| July 2006 |
Rollin' Along...7/1/06 SATURDAYHad a BLAST shopping with Shannon and she got a gorgeous dress. The kids are SO adorable and have grown tremendously. Annie handled everything with the children for bedtime and we had a great evening. 7/2/06 SUNDAY Shannon and Chris drove Annie to the Airport so she can go visit Mrs. Barbour, and then dropped me off at Mom & Dad's. I'm all packed to leave in the morning to go visit Marty and Connie. We're going to leave at 7:30 am! WOW. But you see, that way it won't be so hot, and traffic won't be bad, either. 7/3/06 MONDAY We're on the road! EARLY, no less! I woke up every hour, I am so excited to go on this trip. We were in the car at 0715, and the "official" start time was 7:20 with our mileage 11219. It is 75 degrees and very muggy. Traffic isn't too bad, we figure lots of people off work today for the 4th (tomorrow) but there are plenty of cars on the road for me... (okay, TOO many!) Oooh! I just saw some white crepe myrtle, how pretty! And the oleanders. I miss the oleanders sometimes, they are so fragrant. Mom and Dad have a beautiful yard (I will take pictures when we get back) with a variety of flowers and numerous bird families at the feeders. It is entertaining to watch the birds and peaceful to sit among the flowers. I haven't been swimming since that first day but hope to do more when we get back. We are flying down the road (okay only 70mph) and cars are still impatiently edging past us from time to time. We have packed everything we need and there is not an inch of room to spare. We are coming up on Round Rock, which Dad says now has a populaton of 150,000. It is huge! It is bigger than Austin was when I was little, I'm sure. They have everything out here, including a hospital. One thing I really like is the way the construction works around the old oak trees. There are so many majestic liveoak trees that beautify the landscape and it is heartening to know so many are being preserved. The limestone strata is very evident here, at the construction sites layers of it. Dad says the earthquake probability along the Balcones Fault is Zero. That never made a difference to me in the past, but these days I find it fascinating. Every time the airconditioning comes on, I think we're having an earthquake! (It's not that loud, but it is noticable, and anyone who has been in earthquakes knows that special "rattle" sound.) There are so many different kinds of trees here. The live oaks, chinaberry trees, mimosa, cedar, mesquite, pecan, fig and other fruit trees. I've seen corn and cotton, black eye susans, Texas sage, elderberries, hibiscus, johnson grass, geraniums, elm trees and lantana, sticky weed (I don't know the real name, we just always called it "sticky weed") and shrimp plant, roses and trumpet vine, grape vines (mustang grapes) and no cactus since we are headed East instead of West. The zones of the state are very defined, with the dry wild "west" side to the west (oh that makes sense) and then East of Austin the farmlands that then merge into the Piney Woods. It looks flat, but there are little gullies and hills that add a kind of texture to the landscape, so it isn't a bit dull or boring. There are some trees with long bean pods hanging down, and I wonder if those are castor bean trees? Or what? It's insane how many PEOPLE there are around here... It used to seem like a major drive from Austin to Round Rock; now it seems like it is just an annex of North Austin. Hutto looks like a nice community, and it's not but about an hour to Hutto/Taylor. Not too bad. They don't even seem to have a Wal-Mart, so that's good. I don't see an HEB though, (grocery) so maybe it's a little too remote... I'll have to research. We're on the truck route, so it might not go by the business section at all. I don't seriously consider moving to Texas, but I do dream about it, because I'd like to see my extended family more than once a year... or ten. Unfortunately we know that oil prices and the rest of the cost of living are unlikely to go down, so visiting more than every two years or so isn't feasible. It has been a rare treat to get to come down in 2004, 2005 AND 2006, (since 1995) but our next trip probably won't be until 2008. Dad says we should probably be at Franklin, TX for lunch, about noon. They have pie. I wonder if they have chocolate pie? We'll see! Now we are coming up on Rockdale. I will write more later. 