we would all travel over to St. Charles, Louisiana and stay overnight at L’auberge du lac, a really nice resort that Joyce and Gary have gone to with their family. Since they had a free room, we played like the old TV show Three’s Company and bunked together.
The highlight of the evening was the buffet downstairs which offered crawfish and other goodies. It was definitely the one time I needed the camera and didn’t have it! Jim and Gary started with a plate piled high with crawfish and corn on the cob. Their next trip to the buffet found them returning with platters soaring to a peak with crawfish. Joyce and I were in awe when they returned for refills a third time! It was unbelievable!
Thursday, March 13
After rotating shower times, we finally were ready to head back to Houston only stopping at a Sonic down the road for breakfast.
Once we returned home, April, their oldest daughter, called to say that she and daughter Riley (7 months old) were on their way over. April and her husband Brian are lawyers there in Houston so we weren’t certain we would even get to see April. Brian was still working and not able to come. However, just getting to see April and Riley was a treat!
(I just noticed that I put the same photo of the 4 of us in both collages, but…oh, well…can’t be perfect all the time!)
Tonight’s menu was enchiladas and refried beans before we hit the dominoes again.
This time Joyce and I were refreshed and rested so the score reflected that! In fact, we had taken such a commanding lead that the guys called it a night before we reached 500! They were just too tired to continue since they had installed a ceiling fan earlier in the day in an upstairs bedroom. When you’re looking for an excuse, etc. etc….
Friday, March 14
Once up and at it, Jim and I packed up to hit the road for our journey to San Antonio. It wasn’t nearly as hard to leave Joyce and Gary this time since we know that our paths will cross again soon. With both couples being retired, we have been blessed with 4 visits in the last 8 or 9 months! That is awesome when you consider we were lucky to see each other once every year or two in the past.
Holly, their youngest daughter, called to say she was really ill and didn’t think we’d want to see her in that condition…we agreed! So…we’ll just have to come back so we can visit with her!
We called Jim’s cousin Robbie in Seguin, but we never connected with him; so it was just a straight shot on into San Antonio to visit son John and his family. Once there, we found that Carol was already home from work and John had gone to pick up their grandson Rhett whose family has moved back to San Antonio. Yea! This meant that we’d get to play with him as well as visit John, Carol, and Randi.
While we settled in, Carol left to pick up Randi and a friend Geoffrey from school. Geoffrey was coming home with them to meet us (don’t think that was really the primary reason for his visit, what do you think?).
What a great night we had just visiting, eating, and watching movies as well as watching Rhett in action! Rhett, who turned 1 in January, is a bundle of energy and one of the happiest toddlers we’ve seen!
Since Randi is now on spring break, we offered to take her home with us for a while; but, shock of all shocks, she really wasn’t interested in leaving her friends for that long. Plus, she’s going to have a job interview at the gym to work there during the summer. It’s kind of sad that when she was of the age to come visit us, we were busy working…but…that is a part of life, I suppose.Saturday, March 15After Carol served us a big breakfast, she, Randi, Rhett, and I wandered out to do some shopping. After all, it’s not often that we get to see Randi or Rhett, and it was necessary to do a little spoiling. That is an important privilege of being great-grandparents!
This filled the morning quite well and by the time we returned home, it was time for another meal before going out to see the new home John and Carol are building. We were surprised to see how much progress had been made since our last visit.
Once again it was time for another meal, which just happened to be Jim’s spaghetti…Carol had called while we were in Houston for the ingredients he needed, since Randi had said that she wanted some of Gramps’ spaghetti and meat sauce.Carols’ mother, Anna, came over this evening to join the group and have supper with us. It’s been a while since we got to see Anna, so it was nice to have time to get caught up.
Randi wasn’t feeling well and the rest of us were pretty tired so we called it an evening pretty early compared to last night.
Sunday, March 16
It was necessary for us to be in Artesia today since Ernie and Billee were leaving Monday for a job interview in Louisiana and we’d need to be around in case Edith needed anything. And, with today being Palm Sunday and the kids needing to get ready for church, Jim and I left San Antonio around 9:00 a.m.
What can one say about the trip from San Antonio to Artesia, except that it’s l-o-n-g! At least, we were able to drive 80 mph along a major stretch of I-10 from Kerrville to Fort Stockton, shaving off a pretty good chunk of time.
To break the monotony of the trip, I decided to call our kids and wish them a happy Palm Sunday although I wasn’t very successful in reaching any of them. However, when we were entering Carlsbad, Mike returned our call.
I told him we called to wish him a happy Palm Sunday, he said, "Oh, that's what you call today." I was so confused! I said, "Yes, it's Palm Sunday." His reply was, "We
ll, I call it engaged Sunday." Silly me, I thought it must be something his church does that I didn't understand...now how dense was that???? Finally, everything connected and I probably screamed in his ear (I really don't remember) before saying, "Here...tell your Dad!" Today Mike proposed to Kelly and she accepted! To say we are thrilled is putting it mildly! (This photo was taken at Christmas when Mike and Kelly were visiting her parents in Arizona. Jan, her mother sent it to us.)
The rest of the trip passed by quickly as Jim and I had something new to talk about…which is why we try to call the kids when we travel…there is only so much we can find to discuss with each other when we see each other constantly! :)
Once back in Artesia, we stopped by Edith’s to check in. Ernie came over and, after visiting a little, we headed out to Big V!!!! Though we had wonderful visits and enjoyed our time, we were so ready to be HOME!
After two weeks of traveling, meeting new friends, and sharing time with family and old friends, the following quote seems particularly appropriate:
“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with” – Mark Twain
Back again at our “Little” house on the prairie,
Jim & Barbara
The rest of the trip passed by quickly as Jim and I had something new to talk about…which is why we try to call the kids when we travel…there is only so much we can find to discuss with each other when we see each other constantly! :)
Once back in Artesia, we stopped by Edith’s to check in. Ernie came over and, after visiting a little, we headed out to Big V!!!! Though we had wonderful visits and enjoyed our time, we were so ready to be HOME!
After two weeks of traveling, meeting new friends, and sharing time with family and old friends, the following quote seems particularly appropriate:
“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with” – Mark Twain
Back again at our “Little” house on the prairie,
Jim & Barbara
A Little Time in Puerto Rico
Monday, March 3 – Monday, March 10
Monday, March 3: Day 1
Happy Birthday today to Barbara Francis Yehl in San Antonio!
We don’t think many retired folks set their alarms for 5:00 a.m., but this was a special day for us. After showering, getting dressed, and having a bite of breakfast, we loaded our luggage in Gary and Joyce’s car and started out toward George Bush International Airport. Gary did a great job of navigating through the early morning Houston traffic and we made it to the airport in plenty of time to get checked in and find our gate.
Actually, it turned out that we had more than plenty of time. With all signs indicating that our flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, was on schedule, we began boarding at 9:25. By 9:50, just ten minutes before scheduled take-off, everyone was in their seats and ready to go. That’s when the captain got on the intercom and announced that there would be a slight delay; we were going to hold for a group of passengers who were on a delayed flight from Denver. After a few minutes, the new passengers arrived on the plane and found their seats. Then, the captain announced that we would hold a few more minutes so the luggage could catch up to our flight.
We finally started backing out of our slot around 10:30, but got another announcement from the captain that traffic was backed up on the taxiways and we could be as far back as 15th in line for takeoff…not a very auspicious sign for the day.
At eleven o’clock, slightly more than an hour and a half after boarding, we began rolling down the runway, banked around toward the southeast, and were headed on our newest adventure, a one-week trip to visit Margarita, Maria, and Francisco, friends from our teaching days in Liberal.
The flight was generally uneventful; we had a nice lunch, read a bit, and dozed a bit. Barbara even watched the in-flight movie, Martian Child, while I slept. Our flight path took us over Ft. Myers, Florida, across the state, and out over the Atlantic. Barbara got the camera out and got the following pictures while we were in the air.
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With a good tailwind, the captain made up some of our lost time and we landed at the airport in Puerto Rico shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time. It took a while for our luggage to reach the carousel, but by shortly after 5:00 we were in the arrivals area with our friends.
