April 10, 2017 Monday

Today I am sitting in the tire shop waiting for 4 new tires for the Honda van.  It seems like a good time to update the blog



After Noel's race we headed to Dobbin, TX.  Noel didn't have to be back to work until Wednesday so we visited with her and Patrick for two extra days.  We drove to Huntsville, TX on Tuesday to visit with Drew at Sam Houston State University.

Grandma Drew and G'pa

 

Drew and Mom

 

We had lunch at The Farmhouse, a little café near the campus.

Wednesday we left for our regular RV park near Bradford TX .  We called our friend Lynn, who moved to Fort Worth, TX a few years ago.  We met her for a cup of coffee at Denny's near her home.

Lynn

Next we went to H.E.'s apartment.  We took him to dinner at Lupe's TexMex restaurant.  That is one of Lela's favorites for TexMex. http://lupestxmx.com/

After we ate we went to the ice rink to see Edward and Lesley's daughter Lucy practice figure skating.  We sat inside and watched through the glass.

After ice skating we went to the ballpark to watch Hillard IV at batting practice.  It was windy and cold but we stuck it out till the end.

Then we returned to H.E.'s apartment for a short visit before heading back to Grande Prairie RV park for the night.

H. E. And Lela

Thursday morning we left Texas heading for the KOA RV park in Joplin, MO. It turned into an 8 hour drive as all major roads north and east of Dallas were clogged with accidents.  We drove about 45 minutes west to go east toward MO.

Friday morning we drove to Springfield, MO and had a nice visit with Aunt Bertie.  As usual we took her to lunch at McAlister's restaurant.

Aunt Bertie and Lela

Then it was time to head home on the last leg of our winter journey.  There was gladness and sadness as we arrived home on Friday evening after racking up 6950 miles.  Jared had made dinner for us at his house and Grandma was "itchin" to get her hands on Anastasia, so that was a no brainer...free food and Ana.

Together again!  All is calm in the universe.

Here are the family pictures from our last visit with Paul Jr.'s family.

Paul had just laid some sod and was dreaming of MO grass

Christy

Courtney

Zachary

Ben

Nicolas

Quintin

Family Pic

Some of our friends in AZ.

Scott and Brenda (Michigan)

Larry and Amber (Iowa)

Harold (Colorado and Pennsylvania)

If you are interested here is a link to a YouTube video which shows the improvements in our yard. 

 https://youtu.be/4-9pFesPRlA

April 3, 2017 Monday


Today we are in Dobbin, TX.  Noel doesn't have to work until Wednesday so we are extending our trip by two more days.

Thursday morning we left Las Cruces (Hacienda RV Park)  https://www.haciendarv.com/  heading to Fort Stockton TX. http://fortstocktonrvpark.com//  There was a restaurant (The Road Runner) on site so we opted to eat out.  We could have had a rally there as we were on of six Airstreams in the park overnight.

Mountain view at Las Cruces

 

  I have some pictures of the landscape in west TX that I might add at the end today.  Ft. Stockton RV Park was okay.

Yard art in Ft. Stockton park

more yard art

Friday we were headed to Seguin, TX. All our days were planned to be 300 to 350 mile trips, as that is six hours driving time.  When we arrived at Twin Palms RV Park. There was neither twins nor palms.  It was pretty much a neglected park. http://www.twinpalmsrvtexas.com/  We called ahead about an hour to Flatonia, TX. We secured a site in Flatonia RV Ranch for the night. http://www.flatoniarvranch.com/

Saturday morning we headed to Galveston, TX for Noel's half ironman race.  We arrived at Bayou Shores RV Resort about noontime and got set up.  http://www.bayoushoresrvresort.com/

The view out our door

our new window signage this year

On the bay outside our spot

Noel and Patrick stayed at Moody Gardens, a resort destination. http://www.moodygardens.com/  We went there to meet them and check out where the race was going to be on Sunday. 

THE OBJECTIVE!!!!

Finish line.

Noel and her bike, "Dream Crusher"

Noel & Mom

 

Bike is racked and preparations are complete. 

Noel brought some chicken and rice to the Silver Star for her pre-race meal. We visited for a couple hours and then she was off to rest.

Sunday morning came early as we left to get a parking space at 6:15 AM.  Traffic was backed up and we were guided to a spot about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. 

Noel entered the water for the swim portion of the race at 8 AM.

pre-swim with friends

In the bay awaiting the horn to start swimming

 

(Itinerary: 1.2 miles swim in the Galveston Bay, 56 miles on the bike, and then 13.1 miles to run) We spent most of the day waiting for her to pass by where we were standing.

waiting (not so) patiently

coming out of the water

Not a happy swimmer

Coming out of the water there are volunteers called "rippers" who help you get out of your wetsuit. 

Ripped out and on her way to the bike.

We saw her come out of the water, and then again as she was returning from the cycling portion of the race.  The half marathon was within Moody Gardens so we were able to spot her a couple times as there were three loops of the track to complete the race.

 

Attaining the objective!!!!!

Proud Husband Patrick, Noel and Mom

 

 

Noel and proud G'pa

Noel and proud Mamma

 

After race relaxation and Spaghetti dinner in Silver Star

So as I said, we are in Dobbin, TX for the next two nights and then to be home on Friday or Saturday.

Here are a couple pictures from the road.

Road sign marking "Great Divide"

West TX

West TX

West TX

 

I took this picture for G'son Zachary.  I call it Man Bun Butte.