9:20 AM stopped in Franklin at the Pioneer Motel and Horseshoe Cafe, and had a snack. Mom had hashbrowns and a bear claw, Dad had a breakfast taco, and I had a piece of chocolate pie. (It was good, but not as good as Tack's used to be.) We passed the cafe at first, and Dad had to make a U-Turn... There was a big semi-coming and I thought, "No way is he gonna go," but he did! And I blurted out, "Jesus! Mary and Joseph!" Mom was chuckling too, but then she realized her focus wasn't on the same semi that I saw, she was thinking it was the one behind it. There was plenty of time, but I'm a road chicken, so we all had a good laugh.  Back on the road at 10 am, and we will stop somewhere else for lunch. Dad says we've gone about 140 miles. He thought it was further to Franklin and we wouldn't get there until lunchtime. Instead we made it early. Mom thinks we will have lunch in Shreveport, but Dad says it is a long ways away. Gee, too bad I don't have internet access on the road, I could give them an up to date report. We are listening to the soundtrack to "Once More with Feeling" from the Buffy TV series. Mom says it is pretty cute. I knew I should have brought the DVD so they could see it. We'll listen to "The Hobbit" instead. I brought my CDs of the book. I love books on CD. We are enjoying "The Hobbit" as we drive along. Bilbo doesn't much want to go on the adventure. Then when the dwarf says he looks more like a grocer than a burglar, he gets indignant. Good times. It's 11:30 and we stopped in Palestine for 7.25 gallons of gas. We are not hungry yet, so we will drive more before we stop to eat. Dad says we will be going through Tyler and Longview. Wow. I don't know why I didn't realize that. Uh-oh, mistake. I didn't think I'd need a drink since we are stopping every 2 hours or so... but now I am feeling that tickle in my throat and starting to cough. As Pooh Bear says... "OH, BOTHER!" I'm going to try to take a little nap and see if I can ignore it. It's 1:40pm, I slept a little bit and now we're back on the road. We stopped in Carthage at Dairy Queen for lunch. Be proud of me I resisted indulging in a Hawaiian Blizzard. I have a good cup of ice, in case the throat tickle returns. We will be going through Shreveport soon, as Bilbo and the dwarves are losing the ponies to the goblins... we know what that means! Before too much longer, Bilbo will get lost in the tunnels and find his Precious! In the meantime he's got to escape from the Goblins AND manage to rescue the dwarves before they all get eaten. Well, they didn't know they were on the Goblin's Front Porch! How very RUDE those goblins were! We are firmly into the Piney Woods now, with gorgeous red dirt and gently winding, rolling slopes. Everything is beautiful and green here. I hope Nota and Corky get to move out of west Texas and come to the Green Scene... West Texas has its own beauty, but in my opinion it is a nice place to visit; I wouldn't want to live there. 2PM - Louisiana State Line. They've gotten away from the Goblins and the Dwarves have been captured again, except they overlooked Bilbo... and he has put the ring into his pocket! Oh GOODY! 3PM - Stopped at a rest stop for a little break. We're about 2 hours out. I am really surprised that we are going so far all in one day. Dad is doing an outstanding job of driving while Mom and I doze and compute. Not seeing pine trees anymore. Looks like mostly elm and cottonwood and oak (not liveoak). I have finished with all the pictures I scanned in, so I suppose I'll have to take a lot of photos to work with on this trip. I'd planned on that anyway. 4PM - Dad says it's just a half an hour... but he's joking... any time Mom or I ask "Are we there yet, he says, "It's just about half an hour." Actually it's about 60 miles. It's a long day! It has been raining off and all, but it's sort of nice because it keeps things cool. It's warm and muggy. We're about half an hour or so out of Vicksburg, so I'm going to start packing up. We got to the hotel about 5 pm, and then went over to the Casino to eat. We had the buffet and it was wonderful. I had a little bit of lots of stuff, and the most I ate was salad. Very delicious. Then we did some gambling until 8:30. Mom and Dad gave me $40 to gamble with, and I had $0.01 left on my little ticket. I call it my little $39.99 souvenir. I had fun, but would rather have saved. Then we stopped at the Waffle House on the way back to the Hotel, because Mom was a little bit hungry. It was a long day and tomorrow will be, too. Best hit the sack. 7/04/06 TUESDAY We got up at 6 and went over to the casino and had a buffet breakfast (included with the hotel room) which was lovely. Dad won $35 at draw poker machine and then we bought gas. So we're on the road at about 8:35. It's about 75 degrees. We are headed for Atlanta and will probably get there about 7 pm local time. (We lose an hour.) There is a lot of Kudzu growing here, and Dad says it was imported as a ground cover and just when wild, taking over the countryside and strangling out the indigenous plants. It grose so profusely that it sort of looks like someone poured it over the trees and fences. 