What a wonderful welcome we had! Maria, Francisco, and Margarita had a basket of fresh fruit for us, along with a small vase of roses and a “Welcome” balloon…we felt like real celebrities!
Francisco helped us load the luggage in the trunk of their car and then we headed out with Maria driving and all of us talking, attempting to get caught up on two year’s worth of conversation during the short trip to our hotel.
We were soon at the Holiday Inn Express in the Condado area of San Juan, where we unloaded the car, made arrangements for Maria to come pick us up on Wednesday, and then got checked in, anxiously anticipating not only the adventures ahead of us, but also rejoining our friends at their home in Malpica on Wednesday.
Tonight…hit the streets and explore our new neighborhood. We just walked up and down the streets, looking at all the different shops and hotels and enjoying the ocean breezes as we strolled along the beachfront.
Tuesday, March 4: Day 2
It’s exploration day! With our sights set on seeing all we could of Old San Juan, we had our breakfast at the hotel and then walked a couple of blocks to catch the bus that would take us there.
Knowing where we wanted to go, but not knowing what we were looking at (or for); we just did the “tourist gawk,” trying to get our bearings and looking for something that might be the old city. We also did a bit of silent back-seat driving, especially when our bus driver totally ignored a red light and plowed on through an intersection. I guess he was going on the theory that his was the largest vehicle at the intersection, so he had the right of way.
We made several stops along the way to pick up or let off passengers, so we weren’t paying much attention when we made a stop and the driver turned and said, “Last stop.” No one moved again, so he said it again, getting our attention and helping us realize that this was as far as we were going to go.
As we got off the bus, we commented to a group of high school students from Michigan who had boarded with us back by the hotel that we were just waiting for them to stand up so we’d know we were at out destination. They laughed and said they were watching us because they figured we knew what we were doing.
After getting our bearings, we began walking and looking. Our first destination was the walking trail that ran along the outside of the walls of the old city. The walls were built in the 1600’s to help defend the city against invading forces; they were originally 7 feet thick, but were later fortified to a thickness of as much as 18 feet…certainly strong enough to repel most cannon shots of the day (and provide a formidable vertical barrier to any invaders..
Interestingly enough, the old city was originally named Puerto Rico (for the port that leads into what is now San Juan Bay) and the island was named San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist). It was later that the names were reversed so the island was named Puerto Rico and the city was named San Juan.
By the late 1800’s, Spain’s far-flung empire was crumbling; most of the New World colonies revolted and gained their independence, with only Puerto Rico and Cuba remaining loyal to Spain.
When a revolution in Cuba sparked the Spanish-American War, a U.S. naval flotilla under Admiral William T. Sampson bombarded San Juan on May 12, 1898. No serious damage was done and there was no military action against the city. In July, 1898, U.S. Army General Nelson Miles landed American troops on Puerto Rico’s southern coasts. An Armistice with Spain was signed as the troops were advancing to the outskirts of San Juan. Spain’s 400-year rule of the island came to an end on October 18, 1898, when the defenses of the city were turned over to the U.S. Army.
Old San Juan, founded in 1521, stands on the western end of a rugged, rocky islet that is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and on the south and west by a vast bay.
The colonial city shows its best side from the harbor. Built on natural slopes, the crowded clusters of buildings take the form of a great amphitheater framed by a formidable ring of walls and castles. A combination of old houses and modern buildings imparts variety to the cityscape,.JPG)
and gives San Juan its colorful and picturesque character. It is a city with a proud and rich heritage, tempered by ancient calamities of war, pirate attacks, earthquakes, and hurricanes.
Our trip around the walls (don’t know how long it was, but it sure wilted us) gave us some great views of the bay and the ocean.
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Today, the forts are managed and protected by the U.S. National Park Service.
We did a little more sight-seeing after we left El Morro, walking up and down the steep and narrow cobblestone streets of the old city. Around 2:00 p.m. we located a restaurant (Raices).JPG)
and had some original Puerto Rican food for lunch, and then found our way back down to the bus station to find the bus that would take us back to our hotel in the Condado District. Our driver for this afternoon’s run was a little slip of a girl, but she muscled that big bus around like a veteran, and we were soon back at the Holiday Inn.
We don’t know how far we walked today, but we do know were “plumb tuckered out.” We laid down to rest our eyes for a few minutes and woke up about 2 ½ hours later…just in time to go out and take in some of the evening sights around us.
Wednesday, March 5: Day 3
Our plan for the morning was to get up early and go across the street to swim at one of the beaches, but we stayed up too late last night and slept in too long this morning, so we decided we’d just go downstairs for breakfast and then come back to the room and take our time getting everything organized and packed.
We were downstairs and checked out of the hotel by shortly after 11:30; Maria arrived about 11:50 and we had everything in the car and were pulling out from the hotel by noon.
Maria first took us on a driving tour of Old San Juan, helping us get a better perspective on.jpg)
where we were yesterday. She’s an excellent driver and did a wonderful job of negotiating the narrow, hilly streets. .JPG)
Monday, March 3: Day 1
Happy Birthday today to Barbara Francis Yehl in San Antonio!
We don’t think many retired folks set their alarms for 5:00 a.m., but this was a special day for us. After showering, getting dressed, and having a bite of breakfast, we loaded our luggage in Gary and Joyce’s car and started out toward George Bush International Airport. Gary did a great job of navigating through the early morning Houston traffic and we made it to the airport in plenty of time to get checked in and find our gate.
Actually, it turned out that we had more than plenty of time. With all signs indicating that our flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, was on schedule, we began boarding at 9:25. By 9:50, just ten minutes before scheduled take-off, everyone was in their seats and ready to go. That’s when the captain got on the intercom and announced that there would be a slight delay; we were going to hold for a group of passengers who were on a delayed flight from Denver. After a few minutes, the new passengers arrived on the plane and found their seats. Then, the captain announced that we would hold a few more minutes so the luggage could catch up to our flight.
We finally started backing out of our slot around 10:30, but got another announcement from the captain that traffic was backed up on the taxiways and we could be as far back as 15th in line for takeoff…not a very auspicious sign for the day.
At eleven o’clock, slightly more than an hour and a half after boarding, we began rolling down the runway, banked around toward the southeast, and were headed on our newest adventure, a one-week trip to visit Margarita, Maria, and Francisco, friends from our teaching days in Liberal.
The flight was generally uneventful; we had a nice lunch, read a bit, and dozed a bit. Barbara even watched the in-flight movie, Martian Child, while I slept. Our flight path took us over Ft. Myers, Florida, across the state, and out over the Atlantic. Barbara got the camera out and got the following pictures while we were in the air.
With a good tailwind, the captain made up some of our lost time and we landed at the airport in Puerto Rico shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time. It took a while for our luggage to reach the carousel, but by shortly after 5:00 we were in the arrivals area with our friends.
What a wonderful welcome we had! Maria, Francisco, and Margarita had a basket of fresh fruit for us, along with a small vase of roses and a “Welcome” balloon…we felt like real celebrities!
Francisco helped us load the luggage in the trunk of their car and then we headed out with Maria driving and all of us talking, attempting to get caught up on two year’s worth of conversation during the short trip to our hotel.
We were soon at the Holiday Inn Express in the Condado area of San Juan, where we unloaded the car, made arrangements for Maria to come pick us up on Wednesday, and then got checked in, anxiously anticipating not only the adventures ahead of us, but also rejoining our friends at their home in Malpica on Wednesday.
Tonight…hit the streets and explore our new neighborhood. We just walked up and down the streets, looking at all the different shops and hotels and enjoying the ocean breezes as we strolled along the beachfront.
Tuesday, March 4: Day 2
It’s exploration day! With our sights set on seeing all we could of Old San Juan, we had our breakfast at the hotel and then walked a couple of blocks to catch the bus that would take us there.
Knowing where we wanted to go, but not knowing what we were looking at (or for); we just did the “tourist gawk,” trying to get our bearings and looking for something that might be the old city. We also did a bit of silent back-seat driving, especially when our bus driver totally ignored a red light and plowed on through an intersection. I guess he was going on the theory that his was the largest vehicle at the intersection, so he had the right of way.