10:30 AM Stopped at Meridian, Mississippi at the Cracker Barrel for a snack and break. I don't remember ever going to a Cracker Barrel before and it was very interesting. The biscuits and honey were yummy! Back on the road at 11:30. We will overnight in Atlanta. I feel great. It has been YEARS since I have been so relaxed and not worried about anything. Amazing. 11:45, we are in Alabama! 12:45 stopped in Tuscaloosa for gasoline and a snack. 1:45 Birmingham Alabama, 99 degrees! ARGGH. We stopped once more for a quick break, and are back on the road. We seem to be making excellent time, and unless there is traffic or some odd detours we'll arrive much earlier than we anticipated. 3:15 We are in Georgia! We didn't see a single rest stop in Alabama. Hm. The speedlimit here is 60 instead of 70, so that will add to our time. 4:30 pm Well, golly we're HERE. I think Dad flew, and it was a very pleasant trip! We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and then moved into the (cough) Hotel. They don't like it very much but it is pretty standard as far as hotels go. We have a suite with a sofa, and it's comfortable. Still, I spent most of the night (until 2 am local time) doing ancestry research. The netsearch feature that never worked in Alaska works here, and it is awesome, so I found lots of information. The sofa was not uncomfortable but it REEKED of cigarette smoke and then... 7/5/06 WEDNESDAY And then the danged alarm went off at 5 am! Holy cow! I got up and showered and that was good -- it was a good, hot, lotsa pressure shower... but somehow that doesn't make up for the fact that the sofa sleeper REEKS of cigarette or ... maybe CIGAR smoke or something. I STILL feel like I stink. On the bright side, we'll see Marty and Connie and family today, so I am psyched! It has been WAY too long. 7:45AM On the Road again... Goodbye Ruby Tuesday -- (It was okay but didn't come close to comparing to the Texas Land and Cattle Company restaraunt in Austin, and it was over priced.) Still, it was good times. I had a frozen margarita that was delicious. 9:00AM - Stopped for gas, then we're having a cup of coffee (or sweet tea!) at the Waffle House before continuing our trip. Gas is $3.099 -- yikes. Well, they use the Premium kind, not regular, but STILL. Whoa. Mileage 12243, and 9.747 gallons = $30.74. Owwwww. 9:30 back on the road... Dad says maybe we'll be there by supper time. These two are a pair... Dad looks left and Mom looks right and they call out whether it is clear or not. It's as cute as can be, but I'm surprised I haven't peed my pants. Yet. (Guardian Angel, thank you for watching over us!) 10:30 -- we're in South Carolina! 11:20 -- we are near West Columbia, SC and stopping at the Cracker Barrel for lunch. 12:20 -- back on the road -- lunch was very tasty! I had a child's portion of Chicken and Dumplings, and it was just right! 1:30 PM -- stopped at a Pilot for gas and ice cold drink. 12458 miles 7.3 gallons $20.57 $2.819 per gallon 2:00 PM -- back on the road and I entered Mom's cell phone number into my phone. I programmed some of her phone numbers into her phone. It is a cute phone but my goodness, I can barely see it. My eyes are REALLY bugging me a lot, not focusing. 3:20 PM -- my eyeballs are floating -- quick bathroom stop. WHEW. Thank goodness for Cracker Barrel!!! We didn't snack this time, just a quick run, and 3:30 we're back on the highway. Dad is grumping at all the relaly lousy drivers there are here on I-95. It's just plain NUTS, these people drive like maniacs! We saw a silver convertable corvette in FLAMES on the side of the road! Luckily we passed it before emergency services got there because I'm willing to bet they closed the road and backed traffic up. We got Mom and Dad checked into the hotel about 4:30 pm. Mom took a shower and we relaxed for awhile, then headed to Marty and Connie's. We had a wonderful visit, and then I got all settled in, in Krista's room. It is a gorgeous green color. Marty has a lot of papers about the family tree and I am typing all of it into the computer. He also has some fantastic photos, so we are going to scan those in as well. He's got a fantastic new motorcycle:  7/6/06 THURSDAY I got up late -- about 11:30 am, but I slept like a baby. Everything is so nice here and I feel almost like I'm in heaven. Connie is the best cook ever. Lunch was a tasty turkey sandwich with avocado, lettuce and tomato, and little tiny sweet pickles. And potato salad. We had delicious Parmesean Chicken, broccoli and fruit salad. And potato salad. It was fantastic. I am almost finished typing in all the family tree stuff. Katie showed us some of her art work, and I took some pictures of it. She is very talented, and ought to have a gallery to display all her creations. We played with dominos, a game called "Chicken Foot" which was a lot of fun. I went to bed pretty early 10pm. 7/7/06 FRIDAY Up about 9 am and now I have finished typing in all the family tree information. Katie made cookies yesterday so I had cookies and milk for breakfast. They are SO good, I can't resist. Yikes. Lunch was delicious chicken salad with celery and grapes in pita bread, and fruit salad. And potato salad. Darn. The potato salad is all gone now. Marty scanned in a picture of Gram Hazel with Ruth, Ellen and Marty as babies. We'll scan some more pictures tonight or tomorrow. I phoned Billy but he wasn't "available" -- Bill called to let me know he was going on a flight, and Emily called just to talk. I wish Annie's cellphone wasn't all used up. She doesn't have a charger. Krista made it home to see us and it is an absolute delight to see Katie and Krista with Connie and Marty. For supper we had London Broil and it was SoooooooOOOO delicious. 7/8/06 SATURDAY Another restful and refreshing day at Marty and Connie's. I have enjoyed being with them soooo much. We finished off the chicken salad for lunch, and supper was tremendous ribs. 7/9/06 SUNDAY Beverly Black's, Vass, NC We had steak at Bev Black's son's house (Greg) and his wife (Margie) and she's just delightful. When I get internet access I'm adding her to myspace friends. Beverly seems very happy in NC, close to her son but not living with them. I enjoyed visiting with Bev so much, it was just like the old days in the neighborhood. She has such a variety of wildlife in her area, and she's right on the water and we saw turtles and a swan. There are squirrels and all kinds of birds around. Bev made a gorgeous burnt orange blanket trimmed in cream for me, and I just love it... it will be my lap blanket in my orange car. Wayyyyy cool! 7/10/06 MONDAY Bluffton, SC -- today we made it to Bluffton and met Aunt Ruth and Cousin Laurel. They are just delightful and I'm so glad to be related to such brilliant and pleasant folks. Of course how could they be otherwise, since they're Grandma's relatives? We had supper at a place called "Truffles" which was VERY reasonably priced and their menu was almost impossible to choose from -- everything looked absolutely delicious! We enjoyed every bite! I had coconut shrimp, Dad had regular fried shrimp, Mom had pork tenderloin. I had a blondie with ice cream for dessert, but I could only handle 1/4 of the butterscotch/chocolate brownie and the ice cream. 7/11/06 TUESDAY Beaufort, SC -- We spent the morning looking at old homes in Beaufort, the most ancient being circa 1717, the Thomas Heywood House. Beaufort is a sweet little city full of liveoak trees gracefully draped in Spanish Moss. They have "The Chocolate Tree" and the chocolates were the most fabulous I've ever tasted! They were FABULOUS, FANTASTIC, FINE chocolates. YUMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. We met up with Ruth and Laurel to head to supper at Hudson's -- again, the menu offered so many mouth-watering dishes it was hard to choose. Naturally I chose Shrimp! Yummm. Mom had scallops and Dad had Alaska King Crab legs. Afterwards, we went to Laurel's studio and looked at photographs. Laurel and Roger went to Scotland recently and had fascinating photos. It was sad to say "See you in the spring" to Aunt Ruth, but Mom managed fabulously no to be teary eyed. Dad had better get her back to Bluffton in the Fall or we'll be hearing all about it. 7/12/06 WEDNESDAY 13122 mi. We are driving to Florida to day to pick up I-10 in Jacksonville, then continue on to Tallahassee for the night. 11:00 AM We crossed the state line into Florida in a quick but hard rainshower. Now the windshield is clean as a whistle. About 1/2 hour ago we stopped at Cracker Barrel and had a snack. Next stop might be Jacksonville for lunch, we'll see. Onward and upward! 