We made several stops along the way to pick up or let off passengers, so we weren’t paying much attention when we made a stop and the driver turned and said, “Last stop.” No one moved again, so he said it again, getting our attention and helping us realize that this was as far as we were going to go.
As we got off the bus, we commented to a group of high school students from Michigan who had boarded with us back by the hotel that we were just waiting for them to stand up so we’d know we were at out destination. They laughed and said they were watching us because they figured we knew what we were doing.
After getting our bearings, we began walking and looking. Our first destination was the walking trail that ran along the outside of the walls of the old city. The walls were built in the 1600’s to help defend the city against invading forces; they were originally 7 feet thick, but were later fortified to a thickness of as much as 18 feet…certainly strong enough to repel most cannon shots of the day (and provide a formidable vertical barrier to any invaders..
Interestingly enough, the old city was originally named Puerto Rico (for the port that leads into what is now San Juan Bay) and the island was named San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist). It was later that the names were reversed so the island was named Puerto Rico and the city was named San Juan.
By the late 1800’s, Spain’s far-flung empire was crumbling; most of the New World colonies revolted and gained their independence, with only Puerto Rico and Cuba remaining loyal to Spain.
When a revolution in Cuba sparked the Spanish-American War, a U.S. naval flotilla under Admiral William T. Sampson bombarded San Juan on May 12, 1898. No serious damage was done and there was no military action against the city. In July, 1898, U.S. Army General Nelson Miles landed American troops on Puerto Rico’s southern coasts. An Armistice with Spain was signed as the troops were advancing to the outskirts of San Juan. Spain’s 400-year rule of the island came to an end on October 18, 1898, when the defenses of the city were turned over to the U.S. Army.
Old San Juan, founded in 1521, stands on the western end of a rugged, rocky islet that is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean and on the south and west by a vast bay.
The colonial city shows its best side from the harbor. Built on natural slopes, the crowded clusters of buildings take the form of a great amphitheater framed by a formidable ring of walls and castles. A combination of old houses and modern buildings imparts variety to the cityscape,
.JPG)
and gives San Juan its colorful and picturesque character. It is a city with a proud and rich heritage, tempered by ancient calamities of war, pirate attacks, earthquakes, and hurricanes.Our trip around the walls (don’t know how long it was, but it sure wilted us) gave us some great views of the bay and the ocean.
What we didn’t know was that the trail does not go all the way around. Just as we thought we were approaching another gate to the city, we saw a sign that let us know the trail ended there and we would have to turn around and go back…definitely not what we were wanting to know! .jpg)
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Hiking back to one of the massive gates to the city we had already passed early in our walk, we went inside and found a snow-cone stand where we got a bit of refreshment. Barbara opted for a coconut snow-cone (pireagua), while I got a bottle of water.
After resting for a bit, we made our way toward Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, a massive fortification that anchors the city’s defenses at the mouth of San Juan Harbor. Construction on the fort began in 1539-1540, and El Morro evolved into its present form from that time through 1786.
In World War I, Puerto Rico was an outpost for detecting and controlling hostile activities directed against the Panama Canal. During World War II, the U.S. Army added coastal defense observation posts and hidden command and communications centers in both the El Morro and San Cristobal forts.
After resting for a bit, we made our way toward Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, a massive fortification that anchors the city’s defenses at the mouth of San Juan Harbor. Construction on the fort began in 1539-1540, and El Morro evolved into its present form from that time through 1786.
In World War I, Puerto Rico was an outpost for detecting and controlling hostile activities directed against the Panama Canal. During World War II, the U.S. Army added coastal defense observation posts and hidden command and communications centers in both the El Morro and San Cristobal forts.
Today, the forts are managed and protected by the U.S. National Park Service..JPG){kind=link}
We did a little more sight-seeing after we left El Morro, walking up and down the steep and narrow cobblestone streets of the old city. Around 2:00 p.m. we located a restaurant (Raices)
.JPG)
and had some original Puerto Rican food for lunch, and then found our way back down to the bus station to find the bus that would take us back to our hotel in the Condado District. Our driver for this afternoon’s run was a little slip of a girl, but she muscled that big bus around like a veteran, and we were soon back at the Holiday Inn.We don’t know how far we walked today, but we do know were “plumb tuckered out.” We laid down to rest our eyes for a few minutes and woke up about 2 ½ hours later…just in time to go out and take in some of the evening sights around us.
Wednesday, March 5: Day 3
Our plan for the morning was to get up early and go across the street to swim at one of the beaches, but we stayed up too late last night and slept in too long this morning, so we decided we’d just go downstairs for breakfast and then come back to the room and take our time getting everything organized and packed.
We were downstairs and checked out of the hotel by shortly after 11:30; Maria arrived about 11:50 and we had everything in the car and were pulling out from the hotel by noon.
Maria first took us on a driving tour of Old San Juan, helping us get a better perspective on
where we were yesterday. She’s an excellent driver and did a wonderful job of negotiating the narrow, hilly streets. .JPG)
She also took us to the Governor’s House, the site of a huge demonstration a couple of days ago by thousands of Puerto Rican teachers who have been on strike. It was hard for us to imagine shy, quiet Margarita walking a picket line, but Maria assured us that it did happen. (Maria and Francisco even joined in the march to support the teachers.)
After a bit of sightseeing, we stopped for a quick lunch at McDonalds. Maria left us on the corner while she went to find a parking place and we spent our time people-watching. It is election time in Puerto Rico also, so representatives of the candidates for various offices were out in force. At one point we heard what sounded like the world’s largest boom box blaring out music and messages. When we looked down the street, we saw a pickup with the larges set of speakers I’ve ever seen mounted on the bed. As soon as the driver entered the intersection, a policeman went over to the pickup and motioned for him to turn down the volume. Thankfully, he did, and that was pretty much the end of that.
While we were still waiting, Barbara spied a stand with a bunch of purses and bags on it, so she went over and checked it out. She found a purse she liked and managed to get the price down from $40 to $30, but couldn’t make up her mind to take it until Maria came back and looked at it to make sure it was a good deal. Long story short…Barbara now has a really nice new purse to take home.
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After lunch we convinced Maria that we were capable of just walking back to the car with her, so we started out down one of the streets. Along the way we found a shop called The Butterfly People. On exhibit were all kinds of pictures of butterflies as well as collections of butterflies in acrylic display cases. We thought everything was just beautiful, but we were even more taken by the music that was playing in the background, so we asked who the artist was. The shopkeeper showed us a cover of a CD by Andrea Bocelli, a singer with a monster set of pipes. We decided then and there that we would have to buy one of his albums if we ever found one.
Continuing our journey down the hill to the parking lot, we came to the harbor and saw a couple of cruise ships that had pulled in to the docks. Those things are huge!.JPG)
I’ve never been that close to one (and frankly, don’t care to get any closer)…
It was with reluctance that we left this beautiful rain forest, but we had other activities and adventures planned for the day…so much to see and so little time!
We all went back to the house for a bit to rest and then we joined Margarita, Maria, and Francisco for the evening Mass at their church, San Francisco de Asisi. They had spent a great deal of time trying to find a Baptist or Methodist church for us to attend, but couldn’t find one nearby that offered services in English. We told them that we only wanted to attend services with them and that a Catholic service would be just fine.
When we got into the church, Margarita introduced us to the parish priest and then we were seated (back row of course; that was our Baptist concession). Although we couldn’t understand most of what was spoken, we could get the general idea of the scriptures by linking what Spanish words we do know to the context. What we really enjoyed was the singing. We didn’t know the songs, but we could pronounce most of the words and just followed along, singing as if we knew what we were singing about. It was all joyfully sung and made us feel very good just to be involved.
We (as well as Margarita and Maria) were surprised when, at the end of the service, the priest called us forward to say a prayer for us. He even spoke the prayer in English, which was difficult for him, and thanked God for our presence and asked His blessing upon us during our stay in Puerto Rico and our return home. He told us that because we were all brothers in Christ, that we always had a family in their little church. As the congregation applauded us, we felt that we truly were blessed to have such a caring family in a place so far from our home.
When we returned to the house, Margarita told us to change from our good clothes into jeans and wear something warm, that they had a special surprise for us. We couldn’t figure out what it might be, especially since it was getting pretty late to be going out, but we did as she said. As we headed to the car, she said that because she has been sick and it would be cool out, that she would stay home, but the rest of us should go have a good time.