11:35 McDonalds for rest stop and snack, 11:50 back on the road. 12:40 Rest Stop on I-10 Mile Post 295, 12:45 back on the road. It is nice to stretch our legs every so often and makes the trip seem shorter. Dad thinks he may have miscalculated and made today shorter than he believed it to be. We will probably get to Tallahassee earlier than anticipated. Well, we could use a relaxing evening, anyway. Maybe go to Walmart and cruise the aisles or something... The WalMart we went to earlier didn't have any little sun-dresses at all. I had a list, let's see what was on it... We stopped at the Kountry Kitchen Restaurant on I-10. It was real good, I had chicken tenders and Mom had a grilled cheese and Dad had a club sandwich. 2:15 we've bought gas and we're on the road again, about an hour from the hotel, we think. We'll see! We got settled into the hotel about 4:00 pm, and around 5:30 went across to the "Village Inn" for supper. Dad and I had pot-roast and Mom had Pork Chops. Then there was French Silk pie ... and Mom had strawberry rubarb pie. I didn't join them for the evening snack of milk and pie, I just couldn't eat again! The room was nice, but there was no roll away so Mom and Dad shared and I had a big bed all to myself, just like the queen of the world. 7/13/06 Mom says Dad and I gave her a musical concert last night... not with snoring but with little tones every so often. She said she just laughed at us. She dreamed about helicopters last night. I know I dreamed, but I forget what about. Whatever it was, had me humming. 8:00 am on the road and we're headed for Mobile, Alabama. Our destination this evening is Baton Rouge, LA. 7:32 AM - Yikes. Oh, we crossed into Central time from East Florida to West Florida. Gained an hour! Yippee! 7:58 AM - Rest stop for a quick break 3 PM -- OMIGOSH. WHAT A DAY we are having. We stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel near Pensacola. Then, as we approached the Mississippi border with Louisiana, traffic came to a complete standstill. We turned around and went to the Mississippi visitor's center where they pointed out a back-way route. It was still major congestion and traffic, but we finally got out of it and on our way. The problem was a pileup on the freeway. 4:59 PM, I am sitting in our room typing. WHEW. 7/14/06 8:15 AM -- Leaving Hotel. It was a leisurely morning and we still got on the road at a good time. We are heading to Kinder. 9:15 AM -- Stopped at a Burger King on the way for a snack and pottery stop. Dad says it's about an hour drive more and we'll be there. Bought gasoline 9.746 gallons for $29.03, that's $2.979 per gallon. 10:00 AM Back on the road again. 13981 miles now, so 2762 miles so far. We got to the Hotel about 11:15 am By the time we were all settled in, it was time for lunch so we went over to the Casino and had lunch. Then I took my $40 ($20 from Mom and $20 from Dad) and played the little machines. I won $100! When I came back to the room, I put the $100 away and only took the original $40 with me to play. I stayed in the room and worked on family trees until about 5:15, when Mom came to get me and we went back over to the Casino for supper. It was good -- seafood and brisket and all kinds of good stuff. Then I lost all but one penny of the $40 in the machines, so about 7:30 mom brought me back to the room, then went back to play some more. They will probably return to the room about 8:30 pm and then start all over again tomorrow (we are staying an extra night.) Lotsa fun. ?:?? Mom and Dad came in and we are not staying an extra night. I could barely open my ears to hear them come back, and that's mostly all I remember. 7/15/06 8:45 AM -- Leaving the Best Western at Coushatta. Heading back for I-10. 71.2 on trip odometer. 14052 total. Dad wants to log the time it takes (driving) to get from here (Coushatta) to Austin. We are going to go to Lake Charles. There is a casino there they want to stop at. It is going to be a LOOOOooooonnnnnggg day I'm afraid. Hour and fifteen minutes to cutoff (add into time to Austin) We are heading for LaBridge casino in/near Lake Charles. We are going to exit on Nelson Rd., and head down to the Casino Area. This place is back in the woods. We are arriving at this huge casino at about 9:45. Who says gambling before noon is a bad habit?? Not me? 12:50 PM Back on the road, but not to the point where we start adding time for the trip to Austin. That's because we are on 210, and we start from the cutoff at I-10. 1:00 Back on I-10 starting "Clock"... 2:45 Stopped for a break and snack. 