What we didn’t know was that the ladies had conspired with Jose, one of Margarita’s teacher friends, to arrange for a night ride on an excursion boat from the harbor at Fajardo to one of three luminescent lagoons in the area. Jose’s former brother-in-law, Captain Suarez, makes three nightly runs from the harbor through a long mangrove channel into the lagoon to show off one of Puerto Rico’s many beautiful attractions.
Once aboard the boat, the Baby Bay, we crossed the harbor and joined strings of kayakers who were also making their way in the dark to a large lagoon where we could see luminescent fish and microorganisms scurrying away under the water as we approached them. Captain Suarez explained that a dye in some of the surrounding trees causes the water to glow a luminescent green whenever it is stirred up. When we looked forward or to the side of the boat, we could see the shapes of fish swimming away from us. When we looked toward the stern, we could see a luminescent green wake behind us. (Notice, too, that the bottom right photo of the swimmers show that they were luminescent once they came in contact with the water.)
Captain Suarez stopped the boat in the middle of the lagoon and let several of the tour members climb out of the back of the boat so they could take a short swim. As they swam and splashed, we could see the luminescence stirring up around them…quite an amazing sight.
Captain Suarez obviously knew the channel and lagoon quite well. He took us to a small mangrove island over on one side of the lake, lit up some trees with his flashlight, and pointed out several large white birds that were roosting there. As we rode through the channel to and from the lagoon, he would suddenly stop, shine the flashlight up in the trees, and point out huge iguanas that were lying down on the branches, some looking as if they were sound asleep, others as if they might pounce into the boat at any time.
After two hours of learning about birds, iguanas, navigating by the stars, and luminescent lagoons and their inhabitants (not to mention how to navigate around strings of novice kayakers in the narrow channel), we made our way back to the harbor where we thanked Captain Suarez for a great adventure.
It was a little after 11:00 p.m. when we got off the boat, and since we hadn’t eaten since much earlier in the day, we located one of the many food kiosks that abound in the beach area and enjoyed a meal of barbecued chicken on a stick and tasty Puerto Rican bread before getting in the car and driving back to the house in Malpica. It was 12:30 a.m. when we finally arrived at home, exhausted and thrilled from a long day of adventures.
Sunday, March 9: Day 7
Today was primary election day in Puerto Rico, so after waking up and getting ready for the day, we joined Margarita and Maria as they drove to their polling site to cast their ballots. When we got to the site, Maria found that she would have to go to a school closer to their house in Malpica to vote because of her address change. Margarita, however, voted at the other school because her address was in that area before she moved to the United States, and she hadn’t changed her official address yet.
The scene at the school was much like at any polling place we’ve been; neighbors, friends, and relatives met and visited while standing in line to sign in, have their voting cards verified, get their ballots, and cast their votes. Election Day in Puerto Rico is essentially a legal holiday – businesses are closed and the sale of alcohol is forbidden,
While Margarita went to the room where her party was voting, we just wandered around trying to get a good look at the school. Maria found us and said that she had made arrangements with one of the party leaders for us to come into the room and take pictures, something that we didn’t expect at all. We followed Margarita into the room and Barbara took a couple of pictures of the scene before we left. However, as we were leaving the room, the man in charge called us back. I figured we were in some kind of trouble, but he only said that Margarita wanted us there to take a picture of her in the voting booth.
Following our experience at that school, we drove back to the neighborhood where we had been the night before. In fact, the school where Maria voted was just across the street from where we had attended church, so while Maria went into the school to vote, we took some pictures of the church (we didn’t have the camera with us last night) and listened to the singing.
We had told the ladies yesterday that we needed to find a few specialty items to take home with us, so after they finished voting, Maria drove us almost all the way back to San Juan to a large shopping mall where we found some things that we thought the grandkids would like. We didn’t expect them to go to that much trouble for us, but we certainly did appreciate them for all they did.
After our shopping trip was completed we returned to the house in Malpica and began the process of gathering and organizing all of our stuff and trying to get everything packed for our flight back to Houston tomorrow.
While we were doing our packing, Margarita and Maria fixed another great meal. After supper we helped get the dishes cleaned and then settled in for another game of Monopoly. It didn’t take long for me to find that my new strategies didn’t work; I was the first one out of the game, followed not long after by Francisco.
Barbara and Margarita stayed locked in a furious battle for control of the board, but Maria, with her shrewd maneuvers and an inscrutable smile, soon owned enough of the board to bankrupt Barbara and claim yet another victory…smiling all the way.
At some point during the evening we had a visit from Jose (Margarita’s fellow teacher who had arranged for our boat trip last night). He and Margarita had been among the three teachers from their school who had joined the teacher strike earlier in the month.
After a bit of sightseeing, we stopped for a quick lunch at McDonalds. Maria left us on the corner while she went to find a parking place and we spent our time people-watching. It is election time in Puerto Rico also, so representatives of the candidates for various offices were out in force. At one point we heard what sounded like the world’s largest boom box blaring out music and messages. When we looked down the street, we saw a pickup with the larges set of speakers I’ve ever seen mounted on the bed. As soon as the driver entered the intersection, a policeman went over to the pickup and motioned for him to turn down the volume. Thankfully, he did, and that was pretty much the end of that.
While we were still waiting, Barbara spied a stand with a bunch of purses and bags on it, so she went over and checked it out. She found a purse she liked and managed to get the price down from $40 to $30, but couldn’t make up her mind to take it until Maria came back and looked at it to make sure it was a good deal. Long story short…Barbara now has a really nice new purse to take home.
.JPG)
After lunch we convinced Maria that we were capable of just walking back to the car with her, so we started out down one of the streets. Along the way we found a shop called The Butterfly People. On exhibit were all kinds of pictures of butterflies as well as collections of butterflies in acrylic display cases. We thought everything was just beautiful, but we were even more taken by the music that was playing in the background, so we asked who the artist was. The shopkeeper showed us a cover of a CD by Andrea Bocelli, a singer with a monster set of pipes. We decided then and there that we would have to buy one of his albums if we ever found one.Continuing our journey down the hill to the parking lot, we came to the harbor and saw a couple of cruise ships that had pulled in to the docks. Those things are huge!
.JPG)
I’ve never been that close to one (and frankly, don’t care to get any closer)…(Barbara: That’s what Jim says now; but I’m thinking that the next time we come to Puerto Rico, we need to build in time for a cruise…Jim doesn’t see it that way yet, but…we’ll see.)
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Jim: Dinner was beyond delicious (cubed steaks cooked with onions and tomato sauce, beans and rice with homemade spices, and rice) and we had a wonderful time just.jpg)
visiting and getting caught up on the last two years.
Maria and Margarita were a little under the weather and Francisco has school tomorrow, so everyone but me went to bed; I stayed up to watch the end of a movie and then went to bed and read awhile before finally falling asleep around 1:30 a.m.
Thursday, March 6: Day 4
Unfortunately, Maria was quite ill this morning and Margarita had to take her to the doctor after they took Franscisco to school. With them gone and Francisco in school, we had the house to ourselves for most of the day and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
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By now we were running short on time; Maria need to get back to Malpica to pick Francisco up and take him to church for youth activities. Unfortunately, we were meeting up with Friday afternoon traffic on both sides of and all the way through San Juan, so we were a little late getting back to the house. Still, Maria took some short cuts and got us back just fifteen minutes late, so Francisco wasn’t too late.
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We were just resting up from a wonderful meal of shrimp and fried plantains when some friends of Maria and Margarita, Dimas and Mary, came by for a visit. Barbara, Margarita, and Mary retired to the dining room to talk and look at all the pictures we have taken during this trip while Maria, Dimas, and I sat in the living room. It turns out that Dimas and I were both in the military at the same time, so we had some common experiences to share.
After Dimas and Mary left we decided it was game night again, but this time we voted to play dominos. I immediately sat across from Margarita and declared that if we were going to play partners, I wanted to be her partner. So, Barbara and Francisco paired off and prepared to do battle with us, but the dots went our way to such an extent that Barbara and Francisco conceded the game to us before we reached our 500 points.
When all was said and done, we decided that we had said and done enough for the day, so we all retreated to our rooms and called it a night.
Saturday, March 8: Day 6
Wow…What a day Margarita and Maria planned for us!
Since it was Saturday and Francisco didn’t have to get up early for school, we all just took our time getting around. After breakfast we all loaded up in the car and headed east to Luquillo Beach, one of the major beach parks in the area. We were expecting “just” a beach along the ocean, but found instead a major park area complete with natural landscaping, well-established picnicking areas, and the smoothest sand beaches we have ever seen.
The views from the beach and the water were what one might find on pictu
re postcards for major resort areas, and the water was the most gorgeous shades of blue and green that anyone could hope for.
We were surprised that there were so few people there, but Margarita and Maria explained that many people work on Saturdays, so they don’t come out to the beaches until Saturday evening or Sunday. They assured us that there would be a much larger crowd tomorrow if we tried to come out here.
We passed about three hours just playing in the water (mostly me doing that) and walking along the beach.
On her walk, Barbara came across a small canopy that had been set up and decorated for wedding pictures. In visiting with the people there, she found that the man was the photographer and his wife was a wedding planner. Since the bride and groom hadn’t arrived, they let Barbara pose under the canopy for her informal “wedding photographs.”
After more walking and exploring we went back to the area where we started and I did a little more swimming before showering and changing back into clothes suitable for our next adventure which was stopping at a roadside stand where Maria and Margarita bought each of us coconut water. This delicious drink comes from a baby coconut; the vendors chop off some of the shell, make a small hole at the top, give you a straw and you slurp away! What a wonderful treat after the time on the beach.
Jim: However, I thought they (the cruise ships) were worth taking a picture; after all, you don’t see them in New Mexico very often.
After we left Old San Juan, Maria took us to various areas around the metropolitan area to give us the feel of the place. We even went to a huge shopping mall (where we found a Bocelli CD) and did some window shopping and people watching before going back to the car and making the 1-hour drive out to Rio Grande Municipality and Malpica where Maria, Margarita, and Francisco live.
When we arrived at the house, we were absolutely knocked out by the beauty and simplicity of the place. They are still in the process of doing some remodeling, but the house is so light and airy that it just shouts “Welcome!” to visitors. It is also a photographer’s dream, as evidenced by the 75 or so pictures that Barbara took during the evening.
The house is located on a hillside out in a more or less rural area. From the landing outside, we can see the Atlantic Ocean to the north and a couple of mountain peaks in the rain forest (El Yunque) to the east.
Next door is quite a menagerie of fowls…chickens, a rooster, geese, ducks, and Guinea hens…unique, if not always quiet and peaceful. However, they certainly add to the charm of the neighborhood. And, for Barbara it opened up the box of childhood memori.JPG)
es of staying at her grandmother's home in Houston years ago.
After we left Old San Juan, Maria took us to various areas around the metropolitan area to give us the feel of the place. We even went to a huge shopping mall (where we found a Bocelli CD) and did some window shopping and people watching before going back to the car and making the 1-hour drive out to Rio Grande Municipality and Malpica where Maria, Margarita, and Francisco live.
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When we arrived at the house, we were absolutely knocked out by the beauty and simplicity of the place. They are still in the process of doing some remodeling, but the house is so light and airy that it just shouts “Welcome!” to visitors. It is also a photographer’s dream, as evidenced by the 75 or so pictures that Barbara took during the evening.
The house is located on a hillside out in a more or less rural area. From the landing outside, we can see the Atlantic Ocean to the north and a couple of mountain peaks in the rain forest (El Yunque) to the east.
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Next door is quite a menagerie of fowls…chickens, a rooster, geese, ducks, and Guinea hens…unique, if not always quiet and peaceful. However, they certainly add to the charm of the neighborhood. And, for Barbara it opened up the box of childhood memori
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es of staying at her grandmother's home in Houston years ago. As soon as we got there, Margarita started supper. I hovered around the cooking area asking all kinds of questions about what she was doing and which spices she was using. It was at this moment that Barbara and I knew that when the time came, we would leave Puerto Rico with a new batch of recipes. (And, we weren't wrong!)
Meanwhile, Barbara was busy taking pictures of everyone and everything!
Barbara: From the porch, which goes around 3 sides of their home, the view is breathtaking and just begs for the camera to do its thing! I just found that my camera and I were going to get lots of action in this gorgeous place as it is definitely a photographer's (even an amateur) paradise!
Jim: Dinner was beyond delicious (cubed steaks cooked with onions and tomato sauce, beans and rice with homemade spices, and rice) and we had a wonderful time just
.jpg)
visiting and getting caught up on the last two years.Maria and Margarita were a little under the weather and Francisco has school tomorrow, so everyone but me went to bed; I stayed up to watch the end of a movie and then went to bed and read awhile before finally falling asleep around 1:30 a.m.
Thursday, March 6: Day 4
Unfortunately, Maria was quite ill this morning and Margarita had to take her to the doctor after they took Franscisco to school. With them gone and Francisco in school, we had the house to ourselves for most of the day and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
What a wonderful day of rest for us…alternately reading, watching TV, checking email, sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful vistas, and taking naps. The house is so nice and airy and the outside views are so beautiful that our only difficulty was deciding where we wanted to spend our time! Margarita called worried about us, but we assured her that this was the perfect beginning to our Malpica experience though we were sorry they were spending their time at the doctor.
Francisco didn’t have his afternoon classes today, so Maria and Margarita picked him up and they all came back to the house shortly after 2:00. Maria needed to go back to the clinic, so we left Margarita at the house to rest and Barbara, Francisco, and I went with her for another adventure.
Along the way Maria showed us all around Rio Grande, including the house where they used to live. Then, after stopping at the clinic for a few minutes, we took off on another exploring adventure.
This afternoon we took Highway 3 (the major highway running east.JPG)
from San Juan and more or less following the coastline around the east coast, down to Salinas on the southern side of the island. Our route took us through Luquillo and Fajardo and down to the Ceiba Forest. At many points along the way we could see the Atlantic Ocean on our left and the peaks of the mountains in El Yunque National Forest on our right; a truly magnificent contrast of views!
We turned around at the Ceiba State Forest and headed back,.JPG)
stopping at Fajardo to see some of the sights. We passed the El Conquistador Hotel and Resort (no $29.95 rooms there) and drove down to the harbor and marina where we got out and walked along the edge of the water. We managed to find some nice seashells and got some great pictures of the area before going back to the car to continue our journey back to Malpica.
When we got back to the house, we found that Margarita had prepared another delicious meal for us. After eating, Francisco said he wanted to play Monopoly, so while Maria washed the dishes, the rest of us sat down to make our fortune in real estate.
We found out something else about Margarita tonight. Our shy, quiet, and mild-mannered friend is a vicious, cut-throat game player! She wiped out Francisco in nothing flat and then proceeded to take everything I had. Barbara hung in there for a long ti.JPG)
me and finally turned her “holdings” over to Francisco for him to manage. Still, Margarita was relentless in her pursuit of the board and it wasn’t long before Barbara was bankrupt also. We swear that Margarita would have been laughing at us if she didn’t feel so bad; instead, she just managed a little “Mona Lisa” smile, all the way to the bank.
Francisco didn’t have his afternoon classes today, so Maria and Margarita picked him up and they all came back to the house shortly after 2:00. Maria needed to go back to the clinic, so we left Margarita at the house to rest and Barbara, Francisco, and I went with her for another adventure.
Along the way Maria showed us all around Rio Grande, including the house where they used to live. Then, after stopping at the clinic for a few minutes, we took off on another exploring adventure.
This afternoon we took Highway 3 (the major highway running east
.JPG)
from San Juan and more or less following the coastline around the east coast, down to Salinas on the southern side of the island. Our route took us through Luquillo and Fajardo and down to the Ceiba Forest. At many points along the way we could see the Atlantic Ocean on our left and the peaks of the mountains in El Yunque National Forest on our right; a truly magnificent contrast of views!We turned around at the Ceiba State Forest and headed back,
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stopping at Fajardo to see some of the sights. We passed the El Conquistador Hotel and Resort (no $29.95 rooms there) and drove down to the harbor and marina where we got out and walked along the edge of the water. We managed to find some nice seashells and got some great pictures of the area before going back to the car to continue our journey back to Malpica.When we got back to the house, we found that Margarita had prepared another delicious meal for us. After eating, Francisco said he wanted to play Monopoly, so while Maria washed the dishes, the rest of us sat down to make our fortune in real estate.