3:00 back on the road... have been on the Road to Austin (not counting the casino, you see) for 3 hours as of 3 pm. 3:10 - stop clock for gasoline... 23.63 for 8.068 gal at 2.929 per gallon. 3:15 - start clock: Trip time 3 hours 10 minutes. 4:45 - stop clock for pottery break 4:50 - start clock: Trip time 4 hours 45 minutes road time so far. Stop the clock at 5:00 pm for a supper stop in Brenham. 4 hours 55 minutes travel time so far. Back on the road at 5:55 pm but not to the highway yet so we don't start the clock. We waited for a train but it didn't take too long. There are a lot of beautiful old homes in Brenham, it looks like a really nice place to settle. Dad says it was established in 1844. It would be interesting to check the history of this town. Back on the timeclock at 6:05. We hit the Travis County line at 7:05. Austin City Limit at 7:20 Grocery Store stop at: 7:45..... Back on road at 8:00 pm. 6 hours and 25 minutes. Pull into the driveway at: 8:05. Car unpacked and in garage 8:30. Sitting down to relax... 8:45. I have a load of lights in the washer that I will need to put into the dryer (I told mom I am out of pajamas, so I have to dry them... and goodness only knows how I am going to manage to get my jeans dried without them being stiff as a board. I love the towels line-dried, but not my clothes, they are soooo uncomfortable and scratchy without the dryer and dryer sheet. I'm not gonna worry about it tonight, though. We are FINALLY in one place for a few days. :) It's been real and it's been fun, and it's been real fun, but boy am I ever beat. Lotsa good memories, but ready for a REST. 7/16/06 Relaxing, relaxing, relaxing. Slept until 8 am, had a bowl of frosted mini-wheats for breakfast and then about 9:30 we went to see about finding some sun-dresses. Didn't find a single one, but we did find a little housecoat/dress that I like very much. And I picked up a pair of pajamas and a swimming suit (THAT WILL FIT!) Then Mom and I did some grocery shopping and came home. I ate a plum for lunch, but am really not hungry since we had been eating right at about 7am, noon and 5pm, not to mention all the snack stops. I couldn't eat right now if it would win me a thousand bucks. Mom did a load of darks and they're in the dryer. In the after noon we might go see if Beall's has any sun-dresses, but in the meantime, we're gonna relax and rest. (Grateful sigh.) LOVE the fan in my room. I'm cool and comfy. After a nice nap and checking e-mail etc. online (Dad's computer) we had a lovely tarragon-chicken salad for supper with a side salad and watermelon for dessert. We got the chicken salad at the grocery store Mom and I went to -- it said HEB on the ticket, but it was different from any HEB I had ever seen before. It was very much like a clean, well-lit and very well-stocked market. Tomorrow I hope to pick up a wireless router so I can get internet here on my own computer. And I have to remember to call Mr. Rogers about my medication, Emily said he phoned about it, and I also need to phone Cyndee, Emily said she had called. For now, though, I'm back in relaxation mode. :) I haven't accomplished much of what I had intended to do this summer, but it has been busy anyway. I thought I'd sew more, but I haven't sewn at all, except to help my sister in law, Sandy -- she is making a quilt for her soon to be born great-grand-daughter. She got a new sewing machine and started right away and the quilt is going to be sooooooo adorable!
I thought I'd teach my mother in law some about the computer. Well, that's okay, I taught my father in law about it some. Oh and my brother too. Just a little, he was already real smart about it. I did get a whole bunch of family tree information covered, so that was exciting and fun. (Hey, I like to dig up the dirt on dead people, so what?) I like to think about them "way back when" and imagine how they handled the crises and struggles we deal with these days. I blew wayyy too much money on plane tickets. That hurts, because you don't get anything for your expense without a penalty, should the passenger change their mind... Elayne (great-neice) decided not to go back to Alaska with us, and Emily decided to stay longer... so all I can say is OUCH. However, Emily and Annie will be going their different ways before long, and so a fun couple of weeks together is a good idea, since who knows what tomorrow may bring? I did more stuff than that, of course. I'll add to this and round it out, but for now? I'm a little bit tired... |
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