We found out something else about Margarita tonight. Our shy, quiet, and mild-mannered friend is a vicious, cut-throat game player! She wiped out Francisco in nothing flat and then proceeded to take everything I had. Barbara hung in there for a long ti
.JPG)
me and finally turned her “holdings” over to Francisco for him to manage. Still, Margarita was relentless in her pursuit of the board and it wasn’t long before Barbara was bankrupt also. We swear that Margarita would have been laughing at us if she didn’t feel so bad; instead, she just managed a little “Mona Lisa” smile, all the way to the bank. (Barbara: This photo is of Jim having to give all his $$$ and property to Margarita! Francisco has taken over for me as I document this moment! You can tell Margarita is loving every minute of it!)
The hour was late when we finally finished and Francisco has school tomorrow morning, so we called it a night and retired to our rooms to rest up for new adventures tomorrow.
Friday, March 6: Day 5
Happy 2nd Birthday to granddaughter Abby Dondis in Richardson, Texas!!!
Margarita was still recuperating from her bronchitis this morning and Francisco had school today, so, after a great breakfast, Maria, Barbara, and I got in the car and went off in search of new adventures. Well, we weren’t really in search of them since Maria had already mapped out our trip for the day, but it was going to be nearly all new territory for us.
We still haven’t figured out all the roads here, but we knew were headed generally westward; we were surprised though, to find ourselves riding through San Juan after about 45 minutes. It turns out that Maria was taking us toward the west end of the island and then a little south to Parque las Cavernas del Rio Camuy (Rio Camuy Cave Park).
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For millions of years the underground waters of the Camuy River have been responsible for creating a massive cave system. Discovered in 1958, it is the third largest underground river in the world. Opened on December 16, 1986, this underground treasure, located in an area of 300 acres, is visited by over 150,000 persons annually.
The main attractions of the park include Tres Pueblos Sinkhole, a huge depression located where the municipalities of Camuy, Haltillo, and Lares meet. The sinkhole is 400 feet deep and about 650 feet wide (large enough to hold the two largest superbowl stadiums). At the bottom, the Camuy River can be seen flowing into the caves. (Photo on left)
While there are three main caves, only the Clara Cave, the main attraction, is open for public viewing. The cave is spacious and spectacular and has access for the public through comfortable and safe walkways, bridges, and ramps.
While we were able to board the tram that takes visitors around the p.JPG)
ark and to the Clara Cave, we were unable to enter the cave today. Our guide, Nelly, explained that a short time back one of the visitors to the cave was killed when a tour group exited at the mouth of the cave. Just as the lady came out into the open, a 30-pound rock fell from the area above the opening, striking her in the head and killing her. Since that time, the cave has been closed until the areas above the mouth of the cave can be secured. A new precaution for all visitors now is that everyone must wear a hardhat (provided by the park during their stay).
Nelly also told us that one of the caves, with an opening about 3/4ths of the way up the limestone ridge from the river bed, was completely covered with water during Hurricane George several years ago. The water level in the sinkhole rose 280 feet above the riverbed. It took three days before the water subsided through the cave system, and three weeks until the river below the cave system to the ocean could be used again.
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While we were waiting for the tram to pick us up at the last of the viewing stations, Nelly pointed out an old Willys Jeep that had been rigged with a chain drive and paddle wheel. She said that each year in March there is a grand celebration during which contestants build their own “boats” out of any material they can find and race them down the river to the ocean and back again. The winner is the first person back to a designated point. The jeep is a contraption that did stay the course; but, we didn’t find out whether it was one of the winners.
The hour was late when we finally finished and Francisco has school tomorrow morning, so we called it a night and retired to our rooms to rest up for new adventures tomorrow.
Friday, March 6: Day 5
Happy 2nd Birthday to granddaughter Abby Dondis in Richardson, Texas!!!
Margarita was still recuperating from her bronchitis this morning and Francisco had school today, so, after a great breakfast, Maria, Barbara, and I got in the car and went off in search of new adventures. Well, we weren’t really in search of them since Maria had already mapped out our trip for the day, but it was going to be nearly all new territory for us.
We still haven’t figured out all the roads here, but we knew were headed generally westward; we were surprised though, to find ourselves riding through San Juan after about 45 minutes. It turns out that Maria was taking us toward the west end of the island and then a little south to Parque las Cavernas del Rio Camuy (Rio Camuy Cave Park).
.JPG)
For millions of years the underground waters of the Camuy River have been responsible for creating a massive cave system. Discovered in 1958, it is the third largest underground river in the world. Opened on December 16, 1986, this underground treasure, located in an area of 300 acres, is visited by over 150,000 persons annually.
The main attractions of the park include Tres Pueblos Sinkhole, a huge depression located where the municipalities of Camuy, Haltillo, and Lares meet. The sinkhole is 400 feet deep and about 650 feet wide (large enough to hold the two largest superbowl stadiums). At the bottom, the Camuy River can be seen flowing into the caves. (Photo on left)
While there are three main caves, only the Clara Cave, the main attraction, is open for public viewing. The cave is spacious and spectacular and has access for the public through comfortable and safe walkways, bridges, and ramps.
While we were able to board the tram that takes visitors around the p
.JPG)
ark and to the Clara Cave, we were unable to enter the cave today. Our guide, Nelly, explained that a short time back one of the visitors to the cave was killed when a tour group exited at the mouth of the cave. Just as the lady came out into the open, a 30-pound rock fell from the area above the opening, striking her in the head and killing her. Since that time, the cave has been closed until the areas above the mouth of the cave can be secured. A new precaution for all visitors now is that everyone must wear a hardhat (provided by the park during their stay).Nelly also told us that one of the caves, with an opening about 3/4ths of the way up the limestone ridge from the river bed, was completely covered with water during Hurricane George several years ago. The water level in the sinkhole rose 280 feet above the riverbed. It took three days before the water subsided through the cave system, and three weeks until the river below the cave system to the ocean could be used again.
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While we were waiting for the tram to pick us up at the last of the viewing stations, Nelly pointed out an old Willys Jeep that had been rigged with a chain drive and paddle wheel. She said that each year in March there is a grand celebration during which contestants build their own “boats” out of any material they can find and race them down the river to the ocean and back again. The winner is the first person back to a designated point. The jeep is a contraption that did stay the course; but, we didn’t find out whether it was one of the winners. After enjoying a lunch of regional delicacies at the park cafeteria, we got back in the car and backtracked to San Juan to go out to a local attraction that Maria wanted us to see. .jpg)
Along the way, she wheeled into the parking lot at a church in Dorado to show us what is considered to be the largest statue of Christ inside a church. We entered through the chapel where several parishioners were praying or meditating and crossed over to the Santuario Cristo De La Reconciliacion, where we looked up behind the altar to see an immense statue hanging from the wall.
From the church we traveled toward a point on the Dorado coastline where we got out and walked about a mile to see El Ojo del Buey, a huge rock that has been weathered out by wind and water over the years, and that looks for all the world like the skeletal head of a bull; hence, the name, Eye of the Bull. We tried to take a picture of the water (which was extremely rough today) crashing over the rock, but couldn’t get the camera shutter and the waves to cooperate.
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Along the way, she wheeled into the parking lot at a church in Dorado to show us what is considered to be the largest statue of Christ inside a church. We entered through the chapel where several parishioners were praying or meditating and crossed over to the Santuario Cristo De La Reconciliacion, where we looked up behind the altar to see an immense statue hanging from the wall.
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From the church we traveled toward a point on the Dorado coastline where we got out and walked about a mile to see El Ojo del Buey, a huge rock that has been weathered out by wind and water over the years, and that looks for all the world like the skeletal head of a bull; hence, the name, Eye of the Bull. We tried to take a picture of the water (which was extremely rough today) crashing over the rock, but couldn’t get the camera shutter and the waves to cooperate.
By now we were running short on time; Maria need to get back to Malpica to pick Francisco up and take him to church for youth activities. Unfortunately, we were meeting up with Friday afternoon traffic on both sides of and all the way through San Juan, so we were a little late getting back to the house. Still, Maria took some short cuts and got us back just fifteen minutes late, so Francisco wasn’t too late.
We were just resting up from a wonderful meal of shrimp and fried plantains when some friends of Maria and Margarita, Dimas and Mary, came by for a visit. Barbara, Margarita, and Mary retired to the dining room to talk and look at all the pictures we have taken during this trip while Maria, Dimas, and I sat in the living room. It turns out that Dimas and I were both in the military at the same time, so we had some common experiences to share.After Dimas and Mary left we decided it was game night again, but this time we voted to play dominos. I immediately sat across from Margarita and declared that if we were going to play partners, I wanted to be her partner. So, Barbara and Francisco paired off and prepared to do battle with us, but the dots went our way to such an extent that Barbara and Francisco conceded the game to us before we reached our 500 points.
When all was said and done, we decided that we had said and done enough for the day, so we all retreated to our rooms and called it a night.
Saturday, March 8: Day 6
Wow…What a day Margarita and Maria planned for us!
Since it was Saturday and Francisco didn’t have to get up early for school, we all just took our time getting around. After breakfast we all loaded up in the car and headed east to Luquillo Beach, one of the major beach parks in the area. We were expecting “just” a beach along the ocean, but found instead a major park area complete with natural landscaping, well-established picnicking areas, and the smoothest sand beaches we have ever seen.
The views from the beach and the water were what one might find on pictu
re postcards for major resort areas, and the water was the most gorgeous shades of blue and green that anyone could hope for.We were surprised that there were so few people there, but Margarita and Maria explained that many people work on Saturdays, so they don’t come out to the beaches until Saturday evening or Sunday. They assured us that there would be a much larger crowd tomorrow if we tried to come out here.
We passed about three hours just playing in the water (mostly me doing that) and walking along the beach.
On her walk, Barbara came across a small canopy that had been set up and decorated for wedding pictures. In visiting with the people there, she found that the man was the photographer and his wife was a wedding planner. Since the bride and groom hadn’t arrived, they let Barbara pose under the canopy for her informal “wedding photographs.”
After more walking and exploring we went back to the area where we started and I did a little more swimming before showering and changing back into clothes suitable for our next adventure which was stopping at a roadside stand where Maria and Margarita bought each of us coconut water. This delicious drink comes from a baby coconut; the vendors chop off some of the shell, make a small hole at the top, give you a straw and you slurp away! What a wonderful treat after the time on the beach.
The next leg of the journey for the day took us from the beach at Luquillo back west toward Rio Grande where we turned south and began the climb to El Portal, the gateway to El Yunque National Forest, a tropical rain forest that is part of the U.S. Forest Service.
El Yunque, also known as the Caribbean National Forest, is the only tropical forest in the United States national Forest System. Its rugged land climbs from 1,000 to 3,500 feet above sea level and receives up to 200 inches of rain each year. The runoff from the forests feeds several major rivers in the island. The rivers carry the water back to the Atlantic Ocean where it evaporates, turns into rain clouds in the upper atmosphere, and returns to the mountain and its forests as new rainfall.
There are four major forest types in El Yunque. The Tabonuco forest is found on foot hills and slopes below 2,000 feet elevation and is associated with sub-tropical wet and sub-tropical rain forest life zones.
The Palo Colorado forest is found at 2,000 feet in valleys and gentle slopes. This type borders the Tabonuco forest and features overlapping vegetation transitions.
The Sierra Palm Forest is found mainly on steep slopes and stream beds above 2,500 feet. It covers about 4,800 acres or roughly 17 per cent of the forest.
The Cloud Forest occurs on higher peaks and ridges above 2,500 feet that are subject to extreme exposure. The vegetation is exposed to high winds, cool temperatures, and high humidity; it covers about 1,000 acres or 4 per cent of the total forest.
El Yunque features a number of hiking trails and observation points, all designed to give the visitor beautiful sweeping vistas as well as intimate views of the various forest life systems and zones.
We didn’t have time today to get much more than just a taste of El Yunque, but it gave us dreams of future trips and extended adventures. We did stop for several minutes at Coco Falls, a waterfall with a sheer drop of 85 feet down a granite wall, through large boulders, and down a mountain stream.
El Yunque, also known as the Caribbean National Forest, is the only tropical forest in the United States national Forest System. Its rugged land climbs from 1,000 to 3,500 feet above sea level and receives up to 200 inches of rain each year. The runoff from the forests feeds several major rivers in the island. The rivers carry the water back to the Atlantic Ocean where it evaporates, turns into rain clouds in the upper atmosphere, and returns to the mountain and its forests as new rainfall.
There are four major forest types in El Yunque. The Tabonuco forest is found on foot hills and slopes below 2,000 feet elevation and is associated with sub-tropical wet and sub-tropical rain forest life zones.
The Palo Colorado forest is found at 2,000 feet in valleys and gentle slopes. This type borders the Tabonuco forest and features overlapping vegetation transitions.
The Sierra Palm Forest is found mainly on steep slopes and stream beds above 2,500 feet. It covers about 4,800 acres or roughly 17 per cent of the forest.
The Cloud Forest occurs on higher peaks and ridges above 2,500 feet that are subject to extreme exposure. The vegetation is exposed to high winds, cool temperatures, and high humidity; it covers about 1,000 acres or 4 per cent of the total forest.
El Yunque features a number of hiking trails and observation points, all designed to give the visitor beautiful sweeping vistas as well as intimate views of the various forest life systems and zones.
We didn’t have time today to get much more than just a taste of El Yunque, but it gave us dreams of future trips and extended adventures. We did stop for several minutes at Coco Falls, a waterfall with a sheer drop of 85 feet down a granite wall, through large boulders, and down a mountain stream.
It was with reluctance that we left this beautiful rain forest, but we had other activities and adventures planned for the day…so much to see and so little time!
We all went back to the house for a bit to rest and then we joined Margarita, Maria, and Francisco for the evening Mass at their church, San Francisco de Asisi. They had spent a great deal of time trying to find a Baptist or Methodist church for us to attend, but couldn’t find one nearby that offered services in English. We told them that we only wanted to attend services with them and that a Catholic service would be just fine.
When we got into the church, Margarita introduced us to the parish priest and then we were seated (back row of course; that was our Baptist concession). Although we couldn’t understand most of what was spoken, we could get the general idea of the scriptures by linking what Spanish words we do know to the context. What we really enjoyed was the singing. We didn’t know the songs, but we could pronounce most of the words and just followed along, singing as if we knew what we were singing about. It was all joyfully sung and made us feel very good just to be involved.
We (as well as Margarita and Maria) were surprised when, at the end of the service, the priest called us forward to say a prayer for us. He even spoke the prayer in English, which was difficult for him, and thanked God for our presence and asked His blessing upon us during our stay in Puerto Rico and our return home. He told us that because we were all brothers in Christ, that we always had a family in their little church. As the congregation applauded us, we felt that we truly were blessed to have such a caring family in a place so far from our home.
When we returned to the house, Margarita told us to change from our good clothes into jeans and wear something warm, that they had a special surprise for us. We couldn’t figure out what it might be, especially since it was getting pretty late to be going out, but we did as she said. As we headed to the car, she said that because she has been sick and it would be cool out, that she would stay home, but the rest of us should go have a good time.
What we didn’t know was that the ladies had conspired with Jose, one of Margarita’s teacher friends, to arrange for a night ride on an excursion boat from the harbor at Fajardo to one of three luminescent lagoons in the area. Jose’s former brother-in-law, Captain Suarez, makes three nightly runs from the harbor through a long mangrove channel into the lagoon to show off one of Puerto Rico’s many beautiful attractions.
Once aboard the boat, the Baby Bay, we crossed the harbor and joined strings of kayakers who were also making their way in the dark to a large lagoon where we could see luminescent fish and microorganisms scurrying away under the water as we approached them. Captain Suarez explained that a dye in some of the surrounding trees causes the water to glow a luminescent green whenever it is stirred up. When we looked forward or to the side of the boat, we could see the shapes of fish swimming away from us. When we looked toward the stern, we could see a luminescent green wake behind us. (Notice, too, that the bottom right photo of the swimmers show that they were luminescent once they came in contact with the water.)
Captain Suarez stopped the boat in the middle of the lagoon and let several of the tour members climb out of the back of the boat so they could take a short swim. As they swam and splashed, we could see the luminescence stirring up around them…quite an amazing sight.
Captain Suarez obviously knew the channel and lagoon quite well. He took us to a small mangrove island over on one side of the lake, lit up some trees with his flashlight, and pointed out several large white birds that were roosting there. As we rode through the channel to and from the lagoon, he would suddenly stop, shine the flashlight up in the trees, and point out huge iguanas that were lying down on the branches, some looking as if they were sound asleep, others as if they might pounce into the boat at any time.
After two hours of learning about birds, iguanas, navigating by the stars, and luminescent lagoons and their inhabitants (not to mention how to navigate around strings of novice kayakers in the narrow channel), we made our way back to the harbor where we thanked Captain Suarez for a great adventure.
It was a little after 11:00 p.m. when we got off the boat, and since we hadn’t eaten since much earlier in the day, we located one of the many food kiosks that abound in the beach area and enjoyed a meal of barbecued chicken on a stick and tasty Puerto Rican bread before getting in the car and driving back to the house in Malpica. It was 12:30 a.m. when we finally arrived at home, exhausted and thrilled from a long day of adventures.
Sunday, March 9: Day 7
Today was primary election day in Puerto Rico, so after waking up and getting ready for the day, we joined Margarita and Maria as they drove to their polling site to cast their ballots. When we got to the site, Maria found that she would have to go to a school closer to their house in Malpica to vote because of her address change. Margarita, however, voted at the other school because her address was in that area before she moved to the United States, and she hadn’t changed her official address yet.
The scene at the school was much like at any polling place we’ve been; neighbors, friends, and relatives met and visited while standing in line to sign in, have their voting cards verified, get their ballots, and cast their votes. Election Day in Puerto Rico is essentially a legal holiday – businesses are closed and the sale of alcohol is forbidden,
While Margarita went to the room where her party was voting, we just wandered around trying to get a good look at the school. Maria found us and said that she had made arrangements with one of the party leaders for us to come into the room and take pictures, something that we didn’t expect at all. We followed Margarita into the room and Barbara took a couple of pictures of the scene before we left. However, as we were leaving the room, the man in charge called us back. I figured we were in some kind of trouble, but he only said that Margarita wanted us there to take a picture of her in the voting booth.
Following our experience at that school, we drove back to the neighborhood where we had been the night before. In fact, the school where Maria voted was just across the street from where we had attended church, so while Maria went into the school to vote, we took some pictures of the church (we didn’t have the camera with us last night) and listened to the singing.We had told the ladies yesterday that we needed to find a few specialty items to take home with us, so after they finished voting, Maria drove us almost all the way back to San Juan to a large shopping mall where we found some things that we thought the grandkids would like. We didn’t expect them to go to that much trouble for us, but we certainly did appreciate them for all they did.
After our shopping trip was completed we returned to the house in Malpica and began the process of gathering and organizing all of our stuff and trying to get everything packed for our flight back to Houston tomorrow.
While we were doing our packing, Margarita and Maria fixed another great meal. After supper we helped get the dishes cleaned and then settled in for another game of Monopoly. It didn’t take long for me to find that my new strategies didn’t work; I was the first one out of the game, followed not long after by Francisco.
Barbara and Margarita stayed locked in a furious battle for control of the board, but Maria, with her shrewd maneuvers and an inscrutable smile, soon owned enough of the board to bankrupt Barbara and claim yet another victory…smiling all the way.
At some point during the evening we had a visit from Jose (Margarita’s fellow teacher who had arranged for our boat trip last night). He and Margarita had been among the three teachers from their school who had joined the teacher strike earlier in the month.
Tomorrow would be their first day back to school and Jose was bringing Margarita a t-shirt that read (simple translation), “I can hold my forehead high…what I did was for you and for me.”
They would wear the shirts tomorrow when they returned to work, not knowing for sure what kind of reception they would receive from the other teachers.
And so, with the evening behind us and Margarita and Francisco preparing for a new school day, we all decided to call it a night, but not without extracting a promise from Maria and Margarita to wake us up early in the morning so we could say our goodbyes before they left.
Monday, March 10: Day 8
We didn’t even need to have the ladies wake us up this morning…I guess our body clocks were set to get up early so we could say farewell to Margarita and Francisco before they left for school. This was one of the most difficult goodbyes we’ve ever had after a visit…this family has literally made their home our home, and we were completely overwhelmed by our feelings of gratitude for what they have come to mean to us.
While Maria took Margarita and Francisco to their respective schools, we got cleaned up and dressed and then started hiding little notes all around the house for them to find in the coming days…just a “Little” something to remind them of how much fun we had during our visit.
By 10:00 a.m. Maria had returned, we had a light breakfast, the car was packed, and we were ready to leave and go to the airport in San Juan. At the airport, we asked Maria to just drop us off at the Continental terminal so we could get checked in and she could return to Malpica.
After more tearful goodbyes, we waved to Maria as she left and we turned to start the process, first having our luggage checked and scanned by USDA agents and then getting our boarding passes and checking the luggage through to Houston.
We spent the rest of our time doing some sightseeing around the terminal. Along the way we found an internet café, so we stopped there to check our email, write a few notes, and have a little lunch.
Before long, it was time to go to the boarding area and take our place among the folks who were all waiting to return to Houston on today’s flight. By 3:45 the plane was loaded and pulling away from the gate, preparing for a generally uneventful 5-hour flight to Houston.
We called Gary and Joyce when we landed at George Bush International Airport in Houston and they came out to pick us up and take us back to their house for a few days. It was nearly 10:00 p.m. when we got to the house, so after a long day for all of us, we decided we’d all go to bed and start our visit fresh tomorrow morning with lots of stories and pictures to share.
"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." – Tim Cahill
Back in Houston after 7 wonderful days in Puerto Rico,
Jim & Barbara
They would wear the shirts tomorrow when they returned to work, not knowing for sure what kind of reception they would receive from the other teachers.
And so, with the evening behind us and Margarita and Francisco preparing for a new school day, we all decided to call it a night, but not without extracting a promise from Maria and Margarita to wake us up early in the morning so we could say our goodbyes before they left.
Monday, March 10: Day 8
We didn’t even need to have the ladies wake us up this morning…I guess our body clocks were set to get up early so we could say farewell to Margarita and Francisco before they left for school. This was one of the most difficult goodbyes we’ve ever had after a visit…this family has literally made their home our home, and we were completely overwhelmed by our feelings of gratitude for what they have come to mean to us.
While Maria took Margarita and Francisco to their respective schools, we got cleaned up and dressed and then started hiding little notes all around the house for them to find in the coming days…just a “Little” something to remind them of how much fun we had during our visit.
By 10:00 a.m. Maria had returned, we had a light breakfast, the car was packed, and we were ready to leave and go to the airport in San Juan. At the airport, we asked Maria to just drop us off at the Continental terminal so we could get checked in and she could return to Malpica.
After more tearful goodbyes, we waved to Maria as she left and we turned to start the process, first having our luggage checked and scanned by USDA agents and then getting our boarding passes and checking the luggage through to Houston.
We spent the rest of our time doing some sightseeing around the terminal. Along the way we found an internet café, so we stopped there to check our email, write a few notes, and have a little lunch.
Before long, it was time to go to the boarding area and take our place among the folks who were all waiting to return to Houston on today’s flight. By 3:45 the plane was loaded and pulling away from the gate, preparing for a generally uneventful 5-hour flight to Houston.
We called Gary and Joyce when we landed at George Bush International Airport in Houston and they came out to pick us up and take us back to their house for a few days. It was nearly 10:00 p.m. when we got to the house, so after a long day for all of us, we decided we’d all go to bed and start our visit fresh tomorrow morning with lots of stories and pictures to share.
"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." – Tim Cahill
Back in Houston after 7 wonderful days in Puerto Rico,Jim & Barbara
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